Perhaps Senator John McCain is feeling pressure to court the remaining Christian conservative votes he has not already pulled out from under former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who is a former evangelical pastor. Many far-right conservative voters have expressed doubts about McCain’s allegiance to their values, including notorious radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. This may be the reason why in the past week he has been openly embracing fiery evangelical leaders. In 2000, the Arizona......

Remember that call for writers we put out a few weeks ago? Well, the intrepid Tony Iantosca was one of the first people to respond to it, so it makes sense that he'd also be the first new writer from our new batch to post on Phillyist. Tony is a recent graduate of Johnson State College in Vermont and moved to Philly on a whim. He's still getting to know the ropes around Philadelphia, but......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY Money Folders II: Second installment of series featuring the Philadelphyinz, DJ Gravity, and more at the Arts Garage (1535 Ridge Avenue), 10PM-3AM. $10 (women free before 10:30PM) Sing, Sing a Song: Choral Concert with Organ presented by the Delius Society at St. Mark’s Church (1625 Locust), 7:30. Free Art Is Primary: Opening reception for Red Yellow Blue, a solo show of artist Vincent McLoughlin, at AXD Gallery......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. What Would Jesus Really Do? (Mon, 8PM-9PM, CNN) - A discussion of how Jesus might respond to various contemporary issues, like the war in Iraq, global warming, and the divide between rich and poor. Includes commentary from various "experts," including Jerry Falwell. Christmas Specials (Mon, 8PM-9PM, ABC; Mon, 8PM-11PM, NBC; Mon, 8PM-10PM, AMC; Mon, 10PM-11:30PM, WHYY) - Some of these have already played this month, and we......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Nova (Tue, 8PM-9PM, WHYY & WLVT) - This episode apparently consists mainly of footage of a war between termites and fierce, dragon-shaped army ants. The ants are used by a Cameroon tribe known as the Mofu to protect their huts and granaries from the termites. Good times! Wired Science (Wed, 8PM-9PM, WHYY & WLVT) - As always, a great big hodge podge of crazy applications of science......

If you make it through the day without melting into the asphalt, you'll be able to catch the first night of the IFC Free Film Fest at the Schuylkill Banks. Offering three nights of free entertainment, the Fest includes Raising Arizona (tonight), The Princess Bride (Wednesday), and last but certainly not least, Napoleon Dynamite (Thursday). In addition to the main event, the Media Lab Lounge will highlight the film and Indie culture of Philadelphia, with......

To clear up any speculation of bias, we at Phillyist absolutely love the Phillies. Pat Burrell? Not so much. After reading enough recap articles about Phillies games, you might notice that Pat Burrell’s name is frequently preceded by an ‘until,’ or ‘but,’ followed by a phrase similar to “deflating effort.” And if you’ve seen “Pat the Bat (on his shoulders)” up with two strikes, ‘but’ is only one letter short from what you’ll usually see......

With all that went down this week, we thought we'd cheer everyone up by giving everyone a double dose of dogs. It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions this week at DCist. Like the rest of country, we were floored by the news of so many dead coming out of Virginia Tech, and with so many of the victims and their relatives from the D.C. area, we felt it important to pay tribute to those......

Spring is when we get busy here in the Ist-A-Verse. Very busy. But, after staying bundled-up indoors all winter, it's nice for us to be out, about, and collecting things to write about for you. Here's a glimpse at what's been keeping your favorite citybloggers busily away from home and out of bed. For LAist, strong winds attacked LA on the same day the Feds raided the Crips. Not to fear, though: the Japanese version......

News Anchor Kerri-Lee Halkett...

Tomorrow night, The Slip, New England's quickest-rising stars (not named Matsuzaka), are hitting Philly for a headlining show at World Cafe Live. If you're a fan of bands like Umphreys McGee, you'll be blown away by these three dudes. Last time through the area, they opened for My Morning Jacket and didn't really get a chance, in a six-song set, to prove why they've been voted Boston's best live band. Phillyist has been sold on......

