No tickets to the cool kids' parties? Don't despair. US News and World Report has this roundup of Boston places and events that might be more fun:

John Kerry might look even stiffer than usual among the tie-dye-wearing regulars at the Zeitgeist Gallery (1353 Cambridge Street, zeitgeist-gallery.org ), but the Kucinich crowd will fit in. Through July 29, check out "Yo! What Happened to Peace?" a collection of antiwar posters, with images like W in a football uniform clutching a bomb over the words "Sack the Quarterback."

With your blood aboil over current affairs, take comfort in that world-renowned bastion of lefty be-liefs: Harvard Square. The Harvard Book Store (1256 Massachusetts Avenue, harvard.com ), an indie with new and used titles as well as a petition against the Patriot Act, is hosting events with Al Franken, Ted Kennedy, Wesley Clark, and more during the convention. The outspokenly liberal crowds will prove why people sometimes call it "the People's Republic of Cambridge" --as will the nearby commie-themed bar, People's Republik (880 Mass. Ave.). Finish up the night at the Middle East (472 and 480 Mass. Ave., 617-864-3278) for homemade Lebanese food and eclectic musical acts, not war.