Some of us find grotesque and obnoxious food-related rich guy Guy Fieri unbearable to watch on the tee-vee, but Conan O'Brien discovered something very interesting last night: playing footage of Fieri backward has the opposite effect! As grating as Fieri is in normal footage, he's conversely tolerable when he's moving backward. Oh, the fun things you can do with video machines! Watch with the simple, easily-amused eyes of a child as Guy Fieri eats his food in reverse: more ›

Last night, New York's own Das Racist made their television debut on Conan O'Brien to perform their song "Michael Jackson," and, naturally, brought a very realistic Michael Jackson impersonator with them. It's part creepy, part amazing, and totally perfect (or according to some people, "the worst"). Also it sort of makes us feel like maybe Michael Jackson isn't dead, and is now going to enter the "Elvis is still alive" phase of his post-mortem existence. more ›

Conan O'Brien returns to New York this month, and he's ringing in his arrival with a museum dedicated to himself. The COCO MoCA will be housed on the 2nd floor of the Time Warner Center from October 24th through November 3rd. Inside, you will find 50 pieces created by artists, each an homage to everyone's favorite ginger. Here's a preview, but if you go in person, you'll also get an audio tour voiced by Conan and Andy Richter, and you'll be able to experience the Conan Loveseat, an "interactive robotic couch sculpture that talks to fans, hugs them and takes a picture for them." more ›

Ice-T, man of many strong opinions, was on Conan last night doing some promotion for his new reality show, Ice Loves Coco, when he took a moment to wax philosophical about his tortured relationship with Slushies, which he deems "the biggest hustle ever." more ›

Jon Hamm was on Conan last night, talking about poop-scooping etiquette, Jack McBrayer, and Donald Trump (who he says didn't take those jokes at the White House Correspondents Dinner too well). more ›

The Late Night Drama that started nearly a year ago has come as full circle as it's going to, with Conan O'Brien back on television as a host. He returned with self-mockery, and high ratings last night—drawing more viewers than both Jay Leno and David Letterman. more ›

Tonight Conan O'Brien returns to your television set, with his new show premiering on TBS at 11 p.m. EST. So if you joined Team Coco way back at the beginning of the year, now's your chance to make good on your loyalty (even if he didn't come back to NYC). He's got a website set up, and he's been Tweeting in anticipation. His last time hosting a show was in January, when he had quite a send-off from The Tonight Show. more ›

Is Fox still courting Conan or does the network have the host nearly locked down for a future late night program? According to reports, he's been presented with the outline of a deal for a show on Fox, but no official offer has been made. This is according to the Hollywood Reporter, who note the talks aren't exclusive, and allegedly "O'Brien has been pitched about two dozen ideas for his next TV gig, including five or six legitimate enough for consideration." Meanwhile, TMZ reports that Fox execs have been in touch with several affiliates, "applying pressure" to put Conan on the air during the 11 o'clock hour. more ›

After the Leno-Conan disaster and the Black History Month menu NBC was reportedly so happy to see Jerry Seinfeld show up at the office, it didn’t even care what he was pitching. "If you know the Yiddish term kvelling, that's what the executives were doing. They were rejoicing. Jerry's back! Seinfeld's in the house again!" one source told the Post, adding that “a show based on a guy sitting with a paper bag over his head...would have been green-lighted." But it wasn’t a show about paper bags, or a show about nothing. It was a show about marital spats, which, since airing after the Olympics, has gotten bad reviews and ratings that aren’t much better, causing TV pioneer Al Primo to predict the Marriage Ref will come back to “haunt” Seinfeld and the network that broadcasted it. more ›

The day has come, Conan O'Brien will be leaving his Late Night show in New York for new sunny digs in Los Angeles. Jimmy Fallon will be taking over, though in a different studio, so tonight is the last chance to lay your eyes on the Late Night set as you know it. NY1 is reporting that fans of the host have been lined up in the cold in hopes of scoring tickets to the final show. One told them, "I just love Conan and I'm really sad he's leaving and I'm really excited to see the show. I know it's going to be amazing and I just absolutely had to be at the last show." People, he's still going to be on television. Another fan said, "We went to the show yesterday. Then, once we got out, we got back in line." They caught that priest, right? more ›

