If you weren't able to get tickets for the Green Room's weekend presentations of Assassins, I'm guessing you weren't alone, as all three performances wound up selling out. But over the next two weekends, I urge you to try again - there are scenes in director Derek Bertelsen's production that are so good they'll give you the chills. And the scenes that don't? They're pretty amazing, too.

Genesius Guild's season-ender opens with a visual gag so wonderfully surprising that I wouldn't dream of describing it, and closes with a slapstick chase so wonderfully goofy that I couldn't describe it if I wanted to.

Mel Brooks' musical The Producers - currently being produced at the Timber Lake Playhouse - received 12 Tony Awards in 2001, more than any Broadway musical before or since. And so I say this with all the deference and reverence that Brooks' historic achievement deserves: When Timber Lake's Justin Banta was throwing himself around the stage as a mincing Adolph Hitler in the show-within-a-show Springtime for Hitler, I was laughing so hard I almost freakin' wet myself.

All things considered, Friday night's presentation of Chicago at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre was pretty darned impressive.

Due to a production error, page 25 in the August 6, 2008, edition of the Reader was reprinted from a previous issue. As a result, the published calendar, Red Meat cartoon, crossword answers, and City Shorts column were incorrect.

The correct page 25 can be downloaded or viewed here.

I have a certain admiration for Rob Gordon, John Cusack's character in the 2000 film High Fidelity. Although flawed by a heavy case of snobbery, living by the maxim that the more you like something, the more you insult the majority of it, he had such a strong passion for music that he had to make it his life's work.

It seems as though the Quad Cities have their own Rob Gordon (rather, a duo) who have made their passion also their business, making it a must-visit for any music fan in this area. To be fair, Jorge and Amber Tapia, owners of Mixtapes located at 830 15th Avenue in East Moline, carry a different disposition than Cusack's character; they leave the elitism at the door. It seems as though they have developed their own maxim: the more you like something, the more you want to share it with as many people as possible.

Obviously we're not meant to take The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor seriously, as it's a fantasy in which Brendan Fraser kicks the crap out of Jet Li. But honestly, even on this harmlessly dopey franchise's own lowbrow terms, could director Rob Cohen's installment be any more witless?

Iron Man started the summer on May 2, and The Dark Knight signified the end with its release on July 18. Based on what we've seen in recent weeks - and the uninspiring upcoming release calendar - that's how Hollywood is marking the season these days.

We began the week by recording one of the world's hottest young bands, The Black Kids, and one that should definitely be watched in the next year - Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears. The Austin band will be back touring through the Midwest in October with Okkervil River and Crooked Fingers, and early indications from them are that there might be a hole in their schedule that would allow the tour to come through the Quad Cities.

I will start by taking for granted that most people feel that our economy is struggling and that higher prices are being felt.  But why is our economy struggling? 

One of the biggest reasons is inflation.  So, what exactly is inflation and why is it a problem?  Inflation has recently been redefined as a rise in prices; however, real inflation is an increase in the money supply (a.k.a. printing money and credit out of thin air), and this leads to overall higher prices.

For our dollar, the increase in the money supply has been alarming and devastating to everyday Americans.  The money supply inflation has been at about 15 percent, which is much higher than most Americans' yearly pay raise.  This is devastating to Americans because our earnings and savings are worth less and less; for example, it takes $3.60 to buy a gallon of gas instead of $2.