The NY Times had an interesting article about what one calls the $700 billion plan to help financial firms. The White House likes to call it a "rescue plan"--"Financial Rescue Legislation"--while the media has taken a liking to "bailout." (Mayor Bloomberg is also anti-"bailout the term".) But CNBC economics reporter Steve Liesman explained why bailout works, “You rescue the unwitting victims of a boat accident. You bail out an experienced captain who sailed knowingly into......

A NY-based nonprofit called Breakthrough launched a video game yesterday called ICED: I Can End Deportation (also a play on the acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department). In the game, the player chooses one of five immigrant teens, each of a different ethnicity and immigration status, and walks through their shoes -- learning "how immigration laws deny due process and violate human rights to all immigrants." A collaboration between Breakthrough, community-based organizations and......

While the jury is still out on whether Mayor Bloomberg's improvements to the public school system have really worked, he, along with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and School Chancellor Joel Klein, announced new initiatives to help middle schools improve academic performance and provide better resources for students, parents, and teachers alike - plus $5 million to fund them. The money will go to the 50 lowest-performing middle schools, so they can staff up with......

Extras: Season 2 On British television an average series may run only six or so episodes, but for the program's fans on this side of the super-sized pond that can seem piddly indeed. Fortunately for followers of all things Ricky Gervais, the new DVD version of his HBO series Extras, which is out this week, contains over 100 minutes of additional material to enjoy. If you missed the initial airing, the second season of Extras......

One of the 40 new schools the city is opening in the fall will be the first public school dedicated teaching the Arabic language and culture. The NY Times reports that half of the classes at the Khalil Gibran International Academy will eventually be taught in Arabic. It will be located in Brooklyn, though it's unclear where yet. Principal Debbie Almontaser says the school will start out with just sixth graders, but will eventually have......

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association voting pool for the Golden Globes only consists of 83 members, but every year their mainstream tastes become one of the potential early prognosticators for the Emmys and the Oscars. Over in Beverly Hills today, the stylists are putting the finishing touches on the stars' couture, that long red carpet is being laid and some assistant is double checking the seals on the envelopes. Here in New York of course,......

You know it's the beginning of January when the gyms are filled with New Years resolution exercisers and the movie theaters are filled with post-New Years dreck. Frankly, it's best to focus on getting caught up on last year's best (see our Top 10 and the subsequent comments for suggestions) and leave this week's releases for suckers with movie money to burn. Hilary Swank often stars in Oscar-lauded movies but her newest about an inner-city......

SIGNING: Just a few days ago LL Cool J was out signing his book (which, is actually a workout book). Tonight 50 Cent will be at Borders Bookstore with two of his writers for the launch of, wait for it...G Unit books! Some titles: Death Before Dishonor, Baby Brother and The Ski Mask Way. Get there early! 6pm // Borders Bookstore [10 Columbus Circle] // Free THEATER: RiddleLikeLove (with a side of ketchup) is based......

THEATER: Mind the Gap specializes in bringing contemporary British plays to New York; their latest lark is a military/political thriller called The Cleric that explores the issue of state-sanctioned torture. It’s about an Irish-American priest who is caught by U.S. Special Forces in post-9/11 Afghanistan and accused of terrorist collaboration. Harmless, fraternity hazing type hi-jinks ensue, but all the priest wants is another priest to hear him confess sins that he claims are worse than......

Bronx High School of Science, one of the city's top magnet schools, is suddently in a pickle (or is that kimchee?) with Korean parents. The NY Sun reports that parents have raised more than $100,000 to start a promisd Korean language program at the school, but the school has only offered an elective since. There are lots of questions, like why did the school accept checks from parents while the Department of Education denies any......

Dear lord, it's only mid-September but already the amount of new releases flooding theaters is getting a bit overwhelming. Brian De Palma's highly anticipated adaptation of James Ellroy's novel, The Black Dahlia hits theaters this Friday. Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart are Los Angeles detectives investigating an extremely grisly Hollywood murder of a young starlet in the late '40s. Hartnett's real life Girl Friday, Scarlett Johansson's also in the cast, as is Oscar winner Hilary......

Andrew Friedman is co-director of Make the Road by Walking, a Brooklyn-based community-based organization founded in 1997 on the belief that the center of leadership must be within the community. Since then, the organization has grown dramatically and now includes over 600 members, a member-elected board composed of low-income community residents, and a staff of twelve. Over the past 5 years, MRBW has achieved many improvements to the lives of Bushwick residents. They pushed New......

Because everything is better when conducted under a gorgeous chandelier, head down to the National Arts Club for Literary Debuts: First Books by Two Authors. Reading tonight at the auspicous Gramercy Park location are Edward Schwarzchild and his new book, Responsible Men, alongside Ronna Wineberg's Second Language. The Club is at 15 Gramercy Park and the event is free, and open to the public, starting at 8PM. At Labyrinth Books (536 W. 112th St.) on......

This week's literary events kick off tonight (1/24) at Housing Works Used Books Cafe (126 Crosby St.), with a reading from Surviving Justice: America's Wrongfully Convicted and Exonorated, edited by Dave Eggers and Lola Vollen. The reading will be followed by a Q&A and a signing, starts at 7PM, and is free. Then tomorrow night (1/25) on the Lower East Side, don't miss the First Fiction Reading Series at Bluestockings (172 Allen between Stanton and......

Allison Bowles, Student...

Tomorrow night (Monday May 9th) comedian Colin Quinn (who, if you're like us, you know first from MTV's Remote Control) will headline an evening of stand-up comedy with Todd Barry, Greg Giraldo, and special guests. The evening will be hosted by the comedy duo and Saturday Night Live writers Slovin & Allen. All proceeds from the evening will benefit 826NYC’s writing lab for children. 826NYC was founded by Dave Eggers - it's a nonprofit tutoring......

The weekend is here, and unfortunately our run of nice weather has run out. The rains will be coming. Luckily the city is prepared with plenty of indoor activities to enjoy, and if you're not scared of getting a little wet there is some outdoor fun to be had as well. FILM: Hopefully the rain will hold off until after tonight. As the Tribeca Film Festival will be airing the comedic masterpiece Monty Python and......

Lindsey Caldwell, Hustler/DJ...

Oscar Commentary
Oscar is celebrating its 75th anniversary, I'm celebrating my 25th anniversary of watching Oscar....

The evening is over, while Gothamist will be following up with extensive commentary about the actual Oscar telecast, here are the winners and some post-game analysis: Best Picture: Chicago - Marty Richards Not a huge surprise given the momentum Chicago's had since the Golden Globes, but there was an outside chance of a Pianist upset with The Pianist's acting, directing, and screenplay awards. But in the end, Harvey got his best picture. Best Actor in......

As a hopeless cinephile, I feel that the year I spend watching movies is like having a crush on some unattainable person. It makes me feel alive, with all the planning and dreaming and effort I put into it, and somehow, even when I see a bad movie, it’s okay, because it’s one of the knocks I take in wishing that maybe this in time, after paying $10+ for a movie, it might reward my......