This my favorite photo from m.river’s images of MTAA’s Super Slow 5K.

Cute Swiss firemen from Geneva, rapping in French:

“118, au cas ou tu flippes/ 118, inscrit-le dans ton slip” (118, in case you freak out/118, write it in your undies)

A group of young Geneva firefighters decided to film the clip to end public confusion between their number, 118, and new directory assistance hotlines. Here is the story on BBC News.

• blogchelsea: Chelsea Barnes & Noble to Close
  the Chelsea location of Barnes and Noble will not be renewing their lease in May
  tags: chelsea books
• ‘They made me a pasta I couldn’t refuse’ – Telegraph
  Diners are flocking to what could perhaps be termed the most exclusive restaurant in Italy – one located inside a top security prison
  tags: volterra italy tuscany restaurant prison

in front of Whole Foods at 24th and Seventh

event info

See more photos on flickr here.

• An Iraqi "Eliot Ness" Out in the Cold
  The Bush administration is abandoning the forced-out Iraqi anticorruption chief, as he prepares to testify that the Iraqi government is so corrupt it should be abolished.
  tags: iraq war bush corruption
• SLAVA MOGUTIN
  slava has a slick new website
  tags: artist queer photography slavamogutin superm
• Euro Reaches All-Time High Against Dollar [we’re screwed]
  Investors around the world dumped the dollar today, pushing it to an all-time low of $1.40 against the euro and to parity with the Canadian dollar for the first time in three decades
  tags: currency dollar euro canada usa
• TIME’S UP! :: NYC Direct Action Environmental Organization – 2007 Park(ing) Day
  (today 9/21) parking spots at 7th Avenue and Charles Street in the West Village are transformed into a park
  tags: environment activism timesup publicspace nyc westvillage manhattan

When I took yesterday’s photo, many people on 23rd Street were waiting to be allowed to go east while the police had the area around 23rd and Seventh blocked off for a bomb scare. It’s the second time this has happened in 23rd Street this month. The last one was west of Eighth Avenue. I love this comment on a blogchelsea post about yesterday:

We live in an age of paranoia. Suspicious package? We used to call that “garbage.”

photo by Ruth Waltz for the International Herald Tribune

The IHT has a review of the premiere of Hanz Werner Henze’s new opera, “Phaedra” at the Berlin Staatsoper. In New York, the opera world thinks an opera by freakin’ Richard Danielpour is some kind of breakthrough, but Berlin gets a premiere by one of the greatest composers of the 20th Century, with designs by Olafur Eliasson no less!

They’re also doing a new production of Medeamaterial by Pascal Dusapin (based on the Heiner Müller play) directed and choreographed by Sasha Waltz! I can’t stand it!

It’s time to interest some of those hedge fund billionaires in some contemporary music methinks.

Bryan Zanisnik, Colby Chamberlain, and I discussed some radical ideas for ArtCal at the opening at NURTUREart on Friday night. Some possibilities:

• Community ratings of the drinks served at openings, including how long before they typically run out of the good stuff
• A podcast, with press releases read out loud, and recommendations from guest editors

• Times to End Charges on Web Site – New York Times
  In addition to opening the entire site to all readers, The Times will also make available its archives from 1987 to the present without charge, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain. There will be charges for some material fro
  tags: nytimes newspaper archives