Books: “Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to ‘Professor’ Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar,” is an awfully long name for a book when you’re sober. And after a few drinks, it becomes next to impossible. Comment.

Virgin or vamp

By Deirdre Donovan

Hans Joerg Michel

Theater: Last week at the BAM Harvey Theater, the eponymous heroine of “Lulu” quietly flitted onto the stage, leaving me, I must confess, with raised gooseflesh on my neck. Comment.

Salvi

Where to GO: Editors’ Picks

Nick’s knack

Saturday, December 1: Get the jump on Santa Claus when the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum celebrates St. Nicholas Day, the traditional Dutch holiday. The jolly man himself will arrive on horseback, and for more rustic charm, visitors can take a candlelight holiday tour to see how Brooklyn celebrated before electricity.

Noon-4 pm at the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum (5816 Clarendon Rd. at 58th Street in Ditmas Park). $3. For information, call (718) 629-5400.

Grinched!

Sunday, December 2: This afternoon, the Bookmark Shoppe in Bay Ridge will be collecting gifts for Toys for Tots under the watchful eye of … the Grinch? That’s right, the green menace will be there, handing out ornaments and posing for photos. No need to worry: uniformed Marines will be in attendance, making sure the Grinch doesn’t pocket any of the loot.

Noon at the Bookmark Shoppe (8415 Third Ave. at 84th Street in Bay Ridge). Free. For information, call (718) 833-5115 or visit www.bookmarkshoppe.com.

Ted banging

Tuesday, December 4: Former Chisel front man and seemingly ageless indie rock heartthrob Ted Leo performs tonight at the Music Hall of Williamsburg with his band, the Pharmacists. Opening will be the much-buzzed-about Love or Perish as well as Kristeen Young.

8:30 pm at the Music Hall of Williamsburg (66 N. Sixth St. at Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg). $20. For information, call (212) 260-4700 or visit www. musichallofwilliamsburg.com.

Play books

Wednesday, December 5: In our day, going to the library was all about being quiet and studying; fun was not on the menu. Oh, how the times have changed. This afternoon, the Greenpoint branch of the Brooklyn Public Library hosts a class in “PlayStation Gaming,” which will school attendees on how to be better videogame players. That beats algebra any day.

4 pm at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Greenpoint branch (107 Norman Ave. at Leonard Street). Free. For information, call (718) 349-8504.

Fall photos

Friday, December 7: Tonight, photographer Donna Schneiderman’s new exhibit, “Capturing Brooklyn,” snapped with a vintage Brownie camera, is being feted at Carroll Gardens’ Fall Cafe. Schneiderman’s work aims to show “corners most Brooklynites pass daily without much notice.” We think tonight, everyone will take notice.

7 pm at the Fall Cafe (307 Smith St. at Union Street in Carroll Gardens). Free. For information, visit www.donna schneiderman.com.

View the full events calendar.

Nogging off

By Daniel Goldberg

Dining: With the holidays approaching, there’s no drink more seasonal than eggnog. in “Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to ‘Professor’ Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar,” David Wondrich revisits Thomas’s recipe for “Baltimore Egg Nog.” Comment.

It’s Hanukkah

By GO Brooklyn

With eight nights to celebrate, you might think that Hanukkah would seem like it lasts forever. But with all of the events planned boroughwide, eight nights hardly seems to be enough time. Comment.

Movie madness

By Adam Rathe

Cinema: Brooklyn’s own Steiner Studios provided the star-studded stage for the Gotham Awards on Tuesday night. The Independent Feature Project’s 17th annual gala bestowed the prizes for excellence in filmmaking. Comment.

Food on the side

By Tina Barry

Dining: Sidecar is one sexy place. Opened in July by brothers Bart and Jon DeCoursy, the bar and restaurant evokes a swanky, classic New York with one well-appointed large room. Comments (1).

Dun and done

By Adam Rathe

Theater: Tan Dun will be in China, where he is the official composer of the 2008 Olympics, until the day before ‘The Gate,’ his over-the-top music-theater work, opens at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, but two of Brooklyn’s cultural titans are making sure the show goes off without a hitch. Comment.

Cutting ‘Edge’

By Daniel Goldberg

Art: Brooklynites know better than anyone the havoc that development can wreak on a habitat. So on Saturday, Dec. 4, the Kentler International Drawing Space in Red Hook will host an artist’s talk on “Observing the Edge,” the gallery’s current show, which features works on paper relating to flora and fauna with habitats threatened by progressive development. Comments (1).

Tasty restaurant gossip

By Adam Rathe

Breaking Chews: We’re dishing up Brooklyn’s latest food news. Comment.

Gift boxing

By Daniel Goldberg

Shopping: There’s an easy way to give your loved ones the gift of Brooklyn this year, and it doesn’t involve shipping them a cheesecake from Junior’s.Â Comment.

Popular with Lokals

By Juliana Bunim

Dining: It’s long been the curse of Greenpoint that the neighborhood’s great restaurants — Queen’s Hideaway, Lamb and Jaffy — are in such remote corners that sometimes it’s easier to just grab a slice than trek to a restaurant and wait for a table. Now that Lokal has opened, all that has changed. Comments (1).