?Martinis and a Manicure
If you want to see a woman looking like Brad Pitt is about to dump Angelina Jolie and give her a ring, put her together with a martini, a manicure and some friends.

And do it for all of $15.

It’s maybe not quite the same, but it’s close. And that’s what they’re doing at O’Donovans (2100 W. Irving Park) every Tuesday night from 6-9 p.m.

Salon Slice (3757 N. Racine) has several employees stop in to the bar on Tuesday nights to offer up their services, and the idea didn’t take long to catch on.

In terms of arrival time, Mark from Salon Slice says the earlier the better because inevitably they have to turn some people away at the end of the night. An increase in popularity since they started this experiment around Memorial Day is obvious, and the idea of having dinner and drinks and catching up with your friends while getting your nails polished has been a major factor.

Debbie Podmore recently organized a group of 10 girls to go. Stimulating interest in the event was far from difficult.

“O’Donovan’s was a great venue to relax on a Tuesday night, enjoy girl company, and delicious martinis, all topped off with a nice manicure,” she says. “There’s plenty of room in the back area; three manicurists from Salon Slice line the side wall, where three girls (patrons) at a given time alternate having their nails done. In the interim, while one was not getting a manicure, there were tables all around to enjoy more conversation with the gals, drinks, and food. Mark, co-owner of Salon Slice, was very personable and did a good job at organizing the event so that all the girls had a chance to get their nails done.”

Elise Salo concurs: “O’Donovan’s is the perfect way to spend a night with your girlfriends. There are few things better than gossip, drinks and pampering yourself all at once.”

Mark indicated that they’re working on adding a fourth manicurist and a masssage therapist if Tuesday nights continue to grow. I think I hear the phone ringing. Brad, is that you?

— Trent Modglin

“Lizards and the Komodo King” at the Shedd

From Godzilla to the Geico gecko, lizards often dig their claws into pop culture. Most people know of the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) due to “The Freshman,” a 1990 send-up of mafia movies. The world’s largest lizard starred opposite Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick. In the film, Brando intentionally parodies his own “Godfather” character Don Corleone, with the reptile serving as a critical component of his crooked “family business” venture.

The Shedd Aquarium has many members of the reptile class permanently on display, but at this special exhibit — which runs until late February 2007 — you can see tiny day geckos, crocodile monitors, basilisks, caiman lizards, anoles, chameleons and skinks. (That’s “skinks,” not the one-letter off colloquialism a man might use to describe Paris Hilton and/or an ex-girlfriend that once cheated on him.) Even on weekdays, there will be long lines; so go on a weekday after the kids are back in school in order to avoid the biggest crowds.

There are approximately 6,000 total Komodo Dragons roaming the earth today. Their populations are confined to the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia, which includes the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Gili Motang and Flores. The average adult dragon grows to 10 feet long and weighs 150 pounds. They have the ability to eat their entire body weight in one sitting; which would be equal to a 150-pound person having 600 quarter-pounders for lunch at McDonald’s.

The likely reason the Komodo was named after the scary mythical creature of popular Medieval folklore is the predatory abilities for which this fierce, fork-tongued carnivore inspires both fear and reverence. He’s not just big, but fast too, as dragons can run up to speeds of 15 m.p.h. on land, and swim swiftly when in water. Although instances are exceedingly rare, the Komodo Dragon has killed and eaten human beings. During the past century, over a dozen people have died due to dragon bites (all its prey is killed by a toxic bacteria contained within its teeth), but the animal currently on display, a charming specimen named “Faust” is not one of the recorded assailants.

— Paul M. Banks

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