Thursday Happenings

Movies with a Brogue

-- The 10th annual Magner's Irish Film Festival kicks off tonight with the Boston premiere of Eden, a story of quiet desperation in a small-town marriage. Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge, 7:30 p.m. Sold out. (More information about the Irish Film Festival.)

Lights

-- Earlier this year, young and promising video artist Paul Chan rocked Bostonist's socks with his exhibition The 7 Lights, a spooky account of the Rapture gone awry. Tonight, he talks about his work and his new exhibition, Three Easy Pieces. Reception to follow. The Carpenter Center, Harvard University, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, 6 p.m. Free.

Reference Reverence

-- In certain circles, the Oxford English Dictionary might as well be the Kama Sutra. Those circles will converge around the Brattle Theatre tonight as Jesse Sheidlower, the OED's editor-at-large, joins popular historian Simon Winchester and others to discuss the dictionary's 80 year legacy. Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge, 5:30 p.m. $5.

Street Art

-- Stencil Nation is Russell Howze's survey of street art made using stencils. The title is somewhat of a misnomer, as it treats artists from four continents, including local stenciler PIXNIT. Howze will present his ideas about the art form—and show off a few actual stencils—tonight. Lucy Parsons Center, 549 Columbus Ave., South End. 7 p.m. Free.

Cults to Avoid

-- Minneapolis band Cloud Cult makes pop music that sounds like a television commercial for a failing brokerage firm. If you have swallowed poison and need an aural emetic, this is the show to see. Middle East Downstairs, 472 Mass. Ave., 8 p.m. $12.

Photo of Paul Chan's video installation 5th Light (2007) by Jean Vong, courtesy Carpenter Center and Greene Naftali, New York.