Penguin Group just launched a new iPad app of Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged, which combines unabridged text with manuscript notes, audio and video lectures, rare photos of Rand herself, and more. more ›

We receive a lot of e-mail. Most of these missives are carefully read, discussed at length among the editors, and courteously replied to in a timely fashion—except for the ones that are so bizarre and irrelevant that we're simply afraid to engage the sender. Instead, we'll share them with you. Behold, the eccentric underbelly of the Gothamist inbox: more ›

Tea partying libertarians unite! Ayn Rand's Objectivist tome has made it to the big screen, at long last, and as a trilogy. In 1991 the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club ranked the 1957 bestselling novel as the 2nd most influential book ever, the Bible came in 1st place. So how will the movie live up to the printed word? It's not lookin' so good. Part One is in theaters today (tax day!), and the reviews are out; here are some gems: more ›

Governor David Paterson went to Washington D.C. yesterday and stated the case for the Empire State, "New York doesn't need a handout, we need a handback." more ›

Have you re-read the classic coming-of-age JD Salinger novel, Catcher in the Rye, lately? amNewYork takes a trip down memory lane, and 5th Ave, with a pair of Holden Caulfield-tinted glasses. Apparently people like the Central Park Conservancy historian get a ton of inquiries about the New York references in the novel. The most popular question, "Where do the ducks go in the winter?" Referring to the ducks in the Central Park pond that our... more ›

The Post and Daily News have a number of editorials and columns about the Deutsche Bank building fire response and fallout. The Post continues to demand FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta's resignation and faulted Mayor Bloomberg for standing by Scoppetta. The Daily News' Juan Gonzalez wonders why Bloomberg and Scoppetta have gone into "virtual hiding" and blasts Bloomberg for sending lobbyists to kill "legislation that would force tougher enforcement of safety laws by the city Buildings Department." The News also has an editorial saying that Spitzer must take charge (he "has the muscle to crack heads among the contractors and federal, state and city agencies that have made a perilous hash of the job"). more ›

MOVIE: It's certainly not the kind of night for an outdoor movie, so we suggest sitting in the cool a/c and watching the 1978 classic Dawn of the Dead. "Gone is the possibility of mankind’s dominance in this sequel to Night of the Living Dead; the zombies are in control now, with a group of AWOL soldiers and TV producers on the run from the staggering hordes. A deserted shopping mall offers a safe hideout, as well as the setup for Romero’s savage satire on consumer culture." The early screening will be introduced by producer Richard Rubenstein, more info here. more ›

It's been announced that Angelina Jolie will play the role of Dagny Taggart in the film adaptation of Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged. Braveheart writer, Randall Wallace, will adapt the novel. more ›

+ The New York Times' Michael Kimmelman calls the Whitney's Picasso show "a compare-and-contrast slide show." Ouch. more ›

+ Belgian block-edged sidewalks and park benches are coming to Cortelyou Road, reports The New York Sun. Is Flatbush the new Fort Greene? more ›

The "dream teams" of noted architects working together for prestigious projects is the subject of a Times architecture article. Though Daniel Libeskind, dream team of one, won the World Trade Center competition, apparently teamwork is the new black of the architecture world, as evinced by all the other teams who entered. The Times brings up a 2001 quote from design world "star," Rem Koolhaas: "If I pride myself on one thing, it is a talent to collaborate." But then Kevin Kernon, one of the architects in the United Architects team, says, "Rem talks a lot about collaboration, but at the end of the day he isn't that interested in actually doing it himself." Meow! more ›