Outside the office. Soon to be park? Photo by Duncan Meisel

The Voice's doorstep is getting a makeover. Earlier this week, The Villager reported on new Department of Transportation plans that call for an overhaul of Astor Place and Cooper Square, widening sidewalks and park space, while eliminating several lanes of car-traffic.

The search continues for Clark Rockefeller (or "Rockefaker," the Flintstones-esque nickname given him by the Post) and his daughter, Reigh "Snooks" Boss. Sightings of the pair are popping up all over, as is wont to happen with such a big story. One so-called "credible" sighting occurred at a car dealership in Delaware.

New characters have emerged in the past two days: We've met Aileen Ang, the woman who drove Rockefeller and Boss to New York City for $500. She had no idea that she was involved in a kidnapping, and told the media that she thought Rockefeller had custody of the girl and Darryl Hopkins, who drove the Red-Sox-sticker-emblazoned SUV that originally spirited them away. Hopkins was a livery cab driver who also had no idea that Rockefeller was kidnapping his daughter.

The more bizarre aspect of the story today is how the papers delve into Rockefeller's past. Both the Post and Daily News have photos of Rockefeller's 2005 performance as Roman war god Mars in Cornish, NH. The pictures immediately brought to mind a Yankee (New England here, not the Bombers) version of the Living Classics pageant in Arrested Development. The Post goes with a "Roman" pun on its front page.

Both of our tabloids today proclaim what a "GREAT CATCH!" the Yankees got in trading pitcher Kyle Farnsworth to the Detroit Tigers for catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez. With Jorge Posada out for the season with a shoulder injury, the Yanks need an everyday catcher, and Pudge fits the bill.

Pudge, however, is not the only Rodriguez on the front page of the papers today. Alex Rodriguez is back in the spotlight with his side of the divorce battle with soon-to-be-ex-wife Cynthia. The Daily News obtained court papers that answer C-Rod's July 7 divorce petition. A-Rod wants the mentions of his infidelity stricken from the record (Florida is a no-fault state) and is trying to enforce the prenuptial agreement. If Cynthia Rodriguez continues with her decision to fight the prenup in court, she'll have to pay for Alex's legal fees should she lose.

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives.

September 2, 1959, Vol. IV, No. 45

By Jerry Tallmer

If I could write like music, sad, haunting, exquisite music, I could perhaps begin to tell you something about the voice of Ingrid Thulin. And if I could write like sunlight and like shadow, I could perhaps begin to tell you something about her face. But these things are pretty apparent in the two Ingmar Bergman movies we've had a chance to see her in so far, "Wild Strawberries" and "The Magician"....

It began when Indrid Thulin - pronounced too lean, which she isn't - blew into town a week ago to help publicize the American premiere of "The Magician" at the Fifth Avenue Cinema...would we care to serve as her guide?

As activism gets wackier and wackier these days look out for September 19th when 50 parking spots will become parks for a day. After last year’s success with 25 spots, organizers now will let you apply for a mini-grant until August 8th. [Streetsblog]

Sean Connery faces another lawsuit from non-famous residents living below him as they called the cops on his construction crew yesterday, complaining about potential damage to their homes. The best part is watching the news try to jam in Bond references, which is exactly what this blogger does. [EV Grieve]

This bad boy ain't your average Montauk beach animal wash up. While the mystery of what-the-fuck this thing is continues, readers bet on the animal testing center right upstream. [Gawker]

Religion fits neatly into modern times today as a blogger finds people are now reading the Torah on their iPhones. [East Village Idiot]

Gov. David Paterson announced a $630 million budget deficit statewide yesterday that he's addressing by firing 1,000 state employees. He admits it’s not their fault, blaming Albany and their excessive vacations. But they’ll be taking the fall. [The Daily Politics]

Even when the MTA manages to acknowledge a public hazard, the workers they hire perform such a shoddy repair job that they create worse conditions than before, a new report from Assemblyman Dov Hikind points out. Two reports yesterday highlight the MTA's ever-worsening predicament. [2nd Ave Sagas]

It's been a bad week so far, and it's only Wednesday. We have conmen kidnapping their children, a moderate earthquake in Los Angeles, the MTA is in shambles (hope you didn't try to buy a Metrocard with a credit or debit card yesterday--if you did, better check your statement. You may have been charged even if you didn't get a card), and, for the right price, Gov. Paterson may have a bridge to sell you as he attempts a 7% spending cut across the board. So, instead of dealing with the doom-and-gloom, let's look at some of the lighter (or--in one case--heavier) stories in our tabloids today.

