It's over.

Not because giant fiberglass humanoids are menacing America's highways. I'm talking about summer. Just as Memorial Day is its unofficial beginning, Labor Day is its unofficial end, and the holiday weekend is fast approaching.

Although, giant fiberglass humanoids ARE menacing America's highways -- many, not all that far from the Elgin area. They're kitschy, oversized pop sculptures, once part of a nationwide fad, now part of a disappearing (or disentigrating) breed called "Muffler Men."

The Elgin area's one example, a Streamwood tire-barn cowboy named "Big Ben," rode off to that great roundup in the sky 10 years ago this fall. Reporter Dave Gathman wrote about Ben and his remaining (albeit wooden) counterparts, The Pained Minuteman and 10-foot wooden Santa and Snowman, earlier this summer.

Now that summer -- or, as I like to think of it, Road Trip Season -- is coming to an end, I thought it might be a good idea to revisit the Muffler Men, et al, perhaps even in person. We at The Courier-News haven't verified that all these guys are around (other than our wooden locals), but if if you're feeling brave, or just not ready to say goodbye to summer, you can take one last day trip to go Muffler Man-spotting, not that far from Elgin. And send us pictures, please!

Learn more about Muffler Men from RoadsideAmerica.com. And have a happy Labor Day!

-- Emily McFarlan, Readers' Reporter

When I started working at The Courier-News almost exactly three years ago, one of the things then-Managing Editor Mike Bailey tasked me with was creating the role of the Readers' Reporter at the newspaper.

It was something I had done previously at an intern at our sister paper, the Naperville Sun: Run my phone number and e-mail address in the paper for readers to contact me with story ideas. Run a column every week in the newspaper with the stories that came out of those readers' ideas.

The idea was to tell the stories of ordinary residents doing extraordinary things, and of the odds and ends and goings-on they were involved in in our communities. And over the years, you've called in with some pretty great ideas. I've met former Olympians and the man responsible for destroying the shopping center in The Blues Brothers. I've been to the set and premiere of a zombie movie filmed in Elgin and gotten my personality analyzed at the Scientology mission, also in Elgin.

But today's column, about a 61-year-old South Elgin woman who recently ran her first half-marathon -- with arthritis, even! -- will be my last in The Courier-News.

What about your story ideas?! After the jump.

NOTE: In a revival of this "classic" Friday feature, Courier-News reporter Mike Danahey guesses how much beer (or other beverage of choice) it might take him to pay money to see a recently-released movie. His opinions are based on trailers, ads and advance hype.

Here are some movies playing this weekend...

Takers

Oh, Matt Dillon, what has happened to your career? Here you are in a heist movie with a rapper who is in jail (T.I.) and a soul singer who beat his girlfriend (Chris Brown). You got your mind on your money and your money on your mind? Ouch.

Beer rating: I'm giving up drinking this week. No amount of beer could get me to see either of these movies. What a lousy summer it's been at the cinema.

The Last Exorcism, after the jump.

NOTE: Freelance writer Jason Duarte books shows in Elgin and Chicago, is part of a band and blogs about the local music scene Wednesdays exclusively on Between the Bylines.

I wasn't aware downtown Elgin had a vinyl-exclusive record store until Between the Bylines editor Emily McFarlan added a link to Rediscover Records' Facebook page at the end of one of my previous posts. Intrigued, I looked up its whereabouts and decided to check it out.

I walked past it a couple of times until I realized the shop shared space with an antique store at 207 E. Chicago St. On the right side are records, and the rest of the store is chandeliers, mirrors, glassware and other antiques. The nostalgia of the records blends right.

I approached the vinyl corner of the store, and the first thing that caught my eye was the $1 LP crates. I am a big fan of these, so I scoured through them. Most of what they had was classic rock and pop, but they also carried punk and metal albums by bands like The Clash, The Cult, Talking Heads, Ministry and Black Sabbath.

Find out what else Jason discovered, his review of the shop, after the jump.

