A report released Tuesday by the Food Bank for New York City has found that approximately four million New Yorkers—one in two—are having trouble paying for groceries, a 26 percent increase since the last survey in February. The Hunger Experience 2008 Update also found that college degrees are increasingly useless protection against indigence; one out of every three (36 percent) NYC college graduates had difficulty affording needed food this year, up from 11 percent in 2003. Lucy Cabrera, the food bank's president, says, "The results of this report are devastating. These numbers should be a wake-up call for all New Yorkers." The Food Bank NYC sources and distributes food to the estimated 1.3 million New Yorkers who rely on emergency food. Today you've got until noon to help the Food Bank by bidding on one of their cool celebrity decorated lunchboxes. (Just please don't outbid us on Mike D's Jacob the Jeweler box.) more ›

The third annual Lunchbox Auction to raise money for the Food Bank for New York City kicked off last night with a celebrity fundraiser at Milk Studios in the Meatpacking District. Also benefiting The Lunchbox Fund of South Africa, the auction features over 77 lunchboxes custom designed by celebrities (and/or their handlers). Among the more eye catching boxes were avant-garde Chicago chef Grant Achatz's abstract deconstruction of a lunchbox, Tony Bennett's painting of a happy pooch (see below), and Michael Stipe's three lunchboxes with bronze cassettes and a camera embedded in molds of chocolate, salt and jello. more ›

COMEDY: This weekend marks the 9th Annual Del Close Marathon. Del Close, if you don't know by now, "was the driving force behind improvisational comedy in Chicago for over 30 years influencing Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Mike Myers, John Belushi, Chris Farley and the Upright Citizens Brigade to name a few." The annual weekend began after Del's passing in 1999. more ›

After taking a 1-0 lead with just over three minutes left, the Rangers needed to play defensive hockey, so why did Jagr even hit the ice? Blair Betts and the fourth line had shutdown the Sabres all night, so why weren’t they used more at the end of the game? more ›

I was a journalist when I started performing comedy and pitched a profile of Jon Stewart to a people-focused magazine. It was Jon’s first year on The Daily Show, just before their Millennium special, and the night after Bob Dole first appeared as a guest. And the magazine wanted me to ask questions like “When are you getting married and how does it feel to make a lot of money?” Instead, I asked how he made people laugh not realizing it’s practically unanswerable but realizing the questions they wanted me to ask were ridiculous. Jon paused for about two minutes and said “It’s sad you’ve asked me a question I should know the answer to but don’t.” So we spent the time exploring that, and I wrote a piece entitled “ Jon Stewart: What makes people laugh,” which was killed, it never ran, and that’s the last piece I wrote for that magazine. Inside Joke came from that afternoon, and I’ve been lucky to take the stage with amazing people, all of whom happen to be comedians in one way or another. That interview with Jon is on the Inside Joke Web site too. more ›

-Mets 7 Florida 4 (11 innings): Hernandez/Mota/Heilman/Wagner, New York has plenty of bullpen firepower late in the game. While that can keep them in the game, their offense can win it. Carlos Delgado singled in the tying run and the Mets took the lead on a passed ball to cut their magic number to 2. If New Yrok wins tomorrow and Philadelphia loses, the Mets clinch their first playoff bearth since 2000. more ›

-Yankees 9 Orioles 6: It took awhile, but the Yankees’ offense finally came alive in the seventh. After watching Randy Johnson struggle through six innings, New York erupted for six runs in the seventh; the key hit a three-run double by Robinson Cano to erase a four-run deficit. more ›

-Yankees 3 Orioles 2: On a day when New York played without a lot of regulars they managed to eek out a win, thanks to Chien-Ming Wang. Wang went 7 1/3 innings to win his 17th game, giving up only one run. Mike Myers and Scott Proctor combined to finish the eighth and Kyle Farnsworth earned the save despite allowing a home run to Kevin Millar. more ›

COMEDY: The Del Close Marathon is happening this weekend, the full schedule is here. more ›

