Fat Joe Sentenced to Prison for Failing to Pay Taxes

The rapper Fat Joe was sentenced to four months in prison on Monday in federal court in Newark for failing to pay his taxes, the United States Attorney’s office for New Jersey said.

Fat Joe, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, pleaded guilty in December to failing to pay taxes on more than $1 million of income he earned between 2007 and 2010.

Mr. Cartagena, 42, of the South Bronx, came from the bruising New York City hip-hop scene in the early-’90s and developed a reputation as a workmanlike rapper with heart, breaking out with the song “Flow Joe” in 1993. His hits include “Lean Back,” which topped the Billboad singles chart 2004, and “What’s Luv,” which reached No. 2 on the chart in 2001.

Federal prosecutors said he failed to pay about $700,000 in taxes on earnings of $3.3 million between 2007 and 2010. Though he lives in Miami Beach, Mr. Cartagena was prosecuted in New Jersey because he owns corprations based in Somerville from which he received income, including Terror Squad Productions Inc. and Miramar Music Touring Inc.

Federal authorities in New Jersey have been going after musicians on tax evasion charges in recent months. Lauryn Hill was sentenced to three months in prison in early May for failing to pay taxes on about $1.8 million. Two weeks later, the Internal Revenue Service placed a lien on property belonging to Mary J. Blige and her husband, charging they owed $3.4 in back taxes.

Fat Joe Sentenced to Prison for Failing to Pay Taxes

The rapper Fat Joe was sentenced to four months in prison on Monday in federal court in Newark for failing to pay his taxes, the United States Attorney’s office for New Jersey said.

Fat Joe, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, pleaded guilty in December to failing to pay taxes on more than $1 million of income he earned between 2007 and 2010.

Mr. Cartagena, 42, of the South Bronx, came from the bruising New York City hip-hop scene in the early-’90s and developed a reputation as a workmanlike rapper with heart, breaking out with the song “Flow Joe” in 1993. His hits include “Lean Back,” which topped the Billboad singles chart 2004, and “What’s Luv,” which reached No. 2 on the chart in 2001.

Federal prosecutors said he failed to pay about $700,000 in taxes on earnings of $3.3 million between 2007 and 2010. Though he lives in Miami Beach, Mr. Cartagena was prosecuted in New Jersey because he owns corprations based in Somerville from which he received income, including Terror Squad Productions Inc. and Miramar Music Touring Inc.

Federal authorities in New Jersey have been going after musicians on tax evasion charges in recent months. Lauryn Hill was sentenced to three months in prison in early May for failing to pay taxes on about $1.8 million. Two weeks later, the Internal Revenue Service placed a lien on property belonging to Mary J. Blige and her husband, charging they owed $3.4 in back taxes.

Paul Giamatti to Appear on ‘Downton Abbey’

Toby Melville/Reuters Paul Giamatti.

Television’s most popular Yorkshire estate is about to receive another high profile visitor: Paul Giamatti has been cast to appear in the Season 4 finale of “Downton Abbey,” according to a statement released by Carnival Films, ITV and “Masterpiece” on PBS on Monday.

The statement describes Mr. Giamatti’s character Harold as the “maverick, playboy brother” to Elizabeth McGovern’s Cora and predicted that the character, along with Shirley MacLaine’s Martha, will “upset the Grantham’s apple cart.”

Mr. Giamatti has appeared on the small screen a number of times over the course of his career and he won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the title role in th HBO mini-series “John Adams.” But this guest spot has the chance to be one of his most-watched television roles: the third season finale of “Downton,” which aired in February on PBS, attracted 8.2 million total viewers, up from the 5.4 million viewers who tuned in to the Season 2 finale.

Season 4 is currently scheduled to begin on PBS on Jan. 5, 2014.

Seaport Museum Loses an Institutional Backer

Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times The South Street Seaport Museum.

Having struggled to make a go of the South Street Seaport Museum in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the Museum of the City of New York has decided to pull out of running the troubled institution.

“Sandy really just did us in,” said Susan Henshaw Jones, the City Museum’s president, who has been stewarding both institutions in what was considered a last-ditch effort. “There still exists this huge amount of post-Sandy work that is enormous in terms of dollars, which is going to take years.”

Ms. Jones added that her boad wants her to concentrate on the City Museum on Fifth Avenue at 103d Street.

In dire financial straits, the Seaport Museum was rescued by the City Museum in 2011. A $2 million grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation gave it 18 months to put the Seaport museum back on solid footing, and the period was extended for nine months. The museum also received $750,000 from private donors and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The City Museum had just reopened the Seaport Museum after a one-year hiatus. Sandy sent water surging to six feet at the lobby entrance, wiping out the building’s electrical systems and destroying its cafe, admission desk, computer system and gift shop.

“It’s a huge personal sadness for me,” Ms. Jones said. “It’s just not workable.”

T! he city’s Department of Cultural Affairs, which has been involved in helping the Seaport Museum, held out hope of a further rescue. “We’re working to see if we can find another entity” that can take over the organization, said Kate D. Levin, the cultural affairs commissioner. If no group comes forward, responsibility for the museum will fall to the New York State attorney general.

Mariah Carey to Join New York Philharmonic Benefit Concert

The New York Philharmonic said on Monday that two unusual stars (unusual for the Philharmonic, anyway) would join the orchestra for a concert in Central Park on July 13: Mariah Carey and Joe Torre.

The orchestra and Major League Baseball are promoting the concert as a charity affair to benefit Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. Major League Baseball has planned several events that day to raise money for hurricane rebuilding, including $1 million connected to the concert, bringing to $5 million its donations to charities in time for the All-Star Game at Citi Field on July 16.

Like all Philharmonic concerts in the parks, admission to the performance in Central Park will be free. Tickets will be available online beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. The Philharmonic is also offering V.I.P. tickets to the first 150 applicants who donate at least $500. That money will go to the orchestra, not to hurricane rebuiding efforts.

