Bag of nuts by GENI P One delightful way to begin an evening of prowling the city in search of kicks in style is to attend a vernissage or some kind of art happening. They usually include free wine and, if you're lucky, cheese, and you get to admire beautiful/ponder incomprehensible/make fun of awful ART (you know, that thing that life imitates). You may have noticed posters around town advertising an art show entitled The Visitations. For the last month, every week for a couple of hours, Ricardo Afonso Medonca has opened his apartment to strangers for the purpose of "visiting." Inviting an entire city (junkie thieves, assorted perverts and art connoisseurs alike) into your home at all hours of the day begs the question, "What exactly for?" A friend and I decided to get some "life is art" action this past Friday evening. Mr. Mendonca buzzed us in at the first ring and greeted us at the door of his 3rd floor 2 1/2, belt undone, lifting up his shirt and rubbing his belly. "I was just about to take off my pants and go to bed," he yawned, inviting us in to take a seat. We sat in a tense silence and surveyed the space. In the corner stood a piece which might have been titled "desk with fax machine," beneath us was a little something one could imagine might be called "single-bed used as couch," to the right of which was a striking "bag of nuts on clean kitchen counter" type piece. We were then given a slide show of similar pieces. Apparently a curator in Japan is very interested. Our host offered us something to drink to break the ice. I politely refused. My cohort downed his glass of wine just as a fresh group of curious art-seekers arrived for the, uh, show. We took the opportunity to slip lithely out the door. Continuing in the vaguely artsy vein, the following night I dropped in late to check out Granular Synthesis at Usine C, that cool East side gallery/cafe/classy warehouse-style concert venue complex. I missed Granular Synthesis but did catch the meaty beats of DJ Dr P(R)axil with live techno act Oral and Ex-Centris Media Lounge programmer DJ Neurom. A pleasant venue indeed, with its ultra high ceilings, clean industrial-art esthetic and that night, a breathable dancefloor with all the room in the world to move (great for interpretive LaLaLa Human Steps-style dancing). Future nights: Fashion victims, aspiring label hos and all charitable folk should take note of Avalon Millennium, a benefit fashion show for the Cancer Research Society presented by Concordia. Featuring Sandra Claros, Oonu, Silikon, Suteki and more. It takes place at the Lime Light (1245 Stanley), this Friday Nov. 19, doors open at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. $10 in advance, $15 at the door.