If you want to do something else tonight besides the mind-numbing seventh season opener of American Idol, here are a few options: WORDS Nobel Prizewinner Mohammad Yunus has a conversation with Rick Wartzman, director of the Drucker Institute, Claremont Graduate University (and former editor of the Los Angeles Times' West) on "Creating a World without Poverty." The evening will focus on questions like: "What if you could harness the power of the free market......

Who is brave or foolish enough to go out tonight? No, seriously. Why do you want to leave the house? There are some things to do if you are so inclined (queue writer's raised eyebrow). JAZZ The renowned Alan Broadbent Trio plays two sets tonight at the Jazz Bakery. 8 & 9:30 p.m. // The Jazz Bakery // 3233 Helms Ave. // (310) 271-9039 // $25 FILM Quentin Tarantino hosts a LACMA screening of South......

Saturday, October 20th The Ghastly Ones at the Talking Board Art Show COPRO NASON GALLERY 2525 Michigan Ave. T5, Santa Monica, Ca 90404 310.829.2156 Artist Chet Zar has assembled over 30 artists to create their own version of the Ouija Board. The opening reception at the CoproNason gallery will also be a Halloween party, so come in costume! There will also be a live, spooky, surfy musical performance by The Ghastly Ones! Free. 8pm-......

This Saturday is a good night to catch a couple of cool art openings around town! ACME is launching the group show Tugboat, featuring a variety of works by L.A. based artists Justin Beal, & Doug Crocco, along with Tomory Dodge, Tony Feher, Davis Rhodes, Lisa Sanditz, and Neal Tait. Opening reception is Saturday night from 6-8pm. - runs thru Oct. 6 - ACME - 6150 Wilshire Boulevard, Spaces 1 & 2 - www.acmelosangeles.com......

A couple of very cool local artists have an opening this weekend. You might recoginize his work from graffiti and stickers around Echo Park/Silver Lake as well as Spin Magazine, Vans shoes, the hallway at Little Joy and album covers for Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Get Up Kids, New Amsterdams, etc. You might recognize her work from album covers by the Silversun Pickups, Irving and/or hanging on the walls of the Mustard Seed in......

March 12th offers an eclectic array of activities. Fill the space between your ears with info about wind by attending the screeing of Wild Weather: Wind" at Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium, 332 S. Michigan Ave. , Pasadena. Show starts at 2 PM but doors open at 1:30. $5 also nets you a post-screening discussion will be led by Shane Murphy, of Caltech’s Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Program is for ages 6 and up......

On Saturday, December 11th, Santa Monica Museum of Art will exhibit "Black Belt," a group show of artwork, curated by the Studio Museum of Harlem, exploring the intersection between African American and Asian American cultures from the 1970s and 1980s. The forty five works in different mediums by nineteen contemporary American artists interpret political and philosophical connections among people of color, pop culture, and urban life. When the show opened in New York last......

Holiday time also bring out feelings of perversity. Not surprisingly, many Angelenos act on them. Vent your pent up frustrations and angst at the following somatic events: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3 Check out the "Sixth Nihilist International Film Festival," with films ranging from the antisocial to the amusing. Art Priestess Anna Homler will bless the televisions brought by the attendees fifteen minutes prior to the screening. 8 PM Track 16 Gallery in the Bergamont Station......