Here we help you connect more deeply with your community and/or waste time at work. All the stories from the past 7 days on AltDaily, for your enjoyment.

“It is okay to be and express yourself in a safe and healthy way as long as it is helping your personal growth and not hurting anyone else.”
- Levi Hull, aka India, drag queen and dancer for the Virginia Opera.

The whole purpose of this experiment is to see what it means to be solo in Hampton Roads and to send a Bat Signal up to some AltDaily readers that there is hope for the unattached, so play fair.

Happy Groundhog’s Day. Feel like your life is the same, boring day over and over again? Change it.

Newt’s kiss, his kiss, is on Mitt’s lips.

Statistics show we are hipsterer than I thought.

Warm and fuzzies. Let the sky never be just blue again. Winter be damned forever. Gratitude and grace abound.

Art, concerts, clubs, activism, love, fear, sex, destruction, and a cash bar. Get yourself in some really uncomfortable situations and live your damn life.

One of Hampton Roads’ brightest minds, Thom White of Work Program Architects, has donated his time to envisioning The Plot, a ‘community gathering place’ featuring an entertainment amphitheater, outdoor basketball court, a place for vendors, and very cool shipping container public art.

Shouldn’t I, an advocate of education and literature, be glad that people are tuning into news radio instead of say, painting STOOPID LIBERAL HIPPY BITCH on my Sentra?

Let’s just get going and build this thing so I can actually spend my paycheck now rather then my social security later.

We’ve got the goodness at MOCA VA, Shaka’s, Belmont, the Roper Center, Generic Theater, Riverview Gallery, PFAC, new movies, JewMa, Plaza del Sol and more and more and more.

Spoiler alert: we’re all gonna die.

Plus an interview with Cathleen Rhodes, professor of Queer Studies at ODU.

If you don’t get out and enjoy yourself this weekend then we can’t help you. We just… can’t.

AltDaily is a lighthouse in Norfolk’s sea of journalism, and a major seaport without a lighthouse is very dangerous proposition.

They say, “the world is going to end in December 2012″ so this may very well be your last chance to ring in a new year. BRING IT.

AltDaily honestly gave me hope. I was stuck in a city I had deemed “crappy” all because I wanted nothing but to live in NYC, and Virginia Beach has “nothing to do” other than hit up the block and/or shore drive bars; everyone I know lives with their parents.

That’s 3 great shows. 6 tickets total. For as little as $10. Plus, you’re helping AltDaily. Dig it.

Chesapeake lives it’s daily life as if the values and little joys we learned in our childhoods still hold true…

Christmas is supposed to be this serious holiday. Instead, it has morphed into a day of materialism. It’s virtually devoid of religious meaning for many who celebrate. So, we make comics about it.

Some may find that in a welcoming church where they are just another member. Others want to be part of a church community that has shared their experiences, painful and joyful, of being gay.

If you need a break from family fun and crazy holiday shoppers, don’t feel bad. The rest of the world is waiting for you to cut loose in.

A fairly cracked out video Hannah and Jesse made talking all crazy about what they like about Hampton Roads.

Plick plock, plick plock. Snap snap, snap snap.

Plus a little creative non-fiction about the invention of the sponge table tennis paddle, starring the great Marty Reisman and a suitcase full of stolen gold.

Thinking about it now still shatters my brain. Things make so much less sense when you watch real live people spin like violent cyclones one minute and then suddenly they’re gliding through the air like a wind-plucked dandelion tuft.

Mambo Room, LGBT Center, Hampton Roads Men’s Chorus, SLUT Walk silent auction, The Wave, Hershee Bar, The Garage, Access AIDS Care, LGBT Christians, book recommendations and more…

You gotta do something this weekend, why not do something super fun?

The multitudinous illuminated windows of the high rises really did seem to wink at me, promising what nature’s vistas never could: the excitement and potential of human adventures, of foreign voices and bodies and ideas interwoven with the framework of the city.

A retail value of over $200! (Rod Roddy voice.)

Black Magic, MacArthur on Ice, O’Connor Frikin Night, Loni Love, Holiday Light at the Beach, Fresh Fridays, d’ARTini Night, Ghent’s Annual Holiday Tree Lighting and Caroling, Art after Dark, The Concise Dicken’s Christmas Carol, The Fighting Jamesons, 10th Annual Fair Trade Festival…

The Best Kind of Corporate Theft: Watching Viral Videos at Work

The citizen/cyclists of Bike Norfolk are fighting for you, and change is coming.

