What's the best way for President Obama to commemorate banishing The Donald and his R-rated birther rhetoric to the outer reaches of network TV syndication hell? Merchandising, of course! After all, that's where the real money is made.
Get Your Obama Birth Certificate Mugs And T-Shirts While They're Hot!
Steven Slater: Losing Weight, Selling Shirts
Former JetBlue flight attendant, and fleeting folk hero Steven Slater was back in court yesterday meeting with Judge Marcia Hirsch. In October Slater pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal mischief after having a Falling Down moment on the job, telling off a passenger, activating an emergency chute, and sliding to his freedom with two beers in hand. He has agreed to get mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment, as well as pay JetBlue $10,000 for the chute. Yesterday Hirsch warned him to stay on the wagon during the stressful and spirited holiday season, the Daily News reports.
Update Your T-Shirt RSS With Wearable News
Feeling depressed about NY Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger's pronouncement that the Times will stop printing a physical edition sometime in the future? Down in the dumps because of another news story predicting the ever-imminent death of print and magazines? Well, take some comfort: you can still get your news printed the old fashioned way, on T-shirts!
MTA Offers Up New Shirts
Forget about that tired, old, tourist coveted F Train t-shirt, AnimalNY reports that the MTA has some brand spankin' new tees that are much more aesthetically pleasing; an "edgy line of t-shirts featuring the photography of Travis Ruse, a well known, photo documenting commuter," (will more local photobloggers be getting some MTA love in the future?). There are three styles, titled: lamplight, platform and skyline (pictured). Pay 24 bucks now so you won't have to pay 3 later.
Spitzer's Downfall Means Free Market Moves Merchandise
For everyone who wants to combine the pleasures of wearing t-shirts and tweaking fun at Governor Spitzer's troubles, there's no shortage of options. There's a variety of options on CafePress - do a search for "Eliot Spitzer," you get "Spitzer is Just Impeachy," while a search for "Client 9" brings up many more possibilities.
Rock on the Block
Christie's is finally getting on the overpriced vintage concert t-shirt bandwagon. Today they bring 30 rock tees to the block as part of their Rock and Pop Memorabilia auction, and all are expected to sell for up to $4,500 each. Remember when Stella McCartney was creating overpriced rock tees for Chloe? We sort of blame her for this."The fact that these T-shirts exist in such pristine condition is remarkable because most people didn't keep these...
Video of the Day: Timeless Henson
Long before Big Bird and Fraggle Rock, Jim Henson was dabbling in avant-garde cinema. Check out a young Henson appearing in his own far-out short, called Time Piece, which owes no small debt to John Cage. "Dislocation in time, time signatures, time as a philosophical concept, and slavery to time are some of the themes touched upon in this nine-minute, experimental film, which was written, directed, and produced by Jim Henson – and starred Jim...
Mary’s Dairy Goes Tits Up and Auctions Everything
East and West Village sweet tooths went into withdrawal last weekend with the abrupt closure of both Mary’s Dairy ice cream and chocolate bars. The plucky little parlors had developed a loyal following since scooping out their first location in a former West Village leather shop. They soon became a favorite pit stop for lithe model-types who swore by their tasty fat-free soft serve, which, according to the Times, succeeded in avoiding “the chalky taste of similar products.” Reached by phone this morning, the co-owner of the parlors, who insisted on being referred to only as Mary, blamed the usual suspects in her Dairy’s demise: “We have very loyal customers who all say they’re going to miss us, but it just comes down to Con Ed and rent.” First Con Ed came for the ice cream – can Christmas be far behind?
Camera in the Kitchen: The Sunburnt Cow
The Counter Meal, a waitress explained during a recent visit, is an Australian tradition made up of comforting food, a hefty drink, an informal atmosphere, and a darn good price. The menu offers an appetizer, either burger or entree, and a choice of traditional Australian desserts for this price ($16)--or even less, $10, on Sunday nights.
