FILM: Harry Belafonte biopic, Sing Your Song, which is an Academy Award Best Documentary Shortlist Contender, takes the viewer on a journey through the life and work of "one of the truly heroic and political figures of the past 60 years," from Harlem to Mississippi to Africa and south Central Los Angeles. (6:45 and 8:45 p.m., Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street) more ›

FILM: Tonight's Cinema Drafthouse feature is Cameron Crowe's Pearl Jam 20, which marked the band's 20th anniversary last year. (7:30 p.m., The Independent, 628 Divisadero Street) more ›

For tonight? Let's see: California Academy of Sciences' lecture series, Project One Gallery presents artist René Garcia, Jr.'s new work, and Russian opera diva Katya Smirnoff-Sky at the Rrazz Room. more ›

MUSIC: Kill Rock Stars' Thao With The Get Down Stay Down will rock the Independent tonight at the Treasure Island night show, along with Bare Wires and The She's. (8:30 p.m., The Independent, 628 Divisadero Street) more ›

WORKSHOP: It's easy to forget that we have such a gorgeous and historic green space such as the Presidio right in our backyards. As part of the ongoing Presidio Visitor Experience workshop series, A Walk in the Park: Recreation, Health, and Wellness will focus on how residents can use the area to "have fun, get some exercise, get close to nature, and make the Presidio a part of their everyday lives." RSVP to (415) 561-5418 or presidio@presidiotrust.gov. more ›

FOOD: Learn all about the upsurge of farmers, cooks, gardeners, and activists who are taking back the food system with inspiring ideas at CUESA Panel: Faces of the New Food Movement: Tales of Food Rebels and Farming Pioneers, featuring colorful tales about local doers from author Mark Winne (Food Rebels, Guerrilla Gardeners, and Smart Cookin’ Mamas: Fighting Back in an Age of Industrial Agriculture) and a stunning slide show of farmer portraits by Anne Hamersky (Farm Together Now: A Portrait of People, Places and Ideas for a New Food Movement). RSVP here. more ›

FILM: Any animal-lover is sure to shed a tear at My Dog Tulip, an animated, bittersweet retrospective account of author J. R. Ackerley’s 16-year relationship with his adopted Alsatian bitch, Tulip. The film is the first animated feature ever to be entirely hand drawn and painted utilizing paperless computer technology. more ›

MUSIC: Get a taste of Seattle hip-hop tonight with the gritty yet smooth Champagne Champagne, along with Seattle's Mad Rad, and the Bay Area's C U Next Weekend and Moe Greene. more ›

FILM: Based on a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go features the coming of age of three friends who leave the shelter of their idyllic English boarding school and discover a terrible truth "that forces them to confront deep feelings of love, jealousy and betrayal that threaten to pull them apart." more ›

MUSIC: Hesta Prynn (formerly of Northern State) brings her own blend of electro-hip-hop-art-rock to the stage, along with LA's Kenan Bell and SF's 40Love. more ›

COMEDY: The refreshingly goofy Kristen Schaal, most notably known as Flight of the Conchords' biggest fan and a regular correspondent on The Daily Show, will be at Cobb's all weekend. Schaal's new book with co-author Rich Blomquist looks like a fun read. more ›

MUSIC: The original members of the legendary Guided By Voices (aka, Guided By Beer) will perform GBV's classic songs from 1992 to 1996 off of the albums Propellor, Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes and Under The Bushes, Under The Stars. more ›

LECTURE: City Arts and Lectures presents Jonathan Franzen In conversation with Mark Breitenberg. Often writing about the geographical and cultural landscapes of the Midwest, Franzen's books utilize "multifaceted plots where the intensely personal stories of his characters intersect with larger social themes." His latest book, Freedom, tells the story of the Berglund family, who seem stable in the beginning, but their lives slowly unravel as the novel unfolds. more ›

ART: Dr. Sketchy's presents the 2nd Annual Cute Girls on Bicycles, in celebration of Bike to Work Day on Thursday and coinciding with the monthly Sketch Tuesday. Three females and four bikes will model for your sketching pleasure. more ›

MUSIC: LA/NYC's High Places new record, High Places vs. Mankind, features "an imaginative and spacious amalgamation of sounds with a unique, almost Caribbean undertone that is as immediate as it is refreshing." SF's Mi Ami and LA's Protect Me open. more ›

GAMES: Help Homefrys continue their experiment in connecting people by playing games together in person at Homefrys Game Night. Party games, word games, trivia games, and classic games -- "60 pounds of games" -- will be played. The event will benefit Room to Read. more ›