Ms. Carey will sing several songs with the Philharmonic. The orchestra, under its music director, Alan Gilbert, will perform a suite from the 1984 film “The Natural” by Randy Newman and a suite from “42,” the Brian Helgeland film about Jackie Robinson that opened in April. Mr. Torre, the manager of the Yankees from 1996 to 2007 and the Mets from 1977 to 1981, will read the poem “Casey at the Bat.”

Along with three other parks concerts, the Philharmonic was already scheduled to appear in Central Park on July 15, two days after the baseball concert.

Cotton Club Musical Headed to Broadway With a New Name

Peter Kramer/NBC From left, Hoda Kotb, Kathie Lee Gifford and Fantasia Barrino on “Today.”

Following popular runs at New York City Center under the title “Cotton Club Parade,” the show - a musical revue about the famed Harlem nightclub - will begin performances on Broadway in October with a new name, “After Midnight,” the producers said on Monday. No casting was announced, but the producers are in talks with Fantasia Barrino, the Grammy Award winner and American Idol champion, o join the show, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal the confidential discussions.

Ms. Barrino, who made her Broadway debut as a replacement Celie in the musical “The Color Purple,” recently said on NBC’s “Today” that she was returning to Broadway in October, though she did not name the show.

“After Midnight” will be produced by Scott Sanders, who was also a lead producer on “The Color Purple,” and a team that includes Wynton Marsalis, the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Mr. Marsalis chose the 17 musicians for the big band that performs the show’s swing and blues numbers, which include songs by Duke Ellington and Harold Arlen.

“After Midnight” will cost approximately $6 million, on a modest side for a commercial Broadway musical. Warren Carlyle will again direct and choreograph the show, and the creative team will include the costume designer Isabel Toledo. “After Midnight” is sch! eduled to start previews at the Brooks Atkinson Theater on Oct. 18, with an opening night on Nov. 3.

Mr. Sanders, in a statement, said that the City Center version of the show will “arrive intact” at the Atkinson, but the title was changed because “the Broadway production will very much be its own animal.”

A Live Conversation About ‘Just Kids’ by Patti Smith

We’ll convene this evening for a discussion of “Just Kids,” the award-winning memoir of friendship and artistic aspiration in a vanished New York, by the rocker, poet and consummate romanticist Patti Smith. The live discussion will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the comments section below, but feel free to start posting your thoughts and questions now.

“Just Kids” begins in the late 1960s, when Ms. Smith, at age 20, flees southern New Jersey and all of its constraints to find a life she thinks will be infinitely more meaningful in New York. Her mother gives her a waitress’s uniform in hopes that she’ll find work to keep her solvent. That particular career ends prett much the day it starts when Ms. Smith, having landed a job at a Midtown Italian restaurant, deposits a parmigiana dish on a patron wearing a tweed suit. (Given that it is July, it’s hard to believe the man really was wearing a tweed suit, but Ms. Smith’s flourishes and embellishments and what seem to be, every now and then, doctored memories are harmless and forgivable.)

Ms. Smith’s evocation of youthful poverty doesn’t glorify it â€" this surprised me. Perhaps others will see more wistfulness and affection there than I did, but she depicts a New York that is free and anarchic but also decidedly grim. There are many, many days when she and her soul mate, Robert Mapplethorpe, don’t have the money for more than one food item, which they must share. She makes lettuce soup, which is as basic and unappetizing as it sounds.

When Ms. Smith first arrives in New York, she sleeps on stoops and in parks. She isn’t afraid, but a sense of menace looms.! We know what was happening in the streets in the late ’60s (and this season of “Mad Men” has just reminded us). Eventually someone is murdered just outside a loft she and Mr. Mapplethorpe are living in in Lower Manhattan. This prompts the duo to decamp to the Chelsea Hotel. Previously, they’d been in a flophouse around Times Square where the pillows contained lice and the junkies shot up with their doors open. The book evokes nostalgia for the way things were in the New York of peep shows and 20-cent subway rides without making you want to time travel back to it.

The heart of the book is the relationship between Ms. Smith and Mr. Mapplethorpe, which abandons sex and transcends it. What struck me is how conventional some dimensions of their relationship were when they were living together, with Ms. Smith subordinating her own aspirations for a while to make meager earnings and support Mr. Mapplethorpe’s career, such as it was in the early days. He had a more voracious appetite for fame and sccess than she did, but you also get the sense that, despite everything, she had vestiges of traditionalism within her, a sense of old-fashioned sex roles.

I’m eager to hear how the book affected everyone who read it â€" what sorts of memories it prompted. Ms. Smith and Mr. Mapplethorpe came to the artistic life as generalists. Each was consumed with the idea of becoming an artist but neither really had a medium in mind initially. Is anyone like that anymore?

Final Play in Pulitzer Winner’s Trilogy Set for Second Stage

Karsten Moran for The New York Times Quiara Alegría Hudes

“The Happiest Song Plays Last,” the new drama by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes and the final work in her Elliot Trilogy about an Iraq War veteran, will be part of Second Stage Theater’s 2013-14 season, the theater announced on Monday.

Last season Second Stage presented “Water by the Spoonful,” the middle play in the trilogy, which also includes
“Elliot, a Soldier’s Fugue.”
“The Happiest Song Plays Last,” which had its premiere this spring at the Goodman Theater in Chicago, follows Elliot and his cousin Yaz as he enters the film business and she devotes herself to community activism in her Philadelphia neighborhood. No casting was announced for the Second Stage production, which is to be directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

Second Stage’s season will open in October with the previously announced “Little Miss Sunshine,” James Lapine and William Finn’s musical adaptation of the Oscar-nominated film.

Laura Eason’s “Sex With Strangers,” about the relationship between a sex blogger and an obscure nov! elist, will play next summer in a production to be directed by David Schwimmer. It will be the Second Stage debut for Ms. Eason, a staff writer for the Netflix series “House of Cards” and the former artistic director of Chicago’s Lookingglass Theater.

A fourth Second Stage production is still to be announced.

Glimmerglass Festival Names Colaneri Music Director

Michael Nagle for The New York Times Joseph Colaneri.

