Even Old New York Was Once New Amsterdam....

In honor of the anniversary of the Dutch surrendering to the English on this day in 1664, here's a link to our blog post from last year commemorating the handover.

And here's They Might Be Giants singing Istanbul (Not Constantinople):

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Read more about the Dutch colonial New York in

Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City.

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The New York Times Great Children's Read

On Sunday, October 5, the New York Times is once again hosting its "Great Children's Read" on the campus of Columbia University.

This all-day event features celebrities (well, mostly demi-celebrities) reading from a slew of great children's books set in New York City. A full schedule is available on their site, but one highlight will be the well-eyebrowed George Whipple reading oneof James's all time-favorite kids books: The House on East 88th Street.

Also appearing will be They Might Be Giants, whose most recent children's album is Here Come the 123s.

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