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: The City of Brotherly Love has a tight housing market—just 1.9% vacancy—reflecting the lure of a charming and historic American city. Steeped in tradition, this city is priced well, with a median home price of $234,900, up from $215,000 in......

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......

With Hillary Clinton's big primary wins in Texas and Ohio, it seems that the national eye has turned towards Pennsylvania and our primary on April 22. So much of the news about Michael this week was about his endorsement of Hillary Clinton. He says he's going to campaign hard for Clinton, who is no longer the presumptive nominee, as she was when Nutter gave his endorsement. Given that race may now be back in play......

Yesterday's New York Times 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......

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......

A column about how we Philadelphians can start thinking about controlling consumption and protecting our world in small increments. One of the more frightening things heard recently -- more frightening than the prospect of another Clinton presidency -- is the fact that there is a vortex of trash twice the size of Texas swirling and growing in the Pacific Ocean. It sounds like something from a science fiction movie called When Trash Attacks!, but sadly,......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Antiques Roadshow (Mon, 8PM-9PM, WHYY & WLVT) First part of a three part series set in San Antonio, Texas. One of the items examined is a World Series program for the 1905 series between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics. Good Eats (Mon, 8PM-8:30PM, Food Network) Our favorite cooking show takes a look at our favorite vegetable: broccoli! History of the Joke (Mon, 9PM-11PM, History......

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. Blame it on my hatred of chocolate. Blame it on my preference for yellow roses over red. But most of all, blame it on my high school. Or, more specifically, blame it on many of the girls I went to......

Hey There Philly: Politics aside, I'm a proud Texan. But I've just returned from a two-week visit to my folks' house and I discovered that... I really missed you. It wasn't the kind of missing you I've had in the past, where I was just kind of bored with sitting on my ass at my parents' place and wanted to get back to work or to school – although boredom did play a small factor.......

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. "You know," I told him, "Foods you like to eat for comfort. When......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Most Likely to Rule: There Will Be Blood - This film has been receiving much acclaim from critics, besides nabbing a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture, and landing itself on a number of best of 2007 lists. Now it's finally come to Philly, and we're thinking maybe you should see it. It's a film adaptation of Upton Sinclair's novel Oil! directed by Paul Thomas Anderson......

The 2008 Mummers Parade. Oh Philly, how this Phillyist is missing you from Texas!......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend Most Likely to Suck & Most Likely to Rule: Alien vs. Predator: Requiem - The sequel to Alien vs. Predator picks up right where the last one ended, with the Predator spaceship, secretly infested with Aliens, leaving Earth. Of course it crashes right back down on our planet almost before the opening credits are over, no doubt leading to the deaths of many attractive young people.......

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! 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......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. What Would Jesus Really Do? (Mon, 8PM-9PM, CNN) - A discussion of how Jesus might respond to various contemporary issues, like the war in Iraq, global warming, and the divide between rich and poor. Includes commentary from various "experts," including Jerry Falwell. Christmas Specials (Mon, 8PM-9PM, ABC; Mon, 8PM-11PM, NBC; Mon, 8PM-10PM, AMC; Mon, 10PM-11:30PM, WHYY) - Some of these have already played this month, and we......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. The Savages - Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman play siblings who are forced to live together again with their estranged father when his mind goes and there's no one else to take care of him. Not surprisingly, they drive each other crazy, but ultimately "start to realize what adulthood, family and, most surprisingly, each other are really about." Which sounds kind of corny. But with......

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. You see, I've noticed an epidemic lately. Not necessarily an epidemic of people who don't know the order in which to place the water, red......

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. I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With - Jeff Garlin plays a rather pathetic Chicago actor who lives with his mother, and who, in the opening scenes of the film, gets dumped by his girlfriend, loses a part to Aaron Carter, and leaves an Overeaters Anonymous meeting to go to an ice cream parlor. When he falls for a girl there (Sarah Silverman), it could mean......

Looking to quench your indie rock thirst? Tonight at TLA you can have a double-shot of Midlake and dawn Landes. Midlake, the critically acclaimed band hailing from Denton, Texas, continues to tour in support of their album Trials of Van Occupanther. They have received accolades from such rock critics as Parker Posey, Adam Goldberg, Minnie Driver, Ian MacKaye, and Wayne Coyne. Supporting Midlake tonight is dawn Landes (pictured left), the singer-songwriter hailing from Louisville, Kentucky,......

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......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Monday Night Football Exhibition: Eagles at Ravens (Mon, 7PM-11PM, 6ABC); NFL Football Exhibition: Panthers at Eagles (Fri, 7PM-11PM, 6ABC) - The Eagles are back! Sure, it's only preseason, but it's still Eagles football. And anyway, it'll be interesting to see some of the new guys in action, and to see the veterans get back into the swing of things by playing a series or two. Dog the......

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......

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. Oh, it's......

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......

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. It was a week of bizarre, embarassing headlines at DCist. The trial of the local administrative law judge who sued his cleaners for $54 million over a pair of missing pants left everyone shaking their heads. Then the capital city was nearly brought to its knees, twice, by......

I’m still unemployed, but I’m working part time as an “independent contractor” at a local arts organization. Said arts organization shares a floor of an office building, and therefore the floor’s kitchen, near City Hall with, among others, a local advertising agency. The other day, I was standing in the kitchen getting a glass of water when an employee of the ad firm walked up to me. “Hello. Who are you?” “I’m Jill. I’m......