IT'S APRIL 1: BELIEVE IT...OR NOT!

FIDELIO MEETS 42ND STREET. Erika Sunnegaardh gets a big break this afternoon starring in Fidelio at the Metropolitan Opera. You (and countless others) can hear it on WQXR from 1:30-4:00 pm EST today!

LIZA WITH AN A+. The Liza Minnelli TV special Liza with a "Z" is finally back...on Showtime tonight and on DVD on April 4! This classic example of showbiz is so good it even made Gawker shed its snark (for a moment). See clips here. (NOTE: It's supposed to be a free Showtime weekend, though I'm not sure how that works.)

IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD. George Mason made it to the Final Four! You can squeeze in the game between the opera and Liza. (There's something for everyone at Blog About Town!)

CLOONEY GOES LOONEY ON GAWKER. Getting back to Gawker: Altruistic actor George Clooney plans to play pranks on the snarksite.

NEW YORK TIMES, PART I. An hour will simply vanish overnight, making days longer. Blame it on Benjamin Franklin.

NEW YORK TIMES, PART II. Next year the sheer fabric of time will be altered even earlier, conserving some drops of oil and possibly triggering another Y2K-type computer problem. Blame it on the government.

SPEAKING OF FABRIC. Cheap clothing (under $110) is now tax-free in New York City. Expect a surge in separates at $109.99 apiece.

SPEAKING OF TAXES. State legislators approved a budget on time for the second year in a row after 20 years of lateness. Now George "Pay Up" Pataki must consider signing it. It's part of the process, you see.

SPEAKING OF PROCESS. In a gesture typical of his administration, President George Bush signed a bill into law even though (due to a clerical error) it was not passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives. (Thanks, Other Dave!)

HORSES BECOME HARRIS. As Wonkette has made abundantly clear, it turns out that horses make Katherine Harris look good. So remember: You can't always judge a book by its cover. If she's any good at acting, I think she might be perfect for the film version of The Golden Compass.

OMGROFLOLWTFBBQ! Is it at all even remotely possible that pranksters have been having fun with Technorati for months? Look at today's Top Searches and decide for yourself!

THAT'S WHAT I CALL BLING! This week an enormous diamond ring was spotted in the sky. Lucy can't be far away.

IMPROV EVERYWHERE: BUSTED? Is it true...or isn't it? This and other crazy stuff covered via Gothamist.

ADDENDUM. How could I forget? In the wake of the Nick Sylvester fabrication fiasco at the Voice (and Gawker has it that Sylvester is finally out on his tuchis--along with James Ridgeway!), new New York Press editor-in-chief Steve Weinstein ("someone who has freelanced for several years") overturned longstanding journalistic tradition by releasing editors everywhere from sharing responsibility for errors: "We editors have to take reporters at their word. When they betray us, it's their shame, not ours." Gosh--Weinstein makes fact-checking sound so quaint!

Photo: David Marc Fischer