Results tagged “texas”

Neal Dandade is one of my heroes. Luckily for me, unlike most people's heroes, I know mine. Quite well, actually: Neal and I go back ten years and two thousand miles to Coronado High School in El Paso, Texas. We acted together then, and now I'm lucky to get onstage once a year, but Neal is doing it professionally, performing with a number of improvisational and sketch comedy groups in the Chicago area—including the career-launching Second City. As you'll see from his interview below, improv is a natural fit for Neal, who sometimes thinks so fast it's hard to keep up. ("He was always so bright," as Mamaist put it.) You may actually have seen some of his work: know those Boost Mobile commercials with the rapping George Washington? Neal actually originated the jingle (but hasn't, as of yet, been given any credit for his work).

Philadelphia made its way onto a Top 10 list that didn’t have anything to do with overweight citizens or crappy sports teams. According to Forbes.com, Philadelphia is the 4th Best City to Buy a Home:

Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh believes that by playing the democratic process, voters can propel McCain to victory in November. Limbaugh told his listeners in key swing states such as Ohio and Texas that by voting for Hillary, they are increasing the likelihood that McCain would be the next president. Limbaugh considers Clinton unelectable, and probably fears that Senator Barack Obama has a formidable chance at beating John McCain. He also cites Democratic indecisiveness and party infighting as weakening the Democrats’ cause, saying that prolonging this battle will give McCain an advantage.

Yesterday's ran a rather long piece called "How Do You Prove You're a Jew?", and while it may seem an unconventional topic for a manners column, I'd like to expound a bit upon it. Have no fear: even if you don't have the time or the inclination to read the original Gershom Gorenberg essay, I'm only using it as a jumping-off point for this column, and I promise not to allude to anything that would only be understood if you did read it.

Most estimates put the number of illegal immigrants in this country at around 5 million. Some view this fact as evidence that illegal immigration is a struggle akin to the civil rights movement of the 1950s. That may sound a bit far-fetched, but in many ways the struggle is similar. We face a public that is in many parts of the nation exceptionally hostile to any illegal immigrants, regardless of their plight. Additionally, the federal government seems to be acting in a way that it deems best for the nation, rather than taking the rampant xenophobia of constituents into account. To look at what is in store for this issue, it may help to review the candidates’—and former candidates’—stances.

A column about how we Philadelphians can start thinking about controlling consumption and protecting our world in small increments.

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week.

I'm going to come out and say it: I hate Valentine's Day. And no, it's not because I'm historically single when it rolls around. I'm not single now, and I'm still against the holiday.

Hey There Philly:

I'm back from a two week stint in Texas, full of Mexican food and tequila and happy to be back with this guy and this guy. While I was home, Ross came to visit for a few days, and somehow, we got to talking about comfort food with Mamaist and Papaist. Surprisingly, it was a phrase that Papaist wasn't familiar with.

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend.

The 2008 Mummers Parade.

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend

Wherever you stand on the “Putting Christ Back in Christmas” issue, the simple fact of the matter is that I’m a Jew who loves Christmas. I can easily chalk that up to the fact that I’ve got a [lapsed] Catholic father, but in truth, my mom probably loves Christmas more than my father does. She’s the one who taught me all the Christmas carols.

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week.

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend.

Back in Middle School, I was all about competing in speech tournaments. One of my favorite events? Readers' Theatre. One of the scripts that my middle school used for Readers' Theatre? Greater Tuna. Not in its entirety, of course. Readers' Theatre, according to the rules we went by at least, could only be ten minutes long. Also, it probably wouldn't do for a bunch of twelve-year-olds to talk about cross-dressing, animal poisoning, and philanderers. What...

While it's definitely debatable just how "southern" my Texan heritage makes me, Texas is definitely far enough south that kids take cotillion classes where they learn to do things like waltz and set a proper table. And it's the latter that I feel the need to bring up today.

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you. Turns out when making a bus ad graphic, you might want to consider where on your image certain parts of the bus will be sticking out... (Via Jason) Nintendo clarified some details about their upcoming WiiWare service, saying that there's not really a cap on the size of games developed for it, developers are just being encouraged to make smaller, more compact games....

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did...

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains - A documentary by director Jonathan Demme following Jimmy Carter on his recent book tour for his controversial book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. A great director and an interesting subject should make for a good film. Trailer Showing at: Ritz at the Bourse Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten - Another documentary opening at the Ritz at the Bourse this weekend...

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend.

Looking to quench your indie rock thirst? Tonight at TLA you can have a double-shot of Midlake and dawn Landes.

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.

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week.

I am not a big person. As such, I can't usually eat a full restaurant-sized portion, and nearly every meal that I eat out will actually end up as two. That's why the Unemployment Diet worked so well for me. I just made a conscious decision not to force myself to finish my meals out, and voila! My food budget was cut in half, and all I had to do was be willing to take home a doggie bag and eat the leftovers later.

This one comes straight from Ma Phillyist (aka Mamaist, aka Mommy, aka Mom, aka Mother, but only when I'm mad at her), who's been visiting the past few days. She's the one who always stressed the importance of manners to me. She also thinks that, in spite of my weekly manners column, five years of living on the East Coast has taught me a few manners that she wishes I hadn't picked up.

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 a copy of the band's debut CD and two tickets, and away we went.

Happy Father's Day! For those of you who have dads, are dads, or know dads, this one's for you, from all of us at the Gothamist network.