—Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” video: The gay icon (and onetime Windy City Gay Idol performer) proves that everything old is new again. She takes a song reminiscent of Ace of Base and a video very reminiscent of Madonna (down to her own take on the Material Mom’s cone bra) —and makes it all work. See www.youtube.com/watch?v=niqrrmev4mA&annotation_id=annotation_161370&feature=iv.
—Mark Ronson’s “Bang Bang Bang” video: The brother of DJ Samantha Ronson (who once dated Lindsay Lohan) has a trippy, kinda futuristic video that features guest rapper Q-Tip, child break-dancers, mulitple languages … and a bangin’ beat. See www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y36a4y4RTc.
—Zombies of Mass Destruction: What separates this movie from the bazillions of other horror movies out there that feature the brain-eating undead? Well, in this film—part of the 8 Films to Die For/After Dark Horrorfest 4 series—one of the heroes is a gay businessman who has returned to town with his partner to come out to his mother. Then, the same-sex couple is trapped in a church with an anti-gay minister…
—The mango snow ice at Cloud 9: During these hot summer days, this dessert is especially enticing. Snow ice, by the way, is described on the Boystown eatery’s website (www.cloud9chicago.com) as “a delicious frozen treat that can be described as a cross between ice cream and shaved ice. It has a fluffy texture much like cotton candy but melts like creamy ice cream.”
—Parkview Pet Supplies: Not only does this store (5358 N. Broadway; 773-561-0001) have practically everything your dog, cat or bird could want but the incredibly knowledgeable owner, Joe, can answer practically any question you have—and he does it with a smile.
—Andrew Davis
(Andrew@WindyCityTimes.com)