Brooklyn-based quintet The National have spent the last nine years slowly and steadily evolving from bar-band hobby to indie rock royalty, a success built out of old fashioned techniques like laborious songwriting, tireless gigging and the organic cultivation of their own distinct sound: a bruised, moody elegance that swells and crashes under the dreamy baritone of front man Matt Berninger. Their fourth and most recent album, Boxer, was a usual suspect on critical top ten......

Through yesterday, this month was on pace to be the tenth warmest February recorded in Central Park. Cooler conditions today, and especially tomorrow, will put a kibosh on any top ten dreams the month may have had. This morning's brisk winds are in advance of an approaching Alberta Clipper that will pass through the area this evening. As the clipper gets closer skies will cloud up and there's an outside chance of a few flurries.......

Photo by Benzadrine. New York City faced some stiff competition in the Forbes Top 10 “Misery Measure”, but ultimately moped away with a respectable fourth place, losing only to such perennial dystopias as Detroit (#1, forever); Flint, Michigan (#3) and… Stockton, California, in the #2 slot? Apparently, the Bay Area satellite has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country and a swelling population. To compile the list, Forbes compared 150 of America’s largest......

This week's story about a 500-pound retired NYPD cop trying to get more dough (the green money kind) inspired The Late Show with David Letterman's Thursday night top ten list. Retired cop Paul Soto, who wears a 6-foot-long belt, has been receiving disability payments (equal to half his pay) as his narcolepsy, hypertension and morbid obesity prevented him from working his job. He boldly tried to prove that his disability was due to an......

LAist listed a top ten list of sorts: things they hope not to see in Los Angeles in 2008. (one example, pictured above). Shanghaiist was surprised to learn that "godless," "atheist," and "commie" China is soon going to be the world's largest supplier of Bibles! Torontoist picked some of their favorite photos of 2007. Londonist was relieved to hear the fire at the Royal Marsden hospital didn't harm any of the patients even though......

SFist saw Christmas Day turn tragic after a Siberian tiger escaped from her pen at the San Francisco Zoo, killing a visitor and mauling two others. Phillyist counted down the top ten items on Philadelphia's New Year's wish list. Gothamist looked at the wooden bikes being offered for NYC's first bike share program on Governors Island. LAist received a Christmas present in the form of a drunk Santa Claus in a g-string. Bostonist launched......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on East 112th St. and 3rd Ave. in Manhattan, shots fired at 132nd St. and Madison Ave. in Manhattan, and a commercial burglary on 4th Ave. and 90th St. in Brooklyn. Page Six lists its top ten scoops of the year. #1 is about Rosie O'Donnell's writer being escorted from The View offices for drawing magic marker mustaches on pictures of Elizabeth Hasselbeck, and rumors that......

When Governor Spitzer announced he was dropping his controversial plan to offer driver's licenses to illegal immigrants yesterday, he was praised by his fellow Democrats. The NY Times notes that the decision won Spitzer "the kind of wide acclaim from elected officials that he could not win for the proposal itself." And that's gotta sting a little. Spitzer had first introduced a broad plan to allow illegal immigrants to get licenses, which caused outcry from......

The most expensive dessert in the world (pictured) used to be the $14,500 “Fortress Aquamarine” served at a luxury resort in Sri Lanka. But today Sri Lankans can choke on their gilded shame, for the Upper East Side’s Serendipity 3 has put America back on top with a $25,000 triumph called the Frrrozen [sic] Haute Chocolate. Break out your giant diamond-encrusted foam fingers, because the Guinness Book of World Records will now list this as......

Gotham Gazette has a fantastic analysis of what happens to the hundreds of City Council bills that have been introducedsince Christine Quinn become the City Council Speaker. The article points out many interesting things. For instance, out of the 622 bills introduced, 68% of them are never heard of again. About 15% do get hearings, but are never voted on, and only 17% actually pass to become bills. The article also lists the top ten......

Over 16,000 riders responded to the MTA's call for honest assessments of the 7 line, and the MTA released the results of the 7 Line Rider Report Card. On the bright side, there's a lot to improve. Realistically speaking, they weren't very good: After all the areas were tallied up, the overall grade was a C-. Here are the top ten priorities for improvement:1. Adequate room on board at rush hour 2. Minimal delays......

As Americans continue their race slow, labored walk towards larger and larger coffins, New Yorkers are not far behind. According to a study published yesterday by the Trust for America’s Health, obesity rates rose in 31 U.S. States last year including New York where 22.4% of adults are obese – up by 0.7% from 2005. New York State is tied for 38th place with New Hampshire while Mississippi can boast the widest waistlines, becoming the......

Astroland's stay of execution may have hit a snag. While there were hopes that Thor Equities, the developer who has purchased the amusement park for $30 million as part of its ambitious Coney Island development plans, and Astroland operators could work out a deal, the Post reports that Thor is looking for an increase on the order of 17 times the current rent. That means the park operator would have to pay $3 million for......

While poking around on YouTube recently we stumbled onto this awesome clip from 1989 of David Letterman appearing on Live at Five and Live at Five simultaneously appearing on Late Night With David Letterman. In it, we see Letterman, whose studio 6A is just across the hall from WNBC's Live at Five's studio 6B, being interviewed by Jack Cafferty (and vice versa) on the occasion of a prime time anniversary show. Late Night taped......

Happy Father's Day! For those of you who have dads, are dads, or know dads, this one's for you, from all of us at the Gothamist network." It was a week of bizarre, embarassing headlines at DCist. The trial of the local administrative law judge who sued his cleaners for $54 million over a pair of missing pants left everyone shaking their heads. Then the capital city was nearly brought to its knees, twice, by......

