This week we were

What we were doing this week

. . . entertained by Lady Gaga

" The crotch-grabbing dancers, the posh sex shop costumes, the bonkers theatrics aren't there for her to hide behind. Sitting alone (in her rubber underwear, naturally) at a piano, she's as powerful a performer as you'll see or hear

Róisín Ingle in Wednesday's Irish Times

. . . impressed by Darklight Festival

The event, which has been celebrating and showcasing independent, DIY artists and film-makers since 1999, returns this weekend with another strong line-up of discussions, gigs and screenings. It's not easy to maintain outsider status while becoming an institution, but Darklight manages to do it. See darklight.ie.

  . . . limbering up for flash mob 'Thriller' zombie dance

Choreographer Jane Shortall is doing a Michael Jackson Thrillerflash mob in the Point Village in Dublin at 3pm on Sunday. Shortall will teach all the moves at 1.30pm at Liffey Trust Dance Studios, right beside the Point Village, which should allow plenty of time for you to get the zombie body-popping down, as well as being transformed by onsite make-up artists.

. . . delighted about the reunion of Doc Brown and Marty McFly 

The world's favourite time-travelling duo were reunited as Back to the Future celebrated its 25th anniversary during the week. Twenty-five years after that silver DeLorean took a leap through the space-time continuum, the cast and creators, including Christopher Lloyd and Michael J Fox (above), had a get-together to celebrate the occasion, making us all remember how great Robert Zemeckis's trilogy was. Photograph: Michael Caulfield/Getty

. . . playing

Hero Quest: reissued 1980s MB board game in which you, the hero, slay a variety of Halloween-type creatures - skeletons, ghosts, vampires - in a dimly-lit dungeon.

. . . reading

Philip Roth's chilling, stirring novella Nemesis, about a polio epidemic in 1940s Newark that resonates deeply with broader political events.

Listening to Van Morrison, by Greil Marcus. Time to listen to Astral Weeks- again.

 . . . watching

Aaron Sorkin is winning plenty of plaudits for his excellent work on The Social Network, but The West Wing's epic tale of President Bartlet (played by Martin Sheen, left) and his White House staff remains the writer's finest creation to date.

Highlights of last weekend's Horrorthon festival at the IFI included the entertaining B-movie Altitude and the tender sci-fi allegory Monsters. The former will likely be out on DVD soon; the latter will be getting a December cinema release.

  . . . listening to

Daft Punk's soundtrack to Tron: Legacyis out later this month. The teaser track Derezzed gives a tempting flavour of what we can look forward to.

The beautifully morose and melodic songs on An Introduction to . . . Elliott Smith, a bitter- sweet reminder of the late singer-songwriter.

Playing Janelle Monae helps recall her electric performance at Electric Picnic, while getting in the mood for her December dates.

 . . . pleased to hear of award nominations

Rosaleen Linehan and Fiona Shaw have been longlisted for the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards, Linehan  for her role in The Beauty Queen of Leenane at the Young Vic, Shaw for London Assurance at the National Theatre. The shortlist is out next month.

 . . . looking forward to

The Béal festival this Wednesday and Thursday features contemporary, classical and spoken- word performance. bealfestival.wordpress.com.