Add another item to the list of unfortunate things that have happened to the popular nightclub The Box.  If the drug raids and sheer boredom with the place hasn't yet managed to get most of the A-list crowd to stray away and wander over to Rose Bar, Socialista or Beatrice Inn yet, this may just be the thing that does it.  As the Post reports today, The Box has a stalker.  A serial rapist has already kidnapped and attacked at least two victims, forcing them into an SUV and making them drink unknown liquids, after grabbing them from behind as they exited the hip nightclub on Chrystie street.  He then drove both women (on separate attacks) over the Brooklyn bridge where he raped them and then made them withdraw all their cash before sending them back to Manhattan.  This uncaught sicko could manage to keep crowds away from the place...however, he could also be just the scary thrill that many seek to find on Halloween night.  Please travel in groups people.  Yes it makes your changes of getting in slim to none, but the alternative is way worse than missing the midget trannies onstage, trust us.

Sometimes when we read about the wars, genocides, nuclear threats, and terrorist's plots happening all around us, we become a little bit concerned about our human race.  Then we see stories like the ones we came across today and become SERIOUSLY distressed about all of our fates.  Leave it to Jezebel, who continues to inform us on life's atrocities to call our attention to the following stories today:

German playboy Rolf Eden (pictured above) has filed charges against a 19 year old girl who refused to sleep with him after a night out.  The complaint? AGEISM!  Apparently after a "night out on the town" with the German equivalent to our Hugh Hefner, the girl refused to have sex with him saying he was too old for her. 

"That was shattering. No woman has ever said that to me before," Eden told the German tabloid. "I was crushed." He has filed charges with the prosecutors' office, he said. "After all, there are laws against discrimination."

He's 77 years old!! For f*ck's sake we don't blame the girl!  This is the same loser that claims to have slept with between 2,000 to 3,000 women in his life and says he wants to die while in the process of having sex, saying: "I would like to die as I have lived -- on a woman."

And if you didn't think that guy was creepy enough, here's a guy living within miles of us that left us even more grossed out.  On Monday in Teaneck, NJ a 24 year old man was arrested for having sex with a 92 year old woman CORPSE!!!! EWWWWWWWWW!!!  We think we just vomited in our mouths a little bit.  Anthony Merino, a 24-year-old lab technician, was arrested Sunday after a security guard saw him having sex with a dead 92-year-old woman in the Holy Name Hospital morgue.  His bail has been set at $400,000.  Maybe he was an avid fan of Edgar Allen Poe, the tormented genius who, after his death, had some of the most scandalous tales brought on by his literary executer Rufus Griswald, painting the picture of a necrophiliac among other things.  Many avid readers believe that his poem written after his wife's death titled Annabel Lee was about his necrophiliac-behaviors.  Whether true or not about Poe's obsession with the dead, we can only hope that present day mad man gets some serious help.

This Hallween, let's take the time to remember that many times the ghosts and goublins of the world have nothing on our plain old human-kind which we all share the same genetic makeup with-now THAT is something to be really scared about!

Tinsley Mortimer and Margherita Missoni at last year's party at Bungalow 8:

[photo from Patrick McMullan]

New York is the best city to celebrate All Hallow's Eve.  Whether you hit up the West Village Parade, join Richie and the 1Oak crew at Scores, hit up the $200 Cipriani's party, or get the coveted invite to Sacco's...Have a great one, but be safe and remember to check for razors in those candy bars!

Also, go HERE to check out the Daily New's list of Haunted New York Bars.

...And then help us convince Brandon Davis to call into him.

Those of you who have not had the distinct pleasure of being able to hear Brother Harold Camping on Family Radio are missing out. On weeknights he holds the Open Forum show where people from all over to world can call in an speak with Brother Camping. Recently, we were listening as a young guilt-ridden man called in to ask for advice about a recent impropriety he had committed:

"Brother Camping, I was recently at a bachelor party for a friend. I had three beers and was feeling tipsy and I then indulged in a marijuana cigarette. What should I do?"

The first thing brother Camping did was point out the obvious fact that the word bachelor immediately should raise a red flag, and that it was clearly linked with sin. This man should have known from the get go that something BAD was going to happen.

