December 26, 2004
BLINGTONES: ORIGINAL TUNES FOR PHONES
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amA little bling bling is coming to your mobile phone. The U.S. arm of Lagadere, a large European media company, recently launched a new division called BlingTones, which the company...
PARTY ANIMAL - 'ROCKIN' REGIS RINGS IN NEW YEAR; ALL-NIGHT PHILBIN
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amLIKE a true New Yorker, Bronx-born Regis Philbin has never been to Times Square on New Year's Eve. But he has watched Dick Clark, the man he'll be replacing as...
ACTORS CASH IN ON SHORTCOMINGS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amKIRSTIE Alley's willingness to poke fun at her fat self in the upcoming Showtime series "Fat Actress" might just ignite a new trend. Attention - actors, actresses and TV personalities:...
MOVIE PIX - OUR MOVIE CRITIC MEGAN LEHMANN'S BEST FILMS OF THE WEEK
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amSULLIVAN'S TRAVELS Sunday, 12 noon, TCM Joel McCrea plays a lightweight Hollywood director who learns about life on Skid Row in Preston Sturges' priceless screwball comedy with a conscience. Also...
WEATHER EMERGENCY: WINTER IS HERE
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amOH, THE weather outside is frightful. . . We're gonna take a wild guess here. We're going to guess that you, as well as most New Yorkers over the age...
MADE - HIGH SCHOOLERS' FANTASIES COME TRUE, THANKS TO MTV
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amIN THE real world, nothing good (usually) comes of "getting made," but on MTV's reality show "Made," it's one of the best things that could ever happen to a teen....
LUCKY LADY - HOTTEST LOCAL ANCHORWOMAN A REAL SURVIVOR
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amSADE BADERINWA was nearly killed by a hit-andrun driver last July - but don't expect the proud Ch. 7 anchor/reporter to wallow in self-pity. "I am not going to allow...
THE DON'T MISS LIST
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amBIOGRAPHY Holiday Garland ALL the artists of the Golden Age of American singing - Sinatra; Fitzgerald; Crosby; Holiday - are gone, but the one whose luster has deepened the most...
REUNIFICATION NOW ON HOLD - AGAIN
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amA few weeks ago, it seemed that 2005 would be the year the chess world was finally reunified after more than a decade of two world championships. Now it may...
HOT LIST - WHAT WE'RE OBSESSED WITH THIS WEEK
December 26, 2004 | 5:00am1) 'Britney's Most Shocking' Getting an entire special all about your very busy year - two marriages, one annulment, two stepkids, one husband on the payroll, Kabbalah, public puking, barefoot...
LA CREME DE LA MUSIC 2004 - FROM GWEN TO EMINEM, THESE ARE OUR TOP PICKS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amIT'S hard work, but someone had to compile a list of the best of the music scene. Without further ado, here's who we were listening to in 2004: 1. Ray...
BEST MUSIC VIDEOS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00am1. Good Charlotte "I Just Wanna Live" GC uses their sense of humor, donning giant food costumes while mocking pop-culture moments of 2004. 2. My Chemical Romance "I'm Not Okay...
HEAR THIS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amIN CONCERT * Emo punks Fall Out Boy at Irving Plaza today. * Tomorrow: Metal band Hatebreed (below) and hardcore act Agnostic Front at Roseland Ballroom. Roots rockers Sonia Dada...
ALBUMS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00am1. Wilco "A Ghost Is Born" The Chicago band's follow-up to "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" stripped away a few technological layers to enhance the song's deep emotions. Fuzzy distortion, drum machines...
AMAZING GRACE - HOLLYWOOD'S HOTTEST YOUNG STAR GROWS UP & MOVES OUT
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amAFTER seven (extremely productive) years in L.A., Topher Grace is finally moving back to New York. The Darien, Conn., native bought an apartment in the West Village and next May,...
'04 HONORS & YAWNERS - LET'S TOAST TO THIS YEAR'S TOP FILMS - AND SPIT OUT THE LOUSY ONES
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amTHIS was the year of Mel and Mike - and behind-thescenes Hollywood dramas that were a lot more compelling than the vast majority of what was turning up in theaters....
THE FILM YEAR IN REVIEW
December 26, 2004 | 5:00am'TIS the season to rank the year's best movies. While lists are supposed to cover the entire year, they usually end up containing just major movies released after Thanksgiving. Cine...
SALES - THE BEST BUYS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amCLOTHES Shanghai Tang 714 Madison Ave., between 63rd and 64th streets; (212) 888-0111 Sale: Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Sun., noon-6 p.m./Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Get 30 to 50 percent off winter...
