1. "Little Sam's Little Children Promo": Isn't this child abuse?

["Far more than they should, superlatives reign as our culture's primary means of defining legends—a sports figure is "the greatest" this, a rock band is "the biggest" that, so on, so forth, etc. But that only gets you so far in New York, where little speaks louder and more influentially than results. And how do we gauge results? As far as New York film goes, you'd be hard-pressed to beat a 71-year-old Brooklynite named Allen Konigsberg. Never heard of him? You can call him Woody."]

["He doesn't call it "Hollywood's Most-Hated Web Site" for nothing. As celebrity blogger Perez Hilton—real name: Mario Lavandeira—walked down the red carpet of VH1's Big in '06 Awards earlier this month, the paparazzi pointed their lenses to the ground, refusing to shoot his photo. In Hollywoodland, where looks might kill but not being seen is fatal, it was as if the eye of God had turned from Perez. After two years of Hilton appropriating—OK, stealing—online paparazzi photos, scrawling words like "whoreanus" (a, um, "pun" on the word heinous) across them using Microsoft Paint and posting them on his site, the photographers and their agencies have finally turned on the world's most popular gossip blogger, who they claim is cutting into their bottom line."]

["The final weeks of any given year being populated by countless competing best-of lists (many of which are of ranging quality themselves), it seemed appropriate to indulge, albeit temporarily, into something a little more lighthearted. My own best-of list will be debuting here in a little more than a week (after squeezing in as many crucial screenings and Netflix rentals as possible), so until then, I've decided to present a collection of my favorite (and least favorite) movie posters of the year. Not all of these are for films I liked (some I outright disliked), while some are for films I've yet to see, if I wish to at all. Compiling this was fun, but it also brings to light the relationship between the film as a work of art and the film as a product to be marketed, and the many benefits and many more downfalls that arise because of that. Lists are presented in reverse order, so as to maintain suspense."]

["He once hoped that a whole steel superstructure would soar skyward from ground zero on his watch. In the end—and today's choreographed construction ceremony was probably just that, his last official visit to the World Trade Center site—Gov. George E. Pataki settled for two columns well below street level. To be sure, they were important columns, set by a giant crane to form the south perimeter of the Freedom Tower. They were big (31 feet 2 1/2 inches and 34 feet 2 1/2 inches). Brawny (49,579 pounds and 53,342 pounds). And symbolically resonant, autographed with messages of hope, remembrance and blessing. But they defined a far different landscape than Mr. Pataki envisioned in April 2003, when he promised that this would be the year that "New Yorkers reclaim their skyline."]
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"Links for the Day": Each morning, the House editors post a series of weblinks that we think will spark discussion. Comments encouraged.