Photos: AP/David Guttenfelder The New York Philharmonic Orchestra’s historic concert in North Korea concluded hours ago, marking the first performance by an American orchestra in the impoverished, totalitarian nation. The event also marked a first for much of the press, who are routinely denied access to North Korea and, once inside, usually find their movements tightly controlled. The Times has a stunning slideshow of photos snapped en route from the airport to the center of......

This time of year was always bittersweet for us. The summer was winding down and those carefree, lazy afternoons become numbered. However there was something energizing about beginning a new school year. Maybe it was the excitment of picking out new fall clothes, backpacks and a hot pink Jem Trapper-Keeper (we were partial to Smurfs and Snorks as well). Now we've traded in our colorful binders for the standard issue white with the handy clear......

MOVIES: With another version of Hairspray hitting the big screen this summer, it seems to be a season of decades past and, of course, hair! Movies With a View brings back the musical tale of Central Park hippies, small town boys headed to Vietnam and the '60s as they show the film Hair tonight. Deejays at 6pm, Movie at Sundown // Empire Fulton State Park, Dumbo // Free It's the last night to catch Punk's......

DISCUSSION: Is New York losing it's New York charm? Tonight contributors to the new tome "The Suburbanization of New York" will talk about just that (and is conveniently located down the street from H&M and Pottery Barn). The panel includes Marshall Berman, Eric Darton, Francis Morrone, Matthew Schuerman, Neil Smith, Michael Sorkin, and Suzanne Wasserman. 6:30pm // The Gotham Center at the CUNY Graduate Center [Elebash Recital Hall, 365 Fifth Ave] // Free EVENT: This......

Evil Dead: The Musical officially came to life this month at New World Stages; we caught the show in previews, in a house packed with Evil Dead fans who reveled in every campy moment. The first two rows are given Gallagheresque ponchos and by evening’s end the audience in this so-called “splatter zone” is bathed in enough blood to run the Red Cross for a month. (If you’re grossed out by the amount of blood......

For those lucky enough to be enjoying this three-day weekend, let’s take a moment to raise our glass to Christopher Columbus, who arrived in the Americas, this time back in 1492. For many, the second Monday in October just means another day to work off our hangover and spend the majority of the afternoon in p.j.’s watching the Food Network (or is that just me?). But for Italian-Americans, Columbus Day marks an opportunity to celebrate......

Do you like show tunes? Do you like American Idol? Do you like watching the desperate hand of hope brush ever so close to success - only to be publicly smacked away? Then set “Celebrity Duets” to Tivo and come join the fun at “Broadway Idol”, the main event of the New York Musical Theatre Festival party series. This Friday is round two of "Broadway Idol"; over three hundred rank amateurs have already had their......

The trend for Broadway shows to be based on popular films continues unabated but this twist reported in Variety today is actually kinda cool. The production team of George Reinblatt, Christopher Bond and Frank Cipolla will be opening Off Broadway Evil Dead: The Musical based on the 1981 cult classic horror flick by Sam Raimi. It'll be directed by Bond and Hinton Battle, who also choreographed the show. Tying in with the Midnight Movie plot......

On Sundays Gothamist runs opinion pieces relevant to life in New York and reviews of recent books and performances. The judgments expressed below are entirely those of the author. It’s easy enough for everyone to condemn slavery as it existed in the past, on a large scale with whole tribes shipped across the Atlantic to perish on New World plantations, or when it involves children in sweatshops or women lured away from home and forced......

Everyone loves a good caprese salad. The Italian delicacy is genius in its simplicity. It can be nothing more than sliced tomatoes topped with fresh mozzarella, garnished with basil and drizzled in olive oil. Anybody can make caprese as well as any Italian restaurant in town so long as anybody has access to high quality ingredients. Ay, there’s the rub: Where to find those ingredients. Jersey tomatoes are some of the best on the planet......

The world of wine and spirits has historically been a male-dominated arena – from the old-school sommeliers in bowties and silver tastevins around their necks to the grand chateaus passed down from father to son. However, this ancient industry has evolved and grown to cater to its bellowing fan base. No longer only a boys’ club, women have become a driving force in the production, service and consumption of wine. Forget the notion of girls......

With the Golden Globes happening this past weekend, everybody catching up on big winners Brokeback Mountain and Walk the Line while waiting for the Oscar nominations a week from Tuesday, and movies less than a month old already receiving their second releases (Terrence Malick's The New World reopens today in a slightly shorter version), it might seem like this period between New Year's is still all about the movies of 2005. But in reality, there......

