Push button, receive bacon!

So we went back to Clybar last night for some more karaoke fun with Val Capone and Reno Better. There were a lot more people there last night than the previous week, but I think a bunch of them were there to watch the American Music Awards, which I thought was pretty strange. While we were waiting for the karaoke machine to be set up, this drunk guy came up to us and started telling us his entire life story - from where he grew up, to his ex-girlfriend, to his loss of his drivers license in Detroit due to a DUI, to his move to Chicago. I mean he talked and talked and talked! Annie Maim came up to us while he was there and I think she wanted to chat with us, but this guy wouldn’t shut up! It was pretty amusing though.

Finally the karaoke machine was set up and the guy went back to his friends. Amy was one of the first ones up because someone chickened out, so she took one for the team and sang their song - Like a Virgin. Soon it was my turn to sing a horrible version of Mother by Danzig. Val and Annie both performed a song (even though Annie is a bit sick), and all 4 feet 11 inches of Shirley Temple of Doom rocked out to Mr. Brownstone by Guns n’ Roses. Amy also got a second song in - I Melt with You by Modern English. Afterwards we had to leave since it is a school night and all that. Val invited us to her Thanksgiving dinner, which was very sweet of her, but we had to decline since we will driving to the Wisconsin Dells tonight where we will be spending the long holiday weekend gambling at Ho-Chunk Casino and visiting all the tourist traps in the region.

So Amy finally found a great punk rock florist in Logan Square called Fleur located at 3149 W. Logan Boulevard. It will be different than what Amy and I had previously thought, but Amy is very excited about it. I’m not really into plants and flowers, so I did not really understand exactly what everything is going to look like. However, I was assured that it will all look gorgeous. Some things will serve dual purposes, such as the bouquets also being used as centerpieces in order to keep costs down, which I think is a great idea. Now that we finally have a florist, that means almost all the big things to do are done!

Oh, our wedding photography will be done by A Little Red Heart, and our videographer will be Logan Kibens. Check out their previous work and you’ll see why we chose them.

So, Val Capone told me that she is co-hosting karaoke night at Clybar on Tuesdays featuring Rory Lake’s Karaoke Dreams Kollection starting last night. Since Amy and I both love karaoke and roller derby, we had to go and check it out.

Now, I used to live pretty close to Clybar, but had never gone inside before since it is a significantly more upscale bar than I care to frequent. Thankfully, it was a Tuesday, so it was pretty much Trixie-free. We grabbed a couple of beers and sat down to wait for the festivities to commence. While we were there, Annie Maim of the Double Crossers came in and sang a couple of songs. She has a great singing voice, which we noticed at the derby finals when she sang the national anthem. Val Capone was a little late, so she did not hear our (terrible) rendition of Def Leppard’s ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’. She did get to hear me singing some Pantera, and Amy singing ‘I Want You To Want Me’ by Cheap Trick though.

After that, it was almost 11:30 (on a school night!) so we headed home. It was definitely fun, and we’ll probably be back next Tuesday (hopefully with some new karaoke tunes!)

Sunday was the eagerly awaited final match of the Windy City Roller inaugural season. The two teams vying for the first ever Ivy King Cup were the Double Crossers and The Fury. Tensions were high on both teams, and with the fans as well as evidenced by this guy:

This guy is obviously a Fury fan

However, first up was a grudge match between the Manic Attackers and the Hell’s Belles. Since they both had nothing to gain, and nothing to lose, there were fights galore on the track.


Fight Fight Fight!

After awhile, the refs seemed to have had enough, and Val Capone of the Manic Attackers was ejected from the game and fined, even though the fight that caused the ejection wasn’t even her fault!


A pissed-off Val Capone

Both teams ended up getting disqualified by the end of the match for a final score of 0-0.

The Hoopafreaks , a Chicago-based hoop performance troupe, performed during intermission. Pretty cool stuff!

Finally, the final match of the season was about to start. I was sure that the Double Crossers would take the win and the Ivy King Cup because they had Jesus in their corner!

Jesus cheering for the Double Crossers

It was a very physical match, with both teams checking each other to the floor. The Double Crossers took an early lead and kept it for most of the match.


Broken Cherry checks her opponent

However, due to some very questionable referee calls, the Fury had tied the game, and a first ever 5 minute overtime was to decide the match. The Fury managed to take an early lead in overtime, and Ana Mission…From God stepped up to the jammer position with 2 minutes to go to try and make up some points. However, she was soon called for a penalty, and the Double Crossers were left with no jammer! They ended up losing by two points. Apparently, even Jesus on their side could not make up for the hellacious refereeing on the track that night! Anyway, a fun time was had by all, and it continued afterwards at the Liar’s Club, where we hung out with some of the derby girls. It was also Angela’s birthday, who works at Big Hair at 2012 W Roscoe St. with Ana Mission, so we had some drinks with her and her friends before heading home. Now that roller derby is done for the season, I don’t know what we’re going to do on the second Sunday of every month!

