Yesterday a Manhattan judge granted Philip Smith, head of the Shubert Organization, a divorce from his wife Tricia Walsh-Smith, who became an internet sensation after making a YouTube video that excoriated her prominent husband for his stash of “Viagra, porn movies, and condoms.” The video got over 3 million hits, but the judge was not a fan; yesterday he called it "a calculated and callous campaign to embarrass and humiliate her husband. She has attempted......

Earlier this week a video of Feist singing a Sesame Street-ized version of her hit song "1 2 3 4" showed up on YouTube. Now a highlight reel for the upcoming 39th Season is out, and even adults will probably be adding the show to their DVRs. There's Will Arnett as a magician, a lemon playing 30 Rock's "Liz Lemon" and a Brian Williams news segment on "mine-itis"! The season premiere airs August 11th--check out......

The latest happening from the pranksters at Improv Everywhere – masters at getting weird looks from people as they plug in big desktop computers at Starbucks, flood Abercrombie & Fitch with shirtless average Joes, and (the best) freeze in Grand Central – is all about twins. Organizers recruited nine sets of identical twins in matching outfits to ride the 6 train uptown, sit across from each other and mirror each other's gestures. It's not The......

The hearing held to Save Coney Island on June 24th was well attended, but lacked some of the area's supportive characters. Rosie Perez, Murray Hill, Dreena De Niro and others were all showing their support in a different way at the (poorly scheduled) premiere of a Lola Starr's short documentary. Starr is currently trying to make her Dreamland Roller Rink a permanent fixture on the island. Below is a video of testimonials by those who......

The city may be in a fictional hue of black & white in this animated video, but the sights and sounds are all accounted for. Join a tourist as he fights the crowds and experiences many failed attempts at taking the perfect shot of many city attractions. As the creators state, "In a city full of landmarks, there will always be someone to ruin your shot." Indeed.......

Last week the LA Times released a video documenting the gentrification of Carroll Gardens, and now the other, newer locals respond with their own take on the place they call home (also a place they call "East Village East"). These three residents see the silver lining in gentrification; you know what they say, one man's neighborhood mainstay is another man's Duane Reade. And yes, it's tongue-in-cheek.......

Mermaid Parade Coney Island 2008 from Seamus Condron on Vimeo Yesterday's festive Mermaid Parade brought out many revelers, some of whom captured the festivities on video. Here are some of those videos--if you have some, let us know by emailing us at tips(at)gothamist(dot)com. Above is some of the parade floats and participants, and below is one of the Brooklyn Bombshell Revue, via Rikomatic: After the jump, three more videos including Reverend Billy, Mermaid Queens......

Met Free Summer Concert from Jennifer on Vimeo Yesterday's Metropolitan Opera performance in Prospect Park was a hit. Opera singers--and husband and wife--Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna attracted thousands who got to hear the pair perform various arias and duets by Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, Massenet, Catalani, and other composers. Above is a video one attendee took of the enthusiastic response from the audience and after the jump are videos another person took, via one......

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has released another timelapse video; back in April the cherry blossoms took center stage, and now the roses are under the sped-up spotlight. The setting is the Cranford Rose Garden, and this month is Rose Month at the BBG -- the perfect time to stop and, you know, smell the blossoming petals.......

Her debut album appeared just six weeks ago, but this summer’s already shaping up to be a big one for Santogold (myspace), the suddenly red-hot pop/dub/hip hop fusion artist from Brooklyn (by way of Philly). She’ll be headlining Central Park Summerstage, opening for some of Coldplay’s dates in the U.S., and joining an ad campaign for the 100th Anniversary of Converse sneakers (The blitz kicked off recently with a new song she made with with......

The LA Times, of all papers, takes a look at Carroll Gardens and its old time Italian locals. They're not too happy with the new residents, high rises overshadowing brownstones, and kids playing video games instead of street ball. Take a look... Now go support the old local businesses still in the neighborhood, stop kicking out the 94-year-olds...and would it kill you to smile and acknowledge your older neighbors when they walk by? [Cobble Hill......

The David Byrne and Creative Time installation, Playing the Building, opened earlier this month and will stay open through August 10th. If you're still unsure about what this endeavor involves, Byrne himself explained it all over at Boing Boing. Some fun facts are learned (the organ centerpiece only costs around $200, and isn't usually in tune with any other instrument) -- but the highlight is getting to see the nooks and crannies of the Battery......

On a brutally hot day like this, it’s not too hard to appreciate this priceless rant from the late author Henry Miller as he tears into “that old shithole New York where I was born… the ugliest, filthiest, shittiest city in the world.” The clip comes to light today thanks to Save Vs. Death (via Boing Boing), and it’s excerpted from Henry Miller Asleep & Awake, a short film made in 1975 by Tom Schiller......

While simultaneously seeking out new talent, WNYC is exploring the art of street photography through the eyes of six diverse photographers in their Street Shots series. One of them, 61-year-old Bruce Gilden, is more of a character than some of his subjects. He's been taking photos of strangers on the streets of Manhattan for decades, and he's becoming a little bored with the homogeneity of the passersby. See how his "in your face" approach goes......

Streetfilms had five camera operators covering yesterday’s suspenseful rush hour race between a cyclist, driver and MTA commuter, and they’ve quickly edited together a video of the competition, which takes a bit of inspiration from Mike Figgis’s split-screen movie Time Code, sometimes showing the contestants battling it out simultaneously. And Streetsblog also points us to today’s New York Sun, which is reporting on a sudden bike shortage at shops around town. Some bike shop owners......

