THURSDAY 15 OCTOBER

Tired of the usual Thursday night at the Pudding? Put away your black pants and head over to City Hall Plaza for a night of Lenny Kravitz music. Who knows, the retro rocker may perform "Believe" and "My Love." 5 p.m., City Hall Plaza (Government Center T-stop), FREE.

Since you've trekked all the way into Boston, why not check out perennial 80s favorite Cheap Trick as they kick off their three day Boston stint at the Paradise Rock Club with tunes from their first album? 8 p.m., Paradise Rock Club, 969 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, 562-8800. $20.

For anyone who has longed to stand up in front of an audience of complete strangers and smoke a cigar a la Slick Willie, The Comedy Connection is the place to be on Thursday night. The featured comedian is Frank Santos (better known as "The R-Rated Hypnotist") and he'll no doubt have even the most uptight pre-meds laughing out loud. 8:30 p.m., The Comedy Connection, Faneuil Hall Marketplace 2nd Floor (Government Center T-Stop), 248-9700. $10.

If Brian Lamb, Ariana Huffington and those loud British people from Prime Minister's Questions are your idea of celebrities, today is your chance to become a star. Get your big break into show biz by trying to squeeze in front of C-Span cameras as Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) speaks at the law school. Find out why he is considered one of the most (intentionally) funny people on Capitol Hill. Maybe you'll make it onto the Weather Channel next. 3 to 4 p.m., Austin North (behind the Science Center). FREE.

When you get The Crimson, do you only read FM? Then you should stop by the IOP's Current Events Dinner with Bob Turner, assistant editorial page editor for the Boston Globe, to catch up on what's going on in the world. At the very least you'll get some pizza out of it. 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Institute of Politics, 79 JFK St., 495-1360. FREE.

First-year meeting and greeting in Annenberg is getting so passe! Take advantage of an opportunity to meet some new people at today's QRR exam. Already passed it? Hell, do it again! Commiserate with fellow test takers over the agonizing task of calculating standard deviation. And if you fail don't worry; you'll just get another great opportunity to mingle again later. 8 p.m., various places depending on your last name, 5-2770. FREE (upon presentation of picture I.D.).

FRIDAY 16 OCTOBER

If Final Clubs aren't really your scene, try your luck in another meet market. The Office of Career Services and Harvard Student Agencies are putting on the 17th Annual Career Forum Chat with representatives from more than 120 companies who sweat you hardcore. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Gordon Track and Tennis Center, 495-3030. FREE.

Mmm...the intoxicating (or rather intoxicated) scents of urine and puke will probably stink up your weekend, so figure out how to use smells to cure stuff. Enjoy University Health Services' workshop entitled "Benefits of Complementary Therapies : Aromatherapy" with certified aromatherapist Jim Harrison. While gnoshing on some free refreshments, get to know UHS because you may wind up there later this weekend with an IV stuck in your arm and a pump up your ass. 12 to 1 p.m., UHS, Holyoke Center, 75 Mt. Auburn St., Monks Library, second floor, 495-9629. FREE.

Following the hallowed path of such classic American groups like the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, H.O.T. (High-five of teenagers) is the hottest teenybopper band in all of Korea. The Big Asian Dance celebrating the Head of the Charles may be your best chance to hear their brilliant lyrics and melodic voices. Get down with Boston area students at CAUCUS & KAOS productions' eighth annual Head of the Charles Party. Dress code is "elegance." 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., Empire Garden, 690 Washington Street, Boston. $15 cover charge; college ID required.

Swing dancing is so five minutes ago. And who can deal with that weirdo from Lord of the Dance? Check out Riverdance and get the real deal on the Irish/tap dancing craze. Three out of ten Miss America finalists tap dance--isn't it time you get with the program too? Tuesday through Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 7 p.m. and matinees Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. The Wang Centre, 270 Tremont St, 931-2787. $15 to 68.50.

Feeling "haute?" Boston Fashion Week continues through the weekend with a series of events. Today's highlights include a noontime Fashion Luncheon with designer Ted Saluto at Brasserie Jo at the Colonneade Hotel and a 6:30 p.m. showing of David Josef's collection at the Boston Public Library. Hotel at 120 Huntington Ave. 617-425-3240 for reservations. Library at 666 Boylston St., Dartmouth St. entrance, 350-8850. FREE.

