Ira Glass & Chris Ware

Ira Glass, host of This American Life, and illustrator Chris Ware will be presenting a story they wrote and illustrated together. The presentation takes place tonight at 10:45 PM on the roof of the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph. Along with the story presentation, there will be two musical groups in attendance: The Aluminum Group and 8th Blackbird. The event is free and open to the public.

Lip @ Neo-Futurarium

Performance poet Lisa Buscani, a former Neo-Futurist, returns to her old stomping grounds this month and presents Lip, a weekly spoken-word extravaganza. Every Friday and Saturday night in July will feature a different lineup of writers and performers, each one delivering 15 minutes of scintillating verbiage. This week's Lip lineup: Kate Anderson, Dave Awl, Joel Chmara, Mary Fons, Cin Salach and Marc Smith. Fans of the spoken word will definitely want to listen to Lip. Show starts at 8:00, doors open at 7:30. The Neo-Futurarium: 5153 N. Ashland (at Foster). More information and reservations: (773) 275-5255.

Andersonville Walking Tour

The Chicago Architecture Foundation sponsors a wealth of walking, boat, and bus tours in neighborhoods throughout the year. One of them is the Andersonville walking tour, set for today, July 17 (the next one is in October). Part of a series that features the Edgewater and Lakewood-Balmoral neighborhoods, you can learn about Andersonville’s growth from early Swedish farms of the 1840s to a thriving present-day neighborhood. There has always been vital activity on Clark Street, originally as a Native American path and now as a bustling commercial district. The architecture is both classical and modern, and is surrounded by Victorian, prairie, and classical residential and institutional buildings. The tour takes place at 10:30 a.m., and lasts 2 hours. Tickets are $10. Check the website for more information.

Gurlesque Burlesque

Enjoy semi-naked ladies? Who doesn't! Join the Sissy Butch Brothers' Gurlesque Burlesque at the Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace, tonight for a gyrating good time. Not only will you get to hoot at dozens of Chicago performers, you will also get to gaze upon Miss Dirty Martini and Julie Atlas Muz from New York and Miss Indigo Blue from Seattle. Get you tickets at the Abbey or online at ticketweb.com. Just $15!

Chicago Modern exhibit @ Terra Museum

The Terra Museum of American Art presents its final exhibition, "Chicago Modern, 1893-1945: Pursuit of the New." Be sure to check it out before the museum's doors close at the end of October. The exhibit runs through October 31, and is free and open to the public. Terra Museum of American Art: 664 N. Michigan. (312) 664-3939.

Dog Lovers @ Barbara's

Margaret Littman provides the "inside scoop" on other great places to take your four-legged friends in her book, "The Dog Lover's Companion to Chicago." Bring your pooch for a treat at Barbara's! Littman will read at Barbara's Bookstore in Oak Park, located at 1100 Lake Street, at 1 p.m. today. For more information call (708) 848-9140.

Tour de France on a big screen

Craving some large-screen Tour de France action and willing to get up early for it? A Lincolnshire theater will be showing live race coverage on a movie screen at 6am on Saturday morning. There's a $25 registration fee, but it seems to include breakfast.

Drinking & Writing @ T's

All July long "Drinking & Writing" will once again cozy up to the bar where it all started, T's Bar and Restaurant, 5025 N. Clark St. (at the corner of Winnemac) in the heart of Andersonville. Every Thursday and Saturday at 7 p.m. for the whole month of July you are cordially invited to join them for drinks and performances of "Drinking & Writing". As a bonus, not only will you be able to see the original "Drinking & Writing," but you'll also be able to see the all new "Drinking & Writing Volume II, The 'Nobel' Experiment". That's right, an all new show written and performed by Neo-Futurists Steve Mosqueda, Sean Benjamin, and featuring Chloe Johnston. This all new Volume of Drinking & Writing focuses on the years of prohibition and features many new writers such as Edna St. Vincent Milay, H.L. Mencken, Upton Sinclair, Sinclair Lewis, Jack London, and many more. The two shows will be performed in rep on Thursdays and Saturdays, so to find out more about the schedule visit their website, where you can also purchase tickets in advance. Tickets are $12 and $8 for students with ID and can also be purchased at the door.