To make things a little easier, they have a LONG list of bands and artists put together already, although you are free to ‘write in’ your own.

Voters will be entered into a drawing for a 16GB iPod Touch along with $100 worth of iTunes online store credit (winner to be announced the week of December 31st).

On New Year’s Day, they’ll play “The Top 89 of 2007″ as chosen by listeners.

Ready? You can vote here.

While I’m hesitant to put my own votes out there, I’m hoping that you’ll want to share yours, too! So without further ado, here’s my top albums for the year in no particular order (except for the first one, which is my absolute favorite for 2007). Have a listen on Imeem.

For those of you not familiar with the name or the face, he’s known as an exceptional chef, author and host of Travel Channel’s program, “No Reservations” that recently wrapped up it’s third season.

Essentially, he tromps all over the world, emersing himself in the cultures of the people he meets along the way and tasting the foods they eat. For many, his gruff and cynical personality is a welcome antithesis to the plethora of smiley hosts you’d generally see on a food-related program (whom he enjoys poking fun at on occasion).

You can check out Bourdain as he promotes his new book, No Reservations (a companion to the show) over at Triple Rock on November 26th, starting at 7 PM. It’s all ages, and it’s free!*

_{* A nice alternative to the now sold-out following evening over at Solera.}

This year’s special guests include:

* Lois McMaster Bujold - Science Fiction and Fantasy Author
* Emily Hagins - Young Filmmaker
* Bernie Wrightson - Comic Book Artist and Illustrator
* Brian Keene - Horror Author
* Wally Wingert - Voice Actor
* John Kovalic - Dork Tower, Out of the Box Games

Registration for the entire weekend is $55 at the door. I fully support everyone registering in order to check out the panels, free coffee bar, gaming tables, Theater Nippon (where I’d likely spend A LOT of my time–72 hours straight of anime!), and the Masquerade, as a small sampling of the planned activites.

However, if you’re not sure if you want to attend the whole convention, but want to catch some of the vibe, you can just pop in and scope out the plethora of free room parties and hang out with the geeks there. Many of them have drinks (alcoholic and non) as well as some food goodies. Most room parties, in my experience, have a requested donation for beverages, most of those going towards a local charity. Hey, geeks with heart, you can’t go wrong!

If you plan on going this year, what’s your biggest pull?

How did I fair? Well, I squeaked by with a 75%. Just goes to show, I obviously have some more reading up to do.

1. Cyclists are required by law to stay as far to the right of a roadway as practical. When can a cyclist legally ride in a regular vehicle lane?

a) If the road surface is blocked by debris or the pavement is damaged.
b) To avoid vehicle doors, which may open unexpectedly.
c) If the road width is too narrow to accommodate both a cyclist and a vehicle.
d) To make a left turn at an intersection or move into a left turn lane.

All are correct. When cyclists are on the road, the law says motor vehicles can pass no closer than 3 feet from a cyclist. Bikers cannot, however, ride more than two abreast and must stay in a single lane.

2. Minnesota law requires cyclists to ride on designated bike paths or trails, if such paths are separate from the regular vehicular roadway. True or false?

False. Bicycles have the same rights to roadways as other traffic–just as sport-utility vehicles aren’t required to drive off-road. It’s also illegal to drive bikes on sidewalks in downtown business districts, unless specifically permitted by local ordinance. With this right, riders also have the legal responsibility to obey traffic laws, stop at stop signs and traffic lights, and yield to pedestrians, etc., just as if you were in a car.

3. At night, Minnesota law requires a bicyclist to have:

a) reflectors on the pedals that are visible from front and rear.
b) a headlight and rear light.
c) a headlight and rear reflector.

Correct answers are a and c. Bikes must have headlights and rear reflectors as well as pedal reflectors. At least 20 square inches of side reflectors are also required. Cycling advocates usually also recommend a flashing red rear light, which is legal under Minnesota law but not in all states.

4. Who has the right of way on an officially designated bike path or bike route, a pedestrian or a bike?

Bikes must yield to pedestrians–not just on bikeways but also in crosswalks, at intersections, on sidewalks and everywhere else. State law also requires cyclists to give an audible warning before passing pedestrians.

