Strangers Among Us: The Protagonist of Nell Freudenberger's Novel Is New to America
The Battle of Billyburg: Fresh-Faced Lincoln Restler Challenges The ‘Corrupt’ Political Machine
Art World Hang Out White Slab Palace Gives Way to New England Raw Bar
Charlie Rangel Wishes That Obama Would Hug And Kiss Him
Blogger James Franco Takes Issue with The New York Observer, Defends Interest in Ghost Hunting, Graduation Speeches
Get On Your Feet: The Essential Steve Ballmer Videos
Ed Koch: Gay Marriage Isn't A Winning Issue for Obama
Greece Woes Likely Making Matters Worse for JPMorgan's Dimon, Grandson of Greek Immigrant
Consolation For Flabby Asses: Schneiderman Announces Settlement With 'Shape-Up Shoemaker
Art World Hang Out White Slab Palace Gives Way to New England Raw Bar
The wonderfully grimy Lower East Side bar White Slab Palace, a kind of art world hub and site of the short-lived exhibition space The Slab, will be replaced this weekend by a new restaurant called the Gray Lady, Bowery Boogie reports. Read More
Charlie Rangel Wishes That Obama Would Hug And Kiss Him
Charlie Rangel appeared on CNN for an interview with Kyra Phillips this morning and he was asked about President Obama’s apparent lack of support for his re-election bid.
Recall that in 2010, the president described Mr. Rangel, then mired in a fundraising and illegal apartment scandal, as someone who “ served his constituents very well” but also as someone ”who’s at the end of his career. Eighty years old. I’m sure that he wants to end his career with dignity. And my hope is that it happens. “ Read More
Blogger James Franco Takes Issue with The New York Observer, Defends Interest in Ghost Hunting, Graduation Speeches
Two days ago, The New York Observer noticed that Renaissance man James Franco had quietly begun blogging for the Huffington Post, adding to his already extensive resume of writer/poet/Ivy League student/film teacher/director/musician/actor/producer/artist. Tackling the issues of New Orleans, haunted houses, and that time he hung out with Nick Cage in a haunted house in New Orleans, we posted the item of interest because, like it or not, James Franco is a Very Famous Person. (Also because we miss his Twitter feed so much.)
But Mr. Franco was not happy with our assessment of his Frank Bruni-esque musings, and called out The New York Observer in his latest HuffPost column for writing about his new gig instead of “covering pressing world issues.” Read More
Get On Your Feet: The Essential Steve Ballmer Videos
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently topped a Forbes list naming the CEOs who should have already been fired, calling him “the worst CEO of a large publicly traded American company today.” Ouch.
We leave ranking his leadership abilities up to the glossies, but what we do consider ourselves experts in is his hype man skills. In fact, we dare say that Mr. Ballmer is the Best Hype Man of All Time. YouTube is an unending well of Ballmer gold. And as Deadspin editor Erik Malinowski put it, “He really is a national treasure.”
So without further ado, we present to you the five best Steve Ballmer videos of all time. Read More
Ed Koch: Gay Marriage Isn’t A Winning Issue for Obama
At a press conference with congressional candidate Rory Lancman earlier today, we asked former Mayor Ed Koch about the timing of President Barack Obama’s announcement that he supports gay marriage, and whether he felt it was cynical at all. Mr. Koch is a prominent support of gay marriage, but he argued Mr. Obama’s decision was actually made in spite of the electoral politics rather than because of them.
“I don’t have any doubt that the statement by Vice President [Biden] on the subject matter precipitated his doing that,” Mr. Koch explained, noting he didn’t quite agree with the word “cynical” to describe it. “But I believe it’s totally representive of his thoughts.” Read More
Greece Woes Likely Making Matters Worse for JPMorgan’s Dimon, Grandson of Greek Immigrant
The European Central Bank stopped monetary operations with some Greek banks today, Reuters reports, the latest bit of bad news for Greece and just about everyone else. Savers have been withdrawing funds from Greek banks at a rate of more than $800 million a day, as the failure by Greek political parties to Read More
Consolation For Flabby Asses: Schneiderman Announces Settlement With ‘Shape-Up Shoemaker
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced today a $45 million settlement with Sketchers USA, the makers of the Shape-Up and Tone-up shoes which promised to whip walkers legs into tip-top condition merely by traipsing along.
“This settlement forces Skechers to ‘shape up’ by ceasing to make unsubstantiated health and medical claims for their so-called toning shoes. New Yorkers who purchased these shoes as a result of Skechers’ deceptive marketing practices will now be eligible for refunds,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “A fair market only exists when there are no false marketing claims that give one company an unfair advantage over the competition. Corporations will not be allowed to mislead consumers into spending their hard-earned money on products that promise what they can’t deliver.” Read More
Get to the Point: If Anyone Can Save 1 WTC’s Symbolic Spire, It Is the Dursts—They Snuck Onto the Skyline Before
The fate of the World Trade Center, having been debated and arbitrated by every constituency in town, now rests with a panel of architects and engineers in Chicago. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat is the international arbiter of skyscrapers the world over. All skyscrapers are not created equal, and it is up to the Council to decide exactly how tall they all are.
The problem at 1 World Trade Center, as has been raging across front pages all week, is that the Durst Organization, the august real estate family and minority partner in the city’s newly christened tallest structure, has convinced the Port Authority to forgo a radome, a white fiberglass sheath that was to have encased the 408-foot mast atop the 1,368-foot tower. The mast takes the tower from the symbolic height of the original towers to the perhaps too symbolic height of 1,776 feet, first envisioned by Daniel Libeskind a decade ago.
The problem is that the council does not recognize antennae, flagpoles, signage or other superfluous structures as contributing to the height of the building. That is why the Willis Tower, 1,451 feet, ranks eighth tallest in the world, even though two broadcasting arrays bring its total height to 1,729 feet, the second tallest in the world behind the Burj Khalifa.
This seems absolutely backwards—why encourage “spires,” useless poles with a glimmer of design intent, while forgoing actual, functional structures like antenna and signage. Whatever happened to form follows function? Read More
A Treasury of Andrea Peyser’s Very Best Prison Rape Fantasies
The New York Post’s tender-hearted angel of mercy, Andrea Peyser, is best known for the deeply humanistic perspective with which she handles the sensitive criminal proceedings of our legal system. Less well appreciated is her concern for the good physical hygiene of those society has cast aside.
“My advice to Pedro: Don’t pick up the soap.”—on Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr., May 15, 2012
“Enjoy the communal showers, Sen. Piggy.”—on Sen. Espada, Jr., April 27, 2012 Read More
Scientific American: Peter Carey on the Weirdness of History
Shortly after noon on a recent Tuesday, novelist Peter Carey was sipping rosé at the Soho Mexican restaurant La
Esquina. When The Observer arrived, a few minutes late for our interview, he asked us to join him in a glass. An afternoon at the cafe was a welcome diversion for the two-time Booker Prize winner—for Read More
