Good Thought: Seven Smart Things to Do in NYC This Weekend

From talks on music to film to history, there’s a wealth of smart things to do in NYC this weekend. Our favorite seven events will give you all the incentive you need to go out in the cold.

Friday, January 9th

some like it hot

The New-York Historical Society’s series Justice in Film turns its attention to Billy Wilder’s classic Some Like It Hot (Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe, all wearing dresses). Commenting in addition to the screening will be Laurence Kardish, who spent 44 years at the Museum of Modern Art, where as Senior Curator he organized hundreds of exhibitions covering the culture and history of cinema.

The Brink

Enjoying a reading, a concert and a talk all at one event. Pamela Katz comes to the Upper East Side’s Barnes & Noble to read from her work The Partnership: Brecht, Weill, Three Women, and Germany on the Brink. Afterwards, several of Brecht and Weill’s signature songs will be performed by soprano Amy Burton and pianist John Musto, and Katz will be in conversation with editor Gerald Howard.

Saturday, January 10th

maya and band

Catch a Q&A with Brooklyn-born radio legend DJ Ken Dashow of 104.3 FM, who’ll discuss the Beatles, music, radio and anything more you feel like asking at the Queens Central Library. The talk will be followed by a free concert with singer/songwriter Maya Caballero.

Image: Houari B. -- Flickr

Image: Houari B. — Flickr

Science fiction legend Samuel R. Delany, winner of multiple Hugo and Nebula awards, comes to Zinc Bar as part of the long-running Segue Reading Series. He’ll be joined by writer and archivist Aaron Winslow.

Sunday, January 11th
Image:  Max Talbot-Minkin -- Flickr

Image: Max Talbot-Minkin — Flickr

Tour a mostly unknown part of the city with Queens Borough Historian Dr. Jack Eichenbaum, who’ll be leading a walking tour of the hardscrabble Willets Point Urban Renewal area. The tour is part of the Queens Museum‘s 596 Acres exhibit, Reviewing Renewal on the Queens Museum Panorama, which will have its opening reception on Sunday as well.

the blazing world

Author Siri Hustvedt makes an appearance in her adopted borough, with a visit to the Brooklyn Museum. She’ll be reading from her 2014 novel The Blazing World, which examines gender and identity through the character of artist Harriet Burden.

Ben Gurion

In Ben-Gurion: Father of Modern Israel, eminent Israeli historian Anita Shapira paints a complex portrait of her nation’s first Prime Minister. She’s joined in conversation by The New Yorker’s David Remnick and Stanford professor Steven Zipperstein at the 92nd Street Y.