Photograph of Washington Square Park chess table by Paulo C on Flickr Brilliant, reclusive and eccentric, Chicago-born and Brooklyn-bred Bobby Fischer died at age 64 in Iceland. His spokesman said the cause was kidney failure, after a long illness. Fischer, who grew up playing in chess clubs in Brooklyn and Manhattan, beat Boris Spassky in a 1972 match, becoming the first and only American to become world champion, a Cold War hero, and popularized......

Mayor Bloomberg's trip to the University of Oklahoma to caucus with a bipartisan group of current and former politicians and grouse about Washington gridlock only fueled the fires of speculation that he is preparing a Presidential run. People are already strategizing about who his ideal running mate would be. Bloomberg is sticking to his (anti-)guns, however, and still claiming that he is not a candidate. But his pollster told the LA Times that our Mayor......

Armed with cheesecake from Junior's, Mayor Bloomberg headed to Oklahoma for the summit of Republicans and Democrats to discuss a third party White House run. Organized by former senators David Boren and Sam Nunn at the University of Oklahoma (which Boren is the president of), the group has been working since meeting last night . Here's some of Boren's opening statement:We have come together at a crucial moment. These are not ordinary times. For the......

Prestige filmmakers take note: If you want the Times critics to really love you, what you need to do is put the fear in them. At least it worked for Tim Burton; his adaptation of Steven Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd gave reviewer A.O. Scott nightmares. And for that, Scott deems the film “close to a masterpiece, a work of extreme – I am tempted to say evil – genius.” (Current Rotten Tomato rating: 88% fresh.) One......

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We've got a stack of tickets over here for you, and all you have to do is email us telling us which pair you want, and answer a little question. First up is Interpol, playing this Friday (with Calla) in Atlantic City! The show is in support of their new album Our Love to Admire. Who doesn't want to spend a day on the boardwalk, hit the slot machines and see Carlos D's mustache up......

THEATER: We could try to describe Neal Medlyn's Coming In The Air Tonight, but why bother when there’s this: “The show features a variety of Phil Collins and Genesis music and is about how Neal is starting to slowly fall apart due to how he's all torn up inside from getting his heart broken into tiny pieces. It is also about how Neal steals a lot of stuff from people. Like their belongings and house......

EVENT: Tonight is the "Taxi 07: Transforming and Icon" event, marking the 100th anniversary of the New York taxi. The Design Trust for Public Space have gathered together members of the city’s design community and tonight they discuss ideas for the redesign the yellow cab. The idea of a redesign was announced back in 2005. 6:30pm // Cooper Hewitt Design Museum [2 E 91st St] // $10 THEATER: Cherry Lane Theatre is reviving Amiri Baraka's......

Can't get in to any of the Cold War Kids shows (their bi-coastal residency is in full swing)? Well, you can still check out one fo the Kids tonight, at his art show, "I’m celebrating my love for you with a pint of beer and new tattoo: New work by Matt Maust". Matt Maust is the bassist for the Cold War Kids, and this is work that has come to be over the last year......

VACATION: The Greater Fort Lauderdale visitors' bureau has brought the Sunshine State to NYC in the form of a 3,600-square foot virtual vacation. The space includes a palm tree-lined "beach", complimentary mini-massages and, of course, bikini clad models. Virtual fishing, golf and more, will make you forget the sudden drop in temperature. Through 6pm // The Bank Building [20 Union Square East] // Free READING: Nancy Reardon, who penned "On-Camera: How to Report, Anchor and......

THEATER: This week marks your last chance to see TRUTH {the heart is a million little pieces above all things}, a one-man show by Mike Daisey that NYMetro declares “a delirious, brainy, hilarious, infuriating experience from which one emerges perversely hopeful.” The play follows the fictional and non-fictional stories of James Frey's self-destruction, the sordid and shocking tale of J.T. LeRoy, and Fernando Pessoa, a Portuguese poet whose great works were written by warring multiple......

Just as NPR charted the rise of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah through blogs, Rolling Stone has now done the same with them and other bands. Stereogum posted their chart (above) which not so accurately depicts how blogs destroy bands that they love. Apparently on June 15th, 2005 we said something nice about CYHSY - and in this chart that is (one of) their high points?! Not to metion Pitchfork is charted as their......

