You don't know Jack, but I do; and have for the better part of two decades. Jack gave me an assistant's job at his photography studio in St. Louis way back when I was 19 years old. He brought his son Matt and two friends to Chicago yesterday. We visited the observation deck at the Hancock tower, and then made the grueling trek to Ed Debevic's. Eat now, pay waiter. Afterwards, they left on the Metra for the 'burbs, and I caught a very postcardy shot of the Sears Tower from the Chicago El platform.

Barb's Wired: At Chen's on Clark, in the lounge. Orange walls and purple couches are perfect for slow sync flash (blur effect). It was Barb's birthday. Best Cosmopolitan martinis that I've ever had. All twelve of them. It was a great time (the parts that I remember).

Belmont and Clark: A generally freaky area with clubs, bars, boutique shopping and lots and lots of photo ops. Spent an hour or so there today and am happy with the results.

More Improv Challenge: Last night saw the departure of Kasima Tharnpipitchai. There are a lot of pictures here and I did not name them descriptively; they're mainly for the benefit of the cast. Learned a little about how to shoot subjects moving in and out of spotlights, though, so that was good.

Shot right there on the street: Today's street stuff, including a poor fool who had to dress up in a costume of the John Hancock Tower and give brochures to people.

{updated!} Butts and stuff. Seriously. That's what I shot today. Don't ask why. Mostly behinds and backs of people who never knew I was there. Don't be frightened. It was all in fun.

{updated!} Kind of like Hollywood Squares except there are 16 instead of nine. My 995 has a feature that shoots 16 pictures in rapid succession, and then creates a single image with them. It's cool but I am not sure of a good application for it. Each sequence starts at the top left and ends at the bottom right, just like you were reading a book (unless you are in China).

Seat cushion usable for flotation: I was on a flight to Atlanta. I was bored. I had my digital camera. 'Nuff said.

Too funny: The Improv Challenge. A survivor-esque show at The Playground. Red Line to Paulina, near Belmont and Lincoln. Saturday nights. Three shows left, I think. Linda was the unfortunate outcast last week. It's $8, but you get a free $4 beer.