In 2007 Gotham Book Mart shut its doors after 87 years of being in business, and owner Andreas Brown held a court-mandated auction, selling the entire contents of the shop for $400K (though it was reportedly worth several million). CityRoom is reporting that now, nearly two years later, "about 200,000 items have been donated to the University of Pennsylvania" by an anonymous donor (the same who purchased the entire contents of the store's inventory). The lot includes “proofs, advance copies, pamphlets, photographs, posters, reference works, catalogs, broadsides, prints and postcards,” as well as books "from the personal libraries of Truman Capote and Anaïs Nin," and signed items from Arthur Miller, John Updike, Woody Allen and Tennessee Williams (who was a clerk at the store at one point). The site wonders if Leonard A. Lauder, former chairman of Estée Lauder, previous benefactor of the bookstore, and graduate of Penn (class of 1954) was the donor. more ›

For the 1964-1965 World's Fair, architect Philip Johnson designed the New York State Pavillion in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Besides the well-known observation towers (think Men in Black) and the Theaterama, he commissioned a "130-foot-by-166-foot terrazzo replica of a Texaco New York State road map." more ›

The Observer's Matthew Schuerman has a few interesting stories about Columbia's Manhattanville expansion plans. An article published today looks at how the University of Pennsylvania's successful (and more community-embraced) urban transformation could potentially inform Columbia's plans, now that former Penn president Judith Rodin's book, The University & Urban Revival has hit the bookshelves. Rodin, now the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, only says that the conversations she has had with Columbia president Lee Bollinger have been minimal. She also said, "Columbia has a much tougher job. They are incredibly landlocked and so the stakes are even higher. Unless [Columbia and the community] work together, it is not going to work." more ›

The wedding season is in full swing: Second week in a row where there are over 30 weddings in the NY Times Weddings & Celebrations section. Here we go: more ›

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

It's birdseed throwing or bubble blowing time with this weekend's NY Times wedding announcements. more ›

It's still officially the winter, so there just ten weddings announced this weekend in the NY Times. Let's get to the good stuff: more ›

After a many months absence, here are some stats about this week's NY Times Weddings and Celebrations announcements: more ›

Republican candidate for Attorney General Jeanine Pirro continued to make her campaign appearances, and her daughter Cristine stood up for her. At a Manhattan fundraiser lasted night, the Daily News reports that Cristine "Kiki" Pirro, University of Pennsylvania senior, said, "While others may question her decisions, I love her for choosing to do what she thought was best for our family. You know, we've taken a lot of hits as a family, but we are standing together forever and ever." She also said, "There aren't enough lies and leaks to break this family," which is sweet and sad at the same time. Notably, this is the fundraider Rudy Giuliani was supposed to attend but dropped out of (the Giuliani Partners connection with Bernie was probably too hot) and Governor Pataki praised Pirro - but by satellite. Ouch! more ›

So, it's been a little while since the last time we visited the Times Weddings and Celebrations by the Numbers but today there was no way we couldn't count 'em up. If you opened up the paper today you might have noticed that the familiar face of our very own Jen Chung and her new husband Jay Wilkins were the on top of the list of sixteen non-Vows weddings this week. more ›

Another really short Weddings and Celebrations this week, so enough with the pleasantries and let's just jump in: more ›

Only a handful of weddings this Weddings and Celebrations, so let's go: more ›

A fun weekend this week, so let's jump right into this week's Weddings and Celebrations: more ›

Another slim weddings weekend, only 16, so let's jump right into this week's Weddings and Celebrations: more ›

a weeekend when people want to get married, at least not if the Times' Weddings and Celebrations are any indications. Only 13 weddings this weekend so we'll keep it brief: more ›

Slow week for weddings apparently, but in any event, here they are, this weeks Weddings and Celebrations, by the numbers: more ›

Here they are, this weeks Weddings and Celebrations, by the numbers: more ›

Here they are, this weeks Weddings and Celebrations, by the numbers: more ›

Here are this weeks Weddings and Celebrations, by the numbers: more ›

Aaron Karo, author, Ruminations on Twentysomething Life more ›

The Post tallies up the city's most eligible bachelors (and, yes, the usual suspects are there, like Derek Jeter, Rocco DiSpirito and Adrien Brody as well as some not so usual, like Billy Crudup – who knew the dump the soon to be mother of my child type which is hot to Page Six and homophobe Jeremy Shockey; Gothamist, though, is thrilled with the inclusion of chef Marcus Samuelsson, sigh). The Post also adds what their pros and cons would be. A few examples: more ›

Gothamist is sick over the possibility that Reading Rainbow might be cancelled. The beloved precursor to Oprah's Book Club (in Gothamist's mind), Reading Rainbow introduced children to new books, fiction and non-fiction, taking place in situations familiar and exotic. The problem with finding funding for producing more spots is "the show's narrow audience -- children 6 to 8 who are just learning to read -- doesn't give sponsors the broad exposure they're seeking" according to Amy Jordan, senior researcher on children and the media at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. "What 'Reading Rainbow' saw, before anybody else saw it, is that you can use this medium of television to get kids excited about reading." more ›

While this is an interesting piece of news, I'd be interested in seeing the full report versus this summary because I feel the scientists are leaving something out - I know some miserable heteroseuxual couples and incredibly calm lesbian ones: more ›

In a time when media outlets scramble for anyone to talk about the topic du jour, it's a rare pleasure to hear someone who is eloquent and intelligent on the topic at hand. This was the case during a Weekend Today segment about Jesica Santillan, the girl whose first transplant operation was marred by transplant organs of the wrong blood type, suffered irreversible brain damage after the second transplant this past week, and then died yesterday. Dr. Arthur Caplan, the director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, was interviewed by David Bloom, and Dr. Caplan was thoughtful. Too often, interviewers with ask questions that already contain the answers, questions that an opposing counsel would say are leading ("Did you feel very hurt and betrayed when you heard the news?" vs. "What was your reaction?"), an inevitability because the interviewees are on camera for the first time, hesitant and halting, which was the case when Katie Couric interviewed Satillan's cousin, sponsor, and family lawyer. There usually is a trade-off between objective, informed commentary and passionate, rambling answers. Dr. Caplan's interview was enlightening because he addressed questions many of us wondered about, outlining the issues in the situtation (the organ donation system in place in the U.S. today, whether or not Satillan should have had the second transplant since most people never survive a second transplant, whether or not Jesica should have been taken off life support). He did feel that brain death was death, no second opinion would really be needed as the family wanted, however, doctors should have tried to avoid negotiating with the family in this manner, and let the family grieve as they saw fit. Read the Duke statement about Satillan's operations. more ›