Tina Fey has been making her 30 Rock promo rounds (the season premiere airs tomorrow) and appeared on Conan last night, where the first segment was all about that other show: SNL. (She says her recent stints at her old gig have been akin to "moving back in with your parents.") more ›

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog never seems to run out of material when it comes to making fun of nerds. Ever since Conan O'Brien and (the man beneath Triumph) Robert Smigel let him loose on the Star Wars fans lined up for the premiere of Attack of the Clones in 2002, sci-fi and comic book fans have been a regular target for Triumph. Last night, Conan showed Triumph's latest trail of terror throughout last weekend's Comic-Con in San Diego. In the video, Triumph himself is astounded at some point that he hasn't run out of fat jokes. Yet no matter how many comic book nerds he goes after for being fat, chronic masturbating virgins, the shtick never seems to get old. more ›

Yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average took a 400-point-drop bath, prompted by rising oil prices and higher unemployment numbers, and stirred up more recession fears. more ›

The presidential race has been a goldmine for talk shows (well, when the Writers' Guild strike isn't happening) and nowhere is that more apparent than on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. On last night's Colbert Report, on a riff about John McCain's Super Tuesday chances and taking credit for Mike Huckabee'e campaign, Stephen Colbert was joined by Jon Stewart, his Comedy Central crony, and then Conan O'Brien! more ›

What has Conan O'Brien been doing in his spare time? His writers have only been putting pen to paper for their picket signs, and even though he returned to his late night desk earlier this month -- he's been a one-man show, lacking his trusty troupe of scribes. Alone and living in a world of reruns, he's been unloading in his diary strike journal. more ›

LECTURE: NYU and the Department of Sanitation present a trash talk tonight, titled: Gotham and its Garbage: A History of the Department of Sanitation. The illustrated lecture will include an exhibition tour and status report on the DSNY Museum-in-the-Making (which we wrote about last year). Robin Nagle, Ph.D., DSNY Anthropologist-in-Residence, and Haidy Geismar, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology, NYU will both be there to lead the discussion. more ›

Last night Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert returned to their fake news desks, with picket lines outside of their studios and no strike beards in sight (however, a strike unibrow did appear). They were supportive as ever of the WGA though, in fact Stewart spent all 30 minutes discussing the strike, with only a lone joke or two about the primaries ("Cold white people have had their say"). He made it clear that "From now on, until the end of the strike, we'll be doing 'A Daily Show with Jon Stewart.' But not 'THE Daily Show.'" more ›

Late night television is back, with two hosts not crossing the picket line (David Letterman and Craig Ferguson), and three still getting WGA picketers outside of their studios (Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel). Only two hosts were willing to grow, and keep, their strike beards -- and we want to know whose you like best! more ›

Last week everyone from writers on the picket line to bored couch potatoes were abuzz with news that the late night heavyweights would be returning with all new shows. Last night was the big night (Letterman, O'Brien, Kimmel, Ferguson and Leno all returned), and both Conan O'Brien and David Letterman took the stage showing solidarity with strike beards intact. Letterman threatened to shave his later on Conan's show, saying that he'd probably be helping his New York late night pal out since he's returned sans writers. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on 20th Ave. and 37th St. in Queens, a hate crime on East 9th St. and Ave. H in Brooklyn, and a missing child on Decatur Ave. in the Bronx.
• Hyperactive performer Robin Williams is David Letterman's guest tonight, in his first new show in weeks. Letterman, as well as Craig Ferguson, have worked out pacts with the Writers Guild of America, allowing writers to come back. Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien are crossing picket lines to come back. Riffing on Robin Williams' routines are not as funny when hard to distinguish from KKK impersonations in the deep south.
• A Port Authority policeman in the department's K-9 unit was involved in an auto accident that killed the woman driving the other vehicle. The officer was hospitalized and his partner was taken to a veterinarian for treatment.
• A man with a hunting knife was arrested after entering and then exiting Hillary Clinton's Iowa campaign headquarters. There was no overt violent action, but local police described him as a local unpredictable character.

