Well, it's the ultimate accessory if you're Mets reliever Joe Smith. Because he missed out on rookie hazing last year, Smith must wear a pink Hello Kitty backpack every time he walks from the dugout to the bullpen. Mets closer Billy Wagner presented him with the bag on June 19 and proclaimed, "It's not Hello Kitty, it's Hello Smitty -- mee-oww!" And Smith has been living up to the demand: Recently, the bag has been......

Starting in the afternoon, the masses traveled to the Upper West Side yesterday to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons get inflated on West 77th and West 81st Streets between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. By 6PM, crowds were penned in for blocks - it took us about 30-40 minutes of shuffling and snaking around before we could get close to any balloons. We suspect the Broadway stagehands' strike as well as......

Tomorrow is one of our favorite days of the year: The annual Thanksgiving Eve inflation of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons! This year, there are twelve giant balloons: Dora the Explorer, Kermit the Frog, Healthy Mr. Potato Head (he's wearing a jogging suit), Scooby Doo, Ronald McDonald, Pikachu w/Poke-Ball, Energizer Bunny, Flying Ace Snoopy, and JoJo's Circus will be joined by new balloons Abby Cadabby, Shrek, and Super Cute Hello Kitty! As if Hello......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on Nostrand Ave. in Brooklyn, an overturned auto on the LIE and Oceania St. in Queens, and a fall victim on 170th St. and University Ave. in the Bronx. Two NJ teenagers attempted to escape the wrath of a parent, who caught them drinking alcohol last week, by tieing together bedsheets in order to rappel down the side of their highrise building. The incident ended badly, although......

A no parking sign? A fire hydrant? Mere street dressing when it comes to drivers with a DOT-issued Department of City Planning placard. Streetsblog observes that a yellow Porsche convertible parked on Seventh Avenue belongs to City Planning Commissioner Dolly Williams. Hello, Dolly indeed. Streetsblog notes that Williams, Brooklyn's sole representative on the planning commission, "has been barred from participating in Kings County's most important recent land use processes." For instance, she can't attend Atlantic......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a water rescue at 23rd St. and the East River off Manhattan, a stabbing at 23rd St. and 4th Ave. in Brooklyn, and a shooting on Springfield Blvd. in Queens. The drunk off-duty cop, who plowed into an aspiring photographer taking pictures in a closed lane of the 59th St. Bridge, was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Authorities believe they may have found......

- What the hell is going on with people: A father was arrested for sexually abusing his daughter - oh, and it happens that he's a supervisor at the Administration for Children's Services!! - Mario Batali is having issues with his landlords in the Meatpacking District (basically, they want him out) - Yay - fourfour has his Project Runway recap up! - The Village Voice has a photo essay on how Hello Kitty has......

STOP what you're doing and program your TiVos or mark this down in your Outlook calendars or PDAs... Anthony Bourdain's new show, No Reservations, is premiering on the Travel Channel on Monday, July 25 at 10PM. Here is Bourdain's description of what the show is about:"It means that I just don't care what happens, you know, in the sense that there are things I want to do, there are things I want to see,......

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Batman Begins is awesome and War of the Worlds is better than expected. But if you want to experience a part of New York City many don't usually get to and want to feel appreciate your apartment (go Schadenfreude!), Gothamist recommends Dark Water. We had been curious about this film for a while, and though we fare poorly at even slightly scary films, we were too tempted by seeing how Walter......

Lalena Fissure, singer, The Color Guard...

To celebrate Hello Kitty's 30th Anniversary, it seems that the folks at Sanrio and at the NY Mets decided that there would be nothing like setting up their respective disproportionately large-headed mascots for some fun at Shea Stadium during a game last Sunday. Naturally, Japanese player Kazuo Matsui was involved in some of the festivities. It's stuff like this (basically any time they trot out Mr. Met) that reminds Gothamist why we love the Mets...even......

Hello Kitty turned 30 yesterday, and to celebrate, one Tokyo jeweller has created a blinging kitty: "For just three million yen (15,575 pounds/US $28,472), they can buy a three cm (1.2-inch) high platinum Kitty, her dress and hair ribbon studded with 131 diamonds." Reuters also notes "Like many an ageing star, Kitty is known to have undergone at least one facelift during her career, which brought her eyes and nose closer together for a 'cuter'......

McDonald's new "Be Active" initiative - their "We're thinking of your health while we still sell yummy, fatty fries" menu options - will get a $30 million ad push whenever it's launched and here is a glimpse of the "Go Active" Meal box. The meals will have a salad, an exercise booklet and a pedometer, which makes us believe that the Go Active Meal is a one-time purchase for most, because there's no reason to......

Bryant Park has put the hawk program on ice after the other day's ratdog-mauling by hawk Galan. The Daily News reports that while the proogram was successful (50% reduction in park-user-harassing-pigeon), Parks spokeswoman Megan Sheekey says, "We place the safety of park users, including pets, over any minor inconveniences that may be caused by pigeons." Gothamist suggests that tiny rat dogs be given those medical collar crowns - huge ones - so hawks won't mistake......

I may not like Mariah Carey's music, but I have to say, her last two videos have been amazing. The more recent one, "(Boy) I Need You" has so many elements: - Mariah - Her dog - Many butterflies - Hyper stylized sets - Tokyo - Japanese workers - Her alter ego, "Bianca" - Godzilla-like creature lumbering around - Car chase sequence - Rapper Cam'ron as well as a sample of his song "Oh Boy"......