Of all the genre-transcending brilliance of John Le Carré’s Cold War novels, perhaps the most impressive was the even, subtle brush with which he painted either side of his idealogical divide. The British Intelligence and Moscow Centre were equal foes – it simply depended on which side of the curtain you found yourself. The Cold War was, undoubtedly, Le Carré’s playing field, and his mastery of it was legendary. And although the world has moved......

The week is short and there really isn't a huge amount going on in the venues until the weekend. Plus, it's going to be about 1000 degrees, so packing in to a small sweaty venue isn't highest on our list of priorities. Here's what we do suggest, and as usual - feel free to list some shows in the comments. Tonight Sunn O:))), Oren Ambarchi, Boris are at Avalon. Sunn O:))) is probably the most......

Sam Champion is: Noah Chernin - vocals, guitar Jack Dolgen - bass, vocals Ryan Thornton - drums, vocals Sean Bones - guitar, harmonica, vocals We were shocked...shocked! When we looked back at the BOTW archives and realized we had never featured Sam Champion before. Long time favorites of Gothamist, we recently caught them at Bowery Ballroon sandwiched between two of the hottest bands today in the Cold War Kids and Two Gallants. While we......

For some reason there doesn't seem to be a lot going on this week. Tonight Cold War Kids take over Pianos, catch them there before they're headlining Bowery (and then having that show switched over to Webster Hall to accomodate all of their fans). What we're trying to say is...there is buzz. There are plenty of shows to go to Tuesday night incase you missed out on Yeah Yeah Yeahs tickets (which you should be......

Tonight San Francisco rockers with the middle class rasp, Two Gallants, come to Bowery Ballroom. We interviewed them last week, and you should really check them out while they're in town. For serious. Opening up for them are Sam Champion (the actual NY weatherman still comes up first in a Google search) and Cold War Kids. Elsewhere in the city, Pela is playing with Project Jenny/Project Jan (at the Delancey). There's already ex-Art Bruter's and......

For New York moviegoers, this is a good week for those who worship at the cult of the director. In both the theatrical releases and the repertory columns, film fans of various established and up in coming auteurs will surely get their fill. Brooklyn’s own Spike Lee takes on the action thriller genre in his newest, Inside Man starring Clive Owen as a bank robber, Denzel Washington as the hostage negotiator on the case and......

We hear about a lot of events each week and we can't write one post about each of them, because then you'd be here all day. So we're going to sift through and pick out some gems for the weekdays, here are some of the highlights for this week... FILM SCREENINGS: IFC Films will hold two free screenings this week for CSA: The Confederate States of America. The new mockumentary that asks: What would have......

Don't get confused – today is Friday. Gothamist has been a bit under the weather, hence our little weekend movie preview showing up today rather than on its usual Thursday. And while we all anxiously count down the minutes until Monday's Golden Globes, there are a lot of great movie options available without even considering all the 2005 films hoping to take home a prize. Some Quick Gothamist Picks: One of the best places to......

The International Olympics Committee eliminated New York as a possible site for the 2012 Olympics in the second (of four) round of voting. Gothamist thought that watching the city selection process (starting at 6AM) was incredibly bizarre: The IOC Chairman comes out, tells how many votes were given, how many people voted, what the majority is, and then matter-of-factly says something like, "New York will not proceed to the next round of voting." When Moscow......

Our fine, famous friend Jonathan Van Gieson is producing some shows of note. Tomorrow night there is Cold War Burlesque at, yes, Siberia. Hosted, by Nasty Canasta, other performers include Selena Vixen, Dottie Lux & Scooter Pie of The Red Hots, and Veronika Sweet, which reminds Gothamist that we should forego blogger parties for burlesque parties. The party gets started at 8PM, show beings at 9PM; $8, no drink minimum. JVG is also producing the......

Looking for a different perspective? Head to Bird's-Eye View, a Lomographic competition and exhibition. In June, artists and hobbyists armed with Lomo cameras were given three weeks to capture subjects and spaces in a way not normally experienced at eye level. The entries are on display in a large, mosaic presentation at SPRING 3D Magazine. Hailing from the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the no-frills Lomo Kompakt Automat camera was mass produced and sold......

Andrew Krucoff, Rhythm Guitar...

Sam Potts, Graphic Designer...

Gothamist is not the biggest fan of Chris Matthews and Hardball (we may be used to shouting, but Hardball makes our ears bleed), but we do recommend watching it tonight for Matthews's exclusive interview with former Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara. McNamara, who served under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and was involved with the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam War, is the subject of the new documentary, Fog of War, by Errol Morris. Gothamist saw......