5. If a vehicle doesn’t have enough room to safely pass a bicycle…

a) the cyclist is required to pull off the road to make way.
b) the vehicle can pass after honking to warn the cyclist.
c) the motorist must follow at a safe distance until it is safe to pass.

Correct answer is c.

6. While illegal, it’s safer to ride against traffic, on the left shoulder of the road, because you can see approaching vehicles and better avoid them. True or false?

False. Statistically speaking, you’re more likely to run into trouble going the wrong way: You can’t see traffic control signs, drivers don’t yield to wrong-way traffic at intersections, and the speed of an approaching vehicle actually gives you less time to react.

The links below will let you access two good websites about bicycle safety issues:

www.dps.state.mn.us/patrol/safety/bikesafety/
www.minnesotasafetycouncil.org/facts/bikesafe.pdf

1. Cyclists are required by law to stay as far to the right of a roadway as practical. When can a cyclist legally ride in a regular vehicle lane?

a) If the road surface is blocked by debris or the pavement is damaged.
b) To avoid vehicle doors, which may open unexpectedly.
c) If the road width is too narrow to accommodate both a cyclist and a vehicle.
d) To make a left turn at an intersection or move into a left turn lane.

2. Minnesota law requires cyclists to ride on designated bike paths or trails, if such paths are separate from the regular vehicular roadway.

True or false?

3. At night, Minnesota law requires a bicyclist to have:

a) Reflectors on the pedals that are visible from front and rear.
b) A headlight and rear light.
c) A headlight and rear reflector.

4. On an officially designated bike path or bike route, who has the right of way, a pedestrian or a bike?

5. If a vehicle doesn’t have enough room to safely pass a bicycle…

a) the cyclist is required to pull off the road to make way.
b) the vehicle can pass after honking to warn the cyclist.
c) the motorist must follow at a safe distance until it is safe to pass.

6. While illegal, it’s safer to ride against traffic, on the left shoulder of the road, because you can see approaching vehicles and better avoid them.

True or false?

Hopefully without looking too foolish by getting many of these wrong, here’s what I think the answers are…
1 - all of the above; 2 - True; 3 - c; 4 - Bike; 5 - c; 6 - False

I’ll update this post with the correct responses when they mail those out in the next day or two.

Here’s the scoop: Hit up one of the participating shops, and pick up some (you guessed it) free comics. A perfect accompaniment to seeing Spiderman, perhaps?

This year’s list of goods can be found here. Myself? If I could only grab one, it’d be TokyoPop’s ‘Choose Your Weapon’–a small sampler of five titles; I’ve been on a bit of a manga kick lately.

I asked around to a couple of the comic book shops around town, and I can tell you that Michael over at Big Brain, and Tim over at Comic Book College have confirmed participation, but nothing fancy going on. I was admittedly disappointed to find out from DreamHaven’s manager Elizabeth that they do not participate in FCBD.

Even so, there are SEVERAL stores around the Cities that will have the freebie comics on hand, so grab a friend, stop in and get to know your local comic book pusher.

On a side note, MN Daily has a great article on the general air of comic books lately, definitely worth a read.

More information here.

If you go, let me know how that breakfast is–I’ll be at work!

Why:To urge support for a temporary restraining order that Centro Legal has asked for against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office of the Department of Homeland Security. A ruling is expected Thursday.

At issue: Since April 10, the legal advocacy group Centro Legal says immigration agents have conducted a series of “warrantless and nonconsensual raids” of Latino homes and acted in discriminatory fashion against Latinos in public places.

At 9 AM, a kickoff ceremony on the Greenway will be held over at the Anne Sullivan School. They’re looking for volunteers for the four locations below, starting at 9:30 AM:

- 26th Avenue South
- Anne Sullivan School, 3100 East 28th Street
- 30th Avenue South
- Brackett Park entrance ramp

Food, beverages and shovels will be provided. For more details, go here!

On a similar note, Home Depot is sponsoring a tree planting campaign that will be in Minneapolis on May 11th. Check this out for the scoop.