(NOTE: Here's to you, "A Chance in Hell." And you, Kevin. Reporter Mike Danahey's put together a zombie-themed playlist in your honor. Enjoy!)

-- Mike Danahey, Staff Writer

NOTE: In this regular feature, Courier-News reporter Mike Danahey usually guesses how much beer (or other beverage of choice) it might take him to pay money to see a recently-released movie. His opinions usually are based on trailers, ads and advance hype.

Usually. Until now...

A Chance in Hell

Believe it or not, I actually went to a movie, Supporting a local artist, I headed out to the Arcada last week for a screening of Tony Wash's Nazi zombie flick. Actually, it was more like a visual proposal, the first 30 minutes of a movie Wash would like to make on a bigger budget. He claims there is interest from producers to expand his opus and make the movie in Hungary -- which is the perfect name for a country where you would make a film about famished flesh eaters.

The night featured the behind-the-scenes DVD extras, too, which is pretty weird if you think about it. We're getting insight into a movie that MIGHT be made. Trippy. We also saw trailers for some indie films made by some of Wash's buddies and a short Wash made in Pittsburgh about a Realtor who is eaten by a monster living in the basement of a house she's showing.

Onto the actual movie review, its beer rating and KEVIN, after the jump.

With vampires the monster du jour, we asked a group of folks who gather in the Fox Valley every Monday night to take part in game where they pretend they are creatures of the night a little bit about their unusual hobby.

We tell their stories in today's "Storyteller" in The Courier-News. Here's what they had to say, in their own words:

Jessica "Jessi" Quigley

I've been LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) since my freshman year of high school in 2001. We were really bored before school started, and someone happened to have the books.

My character (Lady Anne) is capped on her traits at 11's across the board in Social, Physical, and Mental, but with her social merits, it adds up to 15 for Socials.*

I enjoy the release gaming gives from the everyday norm. It's great to hang out with my friends, improvise with a set character sheet and let out the steam, then go home and know that no matter how emotionally involved the night was, we're all still just a group of friends hanging out and enjoying a game together.

(*NOTE: In the game "Vampire: The Masquerade," players take on roles using character sheets, which they use to determine how evolved their characters are along a series of traits. The higher the number, the more evolved that character is for that particular trait.)

More LARPers share their stories, after the jump.

NOTE: In a revival of this "classic" Friday feature, Courier-News reporter Mike Danahey guesses how much beer (or other beverage of choice) it might take him to pay money to see a recently-released movie. His opinions are based on trailers, ads and advance hype.

Here are some movies playing this weekend...

Nanny McPhee

A sequel to a movie that looks like a rip-off of Mary Poppins and that brought in $100 million.

Beer rating: Bass Ale and my fuzzy slippers while I stay home for my own personal Julie Andrews film festival.


Piranha 3D, Vampires Suck, Lottery Ticket, The Switch, after the jump.

NOTE: Courier-News freelance writer Janelle Walker has signed up for the second round of the "Elgin's Biggest Loser" challenge. Participants weigh in Wednesday nights, and Janelle is blogging the experience exclusively for The Courier-News.

I've been good. My friends have commented on how good I have been, how I manage to turn down things that are "not on the diet." They are commenting on how they can see the 20-pound loss on me, in my face and neck.

That didn't stop me, however, from completely blowing my diet on Tuesday night.

That's right, the night before the second-to-last weigh-in, I ate a chocolate brownie cookie, a couple of small slices of lemon cake, a scoop of potato salad and a couple of other things that, while not horribly bad, were not exactly part of the regimen.

The wheels have not come back on my exercise regiment since I got back from my high school class reunion, and I have to get back on the Gazelle and get my hour in a day. But, even on Thursday, other things took over -- like the dishes that had piled up, the stories that needed to get written... the blog post that Emily had to pester me about.

Still, I was down just around one pound at Wednesday's weigh-in, but I know it could have been better.

I think the question that I need to ask myself is "Why, Janelle, are you undermining your own success?"

