As frequent Southwest Airlines fliers, we are shocked to hear that in the past two years, 60,000 flights were operated in old planes with long overdue inspections. In response to this neglect, the FAA is threatening to slap the airline with its largest-ever fine: $10.2 million. Southwest’s blog tells anxious customers: “We assure you that this issue never compromised the safety of our fleet. Southwest has an excellent maintenance program, with more Boeing 737......

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets. Looks like Spore is coming to the iPhone, too. People, do you know what weekend it is? It's Super Smash Bros. Brawl launch weekend!! GameStop will be holding Brawl tournaments and midnight launches this Saturday at 2,500 of its stores, including a number in Philadelphia (via). Joystiq has their own first impressions of the game, as well as a metareview. Finally, they also......

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you. WHYY is getting together with Bassetts Ice Cream to create a new ice cream flavor, but they're asking YOU to help. The question is, if WHYY were ice cream, what would it taste like? Submit your ideas for a new flavor based on WHYY to icecream@whyy.org. The only guidelines for the contest are that flavors be developed around chocolate and vanilla. Also, all......

It's cold out today, so don't plan on any of that trendy "frolf" you and your phellow Phishers like so much. No, today is definitely an inside day, so we have done our best to bring some most excellent indoor activities in which you may indulge the warmth-loving tendencies of your evening self. THE ENGLISH BEAT AT THE TROC We'll admit that we don't know much about The English Beat, but if they're touring......

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you. The upcoming print edition of Empire Magazine has a couple of cool new pictures from The Incredible Hulk. Looks like William Hurt makes a kick-ass General Ross! Rumor is that a sequel to The Last Starfighter is on the way, focusing on the son of the titular character from the first movie, and featuring the talents of the original writing, directing, and acting......

Teamsters plan to rally outside the Four Seasons Hotel at 18th Street and the Ben Franklin Parkway at 1:30PM today because AmerisourceBergen Corp.'s annual shareholder meeting is being held there at that time, and the teamsters are accusing the company of unfair labor practices. Remember how Rick's Steaks was fighting to stay in the Reading Terminal Market? Well, the fight continues. A recent court ruling dismissed most of Olivieri's claims against Reading Terminal, but Olivieri's......

The best of the internet, chopped into tiny bits and grilled for your enjoyment. How about those Oscars? If you just want a list of all the winners, IMDB can help (go Coen brothers! Woo!). Cinematical, of course, was liveblogging the entire thing. Joystiq celebrated Wii Tennis' short cameo at the ceremony, and even embedded the video. Cinematical also found a great LJ post with links to YouTube videos of 46 of the animated shorts......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. American Experience (Mon, 10PM-11PM, WHYY) A profile of legendary frontiersman Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917), whose Wild West Show introduced millions in the eastern US and Europe to the American West. The bio includes many archival photos and film footage, as well as comments from various authors and historians, and from Gary Dull Knife, whose grandfather worked for Cody. Nova (Tue, 8PM-9PM, WHYY & WLVT) This episode takes......

Photo credit: sniderscion Torontoist spent its week uncovering who was behind mysterious ads for a drug called "Obay" that popped up across the country (Scientology? Frank Shepard Fairey?), first tracing them to an advocacy group called Colleges Ontario and then confirming their suspicions a few days later.Phillyist learned how to put on a puppet show – it's not as easy as you might think!Shanghaiist discovers that the average starting monthly pay for fresh graduates......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Most Likely to Rule: Be Kind Rewind Expect our review of this Michel Gondry comedy, starring Jack Black, Mos Def, and Danny Glover, later on this morning. Trailer - Freshness Showing at: Ritz at the Bourse The Band's Visit A fish-out-of-water comedy about the Ceremonial Police Band of Alexandria, Egypt arriving for a gig in Israel, only to find that their hosts and transportation have failed......

In recent weeks, the slumping American economy in the fallout of the sub-prime lending crisis has usurped the role of the war in Iraq as the hot issue in our national discourse. What short memories we have. Well, here’s an update: On Thursday February 14th, U.S. News and World Report ran a story about the streets of the Ghazaliyha district in Baghdad being flooded with raw sewage. The neighborhood was once a chic retirement community......

Wednesday is named after the Germanic god Woden – god of gods in the Anglo Saxon pantheon, who was swallowed up by generations of cheeky Christian settlers who gradually morphed his religious stature into that of a folkloric king for the sake of proselytizing those who once believed in him. He is the basis for a primary character in Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods. THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE LUNAR ECLIPSE EVENT We wanted to toss......

Philadelphia has one of the highest rates of police shootings in the country. The Daily News takes a look at what's being done about it, and is pretty underwhelmed. Apparently "many of the officers involved in these shootings are back to their regular street beats, even though most incidents are still being investigated without a determination that the officers were justified in firing their weapons." Due to the fact that local schools had received recalled......

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you. Some cool stuff is coming out of the NY Toy Fair, including pics of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull LEGO figures; some news and behind-the-scenes footage about upcoming movies like Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, G.I. Joe, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars; and Mattel Speed Racer toys. Apparently there's going to be a total......

