From: "Jeff Stark" <jstark@nonsensenyc.com>
Subject: nonsensenyc: 10.23 to 10.29
Date: October 23rd 2009

Friday, October 23
* The Doomsday Film Festival and Symposium, Manhattan * Friends With Benefits, Brooklyn
* Silky Sirens Burlesque, Brooklyn
* Scary Movies at Loew�s, Jersey City
* The Fall Down Up, Brooklyn
* Bluenefertiti's Paris@Night: A French Cabaret, Brooklyn * Shanghai'd, Manhattan

Saturday, October 24
* Mister Saturday Night, Brooklyn
* McKibben Loft Basement Concert, Brooklyn * Marshmallow Civil War, Manhattan
* MF Gallery Seventh Annual Halloween Art Show, Brooklyn * Score of Doom: Halloween Costume Swap, Brooklyn * Coney Island USA Halloween Spooktacular Benefit, Brooklyn * Dr. Sketchy's, Manhattan
* Zombiecon
* Downtown Hoedown Brooklyn, Brooklyn
* The Poetry Brothel Masquerade

Sunday, October 25
* Halloween Freakfest, Brooklyn
* Clothing Swap and Low-Cost Costume Design Party, Manhattan * Oktobership Party, Manhattan
* The Church of the Secret City: Ancestors, Manhattan

Tuesday, October 27
* The Brooklyn Farmers Ball, Brooklyn

Wednesday, October 28
* Puppet Playlist Halloween Edition: Seven Deadly Sins, Manhattan

Thursday, October 29
* Whose God? The Religious Right, Politics, and Democracy, Brooklyn * Pan-theon, Manhattan

Ongoing
* New stuff

Wishlist
* Actors

Spectre Priority
* B2B

Learning
* Felt slippers

Help
* Magicians, literally

NOTE: For some navigation help, or an explanation for what this is all about, scroll all the way down to NONSENSE. You'll find snarky editorial comments and little bits of praise littered throughout this list. These nuggets are marked with all caps, like this: NOTE. Also, we make a lot of mistakes, especially with dates; you should always double check our work. And you can donate to this project at nonsensenyc.com/special.

XXXXX COVER ART XXXXX

Faster than the sun.

XXXXX FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23 XXXXX

The Doomsday Film Festival and Symposium

The 2009 Doomsday Film Festival & Symposium will explore our collective obsession with the idea of the Apocalypse. Experts from Wired magazine, critics from Time Out, a senior Fox News Medical Contributor, and other notables will be on hand during this three-day event to discuss how the End of Days permeates our thoughts in film, video games, comic books, art and culture. Screenings will include: the Road Warrior, Zombie Girl, Crude Awakening, and WarGames, as well as cult classics and independent submissions. Zombies, swine flu, 2012 prophesies, the atomic era, eco-catastrophe, and survival are all on the agenda.

Additionally, there will be a Bomb Shelter lounge where you can get a free zombie makeup session and play Fallout/Left 4 Dead, while we help barricade you from the impending mutant hordes. Apocalyptic attire is encouraged but not required: think SARS masks, hazmat suits, zombies, crazed prophets, four horsemen. A DJ mix of PSAs, industrial noise, and all manner of nuclear meltdown sirens will be provided throughout the fest by Foley Artist Extraordinaire Matthew Beals. Tickets available at the door or online. For more information, including a complete list of films and panel schedules.

DCTV
87 Lafayette Street, Manhattan
7-11p; $10 per program; $25 for pack of three Continues through SUNDAY
doomsdayfilmfest.com

***** Also on FRIDAY *****

Numu Arts Collective is having a benefit party called:

Friends With Benefits

We'll have live music, audience participatory art, a members art exhibition, and a separate affordable art auction. Everyone is invited.

Come and enjoy the mulled cider, the nostalgic air of autumn, and new found friends (with benefits).

Numu Arts Collective
75 Stewart Avenue, Brooklyn
7p doors; $8 suggested donation gets you a free drink

***** Also on FRIDAY *****

Silky Sirens Burlesque

A night of the three Bs: brains, booze, and boobies. A singing burlesque company that was started on the brink of a Depression. A show that is full of humor, beauty, sex, tease and tons of pasties of all sorts. Hosted by the hilarious Doctor Phil.

House of Yes
342 Maujer Street, at Morgan Avenue, Brooklyn L to Grand Street station
10p; $15, BYOB

***** Also on FRIDAY *****

Scary Movies at Loew�s

We're celebrating Halloween at the Loew's Jersey movie palace a week early this year, with three spooky cinematic classics. Tonight: Carrie, starring Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, directed by Brian De Palma.

Saturday: The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney, Jr., Claude Rains, Bela Lugosi; directed by George Waggner at 4p and Rosemary's Baby, starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon; directed by Roman Polanski at 7:30p.

Loew�s
54 Journal Square, Jersey City
8p; $usually 6 or so
loewsjersey@gmail.com
201 798 6055

***** Also on FRIDAY *****

The Fall Down Up

Come celebrate Circle Rules Football's wet hot summer. Open bar, sponsored. Home cooked food. Rad prizes. The Circle Rules Hall of Fame, fresh new footage, and the Men of Circle Rules Bachelor Auction.

Castle Braid
114 Troutman Street, Brooklyn
6-11p; $10

***** Also on FRIDAY *****

Bluenefertiti's Paris@Night: A French Cabaret

A N� creation from C�lia Faussart of the Afropean duo Les Nubians, Paris@Night explores the intricate complexities of cities and love, the beauty and the destitution, loyalty and betrayal, inertia and divine inspiration. Paris@Night is an unconventional m�lange of ingenious originals and innovative renditions of Edith Piaf, Nina Simone, Josephine Baker, Miriam Makeba, Dave Brubeck, and at any given moment, an unexpected guest may grace the stage with an impromptu display of their unique talents, featuring special guest performances by: CuCu Diamantes (from the AfroCuban fusion band Yerba Buena), Kenny Muhammad, AnOuCh hiGh soul, and Gaston (Nuyorican Cafe Poets. Plus DJ Super Jaimie, video projections and set design by Amelie Chabannes, Antonia Dias Leite, and photography and photo exhibit by Farid Abdi.

Galapagos
16 Main Street, Brooklyn
10p doors, 10:30 show; $20, $15 with code BLUE galapagosartspace.com

***** Also on FRIDAY *****

MeanRed & Famous Friends presents:

Shanghai'd

Fresh dim sum passed throughout the night, live music, DJs, malt liquor open bar, custom fortune cookies, antics, surprises etc.

The theme of our series is Shanghai'd, which refers to back in the day (during the Gold Rush times) when ship captains used to kidnap their sailors. We are kidnapping folks from CMJ, kidnapping everyone's expectations about music, and bringing them to a new understanding of the creative scene in NYC. We put together a special 'zine for the occasion. limited edition print copies will be available each night. There is a special video called Meet Us In Chinatown for folks who have never experienced our 88 Palace parties. I think it gives an accurate taste of what we are all about.

88 Palace
88 East Broadway, Manhattan
9p-4a; $3 with RSVP, $10 without
meanredproductions.com/shanghaid

XXXXX SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24 XXXXX

Mister Saturday Night

Mister Saturday Night is doing it in the sunshine this weekend at 12-Turn-13, a wonderful loft space with hardwood floors, hardwood ceilings, and a big, beautiful roof in the middle of Brooklyn. This party will be a daytime/early evening jam with bloody marys and mimosas, and our friend Fiore Tedesco from the Brooklyn Laundry (a secret supper club that started in the laundry room of Fiore's apartment) making egg tacos and other brunch snacks. Eamon Harkin and Justin Carter will be playing music for the autumn sunshine; and you, hopefully, will bring yourself, your friends, your little ones, your dogs, and anyone else special to you. That's what'll make it a real good party.

Our special guest for the day party is Moodymann. He's one of our favorite music makers of all time, and he's joining us for what is certainly the most exciting setting for any gig he's played in New York City -- or probably many other places for that matter. Expect shout-outs on the mic; rare Prince jams recorded live in Michigan; and all around good vibes. It's going to be a very nice day.

