Amy Sedaris talks crafts at Sixth & I tonight.

Monday: Amy Sedaris at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue

Amy Sedaris has always seemed just shy of crazy, but her latest book, Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People, is a surprisingly sane, useful guide to turning the detritus of your formerly successful life into something of middling value.

Don't believe me? Consider her instructions for creating "Franco's Clothespin Jesus": "Construct your Jesus wall-hanging using clothespins!" In case you need further instruction, there's an accompanying photo. Ditto the "Braided Head of Thorns" made from leather strips and the "Macaroni Alien Mask." Buy your mom this book for Christmas and she'll never forgive you, but take her to this event and you're good for the rest of the year.

Tuesday: Julie Feeney at a venue to be determined

Feeney, the theatrical, chamber-pop artist from Ireland, is performing three times this week: first at the Gibson Guitar Room on Tuesday, then the Pink Line Project on Wednesday. But this is the show to see. At a location still to be determined, Feeney will be performing in a shop window, with the sound broadcast through speakers on the sidewalk.

Tuesday: Shearwater at the Rock & Roll Hotel

Several years ago, somewhere on the shores of Lake Michigan, Pinetop Seven dropped the indie-rock mantle of cinematic, and vaguely Southern Gothic, music. Shearwater, which had already been around for a few years (but only as an Okkervil River side project), promptly picked up that mantle and burnished it. Led by Jonathan Meiburg, an ornithologist, the band has has mastered lyrical majesty without being overly majestic, and musical bombast without being overly bombastic. It's a fine line they're walking, sure, but as long as the Arcade Fire is still around, Shearwater is safe from criticism.

Wednesday: The General at National Archives

I've never understood these either/or propositions, but if you forced me to choose between Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, I would never hesitate: Keaton all the way. His sad, frail sensibility is more in tune with today's independent cinema than Chaplin's sledgehammer persona.

Friday: Morning Benders at the Black Cat

I don't hear their band name in their music, which is an unoffensive blend of shuffling pop and rocking-chair ballads. An iced tea with a splash of vodka, perhaps, but that's about it. And really, that's a much better way to spend the morning.

Saturday: Rosebud Film and Video Festival at Artisphere

Most niche film festivals in D.C. charge $10 for a single film. But Rosebud, which Arlington Independent Media has been running for 20 years now, charges only $10 for the entire single-day festival, which runs from 12:30 p.m. until around 6:30. That's reason alone to give this a shot, but here's another reason: The Mountain Music Project, a documentary about Appalachian musicians who travel to Nepal, seeking connections between their respective folk music.