All Over Albany

The week ahead

Here are a few things to keep in mind, look forward to, or keep busy with this week, from the weather (April showers), to film, to groupthink, to the Comma Queen, to classes, to music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for this week:

Monday: Cloudy, maybe some rain. Upper 50s.

Tuesday: Cloudy, rainy. 50.

Wednesday: Cloudy, 50-50 chance of rain. Upper 40s.

Thursday: Some sun (and maybe some rain), 50.

Friday: Cloudy, rainy, 52.

Weekend: Cloudy, upper 50s.

April showers.

Film

Just what do you think you are doing, Dave?
Monday: The AFI 100 series at Proctors is showing the Kubrick classic 2001: A Space Odyssey on the main stage screen. Monday various times including 7:30 pm - $5

The Hunting Ground
Thursday: The Spectrum will be screening The Hunting Ground, a documentary about sexual assault on college campuses. (NYT review.) The screening will be followed by a Skype Q&A with the doc's director, Kirby Dick. Thursday 6:30 pm - $10.25

Arts and sciences

i.Think Creativity Lab
Monday: Sage is hosting a "think tank" night for the general public at its Albany campus. Blurbage:

SCA Dean Joanne Curran will lead the sessions using a model of creative thinking fostered by Alex Osborn, the executive who coined the term "brainstorming." Participants will work with college professors and students to develop potential solutions to problems of their choice.

Monday 7 pm, Kahl Campus Center Room 105 - free

The Crusades of Cesar Chavez
Tuesday: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Miriam Pawel will be at the Sanctuary for Independent Media to talk about her book The Crusades of Cesar Chavez. Blurbage:

In "The Crusades of Cesar Chavez: A Biography" (Bloomsbury Press / March 10, 2015, paperback), a finalist for the 2014 National Book Critics Circle Award in biography, Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Miriam Pawel offers a comprehensive biography of Chavez. Chavez emerges here as a visionary figure with tragic flaws; a brilliant strategist who sometimes stumbled; and a canny, streetwise organizer whose pragmatism was often at odds with his elusive, soaring dreams. He was an experimental thinker with eclectic passions--an avid, self-educated historian and a disciple of Gandhian non-violent protest. Drawing on thousands of documents and scores of interviews, Pawel's portrait of Chavez deepens our understanding of one of his most salient qualities: his profound humanity.

Tuesday 7 pm - $10 suggested donation / $5 students and low income

Challenging groupthink in sports and culture
Wednesday: Former ESPN anchor/current MLB Network host Brian Kenny will be at Skidmore for a talk titled "The Herd: Challenging GroupThink in Sports and Culture." Blurbage:

Why do NFL teams still punt, and baseball teams still bunt, when neither leads to long term success? Because that's the way they've always done it, that's why! Teams and coaches still prefer to fail traditionally rather than give themselves the best chance to win. We can all do things against our best interests, but the herd-mentality has long been a tradition even in the most competitive fields in American society.

Wednesday 7 pm, Palamountain Hall - free

Confessions of the Comma Queen
Thursday: Mary Norris -- "celebrated proofreader and copy editor for The New Yorker" -- will be at the State Museum as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series. She'll be talking about her new book, Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, which is part memoir/part meditation on grammar. (Recent New Yorker piece, recent NYT profile.) Thursday 8 pm, State Museum, Huxley Theater - free

Baseball trivia

Wednesday: The Albany Institute has a baseball trivia night hosted by the Times Union's Pete Iorizzo as part of its ongoing "Triple Play" exhibit. Teams can include up to four people. Prizes include tickets to the Albany Devils and Tri-City ValleyCats. Wednesday 6 pm - $25/person (pre-registration encouraged)

Classes

Classic comforts, totally vegan
Tuesday: Chef Ric Orlando will be at Different Drummer's Kitchen leading a class about "how to pep up your weeknight menus" for vegan food. Tuesday 6 pm - $69

