From Mr. Crab:  Hey ya'll. I'm in Chicago for the first time in a decade, and my first extensive trip here. Chicago is a cool city with a hip, fun vibe. I'm here mainly for business but I've had the chance to see a few touristy things. For my upcoming book, I checked out an exhibit at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute: "Catastrophe! The Looting and Destruction of Iraq's Past." I'm crashing with my old college buddy PokerGrub.  Last night we caught a flick ("Get Smart".  Pretty good and funny. Good, but not great). The movie ended about midnight, stopped for another drink then met up with PokerGrub's workmate. The night was young so we decided to hit Green Mill, the oldest continously-operating jazz club in the United States, if not the world. During the Prohibition Era, it was one of Al Capone's speakeasies.  We heard some great jazz for only $5, perched at the bar next to a woman who may or may not have been a high-class escort and her male friend who may or may not have been her John. Anyway, we did not get back to  his flat until 4am, only to be woken at 9am by another college pal.  The oddest part of the whole night was the cab driver: He was Kurdish Iraqi whose father was killed in the 1988 Halabjah massacre. His jaw dropped when I told him I recently had traveled to his hometown of Sulaymaniyah, Halabjah and Erbil. Small world!