Grand Theft Auto gets an '80s redux (heroin for 20 bucks back then seems a little unrealistic, however). If you ever wondered what the game would have looked like on the original NES, this one's for you: Undoubtedly "the most violent game on the original Nintendo, besides Duck Hunt." [via Kottke]......

Senator Hillary Clinton was in New York for a pre-Mother's Day fundraiser yesterday, with daughter Chelsea on hand. The Caucus said it seemed like the "Chelsea-and-Hillary show" and it was quite the display of maternal love; an attendee asked Clinton how Chelsea changed her life, and the presidential hopeful said, "Being Chelsea’s mom has been the greatest experience of my life." Also present at the event were Representatives Nita Lowey and Charles Rangel. Rangel......

A couple of years ago parrot poachers were the latest thing keeping bird watcher's eyes opened, as Brooklyn's feral parrots were disappearing. The unfeathered friends at BrooklynParrots.com still have plenty of beaked ones to observe, however, and their next "Parrot Safari" is coming up this June. The troop will "inspect the Brooklyn Parrots' Ellis Island" at Brooklyn College's soccer fields (which represents the first major colony in Brooklyn), before heading over to Green-Wood Cemetery,......

As many gamers play hooky so they can play Grand Theft Auto IV, critics of the video game are voicing their concerns. City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., who spoke out against the violent game that's set in NYC doppelganger Liberty City last year, told WCBS 2, "This game plays to old stereotypes about New York City. Today we're the safest big city in America, with the best police force. This game, if it was......

Yesterday a Manhattan judge ruled that socialite Tricia Walsh-Smith, the scorned and furious wife of Philip Smith, could continue slandering her husband via YouTube as long as she stopped filming the series in the luxury apartment Smith owns. The 77-year-old president of the Shubert organization is in the midst of a nasty divorce proceeding against Walsh-Smith and, per their prenuptial agreement, is trying to evict her from the Park Avenue residence. Walsh-Smith, a British-born playwright......

Last week a video by rapper Papoose surfaced, showing a Bed-Stuy volunteer ambulance along with volunteer EMTs attending to a dying man on the street. The taxpayer funded B.S.V.A.C. was allocated $135K last year, and not to waste time hanging out on video sets. But it turns out the EMTs were duped into being in the video; The Daily News reports:"Ambulance" opens with a gunshot and a piercing scream, then shows two paramedics frantically working......

The description to this video reads: "This guy is offered $20 to lick the hand rail of a Penn Station New York city train." That pretty much says it all. This move is not unprecedented, Bart Simpson did the very same thing! His was also in an attempt to win money, though through sympathy by demonstrating his lack of taste buds. How many licks does it take to get to the center of an infectious......

Last month came the video of an inflatable polar bear set over subway grates would rise and fall as trains passed underneath. The shopping bag art came from Joshua Allen Harris, and he's at it again with a subway monster that you won't need a Subivor kit to survive. Looks like Nessie has found herself a new 'nabe right here in New York; this one was up at 21st between 6th and 7th Avenues.......

Rapper Papoose better not follow in the footsteps of his lady love, Remy Ma, lest he find himself behind bars along with her. The rapper is feuding with another rapper, Uncle Murder, and has visually "brought it" in a new video for his song "Ambulance." The song is about how Papoose is going to murder Uncle Murder, and if you take a look at the video you'll notice he's using a Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance in......

Actress/playwright/trophy wife Tricia Walsh-Smith is in the midst of a nasty divorce from Philip Smith, her husband of ten years and president of the Shubert Organization, the largest theater owner on Broadway. And in what will hopefully be a new trend in marital strife, she’s documenting the emotional turbulence with a simultaneously funny and cringe-inducing YouTube masterpiece entitled One More Crazy Day in the Life of a Phoenix Rising from the Ashes. SPOILER:“Oh, another thing:......

For anyone accustomed to watching skate kids fall off their boards in Washington Square Park, the above video will serve as entertainment redeeming of the skater community. Equipped with adequate knee pads, gloves, and skill, a group of young men work their way down "Watchtower Hill" in Brooklyn. Staying upright on the board is less a badge of honor than indicative of a lack of creativity. Great soundtrack too. Courtesy of Brooklyn Heights Blog.......

This is way better than School of Rock; over in Mr. R's class in Brooklyn, the little ones are becoming luthiers. Mr. R, Paul Rubenstein, works for Working Playground and teaches high school and middle school kids how to make electric guitars and amplifiers, a program he started 5 years ago. He tells us:"We make them entirely from scratch (except for the tuning machines) including the pickups. It has just grown since then... now we......

Last year Mayor Bloomberg announced a $3 billion plan to seize 61 acres of the Willets Point district next to the forthcoming Citi Field in Queens through eminent domain, raze it, and construct 5,500 units of housing, a hotel, convention center and over 2 million square feet of office space, restaurants and retail shops. But business owners in the target zone have been fighting it, saying their ‘hood, dubbed the Iron Triangle for its chop......

Open wide for the forthcoming Nintendo Wii game Major League Eating, which lets players compete as some of the most famous speed eaters in the world, like Takeru Kobayashi, six-time winner of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contest. If the game turns out to be half as fun as this promotional trailer, there’s going to be a lot of virtual binging going down this summer. How about that “Belch Off,” eh? Good times. Even better is......

In addition to taking your money, an increasing number restaurants are also taking video of your dining experience, at least according to the Post’s trend-spotting Carla Spartos. She notes five Manhattan restaurants that use closed-circuit video cameras to record customers in their dining rooms: Boqueria, the four star Daniel, Dos Caminos, Philippe, and Momofuku Noodle Bar. The article features anecdotal evidence from a security consultant, who believes that restaurants are no longer worried that diners......