Last week, noted Harvard academic Henry Louis Gates was arrested in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after a neighbor described a man trying to "pry" open a home's front door. It turned out that Gates had locked himself out his house; cops claim Gates was belligerent and refused to show ID while Gates claims he did show ID yet was still arrested for disorderly conduct (apparently for allegedly being belligerent, which he denies). The charges were dropped, but Gates wants an apology from the cop, "If he apologizes sincerely, I am willing to forgive him. And if he admits his error, I am willing to educate him about the history of racism in America and the issue of racial profiling." And the Reverend Al Sharpton was incredulous, "I’ve heard of driving while black, and I’ve heard of shopping while black. But I’ve never heard of living in a home while black." The Harlem minister added he would fight for Gates, "If this can happen at Harvard, what does it say about the rest of the country? Henry Louis Gates is the pre-eminent African-American scholar in the country. If they can do this to him, imagine what they can do to a kid in Roxbury." more ›

Prefab housing isn't just for the..."thrifty" anymore! Yesterday Wired featured a selection of twelve modular, prefab housing units -- from lofts to place atop city skylines to 60 square-foot cabins with "cathedral ceilings". more ›

Brian Cox is widely admired for commanding performances in films like The Bourne Identity, Rushmore and the original Hannibal Lecter in Michael Mann’s Manhunter. But like most actors from across the pond, the Scottish Cox originally built his reputation on decades of tireless stage work in theaters around the word. Until the stagehands’ strike shut down Broadway, he could be seen in the role of Max, a diehard British Marxist and Cambridge professor in Tom... more ›

Above is a picture of the observation towers at the New York State pavilion of the 1964-65 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, Queens. A flickr member scanned the picture, and many others, after he found a scrapbook on the street in Cambridge, MA. He believes that the photos were taken by a woman named Lillian Seymour, who visited the World's Fair in 1965. more ›

The most charming weddings article in the NY Times today is not in the Styles section, but the City section: It's about the many Queens couples who get married at Queens Borough Hall, a three-and-a-half story brick building designed by William Gehron and Andrew J. Thomas. About 9,000 couples got married there last year, and after being married by a deputy city clerk, sometimes they pose in front of a retired Redbird Subway car that is in the courtyard. The Times has a cute slideshow, too. more ›

Newsweek released that latest list of 1,200 top high school rankings. It is precisely the kind of list that makes people many parts crazy, because their schools aren't listed at all or because their schools are listed and it'll drive up property prices. The NY Sun says that the list snubs the city, as none of the city's prestigious schools are listed in the top 100: "The top-ranked city school, the High School for Arts and Business in Queens, placed at no. 351. Forest Hills High School, also in Queens, squeezed in at no. 1,159." Three other high schools in Queens were listed, as were a school in Staten Island and one in Brooklyn. more ›

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The wedding season is in full swing: Second week in a row where there are over 30 weddings in the NY Times Weddings & Celebrations section. Here we go: more ›

THEATER: Teflon war criminal and Nobel laureate Henry Kissinger made news again this week with the revelation that Dr. Strangelove has secretly cautioned against any troop withdrawal from Iraq because, just like ‘Nam, such action would “become like salted peanuts to the American public; the more troops come home, the more will be demanded.” Kissinger’s breathtaking contempt for democracy is matched only by his Machiavellian genius; both attributes are skewered to great effect in this terrific revival of Nixon’s Nixon, which imagines what went down during Nixon’s historic meeting with Kissinger on the eve of his resignation. The play is getting great reviews, which further disproves Tom Lehrer’s quip that political satire became obsolete when Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize. - John Del Signore more ›

LAist has so much fun this week! They go to E3, where they overhear the timeless remark "Man, this is where nerdy girls get laid." Is that a promise? They also give us this week's best CDs and make us realize that LA is the best place to use Zillow. more ›

