It might have been more than a little symbolic last week when the huge, pink-frosted gyroscopic cupcake towering over 23rd Street restaurant Burgers and Cupcakes came to the end of its last full spin. Meant to be a proud beacon of sugar, the giant baked good was instead an embattled neighborhood fixture from the start; many were happy to see it go. And it’s gone: writer James Wagner shares one rumor relating the cupcake’s possible......

SHOPPING: Everyone needs a little Betsey Johnson flair in their closet, and this week you can get some designer dresses without dropping too much dough. There's a two day Betsey Johnson warehouse sale starting now, 80% off! 10am to 8pm (through October 5th) // 263 W 38th St READING: We may prefer listening to, rather than reading about, jazz, but John Coltrane had a whole world of things going on that led up to his......

MOVIE: Audrey Hepburn, a doll filled with heroin, Alan Arkin and the West Village in the 60s. What more could you ask for? Come check out Wait Until Dark tonight, but don't wait until dark to get there - the lawn fills up fast! Lawn opens at 5pm // Bryant Park // Free READING: Pamela des Barres is the Queen of the Groupies, and would likely never have referred to herself as a "band-aid". She......

Usually, if you want to see Brian Posehn you need to wait for a repeat of Just Shoot Me, Mr. Show, or The Sarah Silverman Program to come on, but on April 19th through 22nd you can head on over to Caroline's to get your Posehn fix. Gothamist decided to do a quick Q and A with Brian to find out what this comedy super star thinks of some of life's biggest issues, like religion,......

ART: A Cloudy Day's Epiphany is an exhibit including artists Devendra Banhart, Andrew Guenther, Brent Ridge, Dash Snow and Valaire van Slyck. You love Dash Snow, right? The idea is to explore the ephiphany as artistic inspiration. More on the show here. 6 to 8pm (through April 14th) // Dinter Fine Art [547 W 27th St] // Free THEATER: On Thursdays and Fridays through March 16 at Dixon Place, Sibyl Kempson unveils her latest opus,......

In 2004 we asked a bunch of New York bloggers to suggest sonic stocking stuffers. This year, we asked New York bloggers, bookers, musicians and more, what they'd give as a gift this holiday season. Here you go...commence shopping! Jack "Skippy" McFadden, Union Hall booker The Isles "Perfumed Lands" Ian Love's self-titled cd Wes Verhoeve, Cross Pollination / The Undisputed Heavyweights A Brief Smile - R.E.S.T. My Brightest Diamond - Bring Me The Workhorse Kevin......

Looking ahead to this week's movie options, there's a few indie-sized pics and one massive, Super Big Gulp-sized car racing comedy. Ordinarily Gothamist is all about championing the cinematic little guy, but when it's this goofy, yet earnest we say go for the excess. But to the small fish first: Quinceañera is a Los Angeles coming of age story centering around one Mexican-American girl, Magdalena and the traditional celebration which marks her 15th birthday. A......

Shelley Winters, the actress who typically played blowsy and loud women, died today in California. She suffered heart failure while at a nursing center. Her career started in New York theater, had a long run as the sexpot in film, then later drunken shrew, and the later part of her career, comedians would make fun of her weight. The NY Times obituary included this quote of hers that "[described her life as a] rocky road......

Thank god the holidays are finally over and bands are getting back into the swing of things. Now we can sell off all our unwanted gifts on eBay (how much do you think we can get for a hypercolor "hip" bible?) and spend the cash on evil rock and roll, which is back with a vengeance in our fine, fine city. Why are secret shows never really a secret? The Mooney Suzuki play in semi-secrecy......

Wow, Gothamist takes a break to re-read The Chronicle of Narnia and suddenly contemporary literature is rocked! The big stories: The Smoking Gun's expose on bestselling author James Frey's lie-laden memoir (and Oprah book), A Million Little Pieces, and the NY Times'investigation in JT Leroy, revealing he doesn't quite exist! Next, we'll find out JK Rowling is a marketing scheme cooked up by the British government! The Smoking Gun's article about Frey's lies seems so......

On Sundays, Gothamist publishes essays about topics relevant to life in New York. The one below is by our favorite poet historian, Matt Levy-- master of the extended metaphor: Welcome back Ladies and Gents, to the hip happening hotspot that’s absolutely not possible: New York City outside the space-time continuum! I am your host and it has been my extraordinary pleasure to allow you, the good readers and citizens of Gotham City, to enjoy......

So we've finally entered Halloween season and we can expect a flood of scary movie reruns as well as magazines competing for best horror film list. Not suprisingly, both Total Film and Giant Magazine hail The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as the top terror title, with Halloween and The Exorcist in at second, and Suspria and The Night of the Living Dead vying for third (interestingly, The Fly came in at #7 on Giant's list).......

Who knew it was illegal to have an iguana in New York? Not Gothamist. But that's what we learned while reading about a four foot iguana found stranded in Brooklyn. Animal Care & Control had to remove an iguana from a tree in Midwood - it ran up there when the police arrived (maybe it was afraid of getting a summons). The Post says the iguana was first seen on the street last week, with......

Gothamist must admit that we were one of those pasty, sun-deprived toddlers who merrily shunned the joys of sportsmanship and early childhood socialization for the more solitary pleasures of pop-up books and cartoon fantasy lands. To this day, the mere glimpse of a page from one of our favorite children's books will stop us in our tracks even faster than a shiny object, compelling us to re-read the book in question immediately. Foremost among these......

Not that we'd wish a ride in an ambulance on anyone, but here's a new site dedicated to the paramedic stylings of a certain rockers: It's The Night David Lee Roth Saved My Life. Inspired by news that Roth is now working as a paramedic in NY, the site will be a venue for people who have been, well, saved by Diamond Dave.In New York City's emergency rooms, medical care is undertaken by two different......

Gothamist is excited about the Tribeca Theater Festival, which is running now through the 31st. Yes, this is being put on by the same folks who bring us the Tribeca Film Festival. Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff are presenting, in association with the acclaimed Tribeca-based Off-Broadway theater company, Drama Dept. The two-week Festival will present a breadth of entertainment downtown, including a short play series, Stage On Screen programs, and theater panel......

Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim….and The Ramones? Gothamist was amused to recently hear of yet another dinosaur band’s music being used to shill Broadway tickets. Chicago is the latest band to join the club, allowing their catalogue of tunes to be used in Colour My World, a musical which will incorporate their songs into a story of two friends who embark on different life journeys. Now Gothamist has nothing against Chicago, nor do we against......