Nothing quite says summer like the foods we eat: ice cream, water ice, pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelon. And what better time to eat those foods than July 4th. In fact, Americans will consume roughly 150 million hot dogs this Independence Day. That's a lot of processed meat! If hot dogs aren't your thing, or you're just looking for something fun this holiday weekend, read on for a list of events down the shore: Fireworks,......

You think the Fourth of July party stops on the 5th? Hell no! You got a whole weekend’s worth of patriotism to work through… not to mention food… Saturday: If you haven’t shaken those pesky kiddies off yet, you could take them back to Franklin Square, or change it up and get their faces painted and energy expended on Independence Mall from 10AM to 1PM. When you get hungry, head to the Great Plaza on......

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you. Clutch is putting out a live CD/DVD called Full Fathom Five. It's due out on August 12th on the band's own label, Weathermaker Music. You can get an MP3 download of a song off it right here. (Via Matt) Thanks probably in large part to the tireless work of The official McFLY 2015 project, Nike is finally going to put out "Air McFlys,"......

No debate: there’s no better, or more appropriate, place to celebrate the birth of our nation than right here in Philly. Here are a few things to help you enjoy your freedom this weekend. The best part? Most of it’s free. Today: Forget lunch, there’s cake! A reading of the Declaration of Independence is followed by an eight foot cake that’s needs some eating. Head over to the Independence Visitor Center at noon to snag......

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you. Want to win a trip to the San Diego Comic Con to meet the cast of Death Race, and maybe even appear in the DVD as a casualty of the race? Sure you do! Just click here and fill out the form to enter. (Via Jill) A look into Harvey Weinstein's recycle bin. Check out the very creepy red band trailer......

If it's spicy, chances are I'll like it. Thai, Szechuan, Mexican, Japanese, or Indian: if it leaves my lips a little tingly and my sinuses a little clearer, it's generally okay by me, which is why I was excited to try out the newly-opened King of Tandoor in Logan Square. Now, I'm no expert in the field of Indian cooking, but I've eaten my share of good Indian food, and my share of bad......

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you. Guillermo Del Toro dropped some more hints about what we can expect from the one or two Hobbit movies he's going to direct. Check out Pixar's first short film. More pics from Scorsese's upcoming film, Ashecliffe. An upcoming film version of King Lear is set to star Anthony Hopkins as the titular king and Naomi Watts, Keira Knightley,......

*Why yes, it is Wednesday. Chef Joseph Poon is sixty, but you wouldn't know it when you meet him. It's only once you start doing the math while he's talking—it seems as if the Chef has had hundreds of restaurant jobs, on top of owning no fewer than than four establishments over the years—that you realize that he couldn't possibly be as young as you first thought. Nobody can blame you for your misconceptions, and......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. I Love the New Millennium (Mon, 9PM-10PM, VH1) VH1 is maybe getting a little carried away with their "I Love the..." series. They didn't even let the decade end yet this time before doing their clip show about it. Still, we're sure it'll be funny. This first episode of the 8-part series, predictably enough, takes a look at the year 2000. The second episode, aired immediately after......

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets. Mmm! Bacon floss! (Via Amy) You can download Girl Talk's new album, Feed the Animals, for any price you choose. Although if you pick 0.00, you will have to explain yourself. (Via D-Mac) The next episode of Cinematic Titantic is now available! This time the MST3K alums are making fun of a lame sci-fi flick called The Doomsday Machine. You can download it......

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets. If you, like this Phillyist, own a PATCO Freedom card, you can head over to PATCO's official site and enter to win tickets to upcoming shows at the Susquehanna Bank Center. (Via Sarah) The Atlantic asks, is Google making us stupid? (Via Laura) Ooh! Details on Beck's new album, Modern Guilt, which will be released on July 8th in America. The MTV Movies......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY Bordellos Are Good: Opening reception for “Peep Show,” featuring work from five interdisciplinary artists examining eroticism, set in a space resembling a 19th-century bordello at Airspace (4013 Chestnut), 6-10PM. Free Firk It: Get to the only Friday the Firkinteenth of 2008, featuring 13 or more firkins of cask conditioned ale, at the Grey Lodge Pub (6235 Frankford), 12PM- when the firkins run out. Free + cost of......

Yesterday a Delaware County trade-school instructor mistakenly left his 14-month-old grandson in the backseat of his sweltering car in the Lawrence Park Shopping Center while he went to work for several hours in Broomall. Apparently he typically picks the child up in the morning and takes him to day care, but yesterday he forgot the boy was with him, and only realized his mistake when he came back in the afternoon to get something out......

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you. That scene in Iron Man where Tony Stark goes to Burger King wasn't just a glaringly obvious product placement—it was based on a true story! In fact, Burger King saved Robert Downey Jr.'s life. (Via Sarah) If you hadn't heard yet, the big info from Apple yesterday is that the iPhone is now better and cheaper! There are......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Free Food! Oh, And Yeah, Some Athletes: “You’ll See More Twists Than a Philly Pretzel,” featuring live entertainment, gymnastics demonstrations, and free soft pretzels at Love Park (15th and JFK), Noon. Free Jam Bang: Jam Bang and Greg Ginn & The Taylor Texas Corrugators at the Khyber (56 S 2nd), 8PM. $8 Nada: The Nadas and Lelia Broussard at Upstairs at World Café Live (3025 Walnut), 8PM. $10......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Modern Marvels (Mon, 8PM-9PM, History Channel) An examination of things at extremely high temperatures. A life-sized mannequin is exposed to temperatures above 1000 degrees, and scientists take a look at lava samples from a volcano and heat plasma to over 200 million degrees. We also get to see malfunctioning blow dryers and coffee makers melt! Woo hoo! Mars: The Quest for Life (Wed, 10PM-11PM, Discovery Channel) The......

