Last night, as you know by now, M.I.A. flipped off America during the Super Bowl halftime show. But seriously, everyone, someone made her wear a cheerleading outfit—if M.I.A. didn't flip off someone, life just wouldn't make sense anymore. However, since nothing else controversial really happened—and the wardrobe malfunction thing was eight years ago—we, as a people, needed something to talk about at the water cooler. And M.I.A. delivered, albeit subtly. more ›

Ok, enough is enough. Her escape from her cage was clearly a cry for attention, but how hard will she have to work for your love? The Bronx Zoo's formerly escaped Egyptian cobra, Mia, made her debut at the Reptile House yesterday, and apparently it was just too lackluster for some. "I'm disappointed there's not a Twitter terminal next to the cage," bitched one visitor. more ›

You thought it was over when she was found. You thought it was over when she got a name. But no, the saga of the Bronx Zoo's cobra will never end...until she makes her formal debut to society. The Bronx Zoo will officially reopen the Reptile House today, and she'll get her own plaque. Will these 15 minutes never end? more ›

It was barely two weeks ago that the Bronx Zoo Cobra escaped from her cage and slithered her way into our hearts. Since then, we've had a lot of fun keeping track of her Twitter updates, making snake puns, and trying to come up with a name for her. The results of that naming contest are now in, and she will forever more be known as...Mia. As in "missing in action." Hey, at least it wasn't Wanda. She tweeted her lukewarm response to the news: "So, the vote is in. They want to name me Mia. But in my heart I'll always know that my true name is Mrs. Justin Bieber." more ›

Did you read that New York Times piece about M.I.A. penned by contributor Lynn Hirschberg? Well, M.I.A. read it, and she's pretty pissed off. As such, she took to Twitter a few hours ago and posted a phone number, adding; "CALL ME IF YOU WANNA TALK TO ME ABOUT THE N Y T TRUTH ISSUE, ill b taking calls all day bitches." Thing is, she posted Hirschberg's cell number. more ›

Last night, Time magazine held its annual Time 100 Gala at the Time Warner Center. Emceed by Jimmy Fallon, the night celebrated those featured in the issue, a range of people from the First Lady to the Twitter guys, from Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A. to financial advice guru Suze Orman. The attendee list was long and glittering, including a wide variety of people, like Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman (a Time 100 honoree), SNL producer Lorne Michaels, former JFK speechwriter Ted Sorenson, and the joined-at-the-hip celeb-trio of Liv Tyler, Stella McCartney and Kate Hudson. more ›

, hit shelves late last year. The tome delves into the cultural history of music since 1900, and even has Björk touting: "Alex Ross's incredibly nourishing book will rekindle anyone's fire for music." Tonight he'll step away from the printed word and you can catch him chatting with Stephen on The Colbert Report. more ›

Charles Mee is renowned for his distinctive approach to playwriting, which synthesizes disparate pre-existing texts into startlingly new theatrical creations bursting with music, dance, video and other inspired surprises. The superb Signature Theatre is now in the midst of their season devoted to his plays; the first production, Iphigenia 2.0, was a devastating depiction of America’s Iraq catastrophe as seen through the prism of classic Greek tragedy. The current show, Queens Boulevard, is a funny, boisterous musical that swerves from hyper Indian ragas to contemporary dancehall tracks by M.I.A., telling the tale of a hapless bridegroom and a chain of absurd events that keep him bouncing around Queens on his wedding night. (It’s been extended through January 6th; tickets.) more ›

In Charles Mee’s Queens Boulevard (the musical) the titular traffic artery is no longer the “boulevard of blood” notorious for hit-and-run collisions. In fact, there isn’t a drop of blood in Mee’s colorful fairytale, which takes as inspiration the centuries old dance-drama style of Hindu theater called kathakali, among other things. In Mee’s eyes, Queens Boulevard is the symbolic common thread connecting New York’s myriad ethnicities and cultures, with Queens as the proverbial melting pot... more ›

In their quest to take over New York, Bowery Presents is opening yet another venue! Ask just about anyone (and we have) and they'll say that the Bowery Ballroom is their favorite place to see and/or play music - so who better to open even more spaces than the creators of that one? more ›

We've survived the sirens for many years, and if this truly was the last Siren Fest ever, it certainly went out with a bang. Coney Island was packed full of thrifty music fans for the 7th annual Siren Festival this weekend. Despite the current trend of awful weather for every worthwhile free outdoor concert this summer so far, nobody could complain about the perfect day at the beach this past Saturday. more ›

MUSIC: If you haven't checked out the Summer of Love exhibit at the Whitney, head over there after work and get a double dose of rock while you're at it. Tonight Dirty Projectors and Lucky Dragons take the stage at Whitney Live. Get there early to get in. Check out this "Take Away Show" in New York featuring the Dirty Projectors. more ›

