Don't you want to watch a critically acclaimed chef get drunk and shout about the wonders of ham? (video is NSFW, due to cursing) [more inside]
posted by dnesan on Nov 5, 2009 - 38 comments

Stephen Sondheim's crossword puzzles for "New York Magazine." Incredibly rare.
posted by grumblebee on Oct 29, 2009 - 35 comments

11,000 Manhattan street corners.
posted by miss lynnster on Oct 21, 2009 - 31 comments

Jim Carroll has died. Avant-garde writer, punk rocker, doped-up downtown scenester, never-made-it schoolyard hoop-dreamer. He couldn't have expected to live to see a master's thesis in English at San Diego State written about his journal/novel The Basketball Diaries, or to be interviewed by Jon Stewart about being played by Leo DiCaprio in the movie of his (early) life. [more inside]
posted by escabeche on Sep 13, 2009 - 124 comments

A High Tech Building for New Orleans: ‘New Orleans Arcology Habitat’ or NOAH by E. Kevin Schopfer [more inside]
posted by SamsFoster on Aug 19, 2009 - 56 comments

Stunning Conceptual Alternative Design for the New Museum of Contemporary Art Tower
posted by SamsFoster on Aug 9, 2009 - 44 comments

Bottled Tap Water From New York. Sold to New Yorkers. New York City's tap water has been called among the nation's freshest. It's so good that a young entrepreneur is bottling it and selling it for $1.50. To New Yorkers.
posted by Pragmatica on Jul 29, 2009 - 120 comments

The New York Times discusses some of the nation's most atrocious bands in the context of the Vans Warped Tour. We've seen some of these bands on the blue before, but never before has there been this much atrocity in one place. [more inside]
posted by LSK on Jul 20, 2009 - 170 comments

New Delhi legalizes homosexuality. In a landmark ruling, the Delhi High Court has for the first time in India declared the British-era law against homosexual sex unconstitutional. Is this India's Stonewall?
posted by Azaadistani on Jul 2, 2009 - 22 comments

The US House of Representatives today passed a Cash-for-Clunkers bill, giving people up to $4,500 to trade in their old cars for newer, more efficient cars. Inspired by European and Chinese successes, the bill is naturally not without its detractors.
posted by spiderskull on Jun 9, 2009 - 63 comments

The Girl Who Cried Webmaster: "I’m annoyed and exhausted, I have a considerable load of work to take care of, and after you’ve read what appears below, you’ll probably agree that I’ve earned it."
posted by grumblebee on Jun 3, 2009 - 84 comments

Why do we have to live with divides between different types of communication? Introducing Google Wave. [more inside]
posted by CunningLinguist on May 28, 2009 - 139 comments

You've probably seen (and heard) his version of Alice in Wonderland, but have you seen The King and I, Harry Potter, The Sword in the Stone, or Mary Poppins?
posted by flatluigi on May 26, 2009 - 32 comments

NYT article 4/12/09 Interesting article about the Dead on the eve of their tour. Bonus: link on the sidebar that shows reader photos. Find your friends. Or not.
posted by mnb64 on Apr 14, 2009 - 25 comments

The Lost Tribes of New York City
posted by miss lynnster on Apr 4, 2009 - 29 comments

Newspapers might be dying, but does it matter? Here's what journalism 2.0 looks like: Spot.us is crowd-funded news for the masses, ReportingOn is Twitter for journalists, Everyblock is ultra-hyperlocal and Connectifyed tells us it'll analyze our social networks.
posted by nospecialfx on Mar 16, 2009 - 41 comments

Oh those vaunted "first 100 days," they are finally upon us. Roosevelt's legendary time period has long been applied to new administrations, but never so emphatically or with such hope as to the Obama administration. And now you can follow them! For commentary, there's The First 100 Days, for mainstream media there's Obama's First 100 Days, for a comparison between old and new there 100 Days: Starting the Job, From FDR to Obama, for new media there's Obama's First 100 Days, and finally, for a government perspective there's First 100 Days. I smell an idea for an ironic t-shirt...
posted by Cochise on Jan 22, 2009 - 13 comments

Welcome to Lily Dale the largest spiritualist community in the world. Just an hour south of Buffalo, NY-- it boasts an extensive summer program of lectures, workshops as well as the world’s most powerful mediums. Stop by for a reading, hunt for ghosts and see the house where the Fox Sisters first got started. [more inside]
posted by flipyourwig on Jan 7, 2009 - 23 comments

