Changes

Over at Gawker today, intern Roger West photographed New York streets today, juxtaposing them against photos from 50 years ago.

Was not Was

Gawker has this shot taken along Avenue A by a tipster:



As Ryan Tate notes at Gawker: "[G]iven that the WaMu's failure was the largest in U.S. history , the branch's signage could hardly have malfunctioned in a more appropriate fashion."

No one attended the schmancy Sex and the City DVD release party

Horrors! Writes Sheila at Gawker: There's no satisfying way to explain the party, other than a PR clusterfuck/fuckup. However, maybe people are getting a little tired of the franchise after a six-year TV run, one of the most-hyped movies of the year, and a cultural reach that, on some days, seems to have infected the entire city with luxury brand names and bus tours. What does this say about the sequel? We're guessing nothing good. Sometimes you just have to get the shotgun and take the old mare out behind the barn.

Saturday morning bonus!

Here's a feature on the Sex and the City Tour from April 2004 by Norwegian journalist Henrik Pryser Libell:

Claim: New York is the most competitive city in the world

According to the Global Urban Competitiveness Project (as reported in The Economist), New York is the most competitive city in the world.

Of course, there is a problem with this No. 1 ranking, as Gawker weekend editor Ian Spiegelman notes: "Competitive people are assholes, and there are too goddamn many of them here!" [Via Gawker]

Almost as effective as any developer or greedy politico

From Gawker: "Here are clips of the 15 best films featuring New York getting annihilated, curated by Nick McGlynn."

Oh, wait -- this wasn't one of the 15?

Oddly enough, this is how she met Dermot Mulroney

Gawker picked up the Sophie's/Mona's sale item from Page Six. After Hours Editor Joshua David Stein posted the following:

end of an era
Sophie's, that dive bar on E. 5th Street that never carded and where I once made out drunkenly on the pool table with a woman who, at the time, I was convinced was Catherine Keener but in fact was just this girl who lived on the floor below me in my dorm , is closing in the New Year. Boo! [NYP]