Out Loud: Open Mic Poetry Against the Bush Dictatorship
The war in the Middle East seems to have fizzled out, and so the folks at Pacific Switchboard have wisely changed the words in the title of their open mic night from "Against the War" to "Against the Bush Dictatorship." Anais La Rue, Ana Decastro, Heidi X, and more will sound off against President Grover. Pacific Switchboard, 4637 N Albina, 236-0867, 7 pm
Marlena de Blasi
de Blasi wrote her memoir A Thousand Days in Venice after leaving her grown kids and American life behind to move out to Italy with a man she had met briefly while traveling there before. Whether you think that's romantic or crazy, don't you think it's nice to know that old people have sex, too? Annie Bloom's Books, 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, 246-0053, 7:30 pm, free
Untangling My Chopsticks
This unfortunately titled book is Victoria Riccardi's recap of how she ditched her loving boyfriend and plum advertising job to move to Japan and study cooking and tea ceremonies. Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, 238-1668, 7:30 pm, free
Lewis & Clark's Pacific Arrival
The 500,000th book on Lewis and Clark to appear during the last year or so addresses the mystery of how those crazy explorers got all the way from the Rockies to within 20 miles of the Pacific Ocean, then took another whole month to travel the last 20 miles. ZZZZZZ... huh? I mean, fascinating! Keep those L & C books coming! Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St, 228-4651, 7:30 pm, free
Jason Newcomb
Amazon.com says of Newcomb's new book 21st Century Mage: "For the first time since its initial translation into English at the turn of the century, Jason Newcomb has reinterpreted the sacred magic of Abramelin the Mage into a completely relevant program for contemporary seekers." If that makes a speck of sense to you, then definitely don't miss this event. Barnes & Nobel, Lloyd Center, 1317 Lloyd Center, 249-0800, 7 pm, free
Didi Emmons
Popular chef Didi Emmons presents her new vegetarian cookbook Entertaining For a Veggie Planet, along with a cooking demo. The catch? You have to buy a copy of the book to see her in action. It's a good cookbook, though. If you've been looking for a vegetarian cookbook, might as well get this one and see a little entertainment for your buck. In Good Taste, NE Everett & 11th, 248-2015, 3 pm, $18.95
* Elizabeth Berg
Oprah fave Berg presents her new book Say When, about a distraught husband blindsided by his cheating spouse. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St, 228-4651, 7:30 pm, free
Ted Conover, Luis Urrea
These two authors are teaching at LC's Northwest Writing Institute Summer classes. Conover will read from his book Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing, and Urrea from his book The Devil's Highway. Agnes Flanagan Chapel at Lewis & Clark College, 0615 SW Palatine Hill Road, 768-6160, Fri 7 pm, free
