December 7, 2003
BULL'S EYE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amRATHER NICE PLUG By Tim Arango and Jenny AndersonCBS flack and prodigious writer Gil Schwartz got a book endorsement from none other than his colleague CBS anchor Dan Rather. Rather...
SANTA'S HOT LIST MAY BE SIZZLING TIP FOR STOCKS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amIn figuring out which stocks may benefit the most from this holiday season, consider that consumers are putting more items on their laps than Santa. Notebooks are outselling desktops for...
HEY, MR. DEEJAY! WHERE ROCK STARS RUN THE PARTY
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amHe may no longer technically be a rock star - his band, the critically adored Pulp, broke up last year - but ex-frontman Jarvis Cocker can still pack 'em in....
SEX ON THE BRAIN; FOR NEW YORK'S ELITE SWINGING SCENE, IT'S MIND OVER MATTER
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amTo be a star of today's group sex and the city, you need more than just courage and a disco chain. You need to be fit, waxed, groomed, manicured -...
STARR REPORT
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amReaders sound off Last Wednesday I opined in this column that I thought it was extremely inappropriate for Lite-FM and Blink 102.7 to be playing wall-to-wall Christmas music, 24/7, since...
WHERE TO EAT AFTER ... CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS AT ROCKEFELLER CENTER
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amNo place is more magical than Rockefeller Center at Christmastime. See the famous plaza in all its holiday glory now that this year's tree is up and decorated with 30,000...
THE HELLISH WAIT FOR A BLIND DATE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00am"Hey, are you Mateus?" I asked, smiling confidently.The guy looked around."No," he said.His mates all burst out laughing. One of the worst things about going on a blind date, I...
GOING TO 'EXTREMES' ; OVERUSED WORD INFLATES EXPECTATIONS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amULTIMATELY, the word "extreme" is way overused in choosing the titles for TV shows. For that matter, so is "ultimate," only not to the same extreme. "Extreme" is the TV-show...
'FATE' AND OTHER ALTERNATIVES
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amIT'S the time of year when Hollywood turns out movies to garner Oscars. But there are alternatives for viewers who refuse to give in to the hype. One is "Fate"...
BOXING DAY; MIDTOWN'S HIPPEST TAKEOUT
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amNever mind thinking out of the box: Akiko Thurnauer is making a business thinking of one - or 50. Bento boxes, that is - the compartmentalized Japanese lunch boxes she...
HIGH NOTES & LOW NOTES
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amDiva?: At his Webster Hall gig, Rambling Ryan Adams wore a "Polite New Yorker" button, impersonated Joan Crawford, drank vodka and Red Bull, wandered into the crowd and played mostly...
TAKING THE RED CARPET'S CUES: TRY THESE FIVE STAR TRENDS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00am'Tis the season for the most glamorous of movie premieres! A simple slip dress and flip-flops or young Hollywood's trusted trinity of jeans, tank and stilettos are par for the...
FAMKE FIGHTS FOR FURRY FRIENDS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amAt his Upper West Side studio, the artist Peter Max recently hosted a glamorous fund-raiser for the Washington, D.C.-based Humane Society of the United States (www.hsus.org). The party's aim was...
SHOPAHOLIC: I DARE YOU: CAN DESIGNER DAVID MEISTER PUT TOGETHER A GREAT LOOK FOR ONLY $100?
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amAs head creative designer for the evening department at Laundry by Shelli Segal for several years, David Meister's flattering and flirty dresses have been worn by prom queens, drag queens...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amA fossil crustacean, whose scientific name, Colymbosathon ecplecticos, means "swimmer with a large penis," is the earliest clear example of a male animal, British researchers report. The 425-million-year-old ancestor of...
PRISONERS OF LOVE: GI AND IRAQI BRIDE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amSgt. Sean Blackwell expects to leave strife-torn Baghdad for the States by Christmas - but he's not happy about it, and neither is his Iraqi wife. The two have been...
BIO $$$ TAINT FED MED STUDIES
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amTop scientists at the federal government's main medical research institute are pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees from outside biomedical firms - and the result is tainted...
TEARS FOR CHRISTIAN; PARENTS BURY QNS. CAR-TRAGEDY KID
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amA bereft Monica Orellana draped herself over her 5-year-old son's tiny white casket and wept as her husband, Ramiro Plaza, rubbed her shoulders and prayed by her side at funeral...
SERIAL SERVING OF FROSTY FLAKES
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amThe second wave of a two-day snowstorm blasted the Great White Northeast yesterday, dumping upwards of a foot of snow and leaving the city streets almost exclusively to taxicabs and...
