John Liu Gives His Last Hurrah
City Comptroller John Liu gave his final “State of the City” address today, taking a final dig at outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg and bidding farewell to a room full of loyal supporters after a failed...
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I Hope I’m Not Wasting My Life or: How I Spent Most of 2013 Reading
My favorite book of 2013 was first published in 1976. It is a gift to see the return of Renata Adler’s Speedboat, which was brought back into print this year for the first time in two decades. Ms....
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Morning Media Mix
(Illustration by Lauren Payne) Got time for another end of the year list? Of course you do! Craig Silverman over at Poynter complies his annual list of the best and worst media corrections and errors....
View ArticleOn the Market: SUNY Withdraws Condo Conversion Plan for LICH; NYPL Renovation...
Green infrastructure projects can benefit landlords (obviously). [Crain's]SUNY withdraws development plan for LICH amid community outrage. [NYT]Ways that New York housing could better accommodate...
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The Next Schools Chancellor
In choosing a police commissioner, Bill de Blasio put aside his campaign pose as the Park Slope progressive alternative to the Giuliani-Bloomberg years. His selection of Bill Bratton as the city’s top...
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What to Get the Unemployed Art Grad on Your List
She might seem to have a lot of time on her hands these days, but that's no reason to forget the budding (graphic, visual, performing) artist in your life this holiday season. Muji pens, $1.50 each,...
View ArticleKim Deal, Secret Weapon
In an interview with The Pixies that I cut out (with actual scissors) from I don't remember what magazine a million years ago, a reporter asked the band why Kim Deal doesn't sing more Pixies songs....
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We’re as Dumb as We’ve Ever Been. Surprised?
Evan Spiegel of Snapchat. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch) Did we get any smarter in 2013? No, we did not. And by “we” I mean everyone, from technology wunderkinds to obnoxious...
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The Funniest Video of Paul McCartney Losing a Shirt That You’ll See Today
Paul McCartney (Gothamist)Monday night at Barclays, former Beatle Paul McCartney did not catch the missile that was hurled in in his general direction by one of those t-shirt guns. Now, this might have...
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Morning Media Mix
(Illustration by Lauren Payne) Don't worry, Bloomberg News and New York Times reporters: you get to stay in China. Some worried China wouldn't renew the journalists' press passes after they published...
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12 Days of Christmas: What to Get the Chic Downtowner on Your List
Tom Ford Fragrance: Private Blend Collection Set, $325, neimanmarcus.comBecause Downtown denizen Kyle DeWoody describes her favorite Tom Ford fragrance Tobacco Vanille (included in set) as “sex in a...
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Al Goldstein, Founder of Screw Magazine, Has Died
Al Goldstein with his friend, the magician Penn Jillette. (Photo by Getty Images) Earlier this week, rumors got out that Al Goldstein, the pioneering publisher of Screw magazine, had died. Those rumors...
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TV’s Top Ten WTF Moments in 2013
Even as we’re living in an extended Golden Age of television, 2013 marked a banner year. Comedies were funnier, dramas were better written and acted, and production values soared, as competition for...
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The Tallest Men on Earth: A Father and Two Sons Take on Mt. Kilimanjaro—and...
The author as a young adventurer. (This picture also explains his current posture problems.) Throughout my life, I have often looked at my father and wondered if we were related. We share the same hair...
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The New York Times Will Rethink Its Magazine Before Naming News Editor
The New York Times is rethinking its Sunday magazine before deciding on a new editor to replace Hugo Lindgren, editor in chief Jill Abramson announced in an email that went out to the staff late this...
View ArticleWhat to Get the Failed Political Candidate on Your List
In every political cycle, there are winners and losers—mostly losers. Still, losers celebrate the holidays too, right? Yet between all the sobbing and whatnot, it's hard to get a word in edgewise to...
View ArticleMark Zuckerberg Makes $2.3 Billion Selling Stocks, Gives Almost $1 Billion to...
It’s a pretty good day to be Mark Zuckerberg — but it’s an even better day for the IRS. The CEO of Facebook is selling 41.4 million shares of the company, worth $2.3 billion, Business Insider reports....
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A Wise Guy: Elliott Gould’s Hard-Boiled Reading of Raymond Chandler
Elliott Gould in The Long Goodbye. Much has been written about how audio books require the right reader. Just a few weeks ago, A.O. Scott praised a new recording Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried,...
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Law, Real Estate and the Lash: Scandalized Lawyer Drops UWS Townhouse for...
Herbert Waichman Herbert Waichman, a founding partner of the national law firm Parker Waichman LLP, knows a thing or two about bumps and bruises. A personal injury attorney of long standing, Mr....
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An Ode to Cupid
This past Monday, Dev Hynes returned home to a terrible situation: his whole apartment had burned down, destroying everything he owned and claiming the life of his tiny puppy, Cupid. He posted the...
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