RALLY: Barack is back! This time he's hitting up Manhattan with an evening rally in Washington Square Park. It's gonna be a big one, so get there early! At least this time there won't be any unhappy paying customers, because it's free! Check out his video invite: 5pm // Washington Square Park [W 4th St and Fifth Ave] // Free, RSVP here EVENT: Tonight the Fall 2007 season at NYPL is in full effect as......

FILM: A tribute to Jean Genet on film begins tonight at BAM. The focus will be on films inspired by the French writer, as well as Genet's own Un Chant D'Amour. BAM describes the festival further: A writer, criminal, homosexual, activist, and self-styled renegade, Jean Genet creates incendiary work that offers dreamlike evocations of moral ambiguity in a repressed society, and is rife with homosexuality, outlandish fantasies of submission, and acts of violence. This series......

DISCUSSION: Is New York losing it's New York charm? Tonight contributors to the new tome "The Suburbanization of New York" will talk about just that (and is conveniently located down the street from H&M and Pottery Barn). The panel includes Marshall Berman, Eric Darton, Francis Morrone, Matthew Schuerman, Neil Smith, Michael Sorkin, and Suzanne Wasserman. 6:30pm // The Gotham Center at the CUNY Graduate Center [Elebash Recital Hall, 365 Fifth Ave] // Free EVENT: This......

Many things happened last Tuesday night at a CUNY Graduate Center auditorium lobby reception. Kim Peek, the 55 year-old savant who inspired Rain Man, walked through the crowd to answer strangers' questions about forgotten rural highways, old telephone directories, and birthdays. His father Fran talked about Kim’s abilities and home life in Utah, and passed the nine-pound Academy Award given to him by Rain Man’s screenwriter to anyone who wanted to hold it. Elsewhere......

For those of us who may have forgotten what winter is like, the Times has a fascinating feature on past snow storms and their effects on the city. There was a time, when street cars were drawn by horses, communication and power lines were above ground, and buildings were heated by coal, that the city would be brought to a dangerous standstill by a blizzard. The mother of all storms was the Blizzard of......

The Center for an Urban Future released a report, Rethinking New York's Street Fairs (PDF), that criticizes city street fairs for being too many, too bland, and too difficult for other vendors to participate in. For instance, did you realize there are 367 street fairs a year (at least planned for 2006)? And did you know that almost 46% of the food permits are held by the 20 largest street vendors - 9 of......

June 1: Grand Gourmet It's the seventh annual Grand Gourmet, a tasting event to benefit and recognize the work of the Grand Central Neighborhood Social Services Corporation, the largest not-for-profit homeless social services provider in New York City. Over 30 midtown restaurants, bars and merchants, including Pampano, The Campbell Apartment, and Métrazur will be sampling their wares in Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal. 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm, East 42nd Street at Park Avenue,......

KARAOKE: Tonight is the MCFGHT, a LVHRD event. Michelle Collins is the master of ceremonies, presiding over a roomful of people cheering on those who take part in the nights karaoke showdown. If you've never seen Brian Battjer do karaoke, and we're guessing most of you haven't, you do not want to miss this. He'll be one of the contestants tonight. Check out the flyer here, and buy tickets here. They're $20 ($11 if you're......