Turn it up, bring the earplugs THU 2/19 A chance meeting with the Tampa-based noise band Hepatitis Youth outside a recent show in Orlando included a squall of feedback and a few curious onlookers. That’s because they were playing their set outside, in the parking lot. As part of a…

So, you want to start surfing? Just make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Because no matter how fashionable your boardshorts, you’re guaranteed to perform your share of Hawaiian noseplants before even remotely resembling the cast of Blue Crush. If, however, you respect the fact that the ocean…

THU 2/12 The Finnish language is so diplomatic. Did you know it has a word (hän) that means he or she? Forget what you’ve heard about metal bands and ritualistic suicides, Finland is a real cool time. And at FinnFest 2004, you can learn all about the language, food, and…

Women have just one luminary fashion figure to thank for bringing them out of the era of corsets and into the millennium of little black dresses: Coco Chanel. Chanel was the straight-talking, controversial designer who gave the world bold red lipstick, brought costume jewelry into vogue, and stuck shoulder straps…

Since President Hugo Chavez assumed center stage in this South American nation (whether he is playing the role of Robin Hood or Fidel Castro depends on your interpretation), we’ve heard about little else. Well, muchachos y muchachas, the country has a long, fascinating history, and it’s high time you learned…

Don’t be so bourgeois, people. Know that there’s afternoon tea, and then there’s High Tea. No, we’re not talking about the mushroom kind that you scored last summer in Amsterdam. Back in the day, before a fabulous little invention called “lunch,” British folks ate just two main meals — breakfast…

Resist the hypnotic marketing onslaught that leads turkey-bloated Americans into malls on the day after Thanksgiving. Instead, celebrate Buy Nothing Day with random acts of anticonsumerism. Established 10 years ago by the Adbusters Media Foundation (www.adbusters.org), this campaign points out that the world’s most pressing problems — environmental destruction, exploitation…