Weekanerd NYC: Awesome Comics, Swag and Free Passes, and Dr. Zaius

Monday, March 31

Planet of the Apes
Various showtimes @ Ziegfeld Theatre, 141 West 54th Street, Manhattan

Sure, you could see the original movie, or you can just watch the video below, a screen adaptation of Stop The Planet of the Apes: I Want To Get Off...

The Ruins preview, Jonathan Lethem talks Omega, and crazy comic strip brilliance, after the jump...

Tuesday, April 1

• The Ruins Promotion
  
• 6pm @ Off the Wagon, 109 MacDougal St, Manhattan
  

The Ruins has a terrible poster. You'd think in this, the age of amputation pron, they could come up with a slightly creepier image than a person with leaves and twigs on their neck. Of course a bad ad campaign doesn't necessarily correlate to a bad film - April Fools! It almost always does. But seriously, from 6 - 8, there will be Ruins swag and free screening passes for a preview on April 3rd. Although the most worthwhile thing you will likely get out of the evening is the drink special; $2 Margaritas!

Wednesday, April 2

• An Omega the Unknown: Evening With Jonathan Lethem, Farel Dalrymple, Karl Rusnak, Gary Panter & Paul Hornschemeier
  
• 7pm @ Rocketship, 208 Smith Street, Brooklyn
  

If any comic on the stands deserves a Q&A it's this one; perhaps the creative team will help to decode a bit of the symbolism and straight-faced absurdity that characterizes this book. The talk starts at 7pm, with signing to follow, so bring yer books!

Thursday, April 3

• Ben Katchor: Reading With Projections
  
• 7pm @ Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, 58 West 10th Street, Manhattan
  

I was really excited when I saw this. Ben Katchor writes comics that get published in a number of places, including a San Francisco free weekly paper that I used to read. I LOVED reading his comic, but looking at his website, I have no idea which of his many comics I was reading- they all seem to be about hotels in one form or another. That may not sound exciting, but trust me, they're absurd and hilarious and the artwork is stunning. If you need to be convinced, check out this episode of Hotel and Farm about sleeping on beds of lettuce.

Weekanerd NYC: MySpace Politics, John Woo Anime, and Crazy Russian Sci and Animation

Monday, March 24

Morley Winograd & Michael Hais: Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube and the Future of American Politics
6:30@ Cooper Union, The Great Hall, 7 East 7th St, Manhattan

The future of American politics is MySpace? Are all the candidates trying to launch indie rock music careers? Winograd and Hais will lecture on how much the intra-net has effected the current campaigns, and will sign copies of their new book. How I long for the day Americans can use Wii votes for elections, and the long silent reclusive nerd voice will be heard.

Science Fiction Lounge, John Woo Anime, and Russian Animation...

Tuesday, March 25,

• Science Fiction Lounge Music: Aelita
  
• 10pm @ Monkey Town, 58 N 3rd St, Brooklyn
  

A weird 1920s Russian sci-fi movie with a live sound track by a "first class improviser's quartet". Hit the link to hear samples of the musicians. 10 bucks plus a $10 drink min, reservations are recommended.

Wednesday, March 26

• Appleseed Ex Machina
  
• 7pm (Doors at 6:15) @ The ImaginAsian, 239 East 59th Street, Manhattan
  

The original Appleseed movie was fun in a confusing, kind of boring way. But at the New York Anime Festival I saw a clip of the opening scene of this "upgraded" version of the film, produced by John Woo, and let's just say it featured flying birds and people shooting guns with two hands. IMPORTANT: RSVP at that link ASAP, you're supposed to do it by 12pm on Monday.

• Russia! Magazine Presents: Animator Aleksey Budovskiy
  
• 7:30 @ Freebird Books, 123 Columbia St, Brookln

Check out that animation - Miro, right? Budovskiy will talk about the past, present, and possibly future of Russian Animation. Though as far as I'm concerned, this is the last word in Russian animation...

Hong Kong Action, Comic Book Luminaries, and Better Living Through Theoretical Physics

Monday, March 17

• Hard Boiled vs. Hard Boiled
• 8:30@ Monkeytown, 58 N 3rd Street, Brooklyn

I'm not going to lie. I saw Hard Boiled in high school, and I thought it was kind of boring. But I'm not an action connoisseur, and I do appreciate the status this film holds among many film geeks, in particular fans of Hong Kong ultraviolence. And even if you don't have a particular affinity for Hard Boiled, this screening has a pretty awesome gimmick - the film will run on three screens simultaneously, one showing the new, remastered DVD edition and the other two running the rickety old version. This is like porn for spec nerds. Plus it's totally free, oh except for a $10 drink minimum, but dude, it's St. Patrick's Day.

