Swan Costumes! Whaling Ships! Matthew Barney! Man, Bjork is bonkers in the best way possible.
Show deets: Sat 5/05, 8:00 PM, Bjork, United Palace Theatre All Ages $46

This is hilarious….. Rudy Giuliani freaking out on a ferret owner. “Your obsessive concern with little weasels is a sickness….. You need help.”
Listen to the whole exchange here, care of This American Life.
As Oliver Willis points out:

Now, look, I could say that Rudy Giuliani’s rant about ferrets and the people who love them said something about his possible presidential temperament, and maybe it does – but its more like it’s just a funny audio clip of a major political figure – the mayor of New York, later a Republican candidate for the presidency – arguing about ferrets. This, is America.

White Rabbits
‚”Fort Nightly”
Say Hey Records, 2007
It’s surely cheesy to describe a record as a toe-tapper, but the White Rabbits new album just inspires over-caffeinated, impatient foot motions. The entire record is an energetic affair, moving forward at a jittery pace that makes you think the band’s six members all have important dinner reservations after their recording session. Far from resulting in a sloppy product, ‚”Fort Nightly” is a tight, polished, upbeat collection that sounds like The Stokes would if they existed in the mid-eighties. From the opener, the catchy, frenetic ‚”Kid on My Shoulders” to the much more mellow “I Used To Complain, Now I Don’t,” White Rabbits demonstrate an incredible range. Other standout tracks include the ska-influenced ‚”March of the Camels” and the charming, swingy ‚”Navy Wives.” By putting together a record than remains high-energy throughout and being willing to cross genres, White Rabbits might just rise above their ‚”next Brooklyn buzz band” status and have a lasting career.
Show deets: Wed 5/02, 10:00 PM, The Cribs, White Rabbits, The Jealous Girlfriends, Mercury Lounge 21+ $15

James Dobson
Though a National Day of Prayer seems innocuous enough, its become a politicized “holiday” run by extreme rightwing evangelicals. Namely the Dobsons. From Wikipedia:

The National Day of Prayer Task Force is a non-governmental organization created by the National Prayer Committee to help coordinate events on National Day of Prayer. Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, they work out of facilities from Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organization. Shirley Dobson (wife of prominent evangelical and Focus on the Family founder, James Dobson) is currently at the head of the Task Force.
The Task Force’s charter is tolerant of all religions, although it does not allow members of all religions to participate equally. The Task force’s website says in their FAQ section: “Americans of all faiths are encouraged to participate in the [National Day of Prayer] according to their own traditions. However, the [National Day of Prayer] Task Force [only] provides promotional materials and sponsors several events in keeping with the Judeo-Christian tradition”. The application for volunteer coordinators with the Task Force lists the following as a primary qualification, “Commitment to Christ. A volunteer must be an evangelical Christian who has a personal relationship with Christ. I acknowledge that I am working for the Lord Jesus Christ and the furthering of His Work on earth and agree to perform my work with the highest standard of Christian faith.”
In the National Day of Prayer School Events Guide available on the National Day of Prayer Task Force’s website, they argue for the constitutionality and need for a National Day of Prayer, claiming that the “Founding Fathers did not mean for our government to be separated from our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”.
Issues of Government involvement with religion are often disputed because of the Establishment clause in the First Amendment.
Those opposed to a national day of prayer have established another observance that coincides with the National Day of Prayer called the National Day of Reason.

Making matters worse, James Dobson has been using his radio pulpit as leverage to get Spitzer to agree to observe the holiday. Dobson’s Focus on the Family website gloats that Spitzer finally agreed to take part after being “flooded with phone calls from family advocates around the nation.”
Of course, Dobson knows, it never hurts to throw in a mention of 9-11 when you’re on the ropes. From ChristianPost

“Considering what happened in New York City on 9/11, and the fact that New York has been most often targeted for destruction by terrorists, we believe prayer in that state should be a priority,” Dobson said in his statement Monday, after the proclamation was officially issued. ‚”We are pleased that Gov. Spitzer has now designated Thursday, May 3rd, as a day of prayer.”

As New Yorkers, do we really want to participate in a holiday organized by a group that thinks SpongeBob is gay?

John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats
Williamsburg’s beloved independent music store is set to reopen this weekend. From their website via BrooklynVegan:

A long time in the making, the Sound Fix Cafe is finally set to reopen its doors on Friday night, May 11, and we’re going to kick things off with a super bang when John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats comes to town for a special, one-night in-store performance! The new cafe will be practically unrecognizable from the old one, with a new bar, stage and sound system as well as new floors, lighting and furniture. Nearly three years ago to the day, Darnielle played at the opening of the Sound Fix record shop; now he will be on hand to usher in this exciting new phase of the Williamsburg cafe/bar/record store.