Author: Paul Stukel

Welcome to our latest edition of Fox Valley Magazine’s 4 FOR THE WEEKEND where we don’t slap comedians….we hire someone to do it for us. So let’s get to it, starting with….. ROCK OF AGES Opens at the Paramount You want over-the-top?  We’ll give you over-the-top. (In a good way.) Paramount’s Broadway Series continues with  the opening of Rock of Ages, a wild and joyous celebration of rock’s past. Well, if you consider the 80s to be, you know, the past.  Seems like it was only a few minutes ago….damn. Anyway, the show was nominated for five Tony Awards, so…

Congratulations, fellow denizens of the Fox Valley.  We made it through. The vast, gray, frozen wasteland that is February is now behind us, and hope springs eternal in the hearts of all Midwesterners. No, misery and evil have not yet been eradicated from the world. The catastrophic events in Ukraine serve to remind us of that. But March provides the first hint of dawn, the orange-red shoots of light springing from the horizon. Not yet providing actual warmth, but pregnant with its anticipation. For whatever reason, March is an evocative month for me. Growing up downstate in Champaign, the weather…

Welcome to our latest edition of Fox Valley Magazine’s 4 FOR THE WEEKEND where the bell tolls for thee. So let’s get to it, starting with….. Why Is The “First” Friday Privileged? (Just burnishing our “woke” creds.) Yes, it’s the first Friday of the month and we all know what that means – time to turn the calendar page. (Do people still use actual calendars?) It also means that it’s First Fridays in downtown Aurora, and that’s a good thing. The list of activities during this monthly event is too long to list….although, come to think of it, that’s exactly…

Welcome to our latest edition of Fox Valley Magazine’s 4 FOR THE WEEKEND where bowling is considered a contact sport. So let’s get to it, starting with….. Weee’re Baaack! OK, men. Brace yourselves. While we know that you were out of the woods until at least April regarding farmers marketing, I’m afraid we’ve got bad news. They’re back. Our only defense is that we’re in the deep, dark winter, and treating your special someone to a nice farmers market (note: adult beverages available!) will warm you both. Or at least that’s our theory… Click here for more. Gimme Some Of…

Miles Over Mountains and Chanson du Chat take over The Venue in Aurora this weekend. MILES OVER MOUNTAINS with Pete Jive openingFriday, January 14 8pm Advance Admission – Premium Seating – $15 Advance General Admission – $10. +$5 door Hailing from McHenry, IL Miles Over Mountains plays a modernized style of progressive bluegrass covering a wide spectrum of genres, dynamics, and feeling. Their live catalogue draws from their studio albums “Five Star Heart Breaker” (2015), “Ballads & Burners” (2017), and “Work Harder Not Smarter” (2020). The band has been performing, touring, and making records since early 2014 playing an average…

Is Shaw Media a news outlet or a shill for the Democratic Party? It’s coverage of a poorly-attended (maybe 15 people?) protest in Geneva on the anniversary of the riot at the US Capitol last year should raise serious doubts. In an article posted yesterday on Shaw’s Kane County Chronicle website, a Shaw reporter basically cobbled together a group of blatantly partisan press releases from Democratic activist groups regarding a “Vigil for Democracy” protest to be held in Geneva and other communities around the country and posted it as “news,” calling into question the objectivity of both the reporter and…

(The Michigan defensive line preparing to begin the second half against Georgia Friday evening.) The Presidents of all Big Ten Conference schools called an emergency meeting Friday night after witnessing a shocking resurgence of the dreaded “Harbaugh Variant.” A visibly shaken Kevin Warren, the Big Ten Commissioner, met the press shortly after the 10-minute meeting concluded. “In the interest of the Big Ten Conference, its students, staff and alumni, and all that is holy, we must act,” he said between sobs. “Effective immediately, we are enacting a post-season quarantine of the University of Michigan’s football program up to and until…

What is the purpose of life? Am I loved? Where do I fit in the vast universe? Is “Die Hard” really a Christmas movie? By Paul Stukel, Editor It’s Christmastime again. Which means it’s time to once again struggle with the existential questions of life: What is the purpose of life? Am I loved? Where do I fit in the vast universe? Is “Die Hard” really a Christmas movie? Well, for some of us, this season reminds us of the answer to the first three questions. The fourth, however, remains a mystery. Ok, so I don’t really want to get…

For my fellow parents and Santas out there: