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.