Our picks of this week's events

ART

Power of lines

Comic-Con is sold out all three days, but not to worry—there’s plenty going on outside the convention center walls this week. Very close to the lines of overpriced nerd trinkets and corporate pandering is a smallish gallery called L Street Fine Art (628 L St.) that’s gained big fame through its San Diego Art Prize program that pairs established artists with emerging artists, gives them some cash and exhibits their work together. But from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 25, the gallery takes a break from the Art Prize to show Ink Pencil Paint, works by a group of young and hungry artists who could give the pros with pencils and pens over at Comic-Con a run for their money. San Diego’s Michael James Armstrong, Frida Kamau Hawthorn, Joey Gold, Thomas Demello, Shelby Gubba and Lee Lavy, plus Fighting, a Brooklyn collective, and Portland artist Theo Ellsworth, will be showing new works, and local bands BRAAIINS!, Christmas Island and Wild Weekend will provide the music. www.lstreetfineart.com or 619-645-6593.

Much more: San Diego seems to be stepping up its art scene this week. From 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 26, Alana Sills opens her new alternative exhibition and learning space, Sanctuary Gallery & Boutique (1700 National Ave. in Barrio Logan), with the colorful, playful subconscious-meets-canvas works by San Diego painters Sean Brannan and Deron Cohen, music by LaTanya Lockett, cocktails, edible art by chef Dewey Mahoney and a belly-dance performance by Salome. On another side of the city—same time, same day—Artifact Studio (2234 30th St. in South Park) will host its inaugural exhibition featuring works by local artists Joseph Bennett, Lauren Carrera, Larry Caveney, Patricia Frisher, Jim Pearson, Anna Stump and Madison Weiss during the South Park Walkabout event. And it doesn’t stop there—from 7 to 11 p.m. Thursday, July 24, through Saturday, July 26, and from 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday, July 27, the Centro Cultural de la Raza (2125 Park Blvd. in Balboa Park), will fill its space with More than Meets the Mind, featuring live music and performances by a long list of San Diego DJs, plus graffiti art, comic-book art, urban vinyl toys, live photography performances, short films and animation by Chor Boogie, Werc, Perry Vasquez, Mario Torero, Robots Will Kill, Saratoga Sake and more. sancturarygallery.wordpress.com, www.centroculturaldelaraza.org.

COMMUNITY

A hidden river

With all the condos and concrete covering its banks, it’s easy to forget that our city is home to the 52-mile-long San Diego River, which starts near Santa Ysabel in East County and runs down to the El Capitan Reservoir, through Lakeside, Santee, Mission Valley and eventually drains into the Pacific Ocean at Dog Beach in Ocean Beach. The dedicated folks behind the San Diego River Park Foundation, though, haven’t forgotten about it, and as part of their ongoing quest to create community parks and space along the river, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 26 and 27, the nonprofit organization presents the Community Mural Project. You’re invited to help with the professionally designed project even if you don’t know a thing about murals or art. Meet at 4835 Pacific Hwy. in Bay Park. RSVPs encouraged.www.sandiegoriver.org or 619-297-7380.

SPECIAL EVENTS

For the Barrio

Dr. Techno and friends hope to start an annual tradition with the first-ever BarrioFest 2008 from 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday, July 26. The grassroots event will celebrate all that is strange and unusual, with performances by Willy Bologna of the Vulgarian State Circus playing harp and mandolin, a pop-rock circus band called Harry Brained Ideas, a heavy-metal band called Bad Karma, a performance by The Technomania players and something from Dr. Techno himself, plus plenty of quirky DJs and more to be announced. The festival, happening at The Center for Amusing Arts, 2438 Commercial St. in Barrio Logan, will cost you $10. www.technomaniacircus.com or 619-231-1950.

COMEDY

Last leg

What started as a documentary and then turned into a Comedy Central television series is currently at the tail end of a live tour starring Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Maria Bamford and Eugene Mirman. The Comedians of Comedy will make a stop at Spreckels Theatre (121 Broadway, Downtown) at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 26. And if the threat of this performance being The Comedians of Comedy’s “last show ever” for “one night only” doesn’t get you to shell out the $25 for the ticket, think about the way they pitch the show on MySpace: “It’s all the funny without the two-drink minimum.” www.ticketmaster.com.

BOOKS

Defend the defense

Right after 9/11, even the most peaceful pacifists, at least for a fleeting moment, got pissed off enough to entertain the idea of some sort of violent revenge. The defense industry, says journalist and author Robert Scheer, took advantage of the collective anger, and along with the “War on Terror” came the highest military spending in history. In his book The Pornography of Power, Scheer documents the quiet expansion of U.S. military presence throughout the world, the strange circumstance of private corporations profiting from war and the ballooning arrogance of U.S. foreign policy. Hear more at the Matters of Controversy monthly series when Scheer signs and discusses his book at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 26, at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, 4190 Front St. in Hillcrest. $5-$10 donation requested. 858-459-4650.

The spot: San Diego Writers, Ink, a local group promoting writing classes, readings and other writer whatnots, has a busy week ahead. From 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 25, they’ll be celebrating the release of the paperback edition of Amy Wallen’s MoonPies and Movie Stars at The Ink Spot (710 13th St., Downtown). Then, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 26, at The Ink Spot, the bookophiles will host a workshop, Writing the Dramatic Scene, hosted by author Drusilla Campbell, who will guide attendees through the process of writing narrative and dialogue. From 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, July 27, at Eveoke Dance Theater (2811 University Ave., North Park), the Writers will hold their Annual Community & Membership Meeting and The Great Book Exchange, which is a chance to swap out old books for new ones. And to end the busy week, from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, July 28, the Writers will host their monthly Writers Salon at The Ink Spot, a casual gathering where host and professional storyteller Sarah Saulter will talk about what makes a story stand the test of time. www.sandiegowriters.org or 619-284-1343.