Well, this explains a lot: The Center for Disease Control and Protection says this year's flu shot is only good for 40% of the flu bugs going around. Thanks a lot, new strains of flu viruses that are kicking people's butts! Every year, health departments around the country recommend people get flu shots, starting in the fall and continuing to remind people who haven't for many months. Usually, the flu vaccine tends to be good......

The Times ran a follow-up today about their investigation that found abnormally high levels of mercury in fish served at area restaurants. Toxicology reports from 44 pieces of sushi, ordered from places including Nobu Next Door and Sushi Seki, may in fact contribute to some New Yorkers’ 3 times higher-than-average blood levels of mercury. It turns out, however, that most New Yorkers just don’t care. The mercury issue, while especially serious for pregnant women and......

A study of data concerning NYPD stop and frisk practices was released by the Rand Corporation last Tuesday. Reactions to the report were so varied that it's difficult to say if Rand came to any conclusive findings whatsoever. The New York Times lede indicates that police are biased against blacks and Hispanics. "Whites and members of minorities have a roughly equal chance of being stopped by police officers and questioned on the street in New......

To tape or not to tape? That is the question before a Federal district court this week. The issue at hand is whether the police may videotape political protestors, and whether a judge would reconsider his decision that answered that question: "No." Gail Donoghue, special counsel for the city’s Law Department, began the hearing by telling Judge Haight that he overstepped his judicial powers in February when he essentially made his own court the......

Staten Island may not be the only borough worried about its future, but it might be the only one to have commissioned a study to understand the next 13 years. Earlier this week, the Center for an Urban Future presented Staten Island 2020 plans. The Advance noted that Mayor Bloomberg had PlaNYC 2030 while SI had 2020, "The study...lays out an ambitious series of recommendations aimed at promoting sensible growth, boosting tourism and protecting......

Last week a new exhibit kicked off at The Center for Architecture. It isn't about buildings or bridges, however, it's about dresses and jackets and blouses (oh my!). The Fashion of Architecture delves in to the world of couture. Yes, clothes are being structured after achitecture, but did you know that architecture is stealing looks from the runway? Oh how we love it when fashion meets form. So come check out how pliable metals, membrane......

Here it is, our last piece of SXSW coverage. The warm sun has snuck out of our skin and we can barely taste the frozen avocado margaritas anymore, so for anything Austin related in the future you'll have to go here. The Cloud Room let you read all about their experience at South By, and now The National, a band we've recently been listening to more and more, opens up their diary to you. They......

It goes without saying that New York City is chock full of amazing buildings and spaces. And many of them aren't normally open to the public. But this weekend you can visit over 100 places throughout the five boroughs, free of charge, during the Second Annual Open House New York. From self-guided tours to discussions with designers, OHNY offers a rare glimpse into your fair city. Detailed information about each site - day(s) of......

Tomorrow night the Center For Architecture kicks off a Friday night film series devoted to designed and built environments, actual and fictional. On the inaugural marathon film night, Eames Demetrios presents two documentary short subjects and one feature-length film. One documentary focuses on the office of southern California modernists Charles and Ray Eames (Demetrios' grandparents), famous for many aspects of design from their kit-of-parts home to fabric patterns to their ubiquitous fiberglass and plywood chairs.......

If the hot, sticky weather of late has you yearning for one last hurrah before the reality of this post-vacation season sets in, head over to the Center for Architecture tonight for A-Frame Mania: The Rise of a Postwar Vacation Home Style. Chad Randl, architectural historian working for the National Park Service, discusses the historical and cultural significance of this distinctive, woodsy, modernist icon (that generally takes a back seat to the stainless steel sex......

KFC probably never thought the day would come when they would miss the "hip" cartoon Colonel Sanders (who rapped!), but now that they had to pull their ads touting the relative "health benefits" of eating fried chicken, you'd have to wonder how their ad agency managed to sell that concept to them (a case of either a very slick ad person or a very stupid client). The Center for Science in Public Interest sent the......