Thurs. July 12

Our Buddy Cianci story. We were in Providence working on a rock 'n' roll piece, and, returning late to our hotel parking garage, when we ran into Cianci in the lobby, headed to the elevator. (This was before Buddy was in jail, a few years ago.) We couldn't help ourselves but engage him in conversation, especially about a New Yorker piece on him that had recently ran. It was not that unflattering, despite Cianci's corruption conviction and general feeling that the one-time populist had become corrupted. I said I liked the piece and asked him what he thought. "Too long," he shrugged. But he was affable, and we had a good quick chinwag before we went our separate ways - me back to Boston and him eventually to the pokey. He's out now and was back in the news after landing a (soon resciended) job at a ritzy Boston hotel. He's working back in Providence. In "Buddy," shown on a variety of dates (see above) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Cherry Arnold  brings on former local guy James Woods to narrate the film and explains the ups, downs and turnarounds. Buddy, as you might expect, comes across as a compelling figure, like him or or not. The Phoenix's Peter Keough calls him "the king and the court jester of his own downfall." Tickets: $8.50. Its lsat showin is Thursday July 12. Times vary. Check the website below.

465 Huntington Ave., 617-267-9300 www.mfa.org

Thurs. July 12

Ever need a sense of tranquility in your life? (Don't answer this, you live in or around Boston.) Here's our hearty recommendation: "The Forest Hills Lantern Festival," Thursday, July 12, from 6 - 9 pm  (rain date: July 19). Here's the way Cecily Miller, our friend at Forest Hills describes the annual event: "It's a Buddhist-inspired memorial celebration, inspired by the traditional Japanese Bon Festival, a Buddhist ritual honoring the departed spirits of family ancestors. Paper lanterns are elegantly inscribed by Japanese and Chinese calligraphers and then participants add drawings and  personal messages of love and hope.  At dusk, people gather around Lake Hibiscus, light the votive candles in their lanterns, and float them onto the peaceful surface of the water.Drifting and glimmering across the Lake, the lanterns symbolize the soul’s journey after death." We ask: Does the soul have a journey after death? Here we run into our own agnostic philosophy, but upon reflection, we can cheerily say, "Maybe." Agnosticism is not atheism. We do not deny the existence of a Higher Power or an afterlife. We just don't bloody know. But we know we enjoy trying to believe - we've done it at a few reggae shows and Al Green certainly made us a (temporary) believer when we saw him sing in Dorchester - so we're thinking this cannot be a bad thing at all.
You also get live music by Master Tsuji’s Samurai Taiko Drummers; gospel singers Ron Murphy, Athene Wilson and Wannetta Jackson. Japanese Bon dances performed by Showa Institute and Chinese folk dances by Chu Ling Dance Academy. The festival begins at 6 pm, as families and friends gather to share picnics on the grass and enjoy a multi-cultural program of music and dance. Admission is free, with a $10 donation for use of each lantern. Parking is $10. (Oh, as there's no electricity after dark in the cemetary bring a flashlight.)

95 Forest Hills Ave., Jamaica Plain, 617.524.0128 foresthillstrust.org.

Thurs. July 12

Men are from Mars; women are from Venus. We never quite bought that bit of pop psychology, but we suppose there's truth beyond the simple logic. Men and women do have different thought processes, needs, desires and goals. Often these coincide or overlap, but sometimes they don't and you'll realize there's a whole other way of looking at things. This is to say Women in Film & Video/New England is presenting its outdoor summer series called "Garden Shorts" Thursday July 12 at dusk at the Growing Center just outside of Union Square in Somerville. The films are all under 20 minutes. The July program features films by Patricia Rozema, Lana Z. Caplan, Jennifer Matotek, Carly Short and C.C. Webster. Rozema (in photo) is a Canadian and won a Prix de la Jeunesse at Director's Fortnight in Cannes back in 1988 for her first full-length feature, "I've Heard the Mermaids Singing." She's also collaborated with the great Harold Pinter  Here, she'll show "Suspect," a 7-minute tale involving gender reversal. Caplan specializes in experimental films and she has "Half Light." Short, who recently graduated Mass College of Art, will conduct a Q/A after her documentary "Come On Baby Remember," which is about memory and imagery. Webster is contributing "Civil War," which is also on the current festival circuit. Free.