Real life teleporters, and Greg Pak, after the jump ...

Tuesday, March 18,

• Lecture: Physics of the Impossible
  
• 6pm @ The New York Academy of Sciences, 7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich St. at Barclay St., 40th fl, Manhattan
  

For all our advances in this modern world, iPhones and DSes just don't make up for the glaring lack of teleporters, time travel, and invisible planes. Theoretical Physics expert Michio Kaku will lecture on issues discussed in his book, Physics of the Impossible, and will hopefully give us all reason to believe that the stuff seen on Star Trek may someday make it into real life. Also I want a Portal Gun. RSVP is required on the website, tickets are $25 for nonmembers, $15 for students, and $10 for members.

Wednesday, March 19

• Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, Khoi Pham & Reilly Brown
  
• 6pm @ Jim Hanley's Universe, 4 West 33rd St., Manhattan
  

Got some Hulk-related fanboy questions for Greg Pak? Want to strike up a Socratic dialogue about Action Philosophers with author Fred Van Lente? Too bad, cause this discussion and signing is all about their work on Incredible Hercules, and how the book comes together from script to finished art. But you can probably sneak in some geeky questions about their other stuff too. Just make sure you bring a copy of Incredible Hercules #115 to get signed, so you don't look like a dick!

Weekanerd NYC: David Lynch, Dodgeball, Comic Bloggers, and LOST

Monday, March 10

• Eraserhead w/ J. Hoberman
  
• 4:30, 6:50, 9:30 @ BAM Rose Cinema, 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn

Film critic J. Hoberman is celebrating his 30th year at the Village Voice, so BAM is showcasing a number of films he memorably reviewed, or just plain liked a lot. Hoberman will introduce this screening of Eraserhead, who called it a "piece of post-nuclear guignol" in his original 1977 review.

Comic bloggers, Lost, and gym class flashbacks after the jump...

Tuesday, March 11

• Heidi MacDonald (PW Beat), Brian Heater (The Daily Cross-Hatch), Kiel Phegley (Wizard Universe), and John DiBello (Bully Says)
  
• 8pm @ The P.I.T., 154 W. 29th Street, Manhattan
  

Comic bloggers on parade! If you have any questions about where the comic industry is headed (or the comic blogging industry), this is the place to get your voice heard. Tickets are, as always, a mere $5.

Wednesday, March 12

• Drop-In Dodgeball
  
• 7pm @ Some Gym in Manhattan (you need to RSVP for the address)
  

Dodgeball may generally be associated with positive memories for geekanerds, but you're all grown up now and surely decades of playing first person shooters have sharpened up your hand eye co-ordination. Registration is $15, which guarantees you at least two games. Winners get two pitches and free Pizza at the Boss Tweed after party. Losers get to feel bad about themselves. The website says it's co-ed, friendly, and 22 and over.

Thursday, March 13

• Get Lost!
  
• 6:30 @ Professor Thom's, 219 2nd Avenue, Manhattan
  

Free jello shots whenever someone says "oceanic 6" or punches Ben. I don't even like Lost, and I know that's awesome. I passed by this place last week, they've got the show on a bunch of huge screens and the volume is cranked, if you're concerned about missing some valuable info in a public setting.

Weekanerd NYC: Secret Missions, Brawlin', and Wild Stallions

Friday, March 7

• Causing Scenes: Improv Everywhere Discussion and Presentation
• 7:30 @ The New Museum Theater, 235 Bowery, Manhattan

Improv Everywhere is gently subversive organization responsible for the No Pants Subway Ride and recent internet video sensation, Frozen Grand Central Station. In their seven year history, the group has executed over seventy missions full of frivolity and good natured mischief. They're like the bizzaro version of Anonymous. This event is $8, and will include screenings of some of their past missions and a talk with founder Charlie Todd (ATTEND THE TALE). You should show up with no pants on, I bet they'd think that was hilarious.


Serious brawls and bogus journeys after the jump...

Saturday, March 8

• Smash Bros. Brawl Tournament
• 5pm @ Best Buy, 622 Broadway, Manhattan

This is actually the grande finale of a four-state tour, and the winner of NYC's qualifying round will go directly into the finals, battling it out with winners from across the nation. Full rules are on the official page, but basically 256 people can sign up, and registration starts at 3pm....so if you want to play you better plan on making a day out of it. Brawls are one-on-one, which is total bullshit, but whatever. The grand prize is a crystal-coated Wii (oh America/Japan and your embarrassing decadence), a home theater system, and of course the game. There are three other prize packs, again, check the link.

