Even if you have a much-craved "objective," starting a successful protest movement is tough. Staten Island resident Joe Valentin wants his brethren rise up and boycott the Port Authority due to its recent fare hikes, and stood outside the Rossville Shopping Center all day yesterday to rally support. But he had no luck garnering disciples. "I talk to people; everybody supports what I'm doing, they want to thank me, but that's not what I want. I want them to do something," Valentin told the Staten Island Advance. What Valentin doesn't realize is that a boycott of the PA is a boycott of Love. more ›

Great news for automobiles who need fresh air and green grass and don't have any other roads in New York City to drive on: Bloomberg wants cars to stay in Central Park! Despite the democratic bodies of CB 5 and CB 7's request for a two month trial run of their proposal to ban cars from Central Park from July to November (except for the transverse roads), the mayor's office told reporters that "We do not have any trial period coming online." Take THAT, popular sovereignty! more ›

Photograph of Mayor Bloomberg speaking at the State of the City address by Mary Altaffer/AP more ›

As violence continues in Pakistan in the wake of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, New York City's Pakistani population was shocked by the news, watching news coverage and holding vigils. One woman said to the Daily News, "For us, this is like losing [President John] Kennedy. She wanted peace. She wanted democracy. And she lost her life for these things." And a man told the NY Times, “I think there will be a lot of violence after this, and chances are pretty slim for democracy." more ›

CRAFTY: The holiday season is upon us, which means getting that perfect gift for whoever's egg nog you'll be gathered around this year. Why not try a little D.I.Y.? Every other Monday the Church of Craft meets up and will "provide contact, craft support, advice, knowhowto, instructions, directions, tips, tricks, inspiration, and the blinding love of craft to all who seek it." 7 to 9pm // Rapture Cafe [200 Avenue A] // Free EVENT: Have... more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: 2007 American Music Awards (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., WABC 7) Most awards shows are basically useless and awards shows where people vote on line are even more so. This year this awards show invented by Dick Clark in 1973 gets even more useless. Jimmy Kimmel hosts. Nature: The Beauty of Ugly (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., WNET 13; Wednesday, 8:00 p.m., WLIW 21) A look at some of the strangest... more ›

Isn't the Internet wonderful? It lets baseball fans vote in an All-Star game player and now it lets people around the world decide what to do with a historic ball. After purchasing the ball that Barry Bonds hit to break baseball's all-time home run record, fashion designer Marc Ecko has decided to give the public a vote on what to do with the ball. On the website Vote756.com, Ecko gives voters three choices, "Bestow it. Brand it. Banish it." That's bestow it to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame, brand it with an asterisk and then send it to Cooperstown, and banish it to space via rocket. more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

The Chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, was recently featured on WNBC.com following an address at Pace University, where he discussed the potential for the Internet and sites like Google, in particular––and its recent acquisition YouTube.com––to affect political campaigns. He mentioned the long tail-end effect of viral marketing, which emphasizes the persistence of certain political memes and their effects on voters, saying, "I expect technology will have a significant effect on the '08 election. The Internet is the best way of delivering sound bites ever invented. Schmidt's address at Pace was a keynote speech at the Google sponsored Personal Democracy Forum. more ›

TRIVIA: Think you know a lot about New York? Come "challenge your knowledge of New York places, faces, dates and facts at the New York Book Club’s first trivia night. Special guests Steve Zeitlin and Marci Reaven, authors of Hidden New York and directors of City Lore, will be on hand to explain and educate." They warn you to bone up on your trivia at www.citylore.org and www.placematters.net beforehand. more ›

The move is certain to provoke a showdown with the City Council, which passed the bill last month. Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, who has had a largely cordial relationship with the Bloomberg administration, promised to push the Council to override the mayor’s action. more ›

VINYL SALE: If you're looking for some rare vinyl, you might want to check out this monthly event: Shakey's Record Fair. A meatpacking district locale seems...a little off, but as FreeNYC points out, if you're "looking for that super rare old school funktified 7"...Shakey's Record Fair is probably the only place you'll find it." more ›