12-Turn-13 Loft
172 Classon Avenue, near Myrtle, Brooklyn G train to Classon station
3p-midnight; $10 advance tickets available, $15 with RSVP, $20 door mistermistersaturdaynight.com
residentadvisor.net/mistersaturdaynight

***** Also on SATURDAY *****

McKibben Loft Basement Concert

Basement loft party and fundraiser for the Baxter Project, a short about a polygraph engineer and his experimentation with the lie detector. Eight bands will be going on, something for everyone. With the Light, Deb Oh, Big Hat, Akudama, B-Tech, Dead River Company, Spidermen, and Paper Cranes Productions will be doing a live scoring to a short film. To be held in creepy McKibben basement loft. Come, come, come.

McKibben Basement
255 McKibben Street, entrance on Boerum, one block north of McKibben, Brooklyn L train to Morgan or Montrose stations, J,M trains to Flushing stations 7:30p doors, 8p show; $5
All ages

***** Also on SATURDAY *****

Newmindspace presents:

Marshmallow Civil War

A historical reenactment in New York of questionable accuracy. With marshmallows. Many years ago, widespread unrest in the region and a perplexing overabundance of marshmallows led to a soft armed conflict between opposing sides. More moderate citizens flew the flag of yellow, while the more radical aligned themselves with red.

Marshmallow pistols, jet-puffed assault rifles, bow-and-mallows, and Peep grenades decimated each army until no soldier was left alive. This is a reenactment of that epic battle. Sides will be chosen, marshmallow weapons will be loaded, and chaos will ensue.

Construct, buy, or otherwise acquire marshmallow-shooting toys. Instructions and directions on our website. This space is covered so do not fear the rain.

Brooklyn Banks
Underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan side, Manhattan 3p; $free
All ages
newmindspace.com/marshmallow

***** Also on SATURDAY *****

MF Gallery Seventh Annual Halloween Art Show

MF Gallery has been in the forefront of NYC's Underground Pop Art Scene for the past six years. Artists / curators Martina Secondo Russo and Frank Russo opened the first MF Gallery in the L.E.S. in June 2003, when the neighborhood still had a bit of its underground flavor. MF Gallery quickly became a meeting point where all kinds of misfit artists, freaks, and art collectors could enjoy new art, with surprise appearances by zombies, monsters or mega-sized robots playing death metal.

Five years later, due to space restrictions and increasing gentrification, MF Gallery closed the doors on its L.E.S. location. But Martina and Frank have kept busy in the meantime, curating shows in alternative spaces around the city, and even opening an MF Gallery overseas, in Martina's hometown of Genoa, Italy. Now the duo are returning to the Big Apple with a bigger and badder MF Gallery.

The first show in the new space will be MF Gallery's Seventh Annual Halloween Art Show. Refreshments will be served to a punk rock / heavy metal soundtrack. All guests who come dressed in a Halloween costume will get free beer all night.

MF Gallery
213 Bond Street, Brooklyn
7-10p; $free
917 446 8681
MFgallery.net

***** Also on SATURDAY *****

Score of Doom: Halloween Costume Swap

Bring your old zombie makeup, Bob Ross wigs, Mr. T chains etc, and score some new threads for Hallow�s eve. Exchange outfits with your friends, get new ideas from our professional costume consultants, drink creepy-themed drinks, and dance to good tunes. Because why spend money on slutty cop outfits when you can spend it on alcohol instead? Hello, it�s a no-brainer. Mmmmmm braiiiins.

How does Score of Doom work?

Step 1: RSVP
Step 2: Rummage through your closet for anything that fits in the following categories: full costumes, costume pieces (wigs, props, spandex? oooh, spandex!), make-up Step 3: Bring your old costumes to Trophy Bar. Step 4: Buy a $5 ticket at the door.
Step 5: grab a "Cocktail of Doom" (drink specials include Bloody Mary's and Blood Orange Mimosas) Step 6: Drink, dance, find a new costume, get a make-up tutorial, and if you still don't know what to be talk to our professional costume consultants.

Music by our very own Score! Resident DJs: Shakeyface (It�s Bananas) and Ian Urgo, Brought to you by Team Score!, Bust Magazine, and MeanRed.

Trophy Bar
351 Broadway, Brooklyn
2-6p; $5 entry with RSVP, costume donations accepted up until 5:30p 21 and over
scoredatscore.com

***** Also on SATURDAY *****

Coney Island USA Halloween Spooktacular Benefit

Coney Island USA is throwing open its doors for a horrifying evening of Halloween hi-jinks and fiendish fundraising, and you�re invited. The ghoulishly gifted Adam Rinn and that terrifying temptress Legs Malone will preside over the festivities including all your favorite burlesque beauoooties, sideshow spooks, and variety vampires!

Twitching it, twatching it while you�re watching it will be: Dirty Martini, Clams Casino, Gal Friday, RunAround Sue, Bird of Paradise, Sizzle Dizzle, Mary Cyn and Veruca Honeyscotch. Not to be outdone, Adam Rinn, Scott Baker, Ravi the Scorpion Mystic & ComaClub, David the Kid Jaison and Princess Sunshine will be bringing you thrills, chills and all sorts of stuff your mother wouldn�t want you to try at home in a whirling dervish of sideshow and variety madness.

Live (or undead as the case may be) music provided in the Freak bar by the Gas House Gorillas. You can also take home your very own piece of Coney Island from Miss Linda Jean Meier�s sensational silent auction in the Sideshow lobby. Costumes strongly encouraged.

Sideshows by the Seashore
Corner of Surf and West 12th street, Brooklyn 8p-midnight; $20 advance, $25 day of the event, all proceeds go toward Coney Island USA�s innovative arts programming coneyisland.com

***** Also on SATURDAY *****

Dr. Sketchy's

For the last three years, Dr. Sketchy's has been the ultimate in alternative life-drawing. The event combines cabaret and art school, and with branches from Paris to Tokyo, Dr. Sketchy's has become the largest chain of drawing classes in the world. Now, Sketchy's is joining forces with America's most notorious underground artists.

At a Dr. Sketchy's class, artists draw glamorous, scantily constumed underground performers, compete in contests, and win booze and prizes. Sessions are hosted by artist Molly Crabapple.

On October 24, we're doing a session in our Dr. Sketchy's ArtStar series. Dr. Sketchy's treats attendees to sessions styled after some of the county's most talented and infamous underground artists. Rock poster goddess Tara McpHerson (whose work has been featured in Diablo Cody's Juno, and is shown from Hollywood to Sydney) will be our third guest artist.

Sketchers will be treated to a trip inside Tara McPherson's imagination. Burlesque queen Stormy Leather will pose as one of McPherson's girls with missing hearts, in a set styled after her pop surrealist paintings. Tara will be appearing in person to sign copies of her books.

The Slipper Room
167 Orchard Street, at Stanton, Manhattan 4-7p; $10 advance, $12 door
drsketchy.com

***** Also on SATURDAY *****

Zombiecon

The zombies will rise in their disgusting annual search of bloody marys, brains, and braaaands. The glorious undead of New York City will join this, our fifth annual ghoulish spree of shopping, bar-hopping, and horrifying Manhattan street theatrics.

Sign up for more info.

zombiecon.com/

***** Also on SATURDAY *****

Downtown Hoedown Brooklyn

Your Art Here brings you Downtown Brooklyn's First Hoedown featuring a full day of free food, music, dancing, and art. This all-ages, outdoor event begins at with pumpkin carving, apple bobbing, life-size Metal Cows, Bar-B-Que, and more. Music: open bluegrass jam with Michael Daves, the Cozy Shack Fiddle Extravaganza and Family Square Dance, all-star bluegrass with Melody Berger, Elio Schiavo, Mimi LaValley, and friends, dancing under the harvest moon with Brooklyn's best county rock: Alex Battles, SAMMO, Jessica Rose, and the Highlife.

Roof of the Bond Street Garage (don't worry, we have heaters) Corner of Bond and Livingston Streets, Brooklyn Noon-midnight; $?

***** Also on SATURDAY *****

The Poetry Brothel Masquerade

A night of raucous celebration of word, song, dance, and masquerade. We will gather in Castle Braid, the home of the Brooklyn Artillery Art Fair, for our biggest event to date. Our guests for the evening are encouraged to come in the spirit of the masquerade to enjoy our feature poet, the lovely Sarah Gambito, The Tin Pan Blues Band and other live music, live painting, tarot and palm readers, gypsies, our cast of poetry whores, and, a first for the Poetry Brothel, a Poetry Salon or Open Mic, where masked patrons can read us a poem for a change.

