After 81 years spent fattening us up with their many irresistible cookie varieties, the Girl Scout organization is dropping some not-so-subtle hints that perhaps keeping a dozen boxes of Samoas in our locked desk drawer isn’t the healthiest way to make it through the winter. So for the first time they’ll be peddling sugar-free chocolate chip cookies and another low calorie cookie option: Cinna-Spins™. (Pictured.) more ›

It appears the rumors of autumn's demise have been greatly exaggerated and you're going to have to start wearing a jacket outside after all. But the change of seasons is not without its perks; there are those hot winter drinks to look forward to, and a number of bars around town offer the perfect accompaniment for your hot toddy: a crackling fireplace. Below are some of New York's best places to chill out on a... more ›

It's cola craziness! Federal agents have busted three people, including one Bronx man, for trying to sell Coke's secrets to Pepsi. Ibrahim Dimson of the Bronx, along with two residents in Coca-Cola's homestate, Georgia, were charged with "wire fraud and unlawfully stealing and selling trade secrets." The Daily News reports that Dimson sent a letter to Pepsi offering "very detailed and confidential information" about a new Coke product. Not realizing that colas collude a little, Pepsi let Coke know and the feds got involved. Joya Williams, who worked for Coke executives, was recorded stealing documents and a sample of the new product, while the three would-be corporate thieves asked for cash in a yellow Girl Scout cookie box. Wow - there are so many uses for Lemon Pastry Creme Cookies! more ›

SFist commeters pose for before and aftershocks when the mayor commemorates a 1906 earthquake...at 4:30 in the morning. A hot tip on the Chronicle vending machines comes in and the SFist war correspondent risks life and limb to post this dispatch from the frontlines. more ›

Some people watch the Super Bowl for the game, some people watch it because they know there will be Buffalo wings at the gathering, and some people watch it for the ads. You can thank Ridley Scott, Chiat/Day and Apple for making Super Bowl Commercial Analysis as big as Monday Morning Quarterbacking. There are many places where you can watch last night's ads - Google Video, USA Today, AdAge, the NY Times - but Gothamist wants to talk about our favorites. We'd have to say the Burger King Whopperettes were awesome during the last 20 seconds, but the build-up was pretty annoying; BK bonus: the website lets you build your own burger. And because we things about stupid humans, Gothamist is a fan of the Bud Light's Magic Frdge spot. We would have hoped the Mastercard spot with MacGyver could have had Selma and Patty in it (the Simpsons did the MasterCard spot last year) and we think the FedEx spot was kind of goofy. The ESPN Mobile spot's usage of Chad and Jeremy's A Summer Song was cute, but it only made us want to see Rushmore again - or listen to the soundtrack. The Diet Pepsi ads were also dumb, but for a maybe fun NYC fact, we think the P.Diddy one was shot at the Power Station (it looked like it anyway...and sorry, Jay Mohr, your big news will be your engagement to Nikki Cox, not these ads). And who knew it was a Nassau Country Girl Scout Chorus that sang "True Colors" for the Dove ad? more ›

More fallout over the ticketed Girl Scout activity in Williamsburg: After the media had a field day upon hearing that a little girl's dad was ticketed for helping her, the Mayor said, during a press conference that was probably about something much more important, "The story had some inconsistencies in it and the police department is investigating, but I think it's fair to say our crime reduction strategy has little to do with Girl Scout cookies and we will look at that." The inconsistencies are that the police claim that Gracie Louis's father was the only one present when a police caption issued him a summons for selling Girl Scout cookies over the weekend. However, the Louis family claims that 13 year-old Gracie was urged into the car when her mother heard the police yelling, as they approached them. The NYPD spokesman told reporters, "A 55-year-old man is no girl scout. Neither girl scouts nor other children were present when the summons was issued." Oh, NYPD, please. If Gothamist had a dollar for every father who helped sell their daughters' Girl Scout cookies, we'd be living the high life; in fact, we're very aware of employees who feel obligated to outdo each other in buying the most boxes of their boss's daughter's Girl Scout cookies - there's no real reason someone needs 20 boxes of Thin Mints. more ›

Hipsters, don't feel so bad about being maligned by the old neighborhood residents of Williamsburg for gentrifying the area: It seems that peewee entrepreneurship is also at risk. The NY Post reports that a police captain ticketed a Girl Scout's dad for selling cookies. Hoi Lewis and his 13 year-old daughter, Gracie, were delivering boxes of cookies and collecting money from relatives at 162 Bedford Avenue, when a police captain decided to strongarm the father (Gracie got into the car when they heard the police shouting) and issued a summons for being "observed offering for sale cookies w/o being properly licensed." The Post says that when the family complained, the police commissioner's office sounded shocked as well. Not only is this a crazy story and remind us of our days selling Girl Scout cookies to win a plastic mug, now Gothamist really wants some Girl Scout Samoa cookies. Find out which squads are selling by going to the Girl Scout Council Finder. But for the impatient, here are some Girl Scout Cookie recipes. more ›

Jill Singer, Mediabistro Deputy Editor more ›