I managed to steal a couple of hours to walk around Chicago yesterday afternoon. Within about six blocks of Dearborn Street I saw a 50 ft Picasso sculpture, a 40 ft Miro, the world’s tallest church, a ten-ton Dubuffet sculpture, Mies Van der Rohe’s Federal Center Complex and a handful of very interesting skyscrapers including the sweeping Chase Tower (formerly Bank One Plaza).

My little Canon Powershot can’t do any of these buildings justice (hence the links above). Taking this photograph of the 3,000 square foot Chagall mosaic Four Seasons at the foot of Chase Tower seemed easy by comparison, and was made all the more rewarding when I noticed this amusing detail below.

Since we moved house and our old video library closed, I’ve been forced to sign up for Netflix. I don’t know why I avoided it for so long but I am really enjoying the choice of films and the luxury of being able to build a playlist at home rather than scanning the shelves looking at the same choice week in week out.

On the advice of a friend, I’ve queued up a handful of films by Howard Hawks and the other week we watched the first of them To Have and Have Not. Brilliant stuff. Sofie and I particularly liked the musical numbers. But I don’t think I could possibly post about the film without including the clip above.

PS I’m in Chicago at the moment for work. If I get any time to myself I might do a bit of exploring. But first impressions are exceedingly good. Great buildings. Friendly people. Not sure about the roads though. I’ve never driven anywhere with so many twists, turns and highways with exit ramps on left and right.

It looks like we might have to wait a little longer to see the new series of 24. (Via Katherine.)

You remember my post in August titled “24 Hours in Burbank“? Well, the title was supposed to be a veiled reference to the reason for my trip: a visit to the set of the TV show 24 for a book I was contributing to called Secrets of 24 that will be published in December.

Since the book isn’t out yet I’m not sure how much I can say here. Even the photos of our visit were permanently embargoed. But I can say that, along with my editors, I toured the latest set (CTU is gone and there is a very fancy new Oval Office) and watched filming of Episode Two, Season Seven. We interviewed Carlos Bernard (Tony Almeida), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O’Brian), executive producers Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, and writers Howard Gordon, Evan Katz and Manny Coto.

I don’t think I’m giving away much if I say that Cochran was unimpressed with Jane Mayer’s profile in The New Yorker last year, or if I say that Gordon, Katz and Coto think they were hard done by with the savaging they were given by critics during and after Season Six. But I do think there was a real sense among the writers that they needed to give Jack some of his humanity back if the audience is going to stick with him through Season Seven.

Judging by the trailer above, which reminds me more of a feature film than a TV series, the premise behind Season Seven is going to do just that. We see Jack (in a sunlit room!) defending his actions before a congressional hearing and being given permission to torture a suspect by somebody official looking. No more superiors turning a blind eye to Jack’s unorthodox methods. Meanwhile, it’s good to see Tony Almeida making a comeback, even if it is as a bad guy.

I got hooked on 24 working on the book this year. Season 6 may have been a letdown, but Season Four and Season Five included some of the most exciting television I’ve ever seen. It will be interesting to see in January whether Gordon, Katz and Coto have managed to resurrect the show.

And now for a little musical interlude from Rocco DeLuca and the Burden, one of the bands signed to Kiefer’s Ironworks Music label:

TIM RUSSERT: Senator Edwards, let’s turn to you. Four years ago, you vowed to run an entirely positive campaign. Now you’re running a negative one. What changed?

JOHN EDWARDS: My convictions, Tim. The American people want a president they can trust. Four years ago I went from being a centrist New Democrat to a left-wing populist because I wanted voters to be able to trust that I would stand up against the forces of opportunism in this country. Now I stand up to the megarich lawyers. I stand up to the hedge fund managers, the big spenders and the McMansion owners. Basically, I’ve been standing up to myself. And I don’t take money from Washington lobbyists. I take money from the people who hire Washington lobbyists, which means a savings of, like, 15 percent.

RUSSERT: Senator Clinton?

CLINTON: First, I want to pre-emptively agree with what everybody will say on all sides of every issue in this debate. That’s why the Republicans are so afraid of me. Second, I want to congratulate the Boston Red Sox. I’ve been a Red Sox fan my whole life…

More here.