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Week Around the -ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 11:29:30 GMT

Gothamist found that an explosive set off outside the Times Square army recruiting center may be similar to five past bombings in New York City.
Seattlest worried when severed right feet and bottles of rat poison started washing up on local beaches.
Shanghaiist was surprised by Bjork's rooting for Tibetan independence at her concert (see video), and the political fallout has only just begun.
SFist debated the merits of new bronze plaques that will be placed in locations where San Francisco's homeless have died.
DCist was obliged to respond to the worst Washington Post Outlook column ever published, in which conservative writer Charlotte Allen tried to make the case that women are dumb.
LAist found Satan's ice cream truck trolling the streets, and they recorded the music.
Some crafty Torontoist readers didn't like the dearth of ski hills in downtown Toronto, so they just built one of their own on their deck and (of course) recorded a video of them all taking turns on it.
Bostonist knows the city's subway and bus system, the MBTA, has problems. So does this 17-year-old who submitted a report and told the MBTA brass how to fix it.
Phillyist explored the possibility of an Ivy League prostitute, while their commenters debated the most ethical approach to proving or debunking the story.
Londonist spent a little too much time looking at airbrushed operatic private parts, and enjoyed an enlightening comment from someone who was there.

Week Around the -Ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:55:01 GMT

Phillyist explored an impending implosion and lived to tell the tale.
Gothamist marveled at the city's new NYC-branded condom campaign - especially the use of a Toronto landmark in the advertising. (Also, fun fact: Gothamist turned five years old yesterday.)
Tired of the worldwide Scientology protests? Torontoist totally isn't: they covered the big downtown protest the day it happened, and followed up with an examination of all of the protests' legality, according to hate crime laws, a few days later.
LAist also got into the fray outside the "Anonymous" Scientology protests, netting a killer photo essay and some on-site video of the vociferous crew in their masks.
And would you look at that: SFist covered last Sunday's thetan hatefest too.
According to Seattlest, area travel author Rick Steves and the Washington state ACLU want to talk to you about legalizing pot.
DCist took a good look at the results of the "Potomac Primary" and put together an interactive map that shows the breakdown of exactly why Washington, D.C. is Obama Country.
Speaking of which, Austinist reported on Mayor Will Wynn (heh) endorsing Barack Obama.
Chicagoist continues to be obsessed with all odd Obama accessories, like these fly one-of-a-kind, hand-painted kicks.
And in non-Obama/Scientology-free news, Bostonist met with one of the wine world's biggest renegades, Gary Vaynerchuk, host of the Wine Library TV podcast.

V for Vendetta

Sunday's Scientology Protest

Brock Keeling — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:39:34 GMT

And honk they did. Yesterday a worldwide Scientology protest took place by "Anonymous" (AKA Project Chanology, an Internet-based protest against the Church of Scientology), and we caught a few images of the action on our rickety, old cellular communication device. Had we had a better camera, we could've gotten images of the police surrounding the Scientology building entrance; the tour guide telling his gaggle of tourists that John Travolta was, in fact, inside the Montgomery Street building (he was not), and more. Alas.

Anyway, it was a most spirited and youthful protest, one that stuck close to its agenda without branching off into "Free Mumia"-like mini protests. We had a surprising amount of fun watching these kids protest the Church of Scientology.

Check out LAist's, Austinist's, DCist's, and Torontoist's coverage. For more images of San Francisco's protest, follow the jump.

Week Around the -ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 10:42:44 GMT

Gothamist was amazed after the Giants won the Super Bowl, the city went wild, and it witnessed a ticker-tape parade.
Barack Obama drew 20,000+ ahead of Seattle’s Saturday caucus.
Londonist had Super Tuesday too.
Elusive guerrilla street artist Banksy revisits Los Angeles.
After the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and came this close to making history, Bostonist spent much of the week consoling itself and trying to think about baseball.
Toronto has been experiencing a ton of snow lately, so they tried to make the best of it by photographing a big, organized snowball fight.
SFist partook in some hipster bashing.
Shanghaiist uncovered all the sordid details of Hong Kong's biggest celebrity sex scandal ever.
DCist was concerned about a new reality TV show in the works that might make people who live in Washington look like privileged jerks.
Phillyist wants a pet baby more than anything in the world.
Chicagoist had a time honored motorists vs. cyclists debate.
Austinist reported on seven-time Tour de France champ and crybaby Lance Armstrong's hissy fit at a local venue.

