Just days after a statue of baby Jesus was displayed for the first time in a shrine inside a Staten Island monastery, thieves heisted it, according to the Staten Island Advance. But the priests and brothers who reside at the Alba House have not called police, choosing instead to post a note in place of the foot-long ceramic figurine asking for the statue to be returned. "Maybe someone really needed it," said Brother Vincent, who said he prayed for the statue and whoever took it. more ›

Baby Jesus is coming strapped this Christmas—with GPS! Many churches and synagogues in the area are equipping their nativity scenes and menorah displays with the locating system to impede hooligans who often use the holiday season to get their jollies via vandalism, costing the places of worship up to thousands of dollars for the sometimes pricey decorations. New York-based firm BrickHouse Secruity offered free, short term loans of GPS to religious institutions that now will be notified immediately by email if their display is moved. Reverend Bob Gorman of St. Ambrose Church in Old Bridge, New Jersey told The Star-Leger, "We call it God's Positioning System." Their church is currently planning to to drill a hole in Baby Jesus' backside to slip in the GPS device before the figure is placed in the manger on Christmas Eve. Somewhere King Herod wonders in defeat, "Why didn't I think of that?" more ›

EVENT: Into anime? It's your lucky weekend, the New York Anime Festival is in town! There will be previews, screenings and panels galore. Check out their website for more details. All Weekend // Jacob Javits Convention Center [655 W 34th St] // $30 day pass, $55 weekend pass SHOP: FIT and the Design Mavens come together for a 3 day shopstravaganza. Tons of designers we're not cool enough to have ever heard of will be... more ›

Paramore Arrives One of our favorite albums of the year is by these girl-fronted teenage pop-punkers, and they were in town this week to headline their largest local show yet at Roseland Ballroom. It was the last show of a massive national tour, but you wouldn't know it seeing front woman Hayley Williams running around stage with the rest of her band. Paramore may not win any originality contests, but they've got more fire and... more ›

The Catholic League had said it was highly offensive to display a sculpture of Jesus with "his genitals exposed" and invite the public to eat it. more ›

Gothamist is feeling a bit under the weather today, literally and figuratively, so we'll just get straight to it, if you don't mind: more ›

On Saturday, Gothamist ventured to buy a Christmas tree on Greenwich Street in Tribeca (thanks, Super Fun Christmas Tree Map). Perhaps that was our first problem - shopping in Tribeca. Anyway, we noticed a very lovely tree, perhaps about 7-8 feet tall, and inquired about the price. The seller said in a friendly manner, "I don't want to stick shock you, but it's $200." Baby Jesus, we were shocked! It was a noble fir which the National Christmas Tree Association says has "beautifully symmetrical" branches. It was beautifully symmetrical, but not for $200. We saw another very nice tree - but guess what, it was $160 dollars (a Fraser fir). We settled on a Douglas fir, about 7 feet tall, for $80 which is still a little too pricey, but we thought, "At least we're not paying $200 - and we'll have the tree up until April." However, next year we're going to a NJ Christmas tree farm to cut down our own tree - if we're not going towards the fake option. more ›

What are you doing tomorrow? Have you already headed out of town, or are you getting to shorten your usual holiday obligations thanks to the Saturday Christmas? And if you need to watch something, we recommend the oldie-but-goodie, A Christmas Story. more ›

"My son, Russell Jones, passed away. To the public, he was known as Ol' Dirty Bastard, but to me, he was known as Rusty, the kindest, most generous soul on earth. I appreciate all the support and prayers that I have received. Russell was more than a rapper, he was a loving father, brother, uncle, and most of all, son."

We're not going to pretend we know where to begin with Ol' Dirty Bastard, a.k.a. Old Dirty Bastard, Dirt McGirt, Osirus, Cyrus, Dirt Dogg, Big Baby Jesus, Unique Ason, Joe or Russell Tyrone Jones. However, new blog, tale of two cities (one person blogs from NY, the other from LA - get it?), has a review of ODB's CMJ performance ("unpredictable, terrible, amazing, hilarious, sad, depressing and miraculous") at the Bowery Ballroom Knitting Factory. It almost reads as a cautionary tale about drug use: "ODB was so high and drunk that it seemed like he would pass out any second. For minutes at a time, he just stood in the center of the stage and stared straight ahead to the back of the crowd, not moving or saying anything." Plus, there's a fat dude rapping AND sucking a woman's breasts on stage. Thanks, TOTC, Gothamist feels like we were there!
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