Whassup: Live Like You Mean It Edition

Ten is an arbitrary number given significance solely due to the quantity of digits on our hands. If we all had penises growing out of our palms, twelve would be a big deal (and high fives would constitute a sex act -- ok, even MORE of a sex act). Nevertheless, this week we will not escape the scars of THAT DAY because of the media's need for content. Personally, I think we should each be able to honor and commemorate the losses of 9/11 in our own quiet, personal ways--without the need for big displays. And that we can continue to "beat the terrorists" by living our lives. With that in mind, I present Whassup: Live Like You Mean It Edition:

* Thursday, Sept. 8: TV on the Waterfront: As of Wednesday, tix were still avail for the frequently critically handjobbed BK indie awesomeness, TV on the Radio. Keep the outdoor summer concert series going as long as it should: waaaay too long. Broken Social Scene, no indie slouches themselves, open. 5:30pm, $48.

* Thursday, Sept. 8: Real(ity) Talent, Bell House: Channelling Ryan Seacrest, Cee Lo and, I dunno, some other reality TV d-bag, professional Brooklyn fun-havers the skint are hosting a showcase of local talents both impressive and bizarre. A panel of three will anoint the winner with $150 in cold, hard drinking money. 7pm Doors, $8.

* Thursday, Sept. 8: Brewpub Birthday, Pacific Standard: The Slope's Bay Area-flavored house of suds celebrates four years on Fourth Ave. with a beery birthday party. PacSta (as I hope no one actually calls it) welcomes a hospitable takeover by Sixpoint, serving up classics like Bengali Tiger IPA and rare finds like Hops of Love from the BK brewer. To get your barley glands salivating even harder, a "Brand New Mystery Beer" will poke its wet little head out from the birth canal (not literally). And a raffle! Raffle at 10pm.

* Friday, Sept. 9: !!! (Chk Chk Chk), Bell House: The groovenest punctuation marks this side of a semi-colon sketched by Bootsy Collins, !!! (pronounced chk-chk-chk, or similar) send rhythm directly to the booty area via power chords struck with punk vigor. Warm up your glutes for some dancin' and expect to be earnestly entreated to shake whatcha got. 8pm, $18.

* Sunday, Sept 11: Bow your heads, hold a vigil, listen to Brian Williams and Wolf Blitzer's poetic shortcomings in times that call for depth, phone your family, watch football in the most American way you can think of (while eating hot dogs cooked by jet engines, of course), contemplate our inability to confront the true consequences of our foreign policy, tell your cat (again) how much you love him, cry to the words of Jonathan Safran-Foer, get some comedic healing ala Stewart and Colbert -- do whatever you like.  But, if you would like an organized commemoration of some kind, maybe check this out: Why We Do Good, Brooklyn Historical Society: Author Julie Salamon will talk about her 2003 book "Rambam's Ladder: A Meditation on Generosity and Why it is Necessary to Give," written in 9/11's wake. Afterward, listeners and author will head to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade to hear NY poet Dave Johnson read selections appropriate to the day. FREE, 2pm.

* Wednesday, Sept. 14: Cinjun Tate of Remy 0, Union Hall: Slope resident and frontman for '90's beauty factory Remy Zero, Cinjun Tate will bless Union Hall with another of his unassuming opening-act schticks. The guy has a voice that should be shaking stadiums and songs with a rare, delicate beauty. (And, yes, Remy Zero did the song that opens "Smallville.") And you can catch him for a few bucks, opening for Thunderegg, which is probably not a bad band either. 7:30pm, $7.

* Wednesday, Sept. 14: Pretty Whiskey Words, Freddy's: In this neighborhood rich, some might say rife, with writers, take a night to appreciate the aural pleasure of well-written words. The monthly "Having a Whiskey Coke with You" reading series treats you to the funny, insightful, scary, perhaps embarrassing words of young, local scribes. And, as the name implies, getting anywhere from buzzed to sloshed while you listen or read is highly, highly encouraged. Music after the words. 8pm, FREE.


* COMING UP:

* Friday, Sept. 16 - Sunday, Sept. 18: FIRST BK Indie Music Fest, Littlefield: Get your snobbiest music-appreciation face ready, it's time to enjoy some bands BEFORE they get cool. Looooooong before. The Slope's (ok, Gowanus') newest tune venue, Littlefield, opens up two stages -- inside and outside -- to our borough's most non-major-label acts. If nothing else, it's a nice warmup for CMJ. Shows all day every day, $55 for a 3-day pass or $23 per day.