THUR 5/8: Worker's Rally w/ Dropkick Murphys & More

No news can be good news. The WHDH ticker said that the street next to my office was flooded. The really good news would have been such a terrible flood that I would have no choice but to turn around and goof off all day. The more likely bad news would've been a crossable flood to start my day with damp feet and drippy pant legs. In my reality, there wasn't a flooded street near my workplace and I even hit the cafeteria for eggs & home fries. Small victory!

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Two FREE things that would be better with good weather:

THUR 5/8

Noon, 1pm
"Glaceau Smartwater Yoga"
next to Trinity Church, Boylston St, Boston (Copley Sq)
FREE

There are 2 sessions of free outdoor yoga, but I don't know if the rain will be done by then... At the very least, you can try to get a bottle of Smartwater... Maybe a free yoga mat, if you get there early enough...

THUR 5/8

4pm to 5:30pm
Rally for Hospital Workers w/ Dropkick Murphys
at Ave Louis Pasteur & Longwood Ave (about 230 Longwood Ave), Boston (Longwood Medical)
FREE

It's good to see local heroes The Dropkick Murphys taking time away from Red Sox parades, etc to support local laborers (organized by SEIU Local 1199). As I understand it, this is a rally in support of giving hospital workers the opportunity to decide if they want to organize a union.

The Dropkicks may only play a few songs, but the IBEW 103 Bagpipe Band will also do a couple tunes...

(Thanks for the heads-up, Jim!)

- And then -

THUR 5/8

7pm to 9pm
Course 2.007 Robotic Competition
at Johnson Athletic Center Ice Rink, 120 Vassar St, Cambridge (MIT campus)
FREE

Geek out with MIT's Design & Manufacturing I class (#2.007). They designed robots to pick up baby beavers, balls, and noodles (and conquer the human race). Each one of our future masters will have 45 seconds to kick cyber-ass.

Yikes! I forgot I was going to flesh these out from the Weekly List...

THUR 5/8

The Motion Sick (Midnight), Semi-Precious Weapons (11pm), Vivian Darkbloom (10pm), Sidewalk Driver (9pm)
at TT the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$8 / 18+

Bigger rock.

THUR 5/8

9:30pm
Bread & Roses, Yoni Gordon & the Goods, George Lewis Jr, Where the Land Meets the Sea
at Great Scott, 1222 Comm Ave, Allston
$8 / 18+

More roots/folk/indie stuff.

THUR 5/8

9:30pm
Steve Smith, The Diggs
at Harpers Ferry, 158 Brighton Avenue, Allston
$10 / 18+

Steve Smith is one of the dudes from Dirty Vegas, and now he lives on the South Shore.

THUR 5/8

6pm to 9pm
Marcus du Sautoy, "The Music of the Primes": Lecture
at Room 100, Building 26, 60 Vassar St, Cambridge (MIT Campus)
FREE

For all the numerology fans out there. This guy teaches at Oxford, so it might be fascinating and perplexing.

WED 5/7: 3-D Suspense, Singer-Songwriters, Iraq Talk, Nude Comedy

WED 5/7

2pm, 4:30pm, 7pm, 9:30pm
"Dial M For Murder"
at Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline
$9

The rotund master of suspense is not going to rise from the dead today, but he probably would just to freak you out! Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" was filmed in 3-D, but the fad had passed before it was released. Now you can see that this isn't a schlocky poke-fest; one is drawn into the room with the characters where a husband thinks he has plotted the perfect crime -- until everything goes awry.

Tomorrow is the last day of Classic 3-D films of the '50s with a 'creature double-feature': "Creature From The Black Lagoon" (4:15pm, 7:45pm) and "It Came From Outer Space" (6pm, 9:30pm)

Also:

WED 5/7

8pm
Ben Taylor, David Saw, Kim Taylor, Emily Elbert
at Cafe 939, 939 Boylston St, Boston (Back Bay)
$10

Ben Taylor has the songs and voice to be appreciated apart from his famous family, but some talent has to rub off when your parents are James Taylor and Carly Simon. (Try not to stare at the supportive mother in the corner.)

Ben is joined by other fine singer-songwriters: David Saw (played with Ray Davies and Carly Simon), Kim Taylor (no relation as far as I can tell), and Berklee student Emily Elbert who sings beyond her years yet looks like a pre-teen.

WED 5/7

6pm to 7:30pm
Greg Mitchell, "So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed in Iraq": Discussion
at Room 141, Stata Center, 32 Vassar St, Cambridge (MIT campus)
FREE

Greg Mitchell of Editor & Publisher (and other publications) will give way more "straight talk" than John McCain -- meaning that he'll give you straight talk.

WED 5/7

10pm
The Naked Comedy Showcase
at ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10

On the first Wednesday of the month, comedians get naked (really!) and you laugh...

