KRAFT MAC & CHEESE CRACKERS, ETC.

(Recorded on a Canon PowerShot SD950 IS Digital Elph while standing under the eaves of that building at left in the above photo of Jefferson Park.)

Nope, we're not headed to the Taste of Chicago. The Taste can be kind of fun, but it's also a real headache to get to and you have to battle thousands of other people.

I'd say you need to embrace the hustle and bustle to fully appreciate the Taste. Sort of like how to tolerate alfresco dining, you need a high tolerance of carbon monoxide and pedestrian stares. That's a topic worthy of an entire podcast. I can understand how diners might enjoy having a meal in a secluded garden or a quiet courtyard -- but too often here in Chicago, alfresco dining means some eatery merely has jammed a dozen tables out on the sidewalk.

Bugs, carbon monoxide, allowing total strangers to waltz by and look at what you're stuffing in your pie hole. And this is a good thing? Mm-mm-good, huh?

Speaking of things that sound like a good thing but often aren't, let's talk about one of my favorite culinary topics: macaroni and cheese. I've always maintained that although Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner is the gold standard against which all other such dishes are judged, the amount of powdered cheese provided just isn't enough. In fact, ever since I was a kid, I've always added extra cheese when I cook up this favorite comfort food.

The other day while shopping in the Walgreens across my office, I noticed a new product: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Crackers. I bought a box and gave it a try.

Verdict: Not cheesy enough. And a few others at work reached the same conclusion. Please note this was the regular version -- imagine how noncheesy the "mild" version is. One colleague even compared the crackers to Cheese Nips, another Kraft brand.

I'm a loyal consumer of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, but I can't get too excited about these cracker knockoffs.

In this podcast, I also talk about finding a really cool site while Googling for reviews of Carrara, an affordable CGI application. One link led me to a site promoting a proposed TV series called "Atomic City" featuring the adventures of Phil Velvet, an Elvis lookalike private eye in a kitschy, retro-future re-imagined Las Vegas.

I'm not sure just why I like the site, but I must have watched the video clip several dozen times now. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Finally, what with the ascendency of digital imaging, chemical analog photography seems destined for retro status. Yet, even as I embrace digital, I find myself clinging to film photography. In fact, some of the best work I've done of lately has been with the Holga -- which is just about as analog as you can get.

Whenever I want to reinvigorate my excitement for analog photography -- or for photography in general -- I like to check in at Filmwasters, which serves up galleries by its five founders, as well as links to other photo-related sites. But the highlight for me is the Filmwasters podcast.

Well, that's it for now. Look for some episodes next month from Colorado, plus a special podcast with Dick about geocaching.

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