Clio Art Fair came to Chelsea this past weekend, bringing with it 54 artists from over 20 different countries and from all over the United States. The self-styled “anti-fair” catering to independent artists focuses on moving away from everything that sucks about traditional art fairs (like how you have to basically be famous already to show your work there). More →

What happened to the scathing roman a clef skewering Manhattan high society that Truman Capote may or may not have finished before his untimely death in 1984? After the US premiere of The Truman Tapes at the Hamptons International Film Festival on Saturday, director Ebs Burnough said he was of two minds.  More →

There’s a scene in Edward Norton’s adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn where Moses Randolph, a not-so-subtle stand-in for New York’s master builder Robert Moses, describes following a party server into a supply room and having his way with her. More →

Nolita cafe Tulo House wants to know: “Did you nut today?”

The hashtag-worthy slogan immortalized by a bright blue neon sign (although, if your mom follows you on Instagram, maybe don’t post it) refers to the health spot’s homemade dairy-alternative milks. The self-proclaimed “first fresh nut-milk bar” in the city, Tulo House opened its doors last week. More →

The white brick and neon pink sign of Ruby’s Cafe is a welcome sight in the East Village, especially on a rainy day. The Australian cafe just opened its third New York location on Saturday, October 5, ready to provide East 11th Street with a welcome plate of vegemite toast or their famous panini-style Bronte Burger. More →

Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington’s Adult Swim show, On Cinema at the Cinema, has birthed so many wacky offshoots– a podcast! a spinoff show! a rock band and EDM remix! Oscar specials! live tours! Twitter battles! fan recaps!– that it’s hard to believe its creators haven’t explored every possible outlet for their shtick, which can best be described as Siskel and Ebert on crack (or rather, on Dr. San’s Nutritional Vaping Technology). But last night, after the opening of their first feature film, they revealed that the beginnings of an earlier On Cinema movie are lying around somewhere. More →

I remember the moment I almost emptied my bank account at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair. The object of temptation: a poster advertising the reopening of the New St. Mark’s Baths, the notorious gay bathhouse that was ultimately shut down by Ed Koch during the 1980s AIDS scare. Sci-fi illustrator Boris Vallejo’s artwork depicted a He-Man type riding a horned beast, flanked by ripped space aliens. It was like a Miles Davis cover if Bitches Brew was an advertisement for pre-Giuliani orgy dens, and I had to have it. More →

The Brooklyn Bazaar will leave its home of three years at the end of November, it announced today. “This is literally like fucking Groundhog Day for us,” said owners Belvy Klein and Aaron Broudo, who in 2015 were forced to move the Bazaar from its original Banker Street warehouse after a rent hike. More →

What better way to ponder (read: mourn) the current state of the union than with the 20th anniversary of Aaron Sorkin’s political drama The West Wing? PaleyFest New York, a two-week celebration of popular television, kicked off with a screening of the show’s season-two finale, “Two Cathedrals,” as well as a panel discussion where Sorkin explained his creative process, the history of The West Wing and the show’s continued relevance.  

The pilot episode of The West Wing debuted in 1999 after the impeachment of Bill Clinton, and follows the senior staffers of the fictional Bartlet administration. The “Two Cathedrals” episode was released on May 16, 2001 and comes at the end of President Bartlet’s first term, when he’s being investigated for lying to voters about his multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Bartlet is expected to direct the attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate him, all while making sure the investigation will be made up of people who were appointed by Republican presidents. Bartlet’s slip-up “now feels like a relatively minor crime,” Sorkin observed.

Bedford + Bowery collected some of the most evergreen (read: currently relevant) themes from “Two Cathedrals.” 

The President Should NOT Run For Re-election
“I don’t like being the first one to say it, but I’m gonna; I think the president has got to strongly consider not running for re-election.”
Multiple White House officials advise that Bartlet not run for a second term; of course, he does anyway.

Crazy Tropical Storms
“Isn’t it strange to have a tropical storm in May? I’m pretty sure there’s a season and this isn’t it.” 
President Bartlet continually asks when tropical storm season is and why there’s a strong storm coming off the coast of Florida in the off-season. He’s told that a storm of this magnitude hasn’t happened in over a century. At least Bartlet double and triple checked his storm facts. No sharpie-doctored, inaccurate hurricane map here. 

Women’s Workplace Woes
“The women who work here, if they bring it up, they’re afraid for their jobs.”
President Bartlet has a flashback to his high-school days, where his father is the headmaster of a prestigious private school. The new secretary tells him that women who work there are getting paid less than men, and that women are afraid to speak up. #MeToo, anyone?

Good Deeds
“3.8 million new jobs, that wasn’t good? Bailed out Mexico, increased foreign trade, 30 million new acres of land for conservation.”
Amid all the re-election controversy and his personal misfortunes, Bartlet briefly rants about all the good deeds he’s done in his first term as president. Maybe Trump took a page from Bartlet’s book of political benevolence, by boasting about the economy to distract from the impeachment inquiry. 

Congressional Crisis
“Are you out of your mind? I can’t possibly win re-election, I lied about a degenerative illness, I’m the target of a grand jury investigation and Congress is about to take me out to lunch.”
Staffers contemplate Bartlet’s place as commander in chief after being wrapped up in controversy after controversy. It’s looking like Congress may treat President Trump to a nice meal sometime soon, too.

Health Insurance Hiatus
“How many Americans don’t have health insurance?”
“44 million.”
President Bartlet talks to his secretary about work that needs to be done in the next term. While the number of uninsured Americans has gone down since 2001, that number has been steadily increasing over the past year. Good to know that 20 years later, affordable healthcare is still a partisan issue!

Spoiler Alert: This item is intended for those who’ve already watched “Parasite,” which opens Oct. 11; it contains plot spoilers including a description of the film’s ending.

If you’re thirsty for a new Jordan Peele movie, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is your tall glass of water (or murky glass of makgeolli). Much like Get Out, it deftly combines comedy, horror, and social commentary; and much like Us, it pits families on either side of the class divide against each other. Needless to say, it has won critical acclaim: After becoming the first South Korean film to nab the Palme d’Or at Cannes back in May, it’s currently clocking a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s the #73 top-rated movie of all-time on IMDB, and it received rapturous applause following its New York premiere at the New York Film Festival on Saturday. More →