I hope everyone got lucky on Valentine’s Day. If not, here’s your consolation gift from me which is extra issue of QOC this month. You lucky devils! It’s time to get ready for St. Patrick’s Day now. As Tina Fey from Saturday Night Live once said “In a study, scientists report that drinking beer can be good for the liver. I'm sorry, did I say "scientists"? I meant Irish people." This is a holiday where everyone is Irish for one night. I, however, can brag that I have been Irish all my life. Look for more information in next month’s issue on the best parties for St. Pat’s 2008. Start shopping for something green to wear on March 17th.

The 2008 Houston St. Patrick's Day Parade will be on Saturday, March 15th at noon. A Houston tradition, the 49th-Annual Houston St. Patrick's Day Parade will be presented by the Houston St. Patrick's Parade Commission. The two-hour event has historically been one of the largest parades of its kind in the U.S. and plans to include 127 entries to delight the Irish and Irish-at-heart. For more information contact Sean Kearns, Parade Chairman at 832-978-4192 or email him at sekearns@aol.com. And for complete details, click to www.saintpatricksdayparade.com.

If you are interested in the 2008 results for the best of Houston Dating and Mating, both the audience rankings and the editorial picks are now posted at www.citysearch.com, one of my favorite resources. I got a giggle out of the #8 pick of the top 10 off the wall places to go on a date. The readers chose National Museum of Funeral History as a date destination. Are you kidding me? Unless you are dating a mortician or a member of the Adam’s Family, who the hell would go to that museum on a date? Geez!

This Sunday is another edition of the wildly successful Whip Cream Sundaes at Deco Lounge (510 Gray at Brazos.) Doors open at 6PM and party peeps will enjoy DJ’s Yogi and Senega until after the sun goes down. There is hot music, cool people and plenty of fun going on each Sunday at Deco. For the scoop, just click here:

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If you, or someone you know, is in the Entertainment Industry (music, film, and/or television) let me point you in the direction of a new blog and networking website at www.entertainment-industry.blogspot.com. That news was brought to my attention from my little love bucket, Mr. Eric Harvey. For those of you people who have other newsworthy tid-bits for my newsletter, send ‘em my way.

Getting in shape is achievable if you get in contact with FIT II FIGHT. This is the ultimate program for achieving your fitness goals and feeling better about yourself. Simply visit www.Fit-II-Fight.com and take the first step to your new life. The Fit II Fight Boot Camp program is designed to challenge your mind and body while having fun in a group setting. F2F uses a lot of bodyweight for muscular endurance along with dumbbells and fitness bands for muscular strength. These classes feature Cardio Kickboxing for aerobic and anaerobic conditioning combined with learning Self-Defense and will show you how to use your mind, technology and your body to defend yourself. Every session will be different so you can see fast results while continuing to challenge your mind and body. Fit II Fight Fitness Boot Camp at Dark Gift Combat Martial Arts Studio is offering one FREE week to try it out, for details call Michelangelo Morales at 832-373-4030 for information. Nutritional Consultation is included with these classes. I have seen the Fit II Fight girls on myspace and the results of their training are spectacular.

BAND OF THE MONTH: Virus drummer, Jay, says that their music appeals to anyone who loves to have a good time. On February 20th, they performed at Warehouse Live. Virus puts everything into their music; it is their life, and they put even more into playing it live. Originally, Virus is the product of the combination of two former incomplete bands, (named Apathy and Overload.) They have been together for six years, sticking together through good and bad times, proving one thing, that their “virus” cannot be contained. Virus just tries to create music that they love to play and people love to hear, something no one's ever done before that will get people off the floor and having a great time. Other than that, their drummer goes on to say Virus is an independent band seeking sponsorship with a national/world-wide goal in mind. Virus is here to have fun and play their music professionally for people everywhere. With Virus music blaring and the mosh-pit slamming, help this band start the epidemic and SPREAD THE VIRUS! See for yourself and visit www.myspace.com/spreadthevirus.

