Entertainment picks: In the Shadymobile

Television

Ever wondered what Eminem drives? Me neither. But in Ride with Funkmaster Flex (tonight, 9.30, C4) we get to find out. The B-grade rap star (Mr Flex, that is) checks out the Shadymobile and tries to make us jealous by telling us it comes with a DVD player, a GameCube and a plasma TV. It doesn't work though, because it's an SUV.

Given the show is billed as Pimp My Ride meets Cribs, it's not exactly groundbreaking, but it should be fun to see how the stars get on watching 8 Mile while they're barrelling down the highway.

Also starting on C4 this week (Thursday, 8pm) is Pop Goes The Weasel, a gameshow in which teams of local musos are qizzed on on matters trivial and musical by Jaquie Brown, who used to do a radio version of the programme on Channel Z.

Repeats of bro'Town started screening last week, which probably meant the men in your household were giggling like idiots and going "Piow-piow!" until you hit them over the head with the remote. Don't know what I'm talking about? Then check out the local satirical animated series, (Wednesday, TV3, 8pm), by the Naked Samoans and various famous guest voices.

Equally funny and lacking in clothing, is The O.C. (Friday, TV2, 8.30pm), the perfect excuse to unwind Orange County-style. Simply grab a bottle of wine, start vibrating at a high frequency and rid your inner biatch.

Then, when the ridiculously good-looking cast start getting on your wick (Mischa Barton makes swigging out of a paper bag look glamorous), switch to TV3. House is about a brilliant doctor (Hugh Laurie) who treats his patients as though he couldn't care less if they survived. Think Scrubs' Dr Cox with a limp and an addiction to pain-killers. Blackadder fans might find Laurie's American accent a bit off-putting, apart from when he refers to his patients as "moron". Humiliation never gets old.

Movies

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is the latest comedy from Wes Anderson, the writer and director of The Royal Tenenbaums. It opens on Thursday. Join Zissou, a famous oceanographer, and his crew, Team Zissou, on an expedition to hunt down the elusive and possibly non-existent jaguar shark that killed Zissou's partner during the filming of their latest adventure. It's a stellar cast too, featuring Bill Murray, Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett, Owen Wilson and Anjelica Houston.

And here's some advance notice: the Auckland Film Society Monday film nights start on March 14 (that's next week). Most screenings are for film society members only so go to www.aucklandfilmsociety.org.nz for details on how to join and get a timetable.

Art exhibitions

Artists are so deep sometimes. New Zealander David Barker, whose exhibition Inside and Beyond starts at the Studio of Contemporary Art on Sunday, has said of his work: "Painting is simply the redistribution of particles of colour made inert in oil or water." Who'd have thought?

Barker's redistribution of particles is quite something though - beautiful hues of blue, misty watercolour landscapes, and darkened rooms seen through scratchy panels of glass. The gallery is in Newmarket (5-7 Kingdon St), and the exhibition runs until April 8.

Music

The girl with the coolest name in rock'n'roll performs tomorrow night at the Kings Arms, with support from Tokyo trio the King Brothers. Holly Golightly, often described as a rougher version of Nancy Sinatra, is the one singing with Jack and Meg White on It's True That We Love One Another on the White Stripes' Elephant album.

But if you really feel like letting your hurr down, head to Edgefest this weekend and watch the bling-off unfold. In the American camp: St Louis rap star Chingy (who is headlining only the Auckland and Hamilton shows), and in the Kiwi corner: Dei Hamo, Blindspott, Steriogram, P-Money, the feelers, OpShop, Misfits of Science, Fast Crew, 48May, Savage and Goodnight Nurse.

Edgefest is at the Auckland Supertop on Saturday and Mystery Creek, Hamilton, on Sunday, before heading to Wellington and Christchurch.

Festivals

If you haven't worn yourself out at AK05 - both Def Poetry Jam and 7 Digits of the Hand start this week - the annual Pasifika Festival is on at Western Springs this weekend. Starting with the Pacific Music Awards on Friday night, the festival runs all day Saturday. Make sure you go hungry too - you'll want to try the 101 variations of coconut, raw fish and taro on offer while perusing the stalls, checking out the traditional dance and taking in the sights and sounds of multicultural Auckland.