Thomas Krens, director of the Guggenheim Foundation, is resigning later this year. It’ll end a 20-year tenure of foundation growth, innovation and, some critics say, contentious and often-crass expansionism of the Guggenheim franchise. Indeed, under Krens’ stewardship, the Guggenheim foundation morphed from a grave institution with taproots in New York to a sort of global mutant kudzu, with satellites in Bilbao, Venice and, of course, Las Vegas. Those who violently naysay Krens’ franchise-a-mania more or less think of him like this:

The debate over whether Krens brought art to the masses or brought mass sensibility to the arts is better left to art-journal brainiacs. The question on my mind is what his resignation spells for the Guggenheim Hermitage in the Venetian. Will a retrenching foundation rein in its satellite operations, scale back its global reach? My calls to local Gugg officials got official-unofficial comment that his departure isn’t expected to affect the Guggenheim Hermitage. Then again, in my mind there lingers the unceremonious shuttering of the Venetian’s big-box Guggenheim in 2002 — whose “Art of the Motorcycle” was reportedly Krens’ brainchild …

This week, Salon’s Joe Conason explores the unholy alliance between Ralph Nader and John McCain. We may never know for sure whether Nader, now snorting and pawing the ground again for the third time in eight miserable years, is simply the blind-to-his-own-hypocrisy megalomaniac we already know him to be, or an advocate of something more sinister. In any case, it’s almost certain he’s never kissed a girl.

FRIDAY

Ah, if only I could clone myself, then I wouldn’t have to pick just one of these show tonight …

My favorite dirty little drunken comedian, Dave Attell, returns to Sin City; I still fondly remember how he cracked me up when I interviewed him years ago. With Joe DeRosa; 7p. $25. House of Blues.

Then there’s the tremendous lineup of The Chinese Stars, Flaspar and The Laymen. With DJ Remy the Restless; 10p. 21+. $5. Beauty Bar.

But since I do have to make a choice …

I’ll be kickin’ out the jams courtesy of the man with the rock ‘n’ roll domination plan, Timothy Styles and his wrecking crew Skorchamenza. With San Diego’s Whole Hog; 10p. 21+. Bunkhouse Saloon.

SATURDAY

Honestly, this is a must-see; Psychedelic cowboys Spindrift (featuring former members of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Warlocks) first passed through Vegas at this time last year. With The Pandas, Sparkler Dims, DJ Remy the Restless; 10p. 21+. $5. Bunkhouse.

If fuzzed-out jangle rock isn’t your scene, then why not do something to help a person in need: The Moanin’ Blacksnakes‘ Art Groom has in a car accident and his fellow musicians are raising money for his medical bills. Andy Walo, The Shakers, Ruffnecks, Stoney Curtis and more; 1p-3a. 21+. Sand Dollar Blues Lounge.

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y WHAT?

That’s right: Everyone’s favorite roller skating Scottish nostalgia act, the Bay City Rollers, have signed on for an extended run at The Riviera. The last I know of Ian Mitchell’s version of The Rollers visiting the valley was August 2005 when the act played on Matteo’s patio in Boulder City. Now there’s a higher price to be paid for this “Rock ‘n Roll Love Letter” — $50 in fact. We’ll “Keep On Dancing” elsewhere.
Ian Mitchell’s Bay City Rollers; Le Bistro Theater, Riviera, 2901 Las Vegas Blvd. South; through March 2, March 4-9 and March 11-16, 9p.

The news has been buried under piles of twice-used syringes, castor beans in a cheap motel room, NASCAR preparation and Divorceapalooza 2008 coverage, but my colleague Jon Ralston has the shocking, sad story.

Las Vegas Sands, the company headed by billionaire Sheldon Adelson,  filed a pair of initiatives today, one to divert room tax money used by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and use it on schools, the other to divert room tax money and use it on schools, roads and cops.

How could it have come to this? How could things have gotten this bad? Where did the world go so topsy turvy that a man Forbes ranks as the sixth-richest in the world, a man who owns a governor outright, would be forced to … we can barely type the words … circulate an initiative like some ordinary slob?

This isn’t the Las Vegas we know.

