Is it time for SpongeBob to move to Adult Swim? According to a report [PDF] entitled "The Effect of Fast-Paced Cartoons" in the American Academy of Pediatrics's journal, four-year-olds who watched 9 minutes of SpongeBob SquarePants performed significantly worse in mental function tests than those who watched "educational television" like PBS's Caillou. However, those who watched PBS described being "so bored my eyes hurt real bad" and had an unslakable thirst for complimentary tote bags. more ›

You're warned: The following clip is pretty cute, what with 8-year-old Reese Ronceray revealing how he saved 5-year-old Andrew Gentile from drowning in a manmade lake in NJ, with an assist from SpongeBob Squarepants. Reese, who has known how to swim for two years, told MyFoxNY instinct took over, "I don't know how to explain it. I just kinda knew how to react... I swam over like they did with 'Larry the Lobster' and 'Sponge Bob.' I put him in one of my triangles, got him, we got back in the water and we swam to shore." Andrew helpfully added, "I was the drowner guy. Reece was 'Larry Lobster.'" more ›

Watching TV can be lifesaving, part 2! In April, a Long Island girl saved her choking friend when she remembered the episode where SpongeBob Squarepants performs the Heimlich maneuver on Squidward, who accidentally swallowed his clarinet. Now we learn that an 8-year-old NJ boy pulled a drowning 5-year-old from a lake, thanks again to the wonders of SpongeBob! more ›

Watching TV can be lifesaving: A Long Island 12-year-old saved her best friend's life when she performed the Heimlich maneuver—which she recalled from an episode of Spongebob Squarepants. Miriam Starobin told the Post, "It was like a flash right in my eyes. I saw in my head Squidward with his clarinet lodged in his throat and then SpongeBob does the Heimlich maneuver and the clarinet comes flying out of his mouth." FWIW, that's the Squidtastic Voyage episode. more ›

Just when we were so happy to have Sad Panda back in our lives, reader Daniel Albanese sends us these photos of Spongebob Squarepants. Our first thought was, no big deal, it's not like this city isn't big enough for the two of these guys. However, prepare to have your minds blown here: Sad Panda and Spongebob Squarepants are one in the same. Right? more ›

A guilty pleasure many people have is watching Dateline's To Catch a Predator. We assume so, because it's on a lot and because there's nothing as satisfying as watching people try to weasel their way out of chatroom transcripts and out of the clutches of swamp things. So we're glad that the Asbury Park Press and Staten Island Advance are keeping tabs on the show. more ›

As with most things involving pets and technology, we loved the story about dog owners watching their pets via webcams at a downtown "pet resort." Happy Paws on Lafayette Street has high end canine day care and gives owners the perfect reason to feel secure and to procrastinate with web cams positioned in various play rooms. The owner tells the post, "The owners go online all day to watch their pets. Some say they can't get any work done at all from checking it so much." Gothamist can only imagine. Now, we are inspired to insist that all of our friends install webcams in their homes so we can see the cats they brag about so much. more ›

It’s that time of the year again – that special time you brave New York’s notoriously humid and sticky summer to battle for one more blanket inch on a crowded park lawn. This year’s free outdoor movie festivals – RiverFlicks, Riverside Park Movies Under the Stars, Brooklyn Music & Movies Series, and HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival–offer a wide range of musicals and old favorites, from The Sound of Music to The Big Lebowski (see below for June/July schedule). Also be sure to check out the Rooftop Films series, showcasing short, low-budget and underground films every Friday at Automotive High School in Williamsburg and every Saturday at Old American Can Factory in Brooklyn at 9:00 PM; $8. more ›

Even though there are supposed to be some breaks in the rain today, Gothamist is not taking any chances and we're toting our umbrella with us everywhere. We're using a pretty non-descript, navy blue manual umbrella, but if we had our druthers, we'd be using this fantastic Spongebob Squarepants with 3-D handle umbrella. While Tibor Kalman's Sky Umbrella is understated, classy, and telegraphs that you know design, any umbrella that has a goofy face on it will make people smile in the horrid weather, even if you're in an under-the-scaffolding umbrella jousting match (Gothamist will close our umbrella, unless it's raining through the scaffolding). However, many city folk would prefer something like this Totes' Micron, which folds down to be 6 inches, perfect for pockets, purses, and European carryalls. But tomorrow is looking better! Hoorah! more ›

Gothamist also liked this quote in the Times article:

In addition to his popularity among children, who watch his cartoon show, [Spongebob Squarepants] has become a well-known camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds hands with his animated sidekick Patrick and likes to watch the imaginary television show "The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy."

Yesterday, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade went off without a hitch. Spongebob Squarepants, Pikachu, Super Grover, and more friends were guided down Manhattan to Herald Square, accompanied by clowns, marching bands, floats, and other performers. In fact, many people were caught with their coats tied around their waists, what with 64 degree weather. And the lovely weather is credited for making sure 2.5 million people turned out for the parade! The NY Times noted that children would scream the names of balloons to get their attention - funny thing, it's what Gothamist did, except from our living room. The NY Post says that Mayor Bloomberg was "ecstatic" and that his favorite balloon in Charlie Brown. Hmm, that says a lot. more ›

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade starts tomorrow morning, but the balloon blow up is today, from 3-10PM, at West 77th and 81st Streets between Columbus and Central Park West (near the American Museum of Natural History); Gothamist went last year. And here's information from the City about where to watch the parade (we're fond of being inside, picking at the stuffing). more ›

It's an election year and the Republican National Convention is coming to New York City. It seems impossible to avoid political discussion. more ›

If you're into the Grammys, Mary Huhn's article about how this year's nominations are hipper than usual may interest you, though the concept of hip is certainly a relative matter for the Grammys. And celebrity stylist Philip Bloch expects a lot of cleavage at this year's show, in spite of Janet Jackson. But CBS has 40 extra people on call to monitor the performance, to ready censor buttons, even though a CBS spokesperson says, "We're not going to use the technology to turn the Grammys into SpongeBob SquarePants. It will still be the Grammys." Oh, so it will still be lame? All right! more ›

The Bruce Davidson exhibit, Subway, opens today at the Hermes Gallery, and last night, Gothamist got to check out Davidson's photographs which are beautiful prints of subways and subways riders during the early 1980s last night. The gallery, on the fourth floor of the Hermes Boutique on Madison and East 62nd, is an unexpected treat - who would give up a floor of potential retail space to show art? more ›

Bank robberies are all the rage in New York, as the NYPD reports that bank robberies are up 148%. The Post reports that most robberies took place in Manhattan, and robbers' main weapons of intimidation (like bulletproof teller windows, visible video cameras, etc.) were threatening voices and notes. In order to scare banks into taking the NYPD's advice about robbery prevention more seriously, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly had police rank banks by the number of robberies: more ›