This is your chance to jingle, jangle, jingle. No, wait, that’s spurs. This would be the jingling sound made by the traditional Christmas Jingle Bell, the kind me Mum had on the back of the front door when I was a teenager so that she could hear what time I got in at night. Well ok, morning, really. The thing is, though, I mean, I knew they were there, right? So I got really good at opening that door in such as way as to make the absolute least amount of noise. Think ninja here, is what I’m saying.
Where was I? Oh, right. The 2006 Jingle Bell Run/Walk takes place this year on December 2nd at 10 a.m., and the starting line is the North park Lodge. The main event is a 5k run/walk, and there’s also a 1 mile “fun run”, although usually the only fun run I do is a beer run. Whichever one you do, you get a jingle bell to attach to your person, wherever you want./p>
(To my regular reader(s): This is a respectable event, so please, attach it somewhere tasteful. You know… Like your shoelace, or your lapel, or your hat. Not on your “bathing suit area”, if you know what I mean. And I know you do.)
But you can show up in a holiday-themed costume, and that’s actually encouraged. The idea is to have fun while raising the money for the Arthritis Foundation, a truly deserving cause. And hey, everybody who raises 100 bucks gets entered into a drawing for two free round tip tickets on Delta Airlines. If you win, allow me to make a suggestion – Vegas, late February, for two reasons: 1.) It’s warmer there than here at that time, and it’ll be a good mid-winter getaway, and 2.) I think that’s when I’m going and we could get all liquored up on the Strip. I mean, they know how to treat you in vegas – they got showgirls, they got Wayne Newton…
The 2006 Jingle Bell Run/Walk gets the way-ahead-of-time post to give you all a chance to get your sponsors lined up, raise some money, and figure out your costume. I’d suggest getting eight friends together and doing a Santa and the eight reindeer bit, and running the whole thing in formation.
So, Sienna’s 
Apparently, she’s spending all her time, Cheney-like, holed up in in an undisclosed location, specifically, a somewhat unkempt and disheveled hotel room, occasionally popping down to the hotel bar for a smoke and a drink. Not that that’s a bad thing, really, but it does get old after a while, so I understand.
Tickets are a bit pricey at 50 bucks a pop (35 for members, but either way you can cover that out of your per diem, Sienna, and if you can’t then you need new representation), but this is the type of gig that might get you into the 
Sienna, perhaps we’ve crossed oars at Henley, eh? Oh, perhaps I’m thinking of someone else. This seems to be the kind of thing you’d enjoy though, as 4,000 rowers converge on our three rivers to participate in one of the largest single-day regattas in the country. Activites beyond just rowing abound, but the main thing here is to watch the rowers, umm, y’know, row. You can take advantage of watching the race from the deck of the Steward Ship where you can “sample sumptuous food and drink while cheering the competitors across the finish line”. No word on whether that sumptuous food will include pierogies or not, but do try to sample one during your stay. Just make sure they’re made by a little old lady that looks, if so motivated, like she could kick your ass and not think twice about it. Like my grandmother. Hoo-ee, one time she beat six kinds of hell out of me with my own shoe, I was bruised for a week, but I did deserve it, after all, rotten kid. Good times, good times…
I’m pretty sure I can still recite the album “Himself” word for word. Somewhere along the way, though, Bill started doing a lot of social commentary, so I’m really not sure whether this’ll be a comedy gig or if he’s going to opine. Either way, it is Bill Cosby and that’s pretty much worth it.
This show features photographer 
2 bucks! Ahhh…the Name is Bootsy, Baby.
Street festivals are a wonderful part of living around here with all of our neighborhoods, all of our enclaves of ethnicity, each culture contributing their own flavor… Summer’s chock full of street fairs, be they fire halls or churches, someone’s always running a chuck-a-luck wheel (Three! Lovely! Fives!) and a food stand, dogs ‘n kraut, yo, with bingo inside in the gym, 50 cents a card, threefa a dolla, here’s some popcorn to mark your card, yeah, we play four corners, good luck.
Lindsay tipped us off about this the other day, but I’m mentioning it again because ribs probably come in slightly lower than funk on my list. I dunno, eighth, maybe ninth. Somewhere in there, depending on how good they are. The sauce must be the Boss. On that matter, there will be no discussion.
Etta James is a grand dame of American Music, a true legend, inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame. Miss Peaches brings her act into town for a one-night only performance supporting her new album”All The Way,” a collection of songs she says is “an album of songs that I’ve always loved, tunes that I heard and thought, ‘wish I could have been the one to do that one first!.'” This is your chance to hear her perform them live, and a rare gem it will be.