The so-called "Millionaire Madam" Anna Gristina remains at Rikers Island, nearly two months after her initial arrest. The married mother of two, accused of running a high-end escort service from an Upper East Side apartment, is being held on $2 million bail, because Manhattan prosecutors say she has bragged about having money overseas as well as law enforcement connections. But Gristina insists she's innocent and has been trying to get her bail lowered. Now her family has apparently started a website to solicit donations. more ›

Tired of listening to Townes van Zandt on repeat while you pound back whiskeys in your tiny basement apartment? Tearing your teased hair out searching for the perfect cocktail to pair with your '80s dance party? Drinkify feels your pain, and they're here to help. more ›

At last, a website that can tell you what you can stream online, aptly called: Can I Stream It? It's especially handy for those who use multiple websites for their television and movie intake (like a Roku user), and aggregates all of the offerings from Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon (it also includes options on where to purchase the title, from outlets like iTunes). No one wants to check all of those "channels" to find out if they can watch The Big Lebowski, so this is a real time saver. Less typing, more sloth. more ›

A tipster tells us that he "just ran across the original, official You've Got Mail website" (how does this happen?), and it's still functional, offering up a time capsule into website design circa 1998. We just spent ten minutes going down the rabbit hole, a journey that begins here. For the full experience, you are going to want to click on the "here" where it reads: "if you have Flash click the logo or here to enter the site." Definitely do not skip the intro, it really sets the tone. more ›

You know what's hard? Deciding what to cook. Especially when you're in the middle of the grocery store, overwhelmed by three dozen kinds of artisanal granola. This is the point where Gojee, a new food porn-heavy recipe website, steps in. more ›

Jay-Z has gone and launched a new website called Life + Times, which offers up small servings of style, leisure, sports, art, design and technology. Basically, it's a blueprint (sorry) to all the stuff Hova likes. more ›

Earlier this week word spread of DJ Kool Herc, the father of Hip-Hop, needing some financial help for his medical problems. Jeff Chang, author of Can't Stop Won't Stop got the ball rolling and set up a website to collect donations for the Bronx native, who it turns out is in need of treatment for kidney stones, but lacks insurance. Chang addressed those visiting the website, saying, “He has given so much to make our lives better. Let us do the same for him.” And Herc has a message, as well, writing: “Now we are fighting for health care not just for me, but for everyone. I see this as another quest for me to shine light on a sensitive issue for the community." You can donate to the cause here. [via City Room] more ›

As we reported back in 2007, there are a number of internet services dedicated to helping you find bed bug infestations in the city, read bed bug horror stories, and later get nightmares. And now, in the midst of one of the worst bed bug summers in recent history, they are just as disturbing. more ›

What's one of the most sought after and expensive domain names in history? Sex.com, of course. Yesterday the rights to the domain were going to be auctioned off (starting at $1MM), after previous owner (since 2006) Escom went into foreclosure. However, after hot and heavy suitors were ready to bid, the auction was postponed. more ›

A firefighter, an entrepreneur and a real estate broker bought up city domain names when they were cheap, and hope to make their fortunes selling them off. In 1994 when Leland Hardy purchased it, NewYork.com cost just a few dollars. Since then, would-be buyers have approached him with "substantial sums that would make others quake in their boots," ($6 million is the figure he floats) but Hardy—who owns thousands of other domains—is waiting to sell. According to the News, two other New Yorkers are wrapped up in similar get rich slow schemes. more ›

Hiram Monserrate has found one constituency that will stand behind him as he tries to fight his way back into the state Senate—people who don't like gays. Thanks to his vote against the same-sex marriage bill, the former Queens legislator has won the support of Corona Rev. Ricardo Reyes. "I have seen a generation sunk down by the gay community," Reyes told the Queens Village Times. "If we vote for a gay marriage situation ... we are sending our children to practice something against the Bible." more ›

Since launching several months ago, the website I Just Made Love has documented almost 80,000 instances of intercourse around the world, from NYC to Outer Mongolia. Today the Daily Beast offers an intimate look at the site's exploding popularity, which should come as no surprise, because naturally every single detail of our lives must be shared on the Internet—or it didn't really happen. Somewhere, some bright entrepreneur has just secured the domain for ijustfarted.com. more ›

Ladies, pay no attention to this unflattering mugshot. (The lighting makes his neck look fat!) 57-year-old Solomon Nasser is quite the catch: He is a multi-millionaire with a private jet, he graduated with a PhD from MIT at age 22, he was a former CIA agent and advisor to President Bush, as well as a Navy admiral and an inventor with 80 patents. And look at that lush head of hair! Some lucky young lady's going to snatch him up any second unless you act now and help him out of his messy divorce. He just needs $125,000 or so. Any takers? more ›

The new MTA.info redesign launched today (isn't it pretty?), and while there's no iPhone app to accompany it (yet), the NY Times points out that there is a nice mobile version of the site. On The Go offers maps (with zooming capabilities), service updates, "and a widget that locates nearby MetroCard vending machines using GPS." Previously the mobile site only posted PDFs, so this is a step in the right direction for the agency. Now if only we could get WiFi underground so we could utilize it while stuck on the platform. more ›

Oooh la la: the MTA is getting a fancy website makeover! The NY Times previewed the redesign (the organization's first since 2003) — launching on Wednesday. Along with design improvements (goodbye drop down menus!), visitors to the site will also find real-time updates on delays and service changes. The paper notes that "a widget on the home page compiles continually updated service status for every subway, bus and commuter rail line in the region, along with nine of the bridges and tunnels operated by the authority." Everything is color-coded and categorized to make the site more user-friendly. Plus, they've added a HopStop-esque feature to help you navigate the city. more ›

Update: Although the Gowanus Lounge URL has changed hands, all of Guskind's work from the site has been archived at BobGuskind.com. Miss Heather has more info about it here. more ›

Apparently all the noise about AT&T having major problems in NYC didn't curb their sales here enough, so they're taking action (ahem, now the holiday buying frenzy is over). Consumerist reports that the company's website has stopped selling the iPhone here; a customer service rep (read: online robot named "Daphne") confirmed, saying: "the phone is not offered to you because New York is not ready for the iPhone. You don't have enough towers to handle the phone." more ›

Website Ride the City debuted in 2008, integrating Google maps with data about ideal cycling routes. The site enables users to map a bike ride along as many bike paths as possible, or take their chances with the "fastest," most direct route. Tomorrow the site will launch a new version, which will now maintain elevation data for every city and show riders how much climbing to expect from any given route. Ride the City will also allow visitors to create a user profile and save their favorite routes. more ›

We can't decide if this trend is more or less inappropriate than the slatternly tween Halloween costume fad. While it's true that only a very sick perv would be aroused by these provocative pooch costumes, isn't that also true of the "Devil Grrrl" costume for eight-year-olds? As we were recently reminded by that New Jersey cow-fucking incident, bestiality is still a thing, and if you're going to go out with your dog dressed like this, you should definitely keep it on a tight leash. more ›

Who among us can sit comfortably for longer than 90 minutes without urinating? Okay, maybe adults under 30 and sober people, but we're neither, and our path to utter incontinence keeps depriving us of pivotal Hollywood plot points. Thankfully, a new technology is giving moviegoers with disadvantaged bladders an alternative to unsightly catheters and adult undergarments: the website RunPee.com, which is now available as an iPhone application, compiles the best opportunities to race to the restroom during motion pictures. The app gives you a cue for your exit, tells you how long you've got and even summarizes what you missed. It's the work of 42-year-old Flash developer Dan Florio, who tells 1010 Wins he got the idea while watching Peter Jackson's three-hour-plus King Kong remake. (Funny, we couldn't wait to go to the bathroom during that.) Florio's currently raking in about $800 a month with RunPee, and he spends his days watching movies to take notes. So basically, he's living the dream. But if he really wants to cash in, he'll get a RunSmokeJoint app ready in time for Tron Legacy. more ›

The Times is tired of giving it up for free, and at a staff meeting yesterday executive editor Bill Keller revealed two possible scenarios that would force website readers to make an honest woman out of the Gray Lady. One scheme is a "meter system" which would kick in after a reader hits a predetermined limit of word-count or page views. At that point, the meter would start running and further content would come at a price. A second scenario could be a "membership" system akin to public television. Readers who pledge money to the site would be invited to join the cool kids in the "New York Times community" and get sweet merch like Times baseball caps, or tote bags, or plush Moose dolls. The Observer, which got the scoop on the announcement, also quotes Keller as saying—and this has got to be a joke, right?—that "he wouldn't even be opposed to offering a donor access to a Page One editorial meeting as long as it doesn't affect the paper competitively." Well, if that actually happens we are so ready to pay to join those meetings and finally get the Hipster Grifter above the fold where she belongs. more ›

Question: If you could stay overnight at the Hotel Chelsea for $129/night, why would you spend $40/per person on a tour of the place? Starting June 1st the hotel will offer guided tours of the historic establishment, that as of late has been run and overrun by Marlene Krauss & Co. The new corporate overlords might be willing to make a buck off the hallowed halls, but they're also making sure that the Bard family legacy of running the joint is erased from the URL, according to some residents. The recent website redesign makes no mention of Stanley Bard, the general manager of the Chelsea for half a century, who was ousted two years ago. Oh, and did you know the updated ghost of Nancy Spungen is all about the little black dress? more ›

The war between Park Slope parents and ParkSlopeParents.com rages on, to no one's surprise. Gawker calls it "a contest to see who can be the most shrill and sanctimonious" and reports on one mommy's tirade that was rejected by a moderator on the site. The $25/year fee is mentioned, as are "earth-destroying plastic Easter eggs," a kid who can't climb a rock wall because he's French (duh), and kids all over the Slope getting punished because of their parents' failure to play by the rules. But this is really only the beginning; one imagines these kids will be punished for their parents' failure for many, many years to come. more ›

Director, Brooklynite and cardboard box aficionado, Michel Gondry is offering up some quirky deals on his website. For example, you can get a roll of toilet paper with his very own random thoughts imprinted on it for just $13.95 (2-ply, 500 sheets per roll!). You can also get a replica prop from his movie The Science of Sleep: the disasterology calendar, for just $5.95 (it's for 2007, but will be accurate again in 2018!). But hands down the most coveted object being offered up (we can't imagine how long this will last after orders start flooding in) is the hand-drawn, signed portrait of YOU by Monsieur Gondry, based off a photo you submit. The cost? Just $19.95. Quite the deal, even during these recessionary times. We'd really like to see an infomercial-esque video to go along with these items, however. [via Pop Candy] more ›