Had a good week in Chicago last week. Work was slow and I only had one free night to get out an about....but it was a worth it. I managed to get to the Art Institute of Chicago (as indicated by the photos posted earlier this week) on its extended hours evening. Wish I had more time. I recommend it to everyone. Reminded me of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Similar breadth and scope. Definitely world class.

In other news...my old friend Sarah gave birth to a baby girl on Sunday April 2 (hey...Jess' birthday as well...I didn't process that till just now). Congratulations to her and Ghani. I'll post a photo as soon as they send me one.

This past weekend used Jessica's new fondu pot for the first time. She made a tasty cheese foudu courtesy of Alton Brown and the show "Good Eats." Games were played and 4(!) bottles of wine were drained. Good times.

Last night, thanks to Bryan, we went to a lecture at the University of Arkansas - Little Rock. The speaker was an Egyptologist (Bob Brier) who posits that Tutankhamen was murdered. He gave a vibrant and informative lecture. He clearly has a love of the subject. Again - thanks Bryan. One interesting thing occurred during the Q&A. Someone (clearly with an agenda of some sort) tried to get this historian to commit to nailing down something about Moses and the Exodus. Dr. Brier didn't take the bait (if for no other reason than the speaker didn't actually ask a question)...and even implied the Exodus may not have occurred.

The thing is (and I know I'll be corrected)...the Bible (and other religious texts) cannot be relied upon for dates or historical accounts. Makes me wonder if there is a record (aside from the Bible) on the details of the Exodus - something contemporary to the event found in Egypt? Now would be a good time to research this...as it's Passover.