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! With apologies to those readers who don't celebrate Christmas, I'm going to indulge myself a bit here. I love just about everything about Christmas. I actually enjoy Christmas shopping, stressful though it may......

We've told you some ways to make the season brighter for local kids. Now here's an opportunity to help out an entire family in one go: Greater Philadelphia Cares is sponsoring Adopt-A-Family. They will match you with a local family in need and provide a wish list. You'll go out and gather some goodies, and drop it all off at a local agency, which will then get it all to the family in question. Easy--......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Juno - Another of this year's big pregnancy comedies! We'll have a review coming up later today. Trailer Showing at: Ritz at the Bourse The Red Balloon - A remake of the 1956 French classic about the evil red balloon that stalks and kills people! Well, okay, it's not a mean and deadly balloon. But it does stalk people! Juliette Binoche stars as a single mother......

The Holiday season is in full swing in NYC, with holiday lights in Brooklyn, a giant snow globe in Bryan Park and Chanukah specials for ham. One citizen decided to go vigilante on annoying car alarms, a murder suspect used a fake Asian accent on the stand and a video of a man being beaten up by teenage girls on a subway shocked the city. And we interviewed soon-to-be-leaving-Gawker editor Choire Sicha, who said,......

Although The Golden Compass is being compared to the Narnia Chronicles in some of the ads, the series that the book it's based on is a part of - Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy - is really the anti-Narnia: equal but exactly opposite to C.S. Lewis' saga of Christian allegory. Some people are saying that The Golden Compass is anti-Catholic - and they're right. The movie doesn't emphasize it as much as the book......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY Polish Those Ivories: Steve Odabashian’s Happy Hour Piano Show, every Friday at the Cascamorto Piano Bar (1939 Arch), 5-8:30PM. Free Veloz Attack: Veloz Attack, Rellik, Mortal Decay, and Divination at Millcreek Tavern (4200 Chester Ave), 9:30PM. Free (21+) SATURDAY Don’t Be a Scrooge: Readings from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at the Ebeneezer Maxwell Mansion (200 West Tulpehocken St), 2:30PM. $10 ($5 for kids under 12) Fall......

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we'll be posting events that are going on sale during the current week. This Tuesday post only collects the early announcements, so definitely check back on Thursday for the latest ticket news. COMEDY Jim Norton Music Box at The Borgata, Atlantic City Sun, 1/20/08, 9PM On sale: Sat, 10AM, Live Nation Josh Blue House of Blues Atlantic City Sat, 7/12/08, 9PM $27-$41.50 On sale: Sat, 10AM, Live Nation Comedy Stop Tropicana......

The cold weather - and holiday festivities - descended upon Gothamist. The Rockefeller Christmas tree was lit, Broadway stagehand finally ended their strike, and NASCAR decided to run their victory lap through Times Square. There were disturbing photographs revealing the working conditions in which many city manholes are produced and ninjas were also a hot topic, either robbing homes or entering into alibis. But the city was really rocked by how Rudy Giuliani's visits......

Just in time for tonight's party (will you be there?), Phillyist adds another new writer to the mix, this one the very talented—and extensively published—Joshua Valocchi. We'd like to emphasize that we brought him on as a writer long before he said nice things about Editor Jill's place of employment in a Philadelphia Weekly article, and that said article has nothing to do with his new position on the staff. Although Editor Jill may just......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. All-Star Holiday Spirit (Mon, 9PM-10PM, Food Network) - The Food Network stars - including food nerd Alton Brown, freakish bird-woman Giada De Laurentiis, the hated Rachael Ray, Ina Garten, Tyler Florence, and obsessive lush Sandra Lee - prepare holiday party dishes. Should be a good time! Charlie Brown Christmas (Tue, 8PM-9PM, ABC) - The 1965 classic, accompanied by a behind-the-scenes making-of special hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, and......

Let's get this out of the way up front. The video accompanying in this review was not selected for its quality, but because it pretty much embodies what happened at the Wachovia Center last Tuesday night. People went absolutely nutso for Fall Out Boy, to the point where this fan could only concentrate on Patrick Stump while he was doing backing vocals on Gym Class Heroes' performance of "Clothes Off." Seriously, it was pandemonium. We......

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......

The best of the internet, chopped into tiny bits and grilled for your enjoyment. Are you a meanderthal? Not sure? Check the urban dictionary, and beware! Apparently the word could soon be heading to the real dictionary. (Via Jill) Uh oh - looks like the upper ups at Warner Bros. demanded some last minute changes to the ending of I Am Legend. That's rarely good news... Supposedly The Movie Blog got their hands on some......

Raise your hand if you enjoy live music festivals. *Phillyist raises hand* Now, raise your hand if you’re an un-American communist who doesn’t like the idea of live music in a beautiful Philadelphia park (or cute little kids raising their hands, like at left). *Select members of the Fairmount Park Commission raise their hands* Yesterday, the Fairmount Park Commission voted to table a multi-day, multi-stage festival in Fairmount Park and your help is needed. As......

Greater Philadelphia Cares has been working on a Free Store for Teachers, which will open soon. The store will stock supplies like papers and pens, books, and other materials that could assist in the classroom; as the name implies, teachers will be able to "shop" for these items at no charge. They just had a windfall courtesy of the Philadelphia Book Bank, which unfortunately is closing its doors. The donation they received comes in......

This week's quote is from Bertolt Brecht, the author of Mouther Courage and Her Children. It goes in full: "Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are." Now, on with the listings! 50 West 50 - You love her, but she loves him, and he loves somebody else... November 16-December 2. Tickets online. Baby with the Bathwater - Don't throw it out. November 16-December 1. Reservations online. Hate......

