One of The First NYC Human Babies of 2013 was born in the slope

Photo via New York Methodist Hospital (assuming they got the parents' permission on this one...)

We are reporting that Gothamist is reporting that the Daily News is reporting that a live human child was born at Methodist Hospital at 12:54 a.m. on January 1, and that this was one of the first babies to be pushed out of a uterus anywhere in the five boroughs in 2013.  The parents are Jungmin Oh and Benjamin Brown, who live in Park Slope, and the baby looks healthy and the mother looks healthy and the father looks like he has a healthy beard and everything is really awesome.  Congratulations!

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An Open Letter to the couple who shits in a pot just to live in park slope

Dear Marcella and Ryan Marshall,

I recently read in a Daily Mail On-Line article that the two of you have been shitting in a chamber pot instead of a toilet for the past three years.  According to the article, not having an actual toilet allows you to live in Park Slope studio apartment for only $300 a month.  Now, I don't consider myself "fussy" by any stretch of the imagination, but I still feel compelled to tell you that I think what you're doing is really, really terrifying.

Here's a little snippet of what you, Ryan, have said about the living arrangement:

"Let's just say it was summer when we moved in,' he recalls. 'We don't have or ideologically support air conditioning, so nights could get a little rough, especially when you don't know what to expect when you lift the lid... It's not necessarily for the squeamish."

And are you seriously crapping into a pot and then dumping it in the gutter, as the article says?  Because I'd like to know why I have to pick up my dog's turds while we're out on a walk, put the shit in a plastic baggie, tie the aforementioned baggie, and then go put it in a waste recepticle.  Why do I have to do all that for my dog, if you're just dumping your poo in the street?  Instead of dumping it in the gutter, couldn't you just crap in a bucket with a tight-fitting lid?  And then, when the bucket was full, you could seal it and put it out with the trash.  Actually, forget I suggested that.  That's pretty much repellent, as well.

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FiPS Round-Up: Where to Eat Out On Christmas!

Since we all know what a lousy cook you are, we don't want you to starve to death over the holidays.  So, we rounded up a bunch of restaurants that are open on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day, just so you'd know where to eat.  While lots of places in the neighborhood -- Al di la, Sidecar, Applewood, Talde and Thistle Hill Tavern, to name a few -- are closed both days, it is possible to get a meal in a sit-down restaurant on December 24 or 25. 

Open both December 24 and 25: 

AOC Bistro  If you're desperate for French food on Christmas, or if you're just too lazy to kill yourself, you can go to AOC on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. 

Kiku Asian Bistro  Accepting reservations on Open Table.  Eat here, then call your mom and tell her you had sushi for Christmas dinner.  It'll totally piss her off.

Kinara  Open seven days, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Hindus don't care about the sweet little baby jeebus in a manger, I guess.

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This Winter, Make Your Own Gingerbread Brownstone!

Happy holidays, FiPSTERS!

The Farm on Adderley has partnered up with Hottenanny Art House to hold gingerbread house-making workshops for the fine citizens here in Park Slope. There will be a total of three workshops happening on December 23: at 10AM, 11:30PM and 1PM. And since they're only using natural candies and dried fruits to decorate the houses, it's practically healthy for your kids!  No corn syrup or artificial junk on these houses! 

If you're thinking of signing up, you better do so sooner than later, as spots fill up fast. Here are a couple of ideas for Slope-centric Gingerbread creations (I don't actually expect your kids to make any of these things, but if they do...well...my hat would be off to you.  Though, I don't actually wear hats.  I mean, I like hats, I just don't really have a "hat face," you know?)

Anyway.  Here we go:

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Here Are My Favorite Comments From Chabad.org's "When Is Hanukkah?" page

My husband's a half-jew (on the wrong side -- his father's), so we're about as minimally invested in Hanukkah as anyone could be, without being not invested at all.  But since Hanukkah involves eight days of presents, we still try and celebrate, even if it's only a little. The only problem is, the 25th of Kislev keeps moving around on us. Fortunately, I looked it up over the weekend, because in 2013 starts on a Tuesday, which is super, duper early. So if you haven't been planning your gifts ahead of time, or you've misplaced your menorah -- well, you'd better get on that shit, stat!

Anyway.  When I went to the Google Machine to look up the dates for this year's festival of lights, I noticed that the people at Chabad.Org allow folks to leave a comment on their "When is Hanukkah this year?" page. Some of those comments -- complete with misspellings, grammar errors, and indicia of psycho-social disorders -- are noteworthy. Here are the top three:

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