Ah, here is where the introspection starts.

The introspection continues, after the jump.

NOTE: Freelance writer Jason Duarte books shows in Elgin and Chicago, is part of a band and blogs about the local music scene Wednesdays exclusively on Between the Bylines.

Gruff and throaty, yet melodic punk rock band The Brokedowns made a name for themselves around Elgin and Chicago late last century and have maintained a loyal fan base throughout.

In 1998, the Elgin four-piece released a demo tape followed by a few demo CD-Rs before the band saw its debut full-length release, "Let the Disappointment Begin," on Big Action Records in 2002. Since then, the band's released two more full-lengths and a handful of split 7-inches with other punk rock bands, like The Copyrights, The Arrivals, Turkish Techno and Sass Dragons.

The Brokedowns haven't had a full-length release since 2007's "New Brain For Everyone," but in June, an indie label with a successful catalog based out of Chicago called Red Scare Records decided it would put out the new Brokedowns album and added them to its roster of Teenage Bottlerocket, The Menzingers, The Lillingtons and others.

"There's so much going on right now with the label, and as we all know, these are bleak times for small indies like Red Scare," said label owner Tobias Jeg in a punknews.org article.

"But when I heard these songs, I just knew I had to make this happen. It reminds me of
Dillinger Four meets Black Flag meets (Naked) Raygun meets F***ed Up. It's thunderous punk rock but with great, stinging melodies and a little bit of fruitiness to make things fun."

Jeg will release the band's fourth full-length, "Species Bender," on Sept. 14.

A sneak peek at the album, upcoming shows, after the jump

NOTE: Carpentersville-based Community Unit School District 300 students headed back to school yesterday. But what did they do on their summer vacations? Well, Jessica Jordan of Hampshire High School shadowed Courier-News reporter Katie Anderson for a day.

Jessica shares what she learned about journalism and your hometown newspaper...

I was able to go and spend the day with Katie Anderson at The Courier-News building and follow her to see what a day as a journalist is like. It was a very good experience seeing what someone does. I was able to look into the career and see what type of work being a journalist is really about.

Being in high school is a challenge, and to really decide what sort of career path you want to go into is not easy. The opportunity to visit and work with people in different careers helps with making a decision and at least gives students a better idea of the career they are interested in.

First thing on the agenda for the day was to visit the court house. While there, we went to the court room and were able to listen to the police reports from the night before, also known as bond hearings. I found it interesting listening to the penalties the judge gives. It was an exciting environment to be in and to watch the way Katie took notes. Her notes had very few words and little about the person in trouble. It seems like you need to be able to remember a lot about the morning and be able to write it all later.

Was the Courier just like the newsrooms you see in movies? Find out, after the jump!

(PHOTO: The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps of Rosemont perform "Mad World" July 1 in Oswego. Courtesy of cavaliers.org.)

Last Thursday, I headed over to the AMC in South Barrington, plopped down my $18 and attended the live simulcast of the quarterfinals of the Drum Corps International World Championships taking place at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, the same place where Payton Manning makes a living.

I don't know what I found more disturbing -- the middle-aged woman in the row in front of me sitting with her legs up on a railing as if she were going to give birth OR that a good many of the bands played scary shows.

Times are tough, and it's reflected in the performances, which, for the uninitiated, can seem strange anyway.

Take, for instance, the Cavaliers of Rosemont. The theme of the group's 12-minute show was "Mad World," that Tears for Fears song remade a few years ago as a haunting ballad.

The drill team in the all-male Cavaliers was dressed in trench coats, which was way too much of a reminder of Columbine for my tastes. Actually, after looking at Cavalier pictures online, the coats also recall Billy Idol videos from the 1980s. The team bellowed military chants about their rifles as they twirled and contorted. They formed a "Mad Circle" with some props, too. And, when the corps performed the Charlie Chaplin chestnut "Smile," the members donned white masks.

I half expected Heath Ledger to return from the dead as the Joker during the performance, which also seemed like an outtake from the director's cut of the last Batman flick.

