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The August doldrums continue this week – there just isn’t much going down. But September is right around the corner, so keep the dream alive.
Saturday | 8.26.06
Festival. 
The 6th annual Jersey City LGBT Pride Festival, christened “Somewhere Over the Hudson,” closes out a week of Pride events around Jersey City. There’ll be political posturing – JC Mayor Healy, U.S. Sen. Menendez, and U.S. Rep. Sires all plan on stopping by – but the day will be more of a celebration than a lecture. There are too many performers scheduled to name here, but Jersey City Lesbian Gay Outreach, Inc. (JCLGO) promises to “transform Exchange Place into an open-air dance fest.” Ida Castro, who was the first Latina to chair the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission, will be the keynote speaker. This all goes down all day, from noon to 8 pm, at Exchange Place on the Jersey City waterfront. When the festival is over, the official after-party is at the Cage in Hoboken, but if you’re looking for something a little different, check out the Drag Show at Jersey City’s newest hip artspace, the Project 001 Gallery.
Comedy. 
Neil Hamburger has made an unlikely career of utterly abusing his “bad comedy” schtick – or maybe he’s just a bad comic? His routine has always seemed more like performance art than anything else to me, so if you’re looking to laugh – in a traditional manner – don’t come see “America’s Funnyman.” However, if you want to come out and see someone make an ass out of himself, all for the benefit of you, my friend, you are in luck. I’ve never witnessed a show that Hamburger actually headlines; I’ve mostly caught him opening for large indie bands, which was always part of the fun, because there were bound to be lots of people there thinking the guy’s doing his act in earnest. Add some alcohol to that equation, and that makes for wildly entertaining taunts, which with Hamburger’s reactions, were always highlights of his show. It’ll definitely be a different dynamic tonight at Maxwell’s, but it’s worth a shot.
Wednesday | 8.30.06
Iraq War Forum. 
“The Culture of the Military: Iraq and Vietnam” is what looks to be the last of the series of summer forums on the Iraq War across the state, sponsored by NJ For Democracy, and features an impressive lineup of speakers. Gregory Bumgardner is a NJ Iraq War veteran, Carol Gay is running for the 4th district Congressional seat this fall, Richard Moser is an academic and the author of The New Winter Soldiers: GI and Veteran Dissent during the Vietnam Era, and Rep. Frank Pallone represents the 6th district in Congress. The event, which is cosponsored by Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War, New Jersey for Democracy, Rutgers Against the War and Coalition for Peace Action, is at 7 pm, at the Highland Park Reformed Church in Highland Park. RSVP here.
Film. 
With the 5th “anniversary” of 9/11 approaching, what better way to “celebrate” than by checking out a film that posits the attacks were carried out by the U.S. government, which then did an elaborate and successful cover-up job. "Loose Change" has made lots of waves, as one would imagine. City Belt hasn’t viewed the film, but we have heard that, if nothing else, some of its arguments are compelling. The Peoples Organization for Progress is hosting a special screening of the film at 6:30 pm, at Washington Community School in Plainfield.
Thursday | 8.31.06
Concert. 
I’ve been honestly thinking off-and-on all week about which of these bands I prefer. It’s like Coke v. Pepsi, but much more difficult. New York’s Asobi Seksu play lush but upbeat indie pop in the vein of, um, Lush and early My Bloody Valentine – they often get called shoegazers, likely due to the wall of guitar noise, delay and soft female (and male) vocals. Say Hi to Your Mom’s 
most recent album is all about vampires, and maybe that’s all I need to say – but I didn’t even notice the vampire theme until it was pointed out to me. Maybe I was too busy appreciating the quirky pop songcraft … yeah, that must have been what happened. Cassettes Won’t Listen opens the show, at Maxwell’s.
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