So you may want to check out the marathon’s official Web site for information on road closures.

Also on the bill: the Format, the Stiletto Formal and Monique Reagan.

Whatever your political alliances, it’s great to see the younger generation, so often derided as lazy when it comes to voting, making an active effort to get people involved.

You can buy tickets ($22) for the show here. Stateside Presents also has information.

I know he’s the quarterback of the future for the Cardinals, who paid him handsomely as the 10th pick in the draft. But, for a guy who’s holding a clipboard on the sideline (at least until Kurt Warner goes down), he’s certainly bringing a lot of Hollywood to the Valley. No doubt, he’s got to be the only backup quarterback in the NFL with a radio show named after him. Just imagine the star power he’ll carry once he actually becomes a starter. Frightening.

So, we found a house with grass. Three years later, the maintenance, I’ve discovered, isn’t quite as idealistic as my memories of playing wiffle ball in the backyard with no shoes on. Welcome to home ownership, I suppose. I’m also starting to develop a guilty complex as an irresponsible citizen with the water I use to keep the grass green. In the midst of a years-long drought, I have a hard time justifying to myself the amount of water (not to mention money) I spend on the lawn. Although, when I drive by our hundreds of golf courses in the Valley, I feel a little better about my little lot.

I’m in the initial steps of looking at converting the front lawn into some form of desert landscape, or maybe half gravel and half grass. I’d like to keep the grass in my backyard, which is a smaller area. Does anyone have any experience in doing this? Any resources to point me toward? It’s probably not going to be a very inexpensive undertaking. But I think we’ll probably save money in the long run on water bills and energy on yard maintenance.

Keeping up?

In a season of high hopes for the Sun Devils, I fear this one will anger the gods of karma. Why didn’t Koetter foresee this – that whichever QB wouldn’t start likely would want to transfer? Why wait until two weeks before the season to name the starter? If there’s going to be a fallout from the decision, let it happen in the spring. Although, in Koetter’s defense (kind of), who knew he was dealing with such prima donnas?

It’s pretty clear that if both threatened to transfer, Koetter would rather cut his losses and lose a senior as opposed to a sophomore with three more years of eligibility. We’ll never know why the sudden about-face, but it leaves me feeling that Koetter isn’t as in touch with his players as he should be.

And to think at the start of training camp, having two star quarterbacks seemed like such a great problem to have.

A friend mentioned Delux, which had been recommended to us before, but I had no clue it stays open and serves food and alcohol until 2 a.m. – every day. Eureka!

There are at least 40 beers on tap, and we’re talking quality imported brew. The burgers are tasty, if not a little expensive: $9. That’s a little steep when you have to order fries separately ($5 for a basket that’s good for sharing). Pints range from $4.50 to $7. Pricey perhaps, but when it’s midnight, you’re starving and few options exist, you pay the man his $9 and go home happy.

These are the types of barbers that appeal to the old school: warm shaving cream, straight-razor shaves and hot towels for your face. I got a gift card for my dad for Father’s Day two years ago for a shave and haircut, and he loved it. Needless to say, it’s become his annual Father’s Day present.

Women have their hair/nail salons, guys have barbershops. At Classic Barber, there’s a TV set up at every chair and, if you have to wait, a plethora of sports or, ahem, male-friendly magazines. The barbers are extremely careful shaping your sides and edges, but the best is the straight-razor shave on the neck and the hot towel that follows. If I’ve been particulary lazy, I’ll even have them shape my beard for a little extra.

A haircut costs about $19 (before tip), which is more than worth the service and attention – not to mention a good haircut. I used to hit the chain places, then would wear a baseball hat for a week.

Besides, how often do guys treat themselves to spas or massages? Yeah, not too often. It’s a nice way to treat yourself once every few weeks.

Covert is in need of a liver transplant, and a Phoenix New Times story details his battle. As the story points out, his reputation is held in high regard as evidenced by tonight’s lineup: Jimmy Eat World, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Less Pain Forever vs. Peachcake, Dead Hot Workshop, Gloritone and the Minibosses, among others.

The number of amazing shows I saw at Nita’s Hideaway (especially at its old, original location) blows my mind when I stop to think about it: Built to Spill, Jimmy Eat World, Neko Case, No Knife, DJ Swamp, who absolutely wrecked the turntables and cracked a record, half of which I caught (and still have). That’s not to mention the weekly visits I paid to the Bombshelter DJs (Z-Trip, Radar and Emile).

Anyone who’s played music in Phoenix/Tempe in the past 10 years probably owes some sort of debt of gratitude to Covert and Nita’s, which eventually moved to a new location before closing a few years back.

The full lineup is available here, and you can buy tickets (or make donations) here. Click here for the Donate Life Web site.

We were there for the Pitchfork Music Festival (and a couple of Cubs games), so on top of it all, we spent last Saturday and Sunday outside for about eight hours per day. I couldn’t drink enough water.

I was born in Chicago and lived there until I was about 8. I still love the city, but my wife seemed to nix the idea of going back: “I don’t think I can ever live here,” she said. And she hasn’t even been through a winter there.

The coverage of the monsoon storms is borderline sensational. There’s definitely newsworthy points to be made: flooding, safety, closures, etc. But are we, as consumers of news, so taken by rain and storms at the expense of everything else going on in the world or the rest of the state? The channel we watched tonight (which shall go unnamed) must have shown live footage of rain/lightning at least five times throughout the broadcast. At a point, it feels patronizing. Look, we know it’s raining. Tell us something else.

I wonder if this happens in other cities.