Capitalize on the feelings of elegance and sophistication that Fashion Week and the Regatta may have inspired by spending an evening at the Fogg Museum. Tonight the Harvard University Art Museums celebrate their current exhibitions with a reception and dance in the Fogg Courtyard. Dress is black tie or festive. 8 p.m. to midnight, 32 Quincy St., 496-1959. Tickets $35 for non-members, $25 for members.

SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER

Quick! Don't let them find you! Escape from the throngs of Regatta-bound tourists to the Brattle Theater this Saturday and Sunday. Persona, the classic thriller, is likely to be more entertaining and perhaps even less frightening than the otherworldly masses of visitors you will leave outside. Saturday at 4 and 7:45 p.m. and Sunday at 3:40 and 8 p.m, 876-6837. $7.

Nothing cures a hangover like cotton candy, peanuts, and the smell of elephant shit. Relive your childhood days and head over to the FleetCenter for the "Greatest Show on Earth"--the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus. Guaranteed hotties in spandex! With midterms coming, running away to the circus doesn't sound half bad. Friday 7:30 p.m.; Saturday 11:30 a.m.; 3:30 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 1 and 4:30 p.m. FleetCenter, Causeway St. (North Station T-Stop). 931-2000. $12.50 to $25.

Do the Backstreet Boys play games with your heart? What about 'N Sync--are they tearin' up your heart? Are you still hangin' tough with the NKOTB? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you need to (a) shut off "Dawson's Creek," finish the latest Sweet Valley High novel and get into therapy, and (b) book it over to Davis Square for the Beatlemania tribute. Celebrate the Fab Four that paved the way for all your fave guy groups, and pick up a CD your roommates can tolerate on the way. 8 p.m., Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, 931-2000. $16.50 to 18.50.

Want another excuse to party? It's the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Among the attractions included in the World Day to Overcome World Poverty are music, cultural presentations and children, who are asked to bring a small stone with a note saying how they would end poverty. 2 to 3:30 p.m., Copley Square. FREE.

You always hear about college dropouts who did so well in life, but here's proof that someone with a Harvard degree can beat the odds and really make a name for himself. Joshua Redman '91 graduated summa cum laude and phi beta kappa and yet is still able to maintain his status as one of the top saxophonists in the world. Check out the Joshua Redman Quartet as they celebrate the release of their new CD, Timeless Tales. 8 p.m., Berklee Performance Center, 136 Mass. Ave., Boston, 876-7777. $29.50 to $24.50, $5 student discount.

Okay, so you killed a few too many brain cells last night. Make it up to yourself by helping out a good cause. Philips Brooks House Association's Chinatown Committee is holding a Chinatown Benefit Concert with performances by Albert Pan (cello), Andrew Park (piano) and Susan Koo (violin). The three will play works by Mendelssohn, Ravel, Beethoven and Brahms. It'll be one of the few things you do this weekend that you'll be able to tell your mom about. 8 p.m., Paine Hall. $5.

Once again you're in your dorm room trying to get some studying done on a Saturday night and you can't concentrate because that age-old question will not leave you alone. Your stressed brain throbs with the frustration of sleepless nights, your heart beats faster and faster and faster until you just can't take it anymore and you run out into the Yard and take off all of your clothes and scream "What Makes Black Music Black?!" To avoid this sort of embarrassing situation, the Cambridge Multicultural Arts and Dialogues on Race Series is endeavoring to answer the question with a series of more subdued events. A jazz concert featuring Don Braden, Cercie Miller, Dominique Eade, Ron Mahdi, Tim Ray and Ron Savage kicks off the program, followed by a reception showcasing the paintings of Robert Freeman and the photographs of David Herwaldt. The event culminates in a panel and community dialogue focused on responding to the central question. Concert, 5 to 6 p.m.; Reception, 6 to 7 p.m.; Panel and Community Dialogue, 7 to 9 p.m. 41 Second Street. 577-1400. Concert: $25 general admission, $20 students, seniors and members. Reception and Dialogue: FREE.

It's one day into Head of the Charles revelry and already you're bored. Two words: ROAD TRIP. Stop in the name of love and head over to the Diana Ross concert at Foxwoods Resort Casino. Relish the divadom of it all. 9 p.m., Foxwoods Resort and Casino (Take 1-95 south, Exit 92 for Route 2), Ledyard, CT. 800-200-2882. $60 to 100.