Now, instead of dictating policy from the executive suites at The Venetian, Adelson (well, Adelson’s people) are going to have to search for support among the regular folk. And that means arguing that their ideas are better, rather than just calling Gov. Jim Gibbons and having him regurgitate whatever he’s told. God, if we’re not careful, this could degenerate into democracy.

Anyway, poor Adelson will be subjected to something he probably never hears: Counter-arguments! People will say that it’s a stupid idea to take room tax money and use it on schools, since the convention authority needs it to promote Las Vegas. Or that the money is already committed to bonds, and to the multi-million- dollar upgrades at the convention center. Or that more than half of the money already goes for schools and roads.

The really cynical among the population might even suggest that Adelson was circulating these initiatives to kill the LVCVA because it competes with his private convention center at the Venetian.

How, how, how could it have come to this, a time in Las Vegas when the wealthy and powerful have to stoop down to use the tools of democracy like they were crazy potheads trying to legalize marijuana or misanthropic failed congresswomen trying to assault nurses and cops? This is an outrage, people!

We at Various Things & Stuff come in for some light criticism over at the Las Vegas Gleaner for the fact that we didn’t report the rumors that Gov. Jim Gibbons and his wife, Dawn, may be considering a divorce. The Gleaner’s proprietor, Hugh Jackson, did in fact break the Gibbons-divorce rumor on his blog, but it was not until Nevada’s “Chief Operating Officer” Diane Cornwall spoke on the record to the Reno Gazette-Journal that the story spilled into most every Nevada newspaper.

(And, by the way, the Las Vegas Gleaner is not an “obscure” blog. It’s actually a very well-read blog, especially in local political circles. Ask anybody. So the swipe taken at Jackson, who is also a CityLife columnist, by the Los Angeles Times‘ Andrew Malcolm was out of line, we think. As fate would have it, we’ve met Mr. Malcolm before, at a Poynter Institute seminar, and we can tell you that he’s a very accomplished professional who actually made newspaper editorials interesting for a time at the Times. So he’s a good guy.)

Why are we being so nice to everybody? Well, it’s because we’re part of the “triumvirate of hyper-sensitivity,” of course! Could somebody please tell our wife? Because she doesn’t always think we’re sensitive.

Anyway, we can assure you readers that we did not withhold the reporting of the Gibbons divorce details out of sensitivity, or because we like the governor, or anything of the sort. (Actually, we’ve written quite a bit about Gibbons’ myriad shortcomings.) We did it because we truly believed the story had no bearing on the governor’s job performance, and that it was a private matter. We’d have done the same with a public official that we actually like, assuming such a creature could be found.

Do we protest too much? Perhaps. So we’ll stop now.

Gee, what’s a candidate named Barack Obama with a steadfast and principled stand against the Iraq war from the beginning to do when a lefty popcult figurine shills for the surge? The Tomb Raider herself busted out the idea in yesterday’s WashPo:

As for the question of whether the surge is working, I can only state what I witnessed: U.N. staff and those of non-governmental organizations seem to feel they have the right set of circumstances to attempt to scale up their programs. And when I asked the troops if they wanted to go home as soon as possible, they said that they miss home but feel invested in Iraq. They have lost many friends and want to be a part of the humanitarian progress they now feel is possible.

As a candidate who seems to have gotten much of his momentum from cultural juggernauts, Obama’s surely considering some new terrain on the playing field now. One thing’s for sure: You sooo know he’s praying Bono doesn’t come out in favor of the surge.

The song of Obama’s worst nightmare: “One surge/ One life … “

When we heard that Converse might issue a special Hunter Thompson edition of its famous Chuck Taylor sneaker–the Fear and Loathing author’s footwear of choice–we were of divided opinion. On the one hand, commodifying the dead seems, ah, distasteful, especially such a house god of the counterculture as Thompson. On the other hand, we paid full cover price for the sucky Kingdom of Fear, so we figure the son of a bitch owes us some signature footwear. On the other other hand, Thompson himself wasn’t above pimping his image for occasional hits of cash. On the fourth hand, how often in postliterate America does any product count on the cachet of a writer?

