A couple of days ago I walked into the GameStop over in Elmwood Park within five minutes of closing, wanting to trade in Assassin's Creed for something without an annoying buzzer every time I enter combat . I first looked at Dirt 2--which I've heard many good things about--and then over at Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, which I thought would help me out with my Kratos withdrawal. Knowing my time was running out quickly, I asked the guy behind the counter: "I know they're two entirely different games, but which do you recommend--Dirt 2 or Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2?" He looked at the boxes and said, "Well, man, ninjas are always more cool than a bunch of stupid cars, right?"

And that was that. One weekend later, I'm done with Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. I think there was a story, but I'm not quite sure what it was. Good conquered evil, I'm sure. I'm not entirely sure, however, that I can write a review of the game since my main questions revolve around the wonder that women that are as, er, well-endowed as those found in NGS2 can fight so well.

To celebrate my victory over evil or somesuch, my wife and I went to the Osaka Japanese Gardens here in Chicago. Despite having lived a quick jog away for several years, I'd never been to this beautiful, peaceful part of the city. Originally built in 1893 as a part of the World's Columbian Exhibition, the garden and part of the surrounding island served as the location for the Japanese pavilion. Over the years, it slightly changed location and was later named for Osaka, one of Chicago's sister cities. While exquisitely landscaped, the small garden is not without reminders that you're on the South Side. On the large lantern beside the entrance, for instance, you can find some inscriptions spraypainted in Thuggish by the locals, ever happy to demonstrate their unique interpretation of kanji. Before leaving, I made sure to get my own version of the spot's most over-photographed view, which you can find below.