Pick of the week: You don't often hear the movies "Casablanca" and "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" mentioned in the same sentence (unless it's someone saying, " 'Pee-wee's Big Adventure' is no 'Casablanca' "). But Tom Letness, owner of the Heights Theater, is talking about the two movies without adding any snark. Each year, the theater hosts screenings of some of Hollywood's most popular movies in its Celebration of Cinema series. That's how the Humphrey Bogart-Ingrid Bergman World War II romance (showing at 7:30 p.m. Monday) ended up sharing billing with Paul Reubens' comedy about a man-child in pursuit of his stolen bicycle (screening Sept. 25). The rest of the slate: "Sunset Boulevard" on Oct. 9, "Some Like it Hot" on Oct. 23 and "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse" on Nov. 6. (The latter is not as well-known, but it is one of Letness' favorites — boss' perogrative, you know — and parts of it should look familiar because the Joker in "The Dark Night" was based on the title character of the 1933 Fritz Lang crime drama, to the point of even quoting some of the insane doctor's lines.) Tickets are $8. Advance sales are available at heightstheater.com.
Life hack: If your running or other athletic shoes are starting to draw undue attention because of their aroma, put a dry tea bag inside each shoe and leave them overnight.
Hot stuff: Historically, this has been a very bad week to be near a volcano. On Aug. 24 in the year 79 A.D., Vesuvius wiped out Pompeii. On Aug. 26, 1883, on the Indonesian island of Krakatoa, an eruption and resulting tidal waves killed more than 35,000 people. And on Aug. 22, 1986, 1,500 people were killed by an eruption in Cameroon.
Day by day: We're in the dog days of summer, so it's certainly appropriate that we celebrate national Dog Day on Saturday. If your social media accounts contain more pictures of your dog than your kids, this is the holiday you've been waiting for.
Recommended reading: Restaurant critic Rick Nelson is once again eschewing all common sense for his annual pig-out binge at the State Fair. If he's not comatose from overeating, he'll rate all the foods he tried in Saturday's Variety.
JEFF STRICKLER • jeff.strickler@startribune.com