So we continued to listen and waited for Camping to say "but God is an almighty, all-forgiving God" and that this man would be ok. Well he didn't. He told the guy that he would just have to wait and see what happened. Ouch! This guy according to Camping is basically screwed.

After seeing Brandon Davis aka Greeseball Mcgee (GM) at Rose Bar last night, we got a brilliant idea... How great would it be to have GM call into Brother Camping!?!  For now, we can only guess what the host would have to say to young Davis about his behaviors, but we're sure it would be some of the most entertaining radio we've ever heard.  We can tell you this much: the black leather QUILTED jacket he was sporting last night was a SIN in itself.

Two really cool things we came across and wanted to share

The first has to do with our favorite toy, LEGO. The Storefront for Art and Architecture at Kenmare and Lafayatte is currently showcasing conceptual urban housing designs and one is an amazing version of New York City created out of Legos. We haven't seen it yet, but apparently the details are intense and include New Yorkers doing various things including street graffitti, working, going to Dean & Deluca, and even going at it. Gothamist does a good job reporting on the exhibit as well as a link to a fantastic flickr site with tons of photos to check out. Oh and get there before November 24th.

Second, brings us to the amazing work they are doing at Sony BRAVIA. They released their "play-doh" commercial October 4th but we just saw it today and thought it was pretty f-ing cool. It is the most ambitious piece of stop-motion animation ever undertaken. Created by ad agency Fallon London, the commercial took a team of 40 animators three weeks choreographing the models to create the 100,000 still images required to produce the 60-second ad.

"Technically this is the most difficult thing I have ever done," said the ad's director, Frank Budgen. "It is an incredibly difficult situation to control. You have New Yorkers wandering through frames and you have no say over it because we're doing it for real." Previous ads by BRAVIA have included releasing 250,000 bouncing balls on San Francisco and creating pyrotechnical paint display in Glasgow, though the latest one in the Financial District of NYC tops them all. Watch the video below which, besides the bunnies includes effects such as a 200 square foot purple plasticine wave and a whale "swimming" through the streets of Manhattan - all while locals go about their daily lives.

Today the Post confirmed the rumors swirling around town about the legendary music club CBGB, which met it's fateful end recently. John Varvartos will officially be moving into the space this Spring. Apparently Varvatos himself has been a long time fan of musicians and the rock scene. Alice Cooper is even the face of his latest ad campaign. Maybe it's not SO bad. I mean with a Chase opened next door and a Starbucks down the street, the street isn't exactly like it used to be anyway. Racked had their money on the space being another Duane Reade. We'll take Varvatos over THAT. Others are not as tolerable of the ever-morphing neighborhood (from the Post):

Musician Bill Popp, who played CBGB from 1981 until its closing last year, mourned the Bowery's turn for the purse. "Now it's going to become a contrived type of store, with prices only for the yuppies who are taking over the neighborhood," he lamented.

Yes there ARE a lot of Yuppies around Bill, but maybe John will come up with a new line to fit into the old rock space. Maybe a Rock 'n Roll line? Of course it will be at yuppie-hipster prices, but what else would you expect? CBGB wasn't exactly selling $5 tickets or giving out free t-shirts last year either.

That is the headline on Philly.com today. Travel and Leisure and CNN just came out with the result's of their "American's Favorite Cities of 2007" where they took the top 25 urban destination areas and rated them on their culture, people, food and dining, cityscape and more. New Yorkers are sitting pretty cool. New York was ranked #1 in more categories (14) than any other city in the poll!

We took the top scores for Big-Name Restaurants, Ethnic Food, Theater, Classical Music, Underground Arts Scene, Luxury Boutiques, Shopping for Jewelry and Shoes. Plus, it was ranked No. 1. in the Stylish People and Diversity categories. The Big Apple’s Museums/Galleries ranked No. 2 overall. In a special question asking respondents to vote on the most over- and underrated cities in the survey, New York unfortunately also earned the title of the most overrated city in America.

For the entire report head here: America's Favorite Cities

The most ugly city is Philadelphia Filthadelphia. Hopefully they will clean up their act and cut down on their cheesesteak consumption!

The mid-life crisis of designer Marc Jacobs seems to be continuing on...and it's something we are just fascinated by.  Here's a photo from the shot Mr. Jacobs did for Arena Homme Plus magazine, which he is on the cover of for their winter/spring issue.  Jezebel reports on the more interesting pieces of the article including these tidbits:

-Marc has several weird tattoos, including one of Carol Anne and our favorite, the M&M (shown above).