22 Vinal Ave., Somerville, 617-666-2969  www.womeninfilm.org

Thurs. July 12

 How can you not be intrigued by a band called Emperor Norton's Stationery Marching Band? Yes, they're part of that new vaudeville craze that's out there and they play that kind of circus style music at the Lilypad Thursday July 12 with accompaniment by one of our favorite belly dancers, Samarra. Emperor Norton's band - which bills its members as "talented deadbeats and drifters" - has 12 players, including a fiddler, a clarinetist, accordionist, upright bassist and more. They promise to be raucous and rambunctious, musicians who will hok, wail, blow, beat, bounce, scream or serenade their way into your hearts. Add Samarra to that mix and you're looking at some kinda fun. Starts at 10 p.m. with a $10 cover.

1353 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-497-0576 www.lily-pad.net

Wed. July 4

What are you doing on America's birthday? Here, in Boston, we've got the country's most celebrated - and nationally broadcast - music + fireworks thing going: The Boston Pops, conducted by Keith Lockhart, on the Esplanade, with this year's "rock" artist being that bastion of the American heartland, John Mellencamp. Good linkage. Assuming you're going to watch it - and, really, do you have another two choice: Join half a million or so other folks, get there at the crack of dawn, stake out blanket space, and sweat it out until the 8:30 p.m. show. And be part of the festivities! Live! Hey, we've done it a few times. We're going to be there this year, though, probably in some  press-sequestered area. If you don't want to wage the battle for lawn supremacy, you can watch WBZ-TV Channel 4's coverage from 8 to 10 p.m. (That's after a 7 p.m. show called "The American Spirit," hosted by Paula Ebben and Scott Wahle.) Then, at 10, CBS nationwide (same channel here) picks up it for a concentrated "best of" hour. It’s difficult, Lockhart told us, in terms of “shaping the program, saying ‘Now, give us your best ten seconds,’’’ Still, the exposure can’t be beat and Lockhart says, “it’s a two-edged sword. We’re the only orchestra with a real broad national constituency because of the Fourth of July and the public celebration. We call ourselves 'America’s Orchestra.'"
 Also, the Pops 4th show features the winner of the nationwide talent search – a rather blatant “American Idol” rip-off to get the public involved.  Hey, it generates interest. “This aping of TV shows is so out of control,” admits Lockhart. “What’s next ‘America’s Best New Pharmacist?’ We’re watchng people fall over themselves to think of new reality shows.”
Still, of the Pops contestants still in the mix, he says, “Based on what I’ve heard, it’s a strong group.” (Lockhart told us this before the winner was announced last week: She is Maria Perry, winning with her rendition of "Not While I'm Around" from "Sweeney Todd." She's not a local. This year, the Pops opened up their PopSearch thing nationally to youtube.com and the 52-year-old fitness instructor from Kansis City, Missouri won that way.
Joining the Esplanade Orchestra and Mellencamp - expect "Small Town," "Jack and Diane" and "This is Our Country" - will be that well known American patriot Craig Ferguson. Nah, that's a joke. Craig's the Scottish comic/actor who landed "The Late, Late Show" on CBS and has, of late, been kvetching about not having gotten citizenship. So, various mayors and governors have been sending in documents granting him honorory citizenship of their respective spots. Just a wild guess? He get's Boston citizenship from Mayor Menino or state-wise citizenship from Deval Patrick.
Look the "Fourth of July Extravaganza" is no picnic (though you should bring one) and you must consider all the lead-up and then trying to get home among the throngs.  But the  music and 25 minutes of fireworks - they seem to get better every year - will stir something with you. And if you like having those emotions stirred with hundreds of thousands of others, stake that spot as close to the Hatch Shell as you can, as early as you can. It is, of course, free.

Storrow Drive, www.july4th.org