Skip Storch isn't crazy, although you might think he is considering the feat he accomplished Thursday. Storch, a 50 year-old marathon swimmer, swam around Manhattan three times, finishing the journey in a record 32 hours, 52 minutes, 30 seconds. Why would anyone want to jump into the waters around Manhattan? For Storch, he record-breaking swim was to bring awareness to sarcoidosis. The N.I.H. describes sarcoidosis as "an inflammation that produces tiny lumps of cells......

As it is the week before Labor Day, many area schools are welcoming a new class of students to New York in what is generally known as an orientation week. The New York Sun reports on various efforts schools put into shepherding thousands of 18-year-olds into NYC.First-year students arriving at Barnard, Columbia, and New York University have many activities to choose from this week, including: yoga classes, exclusive tours of the new Greek and Roman......

Forbes has released the results of their 7th annual Best Cities for Singles poll, and unlike last year...NYC is in the top 3, ranking #2 overall. An unprecedented rating for us! According to their results, out of 14,104,498 -- 33% of us are unmarried. Add that to the fact that we're (apparently) the 32nd drunkest city...and voilà! We're a top city for attracting the single class. This island is not unlike Neverland, so it's not......

When you're out at the ballpark this baseball season, keep in mind that it's not all fun and games when you're watching in the stands. That's what Ellen Massey found out during Opening Day at Shea Stadium on Monday. It wasn't a bat or ball that caused her injuries, but a man that fell on top of her while she was sitting in her upper deck seats. It happened between innings of the game as......

Coney Island may be getting revitalized, but some standbys are getting hurt. lornagrl posted a photograph of Shoot the Freak damage yesterday. She writes, "They have begun to bulldoze the racetrack park and in the process damaged the Shoot the Freak attraction. It's expected to run another year on the board walk." We bet the STF will be able to get some damages to repair the site, but is it too cynical to think......

Before we begin, we'd like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of James Kim. We are not, by any means, trying to discount that tragedy by juxtaposing posts about the Kims with more light-hearted posts. It's the nature of doing a compilation such as this one: we're trying to give a full slice of the goings-on in the Ist-a-Verse: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Londonist wants you to know where to......

Fast food may get a lot less tasty a little less unhealthy. Yesterday, our fair city's Health Department proposed measures to decrease the use of artificial trans fat at restaurants that can't seem to do it for themselves. The new law would limit restaurants to 0.5 gram of trans fat per serving. How much fat is that exactly? Well, a typical McDonald's hamburger contains 0.5 gm of TF and a yummy, yummy Big Mac contains......

Oh no! Two cops were injured at Critical Mass ride last night, and seventeen cyclists were arrested. The problems started when a line of cops on scooters attempted to stop the ride, and two of the cops collided with each other. The Village Voice's Power Plays blog has a comprehensive report: Less than 10 minutes after leaving Union Square, a pack of about 100 bikers was moving south on Third Avenue when a line......

At this point, most Midtowners have seen at least five police cars, sirens and lights ablazing, for either President Bush or Senator Kerry as they stump around town. The NY Times New York Region > Bush and Kerry Share City, if Not Much Else" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/21/nyregion/21prez.html">had two examples of the candidates pandering to cityfolk:- Mr. Kerry, a Red Sox fan, told the crowd at the New York Hilton last night that if they "really wanted to......

If Kim Jong Il's North Korean army is built of tiny prodigies, like the adorable three year old Mo Kin who can play the xylophone like nobody's business or mug and sing shamelessly in a creepy Shirley Templeish way, the U.S. is screwed. From RobPongi.com, the brainchild of a Rob Pongi, who also hosts the 'The Roppongi Video Happy Hour' which is "by, for, and about, Japanese and foreigners coming together for fun and......