Castle Braid
114 Troutman Street, Brooklyn
J,M,Z trains to Myrtle-Broadway station 9p-2a; $10 includes a free beer and reading

XXXXX SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25 XXXXX

Halloween Freakfest

A free Halloween themed show in New York City's Tompkins Square Park, featuring great music, creative costumes, a costume contest, a clothing swap, political speakers, helpful information, and lots of surprises.

Halloween Freakfest is part of a series of shows that celebrate the vitality of the counter cultural scene that has survived on the Lower East Side, despite the rampant gentrification, soaring rents and lost venues that have contributed to the cultural genocide sweeping New York City.

Co-Emceed by Our Lady of Perpetual PMS (GLOB, Gorgeous Ladies of Boodwrestling) and Diane O' Debra (subversive-comedic rap songs). With Lone Vein, Skum City, Cathy Cathodic, Ghouls Night Out (all female Misfits cover band), the Chi-Ciones, Rachel Cleary, Endangered Feces, Rachel Trachtenburg, Dethrace, Juggernut, and Gorgeous Ladies of Bloodwrestling. Also featuring a Clothing Swap. Plus a Costume Contest.

Tompkins Square Park
7th Street and Avenue A, Manhattan
2-6p; $free

***** Also on SUNDAY *****

Clothing Swap and Low-Cost Costume Design Party

The Low-Cost Costume event is our attempt to celebrate creativity and sustainability among friends. Why add to landfills with a generic plastic costume when you can come together with neighbors, learn a few crafting skills, and make a one-of-a-kind costume everyone will envy anyway? The swap gives us all more options of just what lightly-used clothes to base our costumes from, and encourages people in the neighborhood to share their skills and fashion.

Would you be able to let your readers know about the event? We'd love to have you come, too, if you're free - it should be a lot of fun. Besides, no one in their right mind should increase carbon emissions, support sweatshop labor and fork over $40 plus tax just to be the second Sexy Harem Girl in the room. Seriously.

With crafters and stylists on-hand to help out with ideas and free craft material donated by I Love to Create. We'll have drink specials, good music, and tons of clothes for anyone and everyone to sort through.

Boxcar Lounge
168 Avenue B, between East 10th and 11th streets, Manhattan 3-7p; $5 donation to Goodwill or one bag of lightly used, freshly laundered clothes goodwillnynj.wordpress.com

***** Also on SUNDAY *****

Aztec Economy and V-Squared Promotions present:

Oktobership Party

Join us for an art and dance party aboard the Lilac preservation steamship. Booze, art, music, theater, circus, and more.

Bands: The Astor Kings, Casa de Chihauhau, the Dirty Shames, and Vinyette. Two theater performances Aztec Economy, Everywhere Theater Group. Aerial performances: Lady Circus. Sound and Visuals: VJ Clay Franklin.

Art installations in cabins. Free giveaways. Photography, burlesque dancers, and more.

Pier 40
North Side of Pier 40, docked between White and West Houston, Manhattan 6-11p; $10
newyorkisdead.net/

***** Also on SUNDAY *****

The Church of the Secret City: Ancestors

The Secret City is a secular church for artists and other conscious, creative people. We gather to celebrate, cogitate, ruminate and meditate on the nature of art-making and the creative spirit. Part cabaret, part art-church, part salon, each service has a different theme and features live performance, presentation and original work.

Sarah Alden and Rima Fand will be our musical guests -- playing the mad fiddle music of their ancestors. We've got images of ancestors from around the world. The food tasting will be heirloom vegetables. We'll hear the poetry of Etheridge Knight, and watch an ancestor ritual from Indonesia. I'll be reading my latest sermon about visiting the skeleton of Lucy from Ethiopia. And, of course there will be the Cultural Calendar, Mingling Ritual, and the Reciting of our Gratitudes. And remember, free childcare.

Theatrelab
137 West 14th Street, between 6th and 7th streets, Manhattan 11:30a; $10 suggested donation

XXXXX TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27 XXXXX

The Food Security Roundtable presents:

The Brooklyn Farmers Ball

Eat, drink, and celebrate Brooklyn's Urban Agriculture and Food Justice Community with the Food Security Roundtable. All proceeds support the New York Delegation to the Growing Food and Justice Initiative gathering in Milwaukee, WI.

Organizations and individuals from throughout NYC are working together to send a delegation to the Growing Food and Justice Initiative gathering in Milwaukee at the end of October. This year GFJI is not just an event, it's the beginning of a national coalition dedicated to building leadership, growing food justice, dismantling racism, and empowering communities. The New York delegation and their northeastern colleagues will be in attendance in Milwaukee this year learning how to bring that movement home. The delegation is a diverse collection of folks ranging from organizers with Mothers On the Move in the South Bronx to Just Food staff and volunteers working for (you guessed it) food justice all around NYC.

Growing Food and Justice for All has offered a partial scholarship for the thirty or so delegates, who must raise an additional $5,000 to pay the remaining costs and travel. This event is an opportunity for Brooklyn and New York City to show their will to have a better food system and their support for those hard working people who are making it happen.

Featuring: the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Spanglish Fly, Apocalypse Five and Dime, and dancealisadance.

Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue, Brooklyn
7p-midnight; $12-$25 at the door, and include a local, seasonal dinner and live music foodpower.org

XXXXX WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28 XXXXX

Puppet Playlist Halloween Edition: Seven Deadly Sins

Puppet Playlist takes talented puppeteers and brilliant musicians and slams them together into an evening of live theater to stir the senses.

In honor of the best holiday on earth, our fourth Playlist will feature new works of puppetry and music inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins. Each puppeteer will chose one sin and create an original piece. The Playlist will also feature brand-new sin-themed songs by some of our favorite young singer-songwriters.

Featuring pieces by: Eric Wright, Marta Mozelle MacRostie, Alissa Hunnicutt, Emily Decola, Z Briggs, Stacey Weingarten, and Melissa Creighton. Musical performers include: Tom Curtin, Leah Siegel, Anna Leuchtenberger, Matt Singer, and Jo Morris and Hannah Temple.

The Tank
354 W. 45th Street, Manhattan
7:30-9:30p and 9:30-11:30p; $7
puppetplaylist.com
thetanknyc.org

XXXXX THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29 *****

The Brooklyn Forum for Ethics and Justice and Killing the Buddha present:

Whose God? The Religious Right, Politics, and Democracy

A conversation between Jeff Sharlet and Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou. Please join us for a candid conversation about the role of religion in American politics and the future of democracy with Jeff Sharlet, author of the New York Times bestseller the Family: the Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power and co-founder of Killing the Buddha and Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, author of the forthcoming Gods, Gays, and Guns: Religion and the Future of Democracy and Fellow-in-Residence, Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture.

Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture
55 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn
6:30-9p; $10, cash bar

***** Also on THURSDAY *****

Pan-theon

A performance/ costume party/ fundraising event, presented by Apocryphon Productions. Hosted by Rev. Jen (as mighty Isis!) and featuring music by Flaming Fire and Larkin Grimm, an Aztec "Sacrifice" by the very sexy Duchess Wendi, burlesque by N of Hypergender Burlesque, performance by Master Lee, modern dance piece by choreographer Rob Davidson, and DJ Charles Gaskins from garagepunk.com. Tarot readings by Lilith Dorsey, nymph go-go dancers, a Hot God contest, and probably lots of impromptu nudity.

Looking for proof that the Lower East Side hasn't become a dull-as-shit strip-mall full of sports bars and conservatively dressed people making chitchat about the economy and their day jobs? Well, then get gussied up as yer fave God or Goddess and come to Pan-Theon: an ultra-freaky performance party event hosted by Rev. Jen with enough debauchery to make the Great God Pan proud. Live music by Flaming Fire and Larkin Grimm, Bast-inspired burlesque by Agent N, an Aztec sacrifice (funny till someone gets hurt) and dance music by DJ Charles Gaskins! Why? Because the Gods love it when we dance, sing, drink, and bone.

All brought to a city on the verge of losing its mojo by a group of concerned NYC Pagans who want to put the fun back in Paganism! Best of all, it's a fundraiser to bring globally recognized authorities on Witchcraft and Paganism, Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone, from Ireland to NYC to teach.