As of Thursday night, the Cavaliers were in second place, behind the Blue Devils from California.

More scarily fabulous, or fabulously scary, drum corps performances (including the corps from nearby Rockford), after the jump.

Community Unit School District 300 students head back to class today, earlier than ever.

And the Carpentersville-based school district knows its teachers, its administrators, its custodians -- and its communities -- will be doing more with less this school year. That's the message behind the district's first "Superintendent's 'Welcome Back'" video, posted on D300.org late last week...

As The Courier-News' education reporter, I'll be out at the schools all day today with reporter Katie Anderson -- and all year. I want to hear your stories about doing more with less, about your concerns over the state budget's impact on the district, about your students' accomplishments. Send me your back to school photos, tell me your stories, here on Between the Bylines, at emcfarlan@stmedianetwork.com or at 847-888-7773.

-- Emily McFarlan, Readers' Reporter

There's a list somewhere, now lost in my old computer, of all the people who've come and gone from The Courier-News newsroom over the last 10 years. Some retired. Some moved on to new jobs. Some have been laid off. The last count was something like 100.

I'll be adding my name to the list. Today is my last day at the Courier.

While I am very excited to move on to the next phase of my career, the Courier is a special place for me. It's been my home for more than 17 years.

It seems like this newspaper always has been a part of my life in some way. My parents have been reading the Courier for more than 40 years. I remember as a child coming to the newspaper for a tour of the building. Back then, you could get a tour of the newsroom, the distribution center and look down at the printing press. I met my husband at a Courier-News hangout one night after work with friends who got me to sing "The Devil Went Down To Georgia." It was my voice that won him over -- at least that's my version of the story. Last year, my friends here threw a baby shower welcoming my twins.

Read more of Gloria's memories of the Courier, share your memories of Gloria's work here, after the jump.

NOTE: In a revival of this "classic" Friday feature, Courier-News reporter Mike Danahey guesses how much beer (or other beverage of choice) it might take him to pay money to see a recently-released movie. His opinions are based on trailers, ads and advance hype.

Here are some movies playing this weekend...

The Expendables

By the title, I thought this movie might be about me, which would make me want to see it, because it's all about me. Then I find out it has all the middle-aged and older action heroes, plus my better looking evil twins, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bruce Willis. And it's written and directed and stars Sylvester Stallone, who seems even creepier than Mickey Rourke.

Beer rating: A six pack of Old Style Light.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Eat Pray Love, after the jump.

NOTE: Courier-News freelance writer Janelle Walker has signed up for the second round of the "Elgin's Biggest Loser" challenge. Participants weigh in Wednesday nights, and Janelle is blogging the experience exclusively for The Courier-News.

I haven't completely given up on blogging about Elgin's Biggest Loser. I just got very preoccupied last week, with the Frock Swap and all, and had no time to get it done. Thank you, Emily, for not asking.

I've been very good about the diet, and even with minimal workouts I have been averaging about 2 lbs. of weight loss a week. Now that the FS is over, I have to get back into my daily Gazelle routine. Apparently, running your BLANK off is really not as effective as really running for weight loss.

I will give readers an update, though. As of Wednesday's weigh-in... 19.7 pounds.

Yes, since June 2, I am nearly 9 percent smaller than I was when this started. I'm in a size smaller jeans and am seriously eyeing some smaller shirts and looking fondly at two dresses I am considering for the wedding I have in D.C. in October.

What's worked -- and HASN'T worked -- for Janelle, after the jump.

For all you amateur astronomers, I have great news: The Perseids meteor shower will be at its peak tonight through Friday at dawn!

Residents who get away from city lights and look up should be able to see the Perseids shower with the naked eye. And this year, like last year, is expected to be meteor-rich with about 50 streaks of light per hour.

Although the meteors are often called "shooting stars," the lights you'll see in the sky this week are not really stars. The streaks are small bits of interplanetary debris from the tail end of a comet (109 P-Swift-Tuttle, to be exact.) The light is produced when the debris crashes and burns high in Earth's atmosphere.