No don't worry. Gothamist doesn't plan to subject you to yet another film Top 10 list. If you want a good ... uhm ... "overview" of this year's Top 10 lists, you might want to check-out The Reeler's Top 10 Top 10 lists. (Nos. 10-6 appeared yesterday. The top five went up this morning.) If you're looking for something more traditional, you should probably look at The Village Voice's Take 7 film critics poll. Meanwhile,......

Let the floodgates open. A bounty of movie gifts arrive just in time for Christmas and Hannukah, but it's only fair to warn you that many may resemble fruitcake. As the days tick down toward the end of the year -- also known as the deadline for Oscar eligibility -- and people start taking time off for the holidays, distributors are squeezing new releases into theaters trying to grab a piece of the box office......

It might be hard to get to a theatre in time to see any of these picks, but here goes. Even with our fairly averse attitude toward holiday-specific performances, it’s hard not to notice that the current crop of shows is pretty heavy on the fractured fairytale side of things. Except for kids, there’s almost no straightforward telling of a Christmas- (or other holiday) related story. We’re not complaining, but it does make it harder......

First bloggers were accused of damaging journalism, then politics, and now? The Oscars! What's next, Christmas? The LA Times' Patrick Goldstein has accused bloggers, aka "the web's Oscar dingbats...bickering over supporting actor nominations and movies they haven't even seen yet" of spoiling the awards by over-predicting and even ruining the post-film experience: "When I went to an early screening of Terrence Malick's "The New World" the other night, my first reaction was one of almost......

This past weekend Gothamist was invited to a party, and we needed to bring wine. We ran to the local wine shop (it was pouring rain, which conveniently seemed to start the moment we stepped outside), selected our wine and were off to the party. When we arrived, we placed the wine down on the table with the other wine guests had brought and noticed something quite unusual. Of the 7 bottles of wine, 6......

Cardinal Joseph Ratziner was chosen by his cardinal peers to be the new Pope. Ratzinger, who will now be known as Pope Benedict XVI, is the first German pope in a thousand years. His selection reflects the desire of the church to shore up Europe as a Catholic stronghold, making many worried he will "scare away" other people. While many New Yorkers cheered in Times Square when white smoke appeared and the new pope was......

March 16th: International Chocolate Panel. The folks at the at 92nd Street Y are putting together a panel discussion and a fantastic-sounding tasting of chocolate from around the world. The panel, moderated by author and culinary historian Alexandra Leaf, includes Stephanie Teuwen, special events producer for the Chocolate Show, Clay Gordon, chocolate critic and founder of the New World Chocolate Society (sign us up for that one!), Francois Payard, chef-owner of Payard Patisserie & Bistro,......

So you've made it through another Valentines Day -- whether you shared a romantic evening with your sweetie-pie or drank your sorrows away with some spicy shiraz, it's time to move on, as there are some food and wine events this week that need your attention: February 15: The Soul of a Red Wine, 6:30–8:00 p.m. Peggy Lauber of Bedell Cellars and Corey Creek Vineyards will lead a tasting and discussion of the basics of......

First it was Australia, then it was New Zealand . . . now the next New World wine region to capture the hearts and taste buds of New Yorkers is South America. What makes this region so spectacular for easy to drink, plush, fruity wines is the perfect climate. Grapes get to bask in the warm Latin sun – enjoying a particularly long ripening season. Kind of like the holiday we wish we could take.......

There’s been much debate about Old World vs. New World wines - which wines are better, the role of tradition, the opportunity for scientific advancements – Gothamist could go on forever, but we will not. To us it’s not a choice and either style can be fabulous based on what we are looking for at any moment in time. What interests us is the back story, the untold story of how the two worlds came......

We New Yorkers have been through a lot recently. First the Republican National Convention - bringing thousands of slow walking tourists to our city and most recently the UN meetings - can anyone explain why it takes 26 cars to move the President two blocks? It�s enough to drive anyone to drink. What a good idea� This week, Sept 27th � Oct 1st, is the first annual �Toast to New York�, or the drinking version......

Gothamist remembers way back when, in January 2000, when we first heard about Ginger from Inside.com. It was supposed to be some sort of revolutionary individual transportation device, from the man who designed a wheelchair that could climb stairs. The hype, fueled by inventor-entrepreneur Dean Kamen and the media, drove geeks of all kinds (tech, media, transportation) crazy. And then when the Segway Human Transporter was finally unveiled, response was "Where's my flying machine?" Writer......