catching up with the crescatters

(well, such a task is truly beyond me. however...)

Will recommends Brasserie Jo. Having been to both Brasserie Jo and Red Rooster, I'd cast my vote in favor of the latter (unfortunately, the Red Rooster website doesn't include the specials, which in my experience are invariably excellent). Both are relatively inexpensive French restaurants; both have a more expensive sister restaurant run by the same chef (Jean Joho's Everest and Bernard LeCoq's Cafe Bernard, respectively). Red Rooster wins in my book due to its superior ambiance and its not being a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant (my prejudice against Lettuce restaurants is no less strong for being irrational).

I do have to credit Brasserie Jo for the unintentionally amusing copy on its website: "The enormity of the room lends a great joie de vivre to the space."

Amanda, in a post about Bush's proposed space adventures, wishes that the NIH would would not limit their funding to "hypothesis-driven" research. I'm curious as to what she means by this.  ¶
10:52 PM

  briefly

Returned from Boston. Immediately became sick. Celebrated Christmas in Naperville, with all celebrations made extra-exciting by being hopped up on super-pseudephedrine. Returned to Chicago. Broke my toe on New Year's Eve (not in a fun drunken way--I walked into my closet door at nine in the morning while completely sober). Celebrated New Year's Eve (wearing ugly shoes) with Ed at the cab-unfriendly one sixtyblue (recommended), where I ate Bambi. Returned to class and was immediately crushed by massive workload (damn you, Genetic Mechanisms). Am slowly surfacing.   ¶
10:10 PM