Sunshine and happy flowers

Can you smell that smell?

No, it's not the smell of death surrounding you. It's the flowers.

Hear that sound?

It's not the sound of impending doom, it's the sound of birds.

Yes, my friends, spring is upon us. Well, almost.

Every year when March rolls around, I start to get a little bit excited. Actually, a lot excited. And it's not because of St. Patrick's Day (even though I am stoked about the great drinking holiday being on a weekend this year), it's because I like to be outside. Camping season is on the way. Woo-hooo!!!!

I used to get excited about March for a different reason: Spring Break. Mind you, I was never the kind to go on a drunken binge in Florida, watching girls bare it all on the beach. Well, there was one drunken binge, but it didn't involve exhibitionism.

Now I just get to live vicariously through media reports and stories from my friends who are still in college. Hey, if you're a college student going out for some fun on spring break, have a little extra for me. You'll be too wasted to even notice one more beer, anyway.

March comes right on the heels of Mardi Gras this year. I don't know if you guys noticed, but Cape actually had a Mardi Gras parade of sorts this year on Fat Tuesday. Richard Cason and I were too busy covering the Wiggles concert (me for the newspaper, him for this magazine) to attend, but we sent out photographer Kit Doyle to get some shots. You can see them on our photo page this month, along with some pics of a weird band called Euforquestra that recently rolled through town.

With drinking on the mind, I want to remind you country fans that Dierks Bentley is coming this month (unless you picked up this magazine too late). Go online if you want to hear Dierks talk to me about Bonnaroo -- he's on the ticket this year -- and other assorted stuff, like drinking and playing music.

Speaking of online, we're expanding our online offerings this month. Go to the Web site, www.semissourian.com/off, and you'll find cartoons, interview clips, book reviews and all kinds of other stuff you won't see in print.

Here's what you will see in print: Davis Dunavin's exploration of Cape's sordid graffiti culture. Yes, graffiti is everywhere, and chances are that you may have left your own mark somewhere in Cape. Davis dug deep for his article and churned out a story that's both entertaining and informative. That's what we like to call a must-read.

So enough of my rambling. You're here to read about Cape's nightlife and other stuff. So without further delay, here's OFF.

Enjoy.