The scientists at Ithaca College have been working hard on what is sure to be mankind's greatest invention: a Wii Balance Board-powered baby scooter. The "Tots on Bots" project mobilizes infants with disabilities by letting them control the scooters with their weight. The tots steer the bots by leaning in the direction they want to go, but the robots will stop if they sense obstacles with their sonar. Parents can also control the robots with a remote. Our question is, when are they going to make one of these for adults? [Via Engadget] more ›

Ah, young love. Anthony Etienne, 17, decided the only thing that would impress his girlfriend was money. But instead of getting a job, he resorted to stealing a teenage girl's Nintendo DS out of her hands as she walked down the street in New Dorp. He wrote in a statement to police, "I did not have no money to impress her, so if I thought that if I take this lil girl’s DS, I can make some money. I tapped her shoulder. I said, ‘Give it.’ She said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘It mine,’ and forst [sic] it from her." He faces third-degree robbery charges, but now his girlfriend will think he's a total badass, right? more ›

Does this map sort of make you feel like you are in New York City but also like you are in Pitfall or Legend of Zelda? Creator Brett Camper says his 8-Bit NYC map "is an attempt to make the city feel foreign yet familiar, smashing together two culturally common models of space: the lo-fi overhead world maps of 1980s role-playing and adventure games, and the geographically accurate data that drives today's web maps and GPS navigation. Take some time to think about New York a little differently. Set out on a quest. Be an adventurer." Do you think one day there will be a vintage map created out of the old school Wii aesthetic? [via Kottke] more ›

Attention competitive eating fans – hey, stop snickering; it’s a legitimate sport regulated by an International Federation! As one fan site says, "For those of you who doubt it's a sport, try making your body consume 20 pounds of food in 10 minutes." Anyway, C.E. fans will definitely want to plan for an extra-long lunch break on Tuesday, May 20th, when two of the world’s biggest "gurgitory gladiators" will lock horns in a Battle Royale for watermelon eating dominance. more ›

Because Mario Kart Wii is launching next week, the folks at Nintendo have decided to treat "unsuspecting NewYorkers" with free cab rides in Midtown at 8 a.m. -10 a.m. and 12 p.m.-2 p.m. A costumed Mario will literally be hailing cabs for commuters at the Midtown Sheraton at 817 7th Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Streets. more ›

Remember how a few years ago a 19-year-old girl climbed down onto the subway tracks to get her phone and got killed by an oncoming V train? It seems the lesson still hasn’t been learned and commuters are still risking their lives to retrieve dropped objects: Tourist Bijan Rezvani recently explained his reasons for venturing down there to collect his precious iPhone.

It's the first time I've had a cool phone that does anything and also the first time I've gone around taking photos of things in my life, so the stuff I had captured was kind of important for me to keep.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: shots fired on 166th St. and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, a pedestrian struck at Berry St. and Division Ave. in Brooklyn, and a found body on Richmond Valley and Arthur Kill on Staten Island.
• Still searching for the Staten Island ninja burglar, police questioned New York Post photographer Ron Romano because of his ninja-like ability to tightrope walk.
• A huge hole in the middle of Brooklyn's Pacific Street provides rude awakenings for drivers who don't see it.
• Mark it. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says he has no intention of running for Mayor.
• The City of New York was found liable for the 2004 mauling of a toddler in the Bronx, because a police officer gave a pit bull to a mother who had never handled the dog before.
• The loudest neighborhoods in NYC, based on the number of noise complaints. The Bronx is blasting.
• With two weeks to go before Christmas, customers are lining up day and night to get a hand on a Nintendo Wii game system.
• Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes describes the sub-premium mortgage meltdown as equivalent to the crack epidemic of the 1980s.
• And w00t is Merriam-Webster's word of the year.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a water rescue at Atlantic Beach Bridge in Queens, a fall victim onto the train tracks at West 42nd St. and 9th Ave. in Manhattan, and a car in the water on Bay and Edgewater Sts. in Staten Island.
• He didn't have to be shot in the back with a shotgun! Dick Cheney's heart problems continue. Seriously though, best wishes.
• Gov. Elliot Spitzer is going to be sequestered in a Brooklyn Marriott this weekend to hear it from fellow Democratic lawmakers. He'll eventually issue a mea culpa for resembling the party's mascot too closely and the Democrats will try to move on from there.
• "Wii. We need a Wii and world peace, but I'll take a Wii," said Mxxxxxxx Fxxxxx, 43, of Staten Island as she and her two daughters scoured Times Square stores for the red-hot Nintendo video-game console."
• Yep, immigrants are a drag on the economy: "In the suburbs north and east of the city, about 4 of every 10 doctors and more than one-fourth of college professors were foreign-born."
• "SELF" Magazine rated Long Island the second-healthiest region in the country. New York women ranked 8th in the 2nd annual ranking.
• Things to bring to a party: cake, wine, and not a knife to stick in your host's neck. The latter was the choice of one party guest, who surprised her friend with a sharp knife and a quick death.
• Brooke Astor's son Anthony and his attorney have been asked to surrender themselves on criminal charges.

