Catching Hoops and Reconnecting

Headed to Chicago for a long weekend catching up with my good friends Craig and Tracy. Although Tracy had to then catch a flight on Saturday morning for work, Craig and I were able to compare notes over the remaining weekend.

It didn’t hurt that the Big Ten Conference was taking place in Chicago. Although we didn’t actually go to see the games in person, we did spend some quality time in several sports bars/brewpubs; sampling not only Wisconsin’s inability to overcome the psychological hump of winning a game against Ohio State, but also some oh, so fine brews.

In addition to beer, basketball and boiling in da’ hot tub, I spent most of Monday at the Art Institute of Chicago.


The Art Institute is my favorite museum. (Although I’ve spent numerous wonderful hours perusing the Cloisters as well). When staying more than a night in Chicago, I always go for a few hours.

The permanent collection is simply fantastic. I think I most enjoy the pre-renaissance artists (circa 1100-1400). The religious imagery, while not inspiring to me personally, is simply spectacular in terms of how the artist’s developed their abilities to convey the human form. I like walking from gallery to gallery, observing how the paintings evolve.


Also, while I’m not really much into contemporary art, I do enjoy Jackson Pollock’s work.

Or maybe it’s just the 8 x 10 foot canvas’.