You wish you were this cool

The 2008 US Air Guitar Tour is coming to Chicago!!! June 12, Metro. Get your butt out there to see some sweet air guitar action. The press release describes it best: "Miraculous performances. Death-defying feats of strength. Water into wine. Pageantry that will dazzle the eye and overwhelm the senses. All the things that make rock and roll a spectacle; make rock and roll spectacular. Without the use of a single instrument."



The tour is part of the 6th annual US Air Guitar Championships. Each of the 21 cities will produce one winner, who--along with last year's champion, William Ocean--will compete in the national competition. That winner will then represent the country in August in Finland during the World Championships. This is the real deal, people. -Diana

Camel coming soon

Seeing as how nobody believes that I unintentionally summoned a cougar to the city via my cougar ring tone, I have decided to change my ring tone yet again. Instead of a potentially dangerous creature, I have opted for a more benign animal this time.

Chicagoans, be aware that a wild camel will most likely be spotted at large in either the downtown or Roscoe Village areas in the coming months. This is all your fault. Next time, you'll listen - Rannell

That's gonna sting...

If you don't mind watching a couple of grown men and women playing a childhood sport, I highly recommend coming out to the Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center of Depaul (2235 N. Sheffield) this Saturday, May 17 to catch the 2nd annual National Dodgeball League Championship Tour. It all starts at 9 a.m. so make sure you cash in your Dunkin' Donuts trivia prizes for free donuts and hash browns and head on over. Make sure you also yell nice and loud for my team, yeah? -Lizelle

Donnie Wahlberg becomes fashionable again.

I turned on the television this morning just in time for New Kids on the Block. They performed their new song "Summertime" and also a montage of all their old songs. "Hanging Tough," "Please Don't Go Girl" and "Step by Step" were amongst them with choreography to match. Oh NKOTB. Singing in the rain, in their matching suits, trying to get girls in the crowd to pass out from excitement.



If you are going to sing in the rain and get any kind of reaction from me, you better do it right. And with accents. -Lizelle

Street Fests: All Exciting at First

To paraphrase the late-great Mitch Hedburg, “Street festivals are like pancakes; all exciting at first, but by the end you’re fucking sick of ‘em.”



It’s true. You see all these festival listings lining up for every weekend deep into August, and you think about how great it will be to hang around outside. You look forward to not paying the “optional” cover charge, grabbing a drink, eating something off of a cob or a stick and just CHILLING. It never ends up that way. After a few, you come to realize that beer lines (and beer tickets) suck, hoards of people suck, and usually the bands suck.

So, here’s some fests coming up that I would ACTUALLY recommend going to:

• Incredibly awesome bands at the Do-Division Street Fest and Sidewalk Sale (May 31 - June 1)
• Diverse, Swedish-themed Andersonville Midsommarfest (June 14,15)
• Great music and hilarious people-watching at Wicker Park Fest 2008 (July 26,27)
• Weird-but-tasty combo of the Guinness Oyster Fest (September 6)
• DIY renaissance going on at the Renegade Craft Fair (September 13,14)
• The 3rd annual, but already legendary Hideout Block Party (September 20,21)

-Brian Howe Battle

$40 for an Hour Massage? Yup -- it's true!

Our friends at the Wellness Studio have just welcomed a new massage therapist (Sasha Hanning) and first-time massage clients can get a 60-minute massage for just $40 (regularly $80). This limited-time offer is a great deal and if I know how things operate at the Wellness Studio, you will leave feeling refreshed and like a new person. And if your back issues are more severe, talk to owner Kristin Argo about setting up a chiropractic appointment. Print out this massage offer -- you'll need to bring it with you to the appointment.

Reason No. 36 to Love California: Gay Marriage

No it's not the avocados; fresh sushi-grade fish; year-round hiking, surfing or biking; the abundance of hybrid cars; Half Dome; Coachella; Tahoe; Golden Gate Bridge; Hollywood or Hwy 1 (but these all pretty much kick ass). It's the fact that the California Supreme Court believes in the rights of all people. California's high court today overturned a ruling saying that it's unconstitutional to deny gay couples the right to marry. They likened it to not allowing interracial couples to marry.

The justices, in a 4-3 ruling, wrote, "In view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples."

This is a huge day for our country. Massachusetts made same-sex marriage legal four years ago at the same time that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom started issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. All the marriages granted during that period had been nullified, but will now be reinstated. Today Newsom said, "It's a throwaway line, but I think it's true: As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation."

So Mayor Daley -- when are you going to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses in the city? Let's make this happen! -- Ari

If you are not too busy trying to get the armored car open with a baseball bat...

Check out this flickr page of NYC vs. Liberty City (Grand Theft Auto 4). It's pretty amazing. Next being able to run over pregnant ladies and not being shamed for it. -Lizelle

"Did Steve tell you that, perchance?"

In honor of Bret and Jemaine's show at the Chicago Theatre tonight:



These two minutes from Flight of the Conchords are on par with "Laser Cats" as my all-time favorite comedic bits filmed for TV. Please enjoy. - Kim