The Glimmerglass Festival, an opera and theater company located in Cooperstown, N.Y., announced on Monday that Joseph Colaneri has been named as its new music director. Mr. Colaneri has served as a member of the conducting roster at the Metropolitan Opera for 15 seasons and is set to conduct the Glimmerlgass Festival’s production of Verdi’s “King for a Day,” which will run from July 21 to Aug. 24. His new duties as music director will include conducting one or two productions per season and consulting with Francesca Zambello, thecompany’s artistic and general director, on repertory and casting decisions. He will assume the position in October.

$40,000 Organ Prize Goes to Juilliard Student

The Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition, a new contest open to pipe organists between the ages of 18 and 30, has chosen its first winner. On Saturday, Benjamin Sheen was named as the recipient of the Pierre S. du Pont prize, which at $40,000 is one of the largest cash awards for a pipe organ competition. Mr. Sheen was chosen after a recorded audition process that lowered the pool of participants to 10. They were then asked to perform for a panel of judges on Longwood’s 10,010-pipe Aeolian organ.

Mr. Sheen, who was born in London, is a master’s student at the Juilliard School and was recently appointed an assistant organist at St. Thomas Church in Manhattan. He will assume that post in September. As part of his prize, Mr. Sheen also received a contract with Phillip Truckenbrod Concerts Artists and a guaranteed performance at Longwood Gardens at some point during the 2013-14 seasn.

Gandolfini Funeral to Be Held at St. John the Divine in Manhattan

The funeral for James Gandolfini has been scheduled for Thursday at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights, The Associated Press reported. Mr. Gandolfini, the actor and star of “The Sopranos” on HBO, died from a heart attack at 51 last Wednesday in Rome.

An HBO spokeswoman, speaking on behalf of Mr. Gandolfini’s family on Sunday, confirmed that the service will be held at 10 a.m.

According to Variety, Michael Kobold, a spokesman for the Gandolfini family, thanked former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a statement on Sunday morning for their help in expediting the process of repatriating the body to theUnited States, which can normally take seven to ten days.

Talking ‘Mad Men’: The Season Finale

Michael Yarish/AMC, via Associated Press Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm) on “Mad Men.”

Every Monday morning, Sloane Crosley and Logan Hill have been offering their post-”Mad Men” analysis here. Read on and share your reactions to the season finale as well as your favorite moments from the entire season in the comments.

Logan Hill: Well, Sloane, we made it. I thought this was perhaps the series’s weakest season, but one of its best finales, full of great one-liners and even better acting. Most of all, something was really at stake in each storyline. What did you make of it?

Sloane Crosley: Because of the nature of this episode’s dits, at times I felt like I was watching Megan’s soap opera. So we don’t see Don sock an evangelizing Jesus freak in the jaw and we don’t see him announce the L.A. move just like we don’t see Trudy’s response to Pete’s request to say goodbye to his daughter. But mostly I thought the cuts were a brilliant way to sidestep all the foregone conclusions. I wish the show had done more of it throughout the season.

LH: The episode certainly sped along. A lot of this season felt like Pete driving the Camaro: speeding in reverse. But this episode finally plowed ahead There was a certain amount of fan-base wish fulfillment: That dinner with Roger and Joan was tantalizing - -especially with Bob there. I suppose the big takeaway from Season 6 is: Bob wins.

SC: I mean, that and the fact that Pete’s mom pulled a reverse Goldie Hawn â€" Rich Lady Loses Mind, Forgets Who She Is, Falls Overboard! . But speaking of all being in the same boat â€" suddenly everyone and their mother wants to move to California? What did you think of that?

LH: I thought all the California Dreamin’ worked. It was as if Don’s irrational escapism suddenly became contagious â€" and I think everyone understands that thirst for change, especially “Mad Men” fans who’ve been clamoring for it. But I think this show has consistently refuted that hope: It gets better? Maybe not.

SC: Not according to Betty, it doesn’t. When she says, “the good is not beating the bad,” I thought that was her most redeeming moment since the start of the show. Truly. With one line I felt like I saw her whole childhood -  the basic tenets with which she was raised- come into sharp relief and I didn’t need to sit through a bunch of Little Whore on the Prarie flashbacks to get it. But anyway, I did love watching the flicker of escape cross Don’s mind, ad then, at long last, he makes a decision. His life doesn’t simply happen to him, but he chooses to give Ted the freedom they both need. It is a far far better thing he does …

LH: Speaking of choices, I admire how open-ended the finale is: Matt Weiner, the show runner, has left himself more options than any of his characters: Likely, Don and Megan are over and we’ll see less of Pete and Ted, but who knows? We’ll definitely get more of Bob. He obliterated Pete, who seems to have lost all his ambition. He can’t even muster the indignation (and cash) to chase down Mom’s murderer. Is Bob a kind of advertising antichrist?

SC: I have a strange lack of investment in Bob after the penultimate episode. It’s a why-buy-the-cow-when-you-can-get-the-milk-for-free situation and I have already drank Bob’s milk. But I agree that just when you think everyone is painted into a corner, Matt Weiner up and presents us with this magical land that’s “like De! troit wit! h palm trees.” This is certainly an oversimplification, but last season felt very much about the women and this season felt like the men had the floor. I think the pendulum will swing back for the final season. My own last thoughts were: Yes, Peggy’s in Don’s chair, but will this make Peggy hard? Don was an accessory to her heartbreak. And what does Megan do? Meanwhile, that was a hell of a final exchange of glances between Don and Sally. (On a side note, would that summons from the State of New York really be addressed to her? She’s a minor.)

LH: Some will say Megan’s character was thin â€" but I liked that she was a decent person swimming with sharks. And I’m talking about her in the past tense because I think she’s done. Peggy got the best line of the show: “Well aren’t you lucky: to have decisions.” (Second place: “Not great, Bob!”) But she might only be temping in Don’s office until Duck head-hunts Don’s replacement. I agree that the women were lost inthe shuffle, and, yes, I only fear that if Bob is Don 2.0 we’ll get another round of B-movie flashbacks.

SC: Ha! No way, the best line was Peggy diagnosing her terrible date. “He works in finance and ate with his hands.” All I could think of was Barry Pepper in “The 25th Hour.”  Meanwhile, lucky for us I think most fans actually see what you see in Megan. Even if she seemed like a cheerleader at first, her morality has become more layered as everyone else around her becomes increasingly amoral. I just don’t think Bob will play that major a role in next season. But I look forward to more Joan and Roger.

