Can't Miss It: Monday

FRANK-O-PHILE: Thomas Frank's What's the Matter With Kansas? was hailed as the most important political book of its time when it came out during the 2004 Presidential election. Now, as the Bush era draws to its inevitable close, Frank is back with a new work, The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule. Diving deep into the history of right-wing political activism since the Reagan years, Frank compellingly argues that the corruption and incompetence of government today is no accident, but rather the direct result of an ideology that believes in ineffective government and has no qualms about using government for personal enrichment. Frank reads from his new book and takes questions tonight at the UW Bookstore.

7 p.m. // 4326 University Way N.E. // free!

DEPRESSING AS HELL: Today, perhaps the single most common image of the impact of global warming in the American psyche is the polar bear. As the polar ice cap retreats (it's predicted to disappear during its summer retreat cycle in as little as a year), the bears' habitat has vanished, and some are even reported to have drowned trying to swim between ever more distant bits of ice. It's a sad, terrible story that depresses you and pisses you off at the same time, and Steven Kazlowski's photographs of these majestic animals at the Burke Museum make their plight all the more concrete and painful.

10 a.m.-5 p.m. // 17th Ave NE & NE 45th St. // $8

SEX KITTEN: Don't want to hear about the wicked ways of Washington or what's going to happen to those cute, roly-poly polar bear cubs? Well, you can escape down at SIFF Cinema for their showing of Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt. Godard's failing attempt at a mainstream movie, Contempt features the luscious curves of the actress who just screams sex, Brigitte Bardot. By "failing," we don't mean it's bad--it's arguably Godard's most influential movie, and certainly the easiest one to sit back and watch--but it didn't exactly make him a bankable Hollywood director, which is frankly just fine with us.

8 p.m. // 321 Mercer St., under McCaw Hall // $10 GA

Photograph of Thomas Frank by Wendy Edelberg.