More about meteors, viewing tips, after the jump.

NOTE: Reporter Gloria Carr wrote Wednesday's Courier-News cover story, Sick About It. In the article, she detailed the Kane County Board's decision Tuesday to cut 62 Health Department employees, move nine service programs and end two entirely. The board cited budget crisis.

(Pictured: Kane County Board member Bonnie Kunkel questions Health Department Executive Director Paul Kuehnert Tuesday during the board meeting.)

Big news stories, like the Kane County Board's vote this week to turn over some of its social service programs to federally funded agencies and lay off 62 employees, tend to become hectic. The stories sometimes seem to run together as you try to cover different aspects of an issue.

To be honest, the Kane County Health Department issue was starting to get repetitious. The arguments were sounding all the same. The outcome was almost predictable.

Following a two-and-a-half-hour meeting, I found myself thinking, "Let's get on with this vote."

Following that vote, there were a lot of things going on with reporters -- all trying to talk to everyone involved to get comments. I was among that group, trying to figure out who might comment, when I saw a young woman who I thought had been sitting with a group of people I was pretty sure were health department employees.

What changed Gloria's thinking, after the jump.

NOTE: Freelance writer Jason Duarte books shows in Elgin and Chicago, is part of Rex Catapult and blogs about the local music scene Wednesdays exclusively on Between the Bylines.

Today, MP3 players and car CD players make it easy for us to listen to music on the go, as opposed to just a few decades ago, when we'd have to sit at home within earshot of analog audio. But did you know that although digital formats have replaced vinyl records, many record labels are still pressing albums to vinyl for those of us who do like to sit at home and listen to music?

And, being there is a small, but present demand for vinyl records, labels are making it easy for vinyl enthusiasts to take part in the luxury that is "music on the go" without having to buy the album on two different audio formats.

In the past couple of years, purchasing vinyl came with a nice added perk. Depending on if the label chooses to or not, many records now come with a slip of paper containing a URL and a one-time use download code.

The coolest part about this is, you have the music in its raw analog format on the record, which some would argue sounds better and more full because what you're hearing is the raw, recorded sound that needed no condensing or converting. (Digital audio is condensed from its original analog format.)

In other words, digital audio doesn't capture the complete analog sound wave, but takes "snapshots" of it (digital takes 44,100 "snapshots" per second). So, if there is a very quick transition in say, a trumpet, the digital version may sound distorted because the instrument's fast change doesn't carry over to digital as fluid as it would sound recorded as it was played. Converting it is approximating the original sound, at best. Get it?

More about getting records, free digital versions, after the jump.

There was a lot of, "Ooh!" and, "Lucky You!" from friends -- both real life and on Facebook -- when I told them I was going to be at Lollapalooza on Saturday.

The reality, though, is while I was going to be on the grounds during the big concert festival at Grant Park in Chicago, I wasn't going for the music. Instead, I offered to work the booth for Hoosier Mama Pie Company, an artesian pie shop owned by friends in the city.

I figured even though it would be a working evening, I'd still be able to hear SOME of the music, and if nothing else, it still would be a worthwhile blog post.

The pie, the people and all the rest, after the jump.

Oh, sure. Chicago had Lollapalooza Saturday for the wannabe hipsters. All 100,000 of them. And there was a Cubs game for those who like to drink while watching the most disappointing team in baseball. And the Boystown neighborhood regaled with Market Days, where you could shop for leather goods while being serenaded by Jon Secada.

But out here in the Fox Valley the first weekend in August means one thing -- the faeries descending on Vasa Park in South Elgin for the very best fest of the season.

The World of Faeries Festival.

Where else could you see Victoria's Secret models with wings mingle with Casual Male XL models dressed in their woodsy best (or dressed like the outfield wall at Wrigley Field)? Either way, the big boys had ivy all over them. From Michael's, the craft shop, in most cases.

