Even if it wasn’t one of your New Year’s resolutions, moving around is never a bad idea. One of the big problems we have is gym memberships can be expensive, and frankly we have such issues with commitment that getting locked into anything for a year is a frightening prospect. So we thought we’d look around for some cheap, noncommittal ways to get active; free is best, but the occasional class shouldn’t break the bank.......

Remember how we told you about a major music festival being planned in lovely Vineland, New Jersey? Well, we've found some updates on the festival at Brooklyn Vegan, via former Phillyist Spencer. Surprise, surprise – a community group has organized to oppose the festival. We can't help but giggle a little bit that the groups acronym is "NARCS." Also, there appears to be some proposed legislation to restrict the hours of operation of the festival......

Last weekend, Ross and I headed to King of Prussia to do some last-minute shopping. As you no doubt know, King of Prussia ten days before Christmas is insane and unpleasant, and after a few hours, you just really want to take a break. That's how we were feeling when we decided to have a few drinks and some chowdah at Legal Sea Foods. It wasn't too long before the couple behind us was......

Rock chamber ensemble? What does that even mean? In case you were a bit fuzzy on the concept like I was, it means classically trained musicians have taken up rock instruments and play music composed by classically-trained composers. In short, high-art rock music. Not a bad idea, right? As a result, I was pleasantly surprised and very impressed with rock chamber ensembles Newspeak and Electric Kompany presented by Chamber Music Now! in their season opener.......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Monday Night Football: Redskins at Eagles (Mon, 8:30PM-11:30PM, ABC & ESPN) - The Eagles have their first home game on a Monday night against a team they really should be able to beat. In fact, people are already calling this one a "must-win" game for the Eagles. We're trying to remain hopeful and confident... but last week's showing was pretty poor... SPAM: The Documentary (Tue, 11PM-12AM, Court......

Performance: Gatz (Part One) (Elevator Repair Service) (Second half and future showtimes) I'm actually not going to review Gatz until after I see the second half tonight, but as this is a diary, meant to track the Phillyist staff's Live Arts/Fringe progress over the course of the festival, I thought I'd at least give the show an endorsement, based on the half that I've seen. Why? Well, because it only runs until Sunday. So I......

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you. Apparently, in the next three to 10 years we're expecting scientists to create artificial life. Um... does that freak anybody else out?! Didn't Dr. Frankenstein decide this was a bad idea? If you've even seen the ads for Superbad, you know there's a sequence where a character creates a fake ID with the name "McLovin" on it. Well, now you can......

It's official. The No Duh of the Year Award goes to SEPTA. For a number of reasons, of course, but the one that got our goat this morning was decision to remove the malt liquor ads from two buses. According to the Inquirer, SEPTA officials have concluded that the giant, tacky Colt 45 ads plastering the buses might be a bad idea given the hold violence has on our city. To that we say,......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Most Likely to Suck: Even Money - Lot of red flags on this one: it's an ensemble drama (ick), it's a message film (ugh!), AND it's about a seemingly unrelated group of people whose lives all end up intersecting (argh!!). And, indeed, the news from the tomatoes is not good. It may star Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, Kelsey Grammer, Ray Liotta, Forest Whitaker, and Jay Mohr,......

...Freak-Outs: This might be one of the funniest, most pathetic, things Britney has done yet! (Via The Superficial.) ...Yeah, Right! Paris loves Jesus. (Via What Would Tyler Durden Do?) ...Theft: Lindsay Lohan is, like, our hero. (Via People.) ...Identity Theft: Well, nobody wants to see the real Katie Holmes having sex, either. (Via Egotastic!) ...Best Actress Honors: Two excellent performances here, not to be missed. (So we embedded them, too.) (Via Hollywood Rag.) ...Has-Beens: Nothing......

...Old-Fashioned Values: Where's the shotgun? (Via The Superficial.) ...Shockers: What? A famous person avoids jail time? (Via People.) ...Schadenfreude: Oh, we hope he goes to jail. And drops the soap. (Via ABC News.) ...Racism: No surprise here, folks. (Via Guardian Unlimited.) ...Low Self-Esteem: This might just be the funniest thing we've heard all day. (Via PopBytes.) ...Ewwwwww: This is not only a bad idea, it's a disgusting one. (Via CelebNewsWire.) ...Extravagance: This seems just a......

Daniel Whelan made his the final meeting of his five-year term on the Philadelphia School Reform Commission a doozie by proposing two controversial resolutions that hadn't been presented before: one to bar school employees from engaging in political activity (rejected), and another calling for the sale of valuable artworks to raise money for the schools (postponed), which brought to mind the whole Eakins "Gross Clinic" dust-up. Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia has doubled the number......

