It Came From The Neo-Futurarium: Brain Damage

The Neo-Futurists present their 9th annual series of live film script readings, It Came From The Neo-Futurarium IX: The Perils of the Neo-Futurarium! Tonight's performance is Brain Damage, the story of a brain parasite and its teenage friend. The film festival runs Thursday nights at 8pm through August 5. Tickets are $10, $8 for students with ID and repeat customers. A full schedule and tickets are available at the Neo-Futurists' Website. Neo-Futurarium: 5153 N. Ashland at Foster. (773) 275-5255.

Rio Bravo @ Film Center

The Gene Siskel Film Center continues its Quentin Tarantino retrospective with one of the many films that inspired Tarantino's work: the 1959 Howard Hawks Western Rio Bravo, with John Wayne and Dean Martin. The film screens this evening at 6:00pm; see the Film Cetner Website for full details and a complete schedule. Film Center: 164 N. State. (312) 846-2600.

Chefs and the City @ Peninsula Chicago

Non-profit Vital Bridges, an HIV/AIDS outreach organization, teams up for a benefit with over 30 high-profile Chicago chefs, including Arun Sampanthavivat (Arun's), Chris Pandel (The Bristol), Bill Kim (Urban Belly), Shawn McClain (Green Zebra) and others, for a tasting and a fashion show. Hob-nob with the big wigs, and enjoy the sights and tastes atop the terrace of the Peninsula Hotel, all for a good cause. 6pm. $250. Peninsula Chicago, 108 E. Superior. For more info, call Vital Bridges at (773)-271-5117.

Women Empowerment Screenings @ Cultural Center

This afternoon, the Chicago Cultural Center hosts another two films centered on women empowerment as part of a four-film series begun on August 15th. Today, Going on 13 and Troop 1500 will play, with a panel discussion following each screening. Going on 13, the story of three girls of color in the tough transition from girl to woman, plays today at noon. Keeping the focus on the young, Troop 1500, a film that follows a very unique Girl Scout troop focused on uniting its members with their incarcerated mothers, will play at 2:30pm.

Admission is free. The Chicago Cultural Center is located at 78 E Washington.

Chicagoist Reader Meet-up

Chicagoist hosts a reader meet-up tonight at the Goose Island Clybourn Brewpub, 1800 N. Clybourn, starting at 6pm. Meet staffers and other readers, and sample "Sai-Shan-Tea," a new Goose Island beer developed in collaboration with Chicagoist's Chuck Sudo and the Rare Tea Cellar. Free. 21+

Nathan Rabin @ Women and Children First

Tonight Onion AV Club head writer Nathan Rabin reads from The Big Rewind: A Memoir Brought to You by Pop Culture, just out in paperback. It's a confessional bio told through the lens of the pop culture that kept him sane through a childhood of parental abandonment and mental institutions. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, for example, taught him "if you're going to be stuck in this movie, the point is to be Jack Nicholson, not one of the gargoyle-faced character actors stumbling around in a Klonopin haze." The New York Times says "Rabin has packed [The Big Rewind], like a cannon, full of caustic wit and bruised feelings. The result is a lo-fi, sometimes crude book that is nonetheless more effective (and affecting) than it has any right to be." Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark St., at 7:30pm.

Eyedea & Abilities @ Bottom Lounge

Rhymesayers indie hip hop, battle artists supreme Eyedea & Abilities perform tonight at Bottom Lounge (1375 W. Lake St). The 17 and up show features a lineup of underground all-stars, including Kristoff Krane, Educated Consumers and Chicago's own Psalm One. Doors open at 8pm. Tickets are $12.