In the wake of President Bush's Wednesday night address to the country, when he announced that he will send thousands of more soldiers to Iraq, hundreds of people protested the plan. They convened at the tiny island in the middle of Times Square in front of the U.S. Armed Forces recruiting station, with signs like "Stop the funding, stop the war" and "When government lies, Democracy dies" with drivers passing by honking their horns. Some protesters were dressed as Guantanamo prisoners. Of course, there were counter-protesters; one sign said, "Warning: Leftist protesters trying to demoralize our troops." No arrests were reported. more ›

Yesterday, Democracy Now.org showed footage taken from the Air Train station near the club in Jamaica, Queens where Sean Bell and his two friends were shot by police. And the video (link to download MP3) is bananas. One video shows a bullet coming into the station and barely missing a man. Another video shows two Port Authority police officers ducking from the bullets and running. The Daily News' Juan Gonzalez, who co-hosts Democracy Now, explained the tape:

JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, I think one of the things it shows, number one, is that there were a lot more people in danger that night by this shooting, the 50-shot barrage of the police officers at the scene, five cops at the scene, plainclothes and undercover. There had been a report that there had been at least one errant bullet, and I think Graham Weatherspoon -- he was on this show also -- talked about one that went into a home and hit a lamp. But it turns out that this particular bullet that went to the Air Train, which was -- more ›

A look at some noteworthy programs this week: more ›

Jagshemash! more ›

Hilarious: The NY Times' election blog, The Empire Zone, reports that Chelsea Clinton's name wasn't found in the book of registered voters at the West 20th Street polling place: "The book containing her name was apparently forwarded to the wrong district, denying her the ability to enter a polling booth." D'oh! So she - and probably the other people in that book - had to fill out an "affidavit vote," ensuring that she would be able to participate in the democratic process. The Daily Politics found out that some Manhattan voters got old 2005 affidavit ballots - one for last year's Mayoral race. There's nothing like voting day in NYC! But at least potential voters aren't being threatened with arrest. more ›

Yesterday, the NY Times looked at Columbia President - and First Amendement scholar - Lee Bollinger's free speech stance given this incident as well as many other instances at the the school were speech seems to have been shut down. And did you see Jim Gilchrist on The Colbert Report? Stephen Colbert didn't run across the stage from his desk to the interview area - it was probably in Gilchrist's rider that no one approach him suddenly before speaking. more ›

Donning blue UN "peace keeper" hats and protest signs, an estimated 20,000 people gathered in Central Park yesterday to demand the end to the genocide in Darfur. A large percentage of those present were college students who traveled in bus loads to attend. Timed to coincide with this week's opening of the 61st General Assembly of the United Nations. the rally was a part of the Global Day for Darfur, a day of assemblies in cities across the world, including Phnom Penh, Nairobi, and London. Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, Actress Mira Sorvino, and Country music stars Big and Rich addressed the crowd, among many others. more ›

Above is a video explaining why this event is taking place, and inviting everyone to come out to Central Park today. more ›

Alas, all we have is YouTube. Check out this video recapping the life of G N' R, it's...interesting, set to music and has a hopeful ending! more ›

The weather outside might be just starting to feel like spring, but in the theater world there’s already a summery vibe going on. Last night the Lortel Awards kicked off the trophy-giving season; this Friday the Drama League awards go out. Then there’s the festivals; not that there aren’t festivals at other times of the year, but as the weather heats up they start crowding in thick and fast. Currently you can get a square meal of offerings from around the world, all via some well-curated festivals. To begin with, there’s Pan Asian Repertory’s Spring Festival of New Works, which has four very different plays to choose from: Lan Tran’s Elevator Sex, Kendra Ware’s Recollections: Butoh-Inspired Movement, John Quincy Lee’s ABC (American Born Chinese), and Terry Park’s 38th Parallels. more ›