LH: I think Bob becomes a kind of superhero nemesis in the next season. Like Anna Paquin in “X-Men,” he just seems to absorb the power of everyone he touches. B! ut if any! one can fight brimstone with brimstone, it may yet be Don. This season began with Dante’s “Divine Comedy.” I haven’t read it in a while, but I’m pretty sure sucker-punching a minister lands you in one of the lower rings. Do you think he’ll finally reconcile with his past? What would an honest Don look like?

SC: You see Bob on the rise and Megan on the decline and I see the reverse. As for an honest Don? Can he be taught? I do think there’s hope for him because he’s starting with his greatest shame, and working (in concentric circles, if you will) outward. More than California and Hershey’s and his marriage, Sally is his greatest problem. It bodes well that he is starting the honesty train with his kids. Even though he did make an attempt with Megan as well.

LH: Yes, I’m skeptical that self-revelation leads to progress, anyway. But progress probably isn’t the point. Will Sally understand why he cheated on Betty a little better? Maybe. The epsode ended with the song “Both Sides, Now” and it’s obsessed with bicoastal possibilities, motivated by Bob’s likely bisexuality (or sexual practicality), and led by characters (Roger, Don, Ted) who want it all but can’t have much of anything. In the end, Don’s left jobless and wifeless and it’s going to be fascinating to see how Matt Weiner rebuilds him.

SC: Best use of a Joni Mitchell song since “Love, Actually.” The show is at its strongest when it pivots harder on truth than slapstick. I was grateful to see the finale go back to basics (with the exception of Kenny’s eyepatch, which was just consistency, and Pete’s mother, whom we never see because she is lying somewhere at the bottom of the Caribbean like a gaudy necklace). I guess the progress I hope for is more the show’s than Don’s. Just so long as it rains Sterling Cooper & Partners wall calendars and pens next season.

LH: A! nd coffee mugs! (At times, it felt like Don was doing product placement for AMC, which has been doing promos with those mugs.)

SC: If it rains coffee mugs, someone’s bound to get hurt.

LH: Ha â€" fair enough. To be safe, I’ll wear Stan’s plaid jacket and paisley tie, which should repel anything.

SC: Just tilt your chin up and let your Stan-like beard cushion the blow. You know? I take back what I said before. I think Roger has the best line of the finale because it embodies this whole season so well: “It’s all fun and games until they shoot you in the face.”

LH: After all of this season’s business about sex and money and pennies left on doormats, I did like Don’s riff on Hershey as the “currency of love” seguing into his bizarre, go-for-broke confession. But, to me, the great line that summed up this Dante-obsessed, hellishly repetitive season was the one shouted at the whorehouse’s preachy john “I’d tell you to go to hell but I never want to see you again.”

SC: Indeed. Actually, since there’s no “next week” for us to predict, it might be fun to ask the commenters for their favorite moments of this season. Me, I’m partial to tap-dancing Kenny (despite my overall anti-slapstick stance).

LH: For me, it’s the last half of the merger episode â€" when it felt like the show was truly firing on all cylinders, focused on business and Peggy, Don and Roger. I’d also like to hear readers guess at what’s coming next season â€" because it’s supposedly “Mad Men’s” last. My only prediction: Betty stays thin.

SC: My only prediction: Fax machines

Sloane Crosley is the author of “How Did You Get This Number” and “I Was Told There’d Be Cake“; Logan Hill is a journalist who has contributed to The New York Times, New York, GQ, Rolling Stone, Wired and others.

June 24: Where the Candidates Are Today

Planned events for the mayoral candidates, according to the campaigns and organizations they are affiliated with. Times are listed as scheduled but frequently change.

Event details are listed as provided at the time of publication. Details for many Quinn, Thompson and Albanese events are not released for publication.

Events by candidate

Carrión

Liu

Quinn

Thompson

Group event

John A. Catsimatidis
Republican

1 p.m.
Answers questions from reporters from the Center for Community and Ethnic Media, at the CUNY Graduate School of Journ! alism.

John C. Liu
Democrat

8 a.m.
Greets voters in Harlem, at 116th Street and Lexington Avenue.

9:15 a.m.
Addresses the newly minted graduates of Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School 74 at the first of nine graduation ceremonies he is attending on Monday, at the Kupferberg Center.

9:45 a.m.
Addresses the new graduates of the Morris Academy for Colaborative Studies, in the Bronx.

10:30 a.m.
Addresses the new graduates of the Life Sciences Secondary School, on the Upper East Side.

11 a.m.
Addresses the new graduates of the Frederick Douglass Academy IV Secondary School, at St. Francis College.

11:30 a.m.
Addresses the new graduates of the Queens School of Inquiry Middle School 252, at the Queens College student union.

12:30 p.m.
Addresses the new graduates of Abraham Lincoln High School, at Brooklyn College’s Walt Whitman Theater.

4 p.m.
Addr! esses the! new graduates of Acorn Community High School, at the Medgar Evers College auditorium.

4:30 p.m.
Addresses the new graduates of Intermediate School 230, at Queens College’s Colden Center.

6 p.m.
Addresses the new graduates of Pelham Preparatory Academy in the last of nine graduation ceremonies he is attending throughout the day, in the Lovinger Theater at Lehman College.

7 p.m.
Attends Central Astoria’s annual Independence Day celebration, at Astoria Park.

9 p.m.
Addresses the Bayswater Civic Association and Frank Avenue Civic Association of Edgemere at a joint candidates forum, at the Bayswater JewishCenter.

Christine C. Quinn
Democrat

10 a.m.
Answers questions from reporters from the Center for Community and Ethnic Media, at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

1:30 p.m.
Attends a Stated Meeting of the City Council, at City Hall.

Some of Ms. Quinn’s events may not be shown because the campaign declines to release her advance schedule for publication.

William C. Thompson Jr.
Democrat

7:45 a.m.
Greets voters at the Utica Avenue subway stop, at Utica Avenue and Eastern Parkway.

