Ralph Baer will take us on a trip in the way back machine Saturday morning at the American History Museum.

DCist’s guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

While lectures would be the perfect thing to give us some air conditioned entertainment during this sweltering month of August, unfortunately there just aren’t many scheduled. Not to worry though, because Omarosa and Howard Dean are both in town on Thursday, and they’ll surely bring enough outrageous banter to make up for it. Plus, classic video games on Saturday!

Wednesday:
>> Politics and Prose hosts a book discussion tonight at 7 p.m. with Richard Russo and his novel, That Old Cape Magic, in which a middle aged man “revisits the site of his honeymoon and his happy childhood summers [to find that] everything has changed.”

Thursday:
>> Before you run over to K Street for an Omorosa sighting, see if you can get off work early to catch Howard Dean at Politics and Prose at 4 p.m. He’ll be discussing his Prescription For Real Healthcare Reform, from his unique perspective as a doctor, former Governor, and DNC Chairman.

>> Afterward, head to the K Street Busboys for reality TV’s one and only Omarosa at 6 p.m. She’ll be joined by Janks Morton, of the film What Black Men Think, Dr. Dana Treistman from District Psychotherapy Associates, and D.C.’s Humanities Council to discuss, of all things, dating.

>> If you’re looking for something a only slightly less outrageous, the 14th Street Busboys hosts author James Gavin, who will discuss and sign Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne.

Saturday:
>> At 11:30 a.m., the American History Museum’s Carmichael Auditorium celebrates National Inventor’s Month with a family-friendly event with Ralph Baer, who invented the home video game systems Odyssey and Simon. Classic games will be available for visitors to play post-discussion.

>> The Newseum holds another Woodstock-themed Inside Media event at 2:30 p.m. with former New York Times reporter Barnard L. Collier, who reported from the event 40 years ago. He’ll “sort out the facts from fiction and explain why Woodstock will continue to live on in music history.”

Next Monday:
>> Politics and Prose holds another book talk tonight at 7 p.m. Michael Rosen tells us a story of baseball and mentorship across class and race in, What Else But Home: Seven Boys and an American Journey Between the Projects and the Penthouse.