Well, kids, tonight is looking like an exceptionally stellar Friday night for comedy, so rather than just spotlighting one performer this week, we’re gonna give you a list of shows to have on your radar. Don’t have plans yet for tonight? We’re about to solve your problem…

1. B.J. Novak You know him as Ryan, the temp turned corporate overlord on The Office . But did you also know he also did standup? You can catch him making the Ha-Ha, tonight though Sunday at Caroline’s on Broadway. Shows at 8 and 10:30. Tickets a steep $27-$31. But come on, the guy’s on national television.

2. Kurt and Kristen in Double Down Hearts The Kristen in “Kurt and Kristen” is Kristen Schaal, best known to fans of Flight of the Conchords as the group’s biggest/only groupie, Mel. tonight she and her partner in comedy, Kurt Braunohler, preview the show they’ll be taking across the pond to the famed Edinburgh Fringe Festival. See it at the PIT tonight at 11 for only $8, which is seriously cheaper than buying a plane ticket to Scotland and seeing it there.

3. Mike Birbiglia: 60 Minutes of New Comedy Mike is one of the best standups working today, and he’s currently putting together a new act. Come watch the creative process–and help it along by laughing when the urge hits–at the UCB tonight at 8 pm. It costs $8 to get in the door. After that, the laughter is free.

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Whew! Let’s take a breather, huh? The first few weeks of the summer season have been a whirlwind, but this week we finally get to slow down a bit and gather ourselves before the next wave of blockbusters washes up on shore. The only major studio release I see on tap for this week is the one where Adam Sandler and Jack Black play a team of undercover zookeepers who specialize in giving haircuts to panda bears. It sure sounds wacky, but I think I’ll pass. Besides Billy Madison is probably on TBS at some point this weekend, so you can just watch that one more time instead.

Or why not use the weekend to catch up on anything you may have missed from the big May releases. (Translation: Go see Iron Man again.) Or if you’re stuck in New York this muggy summer weekend, take the opportunity to visit one of our small indie theaters–Mongol, a Genghis Khan biopic that looks interesting–or take our number one recommendation, a midnight showing of Zardoz at IFC Center. What is Zardoz, you ask? And why should you see it? Well, if you Google Image Search “Sean Connery Zardoz” this is the first result …

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Gallery Insider is back! Having been on vacation for the past few weeks, she’s full of advice for gallery hoppers– although not for this week. This week’s a slow week in gallery land, so the openings are set for next Saturday, 6/14.

For the very ambitious, there are two different directions—Chelsea and the Lower East Side—to head in for making the rounds of the evening’s openings. For the more conservative, choosing one should keep your hands full while putting you in the vicinity of plenty of good bars and restaurants to hit up as you continue your evening.

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Dear Hans,

My girlfriend makes more money than I do, but I end up paying for everything. I’m at a point where I can’t even go out with my guy friends because I have no money left over from my relationship. How do I tell her I can’t afford our lifestyle?

News flash, New York City daters: the City is expensive and as such, chivalry is dead. The evolution of civilized society beyond medieval times is well documented and welcome. A centuries-old knightly code of conduct should have no bearing on the treacherous landscape of modern dating. You wouldn’t enter into modern warfare with only a crossbow, why would you build a moat around your financial and emotional freedom with obsolete dating mores?

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You may have noticed that the blog was down for most of the weekend and this morning. That was because (and I am totally serious) our servers caught on fire yesterday.

However, we are now back up and lookin’ good, so thanks for your patience!

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360 7th Ave (btw 10th St & 11th St), Brooklyn, 718-369-4086

With a name like 4 Play BK, you’d expect this trendy women’s shop should be sandwiched between a Contempo Casual and 5-7-9 in a suburban mall from yesteryear, not parked on the Slope’s main mommy drag. But to be deterred by the late 80s’ retro name is to miss out on neo-retro designs, a tremendous selection of designer denim, fun brands, and current kicks like Seychelles, Nicole, and Havaianas in every color of the rainbow.

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If you are reading this post, you have probably heard of The Internet. Good for you! To learn even more about it, watch the video above. It contains loads of very informative information about all those Interweb terms that have long confounded both you and your grandma. Afterwards, you’ll probably want to learn more about Max Silvestri, i.e. the guy in the tan suit and no shoes. Start by clicking here.

Then, to see Max live, drop by his new weekly show Big Terrific (which he’s doing with Gabe Liedman and Jenny Slate! Remember them? ). Big Terrific takes places every Thursday at 8 p.m. at Sound Fix in Williamsburg. What exactly will you see there? “I think what people can expect from Big Terrific is talented and famous guests alongside Gabe, Jenny, and I trying to constantly make one another other laugh in a very silly and charming way,” Max explains. “Everything else will be UNEXPECTED. Sometimes there will be bands, sometimes there will be videos and occasionally there might be animals.”

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Pink Floyd. The Rolling Stones. Miles Davis. The Ramones. Stevie Wonder. Neil Young. The Who. Genesis. All of these artists fell prey to one of the most unfortunate musical phenomena of the past 30 years - the 1978 Rule.

The 1978 Rule simply states that any band who was popular before 1978 sucked in the 80s. There are a couple simple rules for this :

1) Solo artists must be considered separate from their groups. So, while Peter Gabriel may have rocked in the 80s, Genesis still sucked in the 80s, and thus the 1978 rule applies.

2) Proportionality. If a band had a hit or two before 1978, but then became mega-stars in the 80s, I would consider them to be 80s artists, and thus the 78 rule wouldn’t apply.

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In my five years in the “real world” (not the one slated to take place in Brooklyn; that is far from “real” - and watching it is far less tolerable than sitting in a cubicle all day), I’ve found myself adjusting to the little quirks of growing up. But one of the things I was most surprised by was my sudden turn-around in my opinion of summer.

I hereby declare that after years of wrangling with this issue, summer is my least favorite season.

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Sorry to disappoint any of you who will be sitting in front of your computers this coming Monday, but we at neighborbeeblog will be wrenching ourselves away from our keyboards for the weekend to eat hot dogs, get some fresh air, and expose our pasty skin to the sunlight (The sun! It buuuurns!). We’ll be back on Tuesday.

Happy Memorial Day!

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