The Boys Weekly Pop Culture Round-up / Plus, Richard's Hipster Pick(s) of the Day / And the LC Polls Have Closed: Get Ready for a New Kind of Blog!

With only one day remaining before the premiere of High School Musical 3, the boys excitement has reached fever pitch!

Chip: "The third film in a series is almost always the best. Look at Return of the Jedi. Damn, those Ewoks were cute! And Godfather III. Sofia Coppola's performance there is just amazing."

Richard: "And don't forget Howling 3: The Marsupials."

Also, Guns N'Roses have finally, "officially" confirmed a release date for their Great White Whale of rock music: Chinese Democracy will hit store shelves on November 23 (unless it doesn't). Guns' manager Andy Gould has said of the album: "Great art sometimes takes time...when they asked Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel, they didn't say, 'Can you do it in the fourth quarter?' so they can make their numbers.'' (Entertainment Weekly).

Richard: "Well, I think we can all agree that G N'R's Appetite for Destruction is a much better work of art than the Sistine Chapel. But I have a feeling this may be a bit of a letdown."

Chip: "How could it not be, with so many other, better rock bands on the scene these days? Such as Scary Kids Scaring Kids."

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One thing hipsters love is scoffing at silly things which are presented in an earnest, self-important fashion (such as the McCain campaign). Tonight at the Jackpot we have something called the Free Form Film Festival, which should be a prime opportunity to laugh at the past. Lawrence.com says:

"The Free Form Film Festival pays its first visit to Lawrence to present the first in a series of media-archeology programs. "Please Self-Help Me" will feature vintage instructional, exercise and self-help videos. The program runs just over an hour and includes excerpts from: "Don‘t Be Afraid of Computers," "Cigars: the New Rage," "Balloon Magic" and Mr. T’s "Be Somebody."

Chip: "Laugh all you want, hipsters. One could do worse than listen to Mr. T. I pity the fool who doesn't take him seriously."

Also on tap for tonight is the 2nd annual Lawrence Zombie Walk, in which a horde of the hipster-undead will travel down Mass. Street from South Park starting at 8:00.

Richard: "Sure, tween girls and dumb Goths may love vampires these days, but hipsters remain ever-faithful to zombies. I'm not sure why. If anyone knows, please write in and explain the appeal of the zombie to the hipster."

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Okay, the LC polls are now closed and our readers have spoken and overwhelmingly prefer that the LC transforms itself into an inspiring place filled with stories of cute baby animals and moving human interest tales and perhaps a selection of the boys' favorite seasonal recipes, such as Richard's special apple-butter.

To begin: The KC-Star reports this week that a dozen rare black-footed ferrets were released in West Kansas in an important ecological restoration project.

Chip: Actually, I'm not sure if this thing is cute or if it's a creepy, weaselly-looking little fucker?"