Usually the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest nights in the bars and clubs. Spending all day with the family can sometimes lead to the need to "twist one off." Barstool Magazine is hosting their Launch Party at Belvedere at 1131 Uptown Park on Wednesday night. Click the box to the left in this newsletter to take a peek at the invitation. If the SUPREME first issue of this magazine is any indication of how slammin' the Launch Party will be, this event is one NOT to be missed!

Christopher Parkening and Jubilant Sykes will perform Wednesday, November 30th at 8:00 PM at Jones Hall. For group tickets, you should contact Michael Coppens at 713-632-8113 or email mcoppens@spahouston.org. This is a unique holiday event for the whole family. Christopher Parkening's classical guitar virtuosity melds beautifully with the gospel and jazz influenced baritone of Jubilant Sykes. This special show features all-time Christmas favorites such as Away in the Manger, Deck the Halls, Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, as well as, spirituals such as Go Tell it on the Mountain and He's Got the Whole World in His Hands. Come to enjoy the show, and you will leave inspired about this holiday season.

Attention ALL MY CHILDREN soap opera fans: The gorgeous and talented, Tanisha Lynn, who portrays Danielle Frye on the steamy soap will make a guest appearance this week and will have her photographs to autograph from 8:00-10:00PM at 6° Lounge this Friday, November 25th. Please come to meet her. She also stars in the "Jen, did you wear my black shirt last night?" Secret Deodorant commercial. More about this rising star at www.tanishalynn.com. If you are an "All My Kids" Fan, this is an event you won't want to miss! Bring Grandmom, your cousins, Aunts etc.

Deep Dish will be at the Meridian (1503 Chartres) on Wednesday, November 23rd for a FIVE-hour set, along with over 12 other DJs throwing sets into the mix for one amazing holiday bash. This event is sponsored by Billy Blatty, Disco Donnie, Sean Carnahan, My City Rocks, Spacetaker and the Houston Press.

Get presale tickets and avoid the lines and the door charge. Doors open from 9PM-4AM, it's 18 and up and you can get more 411 or buy tickets by clicking to www.77002.com.

Late Night Saturday, November 26th, BEYOND Entertainment's Spoiled Boyz will present DISKO: The Thanksgiving Weekend After-Hours Event at SHADOW BAR, located at 213 Milam. DISKO features the dance beats of Miami's Producer/Remix Artist/DJ Yvette Fernandez. Disco/70's/Studio 54 attire is encouraged. Advance tickets are $15 and are available at M2M Fashion. Doors will open 3:30AM. To obtain event info or to sign-up for future event announcements, please visit www.spoiledboyz.net.

ENVY Magazine presents "Black Wednesday" at Club Next on Thanksgiving Eve, starting at 8PM. Go see the fire dancers, suspended cabaret show, beautiful people, two sided bathroom mirrors and much more all for the low price of $10 at the door. You also get free cocktails and hors d'oeuvres from 8-10PM. Wear black and dress to express. Next is at 2020 McKinney at St. Emmanuel. Register for the VIP list and skip cover and line at www.envyhouston.com. For more info about Next, visit www.whatsnexthouston.com.

TURKEY DAY: The Twelve Spot (218 Travis) is hosting a party on Thursday, November 24th from 8:00-2:00. There is no cover and drinks are Industry prices from 11PM until closing. Beats served by DJ Krysiz. Mantra (711 Main) will be open on Thanksgiving with DJ's Gaurav (NYC) and Yogi G (Mahabeatz, KPFT 90.1 FM.)

I happen to work at some of my favorite places. Here are their holiday hours. 6° Lounge (911 Franklin) is open Wednesday through Saturday for the holiday weekend. New Birth Brass Band will play at St. Pete's (300 Main) on Friday and Saturday. Opus is wide open for you to play with all your friends and family Friday, Saturday and Wednesday, but will be closed on Thanksgiving. The Flat is open regular hours for Thanksgiving weekend, Wednesday- Friday 5PM-2PM and on Saturday and Sunday 8PM-2AM. I'll be bouncing around between all these places.

Join the best of the New Orleans music scene and celebrate Bayou Classic Weekend in style on Saturday, November 25th for "A Taste of New Orleans" Music Festival featuring performances from Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers, Sister Teedy Boutte and Rebirth Brass Band at the Engine Room (1515 Pease) for one-night-only. Proceeds from the event will benefit the New Orleans Tremi Musicians Fund. The 32nd Annual State Farm Bayou Classic has relocated to Houston and the city is rolling out the red carpet in honor of the event with live entertainment, great food and more. This year's Bayou Classic football game between historic rivals Southern University Jaguars and Grambling State University Tigers will be held on Saturday, November 26th at Reliant Stadium.

