This site only has one purpose, to let you know: "Is the L Train Fucked?" Currently, and shockingly, the answer is no... but keep refreshing before swiping that MetroCard because this could change at any time. Also, maybe the MTA should invest in these single-serving sites for each of their train lines—so easy to update, maybe the robots could even run it. more ›

Of course the L train was all "First!" in separating itself from the Craigslist masses. Always such a trendsetter. The train now has its own Missed Connections Twitter feed, which posts Best Of musings like: "so it was 4:30 in the a.m. on a Saturday night and you were in front of me with your fish tank." Another: "you complimented me on my rings and told me that I was 'absurdly gorgeous.' Then you got stuck in the train door." It's only been live for about 10 hours now, so probably about another 10 before you can pick up the book at your local Urban Outfitters, and another 10 after that before you're so over it. At that point, there's always Album Tacos (you're welcome). [via] more ›

MUSIC: If you aren't at your local hometown bar this Thanksgiving-eve, drinking with old high school buddies -- we suggest a sonic alternative. Tonight The Hold Steady and Art Brut do their best at making Terminal 5 feel a little bit cozier this holiday season. Buy tickets here. 7:30pm // Terminal 5 [610 W 56th St] // $30 MUSIC MOVIES: If you're sick and tired of the bands playing around town, go check out two... more ›

THEATER: The Summer Play Festival is at full blaze over at the Theater Row complex on 42nd Street. At $10 a ticket it’s your cheapest way to catch new work by playwrights whose heat index is rising. Tonight you have your pick of four plays; insider theater blogger Surplus recommends Cipher, which concerns two clerks stuck in a secret location monitoring the thoughts of suspected terrorists. “When their assignment gets tough, they begin to ask questions — which is a dangerous thing to do.” - John Del Signore more ›

MOVIE: The L Magazine kicks off their summer movie series, Summerscreen, tonight at McCarren Park Pool. We're pretty sure we'll be attending most of these this summer (even though we feel there is a lack of horror filcks on their schedule). So bring something soft to sit on and head over tonight for the cheerleading film that introduced us all to spirit fingers, Bring It On. In two weeks: Dazed and Confused! Alright, alright, alright. more ›

">Bruni revisits Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak, upgrades the restaurant from one star to two. He says, "The improvement in the steaks has made it easier to appreciate the restaurant's other virtues… the unassailable quality of its raw bar selections; its gigantic, crunchy onion rings, some of the best in the city; its fried bone marrow appetizer, a decadence-squared dream." He still thinks the menu is overcrowded, though, and doesn't like the way they age the steaks. Bruni also visits Craftbar, about which he's less enthusiastic. He awards the restaurant one star, finding the atmosphere "grim" and that "much of the food lacked personality." more ›

Those music know-it-alls over at The L Magazine have declared the Top 8 NYC Bands to watch for this year. Who's in the class of '07? Here's our Top 4 of their Top 8 (we sort of wish they'd put a rock show on with all of them): more ›

PARTY: The L Magazine celebrates their fourth year and 100th issue tonight at their Fourth-Annual Centennial Party. There will be complimentary tequila and goodies from Brooklyn Industries and Crumpler. Come, drink, celebrate and don't think about the hangover you'll have tomorrow. more ›

It's time go over this weekend's NY Times Weddings Announcements! more ›

THEATER: A mysterious production is in previews at the DR2 theatre near Union Square. Dubbed “Esoterica”, it is described as a multi-media exploration of matters “philosophical, metaphysical and arcane” by actor, magician and mentalist Eric Walton. On his website, www.ericwalton.com, this description piqued our interest further: “Walton is sort of what you'd guess the devil would be like if he had his own nightclub act." It could be we’re just curious about what a “mentalist” does for ninety minutes or we’re already falling under his spell. But something tells us you’ll love it, that it’s much better than “Cats” and that you’re going to see it again and again. - John Del Signore more ›

READINGS: Brooklyn-based writer and publicist Jennifer Gilmore reads tonight at Coliseum from her buzzy debut novel, , which follows the intersecting lives of three Jewish American families from the 1920s through the 1960s. - Krissa Corbett Cavouras more ›

MOVIE: Get a little more in depth on the whole border crossing controversy with Woodstock in the more ›

THEATER: The River to River Festival isn't just about outdoor concerts, and Canadians not only have great indie bands, they also have theatre troupes breaking into the experimental downtown scene. Bluemouth Inc.'s What the River Said, which is in both R2R and the Sitelines series, is a case in point; the play, which evokes "the struggle for acceptance in the calm before the family storm" is the third part of a trilogy originally performed along a creek near Toronto; you aren't likely to feel lost if you haven't seen the other parts, but you almost certainly will be eager for the full production to make it here. - Mallory Jensen more ›

Car Alarms on summer nights from the Gothamist Contribute stream-- mails yours to photos (at) gothamist. more ›