Week Around the -Ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 11:14:13 GMT

SFist worried over drugstore chain Walgreens celebration of Black History Month.
Gothamist was surprised that apparently New York City is the fourth most miserable city in the country, after Detroit, Stockton, CA, and Flint, MI.
Shanghaiist finds out what the Chinese think of Hilary and Obama.
It was with a healthy amount of schadenfreude that Phillyist reported that former Eagle, and now Cowboy (ew), Terrell Owens owes the Eagles a significant wad of cash.
Torontoist is two weeks into a new feature, Vandalist, that aims to feature the best street art and graffiti from around the city. This week's edition was a beautiful and hopeful play on birds on a wire.
Chicagoist, after seeing a smoking ban go into effect this year, debated the convenience of smoking shelters.
Austinist showed some love for Barack Obama.
Seattlest went back in time to see the future, or something like that.
DCist chatted with songstress Aimee Mann.
Londonist walked around murderer/barber/gourmet Sweeney Todd's Fleet Street.
LAist might see rent control go away in California, and people on both sides of the issue feel passionate about it.
Bostonist celebrated the first anniversary of one of the city's most infamous moments--Aqua Teen Hunger Force Day.

Image credit: Nature abhors a vacuum

Week Around the -Ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 08:15:48 GMT

Gothamist learned that actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his SoHo apartment, cause of death unknown so far (but apparently the masseuse who found him called Mary-Kate Olsen before 911).
Bostonist considered sending a link about the Super Bowl, but damn! The New Kids are reuniting!
Although Sylvester Stallone is a native of New York City, his Rocky character lets many Philadelphians consider him a native son – so Phillyist just had to attend a preview screening of .
Shanghaiist swoons over Shanghai's coolest tattoo artist.
LAist has a dirty little secret and it comes in the form of an addictive sour frozen yogurt chain -- Pinkberry.
Torontoist discovered a pro-life billboard downtown that begs its watchers to think of the children('s toys).
SFist found itself green with envy over the advent of the automatic weed machine.
Houstonist brought it after witnessing Taucha Hogue make it to the championship round for College Cheerleader of the Year.
DCist saw a "snotty-nosed little brat" get read to filth by a school administrator's wife over a snow day, or lack thereof.
Londonist received a Bloggie nomination for Best European Weblog.
Seattlest threw down the gauntlet after calling Denver "overrated" when compared to their own mountain ranges.
Austinist took a ride with Clean Air Limo, Austin's first green private car service.

Rambo

Week Around the -Ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:01:33 GMT

Gothamist went to the scene of the Trump Soho construction collapse, which left one construction worker dead and others injured (an indirect culprit - Manhattan's hot real estate market, causing rushed construction jobs).
Shanghaiist is confused by media reports as to whether Playboy will be available in China during the year of the Olympics.
LAist got fugged in an interview with the Go Fug Yourself girls.
Torontoist set hearts aflutter by featuring some fake information flyers being distributed around their transit system by street artist extraordinaire, Posterchild.
SFist uncovered even more of SOMA district's recurring neo-Naziesque graffiti.
Phillyist visited scantily-clad women giving out Tofurkey in honor of Philadelphia's favorite founding father.
Londonist witnessed Amnesty International bringing Guantanamo Bay to the American embassy to raise the profile of the continuing campaign to close the detention center.
Seattlest reviewed J.J. Abrams' new camcorder monster movie.
DCist was relieved to hear that Stephen Colbert's portrait is finally hanging up in the National Portrait Gallery.
Austin was in shock after hearing about an Arlington stepfather who sodomized his stepson who sodomized his daughter.
Chicagoist healthily reported on week three of the smoking ban.
Houstonist saw a recent Rice University scientific creation, touted as "the darkest substance known to man."

