Whassup: Summer Solstice Edition

Hey folks, Tuesday is the solstice, the longest day of the year -- seriously, this is as un-Seasonally-Affective-Disordered as you're going to get. That's right, it's the happiest you will be all year. If that's not enough to make you sad, then let me borrow your meds (Please?). Celebrate the sun with Whassup: Summer Solstice Edition:

* Thursday, June 16: The Shat Ball 3, Bell House: Forget, for the moment, the presence of one of the most awkward past tenses in the English language in this event's title: if you appreciate nerdy kitsch, no one shat it out better than Shatner. Star Trek comedy, a Star Trek-themed band for fuck's sake, and a sad, sad costume contest. I just hope they play the Shat's version of "Common People" with Ben Folds on repeat. 8pm, $8.

* Thursday, June 16-Sunday, June 19: Northside Festival, Williamsburg: Brooklyn gets all festival on our asses with music, art, and film across Billyburg and Greenpoint venues. The festival-wide passes are sold out, but you can still nab tix to indvidual shows, most $10-$30.

* Saturday, June 18: Bloomsday on the Slope: Two days after the day (I guess so it's a weekend), Park Slope celebrates the nerdiest of literary days: Bloomsday, the date on which James Joyce's feast of words and masturbatory modernism, Ulysses, took place. Bars from Blacksheep up on Bergen down to Freddy's in South Slope will ring with Irish music and readings from the novel. Yes, you will yes. Starts 2pm at Blacksheep.

* Tuesday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 22: Make Music, Fifth Avenue: The Slope's best avenue for old man bars (agreed?) resounds with free, outdoor tunes on summer's first day. Music all along Fifth Avenue from Dean to 18th Street. 7-9pm, FREE.

* Tuesday, June 21: Talib Kweli, Red Hook Park: Ok, we all know Prospect Park brings the free-summer-concert-series ruckus. Little brother Red Hook Park also vibrates the humid air with beats. First in the series, rhymes from Talib Kweli. Wave your hands carelessly, as I believe the saying goes. 7pm, FREE.

* Thursday, June 23: Story Collider, Brooklyn Lyceum: The science-themed storytelling show celebrates its first anniversary with "Reinvention," six stories about creation and recreation as viewed through thick-rimmed glasses. Tales spew from the nerdy lips of a scientist, science writer, musician, writer, comedian and more. 8pm, $8.