Mehanata Bulgarian Bar
113 Ludlow between Rivington and Delancey, Manhattan 8p; $10 without costume, $7 with
mehanata.com

XXXXX UPCOMING XXXXX

• Rubulad Pumpkin a Go Go, October 30
• Gemini and Scorpio Masquerade Macabre, October 31
• The Danger's Last Masquerade, October 31

XXXXX ONGOING XXXXX

• Better Rock Shows. Nonsense does not straight list rock shows in New York unless they occur in tandem with puppet shows or jump rope tournaments or in subway tunnels or in graveyards. For listings of good shows, especially shows that feature independent bands at quality venues like Death by Audio and those booked by hard-working promoters like Todd P or Sleep When Dead, consult resources like ohmyrockness.com, brooklynvegan.com/, sleepwhendeadnyc.com/calendar/, or the lively New York Happenings listserve on Yahoo groups launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/nyhappenings/. For the most exhaustive list of underground shows at unusual venues, track down a copy of the extremely useful -- and handsome -- Showpaper.

***** ONGOING: FRIDAYS *****

• Neo Futurists present Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Bline. Thirty original plays in 60 minutes. Also on SATURDAYS. The Kraine Theater, 85 East 4th Street, Manhattan. 10:30p; $11 plus the roll of a six-sided die, $15 presale. nynf.org
• Manhattan Critical Mass. Union Square, 17th Street and Broadway, Manhattan. Last FRIDAY of the month. 7p; $free.
• Brooklyn Critical Mass. Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Second FRIDAY of the month. 7p; $free.

***** ONGOING: SATURDAYS *****

• Floating Cabaret. Trapeze, burlesque, song, dance. Hosted by Olga and Bjorn. Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main Street, Brooklyn. 10p doors, $10. 718 222 8500. galapagosartspace.com.
• Night Kayaking Tours, Manhattan and Brooklyn. Explore: Coney Island submarine, creepy Governors Island, gross Gowanus Canal, and money-making Manhattan. Website: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddrw24x5_167dxdpf3d9
• Rock and Roll 101. Watch music documentaries projected on the wall. St. Jerome's, 155 Rivington, between Clinton and Suffolk, Manhattan. 4-9p; $free.
• Barefoot Boogie: No shooze no booze. The Boogie is a not-for-profit alcohol-free event that happens every second and fourth SATURDAY of the month. Insight Meditation Center, 28 West 27th Street, 10th floor, buzzer No. 27. 8:30p-12:30a. barefootboogie.org

***** ONGOING: SUNDAYS *****

• CrazyTown / Locoville. Odd open mike hosted by Steph Sabelli. Weirdoes welcome and encouraged. Under St. Marks Theater, 94 St. Marks, at First Avenue, Manhattan. 9p sign up-1a; $free.
• Grub. A cheap, simple dinner for strangers and co-conspirators. Rubulad home base, 338 Flushing, at Classon, Brooklyn. G train to Flushing or Classon stations, J,M,Z to Marcy, B61 bus to Flushing. First and third SUNDAYS, 6:30p doors, 7p dinner; $pay what you want, and bring your own booze. suckapants.com/grub.html
• Church of Craft, group crafting. Etsy Labs, 325 Gold Street, third floor, Brooklyn. 2-6p; $free. churchofcraft.org/
• NYC Bike Polo. No experience needed. We'll show you how to play. We have mallets and balls; bring your bicycle. 1:30-5p-ish (or later if it's really nice out); $free. Sara D. Roosevelt Park, Broome between Chrystie and Forsyth, Manhattan. groups.myspace.com/NYCBIKEPOLO

***** ONGOING: MONDAYS *****

• The Big Quiz Thing. NYC's live trivia spectacular. Crash Mansion, 199 Bowery, at Spring, Manhattan. Two Mondays a month. 7p doors; $7, $200 grand prize.
• Demonstration of the Great Organ, there are five organs in the beautiful St. John the Divine church up on Amsterdam Avenue, but the most impressive is the Great Organ. The head organist is giving a demonstration on how the organ functions. 1p; $free. Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan.
• Glasslands Gallery Variety and Game Night. All ages, free sangria 8-8:30p, live music, video, and bingo. The Glasslands Gallery, 289 Kent Avenue, between South 1st and 2nd streets, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 8p; $free. glasslands.blogspot.com/ and myspace.com/theglasslands
• Aerial Open Work Out. Come play in 29 feet of vertical fun. Use our silks, lyras, and trapezes, or rig your own. 8-10p; $15, Sky Box, 342 Maujer Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, L train to Grand Street. 585 507 1770. RSVP to skybox.info@gmail.com
• Show and Tell. Each performer gets seven minutes. Writing contest and Beer Walk for free beer. Hosted by the O'Debra Twins. Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery, Manhattan.

***** ONGOING: TUESDAYS *****

• Jugglers Anonymous: The Pratt Chapter. All ages and abilities welcome to practice juggling and related arts. Student Union, Pratt Institute (200 Willoughby Ave, Brooklyn) 7:30-11p $free jugglenyc.com/clubs.html

***** ONGOING: WEDNESDAYS *****

• Drink N Draw. Art. Nudity. Beer. We provide the beer and the model, you bring your drawing tools of choice. 3rd Ward, 195 Morgan, Brooklyn. Second and fourth WEDNESDAYS 8-10.30p; $15, or $20 for two. afenton3rdward.com, 3rdward.com/.

***** ONGOING: THURSDAYS *****

• Carmine Street Jugglers. All levels welcome to practice juggling and related arts. 7:30-9:30p. Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, corner Varick and Clarkson, Manhattan. Club is free, but building requires NYC Parks and Recreation membership ($free-$75 per year). jugglenyc.com/clubs.html
• The Lower East Side Community Choir, a non-auditioned choir that believes that everyone can sing and that singing together in harmony with others is essential for personal and community health and vitality. Our repertoire is eclectic. If you love a cappella music and want to be able to join a drop-in gathering of like minded people, then this is for you. Lower East Side Girls Club, 56 East 1st Street, Manhattan. 7-9p; $donations. ubuntuchoirs.net/locator_United_States.php
• Private Ear Audio Theatre: Radio Plays. 8:30p; $?. Brooklyn Lyceum. privateear.org
• $mall �hange and House of Yes present: No Parking on the Dancefloor. Next party: July 30. A party bringing it back to dancing. Basically we do not have any kind of dogma or judgment. Do what feels comfortable to you and be respectful to those around ya, that's basically all we ask. Different DJs every time. House of Yes, 342 Maujer, near Morgan, Brooklyn. Every third THURSDAY, 9ish-midnightish (starts/ends early); $5-10 suggested donation. NOTE: This event is every third Thursday, not every Thursday. Also, sometimes they cancel the event for some reason or another. You should check first: smallchange666@gmail.com
• Carmine Street Jugglers. All levels welcome to practice juggling and related arts. 7:30-9:45p. Club is free, but building requires NYC Parks and Recreation membership ($0-$75 per year). jugglenyc.com/clubs.html
• Rocky Sullivan's Pub Quiz, with Quizmaster Scott M.X. Turner. 8:30p; $free admission, potable prizes. Rocky Sulivan's, 34 Van Dyke Street, Brooklyn. rockysullivans.com/quiz.html

XXXXX WISHLIST XXXXX

What have you been wishing for? Collaborators, grant monies, a new home? Please send brief listings to Alita at alitanonsensenyc.com. We only list available apartments, lofts, studios, and one-off rentals -- not spaces wanted.

