Shanghaiist's Managing Editor, Dan Washburn, snapped this photo at Thumb Plaza in Pudong. That, you may have guessed, is in China. When he directed us toward this picture via his personal website, he asked the same thing we're wondering about: "Can Philadelphia sue?" Sigh. First our Hollywood movies and now our iconic sculptures. China must be stopped!......

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. Lee Williams and the Spiritual QC's First District Plaza Sun, 4/13/08, 8PM $30-$40 On sale: Fri, 10AM, Ticketmaster Running Red Lights with Desoto Jones The Trocadero Thu, 5/13/08, 7PM $10 On sale: Fri, 12PM, Ticketmaster Time Again The......

Photograph of memorial outside Heath Ledger's NYC apartment Gothamist learned that actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his SoHo apartment, cause of death unknown so far (but apparently the masseuse who found him called Mary-Kate Olsen before 911).Bostonist considered sending a link about the Super Bowl, but damn! The New Kids are reuniting!Although Sylvester Stallone is a native of New York City, his Rocky character lets many Philadelphians consider him a native son......

What's new and/or interesting at Philly theaters this weekend. Ira & Abby - Ira is a brilliant, neurotic Jew with tons of "issues" (hmm... where have we heard of that character before?), and Abby is a free spirit who likes to solve her friends' problems. They meet, fall in love, meet each other's parents, and decide to get married, all in just a few hours. Then, of course, a series of wacky shenanigans make them......

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......

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......

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......

We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. Torontoist Special Report: Rosie to Trump: "Fire 300 Bicyclists for Fraud!" On DCist: Students Go Wild for Slogans, Secrets and Sexual Harassment The action was thick......

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,......

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, Phillyist co-editor Star C. Foster, passed away early in the week. Her wit, intelligence, and good nature shone through the site, making Phillyist an immensely fun read. She was loved by many and will be missed by all. Phillyist paid tribute to her this week with a heartfelt letter to her and an obituary. And now, the awkward......

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor......

Jagshemash! Borat is a hit. It's getting rave reviews, grossing millions, and definitely the most quotable thing we've seen in ages. But Borat seems to have missed most of the -ist cities, and we were all wondering how the film would have been different if he'd made his way around the world on the -ist tour. In Shanghai, Borat would be observing Inane Learnings of Penis Photos for Make Benefit Glorious Flat World of......

We are counting down the hours to five. Have been since Monday. And now the weekend's almost here! Good thing our fellow -ists will be here when we're back. Austinist: Whole Foods is run by hippies. Parisist: Read French? Visiting Paris? You need to know about this site. Bostonist: We don't think they look similar at all! SFist: Flipper! Chicagoist: But porn probably won't make you fat. Sampaist: Apparently, they like zombies in Brazil, too.......

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......

We're worried that our leftovers are going to go bad before we can eat all of them. We want to have a party and invite all the other -ist writers and editors to come eat the food. And then help with the dishes. Gothamist: Johnny, we hardly knew ye. Austinist: Austin's Missed Connections are so much better than ours. SFist: Man. We want to invent something that can sell for two billion dollars. Chicagoist: That's......

As fall settles in and another calendar page gets turned, thoughts turn from bbq's and vacations to holidays and the realization that '06 is coming to an end. With all that going on, with change in the air, we wonder what is it the -ists ponder? Phillyist is concerned that the war on Trans fats could affect its beloved cheese steak sandwiches, something for which we should all be concerned. They also seem to......

Celebrate Ben Franklin's 300th birthday with the Bikini Bandits and Phillyist! (NSFW). Speaking of Mr. Franklin, send in a picture of Ben (or Ed Rendell) with a red tongue and win a free t-shirt. And they might have the next YearlyKos in Philly. You know who's going to be upset about those Bikini Bandits? The Houston school system. Houstonist also reports on some redevelopment shenanigans over a landmark theater. LAist's sex advice column on......