Week Around the -Ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 10:04:32 GMT

Londonist pondered who might be the next sponsors of the London Eye and whether or not readers would be willing to donate £1,000 each for a Londonist Eye.
Shanghaiist was shocked to find a cameltoe in the city's only English-language paper.
Gothamist believed that a writer who wanted pre-gentrified gritty New York and ended up getting beaten up during a mugging learned his lesson.
DCist followed Mayor Adrian Fenty and the D.C. Council to New Hampshire, where they helped introduce a bill that would signal that state's support of voting rights for the District.
Torontoist learned a brand new threat this week, thanks to a police officer who pulled over a driver in the city's entertainment district and told him––actually––"I'll break your fucking ponytail." Oh, and then they tased him.
SFist witnessed (and predicted) San Clemente's Greg Long winning this year's Mavericks Surf Contest.
LAist reported on everything you wanted to know about this year's most anticipated movie, Cloverfield, as told by director Matt Reeves.
Bostonist watched as Bronson Arroyo, formerly of the Red Sox and now of the Cleveland Indians, pleaded to return to Boston--in song.
Chicagoist saw lightning strike twice.
Austinist rapped about Texas rap.
Houstinist interviews Big Daddy’s Ass Burn Hot Sauce founder Trevi Biles.
Phillyist supports an end of the city's "quack-tacular" duck tours.
Seattlest discussed this year's presidential election with some top-notch political writers.

Week Around the -Ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 11:09:59 GMT

LAist listed a top ten list of sorts: things they hope not to see in Los Angeles in 2008. (one example, pictured above).
Shanghaiist was surprised to learn that "godless," "atheist," and "commie" China is soon going to be the world's largest supplier of Bibles!
Torontoist picked some of their favorite photos of 2007.
Londonist was relieved to hear the fire at the Royal Marsden hospital didn't harm any of the patients even though it was a pretty big blaze.
Phillyist resolves to be better in 2008.
Gothamist marveled at a lawsuit from a nightclub patron who was beaten up by bouncers over a questionable bill.
Bostonist has a word of advice for all ballplayers--look up the name of the drink in Urban Dictionary before you endorse it, OK? Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis has signed up to market an energy drink entitled the "SlumpBuster."
Austinist has your SXSW 2008 news and rumor updates.
Chicagoist breathed easier after smoking was banned from any and all indoor spaces in 2008.
SFist witnessed a mighty storm - well, mighty for Californians, that is - blow through the Bay Area.
Seattlest saw controversy about Starbuck's new Skinny Latte grow even wider.
Houstonist chats with a College Cheerleader of the Year candidate.
DCist reads about Ruben Castaneda, a crack addict and Post Metro correspondent.

Photo Credit: Malingering

Anti-Gay Group to Exhibit Their Folsom Street Fair Doc/Repressed Desires for National Press Club

Brock Keeling — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:55:00 GMT

O! What we wouldn't give to attend this press screening in Washington DC tomorrow!

DCist has the pleasure of reporting on the anti-invert, pro-missionary sex group called Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH). Tomorrow they will unveil "raw and unedited" footage that they shot during this year's Folsom Street Fair for the National Press Club. "Raw" footage, you say? Oh my.

You may remember that there was a scant bit of controversy due to Folsom Street Fair's slap-and-tickle poster hilarity this past year, and this AFTAH wants the world to know about it. Plus, they plan on demanding that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi apologize for our sins, or release yet another deadly virus on the gays, or something wildly inane like that. We're not exactly sure; hateful groups like this tend to make little to no sense when they disguise or frame vile bile. But goddamn, do we love us some crazies.

Our sister said it best that "[t]his is clearly going to be the best opportunity all year to watch gay porno in public without ponying up for a membership at the Crew Club. Who's bringing drinks?" Damn, if we were there, we would so bring the Zimas. Alas.

In the meantime, we will cross our fingers that the film makes its way over here sometime soon!

Week Around the -Ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 12:00:54 GMT

DCist spent the week honoring some local heroes. First and foremost, they honored 75 year-old Mona Shaw, who smashed up a local Comcast cable office with a hammer after she got fed up with their terrible service. They also premiered a new music video by rising D.C. band Georgie James and got some great comments in support of a local reporter who got kicked out of the White House by First Lady Laura Bush for asking a tough question about voting rights. Finally, they got a chance to hear from famed photographer Annie Leibovitz about her new exhibition at the Corcoran and...they had to bust Wizards star Gilbert Arenas for cheating at Halo 3. Sometimes Agent Zero isn't always a hero.

