New York magazine gets investigative on the unknown man who shocked the art world by bidding $95 million for Picasso's Dora Maar with black cat in May. The day after the man bought the painting, people guessed he was an auction novice, since he was "unsophisticated" with the bidding paddle. Well, in the New York story, more of the art world snobbery comes through:In the gala atmosphere that now pervades the major evening auctions, the......

The best Valentine's Day related story we've seen yet must be this one from the Columbia Spectator, which looks at the Anachronistic Gentleman Rental Society. Now, while the men are actually free of charge, they can be dressed in period clothing. No joke - Columbia sophmore Genevieve Yang told the Spec why she founded the service: “One day last year I was thinking, what if instead of a one-night stand, you had a one-night-walk-in-the-park-hand-holding?” Other......

Yesterday's NY Times real estate section had the dishy but ultimately depressing article about Real Estate > Dangerous Liaisons: the Perils of the Pied-Affaire" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/06/realestate/06pied.html">men who buy pied-a-terres for their affairs. Gothamist was struck by two quote: 1) "In the movie 'Pretty Woman,' she only wanted to get married, but a lot of the pretty women in New York really only want a condo," said Michele Kleier, president of Gumley Haft Kleier, who has brokered......

In a subject close to Gothamist's heart (the subject of trying to see a movie), yesterday the NY Times profiled the New York Region > The City > East Village: The Customer Was Always Right? Not at Kim's Video on Avenue A" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/nyregion/thecity/17kims.html">bittersweet closing of Kim's Video on Avenue A, where employees terrorized customers into video selections more associated with Cineaste, versus Entertainment Weekly. The article provides the history of Kim's (a drycleaning establishment turned......

Is there a dress code for the matinee vs night for men. For example if we are going to museums all morning and then taking kids to a matinee, can men wear casual shorts and a polo shirt? Thanks, Sheila As is the way of things, standards have slid, and there isn't really a strict dress code for Broadway anymore. The short answer is that, if a guy were to show up for a matinee......

With the opening of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, Gothamist takes the opportunity to say thank God it was not made with Ricky Martin and Natalie Portman in the leading roles, because our eyes might bleed in four different colors. But at least the mention of Dirty Dancing makes us think of the original 1987 film. Pre-nose job Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze...Jerry Orbach and Kelly Bishop at the disapproving parents...a cheesy song by Bill Medley and......

Men's Journal has a list of the 50 "Best Movies For Guys," and they have the top ten online. Executive editor Mark Horowitz tells the Post, "True guy movies don't like to hit you over the head with their message. They just like to hit you over the head." 1. Dirty Harry 2. The Godfather 3. Scarface 4. Die Hard 5. The Terminator 6. The Road Warrior 7. The Dirty Dozen 8. The Matrix 9.......