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Join the show at S.F. music fest

San Francisco is getting into multistage music fests with its first Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival from Aug. 22 to 24. Tens of thousands of fans are expected to converge in Golden Gate Park to see such headliners as Tom Petty, right, Jack Johnson, Radiohead and Ben Harper and other artists from a spectrum of genres. (Carney or Vienna Teng, anyone?) Other attractions include baseball batting cages; wine tastings; CrowdFire, a vaguely defined site where attendees will “participate in a massive . . . act of digital media creation”; and food from the Bay Area’s vast culinary resources. Gates open at 3 p.m. Aug. 22 and 11 a.m. Aug. 23 and 24. One-day ticket $85; three-day ticket $225. Info: www.sfoutsidelands.com

-- Avital Binshtock

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Dive-in theater

Summer is time to hit the dive-in. Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas is offering free Friday night movies at the hotel’s “beach” to anyone, even if you’re staying at a different hotel, even if you’re a local, even if you’re just passing through town -- anyone. Come on over and splash and laugh at “Swingers” on Aug. 22 and “Old School” on Sept. 5. Gates open at 7 p.m.; show time is 9 p.m. Food, drinks, blankets, chairs and towels are not allowed; chairs and towels will be provided, and food is available for purchase. Caveat: All movies are rated R, so leave the kids at home. Info:( 877) 632-7800; www.mandalaybay.com.

-- Jen Leo

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Seeing stars

A Perseid meteor shower, the marquee night-gazing event of the summer, peaks early Tuesday. The cascade of shooting stars, originating in the constellation Perseus, will generate up to two meteors per hour. The best time to watch is from 1:30 a.m. on, after the moon has set, and the best way, astronomy buffs say, is to lie on your back and try to take in as much of the sky as possible. Find a remote, dark area far from city lights. Here are some suggestions: Joshua Tree National Park (no trees to obscure views); Red Rock Canyon State Park (dramatic cliffs will heighten the views), Mount Pinos on the Kern-Ventura county border (you can hike to the 8,831-foot summit); Kennedy Meadows off U.S. 395 near Olancha, Calif. (a dark spot in the Sierra); and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in northern San Diego County (a dark spot where you may find other gazers).

-- Hugo Martin

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Wait till you land

Are you eager to chatter away on your cellphone at 35,000 feet in the air or listen to your seatmate do the same? Not so fast. More Americans oppose this idea than support it, according to a survey released last week by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The numbers, based on a survey taken in November 2007: 45.2% of U.S. residents surveyed think cellphones should definitely or probably be barred from cabins, 39.7% think they’re definitely or probably OK if they don’t interfere with aircraft communications and 15% aren’t sure. Like it or not, several foreign airlines are moving to equip their planes for cellphone use. U.S. flights are a different story because government regulators, saying cellphones may interfere with ground or air communications, are balking at giving the go-ahead.

-- Jane Engle

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