Sunday, March 9

• Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey
  
• 7pm@ Hugs Drive-In Theater, 108 North 6th Street, Brooklyn

The myspace page is cryptic, but apparently this is free and you get free popcorn too. Presumably you don't need a car, but what do I know. I'll tell you what I do know...

...I used to watch this.

Weekanerd NYC: Six Comic Creators vs Paper Mache Dinosaurs (Dinos FTW)

Monday, March 3

• Shoot Her! Jurassic Park, The Play
  
• 9:30pm @ Market Hotel, 957 Broadway (at Myrtle), 2nd Fl, Brooklyn

I'm telling you people, low-fi recreations....they're reaching critical mass. This production promises to recreate live on stage, scene by scene, the entirety of Spielberg's finest work of cinema. How will they do it? Much paper mache is said to be involved, and probably no small amount of theatrical ingenuity. This event has been talked up quite a bit from the Village Voice to the NYTimes, so I know I'm getting there early.

UPDATE 3/4/08: If you missed this, we've got a full report.


Your chance to meet a whole bunch of comic creators, after the jump...

Tuesday, March 4

• Peter David and Jae Lee Midnight Signing
  
• Midnight @ Midtown Comics West, 200 W 40th Street, Manhattan
  

If you really want to stalk Peter David, you actually have two event options; at 8pm at Comic Book Club, Peter will talk nerd shop with the lads from The Stack, so if you go to that first you can have something to talk to him about during those all important 20 seconds when he's signing your copy of Dark Tower (or any of the other great books he's writing, for that matter).

Wednesday, March 5

• The Global Graphic Novel: Straight Out of Anguleme
  
• 7pm @ Housing Works Cafe, 126 Crosby Street, Manhattan
  

French comic-book creators Philippe Dupuy and Charles Berberian, the duo responsible for the award winning comic anthology Get A Life, will talk about "the global graphic novel", which sounds very grandiose and probably has something to do with Tin Tin.

Thursday, March 6

• Comic Signing with Danny Simmons & Floyd Hughes, Creators of '85
  
• 6:30 @ Forbidden Planet, 840 Broadway, Manhattan
  

Wow, so many comic artists are doing events this week! They must all be in town to see the Jurassic Park show. Adapted from the book Three Days as the Crow Flies, '85 is a graphic novel about NYC in a tumultuous time, with lots of drug addicts, artists, and other off-the-grid grittiness.

Weekanerd NYC: Supes Bday, David Bowie Fanart, and King Kong Classic

Friday, February 29

• Superman's Birthday: 50% Off All Superman Stuff
• All Day @Jim Hanley's Universe, both locations in Manhattan and Staten Island

Happy birthday Superman! Please note this is not some sort of lame publishing date sort of birthday, but Kal El's actual birthday, as cited by editor Julie Schwartz. Given that today is leap year, Kryptonian days are different than earth days, and a number of other crazy factors, this birthday thing is much more complicated than it seems, you can read about it here but it honestly it was too much even for me. THE POINT IS: 50% off all Superman merch at Jim Hanley's. This probably opens them up to lots of nerd arguments like, "Absolute Dark Knight: Hard Cover Edition is totally about Superman! He's in it, isn't he? He's an essential component of the story, he's in the last act!"

David Bowie sketch party and King Kong, after the jump...

Saturday, March 1

• David Bowie Tribute Night at Dr. Sketchy's
• @ 245 Grand St, Brooklyn

I hope you aren't sick of hearing about these David Bowie themed events, because I'm not sick of writing them. Dr. Sketchy's offers life-drawing sessions with a heavy emphasis on sexiness and geekiness, two things you so rarely see together. This month's event will feature the lovely Madame Rosebud in a variety of David Bowie guises, which promises to be all sorts of androgynous fun. Table reservations are all booked, so show up early ($10 at the door) if you want to grab a spot on the floor.

Sunday, March 2

• King Kong: 75th Anniversary
  
• 1pm & 4pm@ Film Forum, 209 W Houston, Manhattan

This is the absolute place to be this weekend if you have any interest in King Kong whatsoever. Come to the 1pm show to enter the Fay Wray Scream-Alike contest for a chance to win a year's Film Forum membership, a King Kong 2-Disc Collectors Edition DVD, a trip to the top of the Empire State Building, and a chance to scream on the Today's Show! I promise you that is the most you will ever win for your ability to scream like a girl. Hit the link for a list of very respectable celebrity judges and more neat prizes.

