MUSIC: Of course we're going to recommend you come hang out with us tonight at our 5 year anniversary show. Come on by and check out Pattern is Movement and The Forms, along with a special guest band at midnight. On top of all that, you'll get Craig Wedren deejaying between sets. What more could you ask for? Buy tickets here. Friday // 9pm // Union Hall [702 Union St, Park Slope] // $10......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a missing child on 8th Ave. in Manhattan, a double shooting at Bedford Ave. and Empire Blvd. in Brooklyn, and a water rescue at Broadway and West 8th St. in Brooklyn.A map of the NYC subway system with a realistic portrayal of which stops are available to handicapped people and/or people with strollers who can't navigate stairs.Those rent-to-own centers that people take advantage of every year near the Super Bowl?......

Say, did you hear anything about this movie that opens today, Cloverfield? No? Yeah, it’s kind of a [Spoiler Alert!] obscure art-house thing, all shot with a camcorder from the perspective of a few friends fleeing a massive monster smashing Manhattan. We attended a screening earlier in the week and deemed it top-shelf disaster porn; though the main characters are rather annoying and the apocalypse takes a little too long to blast off, “by the......

The last sentence uttered before all hell breaks loose is, “Forget about the rest of the world and hold onto the ones you care about.” Though probably unintentional, those words of brotherly advice – spoken to a lovesick young yuppie named Rob – perfectly sum up the prevalent attitude in fin de siècle New York: the world’s spinning into a cataclysm of total war and catastrophic climate change, but fuck it; let’s party and......

The mystery surrounding the new J.J. Abrams movie, which tore up the LES last year, will soon be in the past as it finally hits the big screen this week. Cloverfield (long thought to be just a code name for the movie) will be unleashed this Friday, and is getting some great reviews. But what everyone wants to know is: what does the monster that's responsible for decapitating Lady Liberty look like? One description from......

Since settling in New York in 2001, promoter Todd Patrick – known through his website as Todd P – has established himself as a major force in the avant-garde rock scene. In the fastidious spirit of a modern day Bill Graham – though without the passion for profits – Patrick has distinguished himself with his commitment to producing shows at atypical, under-the-radar locations like lofts, rooftops and funky, “illegal” clubs. Often eschewing such vagaries as......

EVENT: Join Chief Jim Riches, 9/11 families, rescue and recovery workers in an effort to Tell Rudy Giuliani to "Stop Politicizing 9/11". Rudy will be at a fundraiser at the Waldorf later today, and will be greeted by those who believe he's no hero. Why? They say: "He failed the FDNY & uniformed & civilian victims. He gave us incompetent commissioners ( FD,PD, OEM). No integrated command. He abandoned us on 9/11. He gave the......

TIP: According to Paper's Mr. Mickey, Chloë Sevigny is having a tag sale on her block this Saturday. We're guessing there will be lots of vintage Balenciaga. Check out her apartment in House & Garden...pretty nice! EVENT: The Howl Festival (which took last year off) continues on throughout the weekend. Tomorrow around 2pm you can catch Moby with his band The Little Death in Tompkins Square Park. Check out the full schedule here. All Weekend......

The NY Times has a slide show of assorted items that could be perfect wedding gifts for book lovers. Suggestions range from whimsical bookshelves to personalized book plates. We were most intrigued by Levenger's Thai Book Rest - we suppose you could get a pair of two for a wedding couple. Or one, plus some massage oils and a copy of the Kama Sutra as a cheeky bridal/bachelorette party shower gift. Anyway, on with this......

"Hello from the gutters of N.Y.C., which are filled with dog manure, vomit, stale wine, urine, and blood," these were the opening lines in a letter written by David Berkowitz to columnist Jimmy Breslin thirty years ago. It seems Berkowitz has the writing bug again, as last week amNewYork received a two-page letter from the one and only Son of Sam. This one postmarked from the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, NY - where he......

Last night at Irving Plaza, Andrew "William Ocean" Litz became the 2007 US Air Guitar Champion. Ocean, who lives in New York City, used his home-field advantage to...his advantage. He had several of his supporters in the crowd to aid his performances - throwing water in the air (like an ocean, we suppose) and supporting him as he crowdsurfed. Ocean's moves were enough to move him from 2nd place entering the finals/compulsory round. He......

Maybe there is good reason to try to stay off Forbes' list of 400 wealthiest people. The Manhattan DA's office charged a 24-year-old Russian national with an elaborate identity ring that targeted rich Americans. Igor Klopov recruited people in the U.S., via sites like Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com, to help him and he managed to steal $1.5 million from four people. But Klopov was nabbed during an attempt to take $10.7 million from Anthony Pritzker, of......

Coney Island may be changing a lot after its last summer with Astroland scheduled to close and redevelopment of the area, but the people over at the Coney Island History Project are doing their best to preserve memories of the old Coney Island. This season, the project inaugurates a permanent home, which is fittingly under the Cyclone. The Times reports that the space had many previous forms: a souvenir stand, a hot dog stand,......

At the Ethnic Market highlights international specialty foods and ingredients that you're very unlikely to find at your local Gristedes One of the great things about Rego Park apart from all the Central Asian kebab joints and it being the home of graffitti legend Cost is all the treats at the Russian delis scattered throughout the neighborhood. Which brings us to the subject of today's find at the ethnic market: korzhiki. Think of these round......

It's been more than 30 years since David Berkowitz began his drawn out killing spree that paralyzed New York City with fear. Perhhaps roused by the release of the movie "Zodiac" in March, which details the pursuit of an infamous west coast serial killer who was never caught, Berkowitz is desirous of some public attention. He sat down with a reporter for WCBS news for an extensive interview in a program that will air in......

