TONIGHT AT DIFF: Today’s one of those days when I wish that I could be in two places at once. When push came to shove, I chose tonight’s Centerpiece Screening of The Other Dream Team. The 1992 Olympics will always be remembered as the year that Jordan, Bird, Magic, et. al. came together to crush the rest of the basketball world. But another noteworthy team took the court that year as well – the one from the newly independent Lithuania. The Other Dream Team tells the story of how the Lithuanians – with the help of Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson and Jerry Garcia (yes, really) – took on their former Russian rulers in a battle for the bronze medal. If you’re not feeling a doc, my podcasting partner Chris Vognar is hosting a screening of L.A. Confidential as part of his Film Noir series. That guy can drop some noir knowledge on you. Should you find that both of those screenings are sold out (a likely proposition), give Tchoupitoulas a try. I’ve seen it twice this week and it held my attention both times.

THE VIEW FROM AFAR: Speaking of DIFF, the festival gets some love from indiewire.com. It’s always interesting to hear what the out-of-towners think of what’s going on here, and Devin Lee Fuller seems quite impressed. “DIFF may not have splashy premieres or big budgets like Sundance or SXSW, but you can arrive at a screening shortly before start time and actually get into the movie,” he writes in his festival wrap. “There’s something pure about DIFF; it’s refreshingly free of hype. If you want to attend a festival that feels like it’s actually about the movies, Dallas is the place to go.”

MUSIC BITS: Sarah Jaffe talks to DC9 at Night about her desire to expand her horizons on her new album. “Scorsese didn’t do Hugo first, he did Mean Streets. He did what he knew and then branched out. That is more interesting to me than someone trying to make Sgt. Pepper’s in their dorm room the first time out of the gate.” (DC9 at Night) … A new addition to the “Fort Work” sound makes its debut next Friday. (fwweekly.com) … In honor of Record Store Day on Saturday, Robert Philpot writes about why vinyl is still great. (dfw.com)