Now I've done it.

Tickets are on the way for Ozzfest 2006, the annual heavy-metal extravaganza that's bulldozing its way to Star Lake on July 18. I've made arrangements to take the day off work and spend 12 hours or so adding to the permanent damage to my eardrums. (They never did recover from Ted Nugent in '79). I'm not particularly confident that the industrial-strength earplugs I plan to buy will help stave off impending deafness.

Let's see ... whose presence will I be treated to that day? Well, I recognize Ozzy Osbourne. He sang with a band called Earth in the late '60s. (Look it up.) As far as the rest of these acts ... System of a Down. Avenged Sevenfold. Hatebreed. Disturbed.

Not exactly the Sunshine Daydream festival.

So, what malady has prompted this act of masochism?

I've been under the weather lately, I'll admit, but the answer is simply that I'm fulfilling a birthday request. A dad has to do what he has to do sometimes. So I'll make the best of it and enjoy ... well, maybe Ozzy'll bite head off something.

Actually, the son I'm taking to the festival is a big fan of one of the acts, Lacuna Coil. He often pops a Lacuna Coil CD into the car player when I'm giving him a ride, and to tell the truth, it's very listenable, not nearly as heavy as what you'd expect with Ozzfest.

Plus, judging from the CD cover, the female lead singer is good-looking. So I'll enjoy Lacuna Coil, even if no one bites the head off anything.