Remember that whole Hep-A scare at West Village bar Socialista? Reports came in this week that the whole thing may have been a joke -- but who's laughing? Probably not the owners of Socialista. Word is that Ashton Kutcher has a new show coming out called Pop Fiction, which has thus far been kept under wraps. Not straying far from his Punk'd roots, the series (which will air on the E! network) is a prank......

This past week things got stirred up at celebrity hotspot Socialista with a bit of a a Hepatitis A scare. Amongst the hundreds urged to get vaccinated were celebrities who attended actor Ashton Kutcher’s 30th birthday party at the bar; those on the Hepatitis A-list included Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. When health officials checked out the joint, they found no traces of soap, meaning the infected bartender was handling garnishes and glasses to the patrons......

It used to be one only had to worry about "the morning after" if they took another bar patron home with them, but the NYC Health Department is asking at least 800 imbibers of a West Village bar to get a hepatitis A vaccination! The precautionary measure is being taken because a bartender at Socialista has the disease. Now everyone who was at the bar on February 7th or 8th after 8pm or February 11th......

We know that Giants co-owner and movie producer Steve Tisch has been trying to ramp up the star power for the Giants sidelines. After Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore and Cameron Diaz were seen at a game last fall, Tisch told the NY Times, he brings "the spices, the taste, the flavor" to the Giants (if the Giants experience were a soup; the other co-owners, the Maras, would bring the meat and potatoes). This past......

A look at some noteworthy television this week: 2007 MTV Movie Awards (Sunday, 8 p.m., MTV) All you have to know is that Sarah Silverman hosts, so expect wackiness to ensue. Bonus: LAist will be liveblogging, from the ceremony's greenroom. Creature Comforts (Monday, 8:00 p.m., WCBS 2) An Americanized British import from the creators of Wallace & Gromit where people in on the street interviews are animated in clay in the form of talking animals.......

Of course the big news in New York movies this weekend is the New York Film Festival which kicks off tomorrow at Lincoln Center. However, in an attempt reserve our NYFF excitement for a full post tomorrow, let's just focus on the regular releases. Here we go. Jon Heder is making a whole career out of this lovable loser shtick. His newest movie School for Scoundrels doesn't feature quite as pathetic a character as he......

A follow up to the story about the relatively fashionable and young bankrobbing duo: It turns out they are brother and sister and have robbed a total of three places this month. And what's more, Joe Kirby and Shemini Kirby were arrested after the cops staked out a methadone clinic when Joe was getting treatment. The Daily News reports that 20th Precinct cops suspected that the robbers were drug addicts, and once they busted Joe,......

An Independence Bank on East 86th Street was robbed of $2,470 in a day light heist by a twenty something couple. The male robber handed the teller a note saying he had a gun, intimated he had a gun in his clothes, and then got the money; his female accomplice, who wore a cloverleaf t-shirt and black leggings with flip-flops was the lookout. And when they got the money, they just walked away. The NY......

The movie releases list this week is determined to put the conception that summer is only about the blockbuster to the test. There are documentaries, foreign films and small indies about local hot button issues that are all worth a viewing. This weekend should be all about escaping the humidity with a quality flick. To get the mass market dreck out of the way first: Adam Sandler gets a universal remote to speed up and......

Gawker is launching their new map feature today. It's a pretty simple concept: each day they'll have an intern manning an email address, and as "Gawker Stalker" missives come in, the intern will plot them on a map. This way, you can stalk your favorite celebrities in real time. Why you would want to stalk Lindsay Lohan is beyond us-- but that's an entirely different story. The new map feature brings up some obvious......

- Humidity and hair - National Weather Service Open House on August 8! - The Butterfly Effect (without Ashton Kutcher, happily) - New Drought Restrictions - Succumbing to the Summer cold - Side-by-side forecasts...and a wicked iced tea recipe - High temp Friday? Our sources agree: 86. Cloudy day today, with a high around 76. Gothamist's nasal passages are clear, and, barring lifelong trauma from this episode of A Baby Story she's watching, she plans......

Sean "P. Diddy" Combs announced his voter-registration/voter interest drive initiative, Citizen Change, earlier this week. The way to reach the 42 million voters between 18 and 30? The urgent, fatalistic and ultimately pithy: "Vote or Die!" (It also sounds like a video game.) The program is non-partisan, non-profit, and chock full of celebrity endorsers, with 50 Cent, Leonardo DiCaprio, Snoop Dogg, and Jay-Z and Ashton Kutcher on board. Vote or Die! shirts went on......

The NYC media is thrilling in the Post's egg-on-face John Kerry running mate non-scoop. Reuters reported that the Daily News sent "a case of champagne to Post editors and a note, 'Congratulations on your front page. Have a nice day,' with a smiley face. The barb refers to a Post advertisement near the Daily News building showing improved circulation figures, with the words 'have a nice day' and smiley face." Sigh. Gothamist wishes the tabloids......

With Valentine's Day just two days away, the Post throws one to the unattached by looking at the Quirkyalone movement. Move over, metrosexuals: Here come the quirky-alones. Sasha Cagen coined the term when she wrote an essay that essentially defined "being single - not as a way station en route to marriage, but as a fulfilling lifestyle in its own right." Quirkyalones are romantic and would like to find the one, but dating for dating's......

Greg Allen...

For non sports fans, the Super Bowl is watchable usually because of the commercials. The Pepsi ad with the little music downloading criminals was great, and The Simpsons commercial for Mastercard was amusing, though maybe a little predictable. It was much better than many others, like the Sierra Mist ad with the guy and dog jumping into a pitcher and a glass of water. Our favorite might have to be the anti-smoking ad from......

There's a fantastic article about the making of Dazed and Confused in Texas Monthly (which is our favorite Texas periodical ever...we think it's maybe the only one ever, too). Writer John Spong interviews writer-director Richard Linklater and many of the stars of the film (notably absent are the two biggest stars, Ben Affleck and Renee Zellweger) for thoughts about how the film was conceived, the filming itself, and the past ten years since it opened......

Okay, let's get it out of the way: Madonna kissed Britney. Madonna kissed Christina. Fine. Of course Madonna did something outre and not very Gappy by kissing Britney and Christina, but when Gothamist started to think about it, it was totally predictable and not that hot or exciting. It was calculated and a little boring. It's hot only in the way that the media will be able to say "girl-on-girl" action, but big deal.......

Gothamist wonders a few things about everyone's favorite new pick-up scene, Friendster: - Is it really Ashton Kutcher on Friendster or is someone trying to be..."funny"? - When someone messages you with just "Want to meet for drinks?" (without any other reasons, like "I'm super cool" or "You like movies...I like movies!") is it wrong to reply, "No way and never contact me again"? - Are pictures of someone's naked ass really that necessary? -......

Demi Moore has carved out a niche with the 20-something men. Not only is she, uh, "dating" Ashton Kutcher, 22 year old designer Zac Posen loves her. (Luckily for Posen, he is gay, so he doesn't have to be Demi's lapdog...he just needs to give her free clothes.) In Vogue, where she is photographed with Posen (left), he says ''She's my idol, she's so sensual and strong. I loved that she took on all of......

For some reason, Gothamist has been getting Google referrals for "Britney Spears Punk'd" - obviously Google thinks we've got the goods on Britney's questionable attire from her appearance on Ashton Kutcher's MTV show, Punk'd. Well, in Gothamist's continuing efforts to give the public what it wants, we bring you Britney, not so decked out. [Via Splash and The Sun]......