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! As I've mentioned once or twice before on Phillyist, this year I went from being distantly fascinated by comic books to being a seriously obsessive weekly comic book collector. So here are my......

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford begins with the last train robbery Jesse and Frank James did together, and already you can tell the lengths to which writer/director Andrew Dominik and his DP Roger Deakins have gone to create a new cinematic language for the Western. The night is pitch-black, and the light of the train shines through a late-autumn forest as if God himself were onboard. The inside of the......

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King, and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out......

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you. Authorized copies of US sitcoms are becoming really popular in Russia these days - especially the Russian version of "Married... With Children." Crazy! (Via Jason and Jill) You can now download a free demo of Quake Wars. We just thought you should know. (Via) Looks like a copy of Halo 3 might have slipped out early via eBay.......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Labyrinth - Woah! Here's a blast from the past. It's the 1986 classic wherein a young Jennifer Connelly has to travel into a weird fantasy world and face-off against a charming, well-hung, singing, dancing, evil David Bowie - not to mention a bunch of Jim Henson puppets - in order to save her kidnapped baby brother. Of course, it's ostensibly a kid's movie, so she has......

Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey contributed to this piece. This hand, which pretty much sums up what Warped Tour is all about, belongs to MxPx's Mike Herrera. We went through that whole teen angst punk rock phase during our adolescence. Really, who didn't? But we kinda figured it was over and that we were "too old" for that now. So when we got the opportunity to cover the Vans Warped Tour stop in Camden, we figured......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Becoming Jane - English majors around the world are either cringing or jumping for joy over this historical drama about the personal life of Jane Austen, which heavily influenced her work. Normally, this Phillyist would be rolling his eyes and thinking of any and every excuse imaginable to avoid seeing this movie, but if push comes to shove, he might suffer through it. After all, Anne......

Ross Currie contributed to this piece. Admittedly, when we were contacted by Fair to Midland's publicist, we agreed to cover tonight's show at the TLA (yeah, yeah, the Fillmore) without having ever heard a Fair to Midland song, owing solely to the fact that we liked the band's name. (We're big fans of "clever.") Also to the fact that we tend to be supportive of anything non-political that comes out of Texas. So we requested......

The best of the internet, chopped into tiny bits and grilled for your enjoyment. Apropos of Something has declared today International Onomatopoeia Day! We would like to contribute with a great big healthy KRAKA-BA-DOOM!!! CNET blog parent.thesis is making a big deal out of the fact that you have to submit your Social Security number to activated your iPhone, but we're not too outraged or surprised by the news. Who doesn't want your SSN these......

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you. Looking for a fun board game either for yourself or a friend/relative? Matthew Baldwin of Defective Yeti near-fame is here to help you with his annual Good Gift Games Guide - always a good time. (Via) Folks have been getting serious about RPS lately, but that's nothing compared to how serious they used to be. (Via) Huh. Download Punk sounds cool. It's another......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Billboard Music Awards (Mon; 8PM-10PM; Fox) - The 17th annual awards show comes at you live from Las Vegas with performances by Janet Jackson, Fergie, the Killers, Gwen Stefani, Ludacris, the Fray, and Mary J. Blige. Plenty of other stars of the music world will act as presenters including, unfortunately, Flavor Flav. (Link) Monday Night Football: Panthers at Eagles (Mon; 8:30PM-11:30PM; ESPN & ABC [WPVI]) - These......

In this Phillyist's family, Thanksgiving was always about watching the University of Texas play Texas A&M (Hook 'em and Gig 'em, respectively.) Invariably, things would become less-than-pretty. So, in the spirit of nostalgia for Turkey Day sporting-related fighting, we bring you this video, via commenter sfg, courtesy of Greg Hartnett.......

The best of the internet, chopped into tiny bits and grilled for your enjoyment. Have you heard of Spamusement? The concept - a web comic based on actual subject lines of spam emails - is pure genius, and the execution is often the same. Apparently it doesn't get updated as often as one might hope, but there have been a couple new ones in the past few weeks, and there's a nice archive for you......

Lots of people are off work today, but the -ist-a-verse is still going strong... Gothamist: Now that's an adorable squirrel. Austinist: This is pretty damn brilliant. SFist must be pretty damn bored. Bostonist: Think of the uproar if they did that on SEPTA! Parisist: Not much time left to get the "real" Paris experience. Go now, and bring a pack of unfiltereds. Seattlest: Best. Headline. Ever. Chicagoist: There should really be a social services department......

Dear America (it’s ambitious, I know – just bear with me): Call me corny. Call me deluded. Call me five years old. I spent my Fourth of July weekend roaming around Disneyworld. My younger sister is working there this summer, as part of the Disney College program, and I was able to spend four days roaming the Disney Parks for free (plus the cost of food and tchotchkes, of course). Last Friday at an office......

DeVotchKa are coming to the North Star Bar with Norfolk & Western tonight, but don't expect a lot of fun and dancing. N&W do a kind of slow, sad, pretty, country-style indie - or at least, that's what's all over their latest album, A Gilded Age - which just might leave you crying in your beer. Or at the very least looking over it in a very pensive manner. Meanwhile, a review of DeVotchKa's......