The PitchBlack Brass Band will show you the light at Crest Fest. via Facebook

1. Friend-of-Hodgman Jonathan Coulton will be popping in to The Rock Shop’s punk karaoke night to help shepherd in some of the cheesiest songs of the last 40 years (Friday)

2. Greenwood Park has the hottest 80s, 90s, funk and party jams because that is how they do it (Friday)

3. Or maybe your tastes run more towards indie and surf rock, in which case check out the dance party chock full of it at The Secret Loft. Not much of a secret if they’re advertising (Friday) (more…)

The view from inside the Rockabus. Photo by Kelly Murphy

Good news for people who like going down to the Rockaways but don’t like the public transportation options: the Rockabus will be running again this summer. Even better news for people who fit in that category and don’t like going to Williamsburg: the bus also has two new pickup location, at Grand Army Plaza and the Lower East Side. (more…)

Aim to have a good time this weekend

1. Do your best MJ or Madonna impression at Union Hall’s sing-a-long. By singing, not be being a rampant egoist or tragic weirdo (Friday)

2. The big soda ban starts Tuesday, so this could be your last shot to see the Big Gulp Comedy show before it becomes subject to a fine (Friday)

3. WOOO spring break! WOOO vegan goodies! (Saturday) (more…)

Say “HELLO” to the new year with Mr. Murray Hill at the Knitting Factory

New Year’s Eve is the best holiday. It just is. It’s a night of no inhibitions, one where you’re as likely to wake up in the middle of making out with someone as you are to find yourself puking. Forget those friends of yours who grouse about it being amateur hour and a haven for people who can’t handle their liquor. If you’re the sort of person who’s always the drunkest one at the party, it’s the night where everyone gets dragged down to your level and you subsequently look great. Not only that, but it’s a night full of optimism and the belief that things will be better over the next 365 days, despite zero evidence to back it up. If you’re still looking for somewhere to get that midnight smooch and sing Auld Lang Syne, we’ve got your back. (more…)

All events Hebrew Hammer-approved. via Moviedb

You may not have been aware, even (especially?) if you’re Jewish, but Hanukkah starts this weekend, on December 8. Hanukkah, for those who come from less Hebraic areas of the country, is a Jewish holiday celebrating their glorious victory over Roman forces occupying Israel and the miracle of a single jug of oil lasting eight days. What can we say, people were more easily amused back then. Because of its proximity to Christmas, Hanukkah has ended up involving gift giving and lights and ethnic food, although latkes and jelly doughnuts beat ham or whatever it is the goyim have any day of the week. If you’re far from home for the holiday and want to make your mother kvell, check out these Hanukkah events around the borough. (more…)

1. Check out the art that goes into correspondence and try not to think about how long it’s been since you talked to your parents. (Friday)

2. Party with Cypress Hill, leave before Sublime with Rome plays their set. (Friday)

3. Celebrate the tiny victories in your life. Then go see Tiny Victories. (Friday)

4. Get a dress out of the trash for your best gal, put on your favorite leather and spike studded tuxedo and see what’s going down at the hop. Maybe this! (Saturday)

5. There’s something called the Coney Island Spectacularium and the closing celebration is on Saturday. That is the saddest thing we’ve ever heard. (Saturday) (more…)

Open these doors in person at 10 Grand Army Plaza and see for yourself why we need to keep them swingin’.

The Brooklyn Public Library is super broke right now. Like, the Central Library needs new doors kind of broke. To be fair, the doors are 70 years old, iconic and cannot be repaired — not an easy fix. However, the BPL is up for a $250,000 grant to get new doors (exact replicas of the old ones) through Partners in Preservation, a program from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. And just like many of us brokesters, the BPL will only get that money by winning a web-based election for it …. that they need you to vote in EVERY DAY until MAY 21. The library is in competition with a bunch of other projects, including the Guggenheim, the Coney Island B&B Carousel and the Apollo Theater.

But seriously, what better architectural element to preserve than the symbolic gateway to knowledge in our treasured borough. (more…)

Major League Dreidel. Photo courtesy of Gabi Porter, Metromix New York.

Hanukah starts tonight and continues until Wednesday, Dec. 28 — which means it’s one of those rare years where it coincides with Christmas. Maybe that’s why there’s so much going on this year, starting with not-so-beardy-dude Matisyahu’s three-night gig for a not-so-Brokelyn $35 a ticket. (Better roll gimmel!) If your only coinage this year is the chocolate kind, you can still party like a Maccabee, from the lighting of Brooklyn’s largest menorah to a couple of indie rock shows to a night of bubbe jokes and free beer. So get out there and save Chinese food and a movie (“Jewish Christmas”) for some other time. (more…)

They're coming....

Never one to be outdone by Manhattan, Brooklyn is planning its own Occupy Wall Street protest on Saturday, with plans to put down stakes in the borough’s financial center of … Grand Army Plaza. So the protest on this side of the bridge for now is only a one-off show of solidarity with the hotties of Zuccotti, and not, we assume, a statement against the capitalistic greed of the public library and farmers market. Unlike protests in the FiDi and throughout the country, Brooklyn’s demonstration got an immediate boost from a local big wig: Mr. Brooklyn himself Marty Markowitz. “There is no doubt that Americans — those in the ‘99 percent’ — are hurting, and we can all agree that some of the issues being raised by these protests … are concerns we can all rally around,” the borough prez told the Brooklyn Paper (Marty wasn’t sure if he will join in on Saturday). They’ve got a bare bones website set up along with a few twitter accounts and a Facebook page for the protest scheduled to go from 11am-question mark. All y’all goin?

Donating books is cool: just ask actor Lavar Burton.

Do you really need both paperback and hardcover versions of all the Dan Brown books you own? You probably can rid yourself of those raw-food cookbooks from your dirty hippie ex too. Be generous, green and ready for wholesome fun by donating those books to The Great American Book Drive on Saturday! The drive benefits Brooklyn Public Library and Better World Books, and will be from 10am-3pm, outside of BPL at Grand Army Plaza. Since its founding in 2003, Better World Books has raised more than $10 million for libraries and literacy projects by reselling books online, donated and recycled more than 62 million books and reached 29,000 tons of carbon offsets. So yes, feel compelled to donate your books for literacy and the environment. You’ll also be treated to a performance of non-grating children’s’ music by Spanglish band Moona Luna, and tempted to replenish your clutter at the used book sale. But don’t take ourword for it…