THOUSANDS ENJOY THE THRILL IN THE CHILL
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amThere were skiers, snow-shoers, joggers - and even bicyclists. There were bargain-hunters, travelers buying tickets to the tropics and entrepreneurs for whom there's no business like snow business. On the...
ATM CLUE IN FED'S MURDER
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amPennsylvania cops looking into the brutal murder of federal prosecutor Jonathan Luna yesterday focused on a trail of ATM withdrawals made with Luna's cash card in the hours surrounding his...
MIKE: WE HAVE FLU VACCINE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amThe city has "plenty" of flu vaccine - for now, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. But that could change quickly if panicked New Yorkers flood doctors' offices this week looking for...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amBrooklyn It must have seemed like a scene straight out of a Hollywood movie early yesterday when two cops encountered a pair of alleged stick-up men fleeing from a robbery...
HILL LEADS DEM BUSH-BASH FEST
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amOops . . . Hillary did it again. As a number of Democratic presidential contenders hammered President Bush at a Florida forum, Sen. Hillary Clinton again stole the spotlight with...
SLAY PROBE EYES COPS' SNITCH LINK
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amThe Bronx drug dealer probers believe two rogue cops murdered worked for the pair as a snitch, law-enforcement sources said yesterday. The body of Miguel Peralta, 39, was discovered in...
REYES GETS RAVE REVIEWS FOR SELFLESS MOVE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amEveryone thought it and John Franco even said it about Jose Reyes - "To move to second base, I don't know how he could handle it." Well, the verdict is...
JILTIN' HILTON ; HER LOST ROMANCE WITH TEEN HAYSEED
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amALTUS, Ark. - It's a love story that could go down in Hollywood's history books: The socialite and the farm boy. Two different worlds, two separate lives . . ....
MIDTOWN GUNMAN FLEES WITH 125G
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amA brazen stick-up man looted $125,000 from a Midtown check-cashing store yesterday by barging into the shop and menacing employees with a gun, cops said. The brazen robbery took place...
MOM CHARGED IN TUB DROWNING
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amA Brooklyn mom busted in the drowning of her 20-year-old autistic daughter in a bathtub was charged with second-degree murder yesterday, police said. Ionna Auriemma, 51, who was undergoing psychiatric...
APPLE'S THRILL IN THE CHILL
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amThere were skiers, snow-shoers, joggers - and even bicyclists. There were bargain-hunters, travelers buying tickets to the tropics and entrepreneurs for whom there's no business like snow business. On the...
MAYOR: WE HAVE ENOUGH VACCINE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amThe city has "plenty" of flu vaccine - for now, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. But that could change quickly if panicked New Yorkers flood doctors' offices this week looking for...
WHAT THE HAIL? TLC SETS JAN. FARE HIKE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amTAXI fares may be going up soon - with or without Mayor Bloomberg's approval. Sources on the Taxi and Limousine Commission said five of the nine commissioners are prepared to...
KAZ DEAL CLOSE, BUT NOT DONE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amThe waiting game continued for another day with Kazuo Matsui. But the belief is that it's all but official that the Japanese star is on his way to the Mets....
BLIZZARD'S 2ND WAVE SLAMS US SERIAL SERVING OF FROSTY FLAKES
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amThe second wave of a two-day snowstorm blasted the Great White Northeast yesterday, dumping upwards of a foot of snow on the city, stranding travelers and wreaking havoc on roadways....
CUFFS BACK ON ESCAPEE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amA man who escaped from police custody in Crown Heights last week turned himself in yesterday morning, cops said. Junior McLemmon, 41, was arrested Dec. 2 by narcotics cops, who...
PARIS ON 'SNL'
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amHotel heiress and reality-TV star, Paris Hilton made her "Saturday Night Live" debut last night with a double entendre-laced mocking of her recent sexcapades on a Weekend Update segment with...
LAST NIGHT HE WAS THE REV. 'SN-AL'
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amPresidential wannabe the Rev. Al Sharpton yukked it up on "Saturday Night Live" last night - playing a gamut of characters including legal eagle Johnnie Cochran and one of the...
HARD KNOCKS; COPS: SEARCH-WARRANT RULES HANDCUFF US
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amThe city's new warrant rules following a search gone awry that killed an innocent Harlem woman have made it harder for cops to track down guns and drugs and make...
SNAPPLE DECISION HAS ALL THE LOGIC OF FRUITCAKE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amWelcome to the Big Snapple! Yes, Mayor Bloombucks, who flat out refused to allow corporations to fund firehouses in order to keep them open, had no problem selling our city...
SLAIN TEACHERS TIED IN TRAGEDY
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amEffie Roseborough, the Queens day-care owner who was shot to death last week, was the second teacher at the school to be murdered in a year. Her colleague, Donnell Matthews,...
POL WOULD PULL PLUG ON POWER PLANT PROJECT'S FUNDING
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amA Queens assemblyman is threatening legal action to stop the backers of a proposed power plant from using New York Liberty Bonds to fund the troubled project. "This is a...
SIFTING THROUGH WTC REJECT PILE: MEMORIALS THAT DIDN'T MAKE CUT
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amThe eight design finalists for a Ground Zero memorial have been met with fierce criticism and a call for the jury to take a second look at some of the...
ATM CLUES IN SLAY OF PROSECUTOR
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amPennsylvania cops looking into the brutal murder of federal prosecutor Jonathan Luna yesterday focused on a trail of ATM withdrawals made with Luna's cash card in the hours surrounding his...
GO WITH THE FLOW: CITY WATER AS SAFE AS BOTTLED BRANDS: STUDY
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amIt costs a lot more, but bottled water isn't necessarily better for you than tap water, according to city data and a study commissioned by The Post. Still, bottled brands...
LOSING ENTRANTS KNOCK JUDGES' CLOSED DOOR
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amSome 60 people, including a 6-year-old boy, who were among the 5,000 entrants who submitted Ground Zero memorial designs, and lost, met in lower Manhattan yesterday to protest the closed-door...
K-MART PICKS UP HIS OWN CHALLENGE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amThe team was losing, being outrebounded - embarrassingly so - on a nightly basis. Kenyon Martin felt it was time for a chat. So he got together with the one...
NO ROOM FOR DALE ; PURINTON CAN'T BREAK INTO LINEUP
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amOther than Corey Schwab, who has the world's best paying no-show job as Martin Brodeur's back-up, no one on an NHL active roster since opening day has played fewer games...
SCALABRINE BREAKS INTO THE ROTATION
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amNET NOTES More Brian Scalabrine, less Rodney Rogers. At least that's the plan now. Scalabrine took over Rogers' spot in the rotation for the second half of Friday's victory over...
GIANT KIDS MUST GROW UP . . . NOW ; INJURIES THROW UNTESTED PLAYERS INTO FIRE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amThis isn't quite the riddle as the old tree-falls-in-the-forest conundrum, but when taking a look at the sad state of affairs with the Giants, one has to wonder: Is it...
TCU'S EXCUSE IS A BOWL-FACED LIE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amWHO'S worse? A liar or a cheater? Even better, who's funnier? Texas Christian University's football team had slightly bigger things in mind. At 9-0, the Horned Frogs were hoping (or...
ROACH IN THE CORNER KLITSCHKO'S TRAINERKNOWS HOW TO WIN
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amIf it were any consolation to Vitali Klitschko, he had the hottest trainer in boxing working his corner for last night's heavyweight fight against Kirk Johnson in the Garden. Freddie...
FASSEL'S CAREER NOT EXTINCT AFTER AX FALLS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amTHIS December has come in colder than the last candle lit for the 2003 Giants, crueler than the necessity of playing four more games. A successful and likeable coach twists...
PECA WAITS FOR THE CALL ; ISLES' 'C' EXPECTS TO BE DEALT
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amAnother day went by and the Islanders were still keeping the Michael Peca trade rumors alive by not coming out and simply saying the captain was not available. However, Peca...
MCGEE'S NOT SOLD ON 'BOYS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amGIANTS NOTES As an 11-year veteran, tight end Tony McGee has seen plenty during his stay in the NFL, and the newest member of the Giants isn't so sure his...
'SO FAR, SO GOOD' CONFIDENT DICE ACING HIS TESTS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amOAKLAND - Antonio McDyess faced yet another test last night against Golden State - playing the second night of a back-to-back. In the first two games of this West Coast...
CELTICS' CHOKE ONE FOR BOOKS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amCOUNTLESS fans at Friday night's traumatic meltdown by the Celtics are appealing today for counseling. So, you can imagine how the perpetrators feel after surrendering a 29-point second-half lead -...
MUTOMBO CAUGHT UP IN MIS-MATCHUPS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES OAKLAND - Even with Antonio McDyess playing limited minutes, he still logged more than Dikembe Mutombo Friday night in Portland. Mutombo was benched in the fourth quarter, and...
MARTIN READY TO PASS O.J.
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amJET NOTES ORCHARD PARK - It figures to be tough sledding for the Jets to be able to run the ball effectively today against the Bills' No. 3-ranked rushing defense,...
THE 'WAR' BEFORE THE WAR ARMY-NAVY MORE THAN JUST A GAME
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amPHILADELPHIA - We lapse into the habit all the time. Sport isn't war, and we know it, yet invariably, inevitably, almost imperceptibly, we find military metaphors creeping into our football...
