- And Mayor Bloomberg is giving the convocation speech at the University of Chicago on June 10; we point this out because while Mayor Bloomberg claims he doesn't want to run for president, it's unusual for UChicago to have a non-faculty speaker (there was Bill Clinton, but he was President, and Kay Graham, but she was the publisher of the Washington Post and a big donor)... maybe Mayor Bling is donating some money or looking to take advantage of midwest media affiliates more ›

The seamy details of murders were examined in the NY Times article about some recent discoveries of murdered bodies. The big news is that murderers are utilizing plastic bags more (versus steamer trunks in the old days), and that actually helps the NYPD identify the victims, not to mention figure out who might be behind the crime. Gothamist found this explanation from former chief medical examiner Dr. Michael Baden fascinating:

The plastic tends to preserve them for longer periods of time than if it had just been buried in the ground. A lot of destruction to a body comes from insects, maggots, rats and vermin, depending on where you are. The plastic is very good at preserving the tissues for longer periods of time. They can't tell the odor or they can't get to it. There are a lot of myths. In the old days they used to put bodies in lye. It turns out that lye, rather than destroy the body, preserves it, because it kills the bacteria and any insects. Plastic does the same thing.

Just a few of our "Where is" thoughts: Max Fischer, Spinal Tap, Madeline Elster/Judy Barton, The Warriors, and Popeye Doyle more ›

The Times reports about the changes to unversity sexual harrassment policy to ward off lawsuits, changes that now extend to any sort of sexual or romantic relationship for the University of California system. Here is the Unversity of Michigan's policy: more ›

- Law & Order rules courtrooms more ›

Steve Martin's novella, Shopgirl, will start filming in mid-October, with Martin playing Ray, Claire Danes as glove salesgirl Mirabelle, and Jason Schwartzman as her feckless but like-aged suitor, Jeremy. Originally Jimmy Fallon was mentioned as a possible candidate for the role of Jeremy, but may have had to drop out, due to his Saturday Night Live commitments as well as filming Taxi with Queen Latifah and Gisele Bundchen here in NY. In this case, Gothamist is pleased with the casting Schwartzman, because it means that Max Fischer meets Angela Chase. [Via Variety]
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