IT'S TOO 'SALTY' - BUFFETT ADRIFT IN MALE TALE
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amTHERE'S a time-honored tradition in male contemporary fiction of glorifying the lives of deadbeats, ex-pats and losers. We're talking about men who can't be bogged down by wives, family and...
MEET MARKET - THE PLACE WHERE THE POST HOOKS YOU UP AND SENDS YOU OUT
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amSBM seeks leading lady to play the part MEET Amani, a 26-year old MBA student who tells us his secret fantasy is to drop everything, move to Hollywood, get a...
WES CLARK, NEW TV STAR
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amFORMER Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark is planning a new chapter of his career: He's working on a sitcom. Clark, a former U.S. Army general who lost in the Democratic...
KOJO SOCCER SHOCKER - TOLD LIE ABOUT OWNING TOP CLUB
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amWell before Kojo Annan became embroiled in an ugly financial scandal, he was lying about his work experience, demonstrating poor business judgment and hiding at least one other scandal from...
IT'S A WORK IN THE PARK - ARTIST CHRISTO COVERS PATHWAYS WITH NYLON
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amIt takes a certain amount of chutzpah to create a work of art that uses Central Park - all 843 acres of it - as its canvas. But then SoHo...
MYSTERY $ANTA'S GIFT TO HOMELESS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amA mystery donor has come to the rescue of homeless women threatened with a Christmastime eviction from a Manhattan church shelter. A businessman moved by their plight offered at least...
'RESPONDER' RULE CAN COST PRECIOUS MINUTES - AND LIVES
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amA city rule that requires the FDNY to respond to 911 medical calls can save lives, but it also can endanger lives, firefighters complain. Since it started 10 years ago,...
SMOOTH SCALING - DAREDEVIL CONQUERS HIGHEST BUILDING
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amThe nimble Frenchman who calls himself Spider-Man and specializes in scaling skyscrapers around the globe reached new heights yesterday as he climbed the world's new tallest building. Alain Robert, 42,...
GIS GET INTO THE SPIRIT
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amThey had holiday specials, turkey, Santa Claus and stocking stuffers - it was Christmas in Iraq for a small group of soldiers stationed thousands of miles away from home. And...
KHAT TALE ENDS IN L.I. DRUG RAID
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amA Long Island sting operation busted an alleged drug dealer as he tried to pick up 161 pounds of khat, a popular Middle Eastern drug. Nassau County cops nabbed Mohamed...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amForget the sleigh - in the Louisiana town of Houma, Santa Claus drives a taxi. Cabby Tom Lee Jerrell dresses as St. Nick to help passengers get into the holiday...
BREWING SCANDAL OVER STUNNING GUN GIVEAWAY
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amUnder Bernie Kerik's watch, about two dozen Glock pistols belonging to the Correction Department were doled out as free personal perks to favored top officials, The Post has learned. The...
MAD DAD AUCTIONS KIDS' GIFTS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amA Scrooge dad has punished his kids by putting their presents on eBay instead of under the tree. "Three undeserving boys have crossed the line. Tonight we sat down and...
AIRLINES NEED A LITTLE RUDOLPH - DELAYS BESIEGE HOLIDAY TRAVELERS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amA ruined Christmas for travelers stuck at La Guardia Airport got a little bit merrier yesterday, thanks to an unexpected visit from St. Nicholas - courtesy of The Post. A...
TORMENT FOR SHOT TEEN
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amA Brooklyn teen injured in a hail of Christmas Eve gunfire that claimed a friend's life is hiding out with relatives, his heartsick mother told The Post. "He went to...
PREEMIE POLICE DELIVER CAB BABY
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amDiana Gomez couldn't wait for Christmas - or the delivery room for that matter. The 22-year-old Manhattan mom gave birth to a healthy baby girl Christmas Eve in the back...
DRIVER SURVIVES FIREBALL - DEADLY BX. CHASE
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amA man miraculously survived a fiery crash with a stolen car fleeing cops in a wrong-way chase on the Major Deegan Expressway yesterday. The driver of the other car died...
GOING-TO-JAIL GUY A BAD SANTA
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amFormer Bronx state Senator Guy Velella may be naughty, but it didn't stop him from playing Santa yesterday - only 48 hours before his return trip to the slammer. Velella...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amBROOKLYN * A man walking to his friend's house in Bedford-Stuyvesant early yesterday was attacked by five men, one of whom shot him twice, police said. Kamaal King, 23, was...
KERIK'S 'DEPT. OF CORRUPTION' - EX-CITY INSIDER TELLS OF THREATS & MISSING $$
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amTHE KERIK FILES A whistleblowing former deputy warden has sent the U.S. Justice Department a 178-page report slamming Bernie Kerik for turning the city Department of Correction into "the Department...
