"Some Time in New York City" was released in 1972 as John Lennon's third post-Beatles album (and his fifth with Yoko Ono). Critically and commercially the album didn't do well, especially compared to Lennon's previous albums. "Imagine" had just come out in the 1971, and comparatively this one was brash, loud and more reflective of his political and new geographical surroundings at the time, in Greenwich Village. more ›

Gothamist cannot shy away from admitting we're fans of General Hospital. We just can't. It's a great, rerun-free, low-rent amalgam of ER, the Sopranos and Desperate Housewives (though much older than any of those shows). However, it seems we're sitting down an hour too late. Anyone who's anyone is getting on board with ABC's earlier soap, One Life to Live. A daytime staple since 1968, OLTL is filmed right here in NYC and has launched the careers of many actors, including the questionably talented Yasmin Bleeth and the actually talented Ryan Phillippe. more ›

This morning, the Today show had one of those alarmist segments about how TV programs like CSI and Law & Order are bad for law enforcement. Why? Because now criminals are learning how to cover their tracks by destroying evidence, like the crime scene. And as regular citizens are watching more crime procedurals, they expect police to do a better job of apprehending criminals - and the prosecution of supplying definitive evidence. Of course, the segment being on NBC, CSI seemed to be blamed many more times to just one mention of L&O. Gothamist does think that everyone (including us) is an armchair detective/prosecutor these days, especially since we marvel at the stupidity of some criminals. But if the Nielsen ratings mean anything, crime folks can stop worrying and suburbanites should start, as it's all about suburban ennui. Or people who want to be famous singers on reality shows. more ›

businesses, but any tax $$ can help soften the blow. Even the nut vendors on the street aren't making that much money off pedestrian traffic! more ›

Appearing at jury duty drunk will probably ensure you won't serve, but Gothamist wouldn't recommend that. More information about jury duty in NYC at NY Juror. And there's a revival of the play, Twelve Angry Men (also known as Twelve Angry Jurors in more PC circles) on Broadway this fall, which stars some Broadway favorites such as Philip Bosco, Larry Bryggman, Boyd Gaines (Contact, but also TV's One Day At A Time) and James Rebhorn.
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Gothamist is reminded of a chapter in David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day: Sedaris, living in Paris, tries to explain why Jodie Foster is carrying a bag of dog poo, because, in France, picking up after dog poo is unheard of, and Sedaris realizes why America is so great. Yes, God bless America's pooper scooper laws.
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In the chicken vein, there are roosters keeping Harlem residents awake with their crowing from 4AM well into the morning. NY1 called the Health Department and was told "the responsibility lies with the Department of Housing, Preservation and Development since the lot where the roosters roam is city-owned. The HPD told [NY1] it had first been trying to find out who owns the roosters. But now because of this story, HPD had Animal Control remove them." Maybe Andrew Weis needs to get NY1 to do his work for him. more ›

One of Gothamist's favorite fun, fearless females (tm Cosmopolitan) is Amy Sedaris, featured in Simon Doonan's Observer column today, which in itself is an excerpt of his upcoming book, "Wacky Chicks: Life Lessons from Fearlessly Inappropriate and Fabulously Eccentric Women." Which is the nice way of saying "crazy and in the public." more ›