Gobble Gobble! It’s Thanksgiving weekend ya’all (and I’ve been watching a lot of Paula Dean). If a four day weekend isn’t reason enough to get your out of the house, here are some other reasons.

“‘Tim Burton’s the Nightmare Before Christmas’ is fun for the whole Addams family, as well as for anyone else inclined to appreciate the spectacle of Santa Claus being kidnapped and harassed.”

Norfolk is home to me now. When I leave for business or pleasure, I get that comforting tingle when I see the downtown skyline on the horizon. The kind of feeling you get when you think of your favorite blanket as a kid or your first real kiss. In that moment things just feel right.

Get out before everyone else is out shoving their Christmas spirit down your throat.

The Best Kind of Corporate Theft: Watching Viral Videos at Work

Take a lesson from Plan B and get out of the bad relationship fast!!!!

Lola’s, Venue on 35th, Great American Trailer Park Musical, Hansel and Gretel do opera, Fighting Jamesons, Sharx!, Belmont, JewMa, Freedom Marathon, MONSTER JAM, Plan B Comedy, Ramp Jam, B-boying, CRUSH…

“To me, (movies) all say the same thing, which is basically don’t judge other people till you know the complete story, and nobody really knows the complete story unless maybe they’ve done an analysis. Don’t be so quick to judge others.” – John Waters

If you’re into Japanese Punk Rock, cake, puppies, women, anime, the 1960s, art, guns, easy money, festivals, bikes, photography, pottery, women, movies, drinks, great food, dancing, or even fairy tales, then there’s a good chance the perfect activity awaits you this weekend.

An interview with Dr. David Dorbad MD, FAAP of Renaissance Pediatrics. Plus, monthly events for the local LGBT community.

There’s something profoundly askew in the American perception of transportation safety, an unthinking acceptance of the risks of driving, and a blindness to the accumulation of deaths that result from our car-centric policies.

The rules are thus: No more than 100 words (supa flash!) about what would happen if a horror movie character invaded some place in Hampton Roads. You get to choose the character and locale. Give it a whirl, it might be scary how good it is.

In my opinion it’s the perfect weekend. You can be whoever you want, whatever you want, and however you want to be. You make the rules.

A trifling little poem in the spirit of Halloween and mermaids.

One night a year you get to dress up as whatever you can imagine, and all you could think of was a giant dick (sigh).

Please abide by the laws of the land, but ignoring ignorant moral laws “society” has put on us is encouraged.

Last year Norfolk had its moment. Like the undead, our moment is back.

Order through our store and you’ll have one waiting for you at Shaun of the Dead at the Naro (Friday night), Zombie Prom at Tap House (also Friday), or the AltDaily booth at Survive Norfolk (on Saturday).

There will be a cash bar and the usual tomfoolery so get there a little early. Opening remarks will be made by both an alive and undead Mayor Fraim… don’t miss it!

When I get called “the Zombie Girl” and/or people ask me to talk about Survive Norfolk, I get rather sheepish. I’m very humbled by the success of the event, and while I’m proud of myself for actually pulling through with it, if it wasn’t for the community stepping up and helping out, Survive Norfolk never would have happened.

They say it’s going to rain this weekend, but I refuse to be locked inside. No t-storm or puddle is going to keep me from having fun. And it shouldn’t stop you either.

If you take away one message from my column today let it be the phrase “complete streets.”

New York and L.A. will be fine on their own, but we are all we have. We have to stick together.

The time of your life this weekend at Lola’s, Town Point Park, The Wave, Hunt Club Farm, Belmont, The Ferguson, and all over the damn place.

Two weeks of performance on The Tide, and art around it. Plus a deal on 50% off Tide tickets for opening night.

The “Sand Masters” make some sand puppy dogs.

Call it the Google Age or the Internet Age or History2.o; the tectonic shifts have been reversed, and a virtual Pangaea sits in its place.

Tide saves cyclists!, Big news in Richmond, Cycling community in cities grows, and more in If You Read the Bicycle News for Tuesday, October 4, 2011.

I love October. Pumpkins start lining the streets, there’s spooky nights of television, candy everywhere, hoodies all day-everyday, and the Pumpkin Beer doesn’t stop a-pourin. Read this article for the events this weekend that make life even more worth living.

We took it as proof that you could say anything in a British accent and it would come off as polite and darn near acceptable. Example: turn to your friend and repeat this quote from the movie, “I fart in your general direction.” with a heavy British accent. See what I mean?