If you've ever enjoyed Steve Reich's Different Trains, John Adams' Nixon in China or Harry Partch's The Bewitched, you probably have Betty Freeman to thank. Freeman supported the works of such composers as Philip Glass, John Cage and Witold Lutoslawski (and many, many more), often early in their careers. She was a photographer herself, and the subject of David Hockney's Beverly Hills Housewife. Freeman passed away at age 87.
posted by NemesisVex on Jan 6, 2009 - 10 comments

Death and Life: Madison New Life Band bid farewell to Bishop Daddy Madison in Washington, D.C. Stooges Brass Band plays in New Orleans [second line].
posted by ferdydurke on Dec 29, 2008 - 2 comments

Prospect 1. From the New Orleans Museum of Art in the City Park, to the Lower Ninth Ward's multiple installation locations, Prospect 1's curation is tasteful and moving, sometimes heart breaking but mostly promising. An unbelievable concentration of impressive artist's commentary on New Orleans. And it's free to get around (shuttle service available also) if you simply register. [more inside]
posted by priested on Dec 16, 2008 - 7 comments

The City Concealed A video tour of New York's infamously toxic Newtown Creek, with historical illustrations. The creek is the site of a 17 million gallon underground oil-spill (50% larger than Exxon-Valdez) which remains to be cleaned up, resulting in a Supreme Court battle between residents and oil companies. (Previously on MeFi.)
posted by hermitosis on Dec 16, 2008 - 16 comments

At Sammy's at 2016 Main, on September 8, a historic jam session occurred, an impromptu reunion of many of the city of New Orleans's finest musicians. Each player who walked in the door was much more than a mere musician that night -- they were an affirmation of life. Not only did their attendance indicate that they had survived the storm, but their collective presence also indicated that their music would survive, too.

The New Birth Brass Band (and friends) tears it the hell up in downtown Houston post-Katrina. The whole show is great, but if you're short on time, parts one and three are especially smoking.
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas on Dec 14, 2008 - 3 comments

The plan isn’t foolproof. For it to work, certain things must happen:
posted by oxford blue on Nov 20, 2008 - 59 comments

John Leonard is dead. A literary prodigy at thirty-two when asked to edit the New York Times Book Review, Leonard oversaw the NYTBR's glory days between 1971 and 1975. Television critic for New York, monthly books critic for Harper's, regular contributor to The Nation and The New York Review of Books, he also went out of his way to help young writers.
posted by ed on Nov 6, 2008 - 14 comments

Cartoon-Off. XKCD's Randall Munroe v. New Yorker's Farley Katz. FIGHT.
posted by spec80 on Oct 16, 2008 - 59 comments

"What would you say if I told you that I filled my entire living room with completely original works of art for less than $300?" Andrea Dickson from Wise Bread has found an unlikely -- though, the more you think about it, almost obvious -- place to find original art from new artists: Ebay. If you can filter through the crapload of "artistic nudes", there are plenty of gems, and usually at buyers' market prices. And, as Andrea's mother mused, when it comes to decorating the house, it beats buying mass-produced art from Costco, which is about as original as a Big Mac.
posted by chakalakasp on Oct 1, 2008 - 35 comments

London Underground blogger Annie Mole experiences the New York subway for the first time here -> 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
posted by feelinglistless on Sep 30, 2008 - 35 comments

New Orleans filmmaker Benjamin Reece asks fifty New Orlean's residents a single question: "If you could wish for one thing to happen by the end of the day, what would it be?".
posted by Happy Dave on Sep 16, 2008 - 31 comments

Spammers helping with the New Orleans recovery efforts. [more inside]
posted by jourman2 on Aug 20, 2008 - 13 comments

Hooray for New York City! They just had their first (of three) car-free days along a long stretch of Manhattan roadway: it's the Summer Streets program. How refreshing! [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Aug 10, 2008 - 26 comments

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice surprised New Zealand during her visit by calling us allies, despite our long history of disagreement over certain issues. The Auckland Student Association's shameless plug for self promotion has prompted a response.
posted by Samuel Farrow on Jul 26, 2008 - 51 comments

"New Deal Programs: Selected Library of Congress Resources was created to serve as a starting point for research using Library of Congress collections of New Deal program materials." Includes links to numerous collections of digitized materials, including photos, posters, music, manuscripts and more. [more inside]
posted by dersins on Jul 15, 2008 - 4 comments

Gore Vidal on The New York Times Magazine. On McCain: "Who started this rumor that he was a war hero? Where does that come from, aside from himself? About his suffering in the prison war camp?". On WFB's death: "I thought hell is bound to be a livelier place, as he joins forever those whom he served in life, applauding their prejudices and fanning their hatred". [more inside]
posted by falameufilho on Jun 15, 2008 - 118 comments