-Mets 9 Phillies 7: Carlos Beltran is making everyone forget his poor 2005. Beltran homered again, his 18th of the year, while the Mets battered Philadelphia for nine runs and thirteen hits. Carlos Delgado and David Wright also homered in the win. All of the offense was needed because Tom Glavine and Aaron Heilman had off nights. Glavine struggled through four-plus innings, giving up seven hits and four runs while Heilman came in with a five-run lead and gave up two hits, a walk and a three-run home run. more ›

Guess the rain we kept hearing about this weekend didn't show showed up the minute we typed that. Keep your fingers crossed for a whole weekend Sunday of sun? And don't forget to wish your mother happy mother's day tomorrow! more ›

The Yankees acquired Mike Myers to get out lefty batters. He has made a career of doing that and through twenty-three games had not allowed a run this season. Unfortunately, he had not faced the best lefty in the American League and when he did, David Ortiz hit a three-run homer to propel Boston to a 7-3 victory. more ›

The Yankees biggest question mark heading into the season was the quality of their starting pitching and the first eight games have done nothing to change that. Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina have been very good, while Chien-Ming Wang and Shawn Chacon have not. Yesterday Chacon was shaky against the Royals, but the Yankees offense bailed him out for a 12-5 win. more ›

We love music videos that show pieces of the city. Lucky for us, with all of the bands in this city - many have produced NY-centric videos. more ›

Spring is almost here! Pitchers and catchers started reporting to camps in Florida today. In Port St. Lucie the Mets are welcoming new faces Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado and Paul Lo Duca, as well as several others. In Tampa, the Yankees have several new pitchers, Kyle Farnsworth, Octavio Dotel, Mike Myers and Ron Villone joining their staff. more ›

Baseball has a wacky transaction system. Yesterday the Yankees offered Bernie Williams arbitration, but only because they knew he would decline it. Why the apparent waste of time? Because without the offer, the Yankees would have lost negotiating rights to Bernie and if Bernie had accepted he would have been in line for a salary near ten million dollars for 2006. So, the Yankees and Bernie have until January 8th to make a deal. Even if they do, Bernie won’t be back as a starter and a certain, hairy, centerfielder may take his place. more ›

With just two new episodes so far this season, the NY Post wonders if Saturday Night Live is really dead. It's a good, if evergreen question. Horatio Sanz is certainly no Tina Fey during Weekend Update, though Gothamist has been impressed he's been able to hold it together this long. With Maya Rudoph's pregnancy, it seems like most sketches with a female character involve Amy Poehler (who rules, but maybe she needs a break). There are always dark periods of SNL (the years after the original cast left and before Eddie Murphy arrived; after Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and David Spade left), but it's still TiVo worthy, if not stay-at-home on a Saturday night. There's always a chance there's a watercooler moment in a broadcast, and that's what keeps people watching. Gothamist hopes there will be a sketch with this week's host, Catherine Zeta-Jones, that either involves overeating or being married to a jowly old man. more ›

Comedy shows in New York this weekend are going to be just like Debra Messing’s hair– all over the place but still really good. Here’s the rundown of what not to miss: more ›

Every Tuesday night Jay Goettelmann and Wes Verhoeve (Liberated Matter Entertainment) take over the Apocalypse Lounge. Singers, songwriters, musicians and scenesters spill out onto 3rd Street creating a feel we can only imagine was going on below 14th Street when Gothamist wasn't quite old enough to walk yet. more ›

Now, Gothamist had the bejesus scared out of us when Mike Myers starred in The Cat in the Hat, but we would not mind seeing Mike Myers as Linda Richman do the Yiddish Cat in the Hat. more ›

Gothamist's favorite New York Times film critic reviews Pirates of the Caribbean. Here's what Elvis Mitchell managed to put in the review: more ›

All the talk about Charlie's Angels Full Throttle being about female empowerment is a joke, because it's just about a bunch of girls being silly and their T&A. Of course Gothamist knew that, but the evidence is too overwhelming not to comment on. For starters, a painful-to-read interview by Sean Smith of Newsweek, with the Angels, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu. Here's a sample: more ›