Wexler Gallery was so packed during Old City's First Fridays for the opening of the (In)Between exhibition that the owners had to stand by the doors and regulate traffic and let new visitors in as people left the show. It was clear that we weren't the only ones really looking forward to check out British bad boy of art Damien Hirst's debut in the Philly gallery scene. And Hirst didn't disappoint visitors. His two sculptures......

Climate change has rapidly become part of our national discourse. As early as four or five years ago, the issue was treated by many as a paranoid conspiracy. Now, political figures from governors to presidential candidates to George W. Bush himself seem unable to avoid the fact that not only is our planet becoming warmer, but it is also losing the ability to produce key resources such as oil and clean water. Here’s a look......

Photograph of Michael Strahan, coach Tom Coughlin (holding the Vince Lombardi trophy) and quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning by Tien Mao Gothamist was amazed after the Giants won the Super Bowl, the city went wild, and it witnessed a ticker-tape parade.Barack Obama drew 20,000+ ahead of Seattle’s Saturday caucus.Londonist had Super Tuesday too.Elusive guerrilla street artist Banksy revisits Los Angeles.After the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and came this close to making......

And so it ends. A season which began with a momentum-providing loss to the Green Bay Packers due to the fact that the coach forgot to put a punt returner on the roster ends with a yawn-inducing 17-9 victory over the inept Buffalo Bills, a win that gives the Eagles three straight Ws to conclude this woe begotten campaign of 2007. Of course, that is not all that finishing 8-8 gives this organization. It gives......

Torontoist discovered their city's most ridiculous holiday lights setup, with 80,000 lights and two––two!––synchronized music routines. Naturally, they snagged a video. Chicago tragically loses one of its most recognizable neighborhood icons, the pigeon man of Lincoln Square. LAPD leaves body in car at crash scene, then tows it. Massachusetts plus mullet equals PR mayhem. Londonist sleeps in a Haunted plague pit. UC Berkeley students strip naked and race through campus, NSFW floppiness ensues. Phillyist......

Dear Mr. McNabb, My name is Stu Pidass, attorney and agent for Mr. William Hayes. I’m writing you today, on behalf of Mr. Hayes, for one reason and one reason only: to apologize. Mr. Hayes regrets that he cannot be the man to write this piece, but he has dispatched me in his stead because of three factors. First of all, he is physically incapable of admitting when he is wrong. Just ask his wife,......

The Cave Singers are a new trio out of Seattle, and their music is being described as "haunting," as "folk music approached by way of punk rock," and as "sparse, melodic, and simultaneously creepy and alluring." Those last two quotes are from Brian Barr of Seattle Weekly, and we have to agree with him pretty much 100%. We've been listening to their debut full length, Invitation Songs, and we're pretty impressed. Particular favorites of......

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. Bostonist got a crash course in what not......

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse. The deaths of two firefighters shook Bostonist this week. Boston's firefighters bent over backwards all week long - first, they fought flames pouring from the Boston Tea Party museum, and then a restaurant fire killed two and injured many more. Their efforts make everything else - like Tom......

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked......

Schoolyard Heroes, a Seattle punk-rock band, is shooting their latest video in West Chester, PA and you can be IN IT! They aren't your average punk-rock band (their MySpace tag line is: I vomit out my heart for you) and they are definitely far from your skinny-pants-loving-emo-crowd. Their gore-loving sophomore effort, Fantastic Wounds (is there really a wound that's fantastic?), had critics raving. Will their third album, "Abominations" be just as ground-breaking and horrifying? You......

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,......

This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too – two of them in -Ist cities. Sampaist was shocked when a passenger jet crashed into the center of Sao Paulo, killing at least 200 people. The airplane, an Airbus A320, skidded off the runway at the......

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you. We're fascinated by the success of the book What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7, a product which, by its very nature, will cease to have any purpose or appeal by the end of next week. (Via Jill) And speaking of Harry Potter... Penny Arcade has a shameful secret they don't want you to know about. Sci Fi......

LAist was comped front row seats by the Dodgers due to Malingering being struck by a foul ball last week, and she came back with some great photos, and earlier made fun of 4th of July on Venice Beach. But the biggest stories of the week was that the Mayor's Hot Tamale was revealed, and that a Kwik-E-Mart was erected in Burbank. Phillyist was busy doing the Fourth of July up right, exercising their......

