Graham Joyce's The Tooth Fairy is an odd book, but fortunately only partially as Hot Topic goth as the cover would suggest. To get it out of the way, I must tell you there is an actual tooth fairy in the story and she wears striped stockings and military boots, but rather than simply writing dark poetry and toting around hello kitty stuff, she truly is a representation of darkness. She manifests as lust, envy, wrath – all the pains and frustrations of a growing teenage boy, in this case a boy named Sam, living in 1970's?England, who has unwittingly summoned the her as a constant nefarious companion.

It is Sam's story and that of his best friends that is the heart of the novel. At odds with the geeky sci fi elements, Joyce has structured a compelling coming of age story about a group of misfit friends and the harsh realities they face becoming adults. It just so happens that one member of the group has the tooth fairy to call on to save his friends, get the girl, and maybe kill a few people along the way.

There is a lot of questioning of reality; Is she real? Are certain events figments of their imagination? And the book only really falters when it tries to answer all the questions.

For some reason, Joyce's writing struck me as very youthful (in all its positive connotations) so I was surprised to find he is the prolific author of six novels and many short stories. Perhaps he captured the voice of a young man coming of age (not that he himself is by any means ancient) so well because he lived it, growing up himself mining town he describes as?”A gritty, unlovely place. Salt of the earth people, but if you used words of more than two syllables you were instantly suspected of homosexuality.”

A bit schizophrenic in themes and styles, The Tooth Fairy might be a hard sell to people who likes their fiction on way or the other, but is a really enjoyable read for the more open minded.

When I first got wind of Hawkwind, I was instantly intrigued for two major reasons.
A. They have been compared to my beloved Amon Duul II
B. Both Ginger Baker and Lemmy of Motorhead are among the long changing list of members. Lemmy was kicked out for bad behavior, a gleamed fact that served me well in a bar trivia contest, thank you very much.

I began delving into the band with the album fans and critics celebrate as their greatest achievement, Hall of the Mountain Grill. It grew on me, particularly the songs D-Rider and The Psychedelic Warlords, but was not immediately what I was looking for. Such is the danger of going into an experience with preconceived notions – doubly dangerous if one of those notions might recall something you are passionately in love with.

Recently, I expanded my Hawkwind journey by listening to many of there albums over the past few months. Hawkwind, their first effort has risen above the rest and become a near daily listen. Indeed recalling Amon Duul II, Hawkwind delivers a tribal nearly primordial sound mixed with psychedelia. It epitomizes, in my mind at least, the term space rock… if space crashed into the ancient earth, though others term it as “folk rock” and don't consider their plunge into space rock until later in their career, so what do I know?

To answer my own question, I know that this is an excellent album through and through, beginning to end. Dave Brock, the heart of Hawkwind throughout the decades agrees and cites this as his very favorite album.

The band began as according to wikipedia “as a bunch of stoner freaks, hanging out and jamming around” and once again, the super human John Peel was there. His interest in the talent he saw emerging from this makeshift band resulted in their recording contract.

Victor Costa is an odd bird, holding the inauspicious title and undignified nickname of “the copycat king” (ouch). Hattie Carnegie and Suzy Perrette, who he worked for used to go to Europe and copy the designs they saw particularly in Paris. It was the late 50's, so much of European fashion was not seen in the US. When magazines became more popular, and images of what was happening in Europe made its way here easier and closer to the trends, the ruse was up.

Still, Costa persevered and to be honest, ripping off other people or as they say in the business “being inspired by” others is a way of life. Trend forecasters make tons of money traveling and photographing the insides of hip shops. So, maybe he was just ahead of his time, or at least proof that things stay the same.

On the surface, he is not the kind of designer you would expect me to love – claiming it is almost tantamount to professing a love for Liz Claiborne. He was based in Dallas, he designs for “a mature woman” which means lots and lots of bad shouldered square jackets. A mother of the bride's wet dream in 1982, be also made the wedding dresses my sister and I would pour over as kids (Bride Magazine was a constant purchase on grocery trips with mom). Unfortunately he made the wedding gown poof ball creations that even at a young age we found too gross!

But once you get through all the junk, he is unexpectedly one of the designers I seek out the most on ebay– always wading through the Costa madness of decade old glamour gone wrong to find striking pieces. When you get a good one it's usually a little nutty, slightly off kilter and completely fabulous. I am trying to find a dress in time for my holiday office party and my first thoughts go to this local boy (he graduated from Pratt).

