Vermin on the Mount, Ignite San Diego and more San Diego events

Hola la vida: The exhibit Hasta La Muerte, currently up at North Park’s cozy Thumbprint Gallery (2637 University Ave.) features new works by two artists whose art has graced the cover of CityBeat—Tocayo and Exist1981. Both self-taught, they got their start in street art before moving over to more legit forms of graphic design. But neither artist has lost even a millimeter of edginess or the ability to convey a world of meaning in only a couple feet of canvas. Check it out for yourself from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 31. The evening includes complimentary wine and appetizers. thumbprintgallerysd.com

Gypsies and vampires: The term “folk art” might not get you excited until you give a little more thought to what it is: artifacts and objects that embody the glue of a culture— what’s important, what’s sacred and what’s feared. And few cultures have as complex and colorful a history as the Romanians. On Sunday, Aug. 1, Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park opens Between East and West: Folk Art Treasures of Romania. The exhibit includes vibrantly colored textiles, costumes, pottery and other objects from several private collections and will be on display through Feb. 13, 2011. mingei.org

Writers read: The local literary scene is often overlooked. Sometimes, it takes an outsider like Los Angeles-based Vermin on the Mount to recognize the talent that’s right in front of our faces. The reading series is coming to San Diego from 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday, July 31, at Sushi Performance & Visual Arts (390 11th Ave. in East Village) for a night of irreverent readings by four writers from around the country alongside a few literati from our own city. Jess Jollett, a local writer who works for the American Civil Liberties Union, will read a few of her works; Lisa Fugard, a local author who’s winning awards for her debut novel, Skinner’s Drift, will read from her book; and CityBeat’s own Enrique Limón will brave the stage, too. vermin.blogs.com

A pound of funny: Maxim magazine once called Paula Poundstone the seventh worst comedian of all time—which kind of makes sense when you contrast her asexuality and penchant for roomy suits and ties with the magazine’s hyper-sexuality and penchant for impossibly hot chicks. Those of us older than, say, 40, who remember her appearances on Letterman in the ’80s, hold a warm place in our hearts for her quirky humor and dry delivery. Poundstone will be in San Diego for two shows, at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, July 31, at Anthology, 1337 India St. in Little Italy. Did you know that Poundstone is the national spokesperson for the Association of Library Trustees Advocates Friends & Foundations? Maybe she’ll say something hilarious about San Diego’s reliance on private donations to get a new main library built and then drop a contribution in the jar on her way out of town. Tickets range from $34 to $39. anthologysd.com, paulapoundstone.com

Dumb it down: Not every book on your nightstand has to be by Chinua Achebe or Jane Austen. Let yourself off the hook this weekend and head over to Warwick’s (7812 Girard Ave. in La Jolla) for a book signing and discussion with the one and only Tori Spelling. Yep, Donna from Beverly Hills, 90210 is in town promoting her new book, Uncharted TerriTORI, a wonderfully egotistically titled memoir about her struggles trying to live a normal life in Hollywood. Poor Tori, right? Make sure you ask the struggling actress, wife and mom to talk about her underwear-clad spiritual cleansing and her controversial marriage to Dean McDermott. The appearance happens at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 31. warwicks.com

Monster magnate: Two of the hottest films promoted at San Diego Comic-Con were Tron: Legacy and Piranha 3-D. One name connects them— Neville Page, a creature creator and character designer who’s so awesome he doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry. The figments of this man’s imagination have starred in Avatar, Star Trek (the new one), Cloverfield, Watchmen, the second and third X-men sequels and—well, this is why he needs a Wikipedia page. The Oceanside Museum of Art (704 Pier View Way) is exhibiting Page’s designs (and models) through Aug. 15, and, at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 31, Page will deliver a lecture on his work, then give a presentation titled How to Create a Creature from Soup to Nuts. Reservations are $35 for non-museum members. oma-online.org

Blasts from the past: In the ’80s, Che Café played host to a scene of rock bands that played anything from punk to mod to garage to noise. On Friday and Saturday, July 30 and 31, the folks who run the Che Underground blog will take a trip down memory lane with the Che Underground Rock-’n’- Roll Weekend. On Friday at Lestat’s (3343 Adams Ave. in Normal Heights), there’ll be a photo retrospective and performances by Jeffrey Luck Lucas, The DaveFest Four and Thomas E. Ward, along with newer acts. And on Saturday at Bar Pink (3829 30th St. in North Park), old-school rockers The Answers will play a David Rinck reunion show, and Bombast (a super-group of Che bands) and Wendy Bailey & True Stories will also perform. cheunderground.com

Ideas for everyone: The goal of Ignite is simple—people with ideas get up in front of a group and, using 20 slides that change every 15 seconds to help guide them along, they share their thoughts. Ideas are submitted online before the event, and people vote on which presentations they want to hear. The first-ever San Diego Ignite was a success. Help make the second Ignite event ever better by showing up at HIVE241 Coworking Space (241 14th Ave. in East Village) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3. So far, with 124 votes, it looks like one of the presenters will be Jason Markow, who’ll talk about how to “Lose Your Job, Find your Life.” Other topics may include iPhone development, artificial intelligence and how we can make San Diego a better city. Registration required. ignitesandiego.org