SummerScreen (you know, like sunscreen) is The L Magazine's addition to the already successful summer of McCarren Park Pool events. more ›

ART: Tonight Dreamland: Coney Island 1905-1925 opens. The exhibit is opened through August 19th and features "original drawings, blueprints, and vintage photographs of New York City’s favorite amusement park, Coney Island." more ›

An L train subway operator suffered a seizure and crashed an L train as he was trying to park it at the Canarsie railyards yesterday morning. Luckily, no one was injured seriously, and the operator and two other workers were taken to the hospital. The MTA also said there was a contractor installing advertising, but there are no reports he was injured. The Daily News describes the derailment:

The train hit a set of metal poles at the end of the tracks that are supposed to stop runaway trains. The L stopped after it crashed into a fence, where part of it remained some 15 feet in the air.

San Francisco is proud host of a new reality show called "How to Get the Guy" that's unfortunately not a descendant of Will and Grace, Queer Eye, The L Word, American Idol etc. Also a biodefence lab is coming to the East Bay and SFist teaches wine pairing. more ›

Judy McGuire, Advice Columnist more ›

Favorite Drink: Bourbon, straight up more ›

Continuing to show that it don't know Jack, Infinity Broadcasting announced that 92.3 KRock is moving to an all-talk forma, confirming the rumors that were around last week. Moreover, David Lee Roth will be hosting the morning drive show! Yes, that Van Halen lead signer and certified EMT David Lee Roth! Gothamist can't wait for stories about getting busted for buying a dimebag in Washington Square Park and how crazy Eddie Van Halen is. The L.A. market gets Adam Carolla. According to the Infinity press release, Penn Jillette will also be hosting a one-hour program in NYC as well as other markets, which confuses Gothamist as he won't be able to tell the Aristocrats nor will he be able to do magic on air effectively. Maybe he'll just reveal magician's tricks. more ›

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This week being Gay Pride week, Gothamist thought for about parading then realized, well, that sounds suspiciously like exercise, and we'd rather drink anyway. So we wondered if there is such a thing as a gay drink? What makes it gay? We asked at an ostensibly straight bar, Lolita, at the party for Elizabeth Merrick's novel Girly (Ms. Merrick ran the Cupcake reading series with Lauren Cerand until April 2005). We spoke to one co-owner, who said, in what would become a refrain, a Cosmopolitan is gay, right? Well, it's pink and, um, even we can't finish that sentence. Lolita does have it's share of gay, though, including The Tease, a Citron-Amaretto-pineapple juice-sour mix-lemon juice and a cherry, a drink that the bartender made to kick you in the knees. And there are two house drinks, the eponymous one and the 266, the bar's address on Broome, a gin drink that can kick other parts in. We asked about the inclusion of the Velvet Hammer on the menu. He says it's from the movie Cocktail. The Tom-I love this woman!-Cruise movie cocktail (vodka, creme de cacoa, milk, a cherry) is clearly their gayest drink. more ›

"I very rarely even see a conductor on this train." - Subway rider to the NY TimesOf course, the NY Post details how a bunch of kids stormed the a conductor's booth and "pressed buttons for several minutes." Luckily, a key is needed for the buttons to work, but still, Gothamist imagines they were 20 minutes away from figuring out how to hotwire it. The Times also notes that the new signaling technology in the L ("radio frequencies and micro processors to communicate train movements") won't be rolled out until the end of this year, because the MTA doesn't want to get to futuristic...and because it's behind schedule, natch. more ›

Experience has taught us many things. The L train will usually be late; cart meat tastes yummy only the first time around (ewww…too far?); and buying wine by the bottle is usually better - in value and taste - than wine by the glass. more ›

Gothamist knew there was a reason why we loved Brian Williams so much. Besides being hilarious and loving pizza, the NBC Nightly News anchor apparently loves sexy TV, too. Rush and Molloy report that when stars of The L Word (think Sex and the City without the men and the New York, but with more ladies) were at Michael's, Williams said, "On Sundays in my house, it's all about the lesbians of 'The L Word.'" Word. The media is all about loving the ladies - from the MILFS of Wisteria Lane to Los Angeleno lesbians...just as long as they are hot. Mayor Bloomberg, NYC needs a show about MILF-y lesbians STAT! more ›

Rachel Korowitz, Improv Comedienne more ›

Gothamist has an idea: In July, we should plan a trip on the computerized train - we'll do the Robot Dance! And check out the City Council's PDF on the matter: . more ›

Margaret Harper, NYC Public School Teacher more ›

Everybody loves broccoli, right? The great green vegetable is a cool weather crop. It prefers growing temperatures from 40-70 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the commercial production in the U.S. along the foggy central California coast. The L.A. Daily News reports that two researchers have succeeded in breeding heat tolerant broccoli. Their hybrid survives temperatures in the high nineties and has tolerated heat spikes of over 110 degrees. As one of the researchers put it, "Our broccoli isn't responding to heat by blowing its brains out." more ›