Maybe you've received a flier to see a show at Radio City Music Hall called Chinese New Year Splendor, which is promoted as a holiday celebration of China’s diverse cultural riches. But mixed within the traditional Mongolian dancing, orchestral music and Buddhist parables are dramatizations of the Chinese government’s oppression of Falun Gong, a qigong-based spiritual practice that is banned in China. And the show’s political content is prompting audiences to walk out by the hundreds. more ›

After early results put John McCain and Mitt Romney in a "too close to call" race, McCain won the Florida primary. Rudy Giuliani, who once led national polls, looks like he'll finish in third place (though Mike Huckabee is a close fourth as of 10PM), which is actually his best finish after the primaries and caucuses in New Hampshire, Iowa, Wyoming, Michigan, Nevada and South Carolina. more ›

Over the weekend, Democratic and Republican caucuses were held in Nevada, bringing victory to Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney while John McCain won the South Carolina primary (the Democratic primary will be held next Saturday). more ›

Yesterday the three top Democratic contenders for the presidential nominations debated in Nevada. The debate wasn't as testy as previous ones, in part because Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were trying to maintain an aura of good will and love for the Democratic party - and not bicker over race or gender. Which meant that Clinton, Obama and John Edwards were pretty boring in their happy, friendly paces. The NY Times noticed that even Tim Russert, one of the moderators, "seemed subdued" in a night of "'John' and 'Barack' and 'Hillary,' soft voices, easy jokes and belly laughs." more ›

Hillary Clinton proved the polls and pundits wrong with her New Hampshire primary win last night and dominated the front pages for a second day in a row. Clinton and John McCain, who won the Republican primary, are being called comeback...adults as New Hampshire polling centers had record turn outs. WNBC's Gabe Pressman writes that their wins are a defeat for pollsters and journalists who had written them off. more ›

A negative byproduct of the disparities between New York and the rest of the country is that after every Census, Congressional seats are reapportioned based on population. Each state will always have two Senators, but New York is likely to lose at least one seat in the House of Representatives. more ›

What is the lawsuit about, Kenneth? 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 ›

, a collection of short stories that's humorous, disturbing, poignant, and a must read for any lover of great fiction. more ›

Now, almost 100 hundred people have grown ill after eating E.coli-tainted spinach, with 14 of them becoming "gravely ill." The NY Times reports the company suspected as a possible source, Natural Selection Foods of San Juan Batista, voluntarily recalled its prepackaged spinach and salad bags, "as well as prepackaged spinach it processes for numerous other companies, including Dole." That's a lot of greens - you can see all the brands Natural Selections Foods provides spinach for on this FDA press release. When we checked Natural Selection Food's Earthbound brand (the one the prepackaged veggies come from) website, we saw they noted that spinach was removed from some mixed greens and that the baby spinach bagged salads was not available. more ›

The Census Bureau just released a study that shows over 200,000 residents left the NYC area between 2000 and 2004. [You can read the PDF here.] The NYC metro area is represented by NYC, Northern NJ and Long Island; Los Angeles lost about 110,000 people and Chicago had a drop of over 60,000. People are heading south (Florida) and west (Nevada, Arizona...Idaho?), though there are increases in Maine and NH as well. Hmm, will this lead to more US Census versus the city's City Planning office fights over the numbers, as big numbers for NYC may mean more federal dollars (not that our mayor wants all the federal money...). So, as we think about a smaller Big Apple, Gothamist likes to think about Legoland's Miniland NYC. waltermonkey on Flickr has an amazing set of Legoland photographs, with a focus on the MiniNYC, where there is a Freedom Tower, Bronx block party, and Bethesda Fountain recreated in teeny tiny blocks. more ›

When we were little our parents would often tell us the same terrifying bedtime story: An old woman walks into a lawyers office demanding that they help her sue the criminals who have taken away all of her savings. The concerned lawyer asks the woman who could have done this to her so that he can help. She explains that she spent every one of her pennies on the Lotto because she had to win big sometime, right? But that now she is penniless and pension-less. The lawyer sighs, and sadly informs the poor woman that unfortunately no criminal activity had occurred as the people who took all of her money was her very own Government and that they were allowed by the citizens of New York to start a lottery, for good or bad, way back in 1966. more ›

Matthew Roth,
Bicycle Enthusiast, Time's Up more ›

There are some days when you come home from work and really want a drink, and then there are those days when you need one. For Gothamist, this week was the latter. We’re not sure if it was the lost Fed-Ex package, the jammed copier or the infamous blue screen of death (oh PC we hate you) that pushed us over the edge – but we knew it was time to bust out the Gothamist Survival Kit. more ›

Ricardo Dominguez, Artist and Electronic Civil Disobedience Pioneer more ›

Many Ask Gothamist readers have written to us recently with questions related to politics, current events, and the upcoming Republican convention and Presidential election. So Ask Gothamist is going to be bringing you non-partisan advice over the upcoming weeks and months about participating in the democratic process. Whatever your political leanings, it's a good idea to vote in the upcoming election, educate yourself about local and national candidates and issues, and make sure that your voice is heard. more ›

Boxer Mike Tyson was granted a license to fight in New Jersey yesterday, some six years after the state's Athletic Control Board rejected his last application. However, Gov. James E. McGreevey limited the locations where Tyson could have a match by barring him from fighting at any facility owned or operated by the state. more ›

NORML - a website about legalizing pot. more ›

Word Spy on gaydar and whatever happened to the Gaydar detector? more ›

Ghost Towns: Pictures of ghost towns in Arizona, California, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico | Ghost Town Gallery [via lightningfield] more ›