A planned merger between Wolf Block of Philadelphia and a Florida law firm has been called off due to the risks presented by the struggling economy. Meteorologists warn that Tropical Storm Hanna could hit the Philadelphia region with high winds and pounding rain tomorrow night and Saturday. A 62-year-old white electrician working at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia hung a noose in a black electrician's locker on August 11th. He says it was just a dumb......

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you. This is pretty hilarious: Denny's just started offering a new Rockstar Menu, featuring dishes created by actual rockstars when asked what they like to eat late at night. We're particularly excited about the Heart on a Plate created by Jesse Hughes from Eagles of Death Metal. (Via Filter) Director Mathieu Kassovitz says a troubled production and some bad editing have turned......

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets. Apparently McDonalds franchisees have been complaining about having to advertise for the dollar menu, their point being that it makes little sense to pay extra to publicize something that brings in less revenue. So McDonalds is considering changing things, starting with the double cheeseburger. Specifically, they're thinking about either making it more expensive, or taking the cheese off. If they go with the......

Former Rep. Mike Veon, the No. 2 Democrat in the state House, 10 former and current legislative aides, and one sitting lawmaker were all charged, in varying degrees, with theft and conflict of interest for running a massive political campaign machine out of government offices. According to prosecutors, they were paying staffers, with taxpayers' dollars, to work on political campaigns while on the government clock. More charges are expected. In one particular case, Michael......

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets. "Lingerie maker Triumph International Japan Ltd unveiled its environmentally friendly, and green colored, "Solar Power Bra" on Wednesday in Tokyo." No comment. (Via Jill) Tom Cruise will star as the President of the United States in the upcoming political thriller 28th Amendment. In the film, Cruise's character discovers that the United States is actually being controlled by a super secret organization (run by......

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you. Settle in, folks, because we've got a great big bundle of trailers for you today: a new one for Wall*E (via); Incredible Hulk (via); The Lost Boys: The Tribe (via); extremely creepy-looking horror flick The Strangers (via); and animated movie Batman: Gotham Knight. The trailer for Incredible Hulk is freaking FANTASTIC. We may just have a new most anticipated movie of 2008. "As......

Suits, it seems, once a mainstay of American corporate culture, are fast on the road to disappearance, only ever seen, really, at weddings, funerals, and the occasional court date. On the one hand, I'm not really going to complain about the ever-increasing popularity of blue jeans. On the other, this makes me a little sad. Few things are sexier than a man (helloooo, James Bond) or woman (Sharon Stone, Basic Instinct, even before she......

Highway Patrol Officers were passing a house on Jefferson Street near 26th on Friday night when they spotted a man who matched the description of someone who had robbed and shot another man earlier that night. When they arrested him, they discovered that the house had a cache of drugs, money, and weapons, including seven loaded handguns, an AK-47 assault rifle, a shotgun, two Kevlar vests, $3,000 in cash, and $25,000 worth of cocaine. In......

Proofreading Philly tries to capture typos, wordos, and all other kinds of grammatical mistakes that we see around the city. But we need your help! Email photos to us from your computer or your phone, and show the city that you care about good grammar. While browsing our email archives, Proofreading Philly came across this submission by PhillyPhever, who wrote, simply: "Learn how to spell Amerisource, Philly Business Journal!" Amen.......

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you. Nerd World dug up a pretty cute little video clip from the upcoming Where the Wild Things Are movie. The audio is clearly unfinished, but otherwise it looks pretty much done. Some rumors confirmed: first of all, Ryan Reynolds will indeed appear as Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Furthermore, Friday Night Lights regular Taylor Kitsch will play Gambit, and will.i.am will......

The Daily News analyzes Paris Hilton's visit to the area yesterday, and comes to the rather surprising conclusion that she's a nice lady and her only real fault is that she's not punctual. The Philadelphia Museum of Art's exhibition of American artist Bruce Nauman has been selected to appear in the US Pavilion of the the 53rd Venice Biennale, "one of the most important art gatherings in the world." Mayor Nutter revoked a license given......

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you. It may be an ad for a book about Spam, but it's also a really neat little movie featuring stop-motion animation via artfully toasted bread! (Via Sarah) Lake Superior State University has concocted its 33rd annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness. Meanwhile, on the eve of the American Dialect Society (ADS) voting for its......

Good morning, readers, from a Phillyist on a plane, killing time on the way to Louisville via Chicago. Yeah, I know that's really out of the way. But then, so is Louisville. Air travel is generally hated by most people. Strangely, though, today's experience has been almost pleasant. Here's why: (1) Tuesday afternoons in December are apparently an awesome time to fly. Business travelers are out of town, going about their midweek business, and......

Every weekday of December (except for December 25, that is), Phillyist will be counting down to 2008 with our highlights from the past year and our predictions for the next. If you have a list you'd like to submit, let us know! In honor of kicking off our new sex column (write in!), I wanted to share my top 10 songs for your La Perla pleasure. A quick glance at this list might make you......

