I LOVE CHICAGO! Before I moved to Los Angeles, I lived in the Windy City for ten years. It's an awesome town. Great restaurants abound. For the best Italian food and pizza, go to LEONA'S. If you like Thai food, you have to try both the THAI STAR CAFE and the STAR OF SIAM. If Mexican food is your favorite, then it's LAS MANINITAS. They also make kick-ass margaritas. For breakfast, THE NOOKIES TREE has the world's best omelets. Period.

Nightlife in boystown is usually a blast. Boystown stretches up Halsted and Broadway from Belmont Ave. running north to Irving Park Ave. SIDETRACK is my favorite nightspot. A video bar with theme nights, this place has gone from a small strip of space and expanded to an upper level, rooftop, back bar and patio. Good job! I recommend Showtunes night and Comedy night. They were always the most fun, but it's not the best place to have a conversation. If you want to talk, I'd suggest going across the street to ROSCOE'S, a homey bar with lots of wood (the tree kind), a bit darker atmosphere, with front, middle and back bars. Roscoe's also has a nice dance floor in the back.

SPIN was also one of my favorite bars to hang out at when I lived in Chicago, and the management actually threw me a farewell party when I moved west. Simpler, with only two rooms, the front bar is for talking and the back bar has the dance floor.

Manhole was a bar I never really frequented when I was a resident, but last year, it had become HYDRATE, and hosted the Adonis party. I really liked it. It has an odd layout, but a nice front bar where you can talk, and a bar bar with dance floor where the music pumps loud and fast.

This year, CVK is going with me, which makes it even more exciting. I've always wanted to show him my old city, and I'm sure he'll have fun. TY HUDSON e-mailed me last night telling me to hurry and get my butt out there. He also told me something very private, which I wouldn't even consider sharing, normally, except that he told me not to spill it on my blog. I love a throwdown challenge. lol. No, I won't do that to the boy, but every man in Chicago had better be on the lookout for the next few days. Mr. Hudson is horny and no one is safe!

We've prepared a lovely gift basket to be raffled off at the show. It contains 10 of our movies, sunglasses, pen lights, an "I (heart) Jett Blakk" t-shirt and a Devilman soap-on-a-rope, all wrapped up in lovely red cellophane by CVK. They are going to raffle this off at the show.

I must admit, I'm a bit nervous. DIRTY LITTLE SINS is the best film I've done so far. I honestly don't know if I can do better. I can only wait and see what happens Saturday night.

And THIS year, I'll have a speech ready. Just in case.

Keep your fingers crossed for me...

JBK