Boycotting baseball? Here's a game plan to get through the Series

Chicago's playoff run was brief.

Very brief.

The Cubs were out in three games, the White Sox in four. Yet that tiny taste of postseason play - not to mention the fevered, short-lived fantasy of a crosstown World Series - makes it hard to enjoy the coming championship games.

Our solution? Ignore 'em. There's enough going on each day between now and the last possible game of the Series that you don't have to spend a minute whimpering while an out-of-town team takes home the prize.

Oct. 10: It's as American as baseball. Enjoy a night of country music with the sounds of Alan Jackson, Trace Adkins and James Otto at 7:30 p.m. at the Sears Centre Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates.

Tickets are $38.50-$85. (888) 732-7784 or searscentre.com.

Oct. 11: Halloween starts early at Volo Bog with a ghost walk and spooky stories best enjoyed under a warm blanket. The first round of tales by storytellers Ben Rosenfield and Megan Wells will be family friendly - appropriate for ages 5 and up. Later things get a bit more gruesome.

Grounds open at 5 p.m., and the storytelling begins at 7. Donations of $2 for kids and $5 for adults are requested. The bog is at 28478 W. Bradenburg Road, Ingleside. Register by e-mail at dnr.volobog@illinois.gov or by phone at (815) 344-1294.

Oct. 12: See why critics raved about this nature series when Discovery Channel reruns parts of the Emmy Award-winning "Planet Earth" on Sundays starting at 7 p.m. Startling images from the poles, life-and-death struggles on the plains and rare glimpses of bizarre ocean-dwelling creatures will take you far, far away from the Friendly Confines. And you gotta love those swimming monkeys.

Oct. 13: Columbus Day may have fallen out of favor in recent years (except among kids who love a day off of school), but who can resist a good Chicago parade? The Columbus Day Parade begins at 12:30 p.m. along - where else? - Columbus Drive between Balbo and Montrose. The parade features festivities, floats and, of course, politicians. (312) 744-3315 or cityofchicago.org/specialevents.

Oct. 14: Head to Harvard, where 11 varieties of apples are currently ripe for the picking at Royal Oak Farm, 15908 Hebron Road. Then go home and bake.

Picking is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and apples go for $49 a bushel. Stop by Royal Oak's store for fresh honey, pastries and more. (815) 648-4141 or royaloakfarm.com.

Oct. 15: The election enters its final weeks with the third, and last, televised debate between John McCain and Barack Obama. Tune in to almost any channel at 8 p.m. to catch the fireworks. If you get bored, you can always count the number of times each candidate utters the word "change."

Oct. 16: The 44th Chicago International Film Festival kicks off with red-carpet arrivals (so Hollywood) and a 7 p.m. showing of "The Brothers Bloom" at the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph. Director Rian Johnson and Academy Award-winning actress Rachel Weisz will be there, and you'll see the comedy way before anyone else since it won't open officially in Chicago until January.

Tickets are $30 to $40 at ticketmaster.com or by calling (312) 902-1500.

Oct. 17: The producers of the Academy Award-winning film "Crash" bring the concept to television in a 13-episode series premiering at 9 p.m. on Starz. Like the movie, the show looks at intersecting lives. If the idea seems a bit of a stretch for series TV, consider this: Dennis Hopper leads the ensemble cast.

Oct. 18: Fall's a great time to visit the zoo. You've got smaller crowds and the animals are often more active when the weather cools off a bit. This time of year, Brookfield Zoo also hosts Boo! at the Zoo, featuring a hay maze, pumpkin-carving demonstrations, haunted hayrides, a costume parade and an orange-dyed fountain.

The zoo's open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Admission is $7 for kids, $11 for adults. (708) 688-8000 or CZS.org.

Oct. 19: Now this is radical: OktoberFest in October. If you didn't get your fill of these last month, head to downtown Long Grove for food, beer, music, special activities and a celebration of the town's German heritage.

The festival runs 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (847) 634-0888 or longgroveonline.com.

Oct. 20: A stroll along the Scarecrow Trail at Lisle's Morton Arboretum offers the chance to marvel at both the creativity of decorated scarecrows and the powerful color display put on by Mother Nature each fall.

The arboretum is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 4100 Route 53. Admission is $6 for kids, $9 for adults. Call (630) 968-0074 or visit mortonarb.org.

Oct. 21: Run, don't walk, to see "Million Dollar Quartet" before this terrific jukebox musical - in the very best sense of the word - ends its run Oct. 26 at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. The show - about a jam session between music greats Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins - is at 7:30 at the Goodman, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago.

Tickets are $20-$49; call (312) 443-3800 or visit goodmantheatre.org.

Oct. 22: Hey there. The Plain White T's, Panic at the Disco, Dashboard Confessional and The Cab come together for a night of pop, rock and punk.

The concert starts at 7 p.m. at the Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont. Tickets are $29.95-$39.95; call (312) 559-1212.

Oct. 23: Most adults have a problem lining up before midnight - on a school night! - to see the first showings of "High School Musical 3." Preteen girls would think it nothing short of "fabulous."

Get your head in the game by getting there early. Check local listings or fandango.com for times and theaters.

Oct. 24: Sinbad returns to the Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora, for a night of manic comedy.

Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $27.50-$47.50. (630) 896-6666 or paramountarts.com.

Oct. 25: We're not sure what frightens us more - the ghouls or the roller coasters. You get both weekends through Nov. 2 at Six Flags Great America's FrightFest. The park features plenty of haunted attractions, spooky shows and a nightly Zombie Jamboree parade.

Great America is at 542 N. Route 21, Gurnee. FrightFest runs 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; admission is $34.99 to $54.99 with discounts available online. (847) 249-1776 or sixflags.com.

Oct. 26: Rock back to the past as Members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience pay tribute to the late singer-guitarist alongside blues and rock guitarists such as Buddy Guy, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Eric Johnson.

Catch it at 7:30 p.m. at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St. Tickets are $38-$92.50; call (312) 559-1212.

Oct. 27: Martians! Madness! Mayhem! Radio hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich revisit the infamous Orson Welles radio broadcast in the 1930s in "Radio Lab Live! Martian Invasion: Decoding the War of the Worlds."

It's at 7:30 p.m. at Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. Tickets are $30. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.

Oct. 28: No matter what your music taste, there's a brand-new CD release out this day for you - John Legend, Pink and Snow Patrol, among them. Want something sappy? There's Celine Dion. Prefer country? Go for Rascal Flatts. And there's always the soundtrack for the new James Bond flick -

Oct. 29: Head out to Drury Lane Oak Brook to see Barbara Robertson as one of musical theater's iconic divas in Jerry Herman's "Mame." You have only a couple of weeks to catch Robertson in this great role before she transforms back into Madame Morrible to finish out the final months of "Wicked's" extended Chicago run.

Performances at the theater, 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace, are at 1:30 and 8 p.m. Wednesdays; ticket prices vary. Call (630) 530-0111.

Oct. 30: Still feel bad about baseball? Rent "Battlefield Baseball," a Japanese film with English subtitles. The baseball diamond here is no playing field for overpaid athletes. Rather, it's a coliseum where gladiators go at it with bats, balls and gloves. Not for the squeamish, "Battlefield Baseball" boasts dismembered bodies, and bad taste abounds. The sole customer review on Amazon.com noted gleefully that it has "not a single moment of genuine plot or character development" - high praise indeed.