BOOKLYN: It's no secret that over the past couple of years Brooklyn has emerged as the new literary epicenter of the world. powerHouse Arena has honed in on what we like to call "Booklyn" and is hosting a book launch for the release of Evan Hughes' Literary Brooklyn--an in-depth look at the deep history of great Brooklynite writers like Truman Capote, Walt Whitman, and Henry Miller. Who said Brooklyn is the new writer's hub?
Tuesday, August 16 // 7-9p.m. // powerHouse Arena [37 Main St, Brooklyn] // Free, rsvp@powerHousearena.com
PICKLED PAD: This summer we've really hopped on board with the whole artisanal pickle trend. LaunchPad in Crown Heights is the quintessential spot to hone our sustainable, artisanal and briny skill set with a class dedicated to the fine art of pickling and canning vegetables. Insert corny joke about no longer being in a pickle regarding your plans on August 16th here.
Tuesday, August 16 // 7-9 p.m. // LaunchPad [721 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn] // Free
ROCK STAR KARAOKE NYC: Live out your dreams of rock stardom by singing with a live band, on a real stage, at LES dive Local 269. Get out some lady rage with Alanis's "You Oughta Know" or channel your Jersey roots by "Living On A Prayer" with Bon Jovi. The Rock Star Karaoke NYC band can jam out to over 350 songs from artists like Radiohead, Muse, Adele, AC/DC, Vanilla Ice and Bel Biv Devoe, meaning you're guaranteed to find something to belt out. Prone to stage fright? The $2 shots with every beer will definitely put you in the mood to rock!
Tuesday, August 16 // 9 p.m. - midnight // Local 269 [269 East Houston St] // Free
FIGURE DRAWING: Learn the basics of sketching at this 45-minute mini class that will cover some basic principals and techniques, like gestures, reference points, shadow techniques, and working with grounds. Stay put after the class and practice your skills for three hours of sketching with a live model. Materials are not provided so be sure to consult the event list to make sure you're properly armed to sketch the night away.
Wednesday, August 17 // 6:15 p.m. // Brooklyn Artists Gym [168 7th St, Brooklyn] // $20
BIUTIFUL: If you're fed up with the lamestream fare at all the free outdoor movies this summer, you're in luck—Spanish director Alejandro Ganzalez Inarritu's arresting film Biutiful, released last year, is playing at the restful and contemplative Socrates Sculpture Park. As describe on the Park's website, "Biutiful is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal (Javier Bardem) a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona...As fate encircles him and thresholds are crossed, a dim, redemptive road brightens, illuminating the inheritances bestowed from father to child, and the paternal guiding hand that navigates life's corridors, whether bright, bad--or biutiful."
Wednesday, August 17 // Socrates Sculpture Park [32-01 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City] // Free
INSIDE THE DICTIONARY: Word nerds delight! Everything you ever wanted to know about dictionaries but were too afraid to ask will be answered at this event featuring Merriam-Webster's editor-at-large Peter Sokolowski. Topics will include how a word gets into the dictionary, why American English is different from British English and the future of dictionaries in the internet age. Sokolowski will also cover the history of the dictionary and be ready to answer your questions.
Thursday, August 18 // 7 p.m. // WORD Brooklyn [126 Franklin St, Brooklyn] // Free
GAME OF THRONES BOOK CLUB:Game of Thrones enters musical territory when local songwriters are tasked with writing songs about George R. R. Martin's popular fantasy novel ("An Ode to the Imp," anyone?). The songs will be showcased at this "hour-long orgy of book-related songs," sponsored by the Bushwick Book Club. Book-inspired food and drink will also be on hand; we would like to request "two of those little fish, and a mug of dark ale...and bacon, burnt black!"
Thursday, August 18 // 8 p.m. // Goodbye Blue Monday [1087 Broadway, Brooklyn] // Free
OBAYASHI:It's time to delve in to a new genre, film buffs. Dip your feet into the league of Japanese Hallucinatory-Horror-Headtrip films at the IFC Center on August, 19th, when the theater screens "House," a cult classic by filmmaker Nobuhiko Obayashi. If the promise of Scooby Doo meets 'bloodthirsty pianos' and demonic cats doesn't get you in the door, we don't know what will.
Friday, August 19 // Midnight // 323 Sixth Ave // $13
MEMORY, MOVEMENT, MONOLOGUE: Live movement is a 'temporal experience' and performance artist Miloš Sofrenovic explores that notion by implementing theories he encountered in Marcel Proust's work, "Remembrance of Things Past", in a performance art piece entitled, "M.-- Solo for Three Minds". As part of the Dream Up Festival, "M." presents and questions the relationship between memory, movement, and monologue in a set of 12 scenes- a performance that took the artist three years to perfect.
