[FIPS Was There...] Geeking Out

Image via Geeking Out

Back in the 80's, one of my favorite movies was definitely Revenge of the Nerds. It was this film about a bunch of geeks who went to college and formed a geek fraternity. It starred that one guy from ER and that other guy from thirtysomething and had scenes depicting both extended urination and extended eructation. Also...a panty raid. Also...boobs. By the end, we grow to love those geeks. They stage a concert and the college campus embraces them, despite how geeky they are. WE ARE ALL GEEKS.  

With geekdom in mind, I found myself back at Union Hall (sans bacon) on Tuesday night for the latest edition of Geeking Out, a geeky comedy/storytelling series hosted by FiPS' former managing editor Kerri Doherty. She's been hosting the series for a while now but I'm a bad acquaintance who's never actually made it to a single show. Basically, a bunch of people get up on stage and geek out over pop culture topics. Tuesday's lineup was to feature both comedienne Jeneane Garofalo and eighteen-time Moth Storyslam champion Adam Wade. Easy decision: I decided to shell out $5 for the ticket.

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[What You Should Order At...] Union Hall

WHAT YOU SHOULD ORDER AT...is a recurring column designed in kind for your opinionated asses and our lazy asses. When the mood strikes, we pick one Park Slope resto and recommend our favorite dish. Are we right? Are we wrong? YOU KNOW YOU WANNA WEIGH IN.

When I think of my five reasons for going to Union Hall, they rank as follows:

#1 - Alcohol, #2 - Atmosphere/Females, #3 - Shows, #4 - Food, #5 - Bocce.

I just don't get it. Bocce? What is this? An Italian neighborhood? BOCCE IS NUMBER FIVE. BEHIND FOOD.

Since Union Hall's opening back in 2006, I've spent many a spell within its bookish confines. I've smoked butts in the courtyard area. FiPS has held the occasional meeting/gathering there. I even brought my stuffed monkey to one meeting & started a lapsed column about it. One random summer night, I ended up working the door downstairs at a burlesque show, where I accidentally stamped some guy's shirt sleeve. In my defense, dude was wearing cufflinks, so he was kinda asking for it. Over time, in my dozens of visits there, I've probably ordered food two or three times. It isn't that the food's bad, It's just sort of meh...better-than-200-Fifth Bar food.

As such, until this week, I couldn't have named a damn thing on the Union Hall food menu. Early Tuesday evening, I stopped by briefly, sat at the bar and grabbed a beer. The food menu was right there and I was sick of looking at my phone, so I perused the front of the menu and flipped it over. On the back, a single item jumped out at me, an apparently recent addition to the menu: BACON ($8). The description: "A basket of crispy bacon." The bartender confirmed that said item was in fact a pile of bacon in a basket. It sounded about right. How different was it really from popcorn or mixed nuts or any other such bar snack?

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WHASSUP: WELCOME NEWBIE EDITION

Whassup, FIPSters?  I find it a propos that, on this first day of spring, I greet you as the new writer of WHASSUP.  I couldn’t be happier to take the reigns. You likely have no clue, but I’ve been writing for FIPS for a couple years now and am so happy to take over this established, well-respected column. Do I smell a Pulitzer?

I’ll be hitting you up each week with suggestions for cool, unusual, self-fulfilling, community driven, and sometimes downright shameful goings on…s.  My curated collection shall by no means be the be-all-end-all—there’s way too much shit to weed through for that. It will instead offer cool happenings that I discover through tireless research, colleague suggestions, and referrals from you fine people.

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this, but please don’t hesitate to share your reactions to my weekly lineups. If I’m giving you way to much ponies and ribbons, but you’re more into ball gags and pie eating contests—you better fucking tell me. If you go to an event that I suggested and it fully sucks balls—I want to know.  If you’re pleasantly surprised and want more of the same — send me a smile; it’ll last for a while.

Without further ado, here’s Whassup:

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New Park Slope Storytelling Series Focuses on Sex

There's no denying that Park Slope has sex on the brain (this is still our most viewed FiPS post). For those who can't get enough of a tingly feeling in your nether regions, a new storytelling show is coming to Union Hall, and it's focused entirely on... you know.

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