Today's Happenings About Town

1. The Stanford Jazz Orchestra welcomes a special guest this week. Bassist Buster Williams will perform popular contemporary works, as well as some of his original compositions, tonight at 8 p.m. Williams has had a long and impressive career as both a bandleader and a sideman with such legendary musicians as Miles Davis. Directing the orchestra will be Fredrick J. Berry. The concert is at Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $5 for non-Stanford students or free for Stanford students. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.

2. Save the Bay's Native Plant Nursery in Palo Alto is getting into the spirit of Veteran's Day this year by planting seeds in honor of our veterans today, from 1-4 p.m. The public is invited to volunteer and help restore local wetlands by planting new, native seedlings along the San Francisquito Creek. Volunteers will also get the chance to expand their knowledge by learning about local, native plants such as gumplant, jaumea and salt grass as they work. Other activities include shoreline cleanup and general maintenance. For more information or to register for this or other events, call Natalie Lavan at 510-452-9261 ext. 109, e-mail bayevents@savesfbay.org or visit savesfbay.org/bayevents .

3. Stanford's Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (CREES) invites the public to the screening of a special film. Kukushka / Cuckoo is the 2002 film directed by Aleksandr Rogozhkin, and it has won many international awards. This unique and powerful film traces the unlikely intersection of three vastly different characters against the backdrop of World War II—a Finnish soldier turned imprisoned sniper, a Russian captain under arrest and a local peasant woman. This film is 104 minutes in length, with English subtitles. The screening takes place tonight, 7-10 p.m., at Slaviankii Dom, 650 Mayfield Ave., Stanford University. For more information, call CREEES at 650-725-2563, e-mail creeesinfo@stanford.edu or visit creees.stanford.edu.

4. If you struggle to find the energy you need against the food you eat, then you may want to clear your schedule for tonight's lecture by the Stanford Health Improvement Program. Smart Calories: Smart Energy—Nutrition for Every Activity Level is a new two-session program by Stacy Sims, Ph.D., that teaches how to gain the biggest impact from the food you eat and how to maximize body composition for less fat, more muscle and more bone. Program registration is $50. This class takes place today and next Wednesday at noon at the Center for Clinical Sciences Research, Room 4105, Stanford University, 269 Campus Dr. For more information, call 650 721-6003, e-mail ausserer@stanford.edu or click here.

5. Drawn entirely from the collection of Kirk Edward Long, "Chiaroscuro Woodcuts from 16th Century Italy: Promised Gifts from the Kirk Long Collection" is a rare exhibit that traces the evolution of thematic and compositional styles in Italy from the High Renaissance through Mannerism. Catch a glimpse now through Feb. 27 at the Cantor Arts Center, 328 Lomita Dr., Stanford Univesity. For more information, call 650-723-4177 or visit museum.stanford.edu.