OUT OF THE FARMLANDS, INTO THE GRID: When our good friend Scott Claffee retired the L-Cubed blog earlier this month, we didn't make mention of it here because we were hoping he'd change his mind. But he meant it, and we miss his contributions to the blogosphere as he moves onto a new phase in his life.

There is something we can do for Scott, however. "I'll be in Chicago from Tuesday night through Sunday," he writes. "What must I absolutely not miss before I leave? Include sights, bars, food, and anything else you wish to tell."

Without question, my list starts with the Architecture Foundation river cruise and Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind, but I have no idea what the top restaurants are anymore (that you can get into without having reservations months in advance.)

I believe we can provide some further advice on the city by the lake where the embers never fade.

MISSED [HAVING A HEARTBEAT] BY THAT MUCH: Don Adams, originator of detective Maxwell Smart, voice of Inspector Gadget, has passed away.

IF ONLY THERE WAS A POP SONG IN WHICH BOTH THE WORD "KISS" AND "LIST" WERE FEATURED PROMINENTLY: Ross and Rachel's first smooch has been named the Top TV Kiss in a new list from TV Guide. The list was determined by a poll and guessing by the fact that only two kisses on the list pre-date the Clinton administration, I can't be too cheesed off about omissions like Archie Bunker and Sammy Davis Jr. or Davy Jones and Marcia Brady (not to mention Bobby Brady and Millicent).

LOOK OUT! HERE COMES THE SPIDER-MAN: OK, the Spider-Man 3 villains, that is. In an apparent slip of the tongue, Kirsten Dunst disclosed that Thomas Haden Church will play the Sandman and Topher Grace will play fan favorite Venom. I've always thought the original Venom storyline was kinda campy and cheesy, and it's hard to think of a less menacing actor than Topher Grace, so it'll be interesting to see how they handle it.

WILL EVERYBODY GET A CAR? Apparently not content with her utter domination of television, books, and magazines, Oprah is branching out into theatre. She's going to be the lead investor in the upcoming musical "The Color Purple," now retitled "Oprah Winfrey Presents 'The Color Purple.'" No word on what Oprah's next theatrical project will be. (Also, anyone else think "The Apprentice: Oprah" would be far more interesting than "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart?")

ALSO, JENNIFER GARNER ONCE UNDERSTUDIED KATHRYN ERBE: Did you know that Chandra Wilson, better known to us as Dr. Miranda "The Nazi" Bailey on Grey's Anatomy, previously understudied Gary Coleman in "Avenue Q?" This is an open thread for discussion of various Sunday TV, including, but not limited to, West Wing (Where's Zoey?), Desperate Housewives (Who's in the basement?), and Grey's Anatomy (As a mild Izzie/George 'shipper, I'm a bit dismayed).

..And each camper, armed with only a thermos of coffee and two thousand dollars cash, tries to visit as many countries as he can: Enter the strange, marriage-destroying world of competitive travel. Charles Veley, a dot com millionaire claims to have visited no fewer than 518 countries, autonomous regions, islands, trust territories, protectorates, and other 'places.' Indeed, he claims to be the world's most traveled man. Others disagree, and because there is no governing body to determine just what constitues a 'place' or, for that matter, a 'visit', there's no neutral arbiter who can settle the debate.

Now, serious travel is a fine endeavour and -- if money and time were no object -- I, too, would want to visit the State of Yap (home, as many of you with 1970s-era Guiness Books of World records will recall, to the world's largest currency). But if your budget (like mine) is limited, and if your untreated dromomania doesn't require you to visit, say, South Sandwich, membership in the Travelers Century Club might be a more suitable goal.

Readers are, of course, invited to stake a claim as the most traveled ALOTT5MA reader.

UPDATE: I would note that a useful 'place' list can be found in the .pdf application for the Travelers Century Club. It makes a useful distinction that places which are of the same country, but geographically or ethnographically separate, can count as separate places. So Alaska counts as its own place, as does Tahiti, despite being part of metropolitan France. By these standards, I've been to 23.