What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Religulous A documentary about world religion, directed by Larry Charles, of Borat and Curb Your Enthusiasm fame, and starring Bill Maher. The freshness rating is above average, but this Phillyist stopped finding Maher funny a few years ago, and doesn't really get the Larry Charles style of embarrassment humor either, so we'll be giving this one a miss. Trailer - Freshness Showing at: Ritz at the......

Ah, love. Though we may not have an overflow of the brotherly variety, Philly is offering plenty of options for those happy couples looking to sanctify said happiness with boxes of chocolates and a night on the town. We’ll tackle the latter here; we've given you some chocolate-related goodness already. If you forget to get a card and all the Rite Aid has left are American Idol Valentines, take heart: you can make your own......

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! Quite a few of my favorite concert memories came from festivals that weren't in Philly—Austin City Limits and Virgin Fest—but next year, it looks like we might have our own sick festival to......

Let’s get this out of the way early: The Eagles season is still, for all intents and purposes, OVER. To have a chance at the playoffs, they would have to win every game but one. And that is good because the game against the Patriots can already be put in the books. The team from New England is going to stomp the Eagles like Editor Jill running into a disgusting, yet otherwise harmless, cockroach. When......

What's new and/or interesting in theaters this weekend. For the Bible Tells Me So - This is a documentary looking at Christianity and homosexuality, and whether the two can possibly get along. It includes interviews with people on both sides of the debate, and looks at whether the parts of the Bible that are supposedly anti-gay haven't perhaps been taken out of context and used to serve a political agenda. Sounds like a very interesting......

Drummer Stanton Moore is full of the funk. Maybe it's the New Orleans flavor, honed by growing up listening to musicians like Doctor John and The Meters. Could be all the years of grooving with his bandmates from Galactic. Either way, we like it. So if you live for the funk and die for the funk, hit up the North Star Bar tonight at 9. Moore's latest album, III, features organist Robert Walter (Greyboy......

We at the Gothamist network would like to express our heartfelt wishes to the people of Minnesota in the days after their tragic bridge collapse. We're not trying to discount the severity of the accident by making note of it in opposition to our usual -Ist lightheartedness – we just wanted to take a moment and recognize those affected last week. After the Minneapolis bridge collapse, Bostonist did a little research and found that Massachusetts......

We went because we miss Rage Against the Machine. We went because he's an amazing guitarist. We went because we were curious about The Nightwatchman's (aka Tom Morello's) brand of folk rock. Doesn't hurt that he's hot. We left a convert. Not a buy-the-album-and-stick-around-for-the-meet-and-greet convert, but a wow-I've-got-to-get-my-ass-in-gear-and-get-involved convert. What other musician is writing an album full of real protest songs these days? We're not talking about the b-side throwaway songs artists write so they......

For you jazz heads out there, don't forget about the free shows this week, just 40 minutes away in Wilmington, Del. The 19th Annual Clifford Brown Jazz Festival kicked off last night with an homage to Duke Ellington. We're looking forward to tonight's line-up, featuring the Mahavishnu Project, Skerik's Maelstrom Trio, and The Blue Method. Get a taste of New Orleans funk tomorrow evening with Big Chief Bo Dollis & The Wild Magnolias and The......

A 13-year-old girl from Pennsylvania won the US Texting Championship in New York on Saturday. We're so proud. (Via Editor Jill) All kinds of ugly little details are still coming out about NJ Governor Corzine's car crash a couple weeks ago. Now it sounds like the trooper driving the car may have been distracted by an email he received on his mobile phone confronting him about a two-year affair he'd been having with another police......

At the Galactic show on Thursday night, the attitude was "What smoking ban?" New friends became old friends who passed the bowl without thinking about TLA security guards trying to blend in with the crowd in their maroon t-shirts. The room, about three-quarters full, moved intently, sometimes languidly for those with grey beards and wedding rings; more jerkily for those with bare chests and new curly cues. Maybe it's the whole New Orleans thing. When......

Philadelphia is one of the key stops on Galactic’s East Coast Run tour. The New Orleanian instrumental quintet--composed of Robert Mercurio on bass, Stanton Moore on drums, Jeff Raines on guitar, Rich Vogel on Hammond B3 organ and keyboards, and Ben Ellman on saxophone--will bring in its jazz/funk-infused music to the TLA on Thursday night. The band is one of the key acts from the recently announced New Orleans Jazz Fest line-up. So consider Thursday......

...Beautiful Couples: What's that thing on his chin? (Via People.) ...Big Moves: The Brangelina clan is now living in New Orleans, giving frat boys one more reason to stock up on beads. (Via E! Online.) ...Gay Icons: Umm... do his armpits look waxed to you, too? (Via Defamer. Video above.) ...Androids: We called it. (Via A Socialite's Life.) ...EW: But really, what took so long? (Via Egotastic.) ...Smart: She sure knows how to pick......

There are several questions that will rattle around in our heads for a while, tormenting us while seeing highlights of the remainder of the playoffs, particularly while at whatever dispirited Super Bowl party we attend, telling ourselves it's about being with friends instead of "the game." The 2.5 million dollar commercials will be funny at times, there’ll be lots of beer, some disgusting nacho dip that defies ocular sense by tasting good, and maybe it’ll......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. BCS Championship Game: Florida vs. Ohio State (Mon; 8:15PM-12AM; Fox) - Finally, the ultimate college football bowl game is here! The underdog Gators fought through a brutal schedule to win the SEC title, and now face-off against the Buckeyes (including Heisman Trophy-winning Troy Smith) for the first time in the big one. (Link) I Love New York (Mon; 9PM-10:30PM; VH1) - One of the most obnoxious characters......