Need something to go with your pb&j lunch? This summer before you head out to Center City Sips for happy hour, don't forget to check out the Center City District's lunch time concert series. It runs every Wednesday at various Center City locations through August 27. Visit the Center City District website for a complete concert schedule. Despite the weather, the series kicked off yesterday with a little Latin flavor. But from week to......

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you. A very silly trailer. Mel Brooks will produce and co-write a horror film called Pizzaman. Is he a man made of pizza who eats himself to death? New pics from Lost Boys 2:The Tribe. Watch this new trailer for The Incredible Hulk quickly, because it could be pulled down any second. We'd heard the movie was influenced very......

Mayor Nutter is scheduled to tour the recently restored baseball field at Hancock Playground in Kensington today, where he'll announce initiatives for recreation-center safety, summer jobs for youth, and new rules for the city's summer camp programs. The Inquirer has some more details on how the FBI got involved in the case of Larry Mendte allegedly reading Alycia Lane's email. This week the the Sheriff's Office Bench Warrant Unit in Delaware County is holding......

At the risk of being labeled an asshole, we must pass on to you the news that Jocelyn Kirsch stole that credit card from a co-worker at Starbucks and used it to buy a candle and bed linens at Target. That's just sad. In other Bonnie and Clyde news, Edward K. Anderton has a 3PM hearing today at the federal courthouse in Center City, where he is expected to plead guilty to identity theft.......

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets. Friend and famous local tech dude Tom Boutell has unveiled the public beta of his alternative to iSEPTA. It provides scheduling data on SEPTA trains, subways, trolleys, and buses, and supports not just the iPhone, but pretty much any web-enabled phone. It's called septime. Check it out. (Via) Enjoy a hilarious video critique of the worst DVD ever. If you have seen the......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Jazzy: The Summer Heritage Jazz Series kicks off with Glen Bryan at Malcolm X Park (52nd and Pine), 7PM. Free Temptation: Drexel’s lit magazine Painted Bride Quarterly celebrates the release of its Temptation issue in the Sanctuary at the First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut), 7PM. $10 Drexel Again: Catalyst, a dance showcase featuring seven student choreographers and others at the Mandell Theater (33rd and Chestnut), 8PM. $8 Eggs!:......

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you. We love bacon and all, but the scratch 'n sniff bacon tuxedo takes things a couple dozen steps too far. (Via Sarah) Geeks, your list is here: the 11 Most Scorching-Hot Female Cosplayers Ever. (Via) Another casting call for Transformers 2 will be taking place this Saturday at Bullies Bar at the Spectrum. It's another "one photo a......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Heavyweights (Mon, 8:30PM-9PM, Food Network) Taking a look at fast food places without burgers: Taco Bell, KFC, and Subway. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Mon, 10PM-10:30PM, Food Network) This episode examines speedy cuisine, such as paninis in Fairhope, Alabama, homemade tacos in Austin, and fast food on a farm in Gilbert, Arizona. Reaper (Tue, 9PM-10PM, The CW) It's the first season finale, and the demons have set a......

The Daily News points out that while the Philadelphia School District is looking for ways to balance its budget, the organization might want to consider cutting the abnormally high salaries of its legal counsel. "Jury selection is expected to begin today in the 19-year-old murder of a North Philadelphia black man in what has been labeled a 'racial killing.'" "The Esherick House, a rare private residence designed by revered 20th-century architect Louis Kahn and tucked......

We like trees and we like food, so we’re obviously enamored of The Philadelphia Orchard Project. The organization, more manageably referred to as POP, is a local non-profit who plant orchards which then provide healthy produce, offered to communities in need at low cost or for free. This Saturday they will join forces with the Norris Square Neighborhood Project and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to go on a planting rampage with flowers and fruit trees......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY SURFGARAGEPUNKROCKNROLL!!! Whoo!: Positively Sick on South Street with Flag of Democracy, The Ripovs!, Voodoo Reef, and cheap drinks at Tritone (1508 South), 9PM. $6 Funstival: First annual Mascher Space Coop Funstival, featuring The Hessians, Gemini Wolf, Umlaut, The Mural and the Mint, and dance performances by New Extreme Dance Explosions Awesomes, PIMA group, M.I.A., ChristinaZani/DevynnEmory /Sam Miller, Megan Bridge, and MAPcollective at Johnny Brenda’s (1201 Frankford), 8PM.......

Phillyist likes supporting good causes, and you can’t get a better cause than breasts. Our lip service pales in comparison, though, to the efforts of five local women, who are raising money to participate in 2008 Philadelphia Breast Cancer 3-Day this October. Each walker must raise $2,200 to take part in the 60-mile trek, and the women, collectively known as Team Bosom Babes, are turning to a time-honored Philly tradition to meet their goal: the......

Perhaps we're a little biased, given our close proximity to the Italian Market and our obsession with delicious things like cheese, sausage, pasta, and cannoli. Still, we think this is pretty much the best weekend of the entire year. There's food, beer and wine as far as the eye can see, plus music, games, crafts, a kitschy-yet-serious parade of saints and plenty of great people watching. 9th Street will be closed from Fitzwater to......

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you. Beware, you Mr. Pinks out there who have been stiffing the wait staff! There is in fact an online database of lousy tippers at LousyTippers.com. (Via Sarah) Friends, you might want to swing by your local Dunkin Donuts and/or McDonalds today; apparently, they're both giving away free samples. (Via Sarah) This Phillyist doesn't care for reality TV, but we have to admit MTV's......