I visited the Oriental Institute in Hyde Park yesterday to see the exhibit Visible Language, which included the earliest example of cuneiform writing (from 3200 BC Mesopotamia) and Egyptian examples from 3300 BC. Very interesting.
The trip was a good excuse to visit some old friends, like the impressive two-story high fellow above. This museum is one of my favorites, filled with great old stuff and big stone things. It's quiet, rarely crowded, and has an old-school museum vibe that I like.
Afterward, I took a spin through the fantastic book stores nearby, the Seminary Co-Op and its sister store 57th Street Books, my favorite book shop in the city. I found a book I've been looking for that's not available in my library, Goat Song by Brad Kessler (whose book Birds in Fall I loved) about a year spent on his goat farm) as well as a nice copy of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee and Walker Evans–a classic I've long wanted to read.
2 Things @ Once 
Why don’t you bring your friend to lunch one Friday?