11:15 a.m.
Holds a news conference calling for new financial aid funding for undocumented students, at 26 Federal Plaza.

Some of Mr. Thompson’s events may not be shown because the campaign declines to release his advance schedule for publication.

Anthony D. Weiner
Democrat

9 a.m.
Answers questions from reporters from the Center for Community and Ethnic Media, at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

8 p.m.
Addresses the Bayswater Civic Association and Frank Avenue Civic Association of Edgemere at a joint candidates forum, at the Bayswater Jewish Center.

Sal F. Albane! se
Democrat

7:30 p.m.
Addresses the Bayswater Civic Association and Frank Avenue Civic Association of Edgemere at a joint candidates forum, at the Bayswater Jewish Center.

Some of Mr. Albanese’s events may not be shown because the campaign declines to release his advance schedule for publication.

Adolfo Carrión Jr.
Independent

4 p.m.
Strolls retail strip at Fordham Road and Webster Avenue.

5:30 p.m.
Greets rush-hour commuters at Fordham Road subway stop.

In Times Square, a Marriage Proposal That\'s ‘Them\'

Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times John Cusick and Sally Abdel Ghaffar met while they were students at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

John Cusick stood at the bottom of the TKTS stairs in Times Square, looked up and yelled out, “Mic check.”

The crowd echoed back: “Mic check.”

This was not the beginning of a protest; it was a marriage proposal.

“Sally, you make me the happiest man alive,” Mr. Cusick, 23, said on Saturday as he looked straight into his girlfriend's bewildered eyes. Over 200 people repeated his words, which for a moment seemed to engulf one of the most chaotic places in New York City.

Mr. Cusick and Sally Abdel Ghaffar, 23, were both students at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice when they met in 2010. Mr. Cusick was vice president of the school's Republican club, and Ms. Abdel Ghaffar was president of the Democratic club.

“No matter what one of them said in class, the other said the opposite,” said Amy Green, a professor at John Jay College, who went to watch the proposal. “In the beginning I thought it was kind of showy, but then I realized that it's them.”

The couple's political divisions are real. Ron Paul is an off-limits topic. Abortion is a tricky subject. On the economy, they fall on opposite ends of the spectrum. Ms. Abdel Ghaffar describes herself as a socialist. But the constant altercations eventually brought them closer. Mr. Cusick recalled the first time he found himself opening up to Ms. Abdel Ghaffar. He told her that his parents had been evicted, and he talked about his struggle to sta y above the poverty line.

“It was the first time we opened up about who we were and where we were coming from,” Mr. Cusick said.

Mr. Cusick was raised Roman Catholic, Ms. Abdel Ghaffar Muslim. His family is from New Jersey, hers from Egypt. But both are die-hard activists â€" not afraid to break with tradition. At one point, Ms. Abdel Ghaffar suggested to Mr. Cusick that they take a trip to Egypt and run youth empowerment workshops for high school students. Mr. Cusick accepted, and in January 2011 they flew to Cairo and ran a number of workshops on how to use social media, among other tools, for political expression.

When they completed the workshops, Mr. Cusick flew out on Jan. 24, only one day before the Egyptian revolution erupted. Ms. Abdel Ghaffar stayed and participated in the protests.

On Jan. 28, when the government took down Internet and cellphone service, Ms. Abdel Ghaffar called Mr. Cusick from a land line and asked him to reach out to her father in New York and to let him know that she was fine. It was then that Mr. Cusick asked if Ms. Abdel Ghaffar would go out with him.

“I had started to see a different side that was more vulnerable and compassionate,” Mr. Cusick said, adding that the entire trip was an eye-opening experience. “I just wanted to encourage her to come back.”

Two and a half years later, Mr. Cusick staged what Ms. Abdel Ghaffar called the “perfect proposal.” He asked more than 60 family members, friends and professors to come to Times Square and spread themselves out along the stairs and encourage others to participate. Friends came carrying pink signs that read “Say Yes!!” Family members started to introduce themselves to one another. More than a dozen pizza and doughnut boxes were set aside for the after party. At 8:10 p.m., all was set.

Falling on one knee, Mr. Cusick asked the question. “Will you marry me?” It reverberated.

The cheering that f ollowed turned Ms. Abdel Ghaffar's “yes” into a whisper.

Rapping About Darwin, for Knowledge and Glory

School was out for the week, but the lessons were just starting. Jahleel Cephus, 17, a sophomore from Validus Preparatory Academy in the Bronx, swayed to a hip-hop beat and dropped science: “Bioclast, foliation, and that granite,” he rhymed. “I can tell you something ‘bout an aphanitic.” On a screen behind him, the last word linked to a note explaining that it meant a volcanic rock. Students whooped in appreciation.

Jahleel was one of about 300 students from nine New York public high schools who participated this semester in an experimental pilot program called Science Genius, which used hip-hop to teach science to urban teenagers. On Friday night, the best students from each school met at Teachers College, Columbia University, in a final battle for citywide supremacy.

Ruby Washington/The New York Times Jabari Johnson, a senior from Urban Assembly for the Performing Arts High School in Harlem, won for his rhyme about the formula, work equals force times distance.

At stake were pride, bragging rights and some serious swag â€" the winner got a full day at the Museum of Natural History and a full day in a recording studio with the rapper GZA, of Wu-Tang Clan, who has been a vocal advocate of science education and a figurehead for the Science Genius program.

“Going into schools, I'm just as nervous to be around them a s they are to be around me,” GZA said. “There's no difference.”

Onto the stage the students filed, spitting rhymes about DNA, mitochondria, the big bang, natural selection, reproduction, digestion, the solar system and a “burner named Bunsen.” Lyrics for all the raps appeared on the popular lyrics Web site Rap Genius.

Tara Ware, 27, who teaches earth science at Validus, said she had hoped using hip-hop would help her students retain vocabulary, especially those who spoke English as a second language. But other benefits soon became apparent.

“They learned problem-solving skills,” Ms. Ware said. “And it really tested their work ethic. All my kids love rap, but some aren't good at it, so they really had to work at it. It took more time to write a rap than write a three-page paper.”