Some of you have off today. Others, not so much. In fairness, we will restrict today's list of things you should do to convince yourself that you are engaged and in tune with your city, if not the rest of your life, to things that fall into the "after work" category. LOST BOYS OF SUDAN STORYTELLING AT THE WHITE DOG CAFE Sudan's "Lost Boys" - children forced to become soldiers in the humanitarian nightmare......

Colgate-Palmolive has a great little contest running where you vote for one of nine children's hospitals around the country, and the one with the most votes gets a Fun Center where sick kids can go to forget about their illnesses for a moment and remember how to have fun. Each Fun Center will be equipped with a flat screen monitor, DVD player and a Nintendo Wii. Sweet! The promotion has gone so well, all......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Love Songs: Dolce Suono Chamber Music Concert Series presents Love Songs: A Valentine’s Serenade at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia (2125 Chestnut), 7:30PM. Free Lopez: The Lopez, The Dollyrots, and Percocettes at the North Star Bar (2639 Poplar), 8PM. $8 Jazzy: Ars Nova presents Ben Ratliff, author of the new book “Coltrane: the Story of a Sound,” speaking on jazz history at the Kelly Writers House (3805......

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you. David Murray, who'd been set to star as Destro in the upcoming G.I. Joe movie, apparently had some troubles with his Visa, and couldn't make it into the States in time for the start of shooting. So now Chris Eccleston will get the role. Which is actually pretty cool. Doctor Destro! Word came out a while back that......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Ancient Discoveries (Mon, 10PM-11PM, History Channel) This week's episode of Ancient Discoveries is entitled "Ancient Super Ballistics," and if that doesn't sound awesome to you, then we don't want to know you. It's about the history of ballistics, and features firearms experts testing ancient weapons for speed, accuracy, and power. Nova (Tue, 8PM-9PM, WHYY & WLVT) The venerable PBS science show takes a look at the Cold......

Yesterday the state Gaming Control Board appointed a retired university president as trustee of the Mount Airy Casino Resort, due to the fact that its owner, Louis DeNaples, was charged last week with lying during his application for a state gaming license. In the wake of Super Tuesday, the Daily News and the Inquirer both take a look at how the candidates fared and what voter turnout was like in the area. The Daily......

Last Friday & the weekend: Michael's search for a new CEO of the Philadelphia School District got down to two contenders—apparently—after Temple College of Education dean Kent McGuire withdrew his name from consideration for the position. Monday: Michael's choice for city commerce director, Germantown-born Andrew Altman, was sworn in, as was Managing Director Camille Bates Barnett. And the worst-kept secret of Michael's early administration appointments became official, as he named Lori Shorr his chief education......

Meteorologist John Bolaris...

The best of the internet, chopped into tiny bits and grilled for your enjoyment. Guillermo del Toro is in talks to direct both Hobbit movies. Woo hoo! Awards season continues! Cinematical was liveblogging as Sundance gave out their awards. The SAG and DGA awards also were announced, and the results seem to suggest that the Coen brothers' film No Country for Old Men is a shoe-in for an armload of Oscars. The Top 20 Geek......

Last Friday & the weekend: Michael probably doesn't know it, but he got a shout-out from Hot Hot Heat frontman Michael Bays at last week's FREEZEtival before the band played "Bandages." What the connection between the song and our mayor is, we have no idea. And in real news, Michael named his appointees to the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority board. Monday: Michael joined a record-setting number of volunteers at this year's MLK Day of Service,......

The Daily News analyzes Paris Hilton's visit to the area yesterday, and comes to the rather surprising conclusion that she's a nice lady and her only real fault is that she's not punctual. The Philadelphia Museum of Art's exhibition of American artist Bruce Nauman has been selected to appear in the US Pavilion of the the 53rd Venice Biennale, "one of the most important art gatherings in the world." Mayor Nutter revoked a license given......

Philly sure can attract the celebrity. Yesterday Senator Hillary Clinton graced our fair walks to secure support from Governor Rendell and Mayor Nutter for her presidential bid. But her appearance pales in importance against the paragon of womanhood who is visiting us today. Yes, folks, that’s right: Paris Hilton is in town. Again. This time she’s not shilling perfume, but rather her new film The Hottie and the Nottie. Although it doesn’t get an official......

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you. Former Midway employee Patrick Goschy says he will "sue Nintendo for patent infringement, claiming that he created the idea of a motion controlled system very similar to the Wiimote/Nunchuk combo currently in use in Nintendo's Wii." Click through for a video he released of him showing off his system way back in 1999. John Rogers, who obviously has......

Meteorologist John Bolaris...

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you. Fortune has ranked its Six Leaps of Innovation, rounding up what and whom to keep an eye on in 2008, and #5 is West Conshohocken's own Josh Kopelman. (Via Emily) It's a new local blog! This one is in support of a grassroots campaign to create an annual holiday celebrating the greatest state ever, Pennsylvania! Pennsylvania Day would be on March......