T he slowness of summer is a great time to dive into your own creative projects, spend a few extra minutes learning about what’s going on in the world, or pick up a new hobby. This week, you can learn backgammon with the Venice Backgammon Club, create a beautiful original woodblock print at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, or get educated about the Supreme Court at the Hammer – just a few options for using these lazy days to go deep. If that’s just too much brain power for this heatwave of a July, there’s also a chance to dance it all off at the Missy Elliott concert or eat your way through it at Tu Madre’s awesome weekday happy hour.

For more to explore, visit LAist.com where you can find out who won our Tournament of Cheeseburgers, get tips from food editor Gab Chabrán's mom on making legendary guacamole , and then take a walk through Oxnard to digest it all. The Moth StorySLAM The Moth StorySLAM tackles "Temptation" this month, so work on your best true stories about self-control (or lack thereof!) and head over to Silver Lake to compete or just listen in.

Venice Backgammon Club + Live Jazz Backgammon may conjure up images of old men playing outside coffee shops or in grandma’s living room, but one local club is proving the ancient game is anything but. The Venice Backgammon Club has been hosting events that keep growing in popularity and the easy-to-learn but hard-to-master game is quickly becoming a fun way to meet new people and check out ne.