Landon Donovan continued to put ’06 in the past with a stellar performance against Mexico last night. He capped off USA’s victory with a blistering charge through midfield, in which he shed two defenders before deftly turning to the left to avoid keeper Oswaldo Sanchez and slamming the ball home to make it 2-0 at the 90 minute mark. In his last two games he has 3 goals after going 18 international appearances without a......

After last night's loss to Houston, we no longer care what Will Bunch (Ryan Howard doesn't pitch) or ESPN's Alan Schwarz (and his interestingly anonymous Phillies fan reader) say. We're ready to say that the Phillies are out of the Wild Card race, and we're so sure of it that we're writing this post before San Diego inevitably beats Colorado and takes a three-game lead over the Phillies. Because the Phillies play the first......

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets. Giant Monsters Attack Japan! No, that's not a real news headline; it's the title of an upcoming "man in suit" movie from Nickelodeon films, Matt Stone, and Trey Parker. Which is nearly as weird and unlikely-sounding, actually... These two guys had kind of a genius scam going: go into Wal-Mart, stuff some games down your pants, then go into the GameStop next door......

It's a bad teen movie cliché to throw around the choice expressions "bros before hos" and "chicks before dicks." That being said, it's absolutely the right mantra to live your life by. I'm going to skip over the topic I promised last week (I'll get to it next time, I promise) because I've lately noticed an epidemic that should have disappeared after high school: the overthrowing of one's friends for one's boy/girlfriend. That, dear readers,......

Skateboarders gathered at LOVE park last Wednesday because it was June 21st, which, besides being the first day of summer, is also Go Skateboarding Day. Of course, as we all know, skateboarding is not allowed in LOVE park - but the kids who were there last Wednesday claim they weren't even doing that when they and a 49-year-old mother of one of them got screamed at and even pushed around by police. And so the......

Not that we needed it, but this weekend was yet more proof of how being a Phillies fan is by far the most aggravating occupation known to mankind. After interviewing Dawn Staley on Tuesday, Phillyist stuck around in D.C. for the Phils' four-game series against the Nationals. We now realize that, as usual, our optimism of Thursday afternoon was a big mistake. Yes, the Nationals have some serious power in leftfielder Alfonso Soriano, and they......

Philly Roller Girls...

...Legal Troubles: Snoop Dogg and his posse caused some trouble in London Heathrow Airport and ended up getting themselves arrested. They were apparently smashing bottles of whiskey in the Duty Free shop. It all started when someone asked Snoop to pass the Courvoisier when he'd made it clear he'd only accept Gin and Juice. (Via E! Online.) ...Stupid: "Suri" isn't Hebrew for "princess" after all. Silly Tom Cruise! (Via What Would Tyler Durden Do?) ...Surprise!......

Arrests at Eagles games are not exactly surprising or unusual. Who can forget the famous Eagles Court at the Vet? However, Christopher Noteboom from Tempe, Arizona has stunned even the most cynical amongst us with his arrest on Sunday during the Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field -- for rushing the field during the game, dumping a baggie of his mother's ashes as he ran, and then collapsing on the 30-yard line. Notebloom spoke with......

We've read all of the negative columns and blog posts. We've bashed just about every Eagle to our friends. We've listened to WIP so much that we think we'd be better off just flogging ourselves. But now that we've had time to chill out and realize that the Phillies will certainly screw up far worse in the spring, we're trying to look on the bright side when it comes to the Eagles. While we're certainly......

On July 26, 2000, Phillies pitcher Curt Schilling (now the most-expensive set-up man around while he rehabs his ankle injury) was traded to the fesity Arizona Diamondbacks after winning 102 games in a Phillies uniform, including one in the 1993 World Series. Schilling was upset in Philly, he wanted out and the rest is history. The Phillies may not see a pitcher that good for 25 years. He’s up there with Steve Carlton and Robin......