The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

New this week: May Day Parade slideshow, Second Runway Show slideshow, Meet Local Filmmaker Jon Springer, and Campfire.


FILM
Global Lens, or Fast and Loose

The Walker's Global Lens series kicks off tonight with The Kite (Le Cerf-Volant) and All for Free (Sve Dzaba). Tour across four continents over the next 11 days, glimpsing into varied cultures and personal stories via 10 excellent films. The Kite (7 p.m.), directed by Randa Chahal Sabbag, examines marriage and tradition in Lebanon; while director Antonia Nuié's All for Free addresses rediscovery and loss in Croatia.

And if you'd rather play it fast and loose (whatever the heck that means in this context), then meander on over to the Edina Cinema for their weekly double feature. It's an action packed night with two (can't believe it, but...) classics: Dr. No (1962) and Rocky (1976). We're talking Sean Connery and Sylvester Stallone, p e o p l e !

BOOKS & AUTHORS
Republican Strategist Discusses Bad Money

Yeah, the title sounds like a given, but it's not what you think. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.) Best-selling author and noted Republican strategist Kevin Phillips is in town tonight to discuss his new book Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism. Wow. That's a mouthful — and a head-full. Whew. And it ought to be just about as comprehensive as it sounds. Phillips, who warned us against our dependence on oil and credit in American Theocracy, now examines the causes and effects of the decline of the dollar and other important economic shifts.

7 p.m., University of Minnesota Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-625-5549; free.


POETRY
Poetry Lovers

Of course, you can always bypass the politics and economics and opt for the language of love. I just received an email from local poet Todd Boss today informing me that his poem, "One Can Miss Mountains," will be in the May 12 issue of The New Yorker. That's pretty exciting stuff for a writer (and for all of us), so what better way to celebrate than to hear him read his poems? Join the Verse and Converse series this evening for a night of poetry with Boss, Lightsey Darst, Margaret Hasse, and Richard Solly. Tim Nolan will host.

7 p.m., Nina's Coffee Cafe, 165 Western Ave., St, Paul; 651-292-9816.


MUSIC
DeVotchKa and Basia Bulat

Do you know about despair? Feeling wistful? Dreaming of a better world? DeVotchKa is just the sound. The Denver-based quartet — self-described as Eastern-bloc indie rock — features Jeanie Schroder on sousaphone, upright bass, and vocals; Shawn King on drums, percussion, and trumpet; Tom Hagerman on violin, accordion, and piano; and Nick Urata on vocals, theremin, guitars, bouzouki, piano, and trumpet. If you thirst for versatility and all that is dramatic, this may be your thing. Accompanying them this evening is Canadian singer-songwriter Basia Bulat.

7:30 p.m., First Avenue, 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-332-1775; $19.50.