MARCHING THE WRONG WAY ; NAVY ROUT CAPS ARMY'S WORST-EVER SEASON
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amNavy 34Army 6PHILADELPHIA - Slowly, the reality began to descend upon the gray-clad Corps of Cadets, even as they continued to stand, even as they continued to clap their yellow...
SNOW HAS HORSES FROZEN IN TRACKS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amMother Nature has knocked out racing at Aqueduct for a third consecutive day as the NYRA last night decided to keep the facility shuttered today for both live and simulcast...
THESE HAWKS ARE HORRIBLE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amIslanders 5Blackhawks 2 Unfortunately for the Islanders, they were only able to play one game last night against the Blackhawks. Make no mistake, the vultures are still circling above them....
GOOD NEWS / BAD NEWS DICE DELIVERING, BUT 'W' IS ELUSIVE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amOAKLAND - Don't get Antonio McDyess wrong. He's thrilled at how fast he's progressed in his three games entering last night's encounter in Golden State. But he feels a little...
NETS COOL OFF SUNS K-MART'S SURGE STAVES OFF NEAR-COLLAPSE
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amNets 99Suns 88 Give the Nets credit for one point above all else. They certainly keep drama in the world. Look at last night. They kept you guessing from start...
BUM KNEE SIDELINES HOUSTON ... AGAIN
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES OAKLAND - Antonio McDyess' knee is doing fine. Allan Houston's knee isn't. On a three-game losing streak, the Knicks received another kick in the gut last night when...
NIGHT OF HIGH DRAMA ; NETS STAVE OFF NEAR COLLAPSE, DOWN SUNS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amNets 99Suns 88 Give the Nets credit. They certainly do make the world an interesting place . . . one filled with drama and suspense. Just look at last night....
KLITSCHKO: 'HELLO, LENNOX' ; VITALI CALLS OUT CHAMP AFTER CLUBBING JOHNSON
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amVitali Klitschko was standing on the ropes in the center of the Garden last night; his fists held high as he embraced the cheers of an adoring crowd. The scene...
'ZO MIGHT FIND DONOR BEFORE '04
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amNET NOTES Alonzo Mourning, forced from the game because of his deteriorating kidney disease, told supporters and friends in a letter issued through his charity foundation that he may find...
STILL 0-FOR-DICE KNICKS DROP FOURTH STRAIGHT
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amWarriors 104Knicks 92 OAKLAND - Antonio McDyess has been overjoyed by his progress but is feeling guilty about the Knicks' sudden downturn. After blowing another double-digit lead for the second...
GROWLS CAN'T KILL BEAR HUNT
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amIT LOOKS as if the New Jersey bear hunt will go off tomorrow as scheduled despite the efforts of animal-rights groups and some elected and appointed state officials. I believe...
PLAYERS' PLAN MERITS REVIEW
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amIF THE NHL Board of Governors has any interest whatsoever in opening the doors next season, if the board has any interest in reaching a negotiated agreement with the union...
JETS NEED STREAK TO BE A NON-STOP ; LONGSHOT PLAYOFF QUEST CONTINUES TODAY VS. BILLS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amORCHARD PARK - For the Jets, hope flickers perilously, like a lit match on a breezy day. This is what gives them a bounce in their step as they play...
FEARLESS CHREBET VOWS TO RETURN 'GOOD AS EVER'
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amORCHARD PARK - When Wayne Chrebet comes back next season from concussion hell, he will come back changed in many ways. He will love his family even more, if that...
THE LAST SLAMURAI: IN NEW YORK, HIDEKI MATSUI'S A STAR, BUT IN JAPAN, HE'S A LIVING LEGEND
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amTOKYO - Hideki Matsui's beloved home has a price tag. He can't walk the streets or eat in high-profile restaurants. While the Yankees' outfielder isn't a hermit in this scintillating...
LT: UNDRUGGED: GIANTS HALL OF FAME LINEBACKER LAWRENCE TAYLOR COMES CLEAN TO THE POST ABOUT HIS CONTROVERSIAL NEW BOOK
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amFollowing the firestorm of divergent and controversial reactions to the release of his book, "LT: Over the Edge," written with Post columnist Steve Serby, an unchained and unplugged Lawrence Taylor...
THE INSIDERS: THE POST TAKES YOU BEHIND THE LOCKER-ROOM DOORS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amEnjoying the view Talk about no hassles, what a week for the Hasselbecks. The Brothers Hasselbeck joined NFL history while Mrs. H. got a much better "View" of the world...
NETS COOL OFF SUNS: NETS STAVE OFF NEAR COLLAPSE, DOWN SUNS
December 7, 2003 | 5:00amNets 99 Suns 88 Give the Nets credit. They certainly do make the world an interesting place . . . one filled with drama and suspense. Just look at last...