Select Media Festival 3 Super Show

Tonight starting at 8pm, head to the buddY/High School/Heaven gallery complex, 2nd and 3rd floors of 1542-1550 N. Milwaukee, for the Select Media Festival 3 Super Show. The evening features: • Live music by The Latest, Terry Plumbing super group and others at buddY
• Select Shorts: Best of smf3 shorts program at High School (10pm)
• Little Utopias: Alterations of Everyday Life Exhibition at Heaven
Admission is $10; receive the new Select 8 compilation DVD and a syndrome/Lumpen t-shirt with admission. Complementary beverages and treats. Check here for more details.

Asian American Jazz Festival @ HotHouse

The HotHouse presents the 2004 Asian American Jazz Festival, a two-day showcase of jazz, blues, spoken word and much more. Tonight's program features jazz fusion pianist Frank Lucas, Simon Wu from Shanghai, Sumito Ariyoshi and his combo ARIYO-C, and at least one GB staffer. (You'll have to attend to see which one.) The program begins tonight at 8:00 PM, and tickets are $15 ($12 for students). HotHouse: 31 E. Balbo. (312) 362-9707.

CSO's Friday Night at the Movies

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra presents Charlie Chaplin's City Lights as part of their Friday Night at the Movies series. The orchestra will perform Chaplin's score for the film live, as the film plays on a screen above the orchestra stage. The concert happens tonight at 8:00 PM at Symphony Center (220 S. Michigan). See the CSO Website for tickets and further information, or call (312) 294-3000.

Tarnation @ Music Box

The 2003 documentary Tarnation made a name for itself at this year's Sundance Film Festival, not only for its compelling story (the director, Jonathan Caouette, combines video footage, snapshots, and even dramatic re-enactments to tell the story of his family), but for the fact that it was completely edited with iMovie. It starts playing at the Music Box Theatre tonight; check local listings for showtimes. Music Box: 3733 N. Southport. (773) 871-6604.

Rhino Theater Fest: A Dangerous Ornithology

A piece by James Owens, part of the Rhinoceros Theater Festival. "The lives of seeming strangers become interwoven during the pressure of war in a one party state. Amidst the rising violence surrounding him, a prison camp worker is gripped by an irresistible urge to defy the laws. After a chance encounter on a train with an accountant who seems to share his thoughts, the prison worker discovers he is caught in a circle of murder, sex, and ritual. The cycle must be broken before all is lost. The problem is that, when neither history nor your own senses can be trusted, reality becomes the enemy." 9pm, Curious Theatre Branch, 7001 N Glenwood. $12 or pay what you can. Call 773-274-6660 for reservations.

Rhino Theater Fest: White Suit Science

A new piece written and directed by Shawn Reddy for the Rhinoceros Theatre Festival. "From the mind that brought you last year’s Rhino and PAC/Edge hit, My Name is Mudd, comes a super-scientific-y investigation into one of America’s great literary mysteries. Why did Mark Twain wear a white suit out of season? Complete with Mark Twain impersonators, Kentucky Fried Chicken conspiracies, dry cleaning techniques, God’s experiments on little animals, Silas Phelps’s penis, and much, much more in the way of irrelevant supporting material, White Suit Science finally reveals the greatest ancient Chinese secret this side of the Mississippi!" 7pm, Curious Theatre Branch, 7001 N Glenwood. $12 or pay what you can. Call 773-274-6660 for reservations.

Chicagoland Transportation and Air Quality Congress

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Chicagoland Transportation and Air Quality Commission, the group will hold its Regional Congress III Friday, October 15, 2004 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Loyola University Chicago, 25 E. Pearson, Kasbeer Hall, 15th Floor. To mark this momentous occasion, keynote addresses will be delivered by NBC 5 News Reporter, Carol Marin and U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky. The Chicagoland Transportation and Air Quality Commission is a coalition of over 190 organizations that have worked together for the past ten years to bring about transportation, land use, and air quality improvements in the Chicagoland region. To register for this event, visit the Center for Neighborhood Technology. The $15 Registration includes lunch and meeting materials. For more information on worshops, check here.

Andersonville Arts Walk Weekend

Join friendly Andersonvillians around their neighborhood this weekend for the annual Andersonville Arts Walk. Galleries, shops, and restaurants will be open special hours to display local art and performances. Highlights include the NeoFuturist production of "Alice" told via a walking tour of the neighborhood plus visual art from over 100 artists. The kick-off party is tonight from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. At Atmosphere, 5355 N. Clark. Meet participating artists, enjoy food provided by Angel’s Restaurant. Cash bar. The Kick-off party will feature a silent auction of works donated by participating artists. All proceeds will benefit the after-school programs of Peirce Elementary School. Call 773-728-2995 for more information, or look for the great brochures in Andersonville businesses with the kinda creepy lady on the front.

