Friday 2/14 – Thursday 2/20
Topless waitresses, exotic dancers, and a bondage rack with hot-wax torture are just a taste of the naughty menu available at tonight’s King VelVeeda’s Court of Porn. The smut fest kicks off a monthlong exhibit of the artist’s dark work (featured in such comics as Horny Biker Sluts and She-Male Trouble) and includes a special appearance by porn star Seka, music by Three Blue Teardrops, and free cheesecake. It starts at 8 at Poop Studios, 1947 W. North. It’s $8. Call 773-927-5008.
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15 SATURDAY “I have seen sucrose beaches and water a very bright blue. I have seen an all-red leisure suit with flared lapels. I have smelled suntan lotion spread over 2,100 pounds of hot flesh. I have been addressed as ‘mon’ in three different nations. I have seen 500 upscale Americans dance the Electric Slide. I have seen sunsets that looked computer-enhanced. I have (very briefly) joined a conga line.” So begins David Foster Wallace’s 1996 Harper’s essay “Shipping Out,” which chronicled his adventures on a cruise. The caustic, heavily footnoted masterpiece is included in Wallace’s new collection of nonfiction, A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again. The prolific author and Illinois State University prof will read from his book tonight at 7:30 at Barbara’s Bookstore, 1350 N. Wells. It’s free; call 312-642-5044.
Prior to becoming a TV star, attorney Johnnie Cochran represented everyone from Michael Jackson to Todd Bridges to Reginald Denny–and it’s all painstakingly detailed in his autobiography, Journey to Justice. In Dennis Kimbro’s new book, What Makes the Great Great: Strategies for Extraordinary Achievement, the author, professor, and business consultant examines the lives of successful African-Americans and offers guidelines on how to be like them. Kimbro and Cochran will appear together to discuss their books today from 3 to 6 at the DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place. It’s free. Call 773-947-0600.
20 THURSDAY For four days they gather in the Nevada desert and dance naked or dress up in costumes, race rocket-powered cars, bathe in mud, and shoot automatic weapons. On day five they burn a 40-foot-tall human effigy and undulate to its flames. Wish you’d been there? Tonight Joe Winston’s 39-minute documentary of the Burning Man Festival will screen at 8 at Delilah’s, 2771 N. Lincoln. It’s free; call 773-472-2771.