If it weren't for our life as an -ist, we're not sure we'd ever leave our apartment. Fortunately, to fully -ist, one must seek out the new, the fresh, and the unknown. Brand new, or just new to us, that's what we're all about this week. Phillyist keeps it fresh by getting a new motto, learning to prioritize, and taking in an experimental indie rock show. Torontoist does their first post in franglais, gets ready......

God, we're so sick of Snakes on a Plane that we want to kill anyone and everyone that makes a "something on a something" joke. But then we realized that there was no way we could ever win this fight, and, hell, if you can't beat them, we might as well join them. And with that, you have the theme of this weeks' Gothamist network post. Austinist makes it easy for us, with Candidate on......

We've been having the damnedest time trying to post this for you, dear readers. But we couldn't let it slide. Not this time. That's how much we care -- about you and our sister sites. Austinist: We have a nominee, but we doubt that our own Jen Miller could get to Austin on time. SFist: Guess what songs we've got stuck in our head. LAist: Never fear: there's bound to be another Starbucks with different......

We -ists are an eclectic bunch, but there's a couple of things we all love: famous people, social causes, and wacky local facts. Join us as we starf**k, get virtuous, and learn across the -ist network! Austinist starts us off right by filling the famous person quota by interviewing Lewis Black, covers the social cause with a non-profit car sharing company, and gives us more wacky local facts than we can handle with Austin by......

To make up for not having Elite -ist yesterday, we decided to bring you an action-packed one today. How can you tell it's action-packed? Action verbs, of course! Gothamist hopes you watched -- and drank -- last night. Parisist finally has something to say about the World Cup. Austinist is rumor-mongering. SFist has the best idea for foiling terrorist detection ever. Including that episode of JAG (we think) where the terrorist dressed as a marine......

San Francisco is proud host of a new reality show called "How to Get the Guy" that's unfortunately not a descendant of Will and Grace, Queer Eye, The L Word, American Idol etc. Also a biodefence lab is coming to the East Bay and SFist teaches wine pairing. Getting on the wrong train sucks. Getting on the wrong train and becoming the victim of what will later be described as a "stabbing spree" really sucks.......

After yesterday's uber-long Elite -ist, we're back with something a little more manageable. And we're going to start doing things differently. Instead of trying to figure out what's going on with our sister sites as it's happening, we've decided to go all time-delay and tell you what went down the previous day. Not only is it easier for us, it keeps us from getting confused about what's fair game, posting-wise. The time difference between......

There is a sparrow sitting on the tree just outside our office and he's been chirping for well over an hour. Silly sparrow will not shut up. It would be annoying if it wasn't a reminder that the sun finally reemerged. If only it wasn't supposed to rain on Thursday, we'd be all set. Austinist: Meat good. LAist: Hmm... A group of female pilots flying "Witchcraft" planes. Ironic, or just mean? Bostonist: Making fun......

We're not sure what's going on, either, but if you're looking to avoid the clouds, check out what our sister sites are up to! Gothamist: We think our friend met this guy once. Or he's got a cousin in Philly. Torontoist: No thanks, we've got a standing appointment with Edward Scissorhands. Houstonist: He didn't escape -- he was just at the top of a very steep hill! LAist: That depends on what your definition of......

There's a whole wide world out there, and here's the proof: DCist revels in The University of Maryland's basketball triumphs, marvels at Metro's security strategy, and applauds DC local Katie Couric's new gig. Phillyist is all about the Philadelphia Film Festival. OK, not all about -- they still have time for loitering, underage sex, and random wacky news. LAist would have to send a camera around the world to get shots as bizarre as Katie's......

Best of the week is compiled and edited by Seattlest's Dan Gonsiorowski. Gothamist posts on the capture of a NYC perv thanks to Little Brother and a camera phone. They also scour the city for vodka martinis and Shamrock shakes and spot the friend from the Wonder Years at a city law firm. New York police think that Littlejohn is their man. Houstonist is no stranger to megachurches or stripmalls or mega-strip-churchm