After reading the review of Ana Marie Cox's new novel, Dog Days, in the Times yesterday (Cox got praise some of the satire, but the narrative itself was too formulaic), Gothamist wondered what about the other bloggers turned genuine, published (or about to be published) writers and their fates. Are a bunch of online fans enough to make a book successful? But what would be success? Critical praise or bestseller-dom? Link love from the blogosphere? An Oprah endorsement? A kick-ass Technorati ranking? Well, of course, all - and even critically panned books get movie deals! Gothamist has spent about ten minutes thinking about this and clearly, the way to go is to write a pseudo-memoir novel that involves raising a dead brother, Russian Jews, race relations in England, stints in drug clinics, and the Opus Dei, basically The Little Staggering Pieces Are Illuminated White Code. more ›

A friend recently moved into a new apartment with a large kitchen, and I'd like to buy her some neat kitchen items for her new place. Besides the usual places like Bed, Bath and Beyond, what are some specialty stores that sell nifty kitchen items? more ›

About 49% of the population is still reeling from Senator Kerry's concession. Gothamist's own Doug Gordon (also of Planet Gordon) and his wife are in Boston, and were captured for the world to see on BBC News Front Page. He tells us, "All I can say is that there is nothing quieter than the sound of 10,000 people not saying a word." And we expect the Secret Service and FBI to be investigating many more street crimes of this nature. more ›

- And, fine, if you're going to be a baby and stay at home, go to Zap2It for TV listings
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Doug at Ask Gothamist recently attended a class at the Institute of Culinary Education where cupcakes were the evening's focus. We made everything from the basic golden with butter cream frosting to more elaborate merengue and royal icings and each student got to take home at least two dozen cupcakes. Ours, pictured here, included piped on icing, and even a few edible flowers. One of the advantages of the class - aside from a professional instructor, professional tools and, most importantly, a professional dishwasher - is the high quality ingredients available for use with the recipes. Fine chocolate, rich butter, high-quality food dyes, only made the cupcakes that much closer to what you might find at Buttercup or Magnolia. The only problem with the class? After sampling so much icing, we hardly wanted to eat any cupcakes at the end of the evening. more ›

Planet Gordon was mentioned on the local ABC 7 tech update (from Sree Sreenivasen) as a top wedding site, and Doug will be speaking on WNYC this Saturday on Public Radio Weekend about groom stuff. more ›

Gothamist is growing like a gummy bear in water- so we've got some announcements to make. First, we'd like your help beta-testing a couple of new Gothamist sections. Gothamist Weather will be written by Leslie Campisi, Carrie Himelfarb, and their crack team of metro meteorologists, and will feature daily weather information, weather gossip, weather fashion, and maybe even a little bit of weather porn. Ask Gothamist will be written by Doug Gordon and Erin O'Brien, and will offer all the unsolicited advice you so desperately do not crave from Gothamist. You know, where to find the best burger, what to do if your boyfriend is too metrosexual, how to get home when the F-train goes out of service. Both pages will be in beta for the next week, and barring any major disasters, should go live the following Monday. Special thanks to Neil Epstein for coding both blogs. more ›