***** ARTY STUFF *****

• Two Actors Needed. I'm casting two actors for a large multimedia production that will be staged in an abandoned building in April 2010. Both actors should be in their early to mid 20s. Kevin Lee is an Asian-American newspaper reporter who develops an unusual drug problem. Serena is a serious, empathetic college girl who breaks his heart. This is a cold, dirty production that will take you far away from the black box theater and even further from Broadway. No prima donnas. Really. We are casting now in order to produce a photo shoot with a autumn backdrop in Boston. Full rehearsals in mid March. Production in April. Very, very little money. Send a picture (doesn't have to be a headshot) and something about a recent production you were in to jstark@nonsensenyc.com.
• The Danger is looking for performers and professional amateurs who to join the Armageddon Corps on Halloween night. Form a team of the most fearless people you know, come up with a theme and a matching costume, invent a challenge for yourselves and anyone you encounter at the party. If your theme and challenge is great enough you will be one of the seven tribes selected to represent at the Last Masquerade. Selected teams will receive full comped entry for everyone in your crew, rockstar treatment, and liquor. Imagine: the Warriors plus Mardi Gras plus group costume contest. Details: theLastMasquerade.com
• Artist Lisa Kirk needs more participants for Demonstration, her newest work as part of the Performa 09 Biennial. This is a completely open project -- everyone is invited to participate and contribute. Performance date: Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 3p. Location: Seward Park, Lower East Side. See: invisible-exports.com/demonstration_images.html.
• Zombies wanted for Zomberg Rampage at the Halloween Parade: The campaign for Rev. Billy Talen, Green Party candidate for Mayor, is looking for zombies -- Bloomberg Zombies. All you have to do is show up to the Halloween Parade in business attire, a suit, or a windbreaker (it should be easy to find an example, I get pictures of Bloomberg in the mail every day). We are making masks and will fit people during the line up. Blood, rot and guts will also be available though we really welcome your inventions. We are building a dance team, float building team and signing up volunteers for general zombergification. This won't interfere with late night plans, and Halloween is just three days before election day! Zomberg-a-lujah! Contact zombies(at)voterevbilly.org. See: voterevbilly.org/events/halloween for updates.
• We'd like to remind you that we're still open to submissions for our November show. For the Lowbrow one-year anniversary, we're going back to our sexy, smutty roots and hosting a night of pinup girl themed art this November. There will also be a fantastic lineup of music and DJs later on in the night, so be prepared for some incredible surprises. Art, illustration, design, photography, video or performance: we want your ode to the female form however you chose to interpret it. Please send submissions as an attachment or link to samples to LowbrowSociety(at)gmail.com, by Sunday, October 25.
• Hungry March Band is doing a sort of sea/steampunk/demon/sea'monster mix theme this year for the Halloween parade, and we would love (desperately need?) your help and participation. In search of machines and ships and costumes and anything you can make happen! Here is the lovely vision Tara's brain has stormed out: 'White silver black mechanical. A Victorian vampire alien demon ship raging in the eighth dimension surrounded by sea monsters and waves seeking Planet Absurdia. Lots of white with corsets, leather, googles, brass instruments. Need bike with three wheels for sail. Contact Libby, libbylibbyhey(at)gmail.com.

***** SPACES *****

• We are looking for a fourth housemate for our four-bedroom duplex apartment in Sunset Park, Brooklyn at 52nd Street and 4th Avenue. The rent is $600, which includes heat, hot water, and gas (not electric). We are moving in November 1, and seeking someone as soon as possible. You'd have your pick of two big bedrooms, and there's lots of common space -- huge living room, separate kitchen, yard, basement. We'd like some of that to be work space: probably wood shop in the basement, sewing in the living room. We plan to share some food; we don't eat much processed food, meat, or sugar (trying harder on that last one!), to compost, grow vegetables, and ferment things in spare corners. We all graduated from Bard in the last few years, and do work in the arts either as teachers, artist assistants, and craftspeople. We have lots of skills and ideas eager for exchange and enhancement. We are seeking someone who can put up with us and we can put up with, who is ideally not too loud du ring late/early hours, a non-smoker and queer-friendly. Our alcohol/drug use ranges from zero to occasional. rachelthelime@gmail.com
• Roommate Wanted: $475 to live in the Birdcage. starting November 1. It's a small bedroom. If you're taller than six feet, or weigh more than 400 lbs., you won't fit through the door and you'll bang your head on pipes in the ceiling. The bedroom can comfortably fit a twin bed, small dresser, small desk, hanging rack, and side table, or a double bed/ futon, desk, rack, and dresser. You got natural light. It's a bit of a cramped situation but the loft overall is awesomeness indeed. We got 13 foot ceilings, a split level (you live on the top floor) with cozy corner/storage space, projector for wall-sized movie screenings, surround sound 5.1 in the living room. Kitchen already stocked with cooking utensils, wireless internet, bathroom, coffee maker, and stage. The loft is in a large reconverted knitting factory in Bushwick. One and a half blocks from the Halsey L train (27 minutes from Union Square), six long blocks from the Halsey J and Z trains (20 minutes from the Financial D istrict) with sometimes-working laundry on the floor, a sometimes-working freight elevator, a huge roof with full view of the isle of Manhattan. The neighborhood is a little desolate, but we have our share of Latino arroz con pollo places, bodegas, hair salons, and 99 cent stores. Supermarket close by. Short walk to bustling Ridgewood, Queens. Move in November 1, duration of stay to be conversed about during interview. First and deposit (deposit is one-half of one month) due upon arrival. We want people who want to fit into a family -- a quirky, funny, interesting family. No loners, no shut-ins, no psychopaths. Come on over and join the parade. Contact Matt, iammattlevy(at)gmail.com.

XXXXX SPECTRE PRIORITY XXXXX

Before we had a name, the Spectre Event Horizon Group used to meet at a bar to commiserate about the news and trade what our business friends call best practices. The group has expanded since then, but it remains premised on smartening the crowd mind. There are no subject limits; our favorite is our sci-fi present, and we like anything that goes toward a better understanding of human behavior and ecology. Our basic idea is to connect minds with mind-blowing information and create a space for the informal trade of specialized investigative research, presented for the non-specialist.

The Spectre email list, which is a separate group from this column, is a moderated open forum. People are encouraged to join and to post. This section is compiled for Nonsense by J. Sinopoli. Contact us at spectre.event.horizon.groupgmail.com or spectregroup.org. Some of what came in this week:

***** B2B *****

http://spectregroup.wordpress.com/2009/10/22/b2b/

Brain-to-Brain Technologies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93p7oDkA5WA http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006102637.htm BCI Allows Person-to-Person Communication Through Power of Thought "New research from the University of Southampton has demonstrated that it is possible for communication from person to person through the power of thought -- with the help of electrodes, a computer, and Internet connection. While attached to an EEG amplifier, the first person would generate and transmit a series of binary digits, imagining moving their left arm for zero and their right arm for one. The second person was also attached to an EEG amplifier and their PC would pick up the stream of binary digits and flash an LED lamp at two different frequencies, one for zero and the other one for one. The pattern of the flashing LEDs is too subtle to be picked by the second person, but it is picked up by electrodes measuring the visual cortex of the recipient. The encoded information is then extracted from the brain activity of the second user and the PC can decipher whether a zero or a one was transmitted. This s hows true brain-to-brain activity."

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain-computer_interface http://computer.howstuffworks.com/brain-computer-interface.htm

Techlepathy
http://yuri.typepad.com/yuri_blog/2008/02/lift-conference.html http://www.ngn.nl/ngn?waxtrapp=tbmxbIsHyoOtvOXEaMzLD http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Kevin:Warwick.html "Probably the most famous piece of research undertaken by Professor Warwick is the set of experiments known as Project Cyborg, in which he had a chip implanted into his arm. The first stage of this research, which began on August 24, 1998, involved a simple transmitter being implanted beneath Professor Warwick's skin, and used to control doors, lights, heaters, and other computer-controlled devices based on his proximity. The main purpose of this experiment was to test the limits of what the body would accept, and how easy it would be to receive a meaningful signal from the chip. The second stage involved a far more complex chip which was implanted on March 14, 2002, and which interfaced directly into Professor Warwick's nervous system. The electrode array inserted contained around 100 electrodes, of which 25 could be accessed at any one time, whereas the median nerve which it monitored carries many times that number of signals. A highly publicised extension to the experiment , in which a simpler array was implanted into Professor Warwick's wife -- with the aim of creating some form of telepathy or empathy. Empathy is awareness of the thoughts, feelings, or states of mind of others. When we see another human or animal experiencing something positive or negative, we instinctively identify with the other. One must be careful not to confuse empathy with sympathy -- was also moderately successful, although the implant seems to have been less successful at stimulating signals than at measuring them."

Telepathy Chips
http://hplusmagazine.com/articles/ai/brain-computer-interfacing-prosthetic-limbs-telepathy-chips "Consider the "telepathy chip" -- a neural implant that allows the wearer to project their thoughts or feelings to others, and receive thoughts or feelings from others. There seems no in-principle reason why this can't be done, but it raises a huge number of questions philosophically, technically, psychologically, and socially. It's not clear what percentage of a person's thoughts and feelings would actually be comprehensible to another person �- in many cases, you might send your thoughts to someone else only to find them interpreted as 90 percent gobbledygook mixed up with concepts and images that are recognizable to the receiver. It's also not too hard to envision some of the social and economic pressures that might arise surrounding telepathy chips. Would you become suspicious if your husband or wife didn't want to do a telepathy-chip mind-meld after coming home late Friday night? Teams of individuals linked via telepathy chips might achieve far greater efficiency at some sorts of work than any group of detached individuals with similar skill could. Computer programming comes to mind, where the hardest part of the job is often understanding what other people were thinking when they wrote the code that you have to deal with. Social subgroups rejecting telepathy chips could become isolated, backwards communities similar to the Amish today (who, it must be noted, don't mind their backwardness and isolation at all). Ultimately, telepathy chips and related BCI devices could lead to the emergence of new forms of intelligence, "mindplexes" composed of independent human minds, yet also possessing a coherent self and consciousness at the higher level of the telepathically-interlinked human group. Humans who reject telepathic interplay with AIs could be at a significant disadvantage both socially and economically. Nearly any job requiring insight and creativity would benefit from a stream of "push technology" input from a savvy AI."