Rhino Theater Fest: Cant

The Curious Theatre Branch's 16th annual Rhinoceros Theater Fest features Jenny Magnus's solo piece. "CANT is not not being able to. CANT is an edge, a brink that one can teeter on. Jenny Magnus returns to her familiar niche of solo performance with CANT, a new meditation on inclines and their slants when it comes to comfort, responsibility, and the terror of love. In her first new work in 2 years, Magnus uses her whining manner of speaking and vulgar slang to explore the relationship she creates with her doppelganger, a bag of rice the exact weight of her only child. When one’s concerns turn to having children, aging parents, and the inexorable passage of time, one must be careful of sudden movements which result in turning over or tilting up. Or so Magnus finds in her unique language, implying the pretended assumption of goodness. CANT is not not being able to. CANT is doing, in spite of whether one is able." 7pm. $12 or pay what you can. At the Curious Theatre Branch, 7001 N Glenwood. Call 773.274.6660 for reservations.

Lend Us Your Ears

The Third Coast International Audio Festival presents "Lend Us Your Ears," some of the most interesting and sound-rich work from the Festival's past four years, played in a continuos loop. The program includes competition winners, commissioned pieces and website features, and the gallery has been specially outfitted for optimal listening comfort. The exhibit runs until December 5, but there's an opening event tonight, 6-9pm on the first floor of the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph. Free.

Eggers and Haggis-On-Whey @ Millennium Park

Tonight at 7pm at Chicago Cultural Center located at 78 E. Washington Street The Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, Dave Eggers (of McSweeney's, among other cultural touchstones) will introduce Dr. and Mr. Doris Haggis-On-Whey who will give a presentation on their new book, Your Disgusting Head, the follow up to Giraffes? Giraffes!. Free.

"License to Live" Opening @ Foundation Gallery

The Foundation Gallery opens a new solo show tonight featuring the work of local artist Dan Grzeca (see some of his older work, including gig posters, ads, etc. here). Titled "License To Live: Portraits and Oddities Painted, Drawn and Printed" this show is running in conjunction with Chicago Artists' Month and will be up through November 14. The exhibition features Grzeca's newest body of work exploring myth and storytelling in the form of head studies painted on wood panel in acrylic, metal leaf and enamel, mixed media drawings and limited edition silk-screened prints. The influences and inspiration for the imagery and style comes from such places as sideshow banner painting, Max Ernst, contemporary underground comics and screen printed posters, punk rock and free jazz. The opening celebration is tonight from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, call 312-860-0740 or email info@foundation-gallery.org or check out their online backroom. The Foundation Gallery is located at 700 N. Carpenter Street (just south of the intersection of Milwaukee and Chicago in River West).

Save Our Lakefront Benefit @ Red Line Tap

Save Our Lakefront is an organization fighting to prevent Lake Shore Drive from extending any further north than where it already runs. For more information, check out their website. If you're already convinced, come out tonight to their Benefit Concert at the Red Line Tap at 8 p.m., 7006 N. Glenwood. Hear blues by Jan James, folk-tinged rock by Paul Kotheimer, and others TBA. $10 gets you in the door and goes to a great cause. The Lakefront Action Network Save Our Lakefront Campaign can be reached as well at 1545 W. Morse, Chicago, IL 60626 or call 773-973-7888.

Paul Frank Appearance

Designer Paul Frank will be appearing at his namesake store at 851 W. Armitage tonight from 6pm to 8pm. The first 100 people in line will be entered to win an exclusive Frank-designed John Deere item. You've been warned.

Drag King Party

Another spectacular International Drag King Extravaganza 6 (IDKE 6) event! Rub elbows with more drag kings and friends of kings than you can imagine. Get on stage and do your own drag king act or just dance the night away this Friday, October 15 at the Dragon Room at 809 W. Evergreen. The event costs $8 before 11 p.m. and $10 after.

Tru Order at the Darkroom

Love the music of New Order? Then check out Tru Order tonight at The Darkroom. Djs Traxx, Jesse De La Pena, and Trancid will be spinning a set of "their personal favorites, plus their own remixes" of New Order, Joy Division, Warsaw, and other Factory-related music. 2210 W. Chicago Ave., 21+, free till 11p.m. $5 after.