Solex @ Empty Bottle

Solex, Dutch sound collage wizard Elisabeth Esselink, plays at the Empty Bottle tonight. Opening acts: On!Air!Library! and Worm is Green. The show starts at 9:30; tickets are $10 in advance, and $12 at the door. Empty Bottle: 1035 N. Western. (773) 276-3600.

Train to be a Pollwatcher

The League of Women Voters of Chicago and the snappy website i am the government will be offering free training for people interested in being a pollwatcher on November 2nd. Training takes place tonight (as well as most nights througout October) from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the League of Women Voters offices at 332 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 1050, Chicago. For more information, or to read True Pollwatcher Stories check here.

CTA Hearing: 2005 Budget and Service Cuts

Your daily commute is threatened because public transit in the Chicagoland region is insufficiently funded. Twenty years of insufficient funding for public transit has consequences. Visit Roberto Clemente High School at 1147 North Western at 6:30 p.m. to take part in this essential public hearing. See the entire schedule at Campaign for Better Transit.

Bridge Magazine Reading

Tonight, a reading and reception jointly sponsored by Bridge Magazine and the Chicago Public Library from 8–9:30 p.m. at the Bridge space at 119 N. Peoria, minutes from downtown Chicago. This reading features students and faculty from Northwestern University's Masters in Creative Writing Program: Taffy Brokemond, Charles Fiori (NPR's Stories on Stage), Lisa Grayson (Publica), Christopher Ott (Canvas), Matt Pagano (ImprovOlympic Theater), Claire Zulkey (Chicago Magazine, Zulkey.com), myself, and Elizabeth Crane (When The Messenger is Hot). 

"Get Your War On 2" Book Signing

Tonight, creator of the comic My New Fighting Technique Is Unstoppable, David Rees, is on tour to promote his second book Get Your War On 2 (which, oddly enough, follows his book Get Your War On). Rees will be signing his book at the Chicago Center for Arts Policy in Hokin Hall, Columbia College, 623 South Wabash at 6 p.m. For more information call (312) 344-7985.

Drag King Art Exhibit

International Drag King Extravaganza 6 (IDKE6) kicks off at HotHouse with dis/locator, an art exhibit showcasing gender-bending art from some of the most talented artists within and friends of the drag king community. Meet the artists from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and enjoy special entertainment until midnight. The event is free.

Discrete Reading Series @ SpareRoom

The Discrete Series presents Jennifer Karmin and Sawako Nakayasu tonight at 6 p.m. at The SpareRoom located at 2416 W. North Ave. ($5 suggested donation). Please note that the SpareRoom is an alcohol-free space. Jennifer Karmin will be performing "Revolutionary Optimism," a multi-voiced text based upon sympathy cards, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, and confessions from Iraqi prisoners. Jennifer is a poet, artist and educator who has published, performed, exhibited, taught and experimented with language throughout the U.S. And Japan. Sawako Nakayasu was born in Yokohama, Japan, and has lived mostly in the U.S. since the age of six. She writes poetry, prose, and performance text, and translates from Japanese to English. Nakayasu's first book, "So we have been given time, Or" was selected by Ann Lauterbach as winner of the fourth annual Verse Prize. It was published by Verse Press in September 2004. The Discrete Series presents an event of poetry/music/performance/something on the second Friday of each month. For more information about this or upcoming events, email j_seldess@hotmail.com or kerri@conundrumpoetry.com or call the space at 773-862-3616.