October 3, 2005 Issue
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Cover Story
Conan on the Couch
Conan O’Brien is the tall, lanky embodiment of New York comedy�smart, self-deprecating, and weird. A look at the man who built his career on the absurd and the obscure as he gears up to enter the living rooms of Middle America.
Plus: The ten funniest New Yorkers you’ve never heard of, a one-night crawl through the open-mike clubs, eight things New Yorkers are joking about, and how to build a joke.
Features
The Mayor and His Money
Some people get rich and become philanthropists. Some get rich and go into politics. But Mike Bloomberg has done both�and wields his charitable donations like disbursements from a shadow city agency. Is this really how government should work?
How the Antiwar Was Won
Today’s protest movement is as haunted by Vietnam as the war it is now protesting. But today’s activists are different from their forebears. Their pitch is Oprah-perfect, they are pragmatic, and they already have public opinion�and political reality�on their side.
Intelligencer
Intelligencer Gossip
The Naked Chef does school lunches, showgirls with sock puppets, Dave Eggers as required reading, and more.
It Happened Last Week
The city seemed to enter a judgmental mood, meting out chastisement to some while showing surprising leniency toward others.
The Fashion Kid Who Fought in Fallujah
Joseph Wood’s journey from Iraq to Parsons.
Can the Prius Replace the Town Car?
Are limousine liberals really willing to get in the backseat of a battery-powered Toyota? Graydon Carter says �sure’�if only they had more legroom.
David and the Goliaths
Civil war breaks out among the summering big shots at East Hampton’s preeminent synagogue over whether to keep its charismatic chief rabbi.
Strategist
Best Bets
Spooky lamps, a Nike Air dress shoe, and other hot buys.
Shop News
Store openings this week.
Ask a Shop Clerk
Jill Alexander of Tory by TRB.
Sales & Bargains
This week's hottest sales & bargains.
Look Book
An experimental folk-rocker with a passive shopping technique.
Fashion 5 X 10
From the catwalk to the closet: the trends for next season.
Restaurant Review
Nobu 57 exhibits all the symptoms of brand fatigue.
In Season
A recipe for Thai chile lime sauce.
Ask Gael
Give me a new reason to Go downtown.
Restaurant Openings & Buzz
Week of Sept. 26, 2005: Bar Carrera, Fatty Crab, and Camino Sur.
Will Wait for Food
Is it worth waiting in the city’s longest food lines?
In a Pickle
The Lower East Side is awash in brine.
Tapped In
Break out the lederhosen�it’s time to celebrate Oktoberfest.
Mating
Are we all wannabe players waiting for the right seduction technique to come along?
Real Estate
Previously dedicated urbanites reconsider New Rochelle.
The Culture Pages
Lines in the Sand
Jenny Holzer, who has had her sloganeering installations knocked off by Madison Avenue for years, is back with the real thing.
Movie Review
Buffy guru Joss Whedon’s sci-fi epic scores.
New York Film Festival
Critic's picks for the 2005 New York Film Festival.
The Monster from Manhattan
Capote adeptly dramatizes the selfishness at the heart of journalism.
Influences: David Cronenberg
Q&A with the filmmaker.
Theater Review
Newcomer Rolin Jones’s play about robots turns out to be a hilarious and sensitive look at family life.
Spirit Reviewed
The evening's real charm lies in its spontaneity, the sense that the actors might say or do anything, at any time.
Red Beads Reviewed
A billowing landscape of silk and wind, and dances that defy gravity.
The Rise of the Cliffs Notes Musical
After a season of shows based on the back catalogues of Elvis and John Lennon, this year’s musical-makers are borrowing from the greatest stories ever told.
Amber Alert
The surprisingly rabble-rousing poetry from teen star Amber Tamblyn.
The Gist: 'The Diviners'
The lowdown on Rick Moody’s new novel.
Long Story Short
From banned book to celebrated literature in seven steps.
Art Review
A new exhibit of Russian art seems to have been neutered by the powerful groups that backed it.
The Approval Matrix
Our deliberately oversimplified guide to who falls where on our taste hierarchies.
Columns
The Imperial City
Will Jeff Zucker lose his job? Not a chance. The better question is whether he’ll end up as CEO.
The Power Grid
What the country needs now is a genuine brawl over a Supreme Court nomination. Really.
Departments
Letters to the Editor
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