Previously on Spectre - Telekinesis Comes to Market http://spectregroup.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/telekinesis-comes-to-market/

XXXXX LEARNING XXXXX

We look for the sort of classes you circled in college course catalogs but never managed to fit into your schedule. And we also look for the kind of things that no college could teach. Cheap and eclectic is the rule, though all rules get broken occasionally, and we especially love workshops, round-tables, and teachers who won't take your work out of your hands and show you how to do it right. One-time listings are categorized, with general recurring classes at the end. We thrive on your suggestions, so make sure to tell us about upcoming classes that you think are nifty-keen.

Learning is compiled and edited weekly by Libby Sentz. Send listings, announcements, and corrections to her at libbysentz(at)me.com.

***** LEARNING: FRIDAY *****

Pumpkin Carving Workshop

Lucky Gallery presents "Carving Out the Light," a pumpkin carving workshop hosted by Christopher Coggiano. Bring a pumpkin to be safe, in case they don't have enough for everyone. Tools, food, and drink will be provided.

Lucky Gallery
176 Richards Street, Brooklyn
8-10p; $free
luckygallery.com

***** LEARNING: Also on FRIDAY *****

Tantra: The Art of Conscious Loving

This weekend-long beginner seminar shares the ancient secrets of female and male sexual ecstasy through Tantra. Learn to use sexual energy for increased intimacy, spiritual connection, pleasure, and harmony, and turn sex into a relationship practice of healing, renewal, and transformation.

Atmananda Yoga Center
324 Lafayette Street, 7th Floor, Manhattan $450 (graduates half-price) for three days Friday 6:45-10:30p and Saturday/Sunday 10a-8p Register: 888-682-6872 (x106)
sourcetantra.com
atmananda.com

***** LEARNING: Also on FRIDAY *****

Butoh Foundations Workshop

Ankoku-butoh originated in postwar Japan and is known as the Dance of Darkness. Existing somewhere between performance art, avant-garde theater, and spiritual practice, it is now mostly characterized by incredibly slow movements; grotesque, taboo, or transcendent imageries and subject matters; white body paint; heightened physical and emotional states; and no standard styles. Led by Edoheart. No dance or theater training required.

The Living Theatre
21 Clinton Street, Manhattan
10-1p; $45
edoheart(at)gmail.com
facebook.com/edoheart
livingtheatre.org

***** LEARNING: SATURDAY *****

Gardening 101

Spend the day at BBG with gardening experts to learn all the basics. Class will cover how a plant works and what it needs, how to understand soil and composting, which tools every gardener needs, how to care for your plants as they grow, gardening with fragrant plants, and the importance of native species. Bring a bag lunch or purchase your meal at BBG's Terrace Caf� for the hourlong break.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden
1000 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn
9a�5p; $74 (nonmembers), $66 (members)
718-623-7220
bbg.org/edu/adult/

***** LEARNING: SUNDAY *****

Felt Slippers

Learn an ancient Georgian feltmaking technique and create multicolored felt slippers with textile artists Nina Kipshidze and Manana Abzianidze of the Georgian Textile Group (GTG). A variety of Georgian textile crafts will also be displayed and sold during the workshop. Proceeds from the workshop and sale will go to American Friends of Georgia and the GTG to support programs for street children and orphans in the Republic of Georgia, as well as to revitalize Georgian textile crafts so that poor women in the mountains there can support themselves. Bonus: Nino and Manana will also demonstrate how to make tiny knitted socks that can be worn as pins.

Proteus Gowanus
543 Union Street, Brooklyn
12-2p and 3-5p; $10
Reservations: info(at)proteusgowanus.com proteusgowanus.com

***** LEARNING: Also on SUNDAY *****

Poetry Master Class With Myung Mi Kim

Myung Mi Kim, director of the poetics program at the University at Buffalo and leading voice in contemporary poetics, reflects on her extensive body of work (which includes the highly praised "Under Flag," "The Bounty," "DURA," "Commons," and "Penury"). Speak with Myung about her work, ask questions about craft and practice, and get feedback from Myung on your own writing.

Asian American Writers' Workshop
16 West 32nd Street, Suite 10A, Manhattan 2-5p; $45 (nonmembers)
nycharities.org/beta/EventLevels.aspx?ETID=605

***** LEARNING: Also on SUNDAY *****

Para-Theatrical Workshop With Dzieci

Theater group Dzieci offers "I and Thou," a para-theatrical workshop that lets participants engage with the group on a physical level. Dress to move.

Ripley-Grier Studios
520 Eighth Avenue
11a-4p; $30-$75
dziecitheatre.org/dzfiles/ws091025.html

***** LEARNING: MONDAY *****

Math Crochet: Hyperbolic Planes

The hyperbolic plane is an example of non-Euclidean geometry, and for more than a century after its discovery, mathematicians thought it was impossible to construct one. But in 1997, Daina Taimina, a mathematician at Cornell University, made the first usable model by crocheting it. In this workshop, Jane Broaddus and Deborah Jane Slavitt will teach you use Taimina's simple pattern to create this mathematically complex entity using two basic stitches�the chain and single crochet. Broaddus has 30-plus years' experience in quilting, embroidery, and fiber arts; Slavitt is a photographer, travel writer, teacher, art therapist, and fiber artist. No prior experience with crochet is necessary.

Materials for the Arts
33-00 Northern Boulevard, 3rd Floor, Long Island City 4:30-6:30p; $10
mfta.org/education_workshop_schedule.html

***** LEARNING: TUESDAY *****

Intro to Studio Recording

A three-hour audio/recording crash course with Jay Braun, covering everything from Victrola Wax Cylinders to digital mixing tricks only possible with modern software. Historical, typical, and most importantly practical examples of mic placement, EQ, phasing, compression, as well as digital and analog editing and processing will be discussed and demonstrated with thorough Q&A time included. Bring a current piece of commercially released music as well as one of your own finished recordings or works in progress for constructive analysis. This class will help you to get more out of your own recordings to develop a more informed ear of the processes at work. Mention Nonsense NYC when you register (deadline October 23) for a 10% discount.

3rd Ward
573 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn
7-10p; $65 (nonmembers), $50 (members) 3rdward.com/3rdwardclasses/intro-to-studio-recording.html

***** LEARNING: Also on TUESDAY *****

Pinup Workshop

This three-course intensive introduction to pin-up, led by photographer Dale Rio, teaches the basics of pin-up modeling, the history of the pin-up, historical trends in clothing and styling, hair and make-up tips, and practical information on the business of photography and modeling. The class will culminate in individual shoots yielding photos that students can use as learning tools and for promotional purposes. The course continues November 3 and 10.

Studio Noir
44 Stewart Avenue, Brooklyn
6-9p; $125 for three classes
studio.noir.nyc(at)gmail.com

***** LEARNING: WEDNESDAY *****

Make Fun: Halloween Workshops

Make Fun Studios at House of Yes invites you into the costume studio to make the best Halloween costume ever. Participants gain full access to the Make Fun facilities, with home and industrial sewing machines, sergers and cover stitch machines, pattern-making materials, and free fabric and trim. This $20 workshop will have you looking fabulous and you'll learn a thing or two too. You'll also get help from Kae and Tara, who have years of experience working with people to build their character from scratch, or to modify existing clothes and costumes.

House of Yes
342 Maujer Street, Brooklyn
7-11p; $20
kaeburke(at)gmail.com
houseofyes.org

***** LEARNING: THURSDAY *****

The Art of Face-Reading

Master the ancient art of Chinese face-reading. Best-selling author Joey Yap, founder of the Mastery Academy of Chinese Metaphysics, teaches how to use face-reading to examine your own life stages and destiny, and those of others, at a glance. Learn to recognize the five �element� face shapes: the pragmatist (Earth), entertainer (Fire), officer (Metal), the entrepreneur (Water), and the thinker (Wood). You'll also learn about the �100-Year Face Map,� which relates every year of your life to a point on your face, and face reading for relationships (what to look out for in an ideal partner).

