We know, we know, it's not Philadelphia related – but anything that pokes fun at David Blaine gets a gold star from us: Watch, and you'll never look at chopsticks (or Blaine's street schtick) the same way again.... [continue]

Filmmakers the Polish Brothers... [continue]

Billy Bob Thornton... [continue]

Sex blogger Rachel Kramer Bussel... [continue]

Thursday is certainly tempting and titillating this week, as not one, but two events feature the beast with two backs tonight: The ICA is hosting a lecture with Penn history prof Richard Meyer titled "Art, Sex, and Censorship in the 1970s." Wait, there was censorship in the 1970s? Holy post-McCarthyism, Batman! This totally non-soporific lecture is at 5:30 PM sharp on 188 S. 36th St. For the visually inclined among you: get your (goth)... [continue]

USA Today shows up late to the party and discovers South Philly's Mexican neighborhood, including infamous local secret Taqueria La Veracruzana: At La Veracruzana, which bills its spread as "Los Originales Tacos Mexicanos," a taco filling of choice is chorizo. The spicy Mexican sausage is probably the greasiest taco option, but also has one of the most unique tastes, not to be broached without a cooling glass of water, or bottle of mango juice,... [continue]

From cult to college? No, this isn't the Rocky Horror Picture Show -- it's the Divine Tracy Hotel, where the DP reports that the Father Divine cult is packing up to make way for Penn students: Where members of a tiny religious sect once stood singing hymns, students will soon rest in tanning beds and watch plasma-screen TVs. The former Divine Tracy Hotel at 20 S. 36th St. has been sold for $9 million... [continue]

Worried about Philadelphia's much-lamented "brain drain" and its effect on our economy? As the Daily Pennsylvanian reports it, great white hopes like Hunter Elwood should assuage your fears: It's Monday night. Some friends are coming over to watch the football game in a couple hours. Only one thing is on your mind - we're going to need beer. That's where Hunter Elwood - and his Web site, Beerrightnow.com - comes in. ... "You can... [continue]

Daily Pennsylvanian conservative columnist Stephen Morse interviews Dan Savage about his ire for Rick "Man On Dog" Santorum with rather flamboyant results: From the interview: "Carl Romanelli should be dragged behind a pickup truck until there's nothing left but the road." (2:41) "Any progressive who votes for a Green anymore after Nader and now Romanelli is a fucking idiot and should be beaten with sticks." (3:05) "If Carl Romanelli gets back on the ballot, someone... [continue]

Could Republican House Speaker Dennis "Hasturd" Hastert join Mark Foley and ex-Gov Jim McGreevey in the "repressed formerly closeted homos" camp? Gay news blog Qweerty.com certainly thinks so: Lucky for all of us who enjoy watching the downfall of others, The Wayne Madsen Report has confirmed from Washington insiders that Turd-Face does, in fact, like it in the butt. The rumors about another top GOP member of the House being involved in sexual encounters... [continue]

My name's Brian. That's me in the picture above. It's not a good picture of me. In fact, it may be the worst picture I've ever taken. So begins SettleforBrian.com, the answer to all of those pretentious, swishy websites out there that promise love in two clicks and $29.99 a month. Brian doesn't want kids, sports a bald pate and a big nose, and got spurned by EHarmony.com ("I'm completely serious", he says, explaining that... [continue]

Looks like even the tenure track at one of America’s most prestigious universities won’t prevent you from getting arrested for fucking around with baby boy Thai hookers. Professor Robert Ward, an emeritus prof at the prestigious Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, has found himself stripped of his teaching duties after getting caught with homemade kiddie porn for the third time in eleven years. Who wants to bet he’s a Republican? Anyone?... [continue]

Has Philadelphia dropped the cheesesteaks and picked up the barbells? That's what the latest issue of Men's Fitness claims, reporting that Philly is now America's "23rd fittest" city. Sounds mediocre, but that's quite a climb from 1999, when we were ranked the most obese city in America. That's a lot of uneaten scrapple!! And who's to credit for our Charlie Brown-esque rise to 23rd place? None other than Mayor John Street, of course. Besides... [continue]

Dear Phillial: I went on birth control long before I began having sex because I had really bad problems with my menstrual cycle. In the past, my sexual partners have insisted on using condoms, despite the fact that I was on the pill (and then on the ring). I've recently begun having sex with someone without condoms (we've both been tested and we're clean), but it occurred to me that I don't know whether I... [continue]

Yes, Craiglist. Phillial has stooped this low. Shut up. Philadelphia, we've found your seamy Internet underbelly. And we're a little disappointed with you. Not to go all Carrie Bradshaw on your ass, but we can't help but wonder why your single men are inept at the art of writing a personals ad. Is it the low funding for public schools? Low self-esteem? Mayor Street? We read Craiglist -- religiously, of course, for the Rants and... [continue]

We know, we know. It seems the only time Phillial rears its enviously sexy head is to censure wild and wacky local sex politics. Our editor has already told us to go sit spreadeagle in a corner. We think he’s playing “Bad Cop” in this dungeon. Handcuffs aside, we’d like to decompress the so-bad-it-should-be-on-Jerry real life drama of Signatures: the strip joint that just won’t go away. You probably first heard about the drama in... [continue]

If you’re a swinger, you’ve heard of it by now. If you’re not, you’re probably wondering what happened to Señor Rattler’s Cantina. Club Kama Sutra, the consensual-sex club for adventurous adults and their partners (and, to outsiders, ostensibly the aforementioned poorly named Mexican restaurant), was shut down two weeks ago by the Department of Licenses and Inspections after a surprise midnight raid that yielded a few minor “business code” violations. According to Kama Sutra’s... [continue]

Kali Morgan - the proprietrix of Philadelphia's own Passional and editrix of the similarly titled magazine - knows great sex. And she isn't afraid to talk about it. "I was raised by born-again Christians," Kali says. "They've pretty much gotten over what I do for a living." Or give you a sales pitch. "The Hitachi Magic Wand is a guaranteed orgasm for women. Guys say they don't like vibrators because they're jealous. Jealous of what?... [continue]

We know, we know. You're sick of The Raven, and your tell-tale heart wants Halloween poetry with more substance than black cats and mysterious floorboards. Never fear: Phillyist knows that you want literary without the Anne Rice bullshit (her conversion to write "for the Lord" aside). And, like us, you also want free food that doesn't taste like the Philly Diner. Tonight's Spookeasy, a send-up of the Kelly Writers House regular Wednesday open-mic Speakeasy... [continue]

Dr. Drew Pinsky is mad. About the Discovery Channel, no less. We're sitting with him - and sex journalists from around the country - in the penthouse of the W Hotel in New York City, where he's hosting a conversation with us about anything and everything, from sex in America to STD's, from his stint on Loveline to his new radio partnership with the toothy Man Show staple, Adam Carolla. And he's pissed. "How many... [continue]