21 Ways to Spend Your Teeny, Tiny Tax Refund
- c/o metmuseum.org
6) Read About Artisanal Orgasms: Do I need to say anything more? Because I’ve got more to say. But I’m not going to say it, because you should just read about it. Read what, exactly? The newest issue of n+1, “Double Bind,” which you can buy a digital copy of for just $10. A hard copy is $13, but you don’t have $13, do you? No, you have $10. And anyway, reading things on your phone is much more convenient than lugging around a whole magazine, isn’t it? Sure it is.
n+1; Digital Issue 16, Double Bind, nplusonemag.com
7) The Movies!: Movies are so expensive. And frequently, they’re terrible disappointments. But you can guarantee you’re not going to be disappointed if you see a movie that you’ve already seen before, or have at least heard is amazing, and are paying only ten bucks for it. So, I recommend checking out a matinee at BAM (only $9!) and, more specifically, doing it in the next couple of days (April 16-17) when BAM is showing the work of Japanese director Takeshi “Beat” Kitano. Kitano, BAM says, has an “idiosyncratic style [that] combines eye-popping violence, deadpan humor, and disarming wellsprings of emotion.” Sold, right? Also, if you happen to have one extra dollar floating around, why not check out one of Nitehawk Cinemas April Midnites features? In honor of 420, Nitehawk is showing “Fear and Loathing” and “Dune” this month and tickets are $11. Which, $11 isn’t nothing, but, in this case, it might be totally worth it.
BAM; 30 Lafayette Avenue, Ft Greene
Nitehawk Cinema; 136 Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg
8) Embrace Your Inner Nerd: Maybe your nerd isn’t even that far inside? Maybe you are a surface nerd? Either way, head over to Nerd Nite at Galapagos Art Space. What exactly is Nerd Nite? Well, as Galapagos explains, “Think science lectures with beer. Nerd Nite is an informal gathering at which Nerds and non-nerds alike meet, drink and learn something new.” Sounds pretty nerdy, right? Go learn something. Tickets are ten dollars, nerrrdddsss!
Galapagos Art Space; 16 Main Street, DUMBO
9) Who Needs Tilda Swinton?: Sure, MOMA has celebrities napping in glass boxes. But the Brooklyn Museum has a new exhibition of John Singer Sargent watercolors. And watercolor is a really underrated medium. The way Sargent renders his subjects with such three-dimensional fullness, despite the inherent flatness of the watercolor brush-strokes, is remarkable. Appreciating Sargent’s technique and talent is one of the first steps in shedding yourself of the grotesque banality of, say, Lucian Freud and his thick, glopped-on, viscous oils. Gross. The bonus, of course, is that Brooklyn Museum is suggested donation. That said, give them all ten of your dollars. Feel all grand when you’re doing it. You’re a patron of the arts, dude. Congratulations.
Brooklyn Museum; 200 Eastern Parkway, Prospect Heights
10) Empathy: “There’s something very important that I don’t understand. How can I be a woman and still be happy?” Um, seriously. This is a question posed in Sarah Schulman’s must-read book “Empathy,” and don’t you want to have that question answered? You can get Schulman’s novel from ebookstore Emily Books for only 9.99! What are you going to do with your extra penny? Throw it in a puddle and make a wish? Yes, do that.