MUSIC: Tickets are still available for Daniel Johnston tonight. If you aren't familiar with the music of this Austinite, check out a little of what he has to offer from a recent appearance on the Henry Rollins Show (video here), or in the documentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnston," trailer below: more ›

Last night, the 2006 Olympic Games of Torino began with IOC President Jacques Rogge delivering a message for "peace, tolerance and brotherhood." The ceremony included disco music and a song from Luciano Pavarotti. The Olympic flame was lit by Stefania Belmondo, a two-time gold medal winner in cross-country, while the torch was carried into the stadium by legendary Italian skier Alberto Tomba. more ›

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reports that committee members will be taken up to Central Park for a look at members of the Road Runners club racing through "The Gates," will dine at the Bloomberg mansion, and will ride in horse-drawn carriages to a performance of Jazz at Lincoln Center (now at the Time Warner building). Some of the members will even be driven down 5th Avenue just as a fencing match takes place on the steps of the Public Library. Of course, committee members will also have to endure all of the requisite power points from the mayor's office and will race around the city to all of the facilities (existing and yet-to-be-built) where it all could possibly take place. more ›

Charismatic and charming?!? We never knew, Mr. Mayor. Then again, he has been reaching spreading his word throughout the city as well. An Australian member of the International Olympic Committee said, "He was a very powerful figure in the presentation. But he is also intelligent and approachable and he understands the Olympics. He sees the Olympic Games as a great unifying event for New York and its future." After reading comments from some of our readers, Gothamist wonders how unifying the Olympics will be. Then again, Bloomberg is talking about how the actual games would be unifying, not the process leading up to a potential winning bid. more ›

The Mayor's press release for the Fresh Kills cycling venue. And here's the official site for NYC's bid for the Olympics, NYC 2012. Gothamist thinks turning Fresh Kills into a park is a great idea (it's just funny to tell the IOC, "Hey, we've got this great dump..."), and in fact, the City embarked on a competition to turn Fresh Kills from landfill to landscape three years ago. And NPR did a segment about sorting through the WTC debris at Fresh Kills in 2002. more ›

Martin had one of the most impressive games in recent memory, rushing for 196 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries and adding a touchdown reception to lead the Jets to a season-opening 31-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in East Rutherford. Box Score. more ›

Embattled Brooklyn apartment dwellers have taken their fight against the proposed site of the new arena for the "Brooklyn Nets" all the way to Athens. A group called Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn unveiled a banner on one of the endangered apartments which reads "Dr. Rogge and the International Olympic Committee, Please Don't Destroy Our Homes." If New York City is awarded the Olympic Games in 2012, the proposed basketball arena would be used to house the gymnastics competition. Local residents hope that by appealing to the International Olympic Committee, a new space for the arena can be found where the current populace won’t be forced to give up their apartments via eminent domain. more ›

The competition was won by a Japanese team with a score of 173.821 over the United States score of 172.933. Romania came in third and the defending world and Olympic champion team of China finished fifth. The last time the Japanese team won the gold was in 1976. more ›

Naturally, the Olympic Organizing Committee assured everyone that there would be no electric problems when the games started. The committee said, "A similar incident would not affect the competition schedule and the broadcasting of the games." When the games begin, five more electrical substations are supposed to be operating and generators at the individual sites would prevent a blackout from affecting the venues. more ›

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The International Olympic Comitee pared down the locations contending for the 2012 Olympic Games today, choosing five cities to remain in the competition. The cities chosen were New York City, Paris, London, Madrid, and Moscow. Istanbul, Leipzig, Rio de Janeiro and Havana did not make the list of finalists. This, of course, has Gothamist bummed because we were really hoping to travel to Cuba and smoke some fine cigars. There were reports that as many as six cities would make the list, but in the end only five were chosen. more ›

One study says that another pet project of Doctoroff's, the new proposed Jets stadium, would be best on Manhattan's West Side, rather than in Queens, because the West Side location would earn $8 million more in annual revenue. Not that it matters, since the city wants the stadium in Manhattan, but Gothamist would be curious to learn how much the city would save if they developed the stadium in Queen. more ›