Maybe it was a glimpse into Virginia Beach’s past, where the city was smaller, but perhaps a little wilder. Maybe it speaks to what happens when a city treats its citizens like children, scolding their language.

From your home computer you can help process particle physics from the LHC, or fold proteins on your PS3 to help study disease research. You can simulate models of the early universe and Big Bang events, as well as artificial intelligence constructs, gravitational wave detection, and quantum computing models…

So much awesome stuff going on it is basically MADNESS in Hampton Roads this weekend.

Between you and I, this weekend doesn’t know that Summer is over. Here is a list of the things to do that will make you happier and happier.

Stopped they must be; on this all depends.

A view from inside the culture and community of the greater Norfolk metro, with AltDaily editor-in-chief Jesse Scaccia.

Proposals are being solicited for projects, hands-on activities, performances, multimedia art works, sidewalk/store-front installations, written word and any other creative temporary art project ideas.

Plus an interview with Access AIDS Care and HR Pride’s Melissa Richards.

You lost an entire weekend last week preparing and powering thru the Hurricane. You deserve some fun.

These videos–made by Hollywood’s pal Mark Fussell–prove it.

Keegan sent this in with the message: “Hey, I took 770 shots from the balcony of my new condo today, and
created a timelapse video.” Boy did he.

In case the hurricane doesn’t destroy everything here’s your weekend fun guide.

Josh is creating a bar flow chart, a guide for local bars to fit everyone’s preferences. He needs your input on the Norfolk version.

After Pulp Fiction and Big Lebowski, I was quite sure I had reached a peak of happiness. Then came BTTF.

Winfield Danielson of the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk answers two AltDaily intern’s random questions about wild animals.

To quote R. Kelly, “Sippin on coke and rum, I’m like so what I’m drunk, It’s the freakin weekend baby, I’m about to have me some fun.”

An inside look at an intense weekend of filmmaking.

“I want people to see our videos and say. ‘Yo, I know that dude who is dancing. He goes to my school in Chesapeake!’ or hear an out-of-towner say, ‘Yo seriously, the 757 region they got their scene rockin’!'”
-Johnny Breaker of RadioActive Cardboard

Like to write, edit, and make an impact in your community? Check this out.

If I could ask one favor of a modern day Marty McFly and Doc Brown, it would be: When you guys are all done with being trapped in 1955, would you mind bringing these five charming fashion trends back with you? Thanks.

From :Strange: dance parties, to midnight movies, going Back To The Future, and even looking to the stars, there is so much wonderful and diverse fun to be had. Don’t be left in the dark.

SlutWalks started in Toronto after a cop told an audience that if women didn’t “dress like sluts” they’d cut down their chances of being sexually assaulted. Thank you, sir, for bringing the victim-blaming out in the open.

Bold watches, patterned bottoms, and other tubular ways to wear the 80s.

48 hours to make a movie start to finish. That’s some manic talent right there.

I’ve deemed this weekend the “You-don’t-have-to-spend-a-bajillion-dollars-to-have-a-kick-ass-time” weekend. There’s plenty to do that won’t empty out your pockets or leave you eating Ramen noodles for every meal next week. Don’t believe me?

I soon found myself on top of a Redbox in plank position. When I told my buddy to take a picture, he was almost on the pavement in tears laughing, not knowing why I was laying face down on a Redbox…

Some people think you gotta get away to have fun. Not true. Check out these haps. Treat yourself.

It’s that point during the summer when you have two options: make this summer the best one of your life, or let it just quietly fade into fall. You decide what you want to do. (I vote for the first option.)

Holy Moly! Mad Tea Parties, Halloween in July, Modern Love, butterfly hunting, Harry Potter, The Big Lebowski, and Drag Brunch are just some of the things on this weekend’s agenda. Check out the rest!

An ODU communications professor takes a deeper look into the magic and mystery of The Big Lebowski, the White Russian of American cinema.

AltDaily abides on July 15th.

From Dragons to Skaters, Gothic Barbers to Green Happy Hours, and Nadastrom to laser shows, this weekend has a little something for everyone.

After incurring a fine for longboarding on the boardwalk, Joshua Shelly wanted to change the law. Now, he has started nothing short of a Pro-Longboarding Movement.

Breaking up is hard enough without it becoming a full-fledged catastrophe. Following these guidelines will give you an edge in creating more humane and workable solutions for your lives.

Quarters please!!

Forget staying in. This weekend is packed full of music, barbeques, and great local art shows.