Blindfold a child, put a bat in her hand, and promise her candy, a lot of candy. What could go wrong? Nothing, says the author of the darkly delightful Mister Monkey, in a deft defense of pinatas. Plus: what to do when a neighbor has automatic weapons, poetry from Bob Holman who was entirely unarmed (he said), and music from Aquiles Navarro and Tcheser Holmes, at the Bowery Poetry Club.

•  THING: piñatas
•  RANDY’S PLACE: his apartment