A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you. We posted a link to an xkcd comic a while back wherein a character created a virus that would force commenters on YouTube to listen to any comments they tried to make by reading their words back to them aloud. The idea was to shame them with their own stupidity. Clever and funny—and now, reality. The developers at YouTube created an option that......

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you. CNN's electoral map calculator is a pretty interesting little web app. The default values show you CNN's estimate for how the race will turn out, but you can switch any state you want to either candidate and see how that swings things (via Kevin). In other election news, the Maverick family points out that John McCain is not a maverick, by......

The murder trial of Hakeem Bey goes to a Common Pleas Court jury today. Ten minutes into the prosecutor's closing argument yesterday, juror number nine signaled for a break; some heard her say, "I'm scared. I don't think I can do this." She was excused and replaced. The case has been fraught with witness intimidation. Meleanie Hain of Lebanon used to take her holstered Glock 26 handgun everywhere for personal security, but her concealed-weapons......

SustainLane has ranked Philadelphia eighth in sustainability among US cities. (Via Aaron) Philly.com has detailed coverage of the murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Patrick McDonald and its affect on the community. Residents of Northern Liberties, Kensington, and Fishtown are fighting a plan to convert the Jumbo Theatre, at Front Street and Girard Avenue, into a concert venue. "The Montgomery County mother who purchased an assault rifle for her teenage son, who was plotting a Columbine-style......

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you. Cinematical smashes a couple of casting rumors (no, Will Smith is not playing Captain America, and no, David Boreanaz is not playing the Green Lantern), reveals that Brett Ratner would be interested in making the new Superman movie, and gives us the scoop on early preview screenings of G.I. Joe and Star Trek (the general feeling seems to be that Joe is bad......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY The Shoebox Tour: Michael Karas and Tempei Arakawa explore the limits of juggling (and what can be juggled) at Greg Kennedy Studio (6122 Greene), 7:30 & 9PM. $10 SATURDAY Doggie!: Carnivale of the Dogs at Rittenhouse Square (18th and Walnut), 10AM. Free Empty Orchestra: Opening reception for "Empty Orchestra: Art Meets Karaoke" at Yo! Darkroom (113 N 23rd), 8PM. Free Grand Prix: Sprint Motorola UYRS Grand Prix......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY Outdoor Music: Friday Night Summer Jazz Concerts every Friday in Cedar Park (50th and Baltimore), 6-8PM. Free The N Crowd: Improv comedy troupe the N Crowd perform at the Actors Center (257 N 3rd), 8PM. $10 Brakes CD Release Party: XPN welcomes The Brakes with Ben Arnold and Carney at Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N Frankford), 8PM. $10 SATURDAY The Kids Are All Right: Paul Green School of......

Raise your hand if you’ve ever clipped a pothole too hard and ended up with a flat tire! Chances are you aren’t alone, according to The Road Information Program (TRIP), which just released a report on the sad state of the nation’s roads. On its list of major metropolitan areas with poor road conditions, Philadelphia ranked #15, with the report noting that while 37% of our roads are in disrepair, only 12% are in good......

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you. Even though Will Arnett's performance as the voice of K.I.T.T. in the upcoming Knight Rider TV movie was already done and in the can, he's now been replaced with Val Kilmer due to a conflict of interest: Arnett has done voicework on GMC truck commercials for over a decade, and K.I.T.T. is a Ford Mustang. This sounds like a joke, but it's apparently......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Certain Tragedy: Certain Tragedy, The Bourbon Armory, The Sweetheart Parade, and Johnny Forbin at the Khyber (56 S. 2nd), 8PM. $8 Five Bands Five Dollars: Drive Fast Take Chances, Mr. Radar, Skeleton Rock Shock, The Slot Cars, and Jessy Tomsko Band at the North Star Bar (2639 Poplar), 8PM. $5 Got a frugal tip? Don't be stingy! Send it here and share the wealth!......

Ah, it's a bad photograph of a car! And that can mean only one thing: the Philadelphia International Auto Show is almost here! We're finding it hard to believe that it's already that time again, but it must be true, because whenever we go within a four block radius of the Convention Center, we see dozens of large trucks full of cars. And we snapped this shot this morning of one classic specimen already......

We love Christmas Carols, too – but a few days before Christmas, we begin to feel a little burned out on them. Enter The Cars, playing in Philadelphia at Live Aid. Okay, we also put the video up to try to regain some of our dignity after running Hannah Montana yesterday.........

