I'm watching the 3rd season of The Wire on dvd now and it continues to thrill me.  The episodes are taut, authentic, moving and engrossing.  I enjoyed the first two seasons immensely, but am now completely caught up in this wonderful series.  Reading the Chicago Tribune every day (and especially the wonderful columnist John Kass) it's now easier to read between the lines and intuit how politics shapes big cities to a degree the average citizen (count me among them) rarely notices. I'd highly encourage anyone who hasn't seen it to watch this great series.  The acting, directing and writing are superb.

I've just read some excellent books for research purposes, including all of Connie Fletcher's books ("What Cops Know" is excellent!) as well as Daniel P. Smith's, "On the Job -Behind the Stars of the Chicago Police Department" and multiple books on forensics.  But, for the first time in my life, I'm caught up in multiple pleasure reads at the same time.  I'm listening to Richard Price's "Lush Life" on my iPod (and just finished Bryan Burrough's "Public Enemies") while reading Dennis Johnson's "Tree of Smoke" as well as Jean-Dominique Bauby's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" and Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin's "Three Cups of Tea."  I highly recommend all of these books and if you volunteer with any charitable organizations, you must read "Three Cups of Tea."  Finally, I did use two train rides to read "The Last Lecture," which certainly lived up to it's hype.  Great book with sound advice.

Next, I hope the Cubs complete the sweep tonight as they host the White Sox at Wrigley.  It's a great sign that the Cubs were able to come back after being swept by the Rays and falling behind the Sox on Friday afternoon.  This is a team that has received huge lifts from practically everyone on the roster.  I've taken a lot of heat from my buddies because I'm a bit tough on Mark DeRosa, and he's certainly contributed a lot.  But, has any batter ever come up with the bases loaded more frequently and done less?  I think he's had nearly a dozen at bats with the bases full and had one hit this year.  Am I a DeRosa fan? Sure.  But this seems to stand out. Has anyone else noticed this?  That's another signal of a great year -when the only complain is so minor and nearly irrelevant. 

And, another note: Kudos to Len Kasper for giving a "shout out" to my literacy class at Anixter center during Thursday night's game -and for highlighting my student and Cubs superfan Ron Cluck.  To read more about Ron, go to his site: beyondhandi-caps.com 

Finally, please mark your calendars for our Alzheimer's Association benefit concert, "Memory Rock."  It's at Joes -940 West Weed Street on Friday, September 5 at 9 p.m.  We're fortunate to have Dr. Bombay playing again -and thanks to Lee Golub for agreeing to headline again!  Best. SM