To get you through to hump day, here are the 10 best things our critics recommend this week, including a Salman Rushdie talk, a queer variety show at Rendezvous, and a 99 cent screening of This Is Spinal Tap.
MONDAY
READINGS: Salman Rushdie: To see the acclaimed author (and fatwa target) Salman Rushdie, you'll have to shell out $35 (ticket comes with one copy of his new novel, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights), or $40 if you bring a friend. But Rushdie is an eloquent, humorous public speaker who's also a great reader of his own work, so you'll get your money's worth. (Rich Smith)
COMEDY: Collide-O-Scope: Created and hosted by Michael Anderson and Shane Wahlund, Collide-O-Scope is the cavalcade of curated video delights that takes over Re-bar twice a month, this time with "Neverending '80s" as the theme.
FILM: City Stories Youth Videos and Even the Walls: Seventy Years at Yesler Terrace: Northwest Film Forum will screen youth-made short films and a documentary about Yesler Terrace.
TUESDAY
READINGS: Asia Talks: Eka Kurniawan: The Indonesian novelist reads from Beauty Is a Wound and Man Tiger, both of which display a kind of darker, more cosmopolitan version of the magical realism popularized by Márquez. (Rich Smith)
COMEDY: Comedy Womb Open Mic: The rules of this pro-lady stand-up night are refreshing in their simplicity: no misogyny and no heckling.
WEDNESDAY
READINGS: Wage Slaves: Tales from the Grind: According to the poet Patricia Lockwood, when asked if poetry was a job, Robert Frost bent down, picked up a handful of autumn leaves and said, "It IS a job, and I got paid today." That may or may not have happened, but it does bring up a good question. What's the relationship between writing and work? How does the grind wear on a writer? This reading series gathers several hard laborers to offer up their answers. Featured authors include Anastacia Renee Tolbert, Bruce Barcott, Kate Lebo, Sam Ligon, Brian McGuigan, Sierra Golden, and Michelle Goodman. (Rich Smith)
FILM: 99 Cent Movie Night: This Is Spinal Tap: Stay after The Princess Bride for the perfect Rob Reiner double-feature. Central Cinema will screen the film that made Tom Waits cry upon first viewing for just 99 cents.
Nashville: SIFF will screen this acclaimed 1975 Robert Altman drama for one night only, in honor of the film's 40th anniversary.
COMEDY: The Gay Uncle Time: It's an avuncular variety show starring Santa-esque comedian Jeffrey Robert and a rotating cavalcade of local stars, drag queens, storytellers, and weirdos. Get a healthy dose of history, comedy, and song from the gay uncle you always wished you had and his friends you always suspected were up to no good. September's show is loosely themed around Tom Waits and his album Nighthawks at the Diner, so swallow some gravel and wear your most timeless hat. (Matt Baume)
ALL WEEK
ART: Check out the events happening during the Seattle Design Festival, or some of the art shows Jen Graves recommends: Jake Millett, Sadie Wechsler, Kymia Nawabi, PCNW Presents, or Veit Stratmann.
For a comprehensive guide to things to do in Seattle, check out our calendar.
