Barbra Steisand made a rare club appearance—her last one was in 1961 (!)— in front of a tiny crowd at the Village Vanguard last night. While most of the attendees were selected by lottery on Streisand's website, we have a feeling that former President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicole Kidman didn't get their tickets through the lottery. more ›

A look at some noteworthy programs this week: more ›

Brooklyn Vegan (via Reuters) reports that New York's Hit Factory studio will be turned into condos. The building, which is on West 54th Street between Ninth and 10th, closed in 2005. Prior to that musicians like John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Madonna and U2 recorded there. This place should be a museum, not someone's $1 million bachelor pad. more ›

Mmm, there is nothing like it when the NY Times dips its toes into celebrity journalism. Sure, their story about what celebrities do when they buy or sell homes had some interesting new facts, but it also makes Gothamist feels less dirty than when we decide to get that issue of US Weekly for a subway ride (it takes 10 minutes to read!). This is our favorite anecdote:

Dolly Lenz, a vice chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman in New York, said she once advised Mariah Carey to arrive for an interview with a Manhattan building's co-op board "dressed for a funeral." She appeared "in a halter top and mini-mini-miniskirt," Ms. Lenz recalled. more ›

Gothamist is very fond of the film, Searching for Bobby Fischer. Although there is no Bobby Fischer in it, it does have an interesting look at the chess games in Washington Square Park. For more Bobby Fischer, read Rene Chun's 2002 Atlantic article, Bobby Fischer's Pathetic Endgame. One person doesn't think Fischer's playing was in violation of anything, but adds that Fischer's criminally charges were ordered by "Executive Order" from President Bush (41). more ›

And fresh from the spin machine, director Jay Roach tells USA Today, "Dustin and Barbra should have been a comedy team. They have great comic timing. They could have done vaudeville or I Love Lucy or even Tracy-Hepburn stuff." Right. Gothamist is sure practically the same was said of Turner & Hooch and Sylvester Stallone & Estelle Getty in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. Defamer noted how Hoffman and Streisand's road to Fockerness had some bumps. If you want some great Barbra Streisand comedy, see What's Up Doc, which is preposterously good. more ›

The Sun ran this photo of Mr. Barbra Streisand, James Brolin, looking spookily like our 40th President, Ronald Reagan. Brolin is playing the Gipper in an upcoming CBS TV movie about the Reagans. Brilliant Australian actress Judy Davis is playing Nance. more ›

Oscar Commentary
Oscar is celebrating its 75th anniversary, I'm celebrating my 25th anniversary of watching Oscar. more ›