MUSIC: Grammy Award-winning classical/experimental group Kronos Quartet will be in San Francisco for four nights performing four different programs. Each performance will feature Jon Rose's Music from 4 Fences, along with a work by Terry Riley, pieces by composers from the Kronos: Under 30 Project, and tonight's special program includes works by Damon Albarn (Blur/Gorillaz). more ›

LIT: One of the first performance artists and a New York Underground cultural icon, Penny Arcade (Susan Ventura), will make a rare appearance tonight in celebration of her new book, Bad Reputation: Performances, Essays, Interviews, the first book by and about the legend herself. The book consists of three autobiographical plays, as well as a new interview with Penny Arcade by Chris Kraus and a collection of archival photographs of the East Village scene and Arcade's performances. more ›

THEATER: Comedian and playwright Rick Reynolds presents his hilarious and gut-wrenching personal confessions and childhood remembrances in Love, God, Sex (and and other stuff I don’t have), which is directed by Jason Alexander. more ›

FILM: Check out a night of handmade personal cinema at Luminous Triptych. Angelina Krahn sews onto the surface of the film in order cover up and obscure images of her own body, Karen Johannesen uses masterful editing and single-framing techniques as a study in quantum mechanics, and Rick Bahto’s utilizes in-camera edited works to capture the people and places of his everyday life. more ›

FILM: The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, which consists of women from all four corners of the world who joined together out of concern for the planet, will be honored tonight with The Courage Of Conscience Award And Film Screening of For the Next 7 Generations. The documentary about this unique alliance took four years to make and was shot on location in the Amazon rain forest, the mountains of Mexico, and at a private meeting with the Dalai Lama in India. There will be a reception preceding the film screening and award ceremony. more ›

MUSIC: San Francisco's own Ralph Carney, who has performed as sideman for Tom Waits, B-52’s, Oranj Symphonette, and has scored film music for Jim Jarmusch and David Lynch, presents his latest incarnation, Ralph Carney's Serious "Jass" Project. You can also catch the Serious Jass Project at Revolution Cafe on Saturday. more ›

COMEDY: Off-the-wall comedian Maria Bamford has a knack for introducing the audience to her myriad of multiple personalities/dysfunctional family members during her stand-up routine, and we especially enjoy her occasional appearances on Tim & Eric's Awesome Show. Larry Vazeos and SF's own Chris Garcia open. more ›

PERFORMANCE: Joe Goode Performance Group presents Traveling Light, an installation combining dance, language, irony and reflection, which will take the audience on a journey through the vaults and chambers of the oldest stone building in San Francisco. Production and lighting design by Jack Carpenter, and music and sonic landscape by Jay Cloidt. more ›

ART: San Francisco artist Brian Barneclo, whose colorful, retro-esque murals adorn high-profile locales, such as the SF Bay Guardian building, Kilowatt, and NoPa, will be showing his new body of paintings at the District wine bar now through October. They're all for sale, so get there soon to nab one.... more ›

MUSIC: He might appear rather nerdy to those who haven't been fortunate enough to hear his music, but Jarvis Cocker's titillating voice and songwriting are sure to throw his fans into quite a tizzy at the Fillmore tonight. more ›

CLUB: The traveling Soul Clap/Dance-Off event hosted by New York City's "maximum rock and soul DJ" Mr. Jonathan Toubin is stopping in San Francisco for one epic night of soul 45s with a dance contest in-between. The line-up of judges include a long list of local celebrities, and the winner will receive $100. more ›

Calling all (for lack of a better term) foodies. Ready for a little controversy? The next Long Now Foundation lecture on Tuesday, July 28th promises to be especially interesting, as two agriculture experts make their case for why we should support the development of genetically modified plants AND organic farming techniques: "Organically Grown and Genetically Engineered: The Food of the Future." more ›

FILM: This week's $7 Tuesday flick at the Red Vic is Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Come see Sean Penn at his best as the infamous Jeff Spicoli, and who can forget the titillating Judge Reinhold/Phoebe Cates dream sequence? more ›

FILM: The 2009 Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup Conference presents a free screening of DARE, which follows three very different teenagers through the last semester of high school. The screening will be followed by a live Q and A with screenwriter and co-producer David Brind and director Adam Salky. You must RSVP at mashup@ypulse.com with your full name and number of tickets. (Preference will be given to paying conference attendees, so RSVP asap!) more ›