Listen up and listen good: Tonight is your last chance to catch the Seattle, WA, based band Pretty Girls Make Graves in Philadelphia, PA. It’s true, it’s true, the band bearing the moniker of a The Smiths song is done aurally pleasuring the masses. It’s been a short (almost) six years, but (almost) six years that the Indie rock world won’t soon forget. The band has released three full-length studio albums. Most recently, PGMG released......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Heroes (Mon, 9PM, NBC) - It's the penultimate episode of the first season of Heroes. Hiro is supposed to learn the secret of his past, which will mean another awesome George Takei cameo. Rock on. An Affair to Remember (Mon, 8PM & 10:30PM, AMC) - There's nothing new about this classic 1957 love story, but if you've never seen An Affair to Remember, now's your chance. (BTW,......

The nicer the weather gets, the busier we get across the Ist-A-Verse. But we like being busy. Here's a peek at what we've been up to since last week! Chicagoist had an interview with Audrey Niffenegger, whose popular book, The Time Traveler's Wife, was based in their fine city. They also had a heated discussion about Rush Limbaugh's controversial Barack Obama parody, talked about whether Uncle Julio's Hacienda is a good place to get......

It's official. Brandi Carlile has played World Cafe Live more than any other artist out there. Quite a feat for an artist who only has two records. After five times at World Cafe Live and multiple performances at other venues in Philadelphia, Carlile has gained enough fans to not only sell-out World Cafe Live but do it with standing room only. It was packed. It was the biggest crowd I have seen at World......

Last year when Jamie Cullum came to town, Brandi Carlile opened for him. What a great surprise for all of us in the audience. Not only was she a great performer, but her music rocked as well. Now we get a chance to see Brandi Carlile headline her own tour at World Cafe Live. She has already sold out this performance and the several other cities on her North American tour. Brandi Carlile released......

Films: Boy Culture, Monkey Warfare (with "The Saddest Boy in the World") Future Screenings: Boy Culture: Monday, April 16, 9:30PM, The Prince Music Theater Monkey Warfare: Sunday, April 8, 3PM, The Ritz East My day didn't go as planned, at all: it was a series of missed connections and plan cancellations. That's okay, though. It meant seeing two films, when I wasn't planning on seeing any. The first, Boy Culture, was actually screened at the......

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't officially start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... Over at Sampaist, spring has more than sprung: it's sweltering! But, as everyone knows, museums are an ideal......

We'd like to start this week's run-down by wishing a very happy birthday to parent blog Gothamist, which turned four on Friday. If it wasn't for them, the rest of us wouldn't be here. They celebrated their birthday by nabbing an interview with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, who misses NYC public transportation when he's working in LA. They also reported on NYU students protesting a band whose name is also known as a slur,......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. The History Boys - Uncle Vernon from the Harry Potter movies (Richard Griffiths) plays a lovable history teacher attempting the impossible task of getting his unruly students into Oxford or Cambridge - but more important to him is that they become better, more rounded human beings. Adapted from the Broadway play by the playwright himself (Alan Bennett), and featuring the Broadway cast, this one looks like......

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets. Almost 40 covers of "These Boots Were Made for Walkin'" with even more in the comments. Probably not advisable to listen to them all in a row (in fact, we suspect that's a form of torture prohibited by the Geneva Conventions), but certainly a fun well to dip into every once in a while. (Via) Damn it, why couldn't Al have been this......

The show may be set in Seattle, but the music's all Philly. Musician Bill Ricchini, whom Phillyist interviewed a while back, had a song during a very important moment in a recent episode of Grey's Anatomy (a show that just happens to be on TV tonight). And we thought it was our duty to pass it along to you.......

Holidays are over. Today's the first day back at work. Sigh. Austinist: Kids are so devious. Parisist: Sweet! Bostonist: This probably isn't what they mean when they say "Kill Whitey." SFist: Every city should have a site like this. Chicagoist: Ew. Seattlest: Going to Seattle? Looking for coffee? Houstonist: Terrifying. Shanghaiist: Yikes! We're glad we're not blogging in China. Londonist: Cocky much? Torontoist: If you only check out one link on Elite -ist today,......

...Valid Points: Elton John may be outspoken, but he might also be right. (Via Yahoo!) ...Awww! Before people go on deathwatch for this, can we just appreciate how cute it is? (Via Seattle PI.) ...Spawn: Spider-spawn, that is. (Via People.) ...Maturity: Because this is what adults do when they get dumped. (Via The Superficial.) ...Ew: This is also what they do. (Via News of the World.) ...Legitimately Bad News: Love her or hate her,......

Today, Thrillist directed us toward Neighboroo which, despite its silly name, is a very, very cool new website that goes along nicely with our recent population milestone. You can look at a map of the whole US, or zoom in on a specific region or city. Phillyist didn't find many things we didn't already know on the map. Our taxes are ridiculous, our air is bad, our crime rate is inexcusably high, and our......