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we'll be posting events that are going on sale during the current week. This Tuesday post only collects the early announcements, so definitely check back on Thursday for the latest ticket news. Valencia The Troc Thu, 12/27/07, 6PM $15 On sale: Today, 12PM, Ticketmaster Your Sweet Uncertainty The Troc Wed, 12/5/07, 6:30PM $10 On sale: Wed, 12PM, Ticketmaster Q102 Jingle Ball 2007 Tweeter Center at the Waterfront, Camden Sun, 12/16/07, 6PM......

Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Lisa Aversa Richette - a controversial advocate of society's disadvantaged - died of lung cancer this past Friday. She was 79. Here's an article about the complex planning going into tonight's Democratic presidential debates at Drexel. The Inquirer has the details on two local child-sex cases; a 52-year-old former scoutmaster from Mont Clare is looking at 16 to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to having sex with a......

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you. What If? is a venerable Marvel title that is essentially a dumping ground for story ideas that aren't going to be included in the official continuity; it's a chance for writers to take past stories into different directions and see how things would play out that way. It's also a chance to be very, very silly. The Movie Blog has put......

It's interesting: in the late 1950s, it seems that the whole world was afraid of the dangers of groupthink. Here in the United States, terrified anti-communists were producing Invasion of the Body Snatchers. And in France, a country still in many ways reeling from German occupation during the war, absurdist playwright Eugene Ionesco created Rhinoceros, a play about the people of a village transforming into the aforementioned animals, as a statement against fascism. Up until......

Gothamist learned about the craziest urban nightmare come true: A huge python found in the bathroom pipes. It was also a nightmare for some Yankees fans, as manger Joe Torre declined to come back and manage the Bronx Bombers. At least the city's attempt to give some direction to subway riders was interesting, pranksters went shirtless at the Fifth Avenue Abercrombie & Fitch and the I Heart Brooklyn Girls calendars came out. And just......

UPDATE: A water main broke at about 5AM in front of the University of Pennsylvania's new Life Science Building, flooding the streets in three-foot deep rapids. The flow was stopped and the water has since subsided, but as of 7:30AM, University Avenue between 38th Street and Grays Ferry Avenue was closed while repair continued on the broken water main. Woodland Avenue is an alternate route. Ramps on and off I-76 at University Ave. were......

The best of the internet, chopped into tiny bits and grilled for your enjoyment. Drawn goes back in time to 1981 to bring us a video of Mel Blanc on David Letterman. In case you still need help preparing for Halloween, Cinematical has seven movie-related candies you could be handing out at your door, Basic Instructions has handy tips for how to deal with Trick-or-Treaters, and Angry Alien has brought back their Bun-O-Ween sound clip......

For the uninitiated, raised only on Bad Boy singles and Hype-William’s videos, hip-hop culture is typically said to break down into four "elements." MCing is the art typically known as rapping and what people are usually thinking of when they talk about what hip-hop is. DJing has been replaced by the producer; the party-oriented mixes of the past have been replaced by the complexity of far removed beat makers tinkering on pro-tools. Breakdancing lives......

Investigators are still trying to work out how a woman's vehicle ran over both of her legs while she was in the drive-thru lane at a McDonald's in Phoenixville this past Friday. (Via JReedNet, via our contribute page) A whole array of services are now being offered to college students nationwide - as well as right here in the Philadelphia area - with names like DormAid, DormMom, CollegeBellhop and Soapy Joe's. They do things......

What's new and/or interesting at Philly theaters this weekend. Ira & Abby - Ira is a brilliant, neurotic Jew with tons of "issues" (hmm... where have we heard of that character before?), and Abby is a free spirit who likes to solve her friends' problems. They meet, fall in love, meet each other's parents, and decide to get married, all in just a few hours. Then, of course, a series of wacky shenanigans make them......

Disclaimer: This story relates to a promotion run by First Person Arts, of which Editor Jill is an employee. Editor Jill did not have a hand in writing or editing this post, and the opinions contained herein are exclusively those of the author, who would think this is pretty cool even if he wasn't Editor Jill's better half. If you read Sunday's Inquirer, you might have seen a story about a psychedelic-looking van that's making......

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we'll be posting events that are going on sale during the current week. This Tuesday post only collects the early announcements, so definitely check back on Thursday for the latest ticket news. Good Faeries Ball The Troc Fri, 10/12/07, 8PM $27.50 On sale: Today, 12PM, Ticketmaster Bad Faeries Ball The Troc Sat, 10/13/07, 8PM $27.50 On sale: Today, 12PM, Ticketmaster Concerts First "Next Big Thing" featuring Houston Calls The Troc Sat,......

This Phillyist hearts Rilo Kiley. Jenny Lewis is our long-standing girl crush. So we're pumped for tonight, when they'll be at the Tower Theatre, touring after their new album, Under the Blacklight. We can't stop playing it. It's a lot more eclectic than the band’s previous CDs, but we dig it, immensely. It’s like Multiple Personality Disorder Rilo Kiley. Which is awesome, because crazy people are fun. Didn't you see Sybil? Under the Blacklight has......

Performances: A Twilight Performance of Spoon River Anthology (The Late Laureates of Laurel Hill ) (No Future Showtimes.) Pulling up the rear in this edition of the Phillyist Philly-Live-Fringical-of-Arts Diary series we celebrate the ultimate Halloween pre-game. Just in time for CVS' pre-pre-trick-or-treating candy fest comes a reading from the dead in a place of the dead with a cast and audience pretty close to death themselves (I jest, of course. Respect your elders kids!)......