Weekanerd NYC: Brian Cox, Comic Talk, and Late Night Gaming

Monday, February 25

• Brian Cox & Ian McShane: Dramatic License/Actors on Broadway
  
• $27, 6:30pm @ The Times Center, 41st St b/w 7th + 8th, Manhattan

Advanced tickets are sold out, but there's going to be some available at the door at 5:30pm. Now if you couldn't tell from the heading this talk is supposed to be about theater or somesuch nonsense, but don't let them get away with that. Rise up and demand Cox and McShane improvise a William Stryker / Al Swearengen showdown.

Comic talk and drunken video gaming after the jump...

Tuesday, February 26

• Comic Book Club: "Cable/Deadpool Special"
  
• $5, 8pm @ The People's Improv Theater, 154 W 29th St, Manhattan

Just about the only big weekly event in NYC that's unabashedly, unironically geekanerdy. Oh, and it's funny. This week's edition features Cable/Deadpool creators Fabian Nicieza, Reilly Brown, and Nicole Boose.

Wednesday, February 27

• Customer Appreciation 20% Off Sale
  
• Jim Hanley's Universe, 4 West 33rd St, Manhattan
  

You're gonna buy new comics today anyway (aren't you?), so you might as well get a 20% discount on them! Yeah yeah, I couldn't find anything better going on today.

Thursday, February 28

• Video Game Night
• FREE! @ The Blue Seats, 157 Ludlow St, Manhattan

These guys have Rock Band, two Wiis, a PS2, N64, NES, Atari and a buncha big screens. Sounds like a load of casual gaming fun, and word is free tequila may be flowing...

Weekanerd NYC: Live Art, Classic Jack, and The Award Show That Almost Wasn't

Friday, February 22

• Art Battles
• 8pm @The Bleecker Street Theater, 45 Bleecker St, Manhattan

Not entirely unlike the Cut & Paste Design Tournament, an Art Battle is an exhibition of work that artists create right there in the gallery. It'll be like one of these cheesy speed-painting videos, but much slower and more artsy.



Movies movies movies after the jump...

Saturday, February 23

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
• @ The Museum of Modern Art (Titus Theater 1), 11 W. 53rd St, Manhattan

If you're still trying to get your Oscar betting picks together, this film might deliver some insight on what it has historically taken to win the big ones, having won Best Picture, Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Director, and Screenplay in 1975.

Sunday, February 24

• The 2008 Oscars
  
• 8pm @ Various Places

There are many Oscar parties around the city, but none I thought looked particularly interesting or geeky, and all of which are expensive. It's a living room sort of event anyway.

Weekanerd NYC: Amadeus, YouTube, Cell Phone Docs and Dunnies

Monday, February 18

• Amadeus
  
• 6:30pm @ Museum of Modern Art (Titus Theater 1), 11 W. 53rd Street, Manhattan

Milos Forman's best movie screens at MoMA tonight.

Bad quality video and fancy toys after the jump...

Tuesday, February 19

• YouTuebsday
  
• 10pm @ CynLounge, 216 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn
  

A communal YouTube party, where attendee's requests are played on a big screen.

Wednesday, February 20

• CELLuloid: Cell Phone-Made Documentariest
  
• 6:30pm @ Museum of Modern Art (Titus Theater 2), 11 W. 53rd Street, Manhattan
  

Boy this sounds horrible. Shitty cell phone video quality blown up to fill a theater-sized screen? If you say so, MOMA! I can't help but be curious. One entry is called "They Can Shoot Me But They Can't Kill Me And Neither Can You" and that sounds really good.

Thursday, February 21

• Dunny Trading Party
  
• 6pm @ Kid Robot, 126 Prince St, Manhattan
  

Ain't no party like a toy trading party cause a toy trading party don't stop! Get the Dunnies you need for your collection in a more socially gratifying environment than eBay. Plus eBay buyers usually won't accept original artwork or other toys as payment, and chances are some of the cool cats at this trading party will.

Weekanerd NYC: Propaganda Shorts, Oscar Shorts, and Shorts You (re)Made!

Friday, January 18

• Dawn Of Japanese Animation: Propaganda
  
• 7pm @ The Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, Manhattan

Animated war propaganda is as entertaining as it is unsettling, as anyone who's watched Walt Disney Treasures - On the Front Lines will attest. As a sheltered American, I've rarely had the chance to see propaganda from other countries, and this sample of animated shorts from 1930-40s Japan promises a very different brand of ambiguity-free emotional manipulation. These films will be presented with recently created music and live narration, and the program includes titles such as Momotaro's Sky Adventure and Sankichi the Monkey: The Storm Troopers. $10, $4.50 for students.

This year's crop of Oscar Short Docs and Michel Gondry invites you to (re)make art, after the jump...