That's where Jason "Maplesap" got a good deal of his garb. No, he's not a Canadian hockey player. Maplesap is Jason's make-believe name in the world of the Beneficent Order of the Greenmen. You can look them up at BogBrothers.org, which seems like it should be the website for a Celtic folk band. Instead, it's a group of guys, maybe 150 of them across the nation, who gather at Ren Fairs and other such pagan pageants to acts as bouncers of the bogs, guardians of the greenery, protectors of the plants, the fathers of the forest -- and to toss nuts at people for good luck.

More about Maplesap, other faerie fest-goers, after the jump.

Here at The Courier-News, we like to think of ourselves as "The Newspaper of Record for Faeries and other Magickal Peoples since 1874."

OK, maybe not, but between Readers' Reporter Emily McFarlan's 5 Questions with a fairy costumer, freelance writer Janelle Walker's coverage of the event and staff writer Mike Danahey gonzo festival crashing, we assembled a formidable team to cover South Elgin's World of Faeries Festival this past weekend.

Here are Emily and Janelle's articles...

• Fairy festival flies back into S. Elgin


• A fairy entertaining costume maker

And Danahey's photos from his magickal adventures...

www.flickr.com The Courier-News' South Elgin World of Faeries Festival 8/7/10 photoset

Did you attend the World of Faeries Festival? Share your summer festival-going stories here!

--Emily McFarlan, Staff Writer

NOTE: In a revival of this "classic" Friday feature, Courier-News reporter Mike Danahey guesses how much beer (or other beverage of choice) it might take him to pay money to see a recently-released movie. His opinions are based on trailers, ads and advance hype.

Here are some movies playing this weekend...

The Other Guys

Yet another cop buddy pic, this time with sexy Mark Wahlberg and dorky Will Ferrell. Derek Jeter has a cameo as himself. The cast also includes characters listed as "rastas." You think there are going to be any marijuana jokes?

Beer rating: How about I save the $10 ticket price, buy a growler at a brew pub instead, head home, flip through cable and find some Bruce Willis movie from the 80s?

Step Up 3D, Twelve, after the jump.

NOTE: Freelance writer Jason Duarte books shows in Elgin and Chicago, sings backup in Rex Catapult and blogs about the local music scene Wednesdays exclusively on Between the Bylines.

After devouring a delicious sub sandwich for dinner, I headed over to Mad Maggie's (51 S. Grove Ave., Elgin) Monday night to catch a good ol' weeknight punk show. Headlining were The Dopamines, touring from Ohio in support of their new album, "Expect the Worst," out on Paper and Plastick Records. And supporting were some great Elgin/Chicago bands that have a tightly-knit following, but always have flown under the radar.

Elgin's The House That Gloria Vanderbilt and Bi-Furious and Chicago's Das Kapital opened the show. The House That Gloria Vanderbilt features Todd Pot, better-known as the vocalist from his former band, Apocalypse Hoboken. Bi-Furious features members of Elgin's Vacation Bible School and Sass Dragons, and Das Kapital features Marc Ruvalo, owner of Johann's Face Records. Vacation Bible School and Rex Catapult were supposed to play but couldn't.

More on the Elgin bands, links, after the jump.

Ready... Set... SOUND OFF!

Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed a bill that would that would have brought up to an estimated $22 million to Elgin School District U46 in the new school year. Even if that bill had passed, the state of Illinois still owes U46 about $24 million for the 2009-2010 school year.

In Community Unit School District 300, officials are estimating the just-started 2010-2011 school year could end with as much as a $11 million deficit. That state owes the Carpentersville-based district about $12 million for the last school year.

Both districts have made cuts to their budgets for the current school year to make up for that funding gap, slashing teachers, transportation and some programs. (Read more recent news on The Courier-News' "Schools" page.)

Here's your chance to sound off. Open season. Do you agree with the cuts that have been made? Disagree? How have you or your children been affected? Share your thoughts on the state's school funding crisis here.

--Emily McFarlan, Staff Writer