Picks

REJOYCE!

The events in Ulysses took place 100 years ago today. You know, Ulysses—that five-pound book full of gibberish that you got 50 pages into before giving up in shame and disgust. But just because you haven't read the book doesn't mean you can't celebrate it. Thanks to this panel discussion and video presentation, you will have enough Cliffs Note talking points to sound like you read it the next time you hit on an English Lit undergrad. The night is capped off by dramatic readings from the book's famous last chapter. Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 5th Ave. (40th St.), 212-340-0833, 4, free.

WHITE HOUSE NOISE

Ted Nugent aside, the Bush-bashers currently have a stranglehold on rock 'n' roll. Tonight's Downtown for Democracy-sponsored Indie Rock the Vote event just provides further proof. No Wave saxophone squawker James Chance will wail, and Brooklynite rock deconstruction specialists Enon will pull the rug out from most of your rock preconceptions. The point of all this wonderful noise is to get Bush out of the White House. If they broadcast the show with gigantic speakers from outside the gates, it might just work. With Gang Gang Dance and Excepter. The Brooklyn Lyceum, 227 4th Ave. (betw. Union & President Sts.), Park Slope, 718-857-4816, 8, $15, $13 adv.

LEE STRINGER

Stringer's second memoir, Sleepaway School, came out earlier this year. It concerns his childhood in 1960s New York, where he was raised in foster care, dealt with an avalanche of anger and first came to recognize the differences between black and white America. Tonight, however, he'll be reading from his first memoir, Grand Central Winter. Heralded by Kurt Vonnegut, it's a great story about his adult years as a homeless crack addict, living both on and under the streets of New York, but we still don't know why he isn't reading from his second book. Barnes & Noble, 396 6th Ave. (betw. Waverly Pl. & W. 8th St.), 212-674-8780, 7:30, free.

BELLY FUSION

The Brad Pitt/Jennifer Aniston of waning health- and fitness-trend mash-ups has arrived. Belly-dancing and yoga converge in Belly Fusion, a phrase previously reserved for describing Siamese twins. This is the first in a seven-week series of classes, led by Andrea Gordon. The classes are all about shaking and shimmying the pelvis, and will incorporate aspects of modern dance. We predict that by this time next year, the engineers behind this exercise trend will figure out how to mix in Pilates and the Kabbalah. Office Ops, 57 Thames St. (betw. Morgan & Knickerbocker Aves.), Bushwick, 718-418-2509, 1:30, $10 per class.

LIVE FROM HOME

Do you really need an excuse to see a Cowboy Junkies show? Actually, yeah, you do. It's been, what, fifteen years since their The Trinity Sessions? And they haven't exactly diversified since. Good thing, then, that tonight's acoustic performance comes with an excuse built in: The proceeds go toward Housing Works' efforts to help stop the spread of AIDS among the homeless. So gaze at your shoes and party like it's 1995. With L.P. and one-hitters Fastball. Housing Works Used Book Cafe, 126 Crosby St. (betw. Houston & Prince Sts.), 212-334-3324, 7:30, $25.

SATURDAY JUNE 19

BROOKLYN ARTS COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL

It doesn't have the cache of Tribeca or the cred of the New York Underground Film Festival, but the durable Brooklyn Arts Council International Film and Video Festival is in its 38th year. Stop by the newly refurbished Brooklyn Museum on Saturday from noon to six to see 11 short films in the Cantor Auditorium, including Public Memory, a documentary about national monuments that honor the dead and Q&A, a quirky art film that wrestles with the genesis of idealism. 200 Eastern Pkwy. (Washington Ave.), 718-638-5000, 12-6, $6, $3 st.

BREWTOPIA

Thomas Moore be damned. Without beer, there can be no paradise. For an eyebrow-raising entry price, thirsty attendees receive a souvenir glass with which they can sample from over 140 brews. So, the gauntlet's been thrown down—140 beers in a day. Can you handle it? If not, an array of gourmet food will be on offer, so you can no doubt find something tasty to soak up the hops in your belly. For once, tossing back pints at noon is a sign of culture, not degeneracy. Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St. (betw. 6th & 7th Aves.), 212-463-0071, 12:30, $50, $40 adv.

