You oughta know

Next Wednesday yours truly is playing a solo gig at the Slipper Club in downtown Madison. That's the old Rainbow Room, site of many of my past glories. (No, not that kind of glory.)

I do believe it's my first billed solo show! If you know what I mean. There'll be two sets of country music old and new, original and unoriginal.

The lowdown:

WHEN: Wednesday, Apr. 28, 10:00 p.m.
WHERE: Slipper Club, 121 W. Main St., Madison
HOW MUCH: $3
WHY: Because I like you

Hooray! Kill Bill: Volume 1 is opening at Market Square, the cheap cinema, so anyone who wants to the opener can catch up with it on the big screen before moving on the second installment.

Cash back

After four months, during which I made several phone calls and wrote one nasty email, I finally got a $50 rebate check for the external hard drive I bought last year. The check was two months late, and I can say with near certainty that I had not followed up repeatedly, I never would have gotten the money.

So is this rebate business a scam, or what? The rebates let retailers advertise really attractive prices and gamble that consumers won't be patient, persistent, or (in my case) mule-headed enough to see the rebate process through. I definitely felt silly grubbing for fifty bucks, but my Scots nature triumphed in the end.

Now, what shall I spend the $50 on? Oh yes, rent and food.