 What we’ve decided is: We don’t begrudge the Thompson estate a few sneaker bucks; gotta feed the peacocks. On the other hand, we ain’t buying, just as we’ve never ordered the official Gonzo Men’s Navy Long-Sleeve Tee (with yellow logo!), the Gonzo Lapel Pin (with red accent!) or any of the other merchandise for sale at the online Gonzo Store. It’s not just that we don’t own clothing with lapels. It’s that we can’t indulge the fantasy of connection, the idea that sporting Thompson gear identifies us with him somehow. Also, we’re saving for some classic Air Jordans.

1. “I really think we should get a puppy. Did I say puppy? I meant divorce.”

2. “Hi honey. How was your divorce day? There’s some leftover divorce lasagna in the divorce fridge if you’re hungry for divorce. Oh, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about … ”

3. “You look really nice in that suit. You’re going to look really good when I tell you I want a divorce.”

4. “There’s something I want to tell you. But … well … maybe if I say this in Yoda language it will soften the blow a bit. I guess what I want to say is: Divorce very badly I want, yes, because always chasing cocktail waitresses you are. Very tired of it I am. Half I want, yes. See you in court I will.”

Anybody who’s been through a divorce knows it’s not pretty. And we at Various Things & Stuff have a lot of sympathy for those couples who, for whatever reason, decide to call it quits, as it now appears Gov. Jim Gibbons and his wife, Dawn, might.

But what could possibly have possessed Gibbons’ “Chief Operating Officer” Diane Cornwall to comment about the possibility of a divorce to the Reno Gazette-Journal today? According to Cornwall’s statement, a decision hasn’t been made, but will be discussed at a “family meeting” this weekend?

Could it have been the fact that the matter was being discussed on blogs? (Here, with funny pirate picture, here, with another funny pirate picture, and once again here?) We know Gibbons reads the blogs, after all.

But seriously: This is essentially a private matter between the governor and his wife. Why in the hell would Gibbons No. 2 staffer go blabbing about it to people?

Oh, that’s right: Because this is the Gibbons administration, which never misses an opportunity to screw the political pooch. And it’s impossible to conceive that Cornwall acted without the governor’s blessing.

We’ll admit rumors of this pending divorce have been out there for awhile, and we at Various Things & Stuff heard them. We didn’t write about them, for good or ill, because they didn’t meet our standards. Whether the governor and his wife are divorcing, as we’ve said, is a private matter that has nothing to do with how Gibbons is running the state.

But thanks to what we can only assume is a ham-handed attempt to get in front of the story, or to counter the blogs, or whatever the hell they were thinking, it’s now something else: News. Expect to see this story everywhere, including the pro-Gibbons Review-Journal.

Nice work, Gibbons people. Just another sign you’re not ready for prime time.

UPDATE: Gubernatorial advisor Jim Denton spoke to the Associated Press about the Reno Gazette-Journal’s report, lamenting thusly: “Unfortunately, their role in public life has brought this into the public arena, which doesn’t happen with most people.”

Alas, the AP account confirmed Denton spoke publicly after the Gazette-Journal story was published. That’s after Cornwall spoke to the Gazette-Journal. Which means that it’s still the Gibbons camp that put the matter into the public arena, not the governor’s “role in public life.”
Nice try, Denton. But no cigar.

UPDATE 2: Once again, it’s scary how much conservative activist Chuck Muth and we at Various Things & Stuff agree.

CLARIFICATION: When we initially heard this sorry tale, we understood that Diane Cornwall contacted the Reno Gazette-Journal to offer her comments. That is incorrect, according to a blog post by our colleague Anjeanette Damon.  Damon says she was working on the story and called Cornwall for comment, and Cornwall obliged.

The fact that the Reno Gazette-Journal and the Review-Journal were working on the story, however, doesn’t change our opinions about the newsworthiness of it expressed herein. We still believe Cornwall was wrong to discuss it, at least until the first couple had made a final decision to divorce. Readers can judge for themselves whether our view, or the views of our media and blogosphere colleagues, are correct.

Cindy Funkhouser unified the downtown arts community by starting First Friday, and now it’s your turn to show her your support. The community she began cultivating more than five years ago will gather tonight to raise funds to help pay the medical bills she’s accumulated fighting cancer.

