The Super Bowl may be the most watched television event of the year, but that doesn’t mean that other networks don’t try their best to lure viewers. The most talked-about counter programming to the Super Bowl last night, the ninth Animal Planet Puppy Bowl, garnered millions of viewers.

A rare first edition of Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” will be auctioned on Thursday, January 24, by Swann Galleries on East 25thStreet as part of a sale of 20th century illustration including original art and books. The sale will showcase a collection of works by the late children’s book author and illustrator owned by the late bookseller Reed Orenstein.

In 1976, the New York premiere of Philip Glass and Robert Wilson’s “Einstein on the Beach” captivated audiences, polarized critics and put both artists on the map of contemporary performance art. In four-and-a half hours, its famously reductive score, enigmatic text and limpid, tensile choreography (by Lucinda Childs) teases out the meaning of the time/space continuum.

Geoffrey Rush is one of Australia’s most celebrated exports, a protean character actor whose roles have ranged from the mentally frail pianist David Helfgott (his Oscar-winning performance in “Shine”) to George VI’s speech therapist Lionel Logue (“The King’s Speech”) to the Marquis de Sade (“Quills”).   

There are many definitions of comedy, and one is when circumstances are ripe for tragedy, but it fails to materialize. Uncle Vanya, Anton Chekhov’s tale of disappointed love and disappointed lives on a declining country estate, currently playing Lincoln Center Festival, is a comedy.

A 450-pound bronze sculpture was unveiled on Wednesday at New York City’s Fire Museum on Spring Street. “From Ashes to Answers,” which depicts a firefighter and his dog, was the inspiration of Jerry Means, a former fireman and arson investigation agent in Colorado.

A new exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum called “Churchill:  The Power of Words,” which showcased his long, celebrated career as a statesman, writer, and orator, opened on Friday. The show kicked off with a lecture by Churchill’s granddaughter, The Hon. Celia Sandys.

On Sunday, a joyous flotilla of 1,000 vessels will process up London's River Thames in honor of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Here in New York, a smaller flotilla will also pass the Statue of Liberty on Sunday to coincide with the Diamond Jubilee.

As part of the recent PEN World Voices Festival, Polish journalist and author Wojciech Jagielski was interviewed by Joel Whitney, a founding editor of Guernica: A Magazine of Art & Politics. Listen to the talk between Jagielski and Whitney.

Hugo Hamilton read from his book, “The Speckled People,” as part of the PEN World Voices Festival on May 3. Hear Hamilton comment on and read from his memoir at Ireland House.

Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 86th birthday on April 21, and the entire Commonwealth is preparing to honor her on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee on June 5. So a look at the future of the British monarchy is timely, and one take on this rich topic was offered at Bonham’s New York auction house.

The image of a hood bird of prey, poised on the hand of its master or mistress, is often linked to the medieval age of chivalry. But in fact the sport of falconry is among the oldest forms of hunting practiced today. Learn more about the ancient flight of falconry and see photos of birds of prey here.

Just for the record, the man who wrote, “April is the cruelest month” — this was before April was “National Poetry Month” — T.S. Eliot, was then a bank clerk. Chaucer was a civil servant and Wallace Stevens was an insurance executive.

Listen to the radio documentary “Titanic: Unsinkable Myth,” first broadcast in 1997 and slightly updated here, which explores the artistic legacy of the ocean liner.

Lucille Fletcher was born 100 ago today. A demure Vassar graduate from a working class family, Brooklyn-born Fletcher was the author of two of the most famous radio dramas of all time — “The Hitchhiker” and “Sorry, Wrong Number.” Listen to audio clips here.

The Center for New York City Affairs recently hosted a forum to review the connection between child welfare and juvenile justice in New York City and the state. Listen to the forum here.

The American Kennel Club has released its annual ranking of most popular dog breeds. For the 21st successive year, the Labrador Retriever took the top spot in the country, while the Yorkshire Terrier remained at the top of the pack of favorite breeds for New Yorkers.

In the movies, blonde is more than just a hair color. “In the mind of the moviegoing male,” says film critic Rafer Guzman, “the blonde is something that you own, that you want to own. She represents something that you’re going to attain … like an expensive watch ..."

Slideshow: Blondes — From Mary Pickford to Rihanna

Malachy the Pekingese wobbled off with "Best in Show" Tuesday night at the Westminster Kennel Club. The 4-year-old bobbing pompom won his 115th overall best in show title.