Time was an industrious American with true grit and a little moxie could pull him or herself up by his or her bootstraps, starting off with nothing but ambition in the mailroom and advancing all the way to the F...B...I. There's considerable debate over when this was the norm, but we clearly remember seeing it documented in such motion pictures as The Talented Mr. Ripley. Well, sorry to disillusion you, but that was the old America, according to a number of troubling studies showing that the United States is now the least upwardly mobile of comparable nations like Canada. Well, isn't it high time we went up and plundered liberated those smug bastards? more ›

Fewer Korean-Americans are running delis these days, and those still left in the game are being squeezed out of business by lower-priced chain stores, online ordering, obscene rent, and tougher enforcement by city inspection agencies. But you already knew all this. Still, today's Times article about the Korean deli crisis is nothing to shrug off: Chong Sik Lee, president of The Korean-American Grocers Association of New York, says he as just half the members as he did a decade ago, when they numbered 600. He tells the Times, "In 10 years, there will be no more Korean mom-and-pop stores." more ›

Where have all the Korean grocers gone? Once New York was litered with 24-hour Korean-owned greengrocers, especially in poorer neighborhoods, but now they seem to quickly be a thing of the past. Enter the recent winter issue of City Journal, which has a lengthy look at where they've gone. The results are both interesting and not that surprising. The short answer? The American Dream. more ›

A beloved butler is now the envied recipient of two apartments in the exclusive Dakota building on West 72nd Street and Central Park West. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Indra B. Tamang, who grew up in a mud house in a farming village in Nepal, has reached a pinnacle of society after more than three decades of loyal service as a butler, cook and caretaker to a socially prominent American family." more ›

Watching her daughter be nominated to the Supreme Court by President Obama brought Celina Sotomayor Lopez to tears on Tuesday. Obama noted her commitment to her children during his introduction of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, "Her mother worked six days a week as a nurse to provide for Sonia and her brother -- who is also here today, is a doctor and a terrific success in his own right. But Sonia's mom bought the only set of encyclopedias in the neighborhood, sent her children to a Catholic school called Cardinal Spellman out of the belief that with a good education here in America all things are possible." Now the 82-year-old is all smiles, too, telling reporters, "Words cannot tell you how proud I am...I never told them [Sonia and her brother] to do anything for a living. I didn't tell them to be this or be that. I just said be the best you can always be. Be honest. If you have to clean toilets, that's fine." She added, "I am feeling great, but very tired...I guess the best word is overwhelmed." more ›

Now that U.S. Court of Appeals judge—and Bronx native—Sonia Sotomayor has been nominated to the Supreme Court, her fellow New Yorkers are rejoicing. Mayor Bloomberg issued a statement noting that he had told President Obama that "Sonia Sotomayor would be an outstanding choice for the Supreme Court, and people whose legal opinions I greatly respect speak very highly of her," and also said, "She has been an incredibly good federal judge, and having risen from humble beginnings in the Bronx, she brings a perspective that will serve the Court - and our nation - very well. Her story is a perfect example of the kind of opportunity that is available in this City - and this country - to those who devote themselves to their dreams. Judge Sotomayor was first recommended to the federal bench by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan - and of all his great legacies, she may prove to be one of the most important.” more ›

A Brookings Institution study reveals that New York is a great place for walking, with 21 out of 21 walkable urban places. But Washington D.C. is the most walkable on a per capita basis while New York is ranked 10th, because New York is measured as the NYC metro area, including NJ, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The study's author, Christopher B. Leinberger, admits there are issues with the methodology, namely that walkable places are weighted the... more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week:
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READING: Just this morning she was sipping tea in the woods of Vermont - but tonight Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home, will be at Barnes & Noble on the UWS. Her book is a memoir, a graphic novel and all about growing up in a funeral home, with a closeted father. Tragicomic, indeed. more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week:
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TJ Miller is not only one of the strongest new talents in comedy today, he's also a terrific actor. And why not, he studied at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford England. Plus, he can stilt walk. And he makes porn! Very bad porn. In fact, there's not even any nudity or sex on Verybadporn.com, but there's plenty of hilarity! more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

Today, Mayor Bloomberg met with the Bronx fire victims' families and later held a press conference about the tragedy, which is the deadliest fire (aside from September 11) since 1990 . The Mayor has been under fire for leaving the city yesterday - after a Thursday press conference about the fire - for a scheduled appearance in Miami, where he made jokes about "Mayors Gone Wild" in South Beach. more ›

Durango, Julia Cho’s subdued melodrama currently running at The Public Theater, casts a bland eye on the ever-deceptive American Dream, as experienced by one shattered Korean-American family. The story (which could also be subtitled Near-Death of a Salesman) begins with the firing of Boo-Seng Lee (James Saito), the family’s reticent patriarch, after twenty years of thankless service as a non-descript mid-level bean-counter. more ›

"Can you feel me? Can you motherfuckin' feel me?" Adira Amram belts out on her song "Wanna Make Out," which she sings while dressed in leotards, a Betsey Johnson push-up bra and suit jacket, or other attention-getting garb while pounding away on a keyboard or piano. Amram, the daughter of composer David Amram, started out as an actress but has taken to performing her hilarious “keyboard fantasy” songs at local comedy gigs. The 25-year-old performer is at The PIT Fridays in October with her latest work, Adira Amram Is An American Idol (tagline: “Let Her Spangle Your Banner”), which is fitting for a woman with a former President’s photo on the cover of her CD, Me and Bill (North Street Records). more ›

The Street Vendor Project released a study, Peddling Uphill (PDF), showing the difficulties street vendors have these days, given steep fines that are handed down for small infractions. The group's director, Sean Basinski, told Metro, “Since our survey, the maximum fine has gone from $250 per ticket to $1,000. That’s $1,000 for a sixth offense within two years. A first fine is just $50, but the second citationdoubles to $100. The third climbs to $250, the fourth is $500, and a fifth fetches $750. “We know the average vendor collects at least that many within a year, so maybe 20 percent of vendors’ incomes will go to tickets every year.” more ›

EVENT: The only thing better than a tag sale is a swap sale. It's pretty much like going through a friends closet and taking what you fancy. Tonight, free up some of your own closet space and bring down all the clothes you want to get rid of to Thrift On! Others will do the same, and you'll likely go home with some goodies to fill up all that newly found closet space of yours. more ›

The big real estate news of the day is that the Duke Semans Mansion, across the street from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and on the market for $50 million, was sold for $40 million (a 20% savings!), and but bigger human interest angle news is that the buyer is a Russian immigrant who used to drive a cab! Tamir Sapir has the most incredible American Dream story ever - or at least this week. From the NY Times:

After three years as a cabdriver, he opened an electronics store at 200 Fifth Avenue near Madison Square Park where he often sold products to visiting Russian diplomats. His relationship with one customer, a Soviet oil minister, he said, enabled him to begin selling fertilizer, and eventually, oil contracts, in Europe. more ›

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