GET SMARTIE: So you think you're a smartypants, eh? And you want to see that smartypants professor in the white house? Then you're in luck! Go use your brain for Obama tonight, and participate in a trivia night fundraiser at the Hi-Life in Ballard. The entry fee is a bit high for trivia night at a bar, but excessively low for a political fundraiser. Just think of how those Eastsiders paid $1k/plate when Cindy McCain was in town, and the $20 you drop for trivia will seem like chump change. UPDATE: Smarties for Obama is sold out. Sorry, but also...awesome!

6-7:30 p.m. sign-up // Hi-Life // $20

TREE HUGGER: What does a tree mean? What is its place in folklore and culture, and moreover, the world? Biologist Nalini Nadkarni has a few ideas. She's climbed a whole lot of trees, and she wrote a book about it: Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees, and she'll be in the basement at Town Hall tonight to talk about her tree love.

7:30 p.m. // Town Hall // $5

IRISH BROGUE: Celtic folk music isn't all riverdancing and whiskey. And, if you don't believe us, you should check out Solas tonight at the Triple Door. They cover Bob Dylan and Tom Waits as much as they do their own Irish-influenced folk rock. If it doesn't invigorate you, check your pulse.

7:30 p.m. // Triple Door // $22

That gorgeous bird is what we got when we typed "smart" into our Seattlest Flickr pool, and he comes to you courtesy of brightcandle