It’s been a quotable year at the 92nd Street Y. Our guest lecturers left some yummy soundbites stuck in our minds. Here’s a few:

“Bonobos are the sexiest apes.”
—Frans de Waal, October 10, 2005

“The day we turn to journalists for military strategy, this country’s going to hell.”
—Thomas P.M. Barnett, October 23, 2005

“The question is not ‘how’s the war in Iraq going?’ The war ended May 2003. The question now is ‘how’s the peace in Iraq going?’”
—Thomas P.M. Barnett again, October 23, 2005

“Fortunately, monetary theory works at 14,000 feet above sea level.”
—Jeffrey Sachs on his work controlling hyperinflation in Bolivia, October 27, 2005

“Turkey: Why be second-class Europeans, when we can be the leader of the Arab world?”
—Ralph Buultjens, November 6, 2005

“My West Wing equivalent would be the bleary-eyed insomniac surrounded by coffee cups.”
—Gene Sperling, November 17, 2005

“We won the argument but lost all influence over the government.”
—David Hare, December 5, 2005

“Generally, if the statistics are bad ones, they’re pretty much closer to the truth.”
—Elizabeth Economy, referring to China’s government reports, December 4, 2005

“I lose my temper more quickly. I have to—I’m getting old.”
—Harold Bloom, December 12, 2005

2006 promises a whole new slew of quotables with guests such as string theorists Brian Greene and Michio Kaku, ambassadors L. Paul Bremer and Richard Holbrooke, film moguls Bob and Harvey Weinstein, authors Pete Hamill and Tom Wolfe, comedians Carl Reiner and Dick Cavett, poet Seamus Heaney, professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and many, many others. See you next year.

Art critic and historian Jed Perl is a regular fixture over at The New Republic and The New York Review of Books. His 2000 book Eyewitness: Reports from an Art World in Crisis lamented art in “the age of the dealmakers” and the recently released New Art City—a history of New York’s mid-century art scene—is turning out to be one of the most popular art-related texts of the year.

We recently had the opportunity to have a short chat with Jed about New Art City, Eyewitness and his upcoming 92nd Street Y appearance. After the jump, Perl on the current New York art scene, his favorite museums and why we’re still in “the age of the dealmakers.”

Happy New Year! Here’s what we have on the agenda to kick off 2006:

· Yet Another Award Winner: Berlin International Film Festival winner Fateless screens on Tuesday, January 3 at Makor. The story of a Hungarian teenager’s survival of Nazi concentration camps will be followed by a post-screening discussion with author and professor Thane Rosenbaum.

· Saving the Cute, Cuddly Things: The ASPCA is aiming to make New York a “no-kill” city by 2008. Learn how they will do that with ASPCA President Edwin Sayres and Jane Hoffman, president of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, on Thursday, January 5.

· New Year’s Jazz: Join some of New York’s best jazz pianists including Dick Hyman, Derek Smith and Bill Charlap for Dick & Derek’s Piano Party on Saturday, January 7. Learn more.

· Dance, Mexican-style: The Calpulli Mexican Dance company presents Mexican indigenous dance and music on January 8 with Images of Dance from Mexico.

· From HBO to 92nd Street: Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Susie Essman will be stopping by on Sunday, January 8 to talk comedy and Hollywood with The View’s Joy Behar. Want a sneak preview?

In less than two weeks, humorist of the moment Andy Borowitz will be stopping by Makor along with stand-up comedian Eugene Mirman and CBS’ Lisa Leingang to discuss a topic close to our hearts: the future of comedy. It’s part of our New York States of Mind series hosted by author Peter Hyman (The Reluctant Metrosexual)

For a sneak preview, there’s a transcript of Borowitz’s MSNBC interview available online, and it’s full of one-liners.

[A Laughing Matter: A Comedic State of the Union: 01/11/06]

What do you get when you combine computer nerds and tango fans? The Tango Wiki. It’s one of the more intriguing ideas we’ve seen out there for sites dance-related: a collaborative effort to document Argentine tango songs, events and dance moves.

And we’re having one of our tango parties next week with Madonna’s tango dance coaches, Danel and Maria. Stop by.

[Argentine Tango Party: 01/07/06]