At just 24, Noah Baumbach made his mark on the indie film world with Kicking and Screaming, his hilarious and finely observed study of post-collegiate ennui. His Mr. Jealousy followed but the picture’s lukewarm response meant a long five years before he obtained funding for The Squid and the Whale. Happily for Baumbach, the superb film was a major critical and commercial success. Two years later, he’s back with Margot at the Wedding, another character-driven......

Author, critic and journalist Steven Heller started out as someone who, in the words of Paula Scher, "had been more or less oblivious to design," but went on not only to launch the careers of some of our most well-known illustrators, but also to chronicle graphic design in more than 100 books. Heller also has been a contributing editor to Print, Eye, Baseline and I.D., writes obituaries for The New York Times and a column......

The sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former Knicks executive finally offered up some soundbites from Knicks president and coach Isiah Thomas. And they weren't too good for the Knicks! Anucha Browne Sanders, who was the vice-president of marketing for the Knicks, claims that Thomas acted inappropriately around her, from calling her derogatory names to claiming he was in love with her, and that Madison Square Garden executives did nothing to support her. Even......

Just last week Jeremy Blake's body was identified after being found off the coast of New Jersey. In July he and his girlfriend committed suicide one week apart from each other, and since then stories of their lives, fears and final days have surfaced. After the LA Times extensive piece, the NY Post recently published a lengthy article on the couple, who at the time were living in a converted rectory at St. Mark's Church......

In George Orwell's 1933 debut roman a clef novel "Down and Out in Paris and London", the author asserted that the more high-class an establishment in Paris, the more disgusting its kitchen could be counted on being. We certainly don't feel that holds true today, but the New York Times has a piece this morning about the closure of Brasserie la Côte Basque in the wake of the health scandal that stemmed from a rat......

When I think of the word clown, I think of Krusty, not a small theater in West Chelsea, but that's exactly where one of the premiere clowns of our time, Eric Davis , works as a teacher at The PIT . Davis, who was recently hired by Cirque Du Soleil, discussed what clowning means to him, how he became the clown he is today, and what he expects of clowning in the future. What does......

Molly Crabapple, Artist, Model, Burlesque Performer...

On Sundays, Gothamist runs opinion pieces on issues relevant to life in New York. The views expressed below belong entirely to the author. How far can you go with making a character outrageous – an outrageous parody, outrageously offensive, the works – without ending up by making him or her merely a joke? That’s one of the questions Mike Leigh plays with in Abigail’s Party, which is having its NYC premiere thanks to The New......

Vanessa Davis, Author/Cartoonist...

Tucker Shaw, food lover, author, Everything I Ate: A Year in the Life of My Mouth...

I just moved to New York a few months ago. In the town I came from, there were some great karaoke bars. They weren't the kind of places where you have to rent a private room; they didn't only have karaoke one night a week or once a month; they were just friendly, laid-back bars where people would chat and drink beer, and anyone could sign up to sing. They had a wide selection......

Chris Hampton, WYSIWYG Creator and Curator...

Steven I. Weiss, Journalist/Blogger...

Jill Singer, Mediabistro Deputy Editor...

Deborah Schoeneman, New York Magazine...

Ilana Rosengarten, Art Director...

Jina Wye, MBA Student...

Thanks to what we must assume is the intervention of our friends Elizabeth Spiers and Nick Denton, Gothamist got a mention in an actual New York Times article, which hasn't happened since 1997: A New York State of Blog. Nick got quoted in the other blogging article that was running in the Times today. And somehow, Jonathan Van Gieson.com got mentioned in both articles, which makes me think that "Warren St. John" might be......

As the official "funny" blogger on Gothamist, I have decided to admit I look for boyfriends on the Web. That's okay, right? For purely sociological reasons (who am I kidding?) I find myself frequently visiting two sites: (1): www.makeoutclub.com, which is mostly str8, but 100% hipster. It makes Slate's Nerve look like the Wall Street Journal. (2): www.checkmeout.co.il, a fascinating (see: juicy) look into the life of Israeli homosexuals. Of course, it would help......