SAN DIEGO -- Carmen Electra, in a low-cut gold minidress, captures every photographer’s attention as she steps out on a patio overlooking the Pacific. Her hair catches the ocean breeze as if on cue. Even her fiance is transfixed. He snaps a few photos with his cell phone. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian, wearing a tight tank top and slim-fitting skirt, waits in the wings for the cameras to point her way.

It’s been a see-saw battle for Kennewick’s Red Room in its quest to become the premier venue for indie music in the Tri-Cities. I’ve written about them several times in no uncertain terms as being a little lax in reaching their goal.

PENDLETON -- The famous Pendleton Round-Up kicks off Sept. 6 with a concert featuring Joe Nichols and Jason Michael Carroll.

Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik should be quite content with themselves. Their fifth annual Penny-Arcade Expo drew in ticket sales of more than 58,000. At an average $35 a pop, the video game convention is doing more than okay.

When the curtain rises for Chicago, the razzle dazzle may not be quite what the audience expects from a Broadway musical.

LOS ANGELES -- With Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince moving to the summer of 2009, a new release date opened up for another big screen adaptation of a publishing phenomenon, the vampire romance Twilight.

The premise of The House Bunny is as empty as the vacuous mind of its ex-Playboy bunny lead character. However, in the hands of Legally Blonde writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith the topic is a treat.

WENATCHEE -- A Wenatchee musician with a taste for blending sound headlines the Tumbleweed Folk Music Festival on Labor Day weekend.

Buddy Bentz, drummer for the band Colorblind, thinks turning the milestone 50 should not be taken lightly.

Jaci Velasquez, the Grammy-nominated Latin Christian singing sensation, will make an appearance Aug. 24 at the annual Miss Quince & Latin Bridal Expo at TRAC in Pasco.

Air Supply headlines the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo main stage entertainment Aug. 22 at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Kennewick.

VANCOUVER, Wash. -- The annual Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival is Aug. 22-24 at Esther Short Park.

PENDLETON -- The Tamastslikt Cultural Institute near Pendleton is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month with all sorts of events for all ages.

Kicking off the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo events will be the annual fair parade, which starts at 10 a.m. Aug. 16 in downtown Kennewick.

Did anyone in your college dorm have that poster of Bob Marley, uh, exhaling? Isn't Fast Times at Ridgemont High a classic? Did you buy that one-hit-wonder Afroman album just for the song Because I Got High?

Latest example of a movie with a Two-Face Trailer: Tropic Thunder.

3-D has made a comeback. The effects -- like those seen in Fly Me to the Moon, which opens Aug. 15 -- boggle the mind. Some contend 3-D films are the future. That's not exactly correct. The future has been with us since the advent of movies. Recognizing the potential of infusing three dimensions into a story, producers experimented with 3-D in the 1920s, '30s, '40s and '50s. They had the right idea, but those clunky glasses sucked and the delivery system just wasn't there. Other than documentarylike flicks done for the domed IMAX theaters, 3-D for the masses went away.

The Holiday 2 Dance exhibition gets under way Aug. 15-16 at the Red Lion Hotel in Pasco.

MINERAL -- The annual Mount Rainier Rockin' Country Music Festival kicks off Aug. 16 at the Mineral Lake Event Center in Mineral.

If you didn't get enough of The Kingsmen at the Cool Desert Nights street dance in June, then get ready to rock once more because those infamous Louie Louie guys will return Aug. 16 for an outdoor concert in the parking lot at Clover Island Inn, Kennewick.

PENDLETON -- Take a day off from serious and get your giggle on at comedy jam nights at Wildhorse Resort & Casino's Wildfire Cabaret lounge.

Welcome to the Mary Lou and Stevie Show. Any visitor to Bookwalter Winery on Wednesday night already knows the "voice" and the "pianoman."

Love the music from old school video games but are too embarrassed to rock them on your iPod?

For many musicians, making music feeds the artistic soul. That couldn't be more true for a trio of rock musicians who call themselves IV.

HERMISTON — Top-notch musical performances, a variety of other entertainment and a professional rodeo are in store for the Umatilla County Fair. A lot of fair buzz has been concentrated on the Aug. 9 performance of American Idol finalist Kellie Pickler.

Turns out Seth Green has the job you always wanted.

With eyes closed, one might think that Oldschool and Pink Floyd are one and the same.

Bethany Lee Herald staff writer Karina Pasian: First Love

Herb Leonhard’s storybook heroes aren’t your average knights in shining armor.

The Dark Knight may have set box-office records when it opened last weekend, but it’s the Watchmen comic books that have sold out at a downtown Kennewick comic book store.

I never watched The X-Files on TV, and I don’t remember much about the 1998 X-Files movie except that everyone wondered if agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully would get it on and make it the Sex-Files.

There’ll be plenty of stuff going on in the Tri-Cities on July 25-27 as the Tri-Cities Water Follies festivities roar into action with hydroplane races, air shows, street dances and art shows.

With their third record in the works, the funky Tri-City-based hip-hop group Eclectic Approach is ready to party boat race weekend.

If the boat races aren’t your thing, then there’s plenty of other events happening around the Tri-Cities on July 25-26 to keep the whole family happy.

The scintillating Men of Chippendales come to the Tri-Cities on July 23 for a show that is sure to add some heat to an already scorching summer.

SEATTLE -- Seattle's Death Cab for Cutie and a slew of other bands added July 14 complete the final lineup for Seattle's 2008 summertime Bumbershoot festival.

You know what's weird? Teeth. They're just little bones that live outside your skin.

If you elect to stay in town for the Tri-Cities Water Follies celebration this year, there are plenty of activities the whole family can enjoy.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- The Joker (Heath Ledger) strolls into a posh fundraiser for District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) in the latest Batman big-screen adventure The Dark Knight. The wingding is held by Gotham City's favorite playboy, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale).

The Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission will celebrate the outdoors across the state this summer with a series of festivals it hopes will introduce new audiences to the advantages of state parks.

They say it all the time when a young singer-songwriter talks about experiences beyond his years: You have to have loved to write a love song; experience loss to write its bitter foil.

PORTLAND -- Heat up your summer with some spicy Latin melody July 18 and make the trek to Portland for the Los Lobos and Los Lonely Boys concert at the Oregon Zoo.

Jay Cynik, better known as Jay Gilliam to his hometown friends in Ephrata, wrote his first graphic story in the third grade about a pig that was tossed out of Hogsville for, well, let's just say he got kicked out for a good reason.

In 1959, Jules Verne's novel Journey to the Center of the Earth was 100 years old. I was 10 that year and caught the movie at the Benton Theater in downtown Kennewick.

The cast of Columbia Basin College's production of Assassins spent time on a shooting range to get into the groove of shooting a weapon.

CHELAN -- While other areas in Washington are heating things up with jazz and rock festivals, Lake Chelan will calm it down some with a bit of classical calmness.

Chris Ward IV isn't trying to impress anyone -- especially now that he's part of the living dead.

The Beatles' Yellow Submarine plays softly from the store's speakers and patchouli wafts in the air while shoppers young and old wander inside Octopus' Garden.

Admission to Bite of Seattle is free but take plenty of cash or plastic. With more than 50 Seattle-area restaurants and 30 food product companies participating, there will be plenty foods and beverages to tempt your taste buds.

Fans of alternative rock don't need to head halfway between the North Pole and the Equator for good music, but they should try listening to the 45th Parallel's second LP, "take 2."