The 22nd Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival is in full swing with shows planned for nearly 200 independent features and shorts. Stars, directors, producers and filmmakers will be on hand at most of the showings.

The longest festival on record, this year"s fest has something for everyone. Whether you are a college student, film buff or just have interest in the Indies, the opportunity for locals and visitors spool out until November 11th.

The major plus for this festival is the participation of college and high school students who have entered the annual Kodak Student Film Competition. Colleges and High Schools from all over the country vie in different categories for top awards and grants.

This is a feature column on the experiences and insights of a modern indie musician. Sounds a little heavy, but could make for a good read, right? I"ll tell ya" what . . . before you make up your mind, give me a few lines.

The name"s Uni and I sing for the band Red Carpet Rats. Our road has had more twists and turns than a Tarantino/Rodriguez double feature, and ‘ol ACED here is letting me tell you all about it . . . and then some!

Part how-to, part how-not-to, it's your very own all-access, VIP, couldn"t-get-closer-without-a-MySpace-password, look under the hood of indie rock. Still with me? Good. Now let"s see, where to begin . . .

Low self-esteem and bad hair days were a thing of the past at Sensationnel Hair Idol 2007: Recognizing the Winner in Every Woman. Produced by Glynn Jackson, founder of the largest hair show in the country.

The show featured women who were leaders in their church communities, dance group, and, of course, there are the contestants.

It was inspired by an incident -- a radio personality made a derogatory statement about black women -- a few months back. The incident stirred Mr. Jackson, and a few colleagues, to come together and make a party, designed to boost the morale of women everywhere. What a perfect example of taking a sad song and making it better!

"We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead."

This pearl, which has been all over the net in the past days for obvious reasons, was reported to come from Jeff Robinov, who, contrary to the logical assumption, is not a Neanderthal from the past, but Warner Bros.' President of Production.

The alleged quote would have been allegedly triggered by recent releases like The Brave One, with Jodie Foster in the lead, or Nicole Kidman's The Invasion, and their poor performance at the box office.