The program was developed by Christopher Emdin, an assistant professor of science education at Teac hers College, as part of what he calls “reality pedagogy” â€" reaching minority students through their culture. Eight volunteers, mostly graduate students, worked with teachers to incorporate hip-hop into the curriculum. In a very limited study, Mr. Emdin said the students in the classrooms that used hip-hop outperformed those who did not.

Musa Kaira, 20, an immigrant from Gambia, West Africa, was one of those who benefited. A senior at English Language Learners and International Support (ELLIS) Preparatory Academy in the Bronx, Mr. Kaira said he had not liked science and had struggled with the class work.

But once rap was added to the mix, “I started staying after school, and used the lab to make a rhyme about freezing and melting,” he said.

His teacher, Jeremy Heyman, 27, said his students learned as much about themselves as they learned about science. “But their enjoyment and appreciation of science were definitely improved.”

From Bronx Compass High School, three freshman girls calling themselves Dreams Divided were sure their rap about DNA and Darwin was going to win.

“We all hated our science class before,” said Victoria Richardson, 14. “Now I can't wait till Friday to go to science class.” The challenge of writing credible raps â€" which require dense allusions â€" meant that they had to do extra research, and to work together. “You can't just say, ‘DNA, I want to play,'” Victoria said. “You have to make sense.”

After the last rhyme, the six judges, who included GZA, deliberated long over the winner. Some students had been ragged but charming; some used elaborate metaphors, a trait shared by scientists and rappers, Mr. Emdin said.

Finally the judges returned with a winner: Jabari Johnson, a senior from Urban Assembly for the Performing Arts High School in Harlem, for a rhyme about the formula Work equals Force times Distance. With a derby hat pushed back on his head, he brought academic rigor with a touch of hip-hop braggadocio.

“I've been rapping since I was 9,” said Jabari, who plans to pursue a musical career next year rather than attending college. “It came naturally. When you put science and rap together, you get something beautiful.”

Or, as he rhymed it onstage:

“And now I'm progressing, a natural rap genius

And I'ma get an A if I see this on the regent”

Just in case anyone was wondering whether hip-hop would be on the standardized test.

An Easy Fix for a Broken Keyboard

Victor Kerlow

Dear Diary:

A couple of weeks ago my boyfriend spilled hot tea on his computer keyboard. He Googled a few computer fix-it places in Manhattan, then called them to ask how they might handle the repair.

The quickest and cheapest solution by far came from a small company in TriBeCa. Explaining the problem to their service person, my boyfriend added, “Now about five keys don't work at all.”

“Oh,” said the service person as if it should be abundantly clear to anyone with half a brain, “Just don't use those keys.”

Read all recent entries and our updated submissions guidelines. Reach us via e-mail diary@nytimes.com or follow @NYTMetro on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary.

New York Today: Prepare to Sweat

Ángel Franco/The New York Times 6:18 a.m. along the East River. Run away from the sun if you can.

Updated, 9:16 a.m. | An oppressive start to the week, with a heat advisory from the National Weather Service in effect through Tuesday. Hot, muggy and gross are in the forecast, with temperatures in the low 90s, and the heat index in the mid-90s.

Bring an umbrella. There may be a th undershower this afternoon, though the heat won't start to break until late in the week. Yes, after so many cool days â€" suddenly, it's summer.

Here's what else you need to know first thing Monday:

TRANSIT & TRAFFIC - Traffic is mostly moving, if sluggishly (like many of us). Heavy spots include the Lincoln Tunnel, the Grand Central, the L.I.E. and the Gowanus. Subways are a little sluggish too, with delays on the Manhattan-bound No. 7 and the Times Square shuttle as of 9:16 a.m.

COMING UP TODAY

- The City Council will vote on whether to take up a package of measures to tighten regulation over the stop-and-frisk policing strategy. The mayor and police commissioner are scheduled to speak about how the bills would “inhibit policing and make New York City less safe,” officials said.

- If the Supreme Court rules on same-sex marriage, there will be a rally or protest (depending on the outcome) outside the Stonewall Inn in the Village at 5:30 p.m.

- Opening arguments in the federal death penalty retrial of Ronell Wilson, who killed two detectives in Staten Island in 2003 (and fathered a son by a prison guard). His first death penalty sentence was overturned by a judge who said prosecutors prejudiced the jury.

- On the campaign trail, Anthony Weiner, Christine C. Quinn and John Catsimatidis will take questions at the CUNY journalism school's Center for Community and Ethnic Media. William C. Thompson Jr. will unveil a plan to provide financial aid for undocumented students.

- New Jersey flags will fly at half-staff in honor of James Gandolfini.

- Don Rickles is not only stil l alive, he's getting a “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the Friars Club tonight.

IN THE NEWS

- City Budget Deal Reached: No new taxes, no service cuts. Still, the non-Quinn mayoral candidates are finding ways to knock it. [New York Times, Bill de Blasio]

- Two men convinced a security guard to let them into a closed West Village McDonald's to use the A.T.M. at 4:30 a.m. Sunday, locked him in the bathroom, and robbed the place. [ WABC-TV Eyewitness News]

- A rabid Republican proposed to a rabid Democrat in Times Square. She accepted. [New York Times]

- Little Earthquake in New Jersey: A barely felt 2.1 in Rockaway, 40 miles west of New York. [Wires via CBS Local]

- Mets win, Yanks lose, old-timers tell A-Rod to step up. [New York Times, New York Post]

- Midtown Funambulism Alert: Nik Wallenda wants to wire-walk between the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. [Wires via New York Post]

AND LASTLY…

Without overspoiling things, Don Draper went through some pretty heavy stuff in the “Mad Men” finale. [ArtsBeat]

Just in time for the tropical weather, cacao pods are ripening quite lusciously (indoors, but still), at the New York Botanical Garden. [Plant Talk]

This week, we're testing New York Today, which we put together just before dawn and update throughout the morning. What information would you like to see here when you wake up to help you plan your day? Tell us in the comments, send suggestions to anewman@nytimes.com or tweet them at @nytmetro using #NYToday. Thanks!

