100 tennis balls, up for grabs, for whatever reason. Perfect for dog lovers, tennis fans, jugglers, people who need some cushioning on the bottom of those walker things, artists (pictured), wall-ball enthusiasts, or whatever. Did you guys ever play wall ball in school? Man, those were the days, when you could actually peg someone with hard rubber and the gym teacher just nodded. Imagine how fun throwing 100 balls at someone would be.
Craigslist freebie of the day: 100 tennis balls
Friday the 13th tattoos for $13! Vegan ones too!
Who knows which Pixies lyric goes here?
This is a good month for cheap major life decisions! Friday the 13th must be a holiday in tattooville, and our friends at Gristle Tattoo are celebrating by offering a bunch of designs for just $13. That’s cheaper than like two beers! Both shop artists Brittany and Ashley will be offering it: Ashley Thomas is a particular friend of the site, having recently inked up two Team Brokelyn members, so we can vouch for her. And she specializes in all-vegan tattoos (which, yes, is a thing— most tattoos contain animal products, read up!). Gristle is at 178 N 8th St., in Williamsburg. Ashley’s flash sheet is to the left, Brittany’s is below. 
Free food! Williamsburg eatery giving out arepas and pizza
Arepas ahoy!
Free food! Tomorrow, the burg’s lengthily named CU 29 Copper Bar and Grill is trying to make you a fan of its Latin, Italian and American cuisine by giving it to you for free. From 3-5, they’re giving out arepas — corn cakes topped with Latin spiced sautéed shrimp and avocado — and a slice of brick oven pizza. After, they’ve got wine tastings and a happy hour specials starting at 5, including half off house drinks like an agave margarita.
CU 29 Copper, 232 N 12th St., Williamsburg.
American Apparel at 90 percent off
90 percent off. Like those models' clothes. Hey-o!
At the American Apparel Warehouse in Chelsea, the soft-core porn and cultural hegemony of the chain’s usual shops fade away in favor of bare, utilitarian, outlet-store style racks and racks of discounts. It was news to me this place even existed (oh the secrets of Manhattan!), so you should know the warehouse is holding a huge clearance sale that’s now been extended through Jan. 31, where every item from slim slacks to fleece vests is deeply discounted, some as much as 90 percent. Hoodies were 50 percent off, Ts were only $10, cardigans just $24 — crazy savings that may or may not have to do with the store’s legal troubles. More examples below.
The world might end! Celebrate with a cheap tattoo!
The world is ending! Maybe! Probably not! Time to put some permanent damage on your body anyway? Sara Antoinette of Brooklyn Tattoo on Smith Street is following up her offers for cheap Thanksgiving and Halloween tattoos with a one to commemorate the : 2012, aka the possible end of the world. Choose from the flash sheet pictured and she’ll ink you up for $40-$50 depending on the size, until the end of January. To make an appointment, stop by the shop at 99 Smith St. any day except Wednesday or Sunday, or email sara.antoinette(at)gmail.com. You’ll have to pay up front, because, you know, it’s not really cool to skip out on the check just because the world is ending.
Craigslist freebie of the day: Please call Andrew McCarthy
Kim Cattrall was way more likable then.
Someone is giving away free mannequins! Three or four of them, maybe? It’s hard to tell in this ad, to be honest, but if you’ve got art/fashion/fantasy transubstantiation romance projects in the works, this could be of use. As the resident of an apartmecnt that also contains a spare mannequin body, I can confirm they also make great impromptu Christmas trees and Halloween werewolves. And everyone knows they eventually come to life and go on to terrorize the population with their cackling, cocktail swilling sexcapades.
Rooms at the NU Hotel are $116 on Jetsetter
Dig the loft bed in the corner!
Jetsetter, the luxe hotel discount site that makes us weep for Machu Picchu hideaways and beachfront huts in Bali, features its first Brooklyn property this week, and it’s the NU Hotel at Smith and Atlantic. For four more days, you can book NU Hotel rooms on Jetsetter for $116 (normally $179 and up elsewhere). We haven’t stayed there, cause we live here, but at these prices (and solid NU Hotel reviews on TripAdvisor), we’ll suggest it to our parents / cousins / friends. Those Jetsetters love this 93-room gem because, and we quote:
Quick tip: A shortcut to becoming a bartender
Better than other job training programs.
Bartending is one of the most highly coveted, and, depending on which over-worked bloody mary slinging brunch staff you talk to, possibly highly overrated, occupations. To get one of these jobs, you can A) lie about your skills and figure it out on the fly; B) become an apprentice to a master mixologist; or C) take a bartending course. Today’s Living Social is a shortcut to number C: it’s $29 dollars for a two-hour bartending boot camp at American Bartending School in Chelsea, which would normally set you back $100. You might not became the most seasoned spirit slinger, but you can at learn enough to pass of letter A.
Quick tip: Big clothing sale at Housing Works this month
Reader Whitney sent in this tip about a new sale for the new year: Housing Works in Park Slope is taking 40 percent off all apparel on Wednesdays and Thursdays through Jan. 26. Housing Works, if you don’t know, is a great organization that raises money through its thrift stores to support its AIDS advocacy and research work. And with that kind of mission, they get some pretty sweet donations (read: not bleach-splashed jeans or promotional T shirts from NASCARMAGGEDON 2005).
Housing Works, 266 Fifth Ave., open Mon-Sat: 12pm-7pm, Sun: 12pm-5pm.
The pay-what-you-wish restaurant now has a… Groupon?
The owners of Santorini restaurant want to make you a deal. Photo courtesy of Yelp.
Brooklyn’s pay-what-you-wish Greek restaurant has a Groupon… so you can pay half of what you wish. Santorini, the Williamsburg Greek eatery where you’re invited to pay what you think the meal is worth, has an offer today for $20 for $40 worth of food. But can’t you technically get that deal without a Groupon? And if the owners are taking an even bigger hit with the Groupon (they get only 25 percent) why don’t they just tell people to pay half? We rang Santorini up to clear up the confusion, and while we can’t confess to understanding every single word, this much we got: “Just come in.”
