Maybe We Can Start Again

What in the world? You mean that crazy special effect in Kanye West's video actually exists?
















I hadn't visited Chicago in a couple years. Millennium Park was brand new to me when I accidently spotted it last week.






















The area features sculptures, gardens and a skating rink, but Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate is the delightful centerpiece.






















As this pair of tourists discovered, it's a blast taking snapshots at the site.

















The contrast between the smooth sculpture and Chicago's angular skyline is striking.

















A new concert hall also looks impressive.






















Finally, how can you not love Jaume Plensa's Crown Fountain?

It Could Be, It Might Be, It Is!

Mark Cuban was there. He's considering buying the team. Erin Andrews was in the house. She was working. But that's nothing- yours truly returned to Wrigley Field last week after an absence of thirty years. I'd never seen the lights.
















My first ten years were spent in the Chicago area. Many of my earliest memories are of attending Cubs games and monitoring broadcasts by Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray. How I miss them.






















Ron Santo, Burt Hooten and Fergie Jenkins had cool names. But nothing compares to this year's hero- Kosuke Fukudome. Best baseball name ever.


















It's tough returning home. The cold was almost unbearable, and the security staff relentlessly hassled fans.






















And while it's still a joyous place to catch a game, Wrigley is kind of a dump.