Who says the Wii is only for the young - or those dressed as Luigi? The Carter Burden Center for the Aging on the Upper East Side had a Senior Fitness Day this past Friday Friday that gave seniors a chance to play Wii baseball, as well as Brain Age 2 (photograph below), the Nintendo DS game that has various ways to challenge people's memory and keep people sharp. more ›

Opening this past weekend and running through June 30th is Seattle artist Mike Leavitt's "New York Art Army" show. Hand-made action figures were created to visually tell the history of the city's creative scene, the wooden New Yorkers stand alongside other "urban art stars and old masters." Fittingly, the show (exhibited in a site-specific installation) is across the street from the ToyTokyo toy shop, at their Showroom. more ›

At a bar filled with arcade games, all of which pre-date the 1990's, hundreds of spectators and competitors gathered yesterday for Wiimbledon. While interest in the first-ever Nintendo Wii tennis tournament was high, only 128 competitors were able to play in the single-elimination tournament at Barcade. Players dressed up as tennis players, Harry Potter, and came in their best bear costumes (the bear was eliminated and dejected). While the competition was intense at times, it was obvious to us that several players were in over their heads. more ›

LB: We were sitting at our local bar (shout out to Rope!) and Steve mentioned in passing he had registered wiimbledon.net. Pretty cheeky, I thought, and asked if he was going to hold it for ransom. After a few beers (shout out to Six Points' Sweet Action!) and a few more beers, Wiimbledon was born. more ›

This is traditionally a pretty slow time for music. Everyone is getting their feet back under them from the holidays, there aren't many bands putting out albums, and even less are ready to get back out and start touring. The news cycle in general is still pretty weak, and music has it no different. Nonetheless, we're starting a new feature this week recapping the biggest stories in rock around this town every Friday. So... more ›

Dear Gothamist, more ›

As mentioned earlier, the American Museum of Natural History unveiled its Origami Holiday Tree yesterday. Although the Origami Holiday Tree has been a tradition at the museum for more than thirty years (see last year's article), it's a good year to get into origami. Let's face it, with Polly Pocket recalled and Nintendo Wii sold out virtually everywhere, all kids may have left to play with this holiday season is wrapping paper. more ›

The Nintendo Wii went on sale last night, providing a second, if slightly anti-climactic, game console release of the week. There didn't seem to be any reports of violence around the Wii, perhaps because it is $351 cheaper than the PlayStation 3, but people were still enthusiastic. Gizmodo said about 1,000 people were waiting on line last night, but with reports of 5,000 Wii consoles available, who knows if the wait was worth it? more ›

If you haven't showered in a few days, there is a good chance that you're probably waiting on a line trying desperately to score one of the new next generation console releases from Sony and Nintendo. more ›

I'm the happiest with it out of all of our records by a big margin. Doing too many styles can be a bit of a trap where you spread yourself too thin rather than focusing on what you do the best. We've always had a song or two on our albums that have been metal songs and they sounded like they were made by a different band. A lot of that was influenced by Dave [Murray], our old drummer. They sounded great, but not very much like Estradasphere. This time around, if there's a metal song it's in a style that is more up our Ally. There's the one song that's on the Internet now, Smuggled Mutation , it's Romanian Gypsy Death Metal song all the way through. There's no vocalist or black metal keyboard sound; it's just the band doing a metal song with violins. more ›

That's assuming you have 10 hours of your life to spare. Fox Sports has a great little interview with the man behind the RBI Baseball re-enactment of the 10th inning of Game 6 in the 1986 World Series, which we mentioned last week. For those that were wondering how Conor Lastowka (the man behind the amazin' clip) did it, the interview clues us in. It turns out that Lastowka used a Nintendo Emulator on his computer to recreate the half inning (makes sense when you think about it). more ›

Gothamist hears there's some fun to be had during mid-day and night at Rockefeller Center today and tomorrow: Between 11AM-2:30PM and 6-9PM, Rockefeller Center's Plaza is hosting a "lawn party," with food, music and games. For instance, Nintendo will be letting people try out new games and Brookstone will be giving Segway rides (yeah, we know it's very 2003, but still, it's something to do at lunch). And at night, there will be a happy hour with drinks served on the plaza with live music playing. Gothamist's only hope is that there will be a huge Pikachu wandering around, because a Rockefeller Center lawn party is only complete with a Japanese animated character with super powers. more ›

Last night, the producers of The Apprentice tried to mix business with one of the most non-business forms in NYC - graffiti. The two teams were supposed to promote Sony Playstation's Gran Turismo 4 by painting a mural on a Harlem wall that would appeal to an urban, hip demographic (Sony Playstation was mentioned throughout the show, ensuring that Nintendo executives are gnashing their teeth). The team leaders were Alex for Magna (aka "Book smart, but not that smart smart") and Tara for Net Worth (aka "Street smart, yet not that smart smart"). Now, Gothamist won't mention spoilers in the post for all your Tivo freaks (why aren't you at home on a Thursday night like us?), but we would like to point out that any candidate who says "I expect to win" type things usually royally screws up. For those of you who did see the show, what did you think of the murals? Which had better graffiti? Which was more on message? And did you laugh at Alex's fear of being in Harlem? more ›

Craig Zobel, Film Production more ›

Bruce Bennett, Writer/Typist/Guitarist more ›

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This is more Gizmodo territory, but the Game Boy Advance SP is just too cool not to mention. And there are new Zelda and Tony Hawk games for it! The Daily News features the Game Boy Advance and the Nokia N-Gage. more ›

The problem with Xbox is that they don't have a portable platform. And this one looks just too fresh not to buy: | Edgy New Game Boy Advance SP Takes Portable Game Play Anywhere - News - Nintendo | more ›