BOOZE NEWS: I met a brand-new vodka at the Erotic Cabaret event I hosted at the end of January. Her name is Snow Queen Vodka and like Borat, she comes from Kazakhstan. Here’s a fun fact, should you ever go on Jeopardy, Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world. Snow Queen has been blowing off the shelves and doing quite well at Spec’s and my restaurant will be carrying it, should you ever tire of our world-famous margaritas. Snow Queen is available in bottle sizes ranging from 5 cl to 175 cl. Are they kidding me with the 5cl? What is that, Barbie Doll sized? Snow Queen Vodka was featured in Playboy’s January 2008 issue and once you taste it, you will want to feature it in ALL of your vodka cocktails. Learn more about Snow Queen at www.snowqueenvodka.com.

If you are in search of a new career, look no further, LaSalle Agency is a multi-disciplinary interactive marketing, branding and strategy company that delivers a rare blend of design, strategy objectives and business know-how to forward thinking clients. They would like to extend their company’s in-house services to you and your team to hopefully win your business both now and long term. LaSalle is a company that can handle any and all request you or your company may have and can provide you with a full team of designers and developers with years of experience without the expense of hiring full-time staff. In everything LaSalle does, they strive to go beyond what their clients are expecting. LaSalle is a company that has clearly defined goals to be one of the best mix media companies in the world. Please look over their website, www.lasalleagency.com. They are looking for sales associates.

Charles Solomon, a.k.a “C-So” is presenting the Spring-themed GROOVALICIOUS Brunch on Sunday, March 2nd at and the Spoiled Boyz Jungle 16 Weekend After-Hours on Saturday, March 23rd. Find out more by going to his website, www.spoiledboyz.net for the most complete list of once-monthly after hours parties. Let’s face it, people, can you HANDLE more than one after hours party a month? One should be all it takes, and then it takes an entire month to recuperate from said party. Make the spoiled boyz THE one late-night/EARLY morning party you won’t want to miss!

BOOZE BIZ: Sherlock’s Baker Street Pub is rockin’ in Wednesday nights at their newest location at 1952 W. Gray (713-521-1881) with live music, food, no cover and free Wi-Fi. Brooke Weaver is back in town from a stint in Lufkin and is serving up big beers on Wednesdays at Sherlock’s. You might remember Brooke as the most beautiful cocktail waitress at Deco when I worked there. She’s in my top friends list on myspace too, but check her out at Sherlock’s. You can find DJ Josh Dupont four nights in a row each week on Thursdays at Scene (1601 Commerce Street,) Fridays at Mosaic (530 Texas Avenue in Bayou Place,) Saturdays at Vogue (sorry, kids, I don’t know where it is, I haven’t been there and I’m too lazy to look up the address so find Vogue on your own) and stop in to hear him at "Choice" Sundays at The Davenport (2115 Richmond.)

SAVE THE DATES: March 8th is the Hometown Showdown V (see the complete info by clicking www.myspace.com/hometownshowdownhouston) HS4 is presented by Houston Press and will feature a special evening with Houston-based rapper Paul Wall and his friends performing for a special birthday bash at Warehouse Live( 813 St. Emanuel, www.warehouselive.com.) Hometown Showdown is a quarterly live music event highlighting the best local talent and a regional act on stages in The Ballroom and The Studio area at Warehouse Live. The fifth installment of this popular concert series will feature performances from national hip-hop icon and Grammy-nominated Houstonian Paul Wall, Skepticynic, Capgun Suicide, Yung Redd and The Grit Boys, Another Day, Three Fantastic, The Mighty Orq, Dirty, Hearsay and Austin-based band Full Service. Doors open at 6PM. Tickets are available for $12 in advance and $14 day of show. Tickets are available online at www.ticketmaster.com. Sponsors for the event include Houston Press, KTBZ 94.5 FM The Buzz and KBXX 97.9 The Box. The show is open to all ages.

This year’s Houston International Festival will take place on April 19th, 20th, 26th and 27th. Mark your calendars and make plans to attend because this year spotlights "Out of Africa" with food, drink, entertainment, and vendors from all over the world. Learn more at www.ifest.org.