East West
78 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan
7-8:30p; $free
joeyyap.com
eastwestnyc.com/events.html?trumbaEmbed=eventid%3D82923922%26view%3Devent%26-childview%3D

***** LEARNING: ONGOING *****

BODY

• Jazzercise-Your-A$$-Off Dance Workouts with Suspicious Package at Traif Bike Geschaft. Williamsburg. Pop Star Dance Workout Saturdays 4-5:30p, Coed Striptease Tuesdays 7-8:30p, Coed Bikini Beach Party Thursdays 7-8:30p (all through November 30). $15 if you say "buns"; all classes include a cocktail. suspiciouspackage.info
• The Art of the Samurai Sword with Raab Rashi at The Workman�s Circle/NYR Studios. Manhattan. Thursdays 6-7p, $free intro lesson, $15 thereafter. swordclass.blogspot.com
• Free African dance with Sandella at the Booker T. Washington Middle School gym. Manhattan. Fridays 6:30-8p; $free. 212-942-3566. (The class airs on Time Warner channel 56 Wednesdays at 2p.)
• Free self-defense at St. Mark's Church. Manhattan. Wednesdays 7:30-8:30p; $free.mkdkarate.com/classes.html
• Free canoeing and kayaking in Hallets Cove. Socrates Sculpture Park. Long Island City. Weather permitting, Sundays (through October 25) 1p; $free. licboathouse.org
• Free Cuban salsa and Afro-Cuban dance at Nola Studios. Manhattan. First Tuesday of each month 7-9p, $free. salsonera(at)gmail.com
• Power vinyasa with Hosh Yoga at Otom GYM. Greenpoint. Daily; $donation.hoshyoga.org/schedule.html
• Afro-Haitian dance with Mikerline Pierre at Ripley-Grier Studios, 520 Eighth Avenue, 16th floor. Manhattan. Saturdays 4-5:30p; $12. NOTE: Mikerline is also searching among students to add new dancers to her folkloric troupe. libbysentz(at)me.com
• Congolese dance with Funmilayo at Resurgent Fitness, Brooklyn, Wednesdays 6-7:30p; at Black River Dance, Harlem, Thursdays 7:30-9p; Alvin Ailey Extension, Manhattan, Sundays 3-4:30p. $varies. fushadance(at)aol.com
• Balkan folk dance at the Hungarian House. Manhattan. Wednesdays 6:30-8p; $12.nycfolkdance.org
• Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu at Triskelion Arts. Brooklyn. Training is centered on jissen gata combat fighting. Membership is selective, but you may attend the first class without paying dues. Saturdays 5-7p, Sundays 2�4p.triskelionarts.org/events.htm#classesoffered
• Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art and dance, with Capoeira Angola Quintal. Manhattan. Various days; $15.afrobrazilarts.org/newyorkcapoeira/index.htm
• Parkour workshops. Manhattan. Sundays 4p; $15+. nyparkour.com
• Aerial yoga. Manhattan and Williamsburg. Various days; $20. aerialyoga.com
• Group tightwire walking and foot juggling workshop at Trapeze Loft. Williamsburg. Sundays 5-6p; $25. thetrapezeloft.com
• Trampoline at Streb Lab for Action Mechanics. Brooklyn. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays 7-8:30p; $25.streb.org/V2/school/adults.html
• Co-ed nonsexual naked yoga. Manhattan. Various days; $?.groups.yahoo.com/group/coyoga/

BRAIN

• Open craft/hack nights at NYC Resistor. Brooklyn. Thursdays 6-9p; $free. nycresistor.com/2008/11/22/open-craft-hack-nights-on-thursdays/
• Math studies at the School of Mathematics, which cultivates a natural, stress-free environment where everyone can explore, study, and discover mathematics. Prior knowledge is not assumed. Brooklyn. Various days; $free. thewe.net/math
• Writing with constraints at the Writhings Society. Practice writing with arbitrary, sometimes mathematical, rules invented by the French group Oulipo and others; no experience necessary. Brooklyn. Wednesdays 6:30-8:30p; $5+. proteusgowanus.com

HANDS

• Free knitting for beginners by Gotta Knit! in Bryant Park, Upper Terrace. Manhattan. Tuesdays 1:30-3p. $free. Pre-register: 212-989-3030.
• Free Craft-On (fun with yarn, thread, and more) with Church of Craft. Brooklyn. Various days; $free.churchofcraft.org/2008/10/01/welcome-nyc-crafters/
• Freegan Bike Workshop: Learn how to turn found bike parts into working bicycles and build your own bike. Brooklyn. Wednesdays and Saturdays; $free.123communityspace.org/event
• Project Film School's film-theory freeschool with a weekly screening series and online resources. Brooklyn. Sunday nights; $free.projectfilmschool.org
• Free bicycle repair classes at Time's Up! Manhattan and Brooklyn. Various days. $free.times-up.org/index.php?page=bike-co-op
• Free home-improvement classes, from tiling to drywall repair, at Home Depot stores. Saturdays and Sundays; $free.homeimproverclub.com/workshops.aspx?Type=3
• The Fixers Collective is a social experiment in improvisational fixing and mending. Participants bring their broken objects and put them on a large, common fixing table and share ideas and techniques for repairing, mending, enhancing, or repurposing the objects. Brooklyn. Thursdays 6-9p; $5.proteusgowanus.com/main/fixers-collective
• Beading classes at Brooklyn Bead Box. Various days; $varies.brooklynbeadbox.com/classes.html
• Classes in the needle arts at Brooklyn General Store. Various days; $varies.brooklyngeneral.com/classes.htm
• Knitting and spinning classes at the Yarn Tree. Various days; $varies.theyarntree.com/studio/classes/
• Screenprinting at 123 Printshop. Brooklyn. Fridays 5-8p and Saturdays 3-5p; $3+.123communityspace.org/program/screenprinting-workshop-50
• Figure drawing at Brooklyn Artists Gym. Mondays 6:30-9p and Saturdays 12-3p; $8+.brooklynartistsgym.com/events.html#workshops
• Mosaic workshops. Manhattan. Wednesdays 1-4p and 6-9p; $100 for four-class workshop.newyorkartworld.com/things/things-mosaic.html
• Wheel and handbuilding classes at La Mano Pottery. Manhattan. Various days; $300 for eight-week class. lamanopottery.com
• Fire the Lazzzor!, rapid prototype using the 35 Watt Epilog Laser. Brooklyn. Second Sunday of each month 2-5p; $75.nycresistor.com

GRAB BAG

• 3rd Ward offers multi- and interdisciplinary courses in visual art, technology, and fabrication. Various days; $varies.3rdward.com/classes
• Didgeridoo classes in Prospect Park for music, meditation, and healing. Saturdays; $10. didgeproject.com
• Gearilla!, a street theater workshop (on bikes). Various locations. Tuesdays 2p; $10+.monicahunken.com/classes.html
• Aerial classes (silks, trapeze, lyra, pole dance, ballet) at the Sky Box at House of Yes. Brooklyn. Monday through Saturday; $15. theskybox.org/classes
• Creative arts classes at Spoke the Hub. Brooklyn. Various days; $varies.spokethehub.org
• First aid for cats and dogs. Manhattan. Saturdays 10-2p; $65 (if purchased online).nyredcross.org/viewclass.php/prmCID/32/month/08/year/2009

XXXXX HELP XXXXX

It is a wonderful thing, to help. Helping strengthens communities and allows you to meet new friends. With that in mind, we look for one-day volunteer opportunities with no long-term commitment required. We want to be open to fresh ideas and think of help in a broad way. These listings could include anything from a large-scale day-long service project to a local theatre company that needs volunteers for load-in; from an artist looking for film extras to a community garden that needs a few extra hands. Our goal is simply to help groups or individuals that serve the greater good in small but significant ways. Unique and interesting job opportunities are acceptable fare for this section as well. Looking for ways to help out? Need volunteers to get your own community project off the ground? Know of any existing opportunities? Send your requests to Rob Voigt at robpastyvoigt(at)gmail.com.