Another short Weddings and Celebrations, so let's jump in: Total Number of Weddings: 10
Total Number of Same-Sex Weddings: 0 Average Age of Brides: 35
Average Age of Grooms: 37.3
Youngest Bride: 26
Oldest Bride: 72
Youngest Groom: 26
Oldest Groom: 80
Average Age Difference: 2.7 years
Largest Age Difference: 8 years Number of Older Brides: 1
Number of Older Grooms: 7
Number of Same-Age Couples: 2 Number of Native New Yorkers (State): 3
Number of Non-Native New Yorkers: 17
Number of Weddings Held Instate: 3
Number of Weddings Held Out of State: 7 Number of Previous Marriages That Ended in Divorce: 1
Number of Previous Marriages That Ended in Death: 1 Number of Columbia Graduates: 2
Number of Cambridge Graduates: 2
Number of Fordham Graduates: 2
Number of Rutgers Graduates: 2
Number of Brandeis Graduates: 2
Number of Harvard Graduates: 2
Number of University of Chicago Graduates: 1
Number of NYU Graduates: 1
Number of Princeton Graduates: 1
Number of People With No College Listed: 1
Number of Couples Who Fell For Each Other Over Three Basketball Games in Which the Bulls Lost: 1

Number of Three-Term Governors of Vermont Married: 1

Number of Grooms Who Were on the United States Rowing Team: 1 Number of Weddings With Couple Photos: 8
Number of Weddings With Bride Only Photos: 0
Number of Weddings Without Photos: 2
Number of Grooms With Glasses in Photos: 3
Number of Brides With Glasses in Photos: 0
Number of No-Teeth Smiles in Photos: 1 (0 Grooms, 1 Brides)
Number of Bald or Nearly Bald Grooms in Photos: 4 more ›

There is nothing better than food investigative journalism! Frank Bruni, the Times' food critic/restaurant reviewer, went undercover as a waiter for a week in order to gain insight on crazy diners, mercurial tipping, and knowing a restaurant inside out. His stint was at the East Coast Grill in Cambridge (better to avoid annoying NYC foodies!) and he posed as "Gavin," a freelance writer. We loved this part:

I'm shadowing Tina, who has worked at the East Coast Grill for decades and seen it all. She is handling the same section Bryan did. She offers a psychological profile of a woman sitting alone at L-3, who declared the chocolate torte too rich and announced, only after draining her margarita, that it had too much ice. more ›

David Haskell, Topic Magazine more ›

Jeff Jarvis, Buzzmachine more ›

Sausage Stuffing With Caramelized Onions from Tom Colicchio of Gramercy Tavern and Craft; Braised Brussels Sprouts With Pancetta and Toasted Bread Crumbs from Suzanne Goin of Lucques and A.O.C, Los Angeles; Mashed Sweet Potatoes With Maple Syrup and Chipotles from Bobby Flay, Bolo and Mesa Grill; Corn Pudding With Herb-Braised Chanterelles and Spicy Greens from Charlie Palmer of Aureole; Creamed Red and White Pearl Onions With Bacon from Barbara Lynch of No. 9 Park, Boston; Roasted Parsnips With Orange Zest from David Pasternack of Esca; Wild Rice With Mushrooms, Cranberries and Walnuts from Alfred Portale of Gotham Bar and Grill; Roasted Maple-Glazed Baby Carrots With Dried Grapes from Chris Schlesinger of East Coast Grill, Cambridge, Mass.; Jerusalem Artichoke Pancakes from Michael Romano of Union Square Cafe; and Mixed Mushroom and Sweet Potato Stuffing from Charlie Trotter of Charlie Trotter's, Chicago. more ›

Every so often, news will pop up about various geniuses being autistic, based on books and essays about their behavior. Cambridge professor Simon Baron Cohenbelieve that Albert Einstein and Sir Issac Newton had Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism, which seems to explain their eccentricities and problems with socializing. There have been thoughts that Bill Gates is autistic, inspired by his rocking in chairs, his odd tics. more ›