Paris Barclay to Lead Directors Guild of America

LOS ANGELES - Paris Barclay, whose extensive television directing credits include episodes of the “Sons of Anarchy” and “Glee” series, was elected president of the Directors Guild of America at the union's biennial convention here on Saturday. Mr. Barclay succeeds Taylor Hackford, a film director who had served as president since 2009.

Paris Barclay

The guild, which represents directors and others who supervise the production of movies, television shows and commercials, is preparing for negotiations to replace its Hollywood collective bargaining arrangements, which expire on June 30, 2014. At its convention, which was held at the guild's Los Angeles headquarters, Michael Apted was elected secretary-treasurer, while Vincent Misiano became national vice-president. Others, including the actor-filmmaker Jon Favreau, were named to various offices, the guild said.

Monsters and Zombies Overrun the Box Office

Pixar Animation Studios/Walt Disney Pictures A scene from “Monsters University.”

Cuddly monsters and swarming zombies, both forcibly marketed, dominated North American theaters over the weekend. The animated prequel “Monsters University,” from Disney's Pixar, was No. 1 as expected, taking in an estimated $82 million - an exact match to the opening-weekend total in 2001 (after adjusting for inflation) for “Monsters Inc.,” which ended up taking in $740 million worldwide.

The well-reviewed zombie thriller “World War Z” (Paramount) was second, with estimated ticket sales of $66 million, a spectacular result that validates the studio's much-chronicled decision to rework the movie's ending. But “W orld War Z,” which gave Brad Pitt one of the biggest opening weekend totals of his career, was also exorbitantly expensive, costing Paramount and several financing partners, including the Oracle heir David Ellison, an estimated $190 million to make (after deducting for tax benefits) and at least another $100 million to market globally.

Third place went to “Man of Steel” (Warner), which took in about $41.2 million, for a two-week domestic total of roughly $210 million. Overall, it was a huge weekend for the movie industry: Hollywood.com, which compiles box office data, projected on Sunday morning that total North American ticket sales for the weekend will total $236 million, a 43 percent increase from the same three days last summer.

A version of this article appeared in print on 06/24/2013, on page C3 of the NewYork edition with the headline: Monsters and Zombies Overrun the Box Office.

Jon Stewart as the Jon Stewart of Cairo

Jon Stewart is on a sabbatical from his duties as host of Comedy Central's “Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” but that has not stopped him from appearing on television. Last week, he was a surprise guest on “Al Bernameg,” or “The Program,” the Egyptian equivalent of “The Daily Show” that is filmed in Cairo and hosted by Bassem Youssef. Mr. Stewart was brought on stage wearing a black hood and introduced as a captured foreign spy.

At first, he spoke to the audience in Arabic, his comments, according to CBS News, translated to, “Please sit down, I am a simple man who does not like to be fussed over.” The interview then switched to English, and Mr. Stewart discussed, among other things, “Rosewater,” the film he will direct, the relevance of satire in relation to political discussion and the lack of traffic lights in Cairo. At the end of the segment, Mr. Stewart staged a small coup d'état, forcing Mr. Youssef out from behind his desk, and then proclaimed himself as the new host of “Al Bernameg.”

Mr. Youssef has been a guest on “The Daily Show,” most recently in April after he was arrested by Egyptian prosecutors and briefly held for questioning on accusations that he insulted Islam and the president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi.

Matthew Weiner Discusses the ‘Mad Men\' Season Finale

Jaimie Trueblood/AMC Matthew Weiner and Jon Hamm on the set of “In Care Of,” the season finale of “Mad Men.”

When a “Mad Men” season begins with references to Dante's “Inferno,” you know that at some point Don Draper is going to be put through hell. Abandon all hope, ye who read any further without expecting to have the season finale of this AMC drama spoiled for you.

In Sunday's episode, Draper (played by Jon Hamm) was finally called to account for the very bad behavior he'd exhibited all year: he was placed on a leave of absence from his job at Sterling Cooper & Partners, following a pitch meeting gone awry; he pulled out of his plan t o move to California, instead offering the opportunity to his rival Ted Chaough (Kevin Rahm), but straining his marriage with Megan (Jessica Paré); and his relationship with his daughter, Sally (Kiernan Shipka), never recovered from her discovery that he was having an affair with a neighbor (Linda Cardellini). With no place to go but up, Draper started come clean to his children, and the season ended as he drove them to the house where he grew up as Dick Whitman.

Jaimie Trueblood/AMC Not divine, and not too much comedy: Jon Hamm as Don Draper on “Mad Men.”

As always, Draper's descent - and possible redemption? - is orchestrated by Matthew Weiner, the creator and show runner of “Mad Men,” who directed the season finale and wrote the episode with Carly Wray. Mr. Weiner spoke last week about this episode and the events of the past season, one that elicited a wide range of reactions, some positive and some strongly negative, from longtime viewers. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.

Q.

The season finale felt like a long-awaited comeuppance for Don, though maybe not the one we were expecting.

A.

Basically, we started the season saying, Society is in revolt. Don Draper is in a place where he has been before, and his anxiety has never been worse because he knows he's been there before. Certain things are conceived as twists â€" you definitely expect Megan to find out about his affair, and it's Sally [who does]. That felt like that would be the worst thing that ever happened to him. His central problem, as you learn more about him, is this childhood and that anxiety of who he is and how he feels about himself and sex, and why he can't get into that life that he wants, and he'd be forced to â€" not necessarily change, but at least the admission of who he is. Looking in the mirror and saying, “Oh, yes, this is who I am.” What a gigantic step for anybody. Most of us never get there.

Q.

But there were some strong hints, going all the way back to the doorman's heart attack in the season premiere, that Don was going to die.

A.

Oh, I wanted you to think that Don was the one who was dying. Death can be literal, but death can be a transformation. I don't know if it's my concept of the tarot or what â€" the death card is always about change, and people get scared when they see it. But it's about the death of a condition or a state of things. As things in America, theoretically, go back to the way they were, with Nixon's election and every one of these revolutions and movements for social change being tamped down by the end of 1968, mostly through violence, people turn toward the things that they can change. In the Martin Luther King Jr. episode, a lot of that was about  people being driven together by this tragedy instead of being broken apart, and turning to the part that they could control or find joy in. Sally having her image of Don destroyed like this was irreparable. I think he realized that he had to recognize that he was keeping a secret that was destructive for them.

