MONDAY, OCTOBER 19
COMICS: Cartoonist Adam Griffiths visits Upshur Street Books for the first of a four-session course that’s all about drawing, storytelling, and making comics. Each session will cover a different part of the process–from character development to best practices for breaking into the comics world. $60, 8 PM.
MUSIC: Seattle bands Telekinesis and Say Hi are great on their own, but their show together at the Black Cat promises to be more intimate than usual. Michael Benjamin Lerner, the non-rotating member of Telekinesis, and Eric Elbogen, the non-rotating member of Say Hi, have known each other for years after coming up together in the Seattle music scene. In fact, Elbogen will be acting as the bass player in Telekinesis for this entire tour. Come to the show for the evocative and energetic music; stay for the bromance. $15, 7:30 PM.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20
TALK: Christian Rudder is the co-founder and president of OkCupid, so you can thank him for the current dating landscape, which is mostly digital, for better or worse. Rudder comes to Hill Country Barbecue Market, courtesy of Smithsonian Associates, for an event called “Behavior by the Numbers: How Our Personal Data Exposes Us.” He’ll use his experience to explain how online personal data can have serious repercussions. Tickets include light hors d’oeuvres and a beverage. $50, 6:45 PM.
FILM: The Washington West International Film Festival opens on Tuesday. Through October 27, venues all over Virginia will show films that fit the festival’s ethos that “a story can change the world.” On Tuesday afternoon at LMO Advertising, check out the documentary Deep Web, which sheds light on the life and arrest of Ross William Ulbricht, creator of the online black market Silk Road. Director Alex Winter holds a Q&A after the screening via Skype. $12, 4 PM.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21
FOOD: Empty Bowls gives you the opportunity to lend a hand to the Capital Area Food Bank in the most delicious way possible. For $35, you get a handmade bowl that you can fill up with unlimited soup, bread, and desserts from local restaurants like Firefly, Del Frisco’s Grille, and Penn Commons. All proceeds help the Capital Area Food Bank fill some bowls of their own; each ticket helps provide nearly 90 meals in the area. 11:30 AM.
TALK: Michael Pollan has been writing about food for more than two decades, covering everything from the way we think about dinner in the Omnivore’s Dilemma to a deep dive into “magic mushrooms.” Pollan will be in conversation with NPR Morning Edition’s Renee Montagne at the Lisner Auditorium. $40, 8 PM.
TALENT SHOW: Maybe your favorite bartender is brilliant at the Jazz bass. Find out at Busboys and Poets’s employee talent show, when the restaurant pulls back the curtain on its own workers and reveals what they like to do when they’re not serving food. Free, 9 PM.
