The NY Post has another story in the ongoing ogling at Theresa Duncan's death. The East Village artist apparently "fell into suicidal depression after telling friends that oddball rocker Beck backed out of her movie project." So now we have yet another baffling peek into the paranoid mindset Duncan and her long time boyfriend Jeremy Blake were in when they committed suicide, just one week apart from each other. In the January issue of Vanity......

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars “freestyle” Latin restaurant Rayuela on the LES. Says, “it’s a beautiful, fascinating, frustrating place, its cosmetic showiness echoed by dishes that are also all over the map, in terms of their appeal as well as their geographic and ethnic tethers.” He loves the tuna relleno, the arraz con pollo, and the lobster ceviche, and also the cocktails and the house-made bread. Also in the Times, Peter Meehan goes......

The East Village is hosting a three-day "Culture of Contact" festival at the Two Boots Cinema on East 3rd St. this week, featuring UFO buffs, a number of films, talks, and music, all with aliens as their subject matter. According to the article in the free commuter daily Metro, incontrovertible proof of an alien crash landing at Roswell, New Mexico has surfaced. Event organizer Jeremy Vaeini was spurred to call together fellow UFO followers after......

It's the longest day of the year, so you should be able to fit Shepard Fairey's exhibit and at least one of the following events in. READING: Tommy Trantino was convicted and sentenced to death in 1964 for the murder of two New Jersey police officers. While doing time, he wrote to Leonard Weinglass, the lawyer who defended the Chicago Seven. From the letters came a book deal, and his stories (along with poetry, drawings......

Racked brings us the sad news of the demise of Gertel's Bakery, a Lower East Side institution. It will close up shop on Friday, after more than 90 years of challah, rugelach, and other baked goodness. And in other closing news, even bringing in Wayne Nish couldn't help Varietal. Restaurant Girl has the details. Gridskipper rounds up (pun very much intended) some of the city's best bagel shops. Why does H&H count twice and......

- A funeral was held today for Amber Sadiq, who died when a bus pinned her to a Crown Heights street - A jury found the man accused of plotting to blow up the Herald Square subway station and other NYC areas guilty of conspiracy and other charges - Vampires may be immortal, but Lestat the Musical is 'closing after 30-some performances - The title says it all The East Village Idiot's Guide for......

Fun stuff in the Observer's interview with Spike Lee. He discusses his new documentary about Hurricane Katrina, his work, and living in the city. He moved from Brooklyn to live in an Upper East Side townhouse (here's a spread about it in Town & Country - his place looks amazing), but we thought his insight as a Brooklyn native was especially amusing:Over the years, Mr. Lee has ridden the waves of gentrification in New York,......

Normally, a Villager article on the closing of an East Village bar wouldn't rate a mention on the august pages of Gothamist, but for this one, we need to make an exception. The East Village Lounge (aka the Ruby Lounge on 2nd between A and B) was closed down on Friday the 10th for operating past legal hours and serving minors: De Quatro said that during an investigation of more than three months, uniformed and......

A woman who had just picked up coffee from an East Village Dunkin' Donuts was forced into a car by a man posing as a police officer. She managed to escape when police pulled over Richard Padilla's car - he had cut off their car at 119th Street and 2nd Avenue - yelling that he had raped her. Padilla had told the woman he had a gun and kept her captive in his car from......

Gothamist doesn't smoke. And yet, we can't help but feel compassion for the puffing masses that huddle outside of New York's bars to get their hit of nicotine before they shuffle back indoors for a hit of alcohol. And so, it seems the outdoor bar has been lifted to the status of tavern treasure within the whole five boroughs. The East Village seems rife with options in this category - from DBA to The Boxcar......

Some of the East Village's interesting bits have been documented over at Bluejake, in an effort to cover most of Manhattan below 14th Street. Gothamist was amused by the comments about an above 14th Street endeavor, including this one from Mike:I can't wait until you get to the Upper East Side and have to walk a ridiculous distance without anything good to shoot. Indeed. The East Village series at Bluejake: Day 1, 1st to......

Caroline Castiglia, Comedy Queen...

Daniel Gregory...