The Balkans

BEYOND THE REALMS OF DEATH

Metalheads take Williamsburg

Author Aleksandar Hemon Is Better Than You At Soccer

In 1992, literary badass Aleksandar Hemon left his native Sarajevo for a cultural exchange program in Chicago. He expected to stay abroad for only a few months. And, well, plans changed. The siege on Sarajevo, which lasted 43 months and produced the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II, beg ... More >>

The Sweet, Small Pleasures of Gimme the Loot

Also read: Interview with Director Adam Leon and Co-Producer Sam Soghor

Free Will Astrology: January 16-22, 2013

Eat Deodorant, Smell like Roses

Deodorant is boring. Candy is not. So why bother with an anti-BO stick when you can just eat something sweet, wait a little while, and then smell like flowers? Deo Perfume Candy, a "body fragrancing functional candy" from Bulgaria, is designed so that after you eat about four pieces of candy, the i ... More >>

COVER YOUR EYES

A celebration of tastelessness

Dive Your Pita into Balkanika's Hell's Kitchen Treats

Get Him to the Greek (Wine Varietal!)

It's time to add a new grape to your repertoire and order a seemingly unpronounceable varietal (see rule #2). Despite the dreary economic situation, Greece has long been associated with the sybaritic lifestyle, attracting like-minded voluptuaries to places like Mykonos, Santorini, and Crete. Plus ... More >>

This Is A Video Of A Greek Politician Slapping A Woman In The Face On National Television

Ain't America great? The freedom, the liberty -- and the fact that our politicians don't typically slap women in the face on national television -- are just a few of the things that make us proud to be living in the U.S. of A.The same cannot be said for Greece, where a member of the country's far-ri ... More >>

Attenberg

Riots Erupt in Greece Over Austerity

Flames spread around Athens as demonstrators protested a vote in parliament on an austerity measures, which have been ordered upon the country in exchange for €130 billion from the International Monetary Fund and other European countries. The New York Times reports that demonstrators were throwing ... More >>

Karl Lagerfeld: Greeks Are Disgusting, Russian Men Are Ugly

As the guest editor of Metro World News for one day, Karl Lagerfeld proved to be a sort of cross between Andy Warhol and the guy who tweeted dumb stuff about the David Beckham underwear ads. Thanks to this Metro World News link, we have the following Lagerfeld emissions -- and bear in mind that the ... More >>

Robert Sietsema at Taste of India and Thali (Food) Court; Lauren Shockey at Battersby

This week in the Voice, Robert Sietsema travels to New Jersey's Taste of India and Thali (Food) Court, where he finds that the Newport Centre Mall's options do not disappoint even the most refined palates: "Vegetable commonplaces such as chana masala (chickpeas bobbing in mellow gravy), palak paneer ... More >>

Lysistrata Jones Is Greece, The Musical

A new Broadway show gives Aristophanes some hoop dreams

Time Magazine Names 'The Protester' Person of the Year

​For Time's annual "Person of the Year" issue, they've chosen "The Protester." The Awl announces, "Okay, yay, we won!" The spread features simple portraits of and interviews with protesters from around the world -- Tunisia, Egypt, Greece, Spain, and right here in the U.S. The attached cover ... More >>

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Did You Use a Chase ATM Near Union Square in January or May?

Not a Chase ATM, though we'd probably avoid this one.​Two men have been arrested and face charges "including burglary, criminal possession of forgery devices, and larceny," reports the New York Times, for installing devices in card slots of 11 ATMs at four different Chase locations around Unio ... More >>

Where Can I Get Turkish-Style Bureks?

The boureka at Gazala Place, with a side of babaganoush​A Reader Asks: Where can I get a Turkish burek? Not the little finger-shaped sigara bureka, but the kind my relatives in Turkey made -- little triangular ones made with filo dough. Dear Reader: That's a good question. Throughout the Balk ... More >>

Flatulence Hits Off-Broadway In A Big Way

You've already seen shit on Broadway, but now you can go Off-Broadway for some far more lovely farting. And it's done artistically, even more so than in the gay porn film Farts!, which I wrote about last year after having eaten Mexican.

