ARTS& ENTERTAINMENT EE Iain W. =m Internet Super-Highway Hitchhiker This weeks website: Wikipedia We've had some laughs here in the inter- web corner. Everything from cats and bad English, to comics and superman being a . ~ . 4 . jerk. But for the next while I’m going to be turning over a new leaf and giving you a series of websites that are actually useful and may improve yout life, educationally, professionally, sexually, etc. In this new vein, | present to you the godly, the insa- tiable, and the incomparable Wikipedia. When we were kids, having access to an encyclopedia meant one of two things: thumbing through the ‘copy at school, —— would almost ee, be at ye any other encyclopedia I have ever seen. Academia, geography, pop culture, video games, movies, it’s all there. From the moral philosophies of John Stewart Mill, to the inner workings of the circulatory system, to a detailed character profiles for the cast of Saved by the Bell, So how do they do it? Wikipedia is an open reference. This is a new innovation in an entry, but each entry is open to review _ information access where anyone can write _ by others who know about t the topic. Thus, entries are contin lly upda ed by the mot A Shindig for All Ages (Almost) Kevin Lalonde, OP Comboobulator You know it’s a good time for live local music in this town when it gets really cold. Because it always gets cold in November. And November is always when the semifinals of CiTR’s annual battle-of-the-bands-style Shindig competi- tion kicks into gear. Shindig is a 13-week-long competition that takes place every Tuesday night at the Railway Club (Seymour and Dunsmuir) around 9:30pm-ish between September and December every single year. Each week, three bands com- pete for the chance to move on to the next round, until at last, three finalists compete for a grand prize of 20 hours of professional studio recording time to make and release their own CD. Previous winners include the Salteens, Black Rice, Three Inches of Blood, and the Front. And this year is proving to be just as exciting as before. But Shindig isn’t all rock and roll. A few eyebrows were raised last week when Fun 100 beat out electric rockers the Jolts and perennial favorites Rock’n to advance to the finals. Not because Fun 100 is a super-fun mix of indie, rock, and (predominantly) punk, as compared to the straight balls-to- the-walls style of their competitors. It is also because Fun 100 have already released an album and have a brand new EP out on Hockey Dad Records which has already started charting on campus-community radio charts all over BC, even at stations as far away as UNBC’s CFUR Radio in Prince George (number two last week), where it’s too cold to have fun. The question is, why does a band that’s already received national c/c radio cred need a record deal? If they've gone this far, shouldn’t they be able to go the rest of the way on their own? Should they now allow some new up-and-com- ing, less established but equally talented band have the glory? Well, sure, probably, but wouldn’t it be easier to just get in the studio and have 1,000 copies of your CD distrib- uted all over the place? Yeah, probably. And that’s why Fun 100 is busting through to the finals; so make way, bitches. Stay tuned though, the fun has just started. Semifinal round two was this Tuesday, November 22, and featured Hot Loins, Elias, and The Weather. Frankly, I don’t know who won, because I don’t have a crystal ball, and it’s still last week at press time. But Elias kicked total ass, The Weather were wicked, and Hot Loins made me warm, sooo warm. That said, semifinal round three runs November 29, also at the Railway, and will feature Romance, You Say Party! We Say Die!, and The Safety Show (that’s the name of the band, Einstein). Of course, some controversy has been swirling around in regards to the invitation of YSP- WSD to compete in Shindig as well, especially considering their high-profile, nation-wide popularity. However, that dang keyboardist is just so damn cute, she can play where- ever she wants to. Plus, they just seem really nice. Go get em! And don’t forget: Fun 100 battle their two competitors for the top prize at the finals on December 6. No matter what other bands they’re battling, it’ll be sure to be an awe- some night, so be there. Visit www.CiTR.ca for schedules, prizes, and other fun stuff.