Less than twenty-four hours after Tony Romo committed one of the most embarrassing, costly blunders in football history, not much else will be talked about after the Eagles defended Lincoln Financial Field in a 23-20 Wild Card Weekend triumph. The final 137 yards of Tiki Barber’s career—now overshadowed. Brian Westbrook’s leadership, not to mention his forty-nine-yard touchdown dash despite stomach cramps—no longer headline making. Jeff Garcia continuing to lead the Eagles to an improbable six-game......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Mutual Appreciation - Read our review here. Trailer Showing at: Ritz at the Bourse Bobby - Using both archival and newly shot footage, Bobby tells the story of 22 different fictionalized characters (played by a host of Hollywood stars, including Harry Belafonte, Emilio Estevez [who also directs], Laurence Fishburne, Heather Graham, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt, David Krumholtz, Ashton Kutcher, Shia LaBeouf, Lindsay Lohan, William H. Macy,......

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets. It's still Halloween week, so we're going to go ahead and post these vintage ads for kids' costumes from the 1965 Sears Roebuck Christmas catalog. Makes you nostalgic for the days when it was okay to depict a kid flying in a Superman outfit, and not include a "Do Not Attempt" warning. (Via) We recently posted Cinematical's list of the seven worst horror......

The Eagles played a good game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon, but not good enough this time. The teams were evenly matched, and ended up tied 24-24 in the fourth quarter. The Eagles had a chance to stop a strong Saints offensive drive near the end of the game, and even seemed to have done so by sacking the quarterback for a loss on a crucial third down. But they made......

Let's look back at a week in which no site in the -ist network adopted anyone from Africa... -Austinist reveled in the dumb antics of some U.T. law students and posted some great audio from former New Orleans natives who've decided to stay in Austin. But the best news for Austinist? They were voted Best Local Entertainment Web Site by the local Austin alt-weekly. Congrats, Austinist. -DCist gloried in being told their musical tastes made......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Off the Leash (Mon; 8PM-8:30PM; Lifetime) - Lifetime belatedly jumps on the reality show bandwagon (well, we're reasonably sure they didn't have one already - give us a break, it's not like we sit around watching Lifetime, for God's sake) with this new series following the trials and tribulations of a fledgling canine talent agency in Hollywood called Le Paws, focusing in particular on seven dogs and......

I'd walked past Bootsie's several times before its opening, each time with mounting curiosity. The name sounded to me like a mecca for New Orleans-style comfort food, Louis Armstrong's version of "When the Saints Go Marchin' In" playing over the sound system. Then Daily Candy informed me that Bootsie's was a different kind of fast food experience. Burgers and dogs, but with gourmet ingredients. It wasn't gumbo, but they'd still have andouille sausage on the......

And a hello back to you, news desk. The sports department, not currently being possessed of any other employment, was sleeping in today. In fact, we were just doing the same thing we thought Todd Pinkston might be doing, given that he and Koy Detmer are no longer employed by the Eagles. We really aren't complaining about Pinkston's departure too much. While we aren't the types who insulted him the way many did in 2003......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Friday BC Camplight: BC Camplight and Josh Olmstead play The Tin Angel (20 S. 2nd Street) at 10:30 PM. $8 Improv from the N Crowd: Local improv troupe The N Crowd play The Actors Center (257 North Third Street) at 8PM. $10 In the Grape Room: Local musician (and blogger) Your Secret Identity plays the Grape Room at Grape Street Pub (4100 Main Street, Mannayunk) with Almost......

Robin Parry from Philly to New Orleans...

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Twelfth Night in Clark Park: Free performance of Shakespeare in Clark Park beginning at 7PM. Runs through August 6th. 43rd & Baltimore Vote for Pedro: Commerce bank presents a free screening of Napolean Dynamite, which will be preceded by a series of contests, including a dance-off. And whose life couldn't use a few more dance-offs? Contests start at 7:30, and the movie starts at dusk (9ish). The Silence:......

We've got a couple of dog-related stories for you today. First of all, as you may have heard, an unlicensed kennel was shut down in Lower Oxford a while back and its owner and two workers pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges. 333 purebred dogs were seized from the kennel, and this morning starting at 11AM about 85 of them (60 Cavalier King Charles spaniels and 25 papillons) go up for adoption at the Chester......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Free Screening: Come to Lucy's Hat Shop (247 Market Street) at 6:30 PM for a screening of Finding Common Ground in New Orleans, a documentary about the Katrina disaster produced by local filmmakers. The screening will be followed by a Q & A. Puppet Karaoke: Watch puppets sing karaoke. Bring a puppet and make it perform karaoke. Heck, you can even make a puppet to perform once you......

The Roots brought down the house at the Kimmel Center on Friday night, bringing a rather stagnant crowd to its feet for a two-and-a-half hour set that spanned the entire Roots discography. As fans of all ages and dress entered the Kimmel, they sat on their hands for most of the show, which included solid if unspectacular sets from Deerhoof and TV on the Radio. The Roots, however, amazed the sell-out crowd from the......

To get the sauce to cheese ratio harmoniously balanced, the spiciness of the sauce flawless, the dough consistency just so , never mind any type of toppings it’s a wonder the industry makes 32 billion a year. Two Red Boots, a knock off of the East Village-based pizzeria combining New Orleans and Italian type fare, happens to be a great slice. There are sauce options (mild, house, calabria or marinara)to please every palate, a whimsical array of toppings (andouille, tasso, barbecue shrimp and Creole chicken in addition to all the staples) and the delicious cornmeal crust lends itself to a chewy, crunchy and satisfying texture . Located on 21st and Chestnut, they are open seven days a week 11:00 AM until 10 PM – until midnight on Friday and Saturday -- and they deliver (in more ways than one)....