***** HELP: FRIDAY and SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23-24 *****

Pumpkin Festival

The parks department is looking for volunteers for its upcoming annual Pumpkin Festival. We need people to dress up as a ghosts, goblins, monsters (must have your own costume) and play a role as a scary walk-about character. Volunteers are also needed to help out in our Kids Zone areas, made up of a variety of different venues including face painting and a pumpkin patch. Finally, volunteers are needed to act as escorts and for set-up and break-down of the Haunted House.

Central Park Bandshell, Manhattan
Fri 2-8p
Sat 10a-6p
volunteermatch.org/search/opp594316.jsp

***** HELP: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24 *****

It�s My Park! Day

Partnerships for Parks and the NYC Parks Department are holding It�s My Park. Day this Saturday, and are pairing with local community orgs to host be a multitude of volunteering events held in parks around the city. It�s a great opportunity to get outside, support your local parks, and meet others in your community. Volunteer activities range from horticulture to painting projects, and a variety of free events will be held in parks throughout the city.

For more information, and to find a park near you hosting an event, go here: bit.ly/3uv7eY

***** HELP: Also on SATURDAY *****

Volunteer Magician

Do you love balloon animals? Pulling scarves out of your sleeve and making coins disappear? Then this is the perfect project for you! New York Cares is looking for a volunteer magician to entertain a group of children while their parents attend New York City's Department of Human Resources Work Support and Career Advancement Fair. A group of 20 additional volunteers will be in attendance to help supervise the children.

Emigrant Savings Bank, 49-51 Chambers Street, Manhattan 10a-3p
volunteermatch.org/search/opp595640.jsp

***** HELP: Also on SATURDAY *****

Mock Interview Day

Streetwise Partners is a pioneering social enterprise that operates at the intersection of corporate citizenship, poverty alleviation, and economic development. We are seeking volunteer business professionals to review resumes and hold mock interviews for motivated low-income individuals. Volunteers will be asked to play various roles - CEO, Line Manager, HR Manager. No experience necessary in these roles. Volunteers with a few years of experience from all fields are welcome.

300 Madison Ave, Manhattan
10a-2p
onebrick.org/eventdetails.asp?EventID=6686

***** HELP: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25 *****

Gardening in Fort Tyron Park

Please join the Street Project at Fort Tyron Park in Washington Heights on Sunday, October 25, for a bit of community gardening! All we will be needing is a group of focused people, and we will provide all necessary tools including gloves. First time gardeners welcome!

Fort Tyron Park, Manhattan
10:30a-1p
streetproject.org/eventdisplay.php?eid=1057

***** HELP: MONDAY, OCTOBER 26 *****

Ice Theater of New York Annual Gala

Ice Theater of New York is an innovative and unique ice dance company that puts on an annual benefit gala to fund their season. We need volunteers to help in all areas of the event so it all runs smoothly! The evening will support Ice Theatre's New Works and Young Artists Series, an outreach program for public school children, as well as all of our 2009-2010 season's artistic programming.

Volunteers needed for
Reception Check-in: bit.ly/VRugP
Ushers: bit.ly/1ISLYw
and Wrap-up Crew: bit.ly/4i1oF5

***** HELP: SIGN UP IN ADVANCE, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21 *****

John Duncan Performance

Here is a great opportunity to participate in a vocal performance created by John Duncan, a leading artist in the field of experimental sound and contemporary music. John Duncan is looking for 20 people who are open-minded and are not professionally trained in voice or theater but feel comfortable using their voice. The only time commitment besides the performance is a 15 minute audition with John Duncan on November 20th, the day before the performance. Performers also get to be audience members for an exciting night of experimental music for free:

A Fantastic World Superimposed on Reality: (a select history of experimental music). Curated by Mike Kelley. Organized and co-curated with Mark Beasley. Produced and presented by Performa, live presentations and works by: Bruce Nauman, Tony Conrad, Max Neuhaus, Joan le Barbara, Shelley Hirsch and Christian Marclay, Johanna Went, John Duncan, Airway, Destroy All Monsters, plus other works and guests.

Gramercy Theater, 127 East 23rd Street, Manhattan Saturday, November 21
6p-midnight
Sign up with Brel Froebe, brel(at)performa-arts.org performa-arts.org

***** HELP: UPCOMING *****

• October 31: Haunted Halloween Set-up Crew. Help The Puppetry Arts Theatre set-up for the Haunted Halloween Carnival for a day filled with games, puppetry making, and creepy crawly fun. Assisting the efforts of TPAT is important as we strive to maintain our leadership in bringing together puppeteers, teachers, actors, artists, and community volunteers dedicated to the arts, education, and the city we live in. Please wear comfortable clothing as there will be some lifting and decorating involved. puppetryarts.org or onebrick.org/eventdetails.asp?EventID=6392
• November 12. Set up help for the NephCure Foundation. Help is needed for the NephCure Foundation's 2009 New York Countdown to a Cure. Ten volunteers are needed to help with set-up for this charity event. Volunteers should arrive at 1p to begin set-up and will be fed. Countdown to a Cure will be held at the Citi Field Caesars Club in Flushing, Queens. Over 800 guests are expected. The reception-style dinner will begin at 6:30p. All proceeds benefit the NephCure Foundation, the only organization committed to finding a cause and cure for two devastating kidney diseases, Nephrotic Syndrome and Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). Minimum age 15. Please contact Miriam Long at mlong(at)nephcure.org for more information. volunteermatch.org/search/opp572855.jsp

***** HELP: ONGOING *****

SOCIAL

• Street Project: Serve at the University Soup Kitchen, Saturdays from 11:45a - 3:30p. streetproject.org/eventarchive.php
• St. John's Bread and Life: Help with the Soup Kitchen, Mobile Soup Kitchen, or Food Pantry. breadandlife.org/volunteer.htm
• GiveGoodGet Project: Recognize people doing good for their community. facebook.com/givegoodget
• GALLOP: Therapeutic riding program for individuals with diabilities. gallopnyc.org
• RightRides and SafeWalk: Late night rides - help to increase safety in our communities. rightrides.org
• The Fortune Society: Volunteer to teach reading, writing and math to former prisoners and young people facing prison time. 212 691 7554 x250 or fortunesociety.org
• Samitarians: Volunteer for a suicide-prevention hotline. samaritansnyc.org/volunt.html
• The Rock Dove Project: Connects health care practitioners who offer cheap/free services with seekers of those services. rockdovecollective.org/project
• New York Cares: Attend an orientation to learn about volunteer opportunities. www.newyorkcares.org/volunteer
• Books Through Bars: Sends books to prisoners all over the country. Mondays and Thursdays 7:30-9:30p and Sundays 5-8p. abcnorio.org/affiliated/btb.html
• Food not Bombs: Serves vegan food in Tompkins Sq Park. Sundays 1p on. abcnorio.org/affiliated/fnb.html
• City Harvest: Help feed the homeless by volunteering at a special event. cityharvest.org *Housing Works: Provides housing for individuals affected by HIV and AIDS. Volunteers of all types needed. housingworks.org
• New York Road Runners: Work with kids, help out at a race, and more. volunteers.nyrr.org
• Computers for Youth: Help this organization increase the educational resources available to low-income youth. cfy.org

CREATIVE

• NY Street Opera: Non-profit musical theatre. Light administrative duties. cheron.g.cowan(at)gmail.com or nystreetopera.com
• NY Artists Unlimited: Brings theatre and art to under-served audiences. nyartists.org
• Stoked Mentoring: Mentor kids through skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding. infostoked.org
• 826NYC: Volunteer as a writing tutor for. 826NYC.org
• Lit Drift: Storytelling blog. Creative people needed to blog, market, organize events. julia(at)litdrift.com or litdrift.com

POLITICAL

• Transportation Alternatives: Biking, walking, and public transit advocacy. Office volunteers needed. elena(at)transalt.org or transalt.org
• lowercased democrats: Design a citywide public meeting house, support a petition drive. lowercased.org
• Reverend Billy Talen, Green Party candidate for Mayor of NYC, seeks campaign volunteers. voterevbilly.org

ENVIRONMENTAL

• Project Safe Flight: Rescue disoriented and injured birds and help migratory birds. volunteernycaudubon.org
• Brooklyn Animal Rescue Coalition: Help with dog walking and cat petting. barcshelter.org
• Time's Up!: Direct-action environmental advocacy. times-up.org
• The New Jersey Tree Foundation: Help plant trees in Newark, events most Saturdays. newjerseytreefoundation.org

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