Ah, the Miss America Pageant. From the 1920s to just a few short years ago, it put Atlantic City on the map just as much as any casino did. But in 2006, the pageant packed up shop and moved to Atlantic City: The Sequel Las Vegas, leaving our region (Atlantic City's not that far!) without the glitz and glamor that only fifty-two (one for every state, plus D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands) leggy......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Life After People (Mon, 9PM-11PM, History Channel) - An interesting thought experiment: what would the Earth be like if human beings suddenly disappeared off of it? Of course, it's not all guesswork; they take a look at actual places that were abandoned by people and what happened in those cases. Moment of Truth (Wed, 9PM-10PM, Fox) - The debut of the new game show where contestants have......

Philadelphia mail carriers took part in an all-day drill yesterday wherein they were timed while delivering empty cardboard boxes to 52,000 homes in three neighborhoods, simulating the delivery of packages of medicine that would take place in the event of an attack involving biological or chemical agents. Rachel Marie Brooks, a U Penn graduate from Broomall, became 2007's Miss Pennsylvania Saturday night, which means she'll represent our fair state in the Miss America competition......

Dear Cheese: It's no secret that I love you. Especially when you're hot and melty. Which is why it amazes me that it took me nearly five years in Philadelphia to make two recent cheesy (not in the bad way) discoveries. The first was actually after I'd hit a number of galleries at last month's First Friday, which makes this column accidentally topical. I'd had a good amount of wine, and the only thing I'd......