RENT is back and what better way to work off those Thanksgiving calories than by dancing your ass off at RENT at the Meridian (1503 Chartres.) Show the out-of-towners how we do it in Houston. As far as the music goes, there'll be Brotha Jibril, Little Martin and Charlie Perez on percussion and Selecteur Thomas de Paris will be in the 'Barry White Room'. For tickets, visit http://www.upsidedownhouse.com.

NEED LIMOS? One of my employers, R&R Partnership, Inc. offers a variety of transportation options, each of which is manned by a knowledgeable and reliable licensed-commercial driver to accommodate you and your guests. Based upon the desires and size of your group, we have several types of vehicles to fit your needs. If you have a specific request for a vehicle style that I haven't mentioned below, please let us know and we may be able to meet those specifications. Our Shuttle Bus provides seating for up to 24 people. Our luxury limousines include 2005 models with the latest amenities and will seat 10 people comfortably. We also provide Cadillac Sedans that seat 4 passengers for your smaller groups and/or for airport transportation. The most spectacular addition to our fleet is our Limousine Party Bus that seats 20 passengers. It is equipped with A/C, stereo, TV/VCR, perimeter leather seating, a wet bar and abundant cooler space for beverages. R&R also offers valet services for your All-Star events and parties. Should you need further information on any of our services or transportation, please contact Carla DiBartola at 713-977-0088. Tell her the Queen referred you.

SINGLES SCENE: On Thursday, December 1st Houston Single Source brings the Wine and Cheese Tasting party to you at a favorite local gallery, Bering and James (2482 Bolsover.) Enjoy fine wines courtesy of Llano Winery (www.Llanowine.com) and Bering and James will be previewing their holiday special "$100 Boxes" prior to the public showing. The event is 6-9PM. For more details, or to RSVP visit www.houstonsinglesource.com or call 713-630-0546. Visit www.8minutedating.com and www.pre-dating.com for SPECTACULAR upcoming events at 6° Lounge, the Flat (1701 Commonwealth) and St. Pete's Dancing Marlin (300 Main.) These events are great ways to meet new friends and possibly a potential mate. Young Active Professionals is hosting an evite at St. Pete's Dancing Marlin on December 15th. Visit www.yapclub.com to join a cool club that offers social and other types of activities. http://www.evite.com/madchatter@hotmail.com/YAPmixer.

Want to know what's going on at Crome? Crome is HOT right now! They are located at 2815 S. Shepherd Dr., see www.cromelounge.com. Yes, that IS the way the place spells it, so don't argue with me. Here's the weekly line up that I got from Crome Manager, Carlos Palomo: Tuesdays are Phat Tuesdays/Industry Night and are brought to you by Swift Productions and hosted by Ryan Echiverri featuring DJ's Baby Jae The Chad, Klean Cutt. The drink specials are $3 beers and $4 drinks up to the premium level. Wednesday is Latin Night brought to you by Caribbean Style and is hosted by Hugo and Willie featuring DJ Hector. Then there is Eye Candy Thursdays. Join the "see and be seen crowd," you know the one, the "Fickle 500." Thursdays have Johnny J as DJ. Mix Fridays have DJ Hector ande everyone in Houston who IS anyone is at Crome. Saturday are called "Reserve," which means reserve your section for bottle service as early as possible. The VIP sections get booked solid for Saturday BY Thursday, so call ahead of time, as early as possible, to get yours. Dial away at 713-523-3100. DJ Hector plays on Saturdays too.

A FEW MORE DAYS TO ROCK THE VOTE: www.jbhmediagroup.com is holding it's first annual DJ contest, show your love for those who make us love music, click on this link and vote for your favorites http://jbhmediagroup.com/id67.html. The voting has been extended until the last day of November.

BOOK REPORT: I just finished reading THE BIG MOO, which was a Wall Street Journal Top Ten Best Seller in its first week of publication. It was a quick, easy and enjoyable read and I highly recommend it. There's so much to be said about striving to be remarkable rather than "perfect" (see www.remarkabalize.com) and this book, itself, is remarkable. It is written by 33 prominent authors or business icons who each did the project pro bono (see www.sethgodin.com/bigmoo/authors.html) with all proceeds of sales of the book being donated to three charities: Acumen Fund (http://www.acumenfund.org/) Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (www.jdrf.org) and Room to Read (http://www.roomtoread.org/) You can preview a few chapters of the book before you buy it by clicking here: www.sethgodin.com/bigmoo/free.html. Let me know what you think.