A look at some noteworthy television this week: Iraq War Begins: Four Years Later (Monday, 9 a.m. MSNBC) MSNBC's looks back on their coverage of the start of the Iraq War all day. Dancing With the Stars (Monday, 8:00 p.m. WABC 7) This year's D-List celebs trying to defibrillate their careers by dancing are: Laila Ali, Billy Ray Cyrus, Clyde Drexler, Joey Fatone, Shandi Finnessey, Leeza Gibbons, Heather Mills, Apolo Anton Ohno, Paulina Porizkova, John......

For anyone turned on by lists, then have we got a list for you! The Economist's Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has published the EIU Worldwide Cost of Living for 2007. What's the WCOL, you say?The Worldwide Cost of Living survey enables human resources line managers and expatriate executives to compare the cost of living in over 130 cities in nearly 90 countries and calculate fair compensation policies for relocating employees. The survey gathers detailed......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

Okay, so it's been 2007 for the last four days but since everyone's doing it from the critics circles to the awards nominating pools, it seemed worth it to weigh in on last year's movies. However, constructing end of the year top ten lists can be both painful and thrilling. Looking at a long list of the year's movie releases reminds you how many films passed you by in the theaters and playing favorites amongst......

A look at some noteworthy programs this week: The Investigators: Riker’s Island (CourtTV , Monday, 8 p.m.) CourtTV’s law enforcement documentary series takes a look at Rikers The Year Without a Santa Claus (WNBC 4, Monday, 9 p.m.) A new version of some Christmas cheese from NBC. If anyone cares Santa decides to take a year off and the elves have to cope. Sounds like hard hitting drama. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole......

It makes total sense: The city has announced that the New York Harbor School may move to the Governors Island and be its first tenant. amNewYork notes the specialized public school, which teaches students about maritime issues, is currently landlocked in Bushwick. The NY Harbor School's program director is thrilled and the Governors Island Alliance calls it a "positive thing." GIA's Robert Pirani tells AMNY, "It sets the tone for the island as being......

The city has announced the top ten names city mommies and daddies have given their babies. Emily is number one for a 2nd year in a row (it was also number in 2003), while Michael is number one for the 20th year! From 1010WINS:For the 59,714 baby girls, the top names were Emily, Ashley, Kayla, Sarah, Isabella, Samantha, Sophia, Nicole, Olivia and Rachel. Brianna was knocked out of the Top 10 for the first time......

Tim, Nina and the gang are at it again. This year's NYC Zagat Restaurant Guide is now available, compiling surveys from 31,604 participants and covering 2,014 restaurants. First off, although we generally do most of our restaurant research online, we definitely appreciate two additional features that are part of the new physical guide: a foldout map listing the 50 "New Yorkers' Favorite Restaurants," and sticky arrow tabs designed for users to place throughout the book,......

New Yorkers for Parks released a 2006 Progress Report on neighborhood parks that were examined in the 2005 Report Card on Parks, and the news is depressing. While five of the top ten parks are still in great shape, the other five have deteriorated, most dramatically, Tenney Park in Queens which had been given an A+ in 2005, but now warrants an F in 2006. And parks that were in bad shape are just......

- Ed Levine not only gives us his top ten fancypants burgers, but also his choices for fried chicken. We're hoping he goes for salad next; our cholesterol is going through the roof. - It's that time of year again -- time for the Second Annual Vendy Awards! Go and nominate your favorite street food vendor; winners will be announced at a gala event on October 22nd where we'll once again be on the judging......

The Daily News revealed the top ten ideas in the running for the redevelopment of Governor's Island. Only 25 proposals were submitted, and while the other ideas may still be considered, these the ones the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation is "concentrating" on:Nickelodeon Recreation/Miller Global Properties: Development of a Nickelodeon Family Suites themed resort complex. The company presently runs a similar operation in Orlando, near Disney World. Federal Development LLC/City University of New......

If you consider yourself a New York pizza lover, there are a couple dozen pizzerias you must try before you can even pretend to know of what you speak. You may have heard that Patsy’s of East Harlem serves a floppy, lifeless slice. But throngs of loyal fans have lived and died by Patsy’s for decades, so if you want to talk intelligently about the pizza in this town, you have to go and......

The NYPost has a feature about maps mashups, and they even give a shoutout to our Gothamist Map Mashup (look for a re-release next month!) We've been tracking NYC mashups for months-- and currently have dozens in our maps archive. Here are our top ten mashup picks: Ghostbusters map, Bike routes map, Murder map, Flood map, Beer map, Gawker Stalker map, NYC Streetart Map, Atomic Bomb map, Garbage map And of course, the NYonTap......

New Yorkers may think we're the best in the world generally, but as far as restaurants of the world are concerned, we only made it to number eight. Thomas Keller's Per Se was the only New York restaurant to make the top ten of the world's 50 best restaurants, as named by Restaurant magazine, although his West Coast restaurant, French Laundry, came in at number four. Other New York eateries on the list include......

Well try moving to Oslo, baby, and see how that grabs you! You'll be wishing for one of those overpriced $6 beers in Williamsburg when you are paying $9.40 for some Carlsburg lager at a bar swathed in the perpetual darkness of a Norwegian winter! Check out this CNN Money article for the full list of the world's most expensive cities-- New York doesn't even make the top ten (we're 27th!) We used their data......