A/E Highlights

Pray for a double wardrobe malfunction

Remember last Super Bowl when you just went to a friend's house and mocked that one dude who kept asking how they keep moving that yellow line on the field? You could do that again this year, but chances are, these two aren't going to make an appearance, unless you happen to be George Maloof. The Palms will have the big game playing on televisions throughout the casino. If you get there early enough, like, in about five minutes, you might be able to snag a seat at the sports book and watch the game on multiple screens like a giant mutant housefly. True, you can do this at any casino, but the other ones don't have the Trashy Lingerie girls. Not official ones, anyway. The party starts at 2 p.m. Info: 942-7777.

Is Ryan Stiles the Marty Allen of tomorrow?

Look, Ryan, we just point this out because we're concerned. We don't want to see you on the marquee of Wally's Discount Casino and Laundromat 30 years from now and have to explain to our grandchildren who you are. You can check out the oeuvre of Mr. Stiles and his fellow Improv All Stars tonight through Sunday at the MGM Grand. Tickets are $88.50. Info: 891-7777.

Keepin' it really real--like, for real

Okay, so Johnny Rotten insisted there would be "no future" and then morphed into a spiky-haired sow slobbering at the trough of music industry plenty, but that doesn't mean all punk bands inevitably cave to the creature comforts of success. Take Rise Against--the Chicago hardcore quartet that recently released its major label debut, Siren Song of the Counter Culture, on Geffen Records--for example. They've graduated from cramped tour van to plush tour bus and probably subsist on more than just Big Gulps and expired baked goods, but they still fight the good fight for causes like PETA, Punk Voter and African AIDS relief. It's almost like they really believe the lyrics to their X Games-friendly punk anthem, "Give It All." Too good to be true? Find out for yourself for $14 on Sat., Feb. 5 at the House of Blues at 5:30 p.m. Info: 632-7600.

A dam good filmfest. 'Dam'...ha...get it? Huh?

It's one thing when federal employee tour guides at the Hoover Dam sling the "enjoy the dam tour" line about. Do film societies have to do the same thing as well? Oh, they do? Thanks for getting back to us on that. The Dam Short Film Festival runs Friday through Sunday at the American Legion Hall at 508 California Avenue in Boulder City. There will be 100 films shown between 9 a.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $4 for individual programs with several sweet deals for 3 day and VIP passes. Info 293-4848 or at www.damshortfilm.org.

The river wild

Lots of SoCal expats in Las Vegas, right? Makes sense, then, that nature writer Bradley John Monsma would come here to talk about his new book, The Sespe Wild: Southern California's Last Free River. Monsma, an English prof at Woodbury University in Burbank, Calif., has thoroughly explored Sespe Creek and offers a 150-page meditation on the last undamned river in Southern California--and it's only 50 miles north of downtown L.A. Monsma will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10, at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. The event is free and Monsma will sign copies of his book, which was published by the University of Nevada Press. Info: 507-3548.