It’s been almost two years since I sat down in front of my computer to interview filmmaker Lars von Trier about his gods-and-genitals film Antichrist. We were going to “try something new” and talk over a Skype video connection. In preparation for the chat, I downloaded a program that would allow me to record the conversation and dump an MP3 file directly into iTunes—except that it didn’t work.

Charlie Sheen has begun to book hotels for his cross-country 'Violent Torpedo of Truth' tour, making his New York appearance on April 8th. His top choice for hospitality? Why The Plaza, of course. Sadly, after Sheen's last less-than-quiet stay (he trashed the hotel room and locked an adult film star in a bathroom, to jog your memory) the Plaza isn't rolling out the red carpets. Same goes for a slew of other New York hotel properties.

The holiday season means higher-than-usual tourist density in New York City, and naturally, that spike in traffic is due in no small part to your own eager friends and family, who descend on the city for an authentic, fairy-lighted experience of the Big Apple in winter. But after a day at Macy's, an evening at Rockefeller Center, and a dinner somewhere "New York-y," as per their request, where do you, their trusty tour guide by default, take them for a night on the town? Here are a few crowd-pleasers that will still earn you some street cred, whether that crowd involves your boyfriend's distant Uncle Larry, Mom and Dad, long-lost friends who've emerged from the woodwork, hard-to-impress rubberneckers, or your old high school mates. A comprehensive list of the best yuletide boîtes to celebrate the new year - and the best of NYC.

The 1st of October finds me too busy to chat with you. I need to be onsite, breathing saw dust and paint fumes, readying dream palaces for imminent openings. I will have an egg with my sweetness, and my loyal and capable assistant, and then jump head first into the whirlpool of my work. Today it’s the finishing touches on Capri, the Bayridge joint opening tomorrow. I need to purchase levers, and drop latches for bathrooms, get a bronzing medium for the old bronze lights I found at Old Good Things (my secret source for everything), and some fabulous ancient handles for the front door. Then it’s an hour trip to a place still in NYC, to bang around with the contractor and all the subs. It’s a happy job site, with the product looking even better than I hoped. The workers are fun, and cool—like Bayridge workers almost always are.

Oftentimes as we are fully enveloped in the white noise of New York nightlife we forget the great drinkers that have come before us. Those who sloshed scotch out of their glasses and illegally danced within the walls of the same darkened speakeasies we find ourselves in today. Many of the great hotspots of Manhattan's baby days still function as modern watering holes today, others have taken to dressing up as shops, apartments or some other unremarkable landmark. Pete's Tavern, nestled on the west side of Gramercy Park is a spot that gets the nabe just as loaded as it once did in its heyday of late 1800's, minus a prominent author or two.

Now that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has wrapped up spewing his hilarious bile all over an empty UN general assembly, an important question remains: What's he doing tonight? You don't make the long trek to New York all the way from Iran and not sample a taste of our legendary nightlife. So what does he do? Loiter outside the Gansevoort and blend in with a crew of other blazer-sporting, open-collar-shirted loudmouths? Or does he charm his way in to a private event so he can catch those MisShapes he's been hearing so much about? Even if we don't agree with everything he says, we still want him to have fun. Because if anyone needs to loosen up, it's that guy.

So you want to run into a model. Or ten. Here's your guide to which hotels to stalk for the next week:

Hotel deals are starting to get good -- even in New York, where it typically costs more than your month's rent to stay for a few days. Currently, there are nine hotels participating in a "Buy Two, Get One Free" bonanza, good from January 9 through February 27. The following hotels are hoping this deal will entice you to come and stay for a while:

It's a little surprising, isn't it, that Hollywood hasn't raced to get a Jesse Owens biopic greenlit yet. You'd think with the rags-to riches-to redemption biopic craze and the inspirational anything-is-possible sports movie obsession that Owens, an authentic American hero, would be ripe. At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Owens defused Adolf Hitler's weird "master race" thing by winning four gold medals in front of the Führer himself. Back home, his hero's welcome was stunted by much of the same racial prejudice he was met with overseas. This movie will be everything to all people. Revelatory historical lesson, Nazi thriller, inspirational sports pic, and the feel-good movie of the year! So what's holding it up? Truth be told, actor Anthony Mackie, who stars as Tupac Shakur in the upcoming Notorious B.I.G. biopic Notorious, has been slated to play the track star for a couple of years, and last week I had the chance to ask him about it.

BlackBook's Holiday Gift Guide presents two gift picks per day through December 19. One comes from our very own YOOX.com store; the other from the world at large. Suggestions? Let us know.