Yesterday at the Belvedere Hotel the Manhattan DA auctioned off glitzy bracelets, watches and cuff links from the collections of two convicted Wall Street crooks. Benefits from the sale will got to victims of equities trader David Holzer and onetime Morgan Stanley boss Richard Garaventa. The former was sentenced to 15 years after stealing $15 million from friends, claiming he’d invest it. The latter took $2.5 million from his company and is serving two-six years. Both bought lots of jewelry. more ›

As we said Wednesday, ever since the Eliot Spitzer hookergate shocker, New Yorkers are still suffering from a little Post Traumatic Sex Scandal Disorder. So it's no wonder we were ready to believe the worst when rumors swirled about a "bombshell" New York Times article that would supposedly derail our current governor. Appearing on Larry King's show last night, Governor Paterson made the same point, all but blaming the past week's craziness on Spitzer's scandal. "I think people have still a sort of sensitivity to that, to the point that people would tend to believe anything they hear these days," Paterson said. "I think that's victimized me." more ›

As you no doubt have heard, the original 1974 film The Taking of Pelham 123 has been remade into a contemporary thriller. But instead of a team of stylishly eccentric subway highjackers, the new version seems to feature just one, a tattooed John Travolta. Taking over the role of protagonist Lieutenant Zachary Garber, originally played by Walter Matthau, is Denzel Washington, sporting an earring just like his nemesis Travolta—maybe director Tony Scott is exploring some sort of deep ying/yang metaphor. more ›

The Super Bowl is this Sunday, who cares? Oh right, millions of people. Okay then, we aim to please, so for those in need of a place to enjoy the big corporate diversion in a public setting with food and booze, here are some appealing options. (And if watching men in tights wrestle each other to the ground isn't your thing, it's always a great day to go skiing or snowboarding. There's also the Astor Center's "taste-experience" class exploring what a Japanese scientist named Kikunae Ikeda called the fifth taste, or "umami.") more ›