Last week we went on about all the theatre festivals that have found their way to stages lately; this week it seems like there’s a citywide Hamlet-fest or some sort of Shakespeare bug in the air. There are three productions of Hamlet going, so you can choose your poison. Still in previews is what looks like it will be a thoroughly, wonderfully traditional production of the play, at Classic Stage starring Michael Cumpsty, most recently of The Constant Wife and Democracy on Broadway. The other two versions are rather less “classic” in their approach: at La MaMa, Kanako Hiyama not only has pared the play down to an hour and a half, shuffled scenes and told the story from different perspectives, she literally puts you in the action, with the Ghost narrator in the audience and spectators cast as courtiers. Then, at Harlem’s Morris-Jumiel Mansion, Gorilla Repertory is doing the play in full, but *free* and outdoors in a roving, environmental manner. It would be pretty interesting (though pretty exhausting) to see all these adaptations in quick succession – just think how you might be talking after such an experiment. more ›

On Sundays, Gothamist publishes opinion pieces on issues relevant to life in NYC. Here's one: more ›

Mick Stingley, Low-Rent Rock Critic more ›

Downtown for Democracy brings together the creative community and helps to transorm its cultural influence into political power (ie: money and votes). more ›

So maybe the Oscars aren’t actually watched by a “billion” people each year. The audience is still ginormous compared to the Tonys. Even so, the Tonys are as big as it gets for American theater, and this morning the mostly predictable nominations were handed out at the Times Square Marriott Marquis. For play, you’ve got Democracy, Doubt, The Pillowman, and Gem of the Ocean. Musical: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Light in the Piazza, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Spamalot, in the first of its 14 nods. The same musicals are all nominated for best book and best music; best play revival and best musical revival have no surprises either, though Gothamist’s eyebrows were raised a bit at the inclusion of Sweet Charity, which barely opened May 4, which was the cutoff date for Tony nominations. Considering how touchy theater publicists are about having their shows watched and reviewed before official openings (though it did play in, um, Minneapolis before), this honor seems a little hasty, but maybe the Tony organizers just want to make sure Christina Applegate attends and brings some friends who might get a bigger TV audience. more ›

Vermont...what have you done for us lately? Actually (and beyond Ben & Jerry's) you've done quite a bit for us. And now musically, you give us Vorcza. We admit it, we're fans. This isn't like the "Sunday morning jazz" you listen to while doing the crossword. It's jazz, it's funk and it's danceable. Three musicians in this band...and they create a layered, sultry sound that is, yes, reminiscent of Medeski, Martin & Wood, but also very much their own. The music blends, comes apart and reforms almost seamlessly, creating an ocean of modulation (this can be a nice change when we're used to hearing a wall of strum.) more ›

Pooh-poohing the idea that being in a blue state meant their votes wouldn't count, New Yorkers were determined to vote yesterday, overwhelming voting centers and frustrating many. Our readers reported both frustrating and easy voting experiences yesterday, which makes us realize a couple things: 1) Voting on the way to work may make you late to work; 2) Voting at the crack of dawn is ideal, except at 45 Wall Street where election officials arrived an hour late; 3) There are varying rules about taking pictures of your ballot; 4) NYC children enjoy voting, so much so that they'll ask any ol' stranger if they can vote with 'em, making us believe the children really are the future. And the City's Board of Elections website had been inaccessible since Monday, due to the public's demand to find out more about where they needed to vote, which makes Gothamist wonder why the City didn't anticipate the need for more bandwidth - it's only the biggest city in the U.S., with a very high number of people Internet enabled. Department of Information and Telecommunications Technology, wake up! Gothamist has learned that the DoITT has nothing to do with the Board of Elections site or phonelines, so we're sorry we assumed you did; but maybe you need to help the BoE revamp their systems! more ›

Gothamist used to remember when we'd have a good idea of who would be president around dinner time. However, the very special episode of "America Picks A President" in 2000 had special guest appearances by "Hanging Chad," "James Baker," and "Overanxious Journalists Who Wanted To Call The Election." So this year, we must wait before we know who will be kicking his legs up in the White House come next January. Will it be a man who can choke on a pretzel or a man who looks a lot like Herman Munster? We'll be glued to all the news channels, desperately waiting some information. more ›