SABAN BAJRAMOVIC

The King of the Gypsies, Saban Bajramovic, hits town with a deep songbook, a white suit, gold teeth and a golden voice. Bajramovic (who inspired Goran Bregovic's scores for Kusturica's Underground and The Time of the Gypsies) fronts both Peter and the Black Pearls and the big Zlatne Uste Brass Band tonight at the Hiro Ballroom. 366 W. 17th St. (betw. 8th & 9th Aves.) 212-727-0212, 8, $25.

KNIFE SKILLS

With barrelling distortion rock that comes at you like wind from a tornado, what's not to like about Knife Skills? The songs are fast and catchy, they have an award-worthy name and for a three-piece give stripped-down rock good treatment, skillfully avoiding Blonde Redhead-levels of self-importance. Sin-é, 150 Attorney St. (Stanton St.), 212-388-0077, 8, $8.

SUNDAY JUNE 20

FATHER'S DAY

"Fathers are full of hate," a friend once observed. We nodded knowingly. Is that why more outrage is expressed when a mother kills her babies than when a father does? Do we expect fathers to snap? Are we just waiting for that backhand after the wisecrack that went too far? Aw, hell. Who can blame them. More often than not we deserved the slap or belt or stitch—and those whippings made us better people. Today is Father's Day. Bring the big guy a six-pack of cheap bottles to say there's no hard feelings. Your parents' house, all day.

MONDAY JUNE 21

AMERICAN GRAFFITI

Way back when Jar Jar Binks was just an itch in his polyester pants, George Lucas directed an almost shockingly human ode to pomade, doo wop and 60s California teenage car culture. Something like 60 percent of the cast of Happy Days is on board for American Graffiti, a light-as-air, quick-as-lightning, nostalgia tour de force. As you sip from your fifth of Old Grand Dad, ponder how 20 years later Graffiti was recreated as Dazed and Confused. Does that mean that 10 years hence there'll be another version, this time fetishizing Fieros and IRoc Zs? Bryant Park, 6th Ave. (betw. 40th & 42nd Sts.), 212-768-4242, 8:30, free.

TUESDAY JUNE 22

CAT-LOVER OLYMPICS

This event doesn't include tossing pesky felines like shot puts, even though their weight and tails would make it seem like a natural sport. These people just love cats. Host Olympian Kerri Strug presides over a bunch of cat owners competing in events like litter-box clean-up and a hairball-tossing. Cats will be offered up for adoption, and there will be feline-related giveaways. All of which is sure to bring joy to the hearts of aspiring spinsters everywhere. South Street Seaport, South St. (Fulton St.), 212-SEA-PORT, 11, free.

ROBERT MOSES SLIDE LECTURE

Unlike his biblical namesake, Robert Moses didn't part any seas, but he did part Brooklyn—with a little, um, miracle called the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. A lot of why this grand city of ours is so fucked up and dysfunctional can be laid at the grave of this man. Explore his urban-planning legacy today with a lecture and slide show by Fred Hadley. Science, Industry and Business Library, 188 Madison Ave. (34th St.), 212-592-7000, 5:30, free.

AIMEE MANN

For most, she will be frozen in time as the bleached blonde with a spike afro in the video for "Voices Carry." Put in the context of the rest of early-80s MTV, she could be much, much worse off. (Surviving members of Kajagoogoo and A-Ha, we're looking at you.) That's something of a tragedy, since her post-Til Tuesday output has been consistently stellar, with highlights including the Magnolia soundtrack and 2002's Lost in Space album. Her shaky but smooth voice catches the mood of the morning after a night of drinking and bad decisions. But at least you know you've been taken by a pro, indeed. See p. 56 for a little something about the man sharing the bill, tv's Patton Oswalt. St. Ann's Warehouse, 38 Water St. (Dock St.), Dumbo, 718-254-8779, 7, $40, $35 adv.