Features

The Thunderbolt

Judith Giuliani met her husband by boldly walking right up to him at his favorite cigar bar. Will such forceful expressions of ambition play as well with the American public as they did with America’s Mayor?

Your Name in Stickup Light Bulbs!

How infomercial king Ajit Khubani used his keen understanding of suburban anxieties to create lucrative markets for sagging-earlobe remedies, �massage boots,� and the world’s uncoolest sunglasses.

Intelligencer

John Edwards’s Youth Guru: John Mayer

Rocker-adviser reveals what’s the matter with kids today.

New Commish Faces DOT Gridlock

Janette Sadik-Khan promises radical changes.

Troubled U.N. a Tinderbox

866 fire-code violations�but it doesn’t need to fix them.

Internet Dating With the Prez Candidates

Search-engine optimization catches on in popularity.

Booker’s Burden: Too Influential

Newark mayor pledges to lose weight, recycle.

Hamptons vs. Miami: Beeferies Battle

Star chefs quarrel over addresses.

It Happened Last Week

It was a good week to consider one’s legacy, as the world’s most beautiful women descended on the Met to honor a long-dead French designer.

She’s Bad

Meeting Michael Jackson has its price.

Ballpark Figures

Who gets paid more for doing a job: Clemens or Gisele?

Great Wall Street

Downtown as Asian bedroom community.

Gear of War

The 2008 presidential-merchandise battle.

Columns

The Imperial City

An encounter with the weird seductiveness of Phil Spector.

Strategist

Best Bets

One tiny Chelsea storefront’s hoard of hip knickknacks.

Look Book

A redhead glad to have escaped hair-color persecution in the U.K.

Restaurant Review

At long last! A Japanese restaurant that’s not the size of a football field.

In Season

Prized by foragers and seasonally minded cooks, among others, the wild stinging nettle has a whiff of danger about it.

The Culture Pages

Sincerely, Miranda July

Miranda July, waifish casus belli.

The Movie Review

A directorial mixed bag from Hal Hartley; a surprisingly enjoyable entry in the Brooklyn Mafia genre.

New York Screen: The Real Underdogs

In the shadows of this overheated summer movie season, New York’s art houses are counterprogramming with some (indie) heavy hitters of their own.

The Theater Review

The last work by August Wilson is as great as those that came before; a disappointing vehicle for the return of Angela Lansbury.

Act Your Age, Jessica Fletcher!

A pair of career arcs: Angela Lansbury’s real age, and the ages (estimated) of her characters.

Jukebox

Three average citizens deputized with critical authority review releases by Avril Lavigne, Feist, and more.

The Art Review

How 9/11 philosophically undermined the hot-selling photographs of Andreas Gursky.

The Classical Music Review

A highly competent performance of Wagner that could’ve used more heat.

The Approval Matrix: Week of May 21, 2007

Our deliberately oversimplified guide to who falls where on our taste hierarchies.

The Week

Gang of Four

The Ensemble Studio Theatre’s weeklong festival, �Shatter,� stages four one-acts per night, each with a distinctive style and voice.

Body Art

The artist himself (or, in one case, borrowing a friend) becomes the material.

An Almost Holy Picture

These performances�enhanced by their sacred settings�should get you to the church (or synagogue) on time.

Location, Location, Location

Brooklyn beer, Long Island wine, and authentic Piedmontese in the spotlight.

�Jurassic Park’ on Central Park

New film sets dino facts straight.

Departments

Letters to the Editor

Readers sound off on Eddie Wise, Studio 54, and more.