More pics of Sunday’s Windy City Roller final bout can be found here

I have two questions about the rules that we just found out about on Sunday that I have never heard before. The first one is the 20 foot rule, where all blockers must stay within 20 feet of the pack. That rule seems reasonable, but that was the first I had heard of it. (edit: BrokenCherry confirmed that this rule has been in place since the beginning of the season) The second rule was more troubling. Apparently, if your jammer cannot get through the pack, she can take off her jammer cap and swing it around her head, signaling that the pivot is now the jammer and can score points. Why was this never mentioned before, because it can significantly alter a game! If a team can do that, then why don’t they do it every time? That way, you have a much less chance of getting lapped and having the other team score a grand slam.

Last night we went to not one, but two Windy City Roller events. The first one was happy hour at Kitsch’n North. Between trips to the free buffet, we chatted with some of the derby girls in attendance, including our favorite derby girl, BrokenCherry.

After talking to Val Capone of the Manic Attackers and Annie Maim of the Double Crossers, Amy decided that she wants to be a Derby Girl next year. Amy was hesitant because she hasn’t skated in quite awhile, but both Val and Annie assured her that skating ability does not matter at first because they practice a lot. In fact, they practice so much that they say it becomes a main part of your life.

Amy with Derby Girls Annie Maim of the Double Crossers and Val Capone of the Manic Attackers

The second event was a benefit show for fallen Derby Girl, Voodoo Dahl at Beat Kitchen. Voodoo Dahl broke her clavicle and needed surgery to have it repaired. Like many people in the United States, she did not have health insurance, and is now deeply in debt from the medical bills. Amy and I each bought a Voodoo Dahl T-shirt to help her out!

Since neither of us has skated in some time, we went to the roller rink at 76th and Racine to practice. Wow, is skating tiring, especially if your rental skates are not well taken care of! I think we’re going to have to buy speed skates of our own, along with elbow and knee pads. Oh, and also a helmet. If you think we stand out now at this south side skating rink, wait until we show up with pads on!

The Glass Packaging Institute recently put us on their Featured Product webpage. This is a dynamic webpage so the link probably will not have SoyBlendz on it forever. Here is their write-up.

Soy Blendz Smoothies are all the rage for hot summers, and luckily for those suffering in the hot heat (and from lactose intolerance), Carbotrol Foods has introduced its new beverage called Soy Blendz, a non-dairy smoothie with a refreshing and healthy focus on flavor and nutrition. This cool new drink will be available in Mixed Berry Medley, Mango/Orange Dream, Orange Citrus Splash and Strawberry/Banana Blast, all of which will benefit from the nutritional composition found in whole soybeans. This healthy new smoothie—which contains no artificial flavorings, sweeteners or preservatives—will be packaged in 16-oz. glass bottles and uses decorative shrink-sleeve labeling to add shelf impact to this innovative new product.

The SoyBlendz write-up might or might not be here

The Gwinnett Daily Post, a Georgian newspaper, had this to say in their November 2nd issue about my SoyBlendz in their “What’s In Store” column:

Soy Blendz just released a line of soy-fruit, non-dairy smoothies. Packed with whole soybeans, eight grams of protein per bottle and 120 percent of your daily calcium needs, these grab-and-go smoothies are a sweet, healthy treat.
Available flavors include Mixed Berry Medley, Mango Orange Dream, Orange Citrus Splash and Strawberry Banana Blast. We liked the orange-citrus drink, which tasted like a healthy version of a creamsicle, and the strawberry-banana flavor, which had a fresh banana taste. But they’re quite sweet, with about 30 grams of sugar per bottle, and very filling. We could only finish about half a bottle in a sitting.
The smoothies, which are available at SuperTarget stores, don’t require refrigeration, but they taste better after they’ve been chilled for a few hours.
The suggested retail price is $1.99.

You can read the full article here

The South Bend Tribune featured SoyBlendz in their “Food for Thought” column on October 31, 2005. Here is what they said about it.

Refreshing treat

Here’s a refreshing way to get 100 percent or more of Vitamin C and other nutrients — Soy Blendz Fruit & Soy Protein Smoothiez. Available in mixed berry, mango/orange, orange citrus and strawberry/banana flavors, a 10-ounce bottle retails for $1.99 and doesn’t need refrigeration, making it easy to take with you anywhere.

The article can be found here: http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2005/10/31/food.20051031-sbt-MICH-D2-Have_you_had_enough_.sto