today while we were downtown, we went to a festival called “chicago arabesque.” it gave a glimpse into various aspects of the culture of the arab world.

we milled around the little tents and shops while listening to middle eastern music. it was really hot and we were happy to eat some handmade syrian (roasted pistachio) gelato.

we were in daley plaza, with the big picasso sculpture.

this weekend we went to ‘taste of randolph’, a street festival on the west-side of downtown chicago. we wished there were more food stands, especially since it was supposed to feature more of the upscale restaurants in the neighborhood, but we did try some ahi tuna tacos and a very juicy pulled pork burger. just can’t beat the food from richmond night market…

I learned today that June 6th is the 25th anniversary of Tetris. It brings back memories… I spent(!) many hours of my youth mastering the subtleties of this simple yet addictive game. Turns out I haven’t completely lost my touch:

If you are bored and have a few spare minutes (or hours), click on the image above to play your own game of “Tetris 1989″ (the retro version) and to see if you can beat my score!

yay, another visitor! i got to play with liz for a couple of days in chicago this week. here we are in front of ‘cloudgate’, the big silver bean in millenium park. after bit of debating (museums vs. shopping) and despite some erratic weather (ranging from cold rain to hot and humid), we explored downtown and the magnificent mile. crate and barrel + anthropologie + cheesecake factory = good times. dinosaurs next time.