Saturday, February 16

• Be Kind Rewind Exhibition
  Noon to 6pm@ Deitch Gallery, 18 Wooster Street, Manhattan

Do you want to make a lo-fi recreation of your favorite movie, but you need the process to be within a carefully structured environment? You're in luck! As part of a new exhibit of Michel's Gondry's art/promotion for Be Kind Rewind, Gondry will be making over the Deitch gallery in the image of the video store from his film, complete with a backlot with ready-made sets and video equipment so attendees can (re)make their own movies. The videos will then be exhibited in the gallery, so this is your shot at fame, people. Commercial New York Art World Fame!

Sunday, February 17

• 2008 Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts
  
• 5pm@ The Museum of Modern Art (Titus Theater 1), 11 W. 53rd St, Manhattan

The bane of every Oscar Pool is the Documentary Shorts category. Usually an educated guess amounts to looking up the synopsizes and trying to pick something about the holocaust. But thanks to MOMA, you can now watch the four nominees yourself and either vote your heart or gauge for yourself what those squares in the academy will like. $10 or $6 for students.

Weekanerd NYC: Sidney Lumet, Ancient Anime, Rock Band for Cash and Trivia Time

Monday, February 11

• An Evening With Sidney Lumet
  
• 7pm @ 209 W Houston St, Manhattan

I finally saw Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, and it was lots of nasty fun. I love it when a plan comes apart. Film historian Foster Hirsch will moderate a conversation with Sidney Lumet, who has a directed a whopping forty-four features in his fifty year career, and I guarantee you've heard of at least ten. A limited number of tickets will be available at the box office on the day of, call (212) 727-8110 for details.

Nerd trivia, Rock Band tournie, and old timey anime after the jump...

Tuesday, February 12

• Nerd Alert! Trivia Night
  
• 8pm @ Black Rabbit Bar, 91 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn
  

The website says this is "the world's nerdiest trivia night". I think the world's nerdiest trivia night is not being held in a bar, but in a tenth grader's basement. But enough about me and my sordid past. Timmy Williams of ubiquitous The Whitest Kidz U Know hosts with pseudo-celeb Amiee Carlson. Smarties win shots and a there's a $25 bar tab for the winner.

Wednesday, February 13

• I Love Rockband Tournament
  
• 6:30pm @ Virgin Megastore Union Square, 52 East 14th Street, Manhattan
  

What's it take to win these things? Skill? Showmanship? Pink and red valentine's day themed costumes? I don't know, but you can win a $500 Virgin gift if you figure it out. Sign up ahead of time at NYC Virgin Megastores, it's free.

Thursday, February 14

• Dawn of Japanese Animation: Horror & Comedy
  
• 7pm @ The Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, Manhattan
  

Seriously old school anime from the early 30s! Originally silent, these shorts are accompanied by new music and live benshi narration. $10 or $4.50 for students.

Weekanerd NYC: I Have Powers...Political Powers!

Monday, February 4

• 16mm Short Films Based on Ray Bradbury Story's
  
• 6pm @ 192 East Broadway, Manhattan

As part of their Science Fiction Films at Seward Program, our librarian friends will be screening half-hour film versions of "Quest" and "All Summer In A Day". I have to admit to never having read Quest, but it appears to share a endless-night theme with All Summer In A Day, which I think is on most grade-schoolers reading lists. And it should be read by all kids everywhere to make them conscious of how truly horrible and cruel they and their peers really are. Self knowledge is the only path to self improvement, after all. I hate kids.

Political powers and George Romero in person, after the jump...

Tuesday, February 5

• Super Tuesday
  
• 6am - 9pm @ your local polling place
  

C'mon, you love voting on Wii Votes. This is just like that, there might even be a computer voting terminal. Make sure you know your polling site by hitting the title link, and have at it.

Wednesday, February 6

• Diary of the Dead w/ George Romero in Person
  
• 7pm @ AMC Empire 25, 234 West 42nd Street, Manhattan
  

So of COURSE this is sold out, but the website says some stand-by tickets may be available on the day of the event. So get to the theater like, that morning, ask the ticket people, and you may have a chance to see the man himself talk about his latest work of zombie carnage. This one is satire of both internet addict and film students, which is weird because I don't recall Romero ever calling me up and asking for my life story, but there it is. Tickets are $18 bucks.

Weekanerd NYC: Fantasy College Edition - Free Nerd-Oriented Lectures & Screenings

Monday, January 21

• Wholphin Shorts Program
  
• 7pm @ Barbes, 376 9th Street, Brooklyn

Wholphin is a quarterly DVD magazine from McSweeneys, named after the hybrid spawn of a dolphin and a false killer whale. Whimsy! This screening will feature various Wholphin approved films, including selections from their upcoming Spring 08 volume. Let's hope it Death to the Tinman, a visceral take on the tin man's story from the Oz books, which plays like a cross between Wes Anderson and Salvador Dali.


