Mochas at MacDonalds (Recession Diary) Marijuana (NYT) Mutations (Flickr) Michelle Obama (Gothamist) Mars! (Wired)

In the Bronx, as part of a gun buyback program, people got cash for turning in their guns… even BB guns. (Gothamist) In Manhattan, there are so many transgender name change requests that its Civil Court could be one of the nation’s leading name-changing institutions. How topical! (NYT) In Stuyvesant Town, all is not well. […]

The term “Old Master” encompasses a lot more tacky artwork than you would have guessed. (NY1) Remember that time over the summer when Republicans took control of the state Senate? Yeah, well, it might happen again. (LI Press) Another attorney general wants to run for governor, hopefully with better results. (Daily News) Speaking of infidelity, […]

William S. Burroughs has risen from the dead and is holding up Greenwich Village’s frozen yogurt and sex-toy joints. (NYT) Sitting down will kill you. (Gothamist) Snacks are mandatory. (NYT) Despite the devastation in Haiti, cruise ships are still docking on the island, depositing tourists at private beaches 60 miles from Port-au-Prince. (Gothamist) Two lap […]

In a party-line vote, Democrats broke a Republican filibuster to pass an overhaul of the health care system. (Times) Actress Brittany Murphy died yesterday of “natural causes” at the age of 32. (Post) A cool time-lapse video of the snowfall in Brooklyn. (Gothamist) Off-duty Washington D.C. cop has his Hummer pelted by snowballs, decides to […]

JTS held a screening and panel discussion of “Inglourious Basterds” yesterday. Sample quote: “Wow, that was fun…I’m not supposed to feel that way, I know — I’m Jewish.” (Times) Three family members were killed by a career criminal in an Upper West Side apartment; the attacker then fell to his death while trying to escape. […]

The MTA has passed a wide range of service cuts, including ending free fares for the more than half a million students who currently receive them. (Times) The laws regulating tap water are so old that many Americans are drinking legal yet unhealthy tap water. Water filter makers everywhere put their fingers together and hissed […]

Kids (who don’t live two blocks from class like most of us) could lose the free and discounted Metrocards that get them to school every day. (NY Times) No need to panic over 800,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine lost to a recall. Apparently, it just wasn’t “potent” enough. (ABC News) Empire State Development Corporation (which […]

Subway riders have tea parties and pretend its the Great Depression, sans breadlines (HuffPo). Al Gore is to would-be Bloomberg assassin as Holden Caulfield is to Mark David Chapman (Gothamist). Cue the orchestral backdrop — Phil Spector has made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, among greats like Abba, Jimmy Cliff, the […]

Cow manure won’t play a role in contaminating the city’s water, but it’ll actually help it be cleaner. (Gothamist) In an effort to save New York State from bankruptcy, Gov. Paterson is withholding $750 million from schools and local governments. (NYT) Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s female escort has now been given her own sex advice […]

Consequences of Manhattanville! (NYPost) Inefficient mayors! (New York Times) More tiny apartments! (NYPost) Chicken run in Midtown! (NYPost) Santas! So many Santas! (Gothamist)

Can’t get enough of this here recession? Take a class about it. (NYT) Columbia prof dons a head scarf and weighs in on Iranian student leader arrest. (NYT) Tiger Woods pulls the great escape that we all wish we could pull this time of year. (ESPN) MTA gears up for “doomsday mode” lite, 1-riding Columbians […]

Barack Obama CC ’83 accepts the Nobel Peace Prize, tells the “hard truth” about war, annoys the entire population of  Norway, departs with lingonberry jam and a bag of frozen Swedish meatballs; all in a day’s work. Florida judges and lawyers shouldn’t be Facebook friends; courtroom attorneys are, of course, always entitled to “Like” the verdict. […]

First we head East for Harlem For The Holidays, a new bazaar-like holiday marketplace that features unique businesses from the neighborhood. (NY1) After that we head down to New Jersey, which, in terms of gay marriage, now has a chance to distance itself from New York. A metaphorical distance, of course. (1010WINS) Next we travel […]

The Post will not stand idly by while we crazy college kids “live in sin!” (NYPost) But at least your gender-neutral room is bigger than this apartment. (NYPost) Harry Potter dominates college tour rhetoric, frustrates really serious about college–you know, like, academically–high schoolers. (NYTimes) Really new media takes the lead on Tiger Woods: video game […]