As we previously mentioned, the late night heavyweights have been angling to make a return in early '08. Letterman has been leading the pack by working on a deal with the WGA through his own production company, WorldWide Pants Inc. Yesterday they reached an agreement which will allow his show to return to the air next week, writing staff and all. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an injured firefighter at Ave Y and Knapp St. in Brooklyn, serious trauma at the Bryant Park ice rink in Manhattan, and a stabbing at 169th St. and Linden Blvd. in Queens.
• The New Yorker collects quotes from striking writers and their supporters regarding the strike beard phenomena. Conan O'Brien, on perhaps the only physical feature that will ever help him resemble a lumberjack: "I’m the only guy chopping wood outside his Manhattan co-op.”
• Former Yankee Jim Leyritz was arrested on suspicion of DUI and DUI manslaughter after a crash in Florida last night (Leyritz's 44th birthday), which killed the driver of the car he struck.

Earlier this week, while in Grand Central Terminal we heard a familiar voice reminding us to “Mind the gap.” It turns out it was CNBC “Money Honey” Maria Bartiromo. Apparently Metro-North riders aren’t the only ones who are being reminded, as the Post reports that Long Island Rail Road commuters are getting similar reminders. The recorded messages were the brainchild of MTA board member Mitchell Palli. So apparently MTA board members do other things than raising fares, albeit of questionable benefit. more ›

After Letterman announced his show's comeback with new episodes, writers' strike or no writers' strike, the leaders of late night all followed suit. more ›

SHOP: Still looking for that perfect gift? The Brooklyn Historical Society is holding the 4th Annual NY Creates Craft Fair, and they may have just what you're looking for. Check it out today and tomorrow, and it will be back the 22nd and 23rd for the real last-minute shoppers. more ›

The New York Press is getting their Gawker Stalker on with their latest cover story about stalking Claire Danes...and how you, yes you, can also follow her home! All you need is the internet, a lot of free time and an obsession in which to fuel your fanboy/girl fire. The payoff? Well, for the author of the article, Becca Tucker, it was a cover story complete with creepy photo, headline and font. Just close your... more ›

Entertainment Weekly’s #1 “smartest” Hollywood player, Judd Apatow, says “it doesn’t look good” for an end to the writers’ strike any time soon. The well-connected catalyst behind hits like Knocked Up has told the Toronto Star that the studios and producers are prepared to dig in and crush the union’s demand for payment for Internet downloads and movie streaming, “which are expected to become a big part of the industry in the coming years.”

It would cost very little money to end the strike and (the producers) are basically trying to create a way of paying people so that when the Internet explodes, they’ll wind up paying less than they do now to writers. And I don’t think they’re going to get away with it. The writers really failed to stand up for themselves with the DVD (in a previous contract dispute) and they feel terrible about it, and enough of them will not give up that it will have to be resolved in a reasonably fair manner.

Tonight striking writers and friends will take the stage again for a 2nd Strike Night! Joining John Oliver (The Daily Show), Liz Cackowski (Saturday Night Live), Andy Secunda (Conan) and Maggie Carey, Joe Grossman (Letterman) is John Mulaney -- possibly one of our favorite young comedians today. Mulaney helped host one of our Movable Hype shows last year and currently can be seen on stages around town and on screen at Best Week Ever. Buy... more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on Utica Ave. in Brooklyn, an attempted bank robbery on East Fordham Rd. in the Bronx, and a large tree down on East 114th St. and 91st Ave. in Queens..
• Buzz over the much-anticipated J.J. Abrams feature code-named "Cloverfield" has precipitated to something much more solid: a feature named "Cloverfield." The Internet's been speculating about the horror-thriller with a trailer that includes the decapitation of the Statue of Liberty for months.
• Writers' strike be damned, late night hosts like Letterman, Leno, and Conan may be back on the air sooner rather than later.
• ConEd is shutting down its last direct current power plant in New York, which was located in Midtown East Manhattan. New York's first power plant was on Pearl St. and founded by Thomas Edison himself, who favored direct to the more currently prevalent alternating current.
• A Brooklyn man was arrested for allegedly marking cards at CT's Mohegan Sun casino in a game of Texas Hold 'Em.
• Today was the last day of New Yorkers for apply for relief aid after August's damaging storms. Applicants can call 1-800-621-FEMA, or apply through www.fema.gov.
• A thief shot himself, after attempting to shove a gun in his pants during a Long Island home invasion.
• Sen. Fred Thompson and L&O alumnus returns to NYC.