Tuesday, January 22

• Adult Education: The Micro-Genre
  
• 8pm @ Union Hall, 702 Union Street, Brooklyn
  

First of all, this event is being put on by a Brooklyn magazine called Stay Free!, and that makes me upset because "Stay Free" used to be my email sig. It's from my favorite Clash song. I don't like it when people steal my shtick. This is a Secret Science Club-esque lecture series, but with lower attention span requirements (yay!). Tonight, five speakers will discuss examples of Internet-enabled "micro-genres" such as the architecture of converted Fast-Food Restaurants and Photos of Tourists Taking Photos. This is in many ways the essence of geekery.

Here's that Clash song, because it's great.

Wednesday, January 23

• "Author Interview: Lee Siegel and Against the Machine
  
• 7pm@ McNally Robinson, 52 Prince Street, Manhattan
  

This talk would actually make a pretty good companion event to the Micro-Genre lecture. Against the Machine is writer Lee Siegel's critique of how the internet has changed the way we think about art, privacy, commerce, and other aspects of life and culture. Spoiler alert: For the worse. Siegel will be interviewed by National Book Critics Circle prez Jon Freeman, and will take questions from the audience as well.

Thursday, January 24

• Jack Repcheck Lectures and Signs Copernicus' Secret
  
• 6:30 @ Cooper Union's Wollman Auditorium, 51 Astor Place, Manhattan
  

Here's a hard history of science lecture for any of you who aren't impressed by all that socio-anthro internet nonsense. Repcheck's new book focuses on the last 12 years of Copernicus's life, when it still seemed unsure if his radical anti-earth research would ever see the light of day. The most scandosious part of his book is that Copernicus had a mistress, so be sure to bring that up in the Q and A.

Weekanerd NYC: Labyrinth, Scrabble, and Advance Wars Launch

Friday, January 18

• Labyrinth (New 35mm Print)
  
• Midnight@ The Sunshine, 143 Houston, Manhattan

Despite the constant presence of alternately cute and traumatizingly scary muppets, if you were born in the early 80s/late 70s chances are your viewing of this film coincided with your sexual awakening. Whether that new, confusing feeling was tied to young Jennifer Connelly or David Bowie depends on the individual. Actually scratch that, no matter what your preference, how are you not down with this action?
Scrabble and Advance Wars Launch Party, after the jump...

Saturday, January 19

• Scrabble For Cheaters
• Noon @ 826NYC, 372 5th Avenue, Brooklyn

Word nerds need a new venue to show off their skills now that Scrabulous' days are numbered (or is that lettered? Hawww.) Scrabble For Cheaters is a charity event in which 2-player teams compete for vocab dominance, with both their lexicons AND their bank accounts. That's right, for $25 bucks you can trade out a letter, and for a whopping $500 you can play Jykyqyz, say it's a type of Icelandic blanket, and no one can question it. There are lots more buyable cheats in between, hit the link for a list. Sadly all the team slots are filled, though you can still show up and see if teams like Eatin' n Cheatin' can outwit (or outspend) The Great Tile Caper.

Sunday, January 20

• Advance Wars: Days Of Ruin Launch Party
• 1pm @ Nintendo World, 10 Rockefeller Plaza

A launch at the Nintendo Store usually means there's free stuff to be had. To celebrate their new DS Title, the latest in the Advance Wars series, they'll be giving out free copies of the game to the first 25 folks in line. You'd probably have to get in line sometime on Friday to get one, but it is a four day weekend so....you have time. Check out the press release on Go Nintendo, cause Nintendo World seems to have taken the event info down from their terribly run official site.

Weekanerd NYC: A Brand New Day for Pee-Wee to Get Back the Rock

Monday, January 14

• Rock Band Night
  
• 9pm @ Angels and Kings, 500 East 11th St, Manhattan

There have been a number of Guitar Hero nights at bars around town, but this is the first Rock Band weekly event I've heard of so far. Word is it'll be tournament style in upcoming weeks, but here's your chance to play for fun and work on your act. Because this game is more about exuding rock stardom than anything else.

Tuesday, January 15

• Comic Book Club Brand New Day Special: All Four Amazing Spider-Man Writers and Editor Steve Wacker
  
• 8pm @ The People's Improv Theater, 154 West 29th St, Manhattan
  

Do you have an opinion about this whole Brand New Day Spider-Man Boyslut thing that I hear is happening in the Marvel Universe? This is your chance to express it to those who make the magic happen. Or maybe not - the show is toootally sold out, but last time they sold out a limited number of tickets were available when the box office opened on Tuesday. Check 212-563-7488 for availability. And of course, you can always just wait on the dark, desolate street outside the theater and yell out your questions as the writers leave....that's still like half a step above posting on a message-board.

