CITY WEEK

Books
Get clicking
There will always be holdouts who insist that the best photographs can only be captured with film, but digital photography seems to have become pretty legit. If you're ready to ride the digital wave but aren't sure how or where to begin, why not start at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, at Borders, 1092 Camino del Rio North in Mission Valley, when Matt Bamberg, author of Digital Art Photography For Dummies, signs copies and shares some secret tips. 619-295-2201.

True crime: Ah, La Jolla, that mansion-stocked enclave of art, fine dining and-murder? Indeed, it's where, in 1998, 38-year-old “nice guy” David Stevens was found in a burned-out Chrysler, shot in his car in cold blood. Former local cop Tom Basinski spent three years trying to solve the mystery of Stevens' death, and eventually turned the drama into the true-crime story No Good Deed. Ask Basinski how something so rotten happened in a town so ritzy when he appears at Winter AuthorFest, at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31, at the UCSD Bookstore. 858-534-3149.

Theater
Under their wing
On paper, the child-welfare bureaucracy of 1952 St. Louis was likely a comedy in and of itself-but add a surly 10-year-old client whose granddad and father were killed in World Wars I and II, and things suddenly aren't so funny. The deceased were aviators, and they died heroically, leaving a circle of well-meaning folks to help heal some extremely deep wounds. There are even a bunch of songs about them, and The Old Globe is staging them as a West Coast-premiere musical called Ace. It's playing through Feb. 18 at the Globe mainstage in Balboa Park. $47-$75. www.oldglobe.org or 619-23-GLOBE.

Art
Thinking is neat
Josh Taylor's snarky, morbid and exceedingly weird website bio is indicative of his larger body of artwork. In the bio, Taylor's real-life info is preceded by a fictitious account of his death, which involves a full autopsy and the discovery of Taylor's attempt to use his own inner organs as a canvas. The Jersey-born artist's work is kinda creepy, but it's creative and it does what good artwork is supposed to do: It makes you think. See some recent works by Taylor in The In-Crowd, a group show opening Friday, Jan. 26, at Subtext, 680 West Beech St. in Little Italy. The art of Harry the Hat, Alexic Golino, Foi Jimenez, Long Lé, Paul Drohan and Becky Sheer will also be on view. www.subtextstore.com or 619-876-0664.

Activism
For real
James Cooper, professor and assistant dean at California Western School of Law, is exploiting youth's love affair with reality television. In an attempt to reach younger generations, Cooper calls his documentary series Globalization: The Reality Show and draws unsuspecting boys and girls in by using the handheld, video-diary technique. Here's the twist: Instead of filling the show with silly love spats and catty bitch sessions, he uses the documentaries to explore the different faces of globalization-the good, the bad and the in-between. His latest episodes, “Full Metal Justice” and “That's What Justice Requires,” follow young lawyers into other parts of the world where human rights are sometimes an afterthought. The episodes will screen at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30, at California Western School of Law, 350 Cedar St., Downtown. RSVP to events@cwsl.edu or 619-525-1686. Free.

Music
Exotic sounds
Being into pirates is so 2003. Not only are gypsies much cooler, they actually still exist. Skeptical? See for yourself when the Fishtank Ensemble stops by Dizzy's, 344 Seventh Ave., Downtown, at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28, to play traditional Romanian and Swedish folk songs, klezmer and gypsy jazz on the violin, saw, accordion, shamisen, flamenco guitar, contrabass and more. Plus, if your own violin skills need a little livening up, you can take a workshop at 11 a.m. from Fabrice Martinez, who spent the last seven years mastering the gypsy violin while traveling around Europe in a mule-drawn caravan. Call 760-271-0068 to sign up for the workshop. www.dizzyssandiego.com.

Twists and turns: The 16th-century czar is on his deathbed, he leaves his crown with no familial successor because his only heir died years ago, and the man he chooses to rule Russia is none other than his son's murderer. Watch the rest of the story unfold in San Diego Opera's 2007 season opener, Boris Godunov, the fictional adaptation of Czar Godunov's sudden and suspicious rise to power. Famed Italian bass Feruccio Furlanetto, as Boris, leads a well-known cast from Europe, alongside seasoned local San Diego players. The production opens at the San Diego Opera, 1200 Third Ave., Downtown, at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27. $27-$182. 619-533-7000 or www.sdopera.com.

Special Events
Doing good
This Friday, Jan. 27, stop by Give Till it Hurts, a skate demo, art auction and concert in Ocean Beach benefiting the Doogood Conservatory, a nonprofit committed to replacing the drugs, guns and other nastiness in kids' lives with fun things like skateboards, surfboards and snowboards. The skate demo will feature current pros, old-schoolers and a few local kids grinding and kick-flipping away from 3 to 5 p.m. in the parking lot of Rock Paper Scissors, 4976 Newport Ave. The art auction, featuring skate decks and shoes painted by 20 professional artists and skaters, will move things inside from 5 to 8 p.m. The five-band concert, with Mike Watt and MC Rad headlining, follows from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Winstons, 1921 Bacon St. All the money from ticket sales and the auction goes to the kids. 619-222-7625 or 619-22-6822.

Film
Hotel del Monroe
The Hotel del Coronado plays a supporting role in Some Like It Hot, Billy Wilder's comedy masterpiece. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, jazz musicians on the run after catching an eyeful of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, go in drag and join an all-girl band headed by the lovely Sugar Kane Kowalczyk (Marilyn Monroe). Mistaken identities, romantic entanglements and terrific mobsters ensue. One of the funniest films of all time, Some Like It Hot, plays at the Birch North Park Theatre, 2891 University Ave., at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28. 619-231-5714.

Taxi!: Five cabs, five cities, five encounters, one night. Night on Earth, Jim Jarmusch's dark experiment in human interaction, stars Winona Ryder, Gena Rowlands and Roberto Benigni and features an all-Tom Waits soundtrack. Night on Earth plays at the Whistle Stop Bar, 2236 Fern St. in South Park, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28. Settle in, have a drink and don't leave the meter running. 619-284-6784.