-He is a grown up now, at 44 years and recently discovered his love of jewels:

"I have become very addicted to jewelry lately. I started to buy myself diamonds on my birthday this year -- I was 44. I bought myself diamond earrings, put them on and thought, I like this. So then I bought myself a bracelet. Then I bought myself a necklace. Then I bought myself a watch. Then I thought, 'You're turning into Pharrell Williams.' Actually I am not turning into anybody. I am probably going through some phase, but I am enjoying every minute of it."

-He got the M&M tattoo on his birthday because he wanted his own initial but only in the "context of something really stupid"

-He admits he may be experiencing a mid-life crisis, though is enjoying every minute of it.

We say: Enjoy away Marc!  This character almost lives up to the nerd-in-glasses-and-prep-clothes-yet-really-a-druggie look you won us over with when you entered the scene years ago.

Manhattan is labyrinth-y. Which is why when we read about the new surface navigation markers they are trying out on the sidewalks around Grand Central Station in the NY Times we were left thinking: "Why wasn't this thought of sooner?" I mean even if you have lived here your whole life, it's easy to get confused when walking out of a subway station especially one you are unfamiliar with. In fact, we think that there should be compasses embedded on top of every manhole in this town, then we'd NEVER have to tell another tourist which way third avenue was, and we would never have to look like an idiot when we act like we think we know where we're going around said visitors. Though some are playing the "too-cool for school" card:

“Personally, I wouldn’t use it because I’m from New York and I know where I’m going,” said Anna Medina, a paralegal. “When you’re from New York, everyone knows where you’re going."

We know better. Even Anna has had an "off" day...you can bet she has walked out of a subway station in Nolita and been in a brief stupor before getting her bearings. We will be the first to admit that it happens once or twice a month to us and it is a little bit embarrassing (for ourselves to admit to, no one else usually is aware of what's going on...so we think). So, we will welcome the coming of these "signs" in this labyrinth of ours, and encourage you guys to do the same. Go to the Grand Central Partnership (where they are being tested at now) and complete their survey so they know to bring them to the rest of the city...

It's Monday, and that means that when we are feeling especially desperate to find a way to procrastinate, we head over to PostSecret.  The PostSecret website is the largest advertisement-free Blog on the web.  For us, it's just a chance to read the "secrets" of real life individuals.  It's updated every Sunday night and plays on all your emotions.  Usually we get a couple chuckles in, a couple "geez that sucks", and then leave the site feeling a little bit better about our own lives.  The "secrets" can be as silly as the one above or as tragic as the one below:

Although suicide notes come in often, and are definitely no joking matter, the site has done a good job of forming a community of supporters that has been able to help a lot of people overcome their depression, eating disorders, you name it.  They recently published a book titled: A Lifetime of Secrets and are currently on tour throughout the U.S. (For schedule see website).

Neuroscience has finally confirmed what we have always suspected, but never quite confirmed. Yes, email is a cold medium of communication where things sometimes get misinterpreted.

"In contrast to a phone call or talking in person, e-mail can be emotionally impoverished when it comes to nonverbal messages that add nuance and valence to our words. "

But now that we think of it, we aren't so sure about these scientific reports. Our inbox is constantly packed with emotion!!! And there are tons of ways to convey things, like LOL, :) ;-) hahahaha. And for our Latin friends (jajajajaja....jejejeje). I mean what is the big deal anyway? Face-to-face communication is just so 1985. And talking on the phone? Well that is what SMS text messages are for...and AIM.

Our real issue with email these days is when people fail to grasp the nuances of communication and how to convey certain moods. Like when a person uses 3 exclamation points, when the situation only requires 1.

For example:

Hi (Hey)

Hi! (Hey what's up? how are you!)

Hi!! (Heyyy, long time no speak! How are you!)

Hi!!! (Hey! I haven't seen you in like forever and ever!!!)

I mean come on people! And for you Euros and Latins out there, the language barrier excuse simply won't do, nor will the "well we are a very emotional people" argument. Please use proper internet/email emotional punctuation, stop overdoing the exclamation points!!!!!!!! ja?