SUNDAY 18 OCTOBER

To make the most of your Head of the Charles experience, stay up all night and dance your hangover away the next morning at the Harvard Medical Area Ballroom Dance Club's weekly Sunday Swing at the Hub free-for-all. If you read last week's FM you know how much more of a hip cat you'll be if you go. Come on, everybody else is doing it. Don't worry if you wouldn't know a Lindy Hop from a Long Island Iced Tea--they offer free introductory lessons. 12 to 3 p.m., Copley Square, 445-4162. FREE.

After your weekly family phone call, prove to yourself your parents are wrong when they tell you you'll never get a real job with a Literature concentration. The Boston Globe Book Festival 1998 presents "Getting Published," a panel discussion and poetry reading. 3 p.m., Radd Lecture Hall, Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston St., Copley Square. FREE.

Lasers: cool. Music and lasers: cooler. Head to the Museum of Science and check out Laser Nirvana, featuring "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Lithium," "Come As You Are," "Plateau" and more. Then stay for the next show, Laser Metallica, and experience such tunes as "Enter Sandman," "One" and "Master of Puppets" as you never have before. Nirvana, 8 p.m.; Metallica, 9:15 p.m., Museum of Science, Science Park, Boston, 723-2500. $7.50.

Tonight head to the Regattabar at the Charles Hotel to cultivate your taste for smooth sound as you attempt some serious networking with nostalgic graduates while their hearts are still warm from watching mother Harvard's crew teams take home the prize. The Joshua Redman Quartet will be playing along to your ass-kissing. 8 p.m., 1 Bennett St, 876-7777. Tickets $24.50 to $29.50.

The dining halls aren't serving hangover chicken this week, so pull on your Nikes and enjoy the walk to the East Coast Grill, the world-famous Inman Square eatery and home of Jeff's Latin Brunch. Renowned chef Chris Schlesinger will cook you up some tropical fruit pancakes, "Goodbye Hangover" gumbo hash with hell sausage, or oysters on the half shell, and then stick around to sign autographs and chat about his Food Network show. Small, friendly and painfully trendy, the East Coast Grill's reasonable prices and extraordinary fare will keep you away from Annenberg waffles forever. 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 1277 Cambridge St., 266-6106. Entrees $7 to 12.

MONDAY 19 OCTOBER

After yet another Spanish A class where you get fed up with being the only person who isn't actually a native speaker, it may be time to head over to the Freshmen Dean's or Senior Tutor's Office and, to use a Springerism, kick that course to the curb. That's right, it's the fifth Monday of the term, which means it's your last chance to add/drop a course or change your grading status. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Freshman Dean's Office, Senior Tutor's Office or 20 Garden Street, Room 110. $15.

Can't row? Learn Backgammon instead and impress your friends and neighbors with a more unconventional talent. The New England Backgammon Club holds weekly meetings and tournaments for all skill levels at the Sheraton Commander Hotel. 16 Garden St., 508-829-3283.

TUESDAY 20 OCTOBER

No one wants to work in that lazy, procrastination period right after dinner. So let your food settle and take part in a talk presented by the Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel Forum Committee. Dr. Jerome Groopman of Harvard Medical School and author of "The Measure of Our Days" will speak on the Intersection of Spirituality and Medicine. Listen to the lecture and let the good times roll. 7:30 p.m., Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel, 52 Mt. Auburn St. FREE for students, $5 for community members.

Before the Barenaked Ladies hit the big time, Boston's favorite sons, the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones, were overplayed on KISS 107.9 and introduced the mainstream radio audience to ska. Rub elbows with these musical pioneers at Tower Records, as they accept a star on the landing (formerly known as the Walk of Fame). Probability of scoring an autograph? Pretty high, knock on wood. Tower Records, 360 Newbury St., 247-5900. FREE.

Can't get enough of Jon Krakuer's Into Thin Air? Check out Everest at the Omni Theatre in the Museum of Science. Tuesday and Wednesday are "Bargain Nights," when the powers-that-be knock $2.50 off the price of admission. While you're there, take in the brand-new IMAX flick, Amazon, or just walk up and down the musical staircase and pretend youre an extra in Big. Amazon at 7 p.m., Everest at 8 p.m., Museum of Science, 1 Science Park. 723-2500. $5.

WEDNESDAY 21 OCTOBER

If you have any idea what antimescegenation is, more power to you. But for those of you who want some light shed on the subject, come to hear HLS Law Professor Randall Kennedy speak on "Problems ofthe Enforcement of Antimescegenation Laws" as part of the W.E.B. Dubois Institute Colloquia Series. 12 to 2 p.m., 12 Quincy Street, The Barker Center, the Thompson Room. FREE.