Keep Your Day Jobs The National Endowment for the Arts has released the results of a landmark study on artist employment. The name of the report is, "More Than Once in a Blue Moon: Multiple Jobholdings by American Artists"--which, as you probably figured out, is a highfalutin way of saying "moonlighting."

Arts endowment chairman Bill Ivey says the NEA is trying to gather evidence to establish artists as "a unique class of citizens and workers, a class of citizens that make an indispensable contribution to the lives of America''s communities and families."

It''s a worthy goal, although to anyone who has spent years trying to scrape together a living as an artist, the results of the report will come as no surprise. The study found that artists moonlight at a rate 40 percent higher than other professional workers; that as many as 80 percent of artists take second jobs; that artists have unemployment rates twice as high as other professionals, and that they earn 12 to 23 percent less.

So things are not altogether rosy for the artist class. If you want a copy of the report for your very own, call Seven Locks Press at (800) 354-5348 and be prepared to fork over $11.95.

A''Courting to a Single Mom

Danielle Dufayet, a Monterey author, entrepreneur and single mother of two, has just self-published a unique new guidebook titled Oh Momma! Secrets to Loving a Super Single Mom and her Kids.

Contained in this slim paperback volume is everything a guy ever wanted to know but was afraid to ask about dating a woman who has kids. Some of the tips are obvious: "Make sure you like, better yet love, children." Others are more subtle: "If your SSM [Super Single Mom] sees that you are trying to earn her child''s respect by respecting and being sensitive to her child''s feelings, she''ll respect and admire you that much more and will want to melt into your arms." That''s Secret #6.

There''s lots more pragmatic advice in Dufayet''s book, so if you or someone you know is trying to win the heart of a single mom, copies of Oh Momma! are available for $9.95 at Danibooks Publishing. Call 644-0963 or visit www.danibooks.com.

Festival Watch

It''s the longest running jazz festival in the world and it happens right here in our breezy backyard every September. The 43rd Annual Monterey Jazz Festival kicks off Friday, Sept. 15 at the Monterey Fairgrounds and features more than 500 artists performing on seven stages.

Some highlights: Wayne Shorter, joined by the 20 piece Monterey Jazz Fest chamber orchestra, will debut a new work commissioned by the Festival. Guitarist Bill Frissell plays with three different groups; we''ll see the reunion of Lou Rawls and Les McCann; there will be a tribute to Louis Armstrong and an appearance by Panamanian Ruben Blades. And that''s just for starters.

More information can be found on the festival''s Website, www.montereyjazzfestival.org.

SoDA Goes Pop

Pacific Repertory Theatre is expanding its School of Dramatic Arts (SoDA), a regional theater arts program for Monterey County youth. The program is now accepting registration for its fall semester, which begins Sept. 5. There are 10 different classes in various kinds of stagecraft, for kids ages seven to 18. For registration and more information call 622-0700.

--Tai Moses