CRASH-LANDING PILOT ON L.I.
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amA lucky pilot walked away unhurt after he ditched his sputtering single-engine plane upside down in a field. Manuel Martinez-Pons, 64, who declined medical attention at the scene, realized his...
MARTHA LOSES JAIL DÉCOR WAR
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amMartha Stewart - the princess of perfection and guru of gracious living - suffered a major Christmas setback at Camp Cupcake. She and her jail "cottage" mates failed to win...
FAMILY ANGUISH AT GRANNY-SLAY
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amAlvin Philpotts sat in his brother's Brooklyn apartment yesterday, surrounded by unopened presents, trying to make sense of the incomprehensible. His beloved 88-year-old mother, Rebecca, had been stabbed more than...
BRAVEST FIRE BACK - BLAME BLAZE TRAGEDY ON NURSING-HOME CALL
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amFirefighters and a Bronx dad say wasted minutes in getting water to a house fire - in part because the closest engine company was needlessly called to a nursing home...
BRONX'S FINEST SANTA SQUAD - HOW THE 46TH PRECINCT SAVED CHRISTMAS FOR A STRUGGLING FAMILY
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amPolice from the 46th Precinct responded to hundreds of emergencies this year - but their response to one Christmas call saved the holiday for a single mother and her nine...
TEEN GANG NABBED IN THEATER SLAY
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amFour teens were busted yesterday for fatally stabbing a man and wounding his friend outside a Queens movie theater, officials said. Pierre Arias, 15, was charged with murdering Davey Adams,...
MAN DIES IN HIGH-RISE FIRE
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amA security guard in a Rockaways high-rise was killed last night as he struggled to put out a fire that had been set in the building's elevator shaft, fire officials...
'B' AFRAID: ALPHABET CITY TO GET PARKING PAIN
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amAvenue B is about to become the subject of some four-letter words. A plan to deal with late-night horn honking and gridlock along the East Village hot spot calls for...
ROCKIN' & JOINT ROLLIN' - JERSEY BAND IN POT BUST
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amTwo members of the red-hot blues-rock group Robert Randolph & The Family Band were busted after lighting up a joint outside a West Village bar, cops said. The pair, and...
FUME FURY IN 'HUFF' SMASHUP
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amProsecutors have lodged a landmark "driving while huffing" charge against a young Brooklyn man they say got high behind the wheel of his car by inhaling the noxious fumes in...
NOT HAPPENING IN '05
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amIT'S time for everyone to make their predictions for '05. But here are a few that surely won't be coming true next year: * Michael Moore will make a documentary...
POL RAISES 'CORRUPT' STINK OVER TOILET CONTRACTOR
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amA leading contender for the city's billion-dollar street-furniture and public-toilet contract has been investigated for a slew of alleged ethical and legal violations in its dealings with other cities, a...
BECKHAM BOY, 5, GETS BIG WHEELS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amVictoria Beckham is cooler than Santa Claus - to her son, anyway. The former Posh Spice recently bought 5-year-old son Brooklyn a $42,000 Hummer for Christmas. She spotted the scaled-down...
KHAT TALE ENDS IN L.I. DRUG BUST
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amLong Island cops busted an alleged drug dealer as he tried to pick up 161 pounds of khat, a popular Middle Eastern drug. In the sting operation, Nassau County cops...
'GRINCH' BETTMAN HAS UNIFIED NHLPA
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amANOTHER leak from the NHL's sinking ship, another lump of coal in the stocking, this in the form of the revelation that Gary "The Grinch" Bettman has called a Board...
SOWELL DOWNPLAYS ALL-PRO SNUB JOB
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amWednesday was a festive day inside the Jet locker room. The team, confident in itself, was preparing for the biggest game of the season. Curtis Martin had doled out expensive...
FAREWELL TO FLY-TYING LEGEND
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amMANY of you may be unaware, like I was, that Poul Jorgensen passed away on Nov. 29 at his home along the banks of Willowemoc Creek in upstate Roscoe. Poul...
ALLERGIC TO 'CATS - ANOTHER CHARLOTTE LOSS MAY COST WILKENS' JOB
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amKnicks president Isiah Thomas admitted that before the season, he penciled in a loss to the expansion Bobcats in their first-ever meeting Dec. 4 in Charlotte. It was a startling...
DUNCAN KNOWS TRADE TALK IS PART OF GAME
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amEric Duncan was relaxing in his Florham Park, N.J., living room watching the finale of "The Apprentice" when his cell phone rang. It was his agent, Jim Lindell, calling to...