Wednesday, January 16

• Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
  
• 2:30pm @ The Donnell Library Center, 20 W. 53rd St, Manhattan
  

Does the dark as night Sweeney Todd make you yearn for a bygone age when Tim Burton films were whimsical and hilarious? Well you're in luck because the New York Public Library is showing the masterpiece known as Pee-Wee's Big Adventure FOR FREE, preceded by the animated short The Wizard of Speed and Time.

Thursday, January 17

• Borders Manga Book Club: The Get Backers
  
• 5pm @ Park Avenue Borders, 461 Park Ave, Manhattan
  

The GetBackers is a manga and anime about a two-man repossession service who use supernatural powers to do their repo work. Their motto is: "We get back what is being taken or lost." HELL YEAH. Of course if you are actually interested in this event, you know all this. The club meets the second Thursday of every month, all are welcome.

Weekanerd NYC: Black Hole, Pantsless Wonders, and Comedy People

Friday, January 11

• Author Event with Charles Burns
  
• 7pm@ Barnes and Nobles Tribeca, 97 Warren Street, Manhattan

Black Hole, Charles Burns' critically acclaimed graphic novel, just came out as a sleek, affordable paperback. I was in a bookstore today, and there it was in the front display along side the regular texty books. Take that, fiction! At this Author Event, Burns will talk about Black Hole, and probably whatever people want to ask him about.

Pantsless hijinks and a bunch of comedians, after the jump...

Saturday, January 12

• No Pants 2008
• 3pm@ Foley Square, between Centre St and Layafette, Brooklyn

Geeks tend to go in for shameless exhibitionism only when they've got a really good, formal reason for doing so. Like an anime con. Or a Star Wars con. Any kind of Con, really. So think of this as an Anti-Pants con, and you'll be fine. Basically you group up at 3pm, get on the subway, and when the moment is right, you drop trou. Hit the title link for an FAQ. And make sure you wear some superhero boxers to represent (that goes for you too, ladies).

Sunday, January 13

• Tearing the Veil of Maya w/ Eugene Mirman and Michael Showalter
  
• 3pm and 6pm @ The Museum of the Moving Image, 35 Ave at 36th St, Queens

Semi famous alt-komedians Jessi Klein and Demetri Martin (I've heard straight hipster girls consider him to be "dreamy"!) join regular hosts Mirman and Showalter, who were recently nominated in the Best Hosts category of the Emerging Comedians of New York awards. Emerging?! Michael Showalter was in The State! The oldest sketch troupe of all time! This show appears to consist of whatever the funsters feel like doing, and it's only seven bucks.

Weekanerd NYC: Artsy Edition - David Eggers, Michel Gondry, Shooting War, Video Art, and Space

Monday, January 7

• David Eggers & Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  
• 8pm @ 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave, Manhattan

I never got on board the Dave Eggers train, but he does head the McSweeneys empire of literary nerdism, and he did open that superhero store in Brooklyn, so we'll give a shout out. He'll be talking with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a young writer who won the 2007 Orange Prize (as in, the mobile phone company, Orange, that did all those UK movie theater ads). It's all part of the "Editor's Take" series, which presents readings and discussions of issues surrounding civil liberties. $10 for those 35 and under (sweet!), $18 for over.

A Shooting War discussion, video art, space, and Michel Gondry (all for free!) after the jump...

Tuesday, January 8

• Anthony Lappe Talks Shooting War
  
• 7pm @ McNally Robinson, 52 Prince St, Manhattan
  

Shooting War was on quite a few Best of 2007 lists (the chapters available on the web are certainly impressive), and the creative team has been all over New York these last few months. At this Q&A, Author Lappe will be talking about the war, comic books, and other relevant topics.

Wednesday, January 9

• Secret Science Club: Space Is The Place
• 7:30 @ Union Hall, 702 Union Street, Brooklyn

What's new in space? In distant galaxies there may be raging laser battles and giant Borg cubes floating around, but what's going on in our neck of the woods? Astrophysicist David Spergel ushers the new year with a free lecture on the cosmos, with an emphasis on that old favorite, dark matter. These things fill up fast and space is limited, so get there early if you want a seat.

