Arachibutyrophobia—
Dishabiliophobia—
Medomalacuphobia—
Papaphobia—fear of the Pope
Politicophobia—
Anablephobia—fear of looking up
Anuptaphobia—fear of staying single
Autodysomophobia—
Coulrophobia—fear of clowns
Eremophobia—fear of being oneself
Euphobia—fear of hearing good news
Hellenologophobia—
Metrophobia—fear of poetry
Optophobia—fear of opening your eyes
Phagophobia—fear of being eaten
Phalacrophobia—
Pteronophobia—fear of being tickled by feathers
Soceraphobia—fear of parents-in-law
Source: phobialist.com
Perhaps Albuquerque The Magazine can be forgiven for their ridiculous October feature, “The Second Annual Hot Singles of Albuquerque Issue,” because, while laughable (the expression, ’hot singles,' itself is laughable), the local periodical is a lifestyle magazine. It serves the purpose of indulging readers in this sort of entertainment. So silly questions like, “If your ideal partner were a New Mexican dish, what would she be and why?” and likewise, non sequitur answers such as, “A combination plate, classy in public and adventurous when we're alone” are within the realm of reasonable editorial content.
Dateline: Canada—Mr. Floatie, a community activist who dresses in a gigantic feces-shaped costume, has withdrawn his name from the mayor's race in Victoria, British Columbia. James Skwarok, the man inside the costume, told reporters that the city has taken issue with his candidacy because only real people can run for municipal office. “Of course I'm not a real person,” Skwarok said last week. “I'm a big piece of poop.” Skwarok has been appearing in public as Mr. Floatie for some time now in an attempt to raise people's awareness about the pumping of raw sewage into the waters off British Columbia's capital. No word on what Mr. Floatie might do now that his political dreams have been dashed.
Post-Tromatic Success Disorder—The 2nd annual TromaDance New Mexico film festival (Oct. 21-23) seemed to bring out the crowds with an impressive lineup of five feature films and 40-plus shorts, all produced through the blood, sweat and tears of local filmmakers. When the dust settled, the Audience Choice Awards ended up going to Scott Phillips' twisted superhero parody “Scream, Science Bastard, Scream” in the short category and to Richard Griffin's hillbilly monster movie Seepage in the feature category. The Burning Paradise Independent Spirit Award went to Heidi Griffin's documentary “The Subject to Change,” while the “El Quemado” Grand Prize went to Cyndi Trissel's horror parody “Phone Friends.” Congratulations to Burning Paradise, Troma Entertainment, the Guild Cinema and to all the filmmakers for their success.
Rocksquawk: More Rock, Less Walk—The Alibi and Rocksquawk.com will again team up for another blissfully unpretentious night of local music; only this time you can enjoy the onslaught of Rocksquawkin' bands from a single barstool, perfectly contoured to fit the delicate curvature of your rump. On Wednesday, Nov. 23, we'll stuff the Launchpad tighter than a Thanksgiving turkey with live, local music ripped right from the forums of Albuquerque's premier internet music community, Rocksquawk.com. The idea is to throw a Rocksquawk show every month; each will highlight talent from the Albuquerque music scene and Rocksquawk.com, and each will draw audiences to a single venue that will change from show to show. This month it's at the Launchpad. Next month, who knows? Of course, we'll continue to organize the multi-venue Rocksquawk.com Music Showcases once or twice a year; and the Fall and Spring Crawls are as sure as the seasons. This is just another opportunity for local bands to come out and strut their stuff. And admission will be free or cheap so we can get a good audience base for these guys. Unfortunately, the inaugural event will be for 21-and-over audiences only, but I'd like to see some all-ages Rocksquawk.com shows in the near future. We'll see how it goes. See you on Nov. 23!
Swedish pianist/composer Bobo Stenson first came into prominence in the late '60s, accompanying jazz greats Gary Burton, Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz. He soon collaborated with Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, whose chamber music style of jazz contributed immeasurably to the success of Officium, his chart-topping otherworldly excursion with The Hilliard Ensemble.
Snugfit Social Club returns to the Launchpad at 10 p.m. this Friday, Nov. 11, with a magnificent aural display of electro, new wave and disco. $4 gets you in, but only if you're 21 or older. (LM)
Sunday, Nov. 11; the Launchpad (21-and-over), $4: If helmets are the new mullets, then The Planet The is the new medium in which to spastically dance while sporting one.
What a Drag—Ooo! La! La! Look at all those pretty, pretty ladies. Sinatra-Devine Productions brings their annual Come Out drag queen spectacular to the National Hispanic Cultural Center (1701 Fourth Street SW) this Friday evening, Nov. 4. As in years past, Showgirls ... Out of Exile will pile on the glam in a show sure to entertain the pants right off you. Tickets are $15, $20 and $25. Show starts at 7 p.m. 724-4771.
Chow's Asian Bistro Bellies Up to the Westside—Another sister-restaurant of Chow's Asian Bistro (Santa Fe) and Chow's Chinese Bistro (Northeast Heights) will open its doors in Cottonwood Mall this weekend. That's three locations, three companies, two names and one owner. Confused yet? "It's complicated" says General Manager Jason Zeng. "But all that's just legal stuff. They're basically all part of the same place." Zeng started his career at the restaurant when it first opened 13 years ago in Santa Fe; only then it was called Chow's Contemporary Chinese Food. "We're local, not a corporation. Our highest concentration is on food quality and taste." And Zeng is willing to put his money where his mouth is. Earlier this month, Chow's was voted one of the top 100 Asian restaurants and the No. 1 Asian fusion restaurant in the nation by the National Restaurant Association and the Chinese Restaurant News. That's a big deal.
Well, we're here to state the obvious: Vegan, vegetarian or meaty green chile stew is the answer for handling or preventing that fated winter cold, possibly more so than you might have thought.
