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!" more ›

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... more ›

Tomorrow is one of our favorite days of the year: The annual Thanksgiving Eve inflation of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons! more ›

• 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 both are expected to survive.
• The negative effect of a stagehand strike may be ameliorated by spillover business directed towards off-Broadway productions. It's being reported that off-Broadway business is up about 30% as major productions have shut down.
• Fats Domino was presented with the key to the city for his work on behalf of struggling musicians in New Orleans. The actual key is worth $100 and is presented in a black velour case--just some of many interesting tidbits in this Times piece.
• Experiences with the police when one is taking pictures legally--even when one is not arrested--can still be a huge unnerving pain in the ass.
• The famed New Jersey Satriale's butcher shop, which was featured for several years as a location on the HBO mob drama "The Sopranos," has been knocked down and turned into a condo building called "The Sopranos."
• Three new giant balloons are entering the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade: Shrek, Abby Cadabby, and Hello Kitty. The three giants took a test-inflate in Queens this Sunday.
• Friends and family gathered to remember the victims of Flight 587, which crashed in residential Belle Harbor, Queens shortly after takeoff six years ago.

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. more ›

• 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 the body of artist Jeremy Blake, who was witnessed walking into the ocean off Rockaway Beach following the suicide of his girlfriend.
• Developer Bruce Ratner is closer to getting his tax-break subsidies, after negotiating with Mayor Bloomberg and the state legislature.
• Now that the "Mad Hatter" bank robber has been apprehended, NJ law enforcement can concentrate on capturing a new pair of bank robbers who fondle female tellers while in the course of their robberies.
• The cop who killed himself after murdering his 19-year-old girlfriend is being eyed in the murder of a man who was dating one of the cop's prior girlfriends.
• While undergoing an overhaul in Staten Island, the aircraft carrier Intrepid is being outfitted as a backup emergency command center in the event of another terrorist attack.
• Is it wrong to dress your cats as Hello Kitty? Gizmodo thinks so!

Photo of Coney Island by 68 on Flickr. more ›

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, there are things I want to experience before the time that I can't do those things. We get so little time at the table. I guess it means I'm not doing anything in a half-hearted way. No reservations, meaning we're going all the way, baby. No fear. My whole life, cooking has been about control. About being on it, every minute. About controlling everything and everybody around you. Traveling and eating are about letting things happen.

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 Salles would film this forgotten part of the city. more ›

Lalena Fissure, singer, The Color Guard more ›

More photos of Hello Kitty Day at Shea from WireImage. And the game in question was the one where Diamondbacks pitcher Randy "Big Unit" Johnson and Mets player Todd Zeile had a staredown.
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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' look." And Hello Kitty's advice is sage: "You can never have too many friends". more ›

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 have three pedometers, unless they feature a different Disney character on each one. more ›

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 them for rats. Hawks should stay at Bryant Park if not for their useful pigeon and rat killing ability, but for their inherent coolness.
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. The more recent one, "(Boy) I Need You" has so many elements: more ›