The city has announced that parts of West Street will be closed so searchers can look for remains from the World Trade Center attacks. Last October, Con Ed workers excavating a manhole found human remains, leading to renewed searches which have since yielded over 400 bone fragments. more ›

ART: Projecting on the outdoor walls of MoMA through February 12th will be Doug Aitken's first large-scale outdoor installation in the US. The installation consists of eight large moving projections in which five characters' lives are played out during one night in New York. Actors include: Tilda Swinton, Chan Marshall (Cat Power), Seu Jorge, Ryan Donowho, and Donald Sutherland. more ›

Family members protested at Ground Zero, asking that Mayor Bloomberg involve the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in the renewed search for remains from September 11, 2001. Local politicians like Representative Carolyn Maloney and City Councilman Alan Gerson support the families, but Mayor Bloomberg feels it's the "city's responsibility. We're not going to walk away from our responsibility and let somebody else bear the pressure of the work." The families argue that in spite of the new search plans, the search needs more supervision and oversight. more ›

After over 200 hundred bone fragments have been found in recent searches for remains at the World Trade Center site, Mayor Bloomberg is expanding the search considerably. Here's the Mayor's press release about a report from the Despartment of Design and Construction:

Although the report finds that the vast majority of the site had been thoroughly searched and is free of human remains, it recommends the continued excavations on the haul road where remains have been recovered (the haul road runs parallel to West Street, from Vesey to Liberty Streets, along the western edge of the World Trade Center site); the exploratory excavation of the 140 Liberty Street parcel, the former site of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church; the searching of selected subterranean structures in neighboring streets, such as Con Edison, Verizon, and DEP manholes (at the Mayor's request, these searches will exceed the report's recommendations because all the material from these locations will be removed and sifted by OCME); and the development of protocols for future construction on the site which would include having the City's Medical Examiner on site to observe all future construction in areas that have not been excavated since 9/11. This work will continue to be coordinated with the Port Authority and no construction delays are anticipated as a result. more ›

Last night (or rather, yesterday at 4 in the afternoon) we headed over to the tiny spot that was given to us on the (way end of the) red carpet for MTV's Video Music Awards.The awards were back in NYC this year, and brought a whole lotta Hollywood with them. more ›

This week is full of shows by some of our favorite new artists. On the high-profile end of the spectrum, The Hold Steady are back at Bowery Ballroom for a two night run Friday and Saturday. We're especially interested in checking out the openers on Friday. It's the Pitchfork-approved, Coldplay-tour-opening, Village Voice weird album of the week winning band called Black Mountain. On Sunday, M.I.A. plays her biggest and freeest NYC show yet at Summerstage. Superstar DJ Diplo is on the bill too, though it's questionable whether he'll show up. He definitely plays Friday with RJD2 on a Rocks Off Concert Cruise though. more ›

Hip-Hop dominates this week with at least three recommended shows. Some of the best acts in indie hip-hop play Irving Plaza tonight (Monday). It’s one of the only stops on the Stone Throw Records Tour featuring Madlib, M.E.D, Peanut Butter Wolf, and J-Rocc. On Tuesday Madlib and M.E.D. will also perform for free at Fat Beats. [Listen to some music Madlib put out on Blue Note.] Last year Madlib joined MF DOOM to release a highly acclaimed album as Madvillain. MF DOOM joins the not-very-indie De La Soul and The Roots on Summerstage Tuesday night for a benefit to save the Rhinos. Alternatively, Jean Grae (another indie favorite) joins Killah Priest from Wu-Tang Tuesday night at SOB's. [Listen to Jean at her website.] Wednesday the "Best Damn Rap Tour" with J-Live, Vast Aire, and C-Rayz Walz are at Northsix. Thursday 50's enemy Ja Rule plays BB Kings. more ›

We're anxious to see if M.I.A.'s live show has improved since her last (and only) N.Y.C. show at Knitting Factory in February. Then again, we don't really care. After releasing one of the year's hottest albums, it's hard for the grimey Sri Lankan-born rapper to do any wrong. Diplo mans the decks Tuesday and Wednesday night at S.O.B.'s. You can also hear Diplo DJing at Rothko Tuesday night (after the M.I.A. show), and they'll both be back to play Summerstage on August 7th. more ›

Aziz Ansari says if you're not hyped for tonight's Gothamist.com Laughable Hype Comedy Show then you need to read this review of his last show: more ›

mention of FREE WAFFLES, as well as drink specials. more ›

. Okay, maybe we have a few suggestions up our sleeve... more ›