CURTIS SET TO GALLOP INTO FOURTH
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amJET NOTES Curtis Martin's remarkable run through the record books could continue today. If he rushes for 80 or more yards on his former team, the Patriots, he'll surpass Eric...
JINTS MUST WIN - THEIR '05 FUTURE IS ON LINE TODAY
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amMOST coaches and players will say there is no carry over from one football season to the next. They'll suggest whatever happens in the final weeks of 2004 will have...
KRSTIC FILLS TALL ORDER FOR NETS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amThe tenacity. That was what Ed Stefanski noticed about Nenad Krstic while scouting the center on Yugoslavia's junior teams a few years ago. Oh, you couldn't help notice Krstic's height...
D'BACK SPENDING SPREE PUTS SELIG IN TOUGH SPOT
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amSeveral major league executives said they are watching what Arizona does with Randy Johnson not out of interest with where he lands, but what it means to the Diamondbacks. Arizona...
BIG U-NOT-YET OR NEVER? - ALEX-BOSOX SNAG PROVES DEALS AREN'T SURE THINGS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amA YEAR a go this week, the Alex Rodriguez trade to Boston collapsed amid too many moving pieces, too many egos and too much money for all parties to comfortably...
WALKER MAY GROW IN GARDEN
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES The Knicks will keep an eye on what the Hawks do with Antoine Walker, who attracted Isiah Thomas' interest last July. The Hawks reportedly are willing to deal...
TIKI REAPING SOME JUST REWARDS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES CINCINNATI - After spending the past five weeks battling against the NFL's top-rated defensive teams, the Giants drop back in class today when they go against the Bengals,...
WINKING AT THE CHAMP
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amRONALD "Winky" Wright, the reigning WBC/WBA 154-pound champion, was walking the streets of Manhattan this week feeling like a celebrity. Every so often, someone would recognize him, shake his hand,...
TEARS FOR A TRAILBLAZER - A PROUD PORTLAND FAMILY CONFRONTS THE TRAGIC DEATH OF YOUNG SGT. JUSTIN EYERLY; THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SGT. JUSTIN EYERLY
December 26, 2004 | 5:00am(First of two parts) FOUR Blue Star Service Banners hang in the box office lobby of the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore. Each honors an employee whose unit was activated...
JUST DEAL WITH IT - STAR ATHLETES MUST SUFFER CRITICS - FAIR OR NOT
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amIT'S a curious job description, if you think about it. See if you can figure out what profession we're talking about here: WANTED: A man with tough skin and high...
ON WITH THE SHOWBOAT - ESPN MORE 'POOR SPORT' THAN SPORTS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amESPN, The Plague. It doesn't appear that come 2005, ESPN, now widely recognized as among the steadiest and most powerful forces in doing dirt to sports, is prepared to back...
'ONE OF THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE' - KNICKS' TIM THOMAS PICKING UP THE PIECES AFTER DEATHS IN THE FAMILY
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amWHEN the calendar flips at the end of this week, Tim Thomas will not be sorry to see 2004 go. "It's been one of the worst years of my life,"...
GOBLIN UP LOSSES - GIANTS STILL CHASING FIRST VICTORY SINCE HALLOWEEN
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amGIANTS at Bengals - Today, 1 p.m. CINNCINATI - The need to win is not based on anything found in the NFL standings. Not for the Giants. It's more basic...
COPY-PATS' BIG DAY - JETS OUT TO BEAT CHAMPS, MUSCLE WAY INTO PLAYOFFS
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amPatriots at JETS - Today, 4:05 p.m. THE Jets expended much analysis following their bitterly disappointing 6-10 2003 season figuring out that they needed to follow the blueprint the Patriots...
CURSE COMES TO WORST IN '04 - RED SOX MIRACLE JOINS DRUGS, THUGS & TRAGEDIES AMONG YEAR'S TOP STORIES
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amSPORTS needed a bath in 2004, even acknowledging it also provided some inspirational champagne showers. After all, have more selfless teams than the Patriots, Pistons, and Lightning ever shown us...
PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE - POST BASKETBALL WRITERS MARC BERMAN AND FRED KERBER SLUG IT OUT OVER WHICH LOCAL TEAM PRESIDENT HAS DONE A BETTER JOB, THE KNICKS' ISIAH THOMAS OR THE NETS' ROD THORN
December 26, 2004 | 5:00amMarc Berman: No disrespect to Thorn, but Isiah Thomas inherited a seemingly impossible situation and turned the Knicks around within weeks last season. The respect he commands from the players...