At the same time that major-label releases from Nirvana and Pearl Jam were drawing international attention to Seattle's rock scene, the Gits were building an underground following with their raucous, blues-infused punk sound, their 1992 debut album, Frenching the Bully, and their singer's versatile, vibrant pipes. Cobain had cadence and a smooth/sandpaper rasp. Vedder had a deep-welled baritone croon. Mia Zapata had a sweet, soulful, explosive growl that should have been just as famous.......

TODAY IS WORLD REFUGEE DAY! The International Rescue Committee is hosting a benefit night of poetry, music, dance and crafts from our local refugee community at the Seattle Center, and John Hilde's Made In China (a documentary about his father's childhood in pre-WWII China) is screening at the NWFF with proceeds going to Mercy Corps' work in the devastated Sichuan province of China. Be a good neighbor and enjoy these artsy celebrations of diversity and......

TRASH TALKING: Not totally through with film after SIFF? Tonight, trash cinema provocateur John Waters appears at Seattle Arts & Lectures. From groundbreaking indie work like Pink Flamingos to cult classics like Hairspray to contemporary satire like Pecker and Cecil B. Demented, Waters has been pushing the boundaries of the cinema for about 40 years, and has moved from the indie fringes to the mainstream with popular stage musicals of his classic films. 7:30 p.m.......

NOT REINVENTING THE WHEEL: If you're considering quitting your corporate job--you know, the one with benefits and a customer lunch expense account--to build your own business from the ground up, you're crazy. Have you read the financial pages in the newspapers of late? Sometimes, however, it takes exactly that edge of craziness to make your dreams come true. In that case, let us direct you to the Six Hour Start-Up Conference this weekend. Your bucks......

Writer/director Harmony Korine (Gummo, Julien Donkey-Boy) is not for everyone. But enough people in Seattle are for him that last night's 9:15 p.m. showing of latest film Mister Lonely had the little theater at the Northwest Film Forum completely packed, and now the film's run has been extended another week (through May 29th). The plot: Diego Luna is a Dangerous-era Michael Jackson impersonator, the radiant-as-always Samantha Morton is a voluptuous Marilyn Monroe impersonator. They......

Last night the Northwest Film Forum had a line out the door with moviegoers eager for some classic European cinema. As previously mentioned, the Italian sex comedy Divorce--Italian Style (and its follow-up, Seduced and Abandoned) are showing in the small theater through tomorrow, leaving the big one to hold the main event, the NWFF's latest film series, Duel of the Cool. In this corner, France's Jean-Paul Belmondo, former boxer (hence the big, oft-broken nose),......

MUSIC: The Hotel Cafe Tour at Neumo's is sold out, so why not change things up with internationally celebrated Irish pianist John O'Conor at Meany Hall. Impress your friends with an all-Beethoven recital including the "Pathétique," "Waldstein," and "Moonlight" sonatas, and Bagatelles, Op. 126. Melinda Bargreen calls him "spectacularly good." And Beethoven, hell, if Wikipedia is correct, that guy was no slouch either. 7:30 p.m. // Meany Hall, University of Washington // Tickets: $20,......

MUSIC: The question of the day is whether to hear Jens Lekman at Neumos or a re-formed The Cult. It's six of one, half-dozen of the other, isn't it? But since The Cult show is sold out, you're better off dropping by Neumos for Swedish indie pop. His new album, says Pitchfork, spans "the baroque pop of Scott Walker, the upbeat rhythms and bright harmonies of Northern soul, and the beach-party disco of fellow......

We caught War Made Easy at the Film Forum last night, but we weren't in the big hurry we thought because its run has been extended through Monday, the 21st. Despite being narrated by Sean Penn, it's fairly lo-fi -- a cool-headed interview with media critic Norman Solomon intercut with film and video footage to illustrate salient points on how gullible/acquiescent the American public is when it comes to run-ups to war and how supine......