Whassup: Halloween Prep Edition

Junot Diaz reads at BookCourt (via npr.org).

It's mid-October, folks, so you should all be purchasing the necessaries for your replacement ref costumes and/or figuring out which slutty thing you would like to be for one night. Amidst all the scary-mask browsing and candy stockpiling, though, there is still fun that must be had. Welcome to Whassup: Halloween Prep Edition.

* Thursday, Oct. 18-Saturday, Oct. 20: CMJ Shows; Brooklyn Bowl, Knitting Factory, etc.: CMJ is upon us, which means the opportunities to hear short sets by weird bands with bad audio are nearly endless. Brokelyn has a handy round-up of free CMJ shows, because what -- are you gonna pay for that stuff? Various times, FREE.

* Saturday, Oct. 20: Shucktoberfest, Bierkraft: To welcome the fall, the chiery folks down at Bierkraft will be shucking fresh, local oysters for you, paired with beer-snob pleasing casks. Plus, as always, you can hear the disturbing shouts from sports fans at 200 Fifth across the street. 12pm-11pm. 

* Saturday, Oct. 20-Sunday, Oct. 21: Food Trucks!, Prospect Park: The planets align this weekend to put a ton of food-truck opportunities at your lobster-roll-craving fingertips. It's pricey, sure, but man it's good.

  * Saturday at the Arch, 7:30am-5pm.

* Saturday-Sunday at the Parade Ground, 8am-5pm.

* Sunday at Grand Army Plaza, 11am-5pm.

* Monday, Oct. 22: Shocktober Science, Bell House: The Secret Science Club Halloweens it up with a talk on urban creatures -- that's right, there's wildlife in them there concrete canyons. Welcome to the jungle. 8pm, FREE.

* Monday, Oct. 22: Mike Birbiglia, Union Hall: Tremendous comedian/storyteller Mike Birbiglia will be doing a couple informal sets. From the title, "working it out," I assume this is a test of some new material. Catch it while it's fresh! 7:30pm and 9:30pm, $15. 

* Tuesday, Oct. 23: Junot Diaz, BookCourt: Brooklyn's a place that properly honors its literary superstars -- by pretending to have read their works. Pretend away at Diaz's reading at the legendary BookCourt. 7pm, FREE. 

COMING UP: 

* Sunday, Oct. 28: Bare! B'day Show, Bell House: It's a natural pairing: Park Slope's storytelling scene and the topic of sex. What's the old joke -- sex is like pizza, because even when it's bad, it's still kinda good? Same goes for sex stories, probably. Anyway, Bare! will be stepping out from the cozy Union Hall stage to celebrate its one-year anniversary at Bell House's more spacious environs. Prepare to be aurally pleasured by so many people.  8pm-10pm, $10.