Thursday, January 10

• "All In Time" Video Art Reception
  
• 6pm@ SVA Visual Arts Gallery, 601 West 26 St., 15th Floor, Manhattan
  

Who likes video art? Surely some of you must. I do, but I make the stuff. Come to think of it, most people I know who like video art also make it. That's not a good sign. So: this exhibit is built around time-based video works, including some animated work and an interesting sounding piece about subway riders. This is a reception, which usually means free food and/or drinks, but no promises.

Friday, January 11

• indieWIRE Presents: Michel Gondry
  
• 7pm @ The Soho Apple Store, 103 Prince Street, Manhattan
  

indieWIRE Editor-In-Chief Eugene Hernadez moderates a discussion with Michel Gondry, who will be talking up his new movie, Be Kind, Rewind. That's that movie with Jack Black and Mos Def about lo-fi movie recreations. It was edited on Final Cut Pro, so bring some techie questions if you want to look cool in front of the attractive Apple Store employees.

Weekanerd NYC: Family Guy, Bowie, and PT Anderson

Friday, January 4

• An Evening of Music and Comedy with Alex Borstein and Seth MacFarlane
  
• 10:45pm@ Comix 353 West 14th St., Manhattan

The 8:30 show is sold out, but like the old school show biz trooper he aspires to be, Seth is doing two shows a night. Exactly what this show will consist of is anyone's guess, but you can bet it will feature Family Guy routines (Alex Borstein is the voice of Lois), tons of showtunes and cabaret numbers, and probably at least a little bit of Mrs. Swan ("He looka like a man!"). For certain FG fans, specifically those who really enjoy the show's extended musical numbers, $40 is a small price to pay.

David Bowie's BDay and my favorite director, after the jump...

Saturday, January 5

• The 4th Annual Bowie Birthday Bash
  
10pm@ Rififi, 332 E. 11th St, Manhattan

Bowie has so much geek cred it's not even funny. First, he acted in a movie with Muppets. Second, he had intense cameos in Flight of the Concords and The Venture Brothers. Third, he is actually a space alien. Even if you have no taste and don't enjoy his music, chances are you can find something to like about the guy. Celebrate his birth with bands playing covers, DJs, and "rare david bowie footage" from 10pm-11pm. Hit the title link to RSVP and get in for $5, it's $10 at the door. Plus free vodka energy drinks from 11 to midnight.

Sunday, January 6

• Punch Drunk Love and Magnolia
  
• 3pm and 6pm @ The Museum of the Moving Image, 35 Ave at 36th St, Queens

Now that PT Anderson has firmly established himself as the more relevant Anderson, it's time for a mini-marathon. The Museum screens Hard Eight and Boogie Nights on Saturday, both of which are great but Sunday's menu has the more challenging fare. When you're watching Punch Drunk Love, keep in mind that Jeremy Blake, the artist who created the colorful abstract sequences, died last year.

NYC Weekanerd: Christmas and Non-Christmas Edition

It's Christmas Eve! Guess what you Gnerd readers are getting? Not our regular Monday Panel Discussion, that's for sure. Sorry about that, but the Geekanerd editors have been scattered across the country, away from from the scanners and fast internet connections of our Manhattan home base.

But we wouldn't completely leave you hanging, at least not those of you who live in NYC. Here's a very last minute Fun Size Xmas Edition Weekanerd, featuring only one Christmas event and two events specifically for those not celebrating Christmas. Which makes sense, because we can't exactly put "Playing Video Games With Your Teenaged Relatives" on there, which is what I assume most of those celebrating Christmas are are doing.

Event picks after the jump...

Monday, December 24th

• Jewltide 5
  
• 8pm @ Southpaw, 125 Fifth Ave, Brooklyn

This annual non-Christmas party centers around a screening of Wet Hot American Summer, the best movie by sketch comedians since Life of Brian. A cool $10 gets you in the door, plus free Chinese food, guest DG Cosmo Baker, and the first 100 people get Michael Showalter's CD, "Sandwiches & Cats." Plus, FREE BOOZE! Almost; 2 for 1 vodka special for the first hour and a half.

Monday and Tuesday, December 24th & 25th

• Bad Santa: The Director's Cut
  
• Multiple Times@ The IFC Center, 323 Sixth Ave, Manhattan
  

Those who do want to celebrate Christmas but not with good cheer can check out Terry Swigoff's longer, dirtier version of his 2003 hit, Bad Santa.

Tuesday, December 25th

• Rob Reiner Retrospective
  
• @ The JCC, 334 Amsterdam Ave, Manhattan
  

The Princess Bride (!) at 4pm, When Harry Met Sally at 6:30, and a Chinese Food buffet in the middle. $15 bucks for both movies and another $15 for the food, but you can dice it up however you want, as long as it includes The Princess Bride and Chinese Food.