WED 9/9/09: Talks, Film, TV, Music

Some say we have to wait until 01/01/01 to have another date like 09/09/09, but what about 10/10/10?

Or 11/11/11 or 12/12/12? It's still an wonderfully arbitrary day for celebration. I purposely drank a 7 and 7 at 7:07pm on 07/07/07.

(Raise a glass for Otis Redding and Adam Sandler too.)

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WED 9/9

6:30pm to 7:30pm
Elaine Grublin, "I Looked on Him with Great Interest...": Illustrated Lecture
at Old South Meeting House, 310 Washington St, Boston
FREE

Wow, they packed a lot of info in the full title:

"I Looked on Him with Great Interest, and Should Like to See More of Him: Abraham Lincoln through the Eyes of Massachusetts' Citizens"

For those who appreciate history from a local perspective, Elaine Grublin (Reference Librarian at the Massachusetts Historical Society) uses original sources to present views of Lincoln from candidacy to assassination.

The first of 4 free lectures about Lincoln and Massachusetts on Wednesdays in September.

WED 9/9

6:30pm to 9pm
"The Boston Police Strike of 1919: A City and Nation in Transition": Panel Discussion
at Rabb Lecture Hall, Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston St, Boston (Copley Sq)
FREE

The year 1919 was pretty crappy for Boston. After WWI, there was a flu pandemic that arrived in America via Boston; they estimated 45,000 in MA were dead by January of '19. This also happened to be the month of the molasses flood. Let's not forget that Babe Ruth was traded, and the Sox did not repeat as champions...

And 90 years ago today, the Boston PD went on strike. That was a crazy day (and night). This might be familiar if you read Dennis Lehane's last novel, "The Given Day".

Tonight's panel includes history professors James R. Green (UMass, Boston) and Christopher Capozzola (MIT) as well as BPD Archivist Margaret R. Sullivan.

(Coincidentally, the BPL digitized the police records of 1919 earlier this year. There's also a photo exhibit in the McKim building.)

WED 9/9

7pm
"The Baader Meinhof Complex": Sneak Preview
at Goethe-Institut Boston, 170 Beacon St, Boston (Back Bay)
FREE

Most Americans began to understand terrorism in the '90s, and it only began to sink in about 8 years ago. Some European countries sustained regular attacks through the '60s, '70s and '80s. One notorious group was Germany's Red Army Faction. Other films have told their story, but one of last year's "Best Foreign Film" Oscar nominee goes at it again.

From the trailer [YouTube], it looks like an action-packed thriller. I found the English captions slightly distracting, but you can see it for free instead of paying when it opens at the Kendall on Friday.

WED 9/9

7pm
Boston Landmarks Orchestra, "Brahms German Requiem"
at Hatch Shell, Storrow Dr, Boston (Charles River Esplanade)
FREE

It's the series finale for those who wanted to go. Boston Landmarks Orchestra will be joined by singers Susan Consoli, Dana Whiteside, and the New World Chorale. These folks aren't kidding around; this is a top-notch classical performance.

WED 9/9

8pm to 11pm
"Bored to Death": Screening
at Harpers Ferry, 158 Brighton Ave, Allston
FREE w/ RSVP / 18+

Yes! Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, and Zach Galifianakis are starring together in a detective series for HBO. I'm pretty sure you don't need to be a hipster to love this, but it might help...

I mentioned it yesterday, but you can probably still RSVP. It looks like one of those events that they admit people on a "first-come, first-served" basis.

WED 9/9

Nate Wilson Group (10:15pm, 11:30pm), Buffalo Killers (9pm)
at TT the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10

Have you been yearning for big, bold riff-rock. Some say that bands like Nate Wilson Group don't add anything new, but they're dweebs that should bang their heads or get out of the rock-soul kitchen. Listening to NWG felt like finding new Zeppelin and Hendrix songs. I don't know if they will play two sets or one long jam-ola, but one of the band says that the audience will "get rocked so hard that your kids will be born with moustaches."

He was actually referring to the tag-team with Cincinnati's The Buffalo Killers who get things going at a slightly mellower level. I was hearing Black Crowes, Beatles, and The James Gang (for all those Joe Walsh fans out there).