Friday, August 19 // 7p.m. // Theater for the New City [155 First Ave] // $15
LATINO LIST LAUNCH: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders is no stranger to displaying his racially charged artwork at the Brooklyn Museum--in 2008 his collection of portraits and documentaries featuring prominent African Americans, "The Black List" graced the halls of the Museum. This time around, Greenfield-Sanders is launching "The Latino List," an exhibition that explores what it's like to be a Latino in contemporary society. Featured Latino/as include Eva Longoria, Sandra Cisneros, John Leguizamo, Sonia Sotomayor and Gloria Estefan.
Friday, August 19 // Museum Hours // The Brooklyn Museum [200 Eastern Pkwy] // $10 suggested donation
WASH AVE ROCKS: Street fairs come and go throughout the boiling August months in Brooklyn. But, the Washington Avenue Prospect Heights Association's fair is catering to the three seemingly omni-present cultural groups romping and roaming across the borough and more specifically, around Prospect Heights: foodies, fashionistas, and families. Dean Street, Abigail Cafe & Wine Bar, and Rawstar will participate in a "taste off,' battling for the title of Best Appetizer, and a fashion/hair show will take place shortly after.
Saturday, August 20 // 12-6p.m. // Washington Ave btw St. Marks and Prospect Pl, Brooklyn // Free
MINNESOTA STATE FAIR: Don't let the name deceive you. This annual bar and food crawl takes place in NYC and people from all states are welcome to join. Organizers want to bring the feeling of the state fair to the streets of Manhattan and have planned a day full of feasting on fair-related foods. The event kicks off at Brother Jimmy's with some fried pickles, then moves through the streets to sample everything from funnel cakes to cheese curds to fried Mars bars. Boozy stops have also been factored in with drink specials and Minnesota-themed festivities. Your entry fee includes a tasting of authentic Cheese Curds, Sweet Martha's Cookies and Milk, and a fine Midwestern draught.
Saturday, August 20 // 1 p.m. // starts at Brother Jimmy's Union Square [116 East 16th St] // $7
LAST ROOFTOP FILMS OF THE SUMMER: If you haven't checked out Rooftop Films yet, we strongly suggest coming out for the final one of this summer, which promises to be a satisfying yet haunting bookend to the season (even if the heat lasts through September). Traditionally the series has always ended the summer with a series of short films that have a running theme of conclusions and endings, but this year's will be particularly poignant, with the inclusion of a film by the late war journalist and Restrepo director Tim Hetherington. Keeping things jaunty will be folk musician Lady Lamb the Beekeeper.
Saturday, August 20 // 8 p.m. // The Old American Can Factory [232 Third St, Brooklyn] // $10
EUGENE MIRMAN AND FRIENDS: He's toured with rock bands, supported Obama, and lives in Park Slope. It's Eugene Mirman, comedian to the stars! Oh yeah, and some "pretty good friends" of his too--David Cross, of Arrested Development fame, and A.D. Miles, who's appeared on Dog Bites Man, Law and Order and Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (what a portfolio!). Other friends will be along for the comedic ride as well.
Sunday, August 21 // 7:30 p.m. // The Bell House [149 7th St, Brooklyn] // $15
THE PALMS: Where do young creative types—we won't use that h-word—go when Brooklyn begins to wear on them? When their legs are becoming sore from standing up in arms-folded posture at Death By Audio, when too much cigarette smoke gets in their eyes, when they could use a little sun? In other words, where do you retire? Well, there's a new sanctuary for the harried and hassled: 3rd Ward's new summer event series The Palms, which seeks to be an analog of Boca Raton in Long Island City, Queens. From August 12th through Labor Day, a 15,000 square foot area will be home to all the things that are wonderful about summer, and that a New Yorker might not get to experience every day: drinks, lounge chairs, lobster rolls, dumpster pools, dancing (to the beats of the likes of Pat Mahoney and House of House), and some of those elusive food trucks, including Luke's Lobster and Mexicue. Absolutely no bingo.
Sunday, August 21 // The Palms [25-25 44 Drive, Long Island City] // $10-20
ROLLER SKATING: The glory days of roller skating are back this summer at the High Line roller skating rink. Break out your glitter jumpsuit with matching headband and roll along to tunes provided by the onsite DJs. To avoid the daytime crowds, we recommend skating under the stars late night when all the kiddies have gone to bed.
Sunday, August 21 // 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. // The High Line Lot at 30th St [at 8th Ave] // $12 including skate rentals
MADAME X: Red Channel hosts a screening of this "feminist-punk odyssey" by German filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger. "The notorious pirate ruler Madame X" beckons restless women aboard her ship, the Orlando, promising "gold, love and adventure" to all her join her. But the journey takes a different route as the women experience first hand Madame X's "sadistic, erotic escapades." This provocative film embodies Ottinger's "iconic experimental style, featuring wild sets and costumes and raising contested issues around feminism, liberation and sexuality."
Monday, August 22 // 7 p.m. // 92Y Tribeca [200 Hudson St] // $10
Newsletter contributions from Nell Casey, Bethany O'Grady and Rachel Pincus