Right before college graduation, a bunch of my friends and I found ourselves wondering how we’d meet guys after college. A bit into the conversation, we decided we’d probably meet them the same ways we had thus far: through friends, at bars, same old, same old. Then someone wondered, “Hey, what about at work?” This was a new concept for us. Yes, we were all aware that dating a co-worker is generally a bad......

...Confirmation that Eugenics May Not Have Been a Bad Idea: That poor kid. (Via The Superficial.) ...Addiction: A recovering addict frequently in the spotlight turns back to alcohol and drugs? Seriously? (Via The Hi-Heeled Hotties.) ...Oh, the Humanity: This is one of the most disgusting things we've ever heard. No, really. (Via What Would Tyler Durden Do?) ...Closets, Exits Thereof: We're not surprised, except the fact that the news broke last Thursday, a few......

Our weekly look into the odd, strange and bizarre at one .org. Just because a guy can dance and speak in odd cadences does not make him worthy of political office. But it's not a bad idea. Yeah, lick it! That’s our oh SNAP! of the week. Topic of the week: cheap meat. Discuss. Sorry to say, but modeling/promotional work/acting is probably not the best way to get fast cash. Unless it’s THAT kind......

Phillyist is pleased and proud to welcome Katie Kuhl into the fray. In addition to looking for love in all the wrong places, Katie is a local actress who will someday be doing great things, onstage and in life. Just you wait. One of my dearest, darling manhunting partners emailed me this today: “Lots of Missed Connections on Craigslist at The Last Drop. We need to start spending more time there.” I didn’t know what......

We were only copy-pasting between two different spread sheets...why did the data all change? At least the -ists are consistent. Usually. Austinist: People suck. SFist: Everyone wants a piece of Apple. Chicagoist: Yay! A story pertaining to us! Seattlest: We dig this bumper sticker. Natch. Houstonist: We kind of see this as a bad idea. Shanghaiist: We've yet to decide whether this will be more or less annoying than Madonna's assumed British-ness. Londonist: It's not......

I'm one of those people who likes M. Night Shyamalan's stuff, and not just because he comes from around here, and makes all his movies here (although that's very nice). I like his films because, even when they're ultimately not that good, they still have brilliance and greatness in them. I defy anyone to tell me the man is not a talented filmmaker. He can compose beautiful images and tell a story with them like......

...False Appearances: Even the celebrities we think are moderately normal turn out not to be, sometimes. (Via People.) ...Nonsensical Cameos: Why clutter up your fictional movie with real-life characters if you're not re-making Forrest Gump? (Via THN.) ...Engagement: Funny how Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn never officially acknowledged their relationship, but now they're engaged, isn't it? (Via Yahoo!) ...Malicious Children: Coco Arquette wants the paparrazi to chase her mommy. Bet she'll be embarassed in......

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you. Giant Tetris with milk crates! Art is cool. (Via) List time again: the Top 10 Most Important Games in the History of Gaming. It's hard to argue with any of the choices. Except that we still don't get what the big deal is with Mario 64. Man, that game is annoying. (Via) Wow, supposedly they're thinking of remaking Grease 2. Usually......

Hey, Philly! We have another professional sports team to our name! It's the first of its kind in the state, and features world-renowned athletes. To be exact, it's a women's softball team called the Philadelphia Force. After a couple of rain-outs, they finally had their first game this past weekend. And they may play in Allentown, but they're definitely a Philly team; they lost their home opener. We like them, though, because we're choosing......

Phillyist really didn't think it was supposed to rain yesterday, so we got stuck in it. It was cold, and we were very wet by the time we walked the few blocks home. But knowing we had the other -ists to come home to made us feel all warm and fuzzy, so we didn't mind too much. Austinist: Did De Niro even go to college? SFist: As opposed to our eighteenth century poetry professor......

...Engagement: Nicole Kidman is engaged. We wish her best luck and happy endings, especially considering her last marriage. (Via The Superficial) ...Finales: Will and Grace ends tonight. Don't forget your tissues -- it'll probably be a tear-jerker! (Via E! Online) ...Golddigging: Heather Mills is divorcing Sir Paul McCartney. And there is no pre-nup. (Via People) ...Yawn: Nobody likes Lindsay Lohan, K-Fed, Paris Hilton, or Star Jones. Shocking! (Via What Would Tyler Durden Do?) ...Stupid:......

Governor Rendell is opposed to direct shipments of wine to residents of Pennsylvania. Instead, he wants all wine to go through the state system, so the Liquor Control Board can keep its profits and alcohol doesn't get into the hands of minors (because you know that's how minors are always getting their liquor - by direct-ordering it, and not at all by getting fake IDs or asking their older brothers to get it for......