Artworks by many local artists — including Dray, Mark T. Zeilman, KD Matheson, Tony Bondi and Daniel Pearson — have been donated for the live auction. If you’re afraid an original painting is out of your price range, there will also be a silent auction for items including massages, salon services, and dinner and show packages.

The Funk-Raiser: An Art Auction Benefit for Cindy Funkhouser
6 p.m.-9 p.m.
Double Down Saloon
4640 Paradise Road
791-5775
Free (21+)

I’ll confess to a perverse pleasure in watching bibliophiles go all spongy and shrill when someone, once again, declares reading is dead. The latest pronouncement of death came last month from none other than Apple’s Steve Jobs, the man who ingeniously turned computers into the equivalent of very useful Tiffany lamps and convinced the world that no life is complete without a complement of trilling electronics clutched in one’s hands. Dismissing Amazon’s new e-book reader, the Kindle, Jobs told the New York Times that, “It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore.”

Cue the gasps of horror and dudgeon. A month later, defenders of the reading faith are still in high gnash, with the latest counterattack fired by the New York Times‘ Timothy Egan, whose spirited defense was another in a long line of good intentions lobbed wide of the mark. A paraphrase of Egan’s rousing conclusion: Reading will never die because … well, it’s reading! It’s the magic of storytelling! It feeds our hard-wired need for narrative!

To borrow a phrase from our supposedly post-literate youth: Whatevz. My pleasure is in this argument’s irony, in seeing the defenders of reading engage in such a massive misreading of the terms of the debate.

See, there’s a deadly assumption at the core of these debates over the purported death of reading. The assumption is that the debate is about rival methods of information intake. If that’s the case, we might as well be arguing over the merits of different drinking straws. Does buying into that assumption really address what’s at stake? No. Reading Is Dead vs. Reading Is Not Dead isn’t just another skirmish in the format wars that seems worthwhile to fight because books hold some quaint, musty glamour we can’t quite explain.

I suspect it’s more basic than that. Maybe reading is only incidentally a form of getting information or getting story; underneath, however, it operates more fundamentally as a potent and nourishing mode of solitude. Cast that way, the proposition unveils the real absurdity of what Jobs is saying — as absurd as saying that people just don’t cry at funerals anymore, or people just don’t hug their children anymore.

Technology can leap all it wants, but poetic justice is a hurdle too high: It won’t be long before iPods are slim enough to be used as bookmarks.

Our reviewer called Charles Bock’s Vegas novel Beautiful Children “a mind-expanding reading experience,” which is either a commentary on the quality of the book or the size of the reviewer’s mind, but regardless, the book is unarguably this: free to download. Through Friday. This comes courtesy of publisher Random House, which has probably issued a press release explaining why they did it. (Be all interactive and Google that yourself.) As for the free book, find it here.

I’ll admit it: I’m a TV-watching fool, and my favorite new show is about to end an eight-week run. More devastatingly, it may get reformatted from an hour down to a measly half-an-hour, if it stays on at all.

Tom Green’s House Tonight

He loves skateboarding, he’s rapped with Flava Flav and he celebrated Pauly Shore’s birthday by hurling chickens from his roof into his pool (OK, they were actually Cornish game hens). I’m talking about the brilliant “web-o-vision” talk show experiment launched by the original Jackass and decades-ago MTV golden boy, Tom Green.

Tom Green’s House Tonight began as an Internet-only show that developed a cult following. The next logical step, in Green’s mostly illogical mind, was to upgrade the equipment, build some bleachers in his house and put it on the airwaves. Is he a shut-in? I’m not quite sure, but he does occasionally venture out into Hollywood to shoot weird man-on-the-street videos. If you think he’s too nuts and intense, rest assured he’s tempered with age and now the focus is on his guests. The Fernwood Tonight-esque show is only available in five markets, Las Vegas being the only one on the West Coast, even though the show is taped in Green’s home in Los Angeles.

Turn in at 11 p.m. through Feb. 29 on VegasTV KTUD channel 25 (cable channel 14) for the final new episodes. Then pray to the gods of TV that this work of genius isn’t snatched away from our restless eyeballs.

Next up for the Democratic candidates: the War on E-Mail.

Backup documents here.