The Week in Geek, August 22-28: Needs Moar Puppets

Can you smell it, Bostonians? Can you smell it in the air? That, my friends, is the scent of the end of summer. Soon, the thousands of students we have been missing (or perhaps not missing) will return; everything will be open later, as summer hours will end; but so will the long days, warm nights and dreamy endlessness of summer.

For one of the last Weeks in Geeks of the summer, we've decided to pay tribute to one of the fringiest of fringe-fandoms: the Chinese-cinema-and-puppetry fanatics. We feel like we have been ignoring them, so if you are a fan of one of those things or both, then this week is truly your time to shine. We have three puppet events (which is exactly three times the number of puppet events we have had all summer) and four free films screening outdoors in Chinatown.

What could be a more fitting end to summer?

MONDAY 8.22

[book] Kevin Wilson reads from The Family Fang @ the Harvard Bookstore 7pm
Short-storyist-turned-novelist brings his first full-length effort to the Harvard Bookstore tonight. The Family Fang tells the story of the offspring of two eccentric performance artists who never quite jumped on the "proper social adjustment" bandwagon, given that they spent their childhoods participating in their parents' art. Their adulthood is as complicated as their relationship with their parents. Described as The Royal Tenenbaums meets Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe? this book is a must-read for any fan of poorly-adjusted adult children!

TUESDAY 8.23

[puppets] Puppeteer Nicola McEldowney @ Brookline Booksmith 2pm
In this family-friendly event hosted by the Smith, Nicola McEldowney brings Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories to life with puppets! Witness scientifically inaccurate but nonetheless entertaining explinations How the Whale Got His Throat and How the Leopard Got His Spots. This event is perfect for families with small children or adults genuinely interested in puppets.

WEDNESDAY 8.24

[puppets] Sir George and the Dragon @ Puppet Showplace Theatre Wed, Thurs + Sat, 10:30am + 1:30pm
If you missed Tuesday's Brookline-based, family-friendly puppet-fun, then worry not! The pupper showplace theatre has always got something puppet-y going on, and this week is no different. On Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons, you and your family and-or easily delighted friend-group can enjoy this fun tale of knights, princesses and dragons.

[bats] Superbat Film Screening @ Harvard Museum of Natural History 6pm
The only thing more badass than Batman would probably be the bat. The things fly around, hang upside down, and see by screaming in tones inaudible to the human ear. The Harvard Museum of Natural History presents Superbat, a 48-minute documentary about the life and times of the average bat.

THURSDAY 8.25

[puppets] Puppets on the Common presents Aesop's Fables @ Boston Public Garden 2:30pm
You know what this week's listings needs? More puppets. Forever. This Thursday, in the Boston Public Garden, Charlotte Dore of Rosalita's puppets will present some of Aesop's Fables. This return of the long but recently-MIA tradition of puppets on Boston Common is a much-welcome activity in the end-of-the-summer doldrums.

[dogs] Vincent McCaffrey reads The Slepyng Hound to Wake @ Brookline Booksmith
This week, Boston-local and mystery writer Vincent McCaffrey comes back home to present his new novel, The Slepyng Hound. Its a followup to his mystery title Hound, and tells the story of Henry Sullivan, book collector and part-time sleuth.

[dragons] Way of the Dragon @ the Chinatown Gate 8pm
The forces of Bruce Lee (awesome) and Chuck Norris (soooo awesome) star in this movie about a fighter from China who travels to Italy to fight the Mafia. It is difficult to imagine anything more badass. This subtitled film will be presented at the Chinatown Gate as part of the Films at the Gate summer series, which continues throughout the weekend.

FRIDAY 8.26

[tony stark] Iron Man 2 @ the Hatch Shell 7:29pm
RDJ returns as Tony Stark in this sequel to the 2008 superhero blockbuster. It's the last of the Hatch Shell's free summer film series, (and the first not-quite-for-the-younglings film to be featured) and also freaking Iron Man, so don't miss it

[film] Gallants @ the Chinatown Gate 8pm
Continuing the Films at the Gate series is Gallants. This tribute to old-school martial-arts film stars is set in the here-and-now, but nods to the classic action of the 60s and 70s. Aging martial artists take on a younger crowd and deal with the pangs of growing older in this acclaimed 2010 action-comedy.

SATURDAY 8.27

[con] ComiConn @ Stamford Plaza Hotel, Stamford, CT
ComiConn, not the be confused with Comic Con or ConnectiCon, is a comic convention in Connecticut that is wholly for the fans and by the fans.  It is, as the name would imply, actually comics-based. There are workshops on drawing, storytelling and character-creating; this small, homegrown convention is perfect for and hardcore comic fan.

[jackie chan everywhere] The Young Master @ the Chinatown Gate 8pm
Jackie Chan is a young kung fu master (what else) who runs into trouble when his brother runs off to a gang; Chan's character goes off to track him down, but the police mistake him for his brother. Chaos and fighting ensue. This 1980 film has Chan written all over it--after all, he wrote it, directed, and starred.

SUNDAY 8.28

[pool of the dead] Dead Pool @ Flat Top Johnny's 8pm
Come celebrate billiards, music, and fringe culture (goth/industrial/new-wave/electro/retro/punk/EBM/synthpop/whatever) in this monthly event! Dead Pool takes place at Flat Top Johnny's in Kendall Square. The event is 18+ and first come, first serve. Exactly what a goth-based pool night will hold is vague, but according to the event site, "NO sporting events will be shown on the TVs during Dead Pool." It already looks promising.

[film + doc] The Kid + A Moment in Time @ the Chinatown Gate 8pm
This double-feature presents two nods to great Chinese cinema. The first is 1950s The Kid. Bruce Lee, in one of his earliest roles, plays an orphan boy, and Lee's father plays the rich factory owner who seems about to change the boy's fortunes. But things go wrong, as they tend to in film. A Moment in Time is a tribute to Chinese cinema and culture in San Francisco, and tells the story of immigrant life; how they brought the films they loved from their old homes to their new homes.

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