The Avenue

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The Avenue

Four Horsemen? No, the Four Loko is the apocalypse

By DAVE JOHNSON | July 28, 2010

Civilizations rise and fall, such is the cycle of human history. There are many things attributing to the downfall of a civilization, such as disease, wars or societal collapse. However, I realized recently that there will be only one thing to bring down modern Western civilization. Dear readers, I have seen the harbinger of the end of time, and it exists among us in startling quantity. Of course, I refer to Four Loko.

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The Avenue

‘Inception’: It’s not as imaginative as you think it is

By Justin Plemmons | July 28, 2010

When “Inception” came out, the general populace joined together in solidarity and screamed out in unison, “OHMYGODWTFBBQSAUCE!”

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The Avenue

Serendipity defines accomplished ghost writer’s career

By Alex Orlando | July 28, 2010

An economics degree from Cornell University. A law degree from UF. Experience as a marketing director.

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The Avenue

Folk band uses old-time instruments for bluegrass feel

By Sarah Arrazola | July 28, 2010

Florida may be burning up, but Greenland is melting.

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The Avenue

Hospice roadshow helps patients

By Erin Rauch | July 28, 2010

A timid young boy and his family held their ticket and waited anxiously in line to have John Sikorski, local antique evaluation expert, evaluate their item.

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The Avenue

Warped Tour survival guide

By THOMAS NASSIFF< | July 21, 2010

The Vans Warped Tour is the largest traveling punk rock festival in America. Founded by Kevin Lyman in 1994, Warped Tour has grown massively and now features bands from a variety of genres playing all across America.

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The Avenue

Improvisors crack up Weimer auditorium

By Lidia Dinkova | July 21, 2010

It was a show with no script, no costumes and no props.

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The Avenue

One last night of music in the back of the bakery

By Erin Rauch | July 21, 2010

Some of us had to look in through the wide window from Northwest Second Street. Most of us were covered in sweat and cheap beer. We were all singing along.

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The Avenue

Rum 101: 100 years of history, revelry and cocktails

By RICHARD STEHLI | July 21, 2010

Rum. Australians overthrew their government for it. The Royal Navy got a daily ration of it until 1970. George Washington demanded it at his 1789 inauguration. Although it’s been around for 100 years, we still drink it like there’s no tomorrow.

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The Avenue

Bootsington T. Cat: A column of reverence befit for a feline king

By DAVE JOHNSON | July 21, 2010

Rarely is a man so great that even the legends written about him fail to truly capture the magnificence of his existence. This is one of those situations. This is an especially unique case, however, because the great man I am writing about is not a man. Readers, put on your monocles and be seated in your favorite fireside chair, for I shall chronicle the life and times of my cat, Boots.

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The Avenue

Ghost Chili Dawg is a test of intestinal fortitude, sanity

By BRITTANY DAVIS | July 21, 2010

The hot dog on my plate frightened me. But as I sat at Gator Dawgs on West University Avenue armed with a half gallon of milk, a loaf of bread and a box of Kleenex, I knew it was too late to back out. I was about to eat a Ghost Chili Dawg, topped with sauce from the bhut jolokia, known as the ghost pepper, the hottest in the world.

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The Avenue

Games you may have missed: ‘Alan Wake’ for Xbox 360

By Josh Isom | July 21, 2010

In a quarter swarming with high-profile sequels like “Red Dead Redemption” and “Super Mario Galaxy 2”, it may have been easy to overlook an original game for something flashy, familiar and safe.
To overlook “Alan Wake,” however, is a fool’s mistake that should be rectified immediately.

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The Avenue

Pornographer worked for NASA before adult-film career

July 21, 2010

When Mike Strother was a kid growing up in the 60s, he wanted to be so many things. He liked science. He pictured himself as a biologist, a chemist, an astronomer and finally an astronaut.

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The Avenue

‘Unspectacular’ talent show debuts at The Laboratory

By Lidia Dinkova | July 13, 2010

On stage at The Laboratory, Tom Miller, clad in a red button-up shirt, hunches over his typewriter, his face hidden behind his sunglasses and a frayed straw hat.

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The Avenue

Dave Johnson’s parents sell house, he gets existential

By DAVE JOHNSON | July 13, 2010

I knew this was coming for years. My parents decided to sell the house so they could live closer to the water and their boat (I don’t blame them. Who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to drink and fish all day with minimal planning and effort?). Once I realized this, every time I came home I acted like it could potentially be the last time I see my house or my hometown of Miami.

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The Avenue

Garden dedication focuses on community improvement

By Erin Rauch | July 13, 2010

Alachua County officials turned soil and heads on Saturday at the Alachua County Administration Building.

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The Avenue

DJ Aoki rallies, electrifies Gainesville party scene

July 13, 2010

DJ-party madness was in full effect July 5, as Gainesville celebrated the Fourth a day late with electro-droppin’, champagne-poppin’ Steve Aoki.

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The Avenue

Saint Somewhere: brewed with pride, bottled with passion

By RICHARD STEHLI | July 13, 2010

Bob Sylvester’s workplace feels a little bit more like a garage project than a brewery.  Despite its storage-unit looks, Tarpon Springs-based Saint Somewhere Brewery has developed a reputation throughout the 20 states to which it is distributed as a brewer of high-quality, Belgian-style beer.

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The Avenue

Roller Rebels recruiting session promotes camaraderie

By Alex Orlando | July 13, 2010

By day, Adrienne Filardo, 22, works as a grant assistant in the UF Department of Neurosurgery. On a typical day of work, she wears a cardigan, skirt and pantyhose – looking “as June Cleaver as possible,” she said. But three nights a week, donning fishnet stockings, short shorts and a thick layer of purple eye shadow, she is Rage-rienne, the roller derby girl, acting as a blocker for her team, the Gainesville Roller Rebels.

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The Avenue

Zumba dance phenomenon combines exercise, rhythm

By Marissa Prieto | July 13, 2010

Kicking off in Colombia and now making it all the way to Gainesville, Zumba is sweeping the nation off its feet (literally) one dance class at a time.