Scout Niblett (that's her with the monkey) is a woman who sings and plays guitar, and we like her 3-song EP Dinosaur Egg, released back in May. The title track is about really hoping your dinosaur egg hatches and your robot slave springs to life in time for that party on Friday, so of course we love it. There's also a neat cover of The Cars' classic "Just What I Needed," and a slower,......

We told you that we dug Arcade Fire in our preview but we didn't realize how much until we left Arcade Fire's concert on Saturday night. Arcade Fire's show was one of the best shows we have ever been to, hands down. Their mission was, "to uplift fans, combat 'spiritual death' and bring back the hurdy-gurdy." They completed all three of these missions with incredible music, awesome stage presence and an overall kick-ass show.......

This Spring is the third anniversary of Lifeknot, online meeting place for people of all ages, based solely on interests and hobbies. The CEO and founder, Matt Muro, began Lifeknot after using online dating services that seemed to force an instant romantic relationship. “I felt that online dating sites rushed people into the relationship stage of a friendship and social networking sites linked you to so many people that the intimacy of establishing a......

Cars of all kinds have taken over the Pennsylvania Convention Center this week for the Philadelphia International Auto Show, which runs through February 11. It's an auto bonanza with plenty of current cars on the floor, plus a few concept cars, antiques and tricked out autos. As someone who's attended the auto show every year since she was 10, it's hard to say how much is new about the show's concept, which is a......

As 2006 ends and 2007 begins, the -ists look back not at the past week, but at the past year. So here it is, your Best of 2006 Spectacular. And from all of us at the -ists, happy New Year! Austinist was all about controversy as new construction to increase urban density ran rampant in 2006, as did threats to the city's image from gigantic corporations looking to set up shop in town, leading......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY Hot Wheels!: Secret Cinema presents Hot Wheels! Short Films About Hot Rods, Slot Cars, Skateboards at Moore College of Art & Design (20th & Race Streets) at 8PM. $6 Turkish Film Festival: Thursday, November 16 – Saturday, November 18 is the Turkish Film Festival at iHouse (3701 Chestnut Street). Tickets are $7 per film. Today's offering, Istanbul Tales (Anlat Istanbul), begins at 7PM. SATURDAY The A-Sides: The......

New Cars Giveaway
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New Cars Giveaway
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Fun around town, for $10 or less: Inverse Reading Series: 7:30 PM at Bubble House (3404 Sansom Street). Tonight's reading will feature J. T. Barbarese, Shafer Hall, Laurie Soslow, and musical guest Andrew Lipke. $7 (includes one drink) bowerbird @AIR Space: bowerbird presents local electronica musicians Price vs. Cohen and Cars will Burn!, Blacksberg/Kimmel Duo, and From Bacteria to Boys at the AIR Space Gallery (4013 Chestnut Street) at 8PM. $5 Fancy Pants Cinema: Free,......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. A Prairie Home Companion - An odd idea for a movie, this is a fictionalized account of the final live broadcast of Garrison Keillor's award-winning radio/stage show (don't worry - the show hasn't really ended), written by Keillor and directed by cranky old Robert Altman. So to enjoy it you'll probably have to be a fan of both Altman and Keillor, who are both sort of......

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. Love Hate Hero w/The Distance The Troc Tue, 6/13/06, 6PM $10 On sale: Fri, 12PM, TicketMaster The New Cars Clipper Magazine Stadium, Lancaster Sun, 7/2/06, 7PM $40-$60 On sale: Fri, 10AM, TicketMaster We don't claim that these are......

What's interesting on TV this week. Yo Momma (Mon; 6PM-6:30PM; MTV) - MTV has a new show! "Is it about music?" you ask. "Not remotely!" we answer. In fact, it's a trash-talking tournament hosted by Wilmer Valderrama from "That 70s Show." Finalists are even given personal information on their targets via "home invasions" so their insults can carry some serious sting. Oy. (Official Site) King of Cars (Tue; 10PM-10:30PM; A&E) - There's so many of......

The Greek Picnic, which brings in thousands of students nationwide from nine college fraternities and sororities, happened Saturday. Even if you weren't there, you probably were affected by it. Police officers lined the streets in packs with nothing really to do. We saw groups of officers enjoying themselves and purchasing sodas on the relatively quiet Washington Ave. On Columbus Boulevard, though, officers weren't allowing any north-bound traffic onto I-95. Perhaps the only things more annoying......