Waldorf Towers Address For Brad and Angelina
The center of the paparazzi universe might be the Waldorf Towers at 100 East 50th Street. That's because Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and their brood of children are renting a $100,000/month apartment at the hotel. The Post reports that the Jolie-Pitts "began recently living in a newly renovated, roughly 6,000-square-foot apartment" that has "five bedrooms plus a library that they have converted into a sixth, up to six baths and a huge gourmet kitchen." And there are terraces (plural!).
Hilly's Mountain of Cash
The Village Voice is reporting that Hilly Kristal was a millionaire. Not really surprising considering the owner of CBGB, who claimed to be broke, ran more than just a venue. Just look at all those kids wearing their Urban Outfitters t-shirts with the club's logo on it. Those cost money! So does everything branded with their logo at their own store.
Just weeks after the legendary former CBGB owner passed away, his heirs—who thought Kristal was broke—are finding out that the old punk impresario was worth a surprising $3.7 million.more ›
Faran Krentcil, Fashionista.com
You may or may not have noticed that it's Fashion Week -- either way, style is saturating the city right now more than ever, and we've asked Faran Krentcil to help us figure the whole thing out. She who holds down the fort at Fashionista.com fills us in on The Tents, the trends and the tricks.
Video of the Day: Hipster Olympics
Making fun of hipsters isn't even ironically cool anymore, but this video of The Hipster Olympics somehow still manages to be funny. The hipsters go through a series of challenges including picking out ironic thrift store t-shirts (obvs), photographing themselves for their MySpace profiles, and tossing out albums by artists who have sold out by becoming popular (Of Montreal, Caribou, The Beatles and the sarcastic selection of Bruce Willis). Find out who wins the silver (which is the new gold):
Khalil Gibran Arabic School Takes Unexpected Turn
The Khalil Gibran International Academy––a new bi-lingual school dedicated to teaching children Arabic and instructing students about Middle Eastern history––received a new principal after the abrupt departure of its founder Debbie Almontaser in a flap over a t-shirt. The new interim principal is Danielle Salzberg, who is an Orthodox Jewish woman that has been working with the Dept. of Education to establish the Khalil Gibran school.
No Non-Arabic Shirt, No Service
The NYCLU and ACLU are suing the Transportation Security Administration and Jet Blue over an incident where a passenger was forced to cover/change his shirt, which had Arabic lettering. Last year, Reid Jarrar, an American resident of Iraqi descent, was taking a JetBlue flight at JFK when a TSA official asked him to over his shirt, which read "We Will Not Be Silent" in both English and Arabic. The shirt's message is taken from the motto of an anti-Nazi resistance group, the White Rose.
A (Corporate) Nightmare on Smith Street
The NY Times takes a look at Smith Street and the corporate companies creeping into the area and setting up shop. The most recent big announcement is that Trader Joe's is taking over the old bank on Atlantic Avenue and Court Street. How long until more big fish come to feed?
Bloomberg to Albany: Speed Up Congestion Pricing
Mayor Bloomberg took to the streets and held a rally to beg Albany to hurry up and make a decision on NYC's congestion pricing plan. CityRoom reports that "Dozens of supporters watched the event...clad in green PlaNYC t-shirts" with signs like "I take a ferry, and I vote." And from the center of Times Square, Bloomberg said, "No state action, no federal funding — it’s that simple. We’ve got to have the state do something by July 16, or we will walk away from an enormous amount of money that would be spent to improve mass transit, which in turn would improve the air that we and our children breathe.”
The Tank Top That Launched Another Tank Top
3) "It's a shame that someone would spend $70 to be so crass - when you can do it for $20 at Neighborhoodies.com."Acknowledgment of tackiness - check. Implicit praise of the Post - check. Shamless self-promotion - check check! And our suggestion about a good graphic: Derek Jeter's head - there are tons of possibilities with his Kid 'n Play hair.
