Thursday Happenings

Books

-- Ted Kerasote reads from Merle's Door, a book about a dog that looks kind of like Marley. Pups have so much to teach us. Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge, 7pm. Free! (KS)

-- While Kerasote warms our heart with puppy love stories, Richard Preston freaks us out with his book Panic In Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science. Attend if you're interested in permanent hypochondria. Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St, Brookline, 7pm. Free! (KS) Update from Brookline Booksmith: Preston's reading has been canceled due to illness.

First Thursday

-- Jamaica Plain kicks off June in style with an eclectic First Thursday event featuring an artisan fair, poetry readings at MC First Baptist Church (633 Center Street), and more. Artwork on display at Alchemist, Rhythm & Muse, Blue Frog Bakery, and more. Centre and South Streets, Jamaica Plain, 6-8pm, free! (KS)

Movies

-- Robert Mitchum's grizzled and vulnerable performance as a down-on-his luck Quincy gunrunner makes The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) one movie that every Bostonian ought to see. Peter Boyle plays Eddie's friend, a hitman who doesn't drive a car. Watch for Bobby Orr on the ice at the old Boston Garden and local independent filmmaker Jan Egleson as a young soldier. Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St., Brookline, 7:00pm. $9 (Free for members).

Singjays

-- In the early 80s, Eek-A-Mouse was widely credited with inventing the singjay reggae vocal style, a rhythmically difficult combination of singing, rapping, and scatting. If you don't know him from his hit "Wa Do Dem" (or his contribution to Damian Marley's single "Khaki Suit"), you might know him as Fat Smitty, from the film New Jack City. Harper's Ferry, 158 Brighton Ave., Allston, 9:30pm. $15.

Something Resembling Music

-- Adam Green is moldy; Tim Fite is insane. The combination is sure to freak you out. Moldy Peaches member Green will play disturbing folk, while Fite will quasi-rap some off-putting sentiments. It's sure to be an enjoyably uncomfortable experience. Great Scott, 122 Comm Ave, Allston, 9pm, $14. (KS)

-- Bostonist believes that it's a slippery slope from semi-professional air guitar to street miming. Catch the performers at the apex of that slope at the Boston championship for the U.S. Air Guitar competition. Middle East Downstairs, 472 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, 8:00pm. $15.

Kerry Skemp contributed to this post.