Photos: AP/David Guttenfelder The New York Philharmonic Orchestra’s historic concert in North Korea concluded hours ago, marking the first performance by an American orchestra in the impoverished, totalitarian nation. The event also marked a first for much of the press, who are routinely denied access to North Korea and, once inside, usually find their movements tightly controlled. The Times has a stunning slideshow of photos snapped en route from the airport to the center of......

What do you get for the person who has everything this season? Central Park! The green grass may be covered in white and the autumn leaves have come and gone, but the Conservancy wants you to know it's "lovely in the winter!" So don't go hibernating just yet. The press release mentions something about giving the gift of a coffee set to take along with you on a stroll, but what really caught our attention......

Last night the 59th Annual Emmy Awards took place on the left coast, but New Yorkers made out very well. New York productions/creative types that took home the gold: Late Night with Conan O'Brien (writing), The Daily Show (variety-comedy show series), 30 Rock (best comedy), and Dick Wolf (for producing Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee). In the would-have-been arena, America Ferrera won best actress in a comedy, Ugly Betty, which was originally supposed......

Carolyn Goodman, a clinical psychologist and civil rights advocate, died at age 91 at her Upper West Side home yesterday. Goodman's son Andrew and two other men, Michael Schwerner and James Chaney, were working to help blacks register to vote in the South in 1964 when they were killed by the KKK in Philadelphia, Missipppi. The murders later became the basis for the film Mississippi Burning, and the NY Times' obituary of Goodman explains......

A look at some noteworthy programs this week: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (WABC 7, Monday, 8:00 p.m.) The annual showing of this timeless classic Peanuts cartoon is always a must see. Despite being from 1973, the show holds up quite well and is a welcome reminder of simpler times. But would you really eat a Thanksgiving dinner catered by a beagle? He's a Bully, Charlie Brown (WABC 7, Monday, 8:30 p.m.) After the classic Thanksgiving......

READING: Head down to that bastion of drinking and writing combined, KGB Bar, tonight to see a local combination that should be interesting - Park Slope darling Myla Goldberg (Bee Season) and suburbia veteran Rick Moody (The Ice Storm) are both reading from recent and upcoming work in the cramped but congenial bar. - Krissa Corbett Cavouras 7pm // KGB Bar [85 E 4th St] // Free COMEDY: Having a little American Idol withdrawl? Yeah,......

"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......

Get ready for more NYC Album Art posts, in the meantime, check out some non-digital photos at the Morrison Hotel Gallery. The gallery recently had an event at the Apple Store with rock photographer legend Joel Brodsky. He shot the Strange Days album cover we wrote about. At the event he shared his work and the stories behind it. Brodsky has recalled of the Morrison shoot, "The shot on the inner sleeve of the......

Yay for the internet! After our post on how NYC and Dusseldorf would swap advertising space to promote each other's cities, An American in Dusseldorf, James, let us know he would take pictures of the NYC-themed ads while we'd stay on our toes for the "Visit Dusseldorf" ones that are supposed to break here later this month. The ads show NYC in all its big building and Brooklyn Bridge glory. When translated via Babelfish,......

If you ever thought it sucked that New York had so many airports in the area, just imagine how grateful the people on American Airlines flight 321 were yesterday when they were forced to land due to engine problems. Shortly after taking off from LaGuardia, the Chicago bound flight had issues with its right engine. An American spokesperson said that only a few minutes into the flight, an indicator warned of an oil filter problem.......

The big NY Times Dining feature is about how dining in the year 1985 shaped NYC's restaurant going experiences through today. Led by chefs and restaurateurs David Bouley, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Danny Meyer, Drew Nieporent, and Alfred Portale, diners were treated to fine fare in sketchy neighborhoods, less pretension, smaller checks, lighter California cuisine, and the reliance on fresh, Greenmarket ingredients. An overall democratization of going out for a delicious meal (freed from the restraints......

An American Place, by Larry Forgione (Morrow, 1996) Larry Forgione, who, as the chef at The River Cafe, coined the phrase "free-range chickens", is often hailed as the godfather of New American cuisine. In An American Place, Forgione provides recipes for American comfort foods like Cod Cakes with Tartar Sauce and Chocolate Walnut Fudge Cake, as well as exciting experiments with fresh ingredients, like Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Pineapple Barbecue Sauce and Seared Trout with Pumpkin......

Last weekend, an American Airlines pilot used the PA system to discuss Christianity, namely, asking Christians on the LA-NY flight to raise their hands and suggesting that non-Christians aboard could ask them about their faith. This monologue, given right before takeoff, caused many passengers to call their families in fear and flight attendants had to reassure passengers that ground control knew what was said. An American spokesperson said, "It falls along the lines of a......