The actor, writer, and supervising producer of The Office, B.J. Novak, will be performing stand-up comedy for free on the south side of the Illini Union this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. What better way to celebrate a week of working than with someone who perfectly conveys the pain of doing just that in a cubicle? Sponsored by the Illini Union Board, the show is quite possibly the best reason one could ask for to brave campus town on a Friday night.

[Kimya Dawson, L’Orchidee D’Hawai and Angelo Spencer at the Independent Media Center on April 13]

Angelo Spencer, the first opener of the evening, was quite the modern day troubadour. Taking ambidexterity to the limit, he played guitar with the upper half of his body and an abbreviated drum kit with his feet. There was something inescapably amateur about his sound, but even when the Frenchman’s banter was a bit lost in translation, people continued cheering for him. The speak-sung lyrics and spastic strums highlighted both a slight similarity to Art Brut, and unfortunately, the void of not having a full band.

When Drew's Pizza, the take-out restaurant on Green Street between Sixth and Wright streets known for their $5 pies that tasted like cardboard closed, their darkened storefront became the third on the block, until now. Offering bagels, sandwiches, spreads, and treats, Howbowda Bagel will open in summer 2008, and if they serve matzo ball soup, I will have no reason to travel back to the Chicago suburbs ever again.