TUES 11/16: Talk & Rock

Has anyone tried Four Loko? I'm sure it tastes like carp, but I'm intrigued by how much opposition it's received.

Someone at Harvard called it "badness in a can"... Hey, dude, that makes people want to drink it!

A friend told me they saw some college-age people drinking it on the Red Line, because it's rather ingeniously packaged like an energy drink. Nice work, undergrads!

I might regret it, but I'm going to drink one before it's banned. Wish me luck.

Note: The show of the week is going to be tomorrow's Billy Ruane posthumous birthday bash ($10) at the Middle East - Downstairs and TT the Bear's. One ticket gets you into both clubs, so think about getting an advance ticket -- if there are any left.

Also: My apologies if you click on a MySpace link below. The whole site seems to have become even crappier than before.

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TUES 11/16

7pm
Dyan deNapoli, "The Great Penguin Rescue": Lecture
at New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston (Waterfront)
FREE

Oil spills are on the radar lately, and this incident occurred about 10 years ago off the coast of South Africa. The spill could have wiped out half of the African penguins, but DeNapoli and other experts led thousands of volunteers to avert an aquatic bird disaster. I like that this woman is called "The Penguin Lady".

Registration is requested.

TUES 11/16

7pm
Matt Taibbi, "Griftopia": Reading
at Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St, Brookline (Coolidge Corner)
FREE

Are you angry -- or pissed off or somewhere else on the spectrum -- about the "financial bailout"?

What bothers me was that the ostensible cause was people unable to pay their mortgages and the tremendously f---ed up set of exotic financial instruments that subsequently fell like dominos.

If the government was going to bail anyone out, shouldn't have been the homeowners/citizens/voters so they could pay their mortgages; then reform the shady world mortgage trading?

Gah! See what happens when one starts to think about this stuff? In his new book, Rolling Stone and Phoenix contributor Matt Taibbi digs deep into many of the stories of the movers and shakers with a good bit of outrage.

TUES 11/16

7pm
Story Slam: "A Boston 'T' Party"
at Precinct, 70 Union Sq, Somerville (Union Sq)
$7 / $6 with Charlie Card

Riding the T is fertile ground for stories. (I'm not sure I'll ever forget the article about a woman giving birth on the Orange Line about 3 years ago.)

This is a chance to tell and/or listen to 5-minute personal stories from the underground (and above). If you have the winning story tonight, you'll compete in the championship in April. Last year's grand prize was a trip to Italy...

TUES 11/16

8:40pm
Corin Ashley Band, The Dirty Truckers, Andrea Gillis Band, Hilken Mancini, Jenny Dee & Friends, Dave Aaronoff, Drew O'Doherty, Brendan Little, Chris Keene, Jonathan Pape, Uke Springsteen
at TT the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$7

In this modern world of repackaging the past, Bruce Springsteen's multi-DVD/CD "The Promise" seems like the perfect holiday gift for the Boss-fanatic in your life. There was about 80 songs recorded for his 4th album "Darkness on the Edge of Town", so this includes unreleased tunes and a documentary on the making of the album.

While this is probably part of a massive promotional campaign, Bruce has a ton of awesome songs for this assortment of excellent local acts to choose from as they'll each play at least one from his catalog.

Tentative schedule:

11:45pm -- Corin Ashley Band
11:25pm -- The Dirty Truckers
11:05pm -- Andrea Gillis Band
10:50pm -- Hilken Mancini
10:30pm -- Jenny Dee & Friends
10:05pm -- Dave Aaronoff
9:50pm -- Drew O'Doherty
9:30pm -- Brendan Little
9:15pm -- Chris Keene
9pm -- Jonathan Pape
8:40pm -- Uke Springsteen

Again, tomorrow night will be a giant mass of music as a Billy Ruane Memorial Party. Musicians will be performing at TT's and the Middle East - Downstairs. You can buy a ticket from either place ($10) and get into both as occupancy allows.