Dish No. 21: Bien Cuit's Zucchini Sandwich

Rebecca Marx​ One of our favorite ways to enjoy Bien Cuit's wonderful bread is on its zucchini sandwich, which is more formally known as the Athens.

The Olivia Tremor Control Will Play Le Poisson Rouge This September

​This just in: Athens pop outfit the Olivia Tremor Control, members of the sprawling Elephant 6 collective and experts at blending the outlandishly pop with the brain-twistingly not, will tour this fall on a jaunt that includes a September 21 stop at Le Poisson Rouge. Ticket info is on the way ... More >>

Athina Rachel Tsangari Studies the Species in Attenberg

New Yorkers Are Not the Biggest Flirts

​According to an important and highly scientific appraisal of the "World Flirtation League," Athens, Greece, is apparently the flirtiest city of the modern world. The methodology of determining global cities' said flirtation quotients involved calculating the number of online flirtations initi ... More >>

SMALL WORLD

Nine new films showcase a diverse range of international filmmakers

World Series of Beer Pong; Tennessee to Get More Whiskey

​One of the country's top cocktail writers, Jason Wilson, rounded up the most significant drinking trends of 2010: pisco, mezcal, tequila as the new vodka, and beer cocktails. Also, white whiskey, Benedictine, American microdistilleries, and Italian aperitivi. [Washington Post] And the top w ... More >>

Year in Film: Sofia Coppola's Journey to Somewhere

Campiest Actress Ever: Coral Browne!

​The great Coral Browne was a noted Australian actress with the following gay-camp screen credits: She was the larger-than-life actress Vera Charles in the ultimate campfest, Auntie Mame, opposite bosom buddy Roz Russell. She wore fabulous outfits as Vivien Leigh's gabby confidante in Tenes ... More >>

STRING SEMINAR

The beauty of classical bows and plucks

Passport Price Hikes May Keep You in America

​With the weather as erratic as it's been lately, it sure would be nice to head to a more temperate climate in, say, Spain or Greece, or even just a few hundred miles north to Toronto, wouldn't it? All you've got to do is book a flight and get your passport in order -- but make sure you do it ... More >>

Dow Plunges 1,000 Points in 15 Minutes, Possibly Due to Typo

D'oh!​If you've been anywhere near the news you know the Dow just went batshit crazy, falling 1,000 points in about 15 minutes. Early speculation was that the plunge was due to investors freaking out about Greece's debt problems, which have the potential to hinder global economic recovery. B ... More >>

The Forthcoming Bailout of Greece: Now Would Be a Good Time to Take That Last-Minute Trip to Europe

​Oh, Europe. All that time of your currency condescending the dollar has come to fruition, as you ponder whether or not to bail Greece out of their current debt with a 110B Euro package.

Tomorrow: Our 10 Best Fin Fish Dishes

​Tomorrow is the fourth day of Passover as well as Good Friday, when some Catholics eschew meat. So in the spirit of togetherness, we'll bring you a top ten list that both groups can enjoy--fin fish. That's fish with scales and fins--no shellfish or cephalopods. Check back here tomorrow for ... More >>

WANTED: A POET

A look at our own troubled times via Aristophanes

'The Ex'

The Harder They Come

The subversive mainstream friendliness of John Cameron Mitchell's sex-positive cheer

A Pale View of Dull: Countess Can't Overcome Crushing Tedium

'The Optimists'

Calgon, Take Us Away

Beauty products that transport—if only temporarily

Stand Up Comics

Talking with Joe Sacco, the innovator of contemporary comics journalism

'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'

NY Mirror

Ten Years After

Sarajevo Lost and Found

After the Flood

Awakenings in the Former Yugoslavia

Danis Tanovic at the Front Lines

Soldiers of Misfortune

Pharaonic Fowl

Rebirth of a Nation

Peace and Resistance

Shock Corridor

How a Long-Dormant Law Could Spark a Hudson Valley Power Plant Boom

Living on the Edge

Stalk Options

If you get sued in Ruthless.Com, does it hurt in real life?

Millennial Rites

A Greek Director Updates the Eleusinian Mysteries