Gothamist's Week in Rock, Volume 26
We never realized exactly what a force Manu Chao was live until experiencing him ourselves at Sasquatch several weeks ago. The man has the power to move people. To incite hysteria and completely dominate his entire audience. It is something any music fan should experience at least once in their life, because there is really nobody else like him performing today. Earlier this week, He did two nights at the Prospect Park Bandshell to a crowd that more resembled a soccer stadium than a rock concert. There was chanting and singing and air horns and flags, but none of that could beat back the rain, which poured down in buckets towards the end of the second night, drenching the fans and creating a lovely mess. Few would argue that after a hot night of dancing, there could have been no perfect release. Check out some more incredible pics (like the one to the left) over at Brooklyn Vegan.
i-Day: iPhone iNsanity
It's the day for the Apple iPhone to be released to the public, and the public is doing its job to feed into the media frenzy. If you're not on line waiting for the iPhone, you've either seen people waiting on line or mocked people waiting on line (while secretly coveting one, of course). WCBS has some photographs of people on line this morning - someone even brought his dog, which is named Beta! David Clayman, second in line, has been blogging about his waiting at iPhone Adventure. And earlier this week, on the luck of seven interviewed the person at the head of the line, Greg Packer, and Clayman - here's the video.
It's The Little Things
One would think that in this white hot real estate market, New York condos just sell themselves. Apparently not. Free commuter daily AMNY takes a look at the fringe benefits that developers employ to entice those well off enough to buy into Manhattan's real estate promised land. Laundry rooms and a concierge are yesterday's news.
So how do buildings decide whether to offer a Turkish bath over a bowling alley?more ›
Paying Your Respects, Getting No Respect
The police, already fearing retaliatory violence, say the youths were exchanging gang signs, wearing T-shirts with a gang name and bounding atop cars when they were arrested. Parents and teachers of the group and witnesses said that they were no more boisterous than any group of teenagers would be in similar circumstances, and that they did not see any youths atop cars.more ›
Staten Island Ice Cream Identity Crisis, Part 2
After Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro recommended that the 5 Boroughs ice cream flavor "Staten Island Landfill" be boycotted, sales of the swirly mix of brownies, fudge, crunchies, and cherries in a vanilla ice cream base have been so hot, it's hard to find it anywhere.
Puerto Rican Day Parade Arrests Total 208
Yesterday's reports about the number of people arrested during the 50th annual Puerto Rican Day Parade were incorrect: While numbers like 80 and 173 were offered, today the NY Times reveals 208 people were arrested, due to police concerns about the Latin Kings. However, there's some question as to whether more people without gang connections were arrested during the sweep.
Hamilton Heights Rape Suspect Pleads Not Guilty
Yesterday, the man suspected of raping and torturing a 23-year-old woman in her apartment pleaded not guilty to the attack. However, police say that they have DNA evidence linking ex-con Robert Williams to the scene. The victim, a graduate student at Columbia's Journalism School, remembered that the attacker wore one of her T-shirts, which was thrown into a wastebasket, and the police have DNA from Williams' spit (he spat into a station house wastebasket).
Gehry Wears "Fuck Frank Gehry" T-shirt
In this week's New Yorker, Lauren Collins has a funny bit on the popularity of "Fuck Frank Gehry" T-shirts. Popular, that is, with Frank Gehry himself!
Fair is Fair
How much thought do you give to the origins of your daily dose of java? Not the origin of the purchase (mega-chain vs. local joint), but the origin of the beans themselves. And not just country of origin, but the labor and trade practices of the growers and workers who got those beans to you, no matter where they end up. Many of us don't think about this, but the owners of Vox Pop, a coffeeshop in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, proudly trumpet the fair trade origins or their coffee varieties, and the customers are rolling in.
Contest Alert: Knicks Prize Pack!
Want to go to the Knicks game tomorrow? Well it's your lucky day, we have the following burning a hole in our pocket:
Rats Attract Tourists, Questions about Health Inspections
You're in town for the weekend. You've seen the Statue of Liberty, eaten pizza at Lombardi's, and taken in the view from the Empire State Building? What else is there do to in New York? Why, see the KFC/Taco Bell rats of course! What could be a better Big Apple experience?