When I first glanced at the Post this morning, the "Pussy galore!" headline made me instantly think "Ewww," until I saw the chubster of a kitty cat who was the subject of the headline. Then the "ewww" turned to an "awww." The 44-lb. Princess Chunk was found in Camden County, N.J. and will be up for adoption later this week if her owner doesn't come forward. The corpulent cutie is the inspiration for a "ton" of bad puns and wacky wordplay in both the Post and the Daily News. The News photo of Princess Chunk on page 2 has the headline, "Weight a minute, any mice left over?" and the caption wonders if "this King Kong of kitties packed on the pounds by dining a la cat and mouse." Is this at all particularly newsworthy? Well, the feline does weigh a little more 2 pounds less than the fattest cat ever recorded, an Australian kitty they weighed a hefty 46 pounds, 15 ounces. Still, people for some reason love fat cats when they're not the political kind. It's a "news of the weird" story to garner water cooler conversation.

The obvious political purpose of the tour was to promote the candidate's credibility as a prospective President, and he largely avoided substantive comments that might shift the focus from pageantry to policy. You might think this would frustrate rightbloggers, who have generally characterized the lightly-experienced Senator as a foreign-affairs "neophyte" and "puppet," prone to flip-flops and gaffes. Surely the week's insubstantial remarks and photo-ops offered them little enough to lash at -- except for the lack of substance itself, and the premature and mildly comical pretense of world leadership. More >>

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives.

August 26, 1959, Vol. IV, No. 44

By Allen Ginsberg

Recent history is the record of a vast conspiracy to impose one level of mechanical consciousness on mankind and exterminate all manifestations of that unique part of human sentience, identical in all men, which the individual shares with his Creator. The suppression of contemplative individuality is nearly complete.

The only immediate historical data that we can know and act on are those fed to our senses through systems of mass communication.

These media are exactly the places where the deepest and most personal sensitivities and confessions of reality are most prohibited, mocked, suppressed.

At the same time there is a crack in the mass consciousness of America - sudden emergence of insight into a vast national subconscious netherworld filled with nerve gases, universal death bombs, malevolent bureaucracies, secret police systems, drugs that open the door to Go, ships leaving Earth, unknown chemical terrors, evil dreams at hand.

Because systems of mass communication can communicate only officially acceptable levels of reality, no one can know the extent of the secret unconscious life. No one in America can know what will happen. No one is in real control. America is having a nervous breakdown.

On Friday evening, more than 100 people, most of them self-described "psychiatric survivors," gathered outside Kings County Hospital to memorialize Esmin Green. The event was one of 10 candlelight vigils being held around the globe to remember the 49-year-old who died alone while waiting for treatment in the psychiatric emergency room.

Green's death elicited widespread outrage after the release of a surveillance video that showed several hospital staffers ignoring her even as she collapsed and lay prone on the floor for close to an hour on June 19. (See the the surveillance video and photos of the candlelight vigil here.)

Sometimes, no matter how good a cause may be, the way that cause is presented to the public elicits no sympathy whatsoever. With the price of gas skyrocketing and the general economic downturn, you'd think that riding a bike to commute would be an attractive option. When you throw the activist group Critical Mass into the mix, you get headlines, controversy and one fed-up cop now stripped of his badge and gun.

During Friday's Critical Mass ride in Times Square, Officer Patrick Pogan shoved bicyclist Christopher Long. The incident was caught on tape, and Pogan, the son of a highly respected detective, just graduated three weeks ago from the Police Academy. The video is shocking, and as one police source told the Daily News, "The video is bad—what can you say?" In court papers, Pogan claimed that Long purposely swerved his bicycle to block traffic and used his bike as a weapon to run down Pogan. The video, however, shows Long trying to avoid Pogan.