TUES 5/6: Listen to Stuff & Discuss

What can I say? My favorite cheap events today were lectures, discussions, presentations, etc... I bet you drank until your head felt like a Mexican jumping bean was dancing in there... Chill out tonight.

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TUES 5/6

8pm
Michael Kodas, "High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed"
at Doubletree Guest Suites Hotel, 400 Soldiers Field Rd, Brighton
$10

I wasn't too impressed by this presentation by the title, but the background information changed my mind. It's not whining about how climbing tourists are ruining the eco-system. Michael Kodas gets snookered (to say the least) by a neighbor to go on an expedition to the top of Mt. Everest, and real bad shit goes down -- mainly by his neighbor. I'm guessing this guy's story is 10x better than a Stallone mountain-climbing thriller...

Hosted by NE Chapter of The Explorers Club, there's a social hour with cash bar before the presentation that will include photos and video.

($5 parking available in the hotel garage.)

TUES 5/6

5pm
"Discovering Taylor": Lecture & Demonstration
at Harvard Dance Center, 60 Garden St, Cambridge (near Radcliffe Yard)
FREE

Okay, here's a little action with the jabbering...

Paul Taylor didn't start dancing seriously until college yet he's considered one of the greatest living choreographer. He danced for Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, and George Balanchine; and Taylor started his own dance company in 1954. Throught the years, he brought realistic, contemporary subject matter to dance with an anti-authoritarian twist -- and he's still doing it. After watching one 5-minute clip, I could see how Paul Taylor brought grace and sensuality into day-to-day urban experiences.

Ruth Andrien has danced with the Paul Taylor Dance Company; she will discuss his work and demonstrate excerpts from some of his 'greatest hits' with dancers from her Harvard class.

This probably wasn't scheduled because of DanceMonth, but it's on their calendar. This actually could be inspiring for you to feel more comfortable when you dance.

From the Weekly List:

TUES 5/6

6pm to 7:30pm
Nicholas Daniloff, "Russia - A New Cold War?"
at Mezzanine Conference Room, Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston St, Boston (Copley Sq)
FREE

Professor Daniloff (Journalism, Northeastern) was arrested by the KGB for espionage in '86?!?

TUES 5/6

7pm
George Johnson, "The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments": Discussion
at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
FREE

NY Times science writer George Johnson doesn't really say these are the most famous moments in science. Guys like Galileo and Newton are in there along with some folks you don't remember (or maybe you were sick that day)...

MON 5/5: Remember Bobby Sands

I'm not Irish, but I remember the Bobby Sands hunger strike when I was a kid. At the time I was so impressed by the resolve it takes to conduct a hunger strike, and I was so sad to see him perish. It was a commendable and brave act of non-violent protest, and I have not forgotten Bobby Sands.

~r

Mayfair is next Sunday, but here's an extra option for today.

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SUN 5/4

2pm to 11pm
"Rockin' For The South"
at Sally O’Brien’s, 335 Somerville Ave, Somerville (Union Sq)
$10

Feat:
Sam Hooper Group (2pm), Dearborn Valley (2:40pm), Area 151 (3:20pm), Beau Roland Band (4pm), Melancholy Circus (4:40pm), Reverb Joe & The Reverberators (5:20pm), Mike McDonald & The Widow Makers (6pm), Dave Sammarco Band (6:40pm), Ken Selcer & The Bumping Knuckles Band (7:20pm), Three Day Threshold (8pm), Damn Skippy (8:40pm), Attention Shoppers (9:20pm), Tom Hagerty Band (10pm)

Dang, this is a lot of Americana/Alt-Country/Rock 'n Roll... AND you get a bowl of chili, a bowl of gumbo, or a pulled pork sandwich included in the cover charge (while supplies last, if course).

Proceeds benefit the American Red Cross for their relief efforts to help those displaced by February tornadoes (in Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi).

SUN 5/4

9pm
Paper Thin Stages, Thunderhole, Mane
at Milky Way Lounge, 403 Centre St, Jamaica Plain
Free / 21+

Free rock at the Milky Way while it lasts -- they are closing in a year or less... The bands tonight could be cool background for bowling, pool, and/or cocktails, but you may be quite rewarded by giving your full attention. Paper Thin Stages excel at synth-based explorations. Thunderhole got the rock-tronica much like their name suggests. Mane's approach to indie-guitar rock has that modular/angular feel that will fit well with the other bands.

SUN 5/4

8pm
ImprovBoston's Bachelor & Bachelorette Auction
at Venu, 100 Warrenton St, Boston (Theatre District)
$7 online / $10 door

Bidding starts at $25 for a date (donated by local businesses) with 10 male and 9 female comedians. This could be fun and funny. You can see videos of the bachelor and bachelorettes on the site.

TIP: Keep an eye on the bidders, and ask one of them out at some point.

This is one of the fundraisers for ImprovBoston's new, larger theater in Central Sq; so expect a few raffles as well. I don't go to posh clubs, so I think this place might be like that.