Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey (who also spent last year working on Bloomberg's possible presidential run) isn't that happy with The New Yorker's revelation that young mayors like Newark's Cory Booker and DC's Adrian Fenty apparently call Mayor Bloomberg "Papa Smurf." He Tweeted, "Mayors, can we go w/ @mikebloomberg as Obi Wan?" (and linked to a Washington City Paper post about what Smurf persona fit Fenty best). Clearly Star Wars is big in the Bloomberg administration—Deputy Mayor Ed Sklyer is a huge fan, too! However, @mikebloomberg himself has not commented on the Papa Smurf nickname. [Via PolitickerNY] more ›

• Londonist pondered who might be the next sponsors of the London Eye and whether or not readers would be willing to donate £1,000 each for a Londonist Eye.
• Shanghaiist was shocked to find a cameltoe in the city's only English-language paper.
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This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too - two of them in -Ist cities. more ›

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What with Paris Hilton's release earlier this week and the upcoming celebration of American Independence (sorry, Londonist!), we've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to choose, and most importantly, freedom to blog. Here are a few things we're happy we've been free to blog about this week. more ›

If you're the Republican mayor of New York City, who do you have breakfast with? Why, the Democratic candidate for Mayor of DC, of course! DC City Council member Adrian Fenty met up with Hizzoner this morning to discuss the Mayor's overhaul of the NYC public school system. Apparently Fenty may be interested in taking over the DC school system when he's elected (Fenty's the presumptive mayor), although Bloomberg's education record is decidedly mixed. Note to Fenty: In order to follow the Mayor's plans, be sure to end social promotion, hire McKinsey consultants to run things, and live and die by tests. more ›