This week is the 2010 Story Week Festival of Writers at Columbia College Chicago (and other venues around the city). My wife Patty is hosting the event at the Harold Washington Library on Tuesday March 16th - that is, she'll be introducing writers Achy Obejas (Ruins), Aleksandar Hemon (Love and Obstacles), and John Dale (Leaving Suzie Pyle) and then leading the Q & A afterwards. The library has a huge auditorium and there are usually several hundred people there. If anyone in Chicago is reading this and hasn't been to Story Week before, it's very simple: if you've ever read a book in your life, then you'll like Story Week.
I've just finished restoring and assembling my large etching press -- a six week process involving lots of rust removal, scrubbing with steel wool, and repainting. Here is a photo of the same kind of press from the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative: And here is a short YouTube video of me testing the press, making sure the motor still works after nearly seven years of lying in storage: