• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an explosion at Linden Blvd. and 220th St. in Queens, a homicide on Sedgewick Ave. in the Bronx, and a water main break on Prospect Place in Brooklyn
• Santa may have to bypass coalition troops stationed around the world today, but holiday presents will be appreciated even if they do arrive a few weeks into 2008. Newsday has a nice piece on gift-giving to troops and how to do it.
• U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner is in permanent campaign mode to become Mayor of NYC, as the office now seems to be a viable stepping stone for higher national office. Interesting fact: Weiner was a post-college roommate of comedian/news man Jon Stewart.

A look at some noteworthy programs this week: more ›

The cool air inside theaters that we touted all summer isn’t exactly an attraction now – at times you might find yourself wishing you were under the nice warm spotlight – and most off-off-Broadway shows don’t have plush seats you can snuggle into, but there are a number on this week that should make you forget the cold, at least mostly. House of No More, at Dance Theater Workshop, sounds like the kind of show that will both enthrall and assault you enough to do this warming well. It’s the final installation of Caden Manson/Big Art Group’s Real Time Film trilogy and uses three cameras and three screens to manipulate images and create, um, a real time film. It sounds like the plot (a thriller about a woman searching for her missing child) takes a distant third in importance compared to the artistic philosophy and avant-garde execution, but we’ll go with it – just from the trailer on the group’s website, it looks pretty overwhelming, in a good way. more ›

There are so many holiday theatre offerings right now, many of them closing when Christmas is still a week or more away, so we are going to be ornery and focus on non-seasonal stuff, of which there is plenty, as usual. One show that just caught our eye is Under a Montana Moon, performed by the mime Bill Bowers. We get a lot of puppetry on stages here, but miming, not so much, and Bowers is a top guy in the field, so this solo piece is very much worth catching. It’s comprised of various stories set in the West, where Bowers grew up, and aims to “use the Art of Silence to investigate the Idea of Silence.” This weekend he’s also performing his other main solo piece, It Goes Without Saying, to benefit the Rattlestick Theatre, so there’s more than enough opportunities to fit seeing this unique artist into your schedule. more ›