Having gotten his drink on while waiting for his Jet Blue flight to Mardi Gras in New Orleans in February, Paul Henry Boritzer was in a totally festive mood when he finally boarded the plane. But then the flight attendants had to go and harsh his vibe because he was strolling about the cabin "in a loud and disruptive behavior" ten minutes before take-off. When a flight attendant asked that he return to his seat, he told her he didn't have to follow her rules, because he was a federal air marshal and a U.S. Airway pilot. Lying about that stuff is a no-no, and after the attendant insisted he sit down, Boritzer called her a bitch and asked, "Who do you think you are?" Boritzer remained disruptive throughout the flight, and, according to the Justice Department, threatened a flight attendant who denied him more booze. Needless to say, he didn't make it to Mardi Gras; he was arrested upon arrival and a jury yesterday found him guilty of interfering with a flight crew and impersonating a Federal air marshal. Boritzer will be sentenced in December, and could face a 29 year prison term, a $1 million fine, and the indignity of Will Ferrell portraying him in a movie adaptation. more ›

Barbecue and sushi aren’t the first two cuisines you'd expect to find cohabitating under one roof. Leave it to Jim Goldman, a.k.a Brother Jimmy, to open Lucky Mojo, which features that oddball pairing – plus Tex-Mex and New Orleans fare. An eclectic, highly uneven menu isn’t the only challenge this new Long Island City spot faces. Lucky Mojo’s space has been afflicted with bad juju of late. In the ’90s it was home to the critically acclaimed Pearson’s Texas Barbecue. more ›

An estimated three million people assembled along Broadway during yesterday's ticker tape parade to celebrate the Giants' 17-14 Super Bowl XLII win over the New England Patriots. more ›

ART: "Drawing Art and Politics" seems like a fitting event to have on the calendar today. "Spend an evening with New York’s renowned graphic artists Jules Feiffer, David Levine, Stan Mack, and Edward Sorel, as they examine the ways in which complex social and political issues are depicted by artists in today’s media. Jules Feiffer will moderate a discussion that explores the roots of political art and social realism in the context of John Sloan’s early 20th-century illustrations of New Yorkers engaging in routine pastimes and pleasures. Presented in conjunction with John Sloan’s New York." More info here. more ›

THEATER: The annual Soho Think Tank Ice Factory, arguably New York’s most impeccably curated theater festival, has been hosting an exhilarating array of new shows every weekend since July 4th . Starting tonight you can sink your teeth into Vampire University, in which “a struggling vampire family descends on an evangelical college in the Midwest, the dad’s mid-life crisis of immortality triggers a desire to come back to life and the gulf between first and second generations vampires has never seemed greater.” Scored to live Theremin! John Del Signore more ›

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. more ›

MUSIC: It's hard to believe Kurt Cobain would have been 40 today. In celebration of his birthday and life there will be live performances of Nirvana albums Bleach, Nevermind and In Utero from Daouets, The Domestics, and Schwervon with some other musical guests. Bring flannel, your inner teen angst, and rock out like it's the early 90s. more ›

Or at least you can get your fat on. You can start by hitting up the newly opened Popeye's Fried Chicken at 40th Street between 7th and 8th. And of course you'll need to follow it up with some pancakes. Lucky for you, IHOP is giving them away free until 10 p.m. today! Here's a list of nearby IHOPs, for your convenience. more ›

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Mort & Ray Productions—organize more than 200 of the fairs. Vendors pay $100 to $400 to participate in each event, with profits split between the production company and the nonprofit sponsor. The city receives 20 percent of the total vendor fees, which is used for police overtime and other expenses. more ›

- "Mardi Gras lasts 12 days. Down here, it lasts 365 days a year. It's become party central for the entire metropolitan area. These clubs and bars are ruining people's lives, and they've got to be stopped." - Sean Sweeney of SoHo Alliance, which has tried to block liquor licenses, and a SoHo resident Remember when the problem in NYC was more rampant crime? more ›

Happy Fat Tuesday! To help you celebrate it up here LIFEbeat Presents the Manhattan Mardi Gras. The proceeds will go to NO/AIDS Task Force. The New Orleans based AIDS service organization was virtually wiped out by hurricane Katrina. So even if we're in the Big Apple, we can help out the Big Easy. more ›

Most people wouldn't try to combine mentions of 9-11 and Katrina with a Mardi Gras shoutout to their friends, but bless her heart, this girl did: "We're from New York, September 11th and everything, so we thought we'd show some love for everybody down in Katrina, heeeeey-ay!" Bonus points for getting the name of the city wrong! [Via Narcissism 101.] more ›

Apologies to the poor schlub who had to slap together this past week's New Yorker cover-- his rendition of the Cheney shooting incident was just weak weak weak. We much prefer the alternate cover that got shelved-- a nod to the Mardi Gras currently underway in New Orleans. CartoonBrew has the first-hand account by Bill Joyce, who drew the abandoned cover: more ›

February 22: From Disaster to Dessert – the Fate of New Orleans Food more ›

Rob Walker, Journalist more ›

The Giants took advantage of six Saints turnovers to win 27-10 Monday night. New Orleans started the game off by trying a reverse on a kickoff return and fumbling the ball on their own ten-yard line. Three plays later, Brandon Jacobs pounded the ball into the end zone and the Giants had a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. more ›

- Rob more ›

Continuing our Star Wars coverage, Gothamist wanted to know just how powerful are Star Wars’ die-hard fans? Enough to affect the economy. Worker absenteeism for last night and today's showings of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is expected to cost NYC millions and U.S. employers $627-million, according to The Globe and Mail. If you're also interested in taking today or tomorrow off, Geek Squad has created customizable "fail-safe" excuse notes that will help even the most beleaguered employee get out of the office and into a theatre. more ›

King Neptune and Queen Mermaid, who rule over the parade, will be played by Moby and Theo from the Lunachicks. Last year's parade was led by Bill Evans of ABC-7 and Kate Duyn who was Miss Rheingold at the time. more ›