t's not that chameleons haven't always lived amongst us, it's just that they've been well hidden, disguising themselves as rocks, trees, lovers, novellas, spare tires, Converse, mobile telephones, concert tickets, ambition, melancholy, French bread, shattered dreams, hope, urns, coffee makers, teardrops, rainbow gold, dogs (with a British accent), charity drives, didactic crossing guards, indie filmmakers, guitar technicians, fine cheese, processed cheese, earth, wind, fire, Earth, Wind and Fire, Marvin Gaye's father, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford, Merry Pranksters, dryer sheets, used condoms, parachutists, blurbists, nonsensical lists, archaic verbs, med students, mod night DJs, run-on sentences, and myriad other things; they're that good. Now, emerging in a wave of bravado and eschewing their former guises, chameleons have revealed themselves, in their true form, as urban lounge lizards.

Currently, chameleons are so concerned with their leisure suits that all they have time to cook is pub fare. That's not bad, is it? -S.T.