Casting for the stage production of Young Frankenstein has Cloris Leachman fans up in arms. Leachman originated the role of Frau Blucher in Mel Brooks' classic film and has just been let go from the Broadway production, which will hit the St. James Theater stage this Fall. According to the New York Post, "the producers were so intent on having Cloris reprise her role as the hilariously sinister Frau Blucher that they flew her to......

Three years after his death, Spalding Gray: Stories Left To Tell has opened at Minetta Lane Theater. Running through May 13th, the performance features five actors surrounded by stacks of marble notebooks, similar to those Gray filled in his lifetime (up to 300). Selections from "Swimming to Cambodia," "Monster in a Box" and other monologues are read, but perhaps more insightful and often eerie are his unpublished works. From his last entry (a tape recording......

MOVIE: The 10th Annual New York International Children's Film Festival commences tonight, starting with the US premiere of the French animated film U (which includes unicorns!). A kid-friendly catered reception will take place after the film. More weekend movies here. Friday (festival through March 11th) // 6pm // Director's Guild of America Theater [110 W 57th St] // $20 EVENT: It's the first Friday of the month, that means it's time to head up to......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A large fight in the Bronx, an unusual MVA in Manhattan and a "Jet Blue aircraft disturbance" at LaGuardia - Gate B5 Promises from the Department of Transportation mean nothing, even after two children die Activists want tax-paying immigrants to have the right to vote; immigrants did vote in national elections between 1776 and 1926 Stop planning a scuba trip in Fiji - amNew York has the scoop on......

Peter Boyle, who you may know as the father ("Frank") on "Everybody Loves Raymond", died last night at the age of 71, in Manhattan. Boyle wasn't always an actor, he pursued acting only after he left the life of a monk. His successful career includes his roles in films like The Candidate, Young Frankenstein, Monster's Ball and Where the Buffalo Roam (a portrait of Hunter S. Thompson, in which he played Carl Lazlo, Esq.). While......

Jagshemash! Borat is a hit. It's getting rave reviews, grossing millions, and definitely the most quotable thing we've seen in ages. But Borat seems to have missed most of the -ist cities, and we were all wondering how the film would have been different if he'd made his way around the world on the -ist tour. In Shanghai, Borat would be observing Inane Learnings of Penis Photos for Make Benefit Glorious Flat World of......

The borders between Christmastown and Halloweentown are getting a bit thin again, as Disney has rereleased Tim Burton's animated classic The Nightmare Before Christmas in Digital 3-D for All Hallows Eve. Ordinarily this kind of rerelease might seem like a mere marketing ploy, but don't let your jaded side get the better of you, seeing certain movies in 3-D format is actually pretty sweet. Earlier this year Sony released Monster House this way, and sporting......

Thirty years is a long time, and yet for many people not long enough. Today, Sunset Parker reminds us, marks the thirty-year anniversary of the first of the Son of Sam killings, one of the most notorious murder sprees in Gotham's history. On July 29, 1976 19-year-old Jody Valenti and 18-year-old Donna Lauria were both shot dead with a .44 caliber Charter Arms Bulldog revolver outside of Lauria's apartment in the Bronx. While the......

This weekend at the movies means a bunch of overblown new releases. Clerks II is out this weekend and if Kevin Smith didn't think he was the coolest before, he does now that Joel Siegel's walked out of one of his press screenings. You can read about the whole back and forth then decide if you too will be more offended by some reference to bestiality or that Jay and Silent Bob still have cultural......

-Yankees 4, Braves 3: With his team trailing by a run, Derek Jeter grounded out to start the bottom of the 12th inning. But Jason Giambi walked and Alex Rodriguez hit a game-winning, two-run homer to let the Yankees escape with a series win over the stumbling Braves. Rodriguez's hit may silence critics who say his performance has declined in critical situations. For those who aren't sure clutch hitting exists, Rodriguez's homer could mean less,......

This weekend Hollywood says what moviegoers liked once, they'll sure love twice as the sequels The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties hit theaters. Now you may be asking yourselves, did we really need another movie about bad boys in fast cars or another flick about a fat, talking cat? Apparently, we did and they both needed to be set in an exotic international local, Japan and England,......

- New York magazine reviews what they predicted and what really happened with the Brangelina baby pictures - The NY Times revisits the pianist who was viciously assaulted in Central Park 10 years ago - The East River State Park might be all hype, especially after seeing this YouTube video [via Curbed] - Hey, Glenn Lingle must have the same upstairs neighbors as us! - Ooh, we dig this kind of beach home -......

It's been too long since our last panda post, so we must congratulate our DC-based blog, DCist, for managing to give baby panda Tai Shan his American nickname, Butterstick. The National Zoo's announcement about their "Black and White Night" benefit included mention of "Butterstick" in case people didn't know who Tai Shan was and the tagline, "Everything goes better with Butter." It sure does, especially when it's a mound of fuzz leaving scent markings near......

With all the trouble last weekend at the No Pants ride, we're wondering what's going to happen at the Idiotarod race tomorrow! The race has been very well publicized on all the New York sites, and the route has been published on the Idiotarod site (starts at Monster Island in Williamsburg tomorrow at 2:30pm [updated] the monument in Fort Greene Park at 2PM.) The NYPD seems to be cracking down on everyone recently-- first......

A bartender at Monster in the West Village was beaten by a group of men on Saturday night. The police are investigating whether it was a bias crime, since the men yelled, "C'mon f----t! Learn how to walk, [expletive]!" Kyle Spidle, an aspiring actor, was crossing Grove Street at Waverly when the a black Acura entered the crosswalk. According to the reports, "as a reflex," Spidle hit the hood of the car and yelled "learn......