It was crowded, it was cold, but I managed to get an eyeful at Looptopia. Was it all that I hoped? Not really. Was I glad we checked it out? Sure. Here's a recap of my night:

7:00:I escape the cold with a generous pour of red wine at the Art Institute (the Hard Rock Hotel was my first choice for an afterwork drink and peek at Miss Looptopia hopefuls, but the swarms trying to squeeze inside turned me right off). Inside the museum, Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan tuned up but didn't start playing until my plastic cup was nearly empty and the gallery was teeming with Chex Mix-crunching refugees from the wind.

Next stop, 7:45: Daley Plaza to see what was going on. Midnight Circus was on the stage... I think. (Should've worn heels because I couldn't see anything.) Wandering some more brought one of several Redmoon Theater installations into view. It was a mesmerizing scene with live music, a potato patch and huge hanging lanterns. The crowd was impressed. Big win.

9:30: Searching for food and a place to sit, we stopped into Macy's and found the lower level court closed. Gen Art's seventh floor dance party featured a long line (we didn't wait; MFchicago's dance party at Sullivan Dock looked much more promising). I sat and watched a video installation across the street from Daley Plaza while The Ponys played to a receptive crowd.

10 p.m.: Eventually, the cold and wind got the better of me. My friends' hunger (and car parked nearby) convinced me to call it a night. Stuff I would've liked to visit: Jazz lounge at the Chicago Theatre, "365 Days/365 Plays" at Goodman Theatre, MFchicago Dance Party.

Were you there? What did we miss?

Yes, "Spider-Man 3" topped the box office again, racking up another $60 million in its second week. We're already looking ahead to the next few weeks of part-three blockbusters like "Shrek the Third" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," so no need to talk about Tobey Maguire's bipolar superhero any longer. More noteworthy from the past weekend's results were the low tallies for the zombie sequel "28 Weeks Later," which nabbed only $10 million, Lindsay Lohan's horrible "Georgia Rule" ($5.88 million) and Zach Braff's latest misfire "The Ex," which viewers found so unappealing it didn't even finish in the Top 10. And this, I remind you, was the weekend Larry the Cable Guy's "Delta Farce" ranked No. 5 (earning $3.5 million). Did you see anything besides "Spider-Man 3" this weekend? Are you the one person who bought a ticket for "The Ex"?