CULTURE BUZZ – Joan Acocella, a Manhattanite herself, answers in Smithsonian why her fellow city dwellers are so often thought to be rude - it’s because they’re smart!As New Yorkers, we must admit we would have trouble imagining Ms. Acocella coming to our overpriced, underwhelming outer-borough apartment and thinking us Mensa material.

The Best Links:

1. Why Joan Acocella Thinks New Yorkers Are Pretty Nice (If You Get To Know Them)
2. “It is Downright Knuckleheaded to Assert That Nice People Are Dumb”
3. New Yorkers “Work So Hard to Live There, It Only Makes Them Love The City More.”
4. New Yorkers = Media Nerds?
5. Why New Yorkers Don’t Let Paul Mccartney Catch Them Texting
6. “Heh, Who’d of Thought New York Would Have Something to Say About Kingdom Living?” [Church & The City]

POLITICS BUZZ – The name of the prostitution ring that was busted and inevitably brought Eliot Spitzer down with them.High-priced call girls were rated on a scale of diamonds. Sounds classy! Unfortunately for most of us, a one-diamond hooker still costs us an entire paycheck.

The Best Links:

1. Ashley Alexandra Dupre - Woman at the Center of Eliot Spitzer’s Downfall
2. Let’s Learn All About Eliot Spitzer’s Prostitution Ring! (Screenshots from the Website)
3. The Eliot Spitzer Affair and the Intellectualization of Prostitution
4. Duke Of Westminster: Prostitution Client, Allegedly, Of Emperors Club VIP
5. A Look At the Emperor’s (Governor’s) Club
6. Kristen Calls Spitzer a “Difficult” Client
7. Screen Shot From Emperors Club Website: “Introduction Fees”
8. The Official Site (Temporarily Unavailable)
9. A Look at Spitzers Emperors Club Web Site
10. Enough About Eliot; What About The Hookers?
11. Eliot Spitzer’s Super-Premium Luxury Prostitutes
12. Escort: ‘I’m Not THAT Kristen’
13. How Things Work: A Brief Guide to Luxury Callgirl Rings
14. Eliot Spitzer’s Whores: A Pictorial Tour of The Emperor’s Club Ladies
15. Prostitute Claims She Isn’t a “Moron”
16. Spitzer’s Ties to a Website Featuring Scantily Clad Women Rated by Diamonds
17. Cops bust $5500 an-hour hooker ring
18. emperors club vip brought $1 million to four people

POLITICS BUZZ – A New York appeals court ruled on Friday that same-sex marriages performed in other states or countries must be recognized in New York, the first known ruling of its kind in the country.First the Superbowl, and now we get gay marriage too?? An amazing week.

The Best Links:

1. OMG! NYC Now Recognizes Canadian Marriage!
2. State Court Recognizes Gay Marriages Under the “Marriage Recognition Rule”
3. In the Meantime, Florida Gets the Hate Amendment
4. The ACLU Press Release
5. New York State recognizes, but won’t perform, gay marriage
6. Honeymoon in Niagara Falls?
7. A Huge Stride for Gay Marriage
8. New York Appellate Court Orders Recognition of Canadian Same-Sex Marriage
9. “This is a Victory for Families, It’s a Victory for Fairness and It’s a Victory for Human Rights”

MOVIE BUZZ – With a new trailer, a new official site (plus several new viral marketing sites), buzz for the secret J.J. Abrams Movie is building steadily.As long as it’s better than Snakes On A Plane, we’ll all be happy. Update: Cloverfield reviews have been great so far!

The Best Links:

1. LAist Interview: Matt Reeves, Director of Cloverfield
2. Watch 5 Minutes of “Cloverfield”
3. Secrets of the SNAFU Behind the Name “Cloverfield”
4. ‘Cloverfield’ Monster Gets its Own Toy - Cinematical
5. Theories on the Whisper at the End of Cloverfield
6. “They Have Created a Classic”
7. Will her role in Cloverfield make Odette Yustman a star?
8. Cloverfield Reviews on Mahalo
9. The Cloverfield Monster Is…Manhattan?
10. Tracking All the Cloverfield Clues
11. TAGRUATO CORP.
12. Slusho! You Can’t Drink Just Six
13. T.I.D.O. WAVE
14. Massive Fan Forum on All Things Cloverfield
15. The Cloverfield Teaser
16. CLOVERFIELD: 1-18-08
17. Early, Possibly Planted Cloverfield Reviews (Slight Spoilers)
18. One Cast Member: The Speculation Is Way Off…
19. Rearrange the Photos (And Try Flipping Them…)
20. Trolling The Teaser For Clues
21. Interview With Cloverfield Star TJ Miller
22. Nevermind the Monster - Cloverfield Is All About 9/11
23. 25 Production Photos
24. Cameraman T.J. Miller Talks Monsters, Manohla Dargis, Underpants