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you. A nativity scene becomes a LARP battle in this incredibly nerdy video that may just be the best thing ever. Or at least the geekiest Christmas ever. Oh, and did we mention it's called IM IN UR MANGER KILLING UR SAVIOR? (Via Sarah) AOL Food has a list of the top 11 things that taste great with bacon. And that's a......

As none other than the New York Times recently reported, Philadelphia's newspaper situation is experiencing a bit of an upswing, or at least a comfortable plateau, compared to the state of things during the vomit-inducing dissipation of Knight-Ridder's ability to hang on to the Inquirer and the Daily News, not to mention the 30 other papers it was forced to sell off last year. Publisher Brian Tierney, whose Philadelphia Media Holdings, LLC acquired the Philly......

The Inquirer takes another look at the troubling recent increase, both locally and nationally, in the shooting of police. Mayor Nutter, in his first speech outside the city since the election, as the keynote speaker at the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry's annual dinner, got a standing ovation before and after, and urged Southeastern Pennsylvania to come together and work as one to achieve greatness. Police are still investigating gunshots fired shortly before......

Saturdays are for shopping. There's something about a slow Saturday afternoon that lends itself to kissing discretionary income goodbye. This weekend, you can shop 'til your wallet cries mercy, all while supporting your local DIY concert promoters, R5 productions. The Punk Rock Flea Market takes over the Starlight Ballroom from 10 to 5, which gives you plenty of time to soak up someone else's air conditioning, buy random stuff, and eat vegan cookies. View the......

...that our city is the most beautiful place? Yes, we know we stole that line from a Flaming Lips song, but that doesn't make it any less true. Saturday afternoon come out to Northern Liberties and feel the love all over again with realizePhiladelphia, a free music and art festival in Liberty Lands Park. From art and live music to puppetry and comedy, immerse yourself in the local flavor. Come for the outdoor art gallery......

...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......

I had the pleasure of attending the 2007 Philadelphia Flower Show in the final of its 8-day run from the 4th to the 11th this past Sunday. I use pleasure in the most sensuous sense; walking into the Convention Center in the final throws of all its horticultural splendor, one is met by a kind of photosynthetic explosion with colors, fragrances, textures, palpable earthiness, and the sound of hundreds of other people expressing their feelings......

The South Beach Diet people were out at 12th and Filbert this morning, across from the Reading Terminal Market, handing out free breakfast bars and filming...something...in the back of their van. Some kind of weird softcore porn video? No, probably not. Probably they were trying to make passers-by feel like they were on the beach in the middle of a (finally actually frigid) Philly winter. Or something. Anyway, that lady in the swimsuit waved......

Phillyist was arriving late to work today, and as we were passing the Starbucks at 16th and Market, we noticed an apron-bedecked Starbucks employee handing out what we figured were coupons. We're not big coffee fans, but we have plenty of coworkers who are, and figured, what the hell, we'd take a coupon... not like it was going to make us any later! What we found instead was a five dollar Starbucks gift card, good......

The best of the internet, chopped into tiny bits and grilled for your enjoyment. We're kind of excited about the upcoming Castlevania movie, despite the fact that video game adaptations are almost universally bad, and that the writer/director of this particular effort - Paul W. S. Anderson - has done some pretty not-great work in the past (his Mortal Kombat is probably one of the best films based on a video game ever made, but......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Skeletor Sings: Eternia's favorite skull-faced crooner plays The Khyber (56 S. 2nd Street) tonight with The Brett Rosenberg Problem, Bumpus, and headliner Bling Kong. $8. 8PM (21+) My Favorite Episode: My Favorite Episode with Dani Mari, Carmen Chiles, and Matt Roach at North Star Bar (2639 Poplar Street). 8PM. $5 Inverse Poetry Reading: Peter Murphy, Kevin Varrone & Sarah Byker James read at 7:30 PM at The Bubble......

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......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Free Reading at The Wilma: The Wilma has resurrected Season Teasers - readings of plays currently under consideration for the Wilma season. Tonight the reading will be of Van Badham's The Gabriels. 7PM at the The Wilma (265 S. Broad Street). The event is free. Movie Monday at The Troc: Everyone's favorite Scientologist dances in his underwear in Risky Business. Johnny Goodtimes deals in human fulfillment hosts the......

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we'll be posting events that are going on sale during the current week. This Thursday post only collects the latest announcements, so definitely check the Tuesday post for any you may have missed. COMEDY Tourgasm featuring Robert Kelly, Jay Davis, and Gary Gulman Music Box at the Borgata, Atlantic City Fri, 9/29/06, 9PM $36.50 On sale: Sat, 10AM, Live Nation Kathy Griffin Sovereign Performing Arts Center, Reading Sun, 10/8/06, 7:30PM $39.50......

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?......

A three-game winning streak? Could it be? We think so. The Phils took one out of three from the terrible Pittsburg Pirates and then won both in a set with the Florida Marlins. The Phils are coming home after a slightly better road trip than their last home stand. That's not saying much – they looked like dead men walking when they last took up residence at Citizens Bank Park. So how many fans......