Making pasta
Wednesday: Gio Culinary Studio has a hands-on class about making pasta from scratch. "Students will learn to create many distinct hand-made pasta shapes, along with sauces. We will be using all scratch ingredients, professional and traditional techniques, that can be easily duplicated at home." Wednesday 6:15 pm - $60

Seed Starting 101
Thursday: The Cornel Cooperative Extension in Schenectady County is hosting sessions about starting plants from seed. "We provide the seeds, soil and flats to get you started. Your seedlings will be cared for by CCE staff, Master Gardeners, and Roots and Wisdom crew members for six weeks. They will be ready for transplant when you pick them up the week of May 11th." Thursday 4 pm / 4:30 pm / 5 pm - $20 for one 50-cell flat, $35 for two

Music

Tuesday: Zappa Plays Zappa at The Egg
Dweezil Zappa playing his father's music. (This show had been sold out, but a small number of tickets were released late last week.) Tuesday 8 pm - $34.40 and up

Wednesday: Session Americana at Caffe Lena
"[A] Boston-based rock band in a tea cup, or possibly a folk band in a whiskey bottle." 7 pm - $22

Thursday: Zach Deputy at The Hollow
One-man band. With: The Organically Good Trio. Thursday 9:30 pm - $14 ahead / $17 day of

Thursday: Turkuaz at Putnam Den
With: Big Mean Sound Machine. 9:30 pm - $10 ahead / $15 day of

Thursday: Bloodshot Bill/Hamell on Trial at The Low Beat
"Total destruction of your mind double bill." 8 pm - $10

Friday: Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad at The Hollow
"[K]nown for folding the aesthetics of the jamband scene into the structures of reggae." With: Black Mountain Symphony. 9:30 pm - $12 ahead / $15 day of

Friday: Sweet Plantain Quartet at Troy Music Hall
"[B]rings classical training and instruments to bear on jazz & Latin composition, with virtuoso percussion & a touch of hip-hop." 8 pm - $27 and up

Friday: Gregory Alan Isakov at The Egg
"[C]ompositions that tell a story of miles and landscapes, and the search for a sense of place." 7:30 pm - $34.50

Friday: 4th Annual Gospel Jubilee at Proctors
"[S]ure to bring great joy and uplifting music to all in attendance." 7 pm - $20

Friday: Charlie Watts Riots at The Low Beat
With: The Sidd Finch Project. 8 pm

Friday: Christine Lavin, Don White & Bill Harley at Proctors
An 8th Step show. 7:30 pm - $28 ahead / $30 day of

Saturday: Golden Oldies Spectacular at Proctors
Featuring The Letterman, Darlene Love, The Duprees, The Marcels, Jay Siegel's Tokens. (Maybe you saw Darlene Love in 20 Feet from Stardom, or her annual Christmas appearance on The Late Show. The lady's got a voice.) Saturday 7 pm - $39.75 and up

Saturday: Robbie Krieger at The Egg
You know, from The Doors. 8 pm - $35.50 and up

Saturday: Alice Stuart + Melissa Ferrick at Caffe Lena
"Two generations of powerful female guitarists." 8 pm - $28

Saturday: Ryan Montbleau Band at Helsink Hudson
"[B]luesy, soulful rock." 9 pm - $18 ahead / $20 day of

Saturday: Moon Boot Lover at Parish Public House
Jam. With: Bump. 8 pm - $10 ahead / $12 day of

Saturday: The Chubby Checker show at Vapor is sold out.

Sunday: Joan Armatrading at The Egg
Longtime singer/songwriter. With: Melissa Ferrick. 7:30 pm - $38

Sunday: Anton Baranov at The Massry Center
Prizewinning Russian guitarist. 7:30 pm - $20 / $10 students

Sunday: Wild Ponies at Caffe Lena
"[U]nflinching country songs." 7 pm - $16

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These are a just a few things for this week, not a comprehensive list. Know of something people should be looking forward to this week? Please share!

Helsinki Hudson, Troy Music Hall, The Spectrum, and Saint Rose advertise on AOA.

photo: Josef Astor