I've only ever seen 70 & 80's era New York in movies and I've never really thought about their source of inspiration. Until I saw this.(a few graphic photos on that last link)
posted by concreteforest on May 26, 2008 - 55 comments

In celebration of my antipodean homesickness I've spent the morning catching up with some great Australian and New Zealand musical comedy acts I've been to. You've already met Flight of the Conchords previously on mefi. Now come and meet some... [more inside]
posted by steerpike on Apr 23, 2008 - 15 comments

Canadian-born New Yorkers Adam Gopnik and Malcolm Gladwell have an eloquent conversation (MP3) about the nature of our eternally under-confident country. Gladwell quips early on that "those of you who are familiar with my writing will know that this practice of talking about X by discussing Y is my only rhetorical move." Text (though not an exact transcript) is also available, as is a report.
posted by dbarefoot on Apr 17, 2008 - 27 comments

Blogging May Cost You Your Life NY Times discusses the possible "death by blogging" of two prominent Tech Bloggers, Russell Shaw and Marc Orchant, Blognation. A third, Om Malik of gigaom.com, 41, survived a heart attack in December. I am thinking twice about my late night posts.
posted by doug3505 on Apr 6, 2008 - 56 comments

Ever want to watch a comics page get drawn at ridiculous speed? I've been reading Mer's comics since day one, but seeing an entire strip drawn and inked as a movie is almost better than watching an animated cartoon. [more inside]
posted by clango on Mar 13, 2008 - 45 comments

New York's Governor Eliot Spitzer (Wiki) has been linked to a high-class prostitution ring.
posted by griphus on Mar 10, 2008 - 280 comments

Sex, drugs and sleaze! Were the bad old days really the good old days? Native New Yorkers who remember the City in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, speak up! Was the Big Apple better off then or now?
posted by nangsta on Jan 23, 2008 - 66 comments

Love thy Neighbor Photographer and author Steven Hirsh has photographed the homes of registered New York State sex offenders. A wonderful writer and photographer, this work is chilling, alarming, beautiful. I get that Quentin Tarantino feeling of beauty and disgust. Look at me, nooooo look away. The series of 24 images are on Hirsch's website.
posted by doug3505 on Jan 7, 2008 - 41 comments

Everyone makes New Year's resolutions. Even celebrities. And pets.
posted by miss lynnster on Jan 4, 2008 - 8 comments

During the 70s and 80s a new phenomenon appeared. Television Hijacking. It started in 1977 when a man in England hijacked the sound broadcast of a newscast. In 1986, a hijacker known as Captain Midnight hijacked HBO in response to their scrambling of television signals. The year after (20 years ago as of today), a character disguised as Max Headroom (a television character) infiltrated two Chicago television studios in one night. First the man infiltrated Channel 9 (WGN) for a few seconds with no sound, and then moved on to attack another Chicago station, this time with sound. After the Max Headroom incident, television hacking incidents were rare in the United States except for this one in Wyoming.
posted by ooklala on Nov 22, 2007 - 38 comments

The Garbage Game. What would you do with 64,000 tons of garbage every week? The Gotham Gazette is a not-for-profit newspaper that reports on New York City politics and policy. On their site is a highly informative game that puts you in the place of a resident and then the Sanitation Commissioner, shedding some light on NYC's garbage problem.
posted by brooklynexperiment on Nov 14, 2007 - 14 comments

Wanna sell your TV show idea? There is no shortage of advice out there, or contests. Here are the winning pilots picked from this year's New York TV Festival, sort of a Sundance for TV newbies.
posted by CameraObscura on Oct 24, 2007 - 8 comments

The first time the Simpsons, the iPod and Microsoft were mentioned in the New York Times. Also, Times Square, Marijuana and Googling plus much more (up to 9 volumes so far-scroll down for a list with links) with links to the actual articles or PDFs. Some others are Hillary Rodham, Nintendo, the Drudge Report and the VCR.
posted by sneakin on Oct 3, 2007 - 16 comments

National Library Of New Zealand.
posted by hama7 on Sep 25, 2007 - 8 comments

Randall's Lost New York City Collection "documents the destruction of many of New York City's 19th century tenement and other buildings, so that we can mourn the lost [and] appreciate the endangered." Gallery 1, 2. [more inside]
posted by dersins on Sep 20, 2007 - 31 comments

DUI for NOT Driving while Drunk A New Jersey appellate court yesterday upheld the principle that convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) can be imposed on individuals who were not driving. This is not one of those kooky old laws on the books.
posted by CameraObscura on Sep 14, 2007 - 99 comments