If presented with the temptation of a deep fried hot dog, wrapped in bacon some people will flee in terror, others will come running like ravenous dogs. My friends and I are members of the latter group and quickly made plans to try the heart attack inducing dogs after reading about the kimchee slathered Chang named after personal favorite, Momofuku Ssam chef David Chang.

Crif Dogs reeks of long black t-shirt, wallet chained, tattooed dudeness. reminiscent in this way of Providence's Spike's Junkyard Dogs; the food itself has a bravado and swagger. Deep fried, wrapped in bacon, smothered in everything from chili to cream cheese, topped with everything from fried eggs to avocados, the food and the sign hanging from their front door scream Eat me! like a riled teenage boy daring you to not be a pussy.

In line with that vibe, PBR's are served in the garish, cozy, and retro dining room. As for the speakeasy behind the dark door, that is another story and one you can read in this week's drinks category.

I am here to talk about the food. Very simply, Crif Dogs gave me the best hot dog I have ever had. Jim and I split a cream cheese smothered beast sprinkled with everything bagel spices and a cheez whiz and fresh jalapeno masterpiece. Laura got that fantastic kimchee dog, that was, not surprisingly, very good and very intense. There are veggie options too, so no need to leave that friend at home.

We ate in PDT, the aforementioned speak easy where the menu is a bit more limited, but not in the least bit disappointing. The owners claim to not know what they're doing on their website, but if that is so, they do ignorant oh so very, very well.

PDT stands for “please don't tell”, appropriate for the over the top snobby exclusivity this place has taken to a new limit. It is housed in Crif Dogs and stands as the restaurant's near opposite. The Carlton to the hot dog joint's Fresh Prince. Or if your more obscure and a girl who grew up on Nickelodeon, the Ferguson to Clarissa.

To the extreme in fanciness (as the dogs are in unhealthiness) PDT serves top shelf drinks that are top dollar and top notch. Well, they better be considering the complexities of snagging a table! First, you must call them in the afternoon and reserve a table, when your time slot comes?all your party must be present. Then one of you slinks into the darkened phone booth and awaits an answering of your call – not in human voice form but as a buzzer that allows you access.

You can try to get a set at the bar if you have a smaller party, but we saw many a people turned away, so it's a risk. Sure, it's all silly, but its intense popularity shows that people don't mind at all. You may as well even relish in the drama.

The drinks we had, every last one of them, were superb. I feel foolish having forgotten the names of them though, but I can assure you everyone was thoroughly satisfied. Also satisfying is the effort it took to mosaic the entire odd bathroom in broken mirrors pieces?

The explosion of elite and hip this place embodies should really be, for lack of a better word, lame – but somehow it is not at all. The quality of the drinks and of course the greasy delicious hot dog accompaniments are to thank.

Sure, I've been made fun of for wearing fake pearls (but, you know only by the kinds of people that scoff at cheap things, I believe they're called assholes). But I love fake jewelry any shape or size.
That old adage – don't mix silver and gold? Bull. And don't stop at silver and gold, mix everything with anything when it comes to necklaces and bracelets. My new passion is for (fake) golds and (fake) pearls – the combination makes for one of those “the sum is larger than its parts” deals – like the opposite of the Traveling Wilburys.

Danny and Nina are friends and no strangers to Brix Picks. Previously they had an on line vote to see where they were to move to which sent them to?Denver, Colorado where they have continued their online presence with several new websites.

Random Acts of Adorable is self explanatory and filled with kittens (yay), Haiku for You is a collaborative interactive site where readers submit haiku's which they in turn illustrate, Nina Barry showcases Nina's art, while Danny's love of music is featured on his review blog Aural Pleasure, and if you're feeling down, click on The ComplimentBot 4000, which will tell you things like “you hair looks so good today” and “you always have the best ideas”.

DDR stands for Dance Dance Revolution, popular game in living rooms and arcades across the world. From what I've seen with my own eyes as Jim flailed like a madman at an arcade, it has the power to humiliate. Just ask the short tempered, nearly graceful player in this video, or these talented teenage maniacs.

Of course if you are a child it just makes you even more adorable.

The game has spawned intense competitions taken very seriously. Looks like Magic the Gather-ers and Larpers have a new group of friends in the DDR fanatics. Or would they be foes??