Features

Still Waters

With a new Broadway adaptation of Cry-Baby, John Waters is a member in good standing of the American mainstream. But he’s still got the same warped obsessions he had as a teen.

An Old Master in Ruins

Why is an El Greco worth less than a Koons? Gallerist Larry Salander called it a moral travesty, and decided, catastrophically, to do something about it.

Intelligencer

Why Paterson Better Like Mike

Can congestion pricing get the new gov back on track?

After Bryant Park, Seventh on Eighth?

Runways near runaways.

Tom Brady Is a New York Patriot

QB hikes it to Manhattan.

Starchitect Sultanate for Goog’s Krens

Finds himself in desert.

Powell’s Kid Backs Obama

But will her dad?

Did Threesomes Show Gov Was Gay?

Driver says yes; others, no.

It Happened Last Week

For another week, almost all politics was both local and sleazy.

Swift Boating the Speech

It was a great piece of oratory, and a good short-term political tactic. But it won’t help him beat McCain.

Our Inflationary Snack Times

Wheat, dairy, meat: It’s all getting more expensive. Why a bagel costs more.

Superflatbush

With its groovy Murakami show, Brooklyn’s got a brand new bag.

Columns

The Bear Stearns Bull

With the collapse of the country’s fifth-largest bank, the market hit bottom.

Strategist

Let’s Get Ready to Jumble!

Brooklyn Flea takes a beloved Sunday-morning tradition and makes it a lot less junky.

The Look Book

"I’ve had my dreads for about twenty years; it’s part of being a Rasta."

Need a Ride?

It looks (and accelerates) like a bumper car, but the Smart Fortwo is a joy in the city.

The Restaurant Review

Marcus Samuelsson explores the Ethiopian side of his background.

In Season

In the States, radicchio is a bit player in the salad kingdom, commonly seen as the red component of tricolore.

Insatiable Critic

Expect standing-room only at Mia Dona, given Donatella Arpaia’s East Side groupies.

Restaurant Openings

Week of March 31, 2008: Pomme de Terre and Insomnia Cookies.

The Derma Diaries

What kind of Yiddish cookbook contains a recipe for a Chinese roast-pork sandwich on Italian garlic bread?

Spring Break for Foodies

Leaving Manhattan doesn’t mean you need to pack a lunch.

Good Nymphs Gone Bad

This season’s dresses look so sweet and innocent from a distance. Up close, it’s another story.

Bright Blue: A Brief History

From Cleopatra’s necklace to Detroit’s latest, the color that won’t go away.

They Just Don’t Understand

In a tight market, banks look askance at walk-ups and studios. What’s a New Yorker to do?

Culture

Little Miss Darkness

Courtney Hunt’s first film won Sundance, but it’s hardly cute.

The Movie Review

Fraternal rivalry (and worse) in the South and Italy.

Breakthroughs

Four fresh faces at MoMA’s New Directors/New Films.

The Architecture Review

The new Cooper Square is good, bad, and ugly.

The Book Review

Nicholson Baker gives the Good War a bad rap.

40,000 Not-Very-Easy Pieces

Graham Rawle resisted the idea of printing his novel that consists entirely of clippings from magazines, in collage form.

The TV Review

A newly naturalized Tracey Ullman riles up her adopted country, Arianna Huffington included.

Playing King: Jonathan Rhys Meyers

On March 30, The Tudors returns for a second season of sex, papal intrigue, and beheadings.

The Theater Review

Even talented playwrights fall into one trap: pandering to the lefty theatergoing audience.

The Approval Matrix: Week of March 31, 2008

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

Agenda

Cirque du Soul

Clowns and kids get funky in Brooklyn.

Departments

Comments: March 31, 2008

Readers sound off on Eliot Spitzer, horse-drawn carriages, and more.

Artifact: A Highly Valued Tradition

Findings from the streets, files, and hard drives of New York.