Q.

Is Don's marriage to Megan over? Has he lost his job at th e agency?

A.

No. I think his job is what it is. It's a leave of absence. It looks bad. But there has to be some punishment for the way he behaved. Firing their most important client, forcing them into a merger and then waging war on his partner, and the destructive swath that he cut through the agency, killing the public offering and everything else, that cannot go without punishment. The Hershey's meeting has little do with it. You have to be way, way more intrinsic than Don was this season to get away with that kind of stuff.

His marriage to Megan, you'll have to wait and see where that ends. I loved her showing some backbone and I loved her realization that he is the problem. When he went to California and was on hashish, you saw his fantasy version of her, which was her pregnant and tolerant of his philandering, and quitting her job. He's beyond old-fashioned. What he proposes to her in the finale and when he reneges on that, even tho ugh we know it's for more noble reasons that she thinks, I was glad to see her not just roll over and take that. I don't know how much hope there is for their relationship, but I would not take that as a definitive ending.

Q.

Where did this season's subplot about Bob Benson and his rivalry with Pete Campbell come from?

A.

We really wanted Pete to have an underling, that there was someone nipping at his heels, but was really, really good with people. Someone who, even without any substance, had a blind affection for Pete, almost an obsession with him. I don't even think it's gay. I think he honestly just loves what Pete represents, because Pete has everything that he wants. I'm not saying that he has not had that kind of experience, I don't know how he knows Manolo. But what I think the American e mployment structure allows for is completely, let's say, unsubstantiated success. [Bob] has lied about everything, and I loved the idea that Pete would find this out and realize that there was no point in going against this guy. Because he had lost this battle with Don, and he was outmatched in some way by someone who was that wily. I'm not saying that Bob doesn't have a diabolical side. You can see it from the finale, that he definitely should not be messed with. [laughs]

Q.

The season finale seems to suggest that Bob could be back in further episodes.

A.

I would not say that we'll never see Bob again. We only have one season of the show and I have a lot of people to juggle. But I would love to work with James [Wolk] again. He was fantastic.

Q.

So you're committed to the idea that the next season of “Mad Men” will be its last?

A.

I am. I don't know much about it, as a season. But I definitely am committed to that, yes. I can tell you that if you don't want to repeat yourself, a show gets harder and harder, and we're at Episode 78. And I think it's time to come into the home stretch. I am not prepared for it emotionally. And there's been no discussion of anything other than ending it. I am just going to take a couple of weeks off, and regroup, and we will get back in it.

Q.

You told me this year that you had stopped reading the online commentary on “Mad Men.” Were you able to maintain that throughout the season?

A.

I really did that. It was better for me. Because I can't get involved in that conversation. I don't have any control over it. All the commenters who are writing about it, it's not a voice that you need in your head. People have found a way to tell me about it, and I've never received such a positive response to the show. The themes of the show this year really seem to capture the mood that people are in right now, which is one of anxiety and the loss of confidence, and fear of the future and a kind of curiosity about what we have to do to not feel this way.

Q.

Now that the season is over, will you go back and read what was written? Because the reaction was very polarized. Some viewers really felt that this season had gone off the rails.

A.

I'm not going to look at it. I think that people who are writing about the show while it's actually happening are doing it for themselves, and they should work that out. I have evidence of people saying the show's going off the rails, that nothing was as good as the pilot, when they were watching the “Carousel” speech [from the Season 1 finale]. So I don't know what to tell you. The desire to be discuss ed is being satisfied, and that's what I want. There's no way to talk about this without being defensive. What would you do with the show? I don't know. Where is your show? [laughs] I would say this: A polarized audience is an involved audience.

New York Today: Prepare to Sweat

Bryan Thomas for The New York Times With the heat beating down, people on Sunday looked for anything to shield themselves. Look for more of the same through Tuesday.

The National Weather Service just let us know that it is going to be an oppressive start to the week, issuing a heat advisory at 4:02 a.m. on Monday. Hot, muggy and gross are in the forecast, with temperatures in the low 90s, an the heat index in the mid 90s.

Bring an umbrella. There may be a thundershower this afternoon, though the heat won’t start to break until late in the week. Yes, after so many cool days - suddenly, it’s summer.

Here’s what else you need to know first thing Monday:

TRANSIT & TRAFFIC â€" At least you won’t be sweltering in traffic jams or stalled subways, not yet anyway. No major tie-ups out there.

COMING UP TODAY â€"

- The City Council will vote on whether to send a package of stop-and-frisk reforms to the full council for a vote - the most significant action yet amid the ongoing war of words between the council majority and the mayor and police commissioner.

- If the Supreme Court rules on the federal or California same-sex marriage bans, there will be a rally or protest (depending on the outcome) outside the Stonewall Inn in the Village at 5:30.

- Open! ing arguments in the federal death penalty retrial of Ronell Wilson, who killed two detectives in Staten Island in 2003 (and fathered a son recently by one of his prison guards). His first death penalty sentence was overturned by a judge who said prosecutors prejudiced the jury.

- On the campaign trail, Anthony Weiner, Christine C. Quinn and John Catsimatidis will take questions at the CUNY journalism school’s Center for Community and Ethnic Media, while William C. Thompson Jr. will unveil a plan to provide financial aid for undocumented students.

- New Jersey flags will fly at half mast in honor of James Gandolfini.

- Don Rickles is not only still alive, he’s getting a “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the Friars Club tonight.

AND LASTLY â€" Cacao pods are ripening at the New York Botanical Garden.

Ivo M. Vermeulen/New York Botanical Garden Mmmm. Chocolate.

This week, we’re testing New York Today, which we put together just before dawn and update throughout the morning. What information would you like to see here when you wake up to help you plan your day? Send suggestions to anewman@nytimes.com or tweet them at @nytmetro using #NYToday. Thanks!