Gothamist loves fall - and can't helping loving City Councilman James Oddo for letting his f-bomb flag fly when a Norwegian comedian fails to be funny. Also fun: A makeover that a statue of Mahatma Ghandi got. Not so fun: A noose found outside a Columbia professor's door, a , or the strange murder where a man killed his date and slept next to the body for days. The And the Big Apple blog spoke to Jonny Greenwood about his solo projects and that album his band Radiohead dropped this week.

Week Around the -Ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 12:39:59 GMT

LAist saw national headlines soar this week with news about the Jena 6 in Louisiana and of a police taser incident at a John Kerry event. Locally, Hollywood protesters marched in support of the Jena 6 and Orange County deputies tasered a 15-year-old autistic boy (good job guys). Speaking of Orange County and suburban areas, ABC's Desperate Housewives has a new marketing technique: advertise on the white stripes that define a parking space (we're still not going to watch). In the restaurant scene, what's going over at the California Pizza Kitchen?

Bostonist got a crash course in what not to do this week. They discovered a Craigslist post from a Harvard Man who might be worse at dating than Tom Brady is. One woman attempted to evade the long arm of the law by hiding in a clothes dryer. It didn't work. And the Red Sox are showing Bostonist nothing but suckage, suckage, and more suckage. But then an MIT student came along and topped just about everybody when she walked into Logan Airport with a fake bomb strapped to her chest. Bostonist is still trying to comprehend that one. The Aqua Teen Guys are not available for comment.

DCist suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Senate Republicans this week, when they voted not to allow legislation to give the District a voting member of the House of Representatives to go forward. They spent the rest of the week consoling themselves by comparing the best wood-fired pizzas in town and complaining about the city's terrible traffic ranking. They also discovered the greatest web site ever and questioned the police department's account of the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old boy.

Torontoist used their users to get tons of shots of the filming of the Incredible Hulk (the sequel, not the old one), continued their love affair with Final Fantasy (the singer, not the video game), found out that Nelly Furtado is persona non grata at Rain (the restaurant, not the precipitation) and wondered about pornography (the church-mandated kind, not the hell-bound stuff).

Week Around the -Ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 08:30:09 GMT

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.

As LAist melts away in their heat wave and weird weather, they beg Hollywood to make a bio-pic of the posthumous tap dancer extraordinaries, the Nichols Brothers (you must see this), but for them not to film the movie, or anything for that matter, on their hard-to-find street without proper notification. In one of LA's more trendy neighborhoods, they caught up with a famous homeless person, the Silver Lake Five Dollar Guy, and found the Elliott Smith tribute wall (where he once posed for an album cover) to be defaced by graffiti.

This week was surprisingly busy for the end of August for DCist, what with two major White House resignations and the national obsession over what's really going on in public restrooms. But they still made time to put together a glossary of wine terms and a list of jokes about some local firefighters who are suspected of running a prostitution ring. They never knew "firehose" was actually spelled differently, for example.

Despite their need this week to do some good old-fashioned hating, Phillyist was in good spirits this week, with the Philadelphia Live Arts and Philly Fringe festivals kicking off, cheap lobster, and a few helpful readers helping to solve a mystery. They also got some awesome eclipse shots, spread some local TV gossip, and got a few chuckles.

This week, Torontoist found one of the cutest signs ever, reinvented its city's transit survey, investigated how "real" its city's violence is. They were plenty curious to end the summer, too: they tried to uncover a history mystery, tried to pin down its city's fascination with facades, and tried to figure out what was so bad about carpooling.

The UK doesn't have Monday as a Labor Day, but Londonist don't mind. They did their partying last week at the world's second largest carnival. The good vibes continued as they witnessed the unveiling of a statue to Nelson Mandela. They also said happy birthday to Londoner Winnie Langley, who just turned 100 despite having smoked five cigarettes a day since she was a child. They resisted buying her a £25,000 hearing aid, and a very, very expensive skull.

Week Around the -ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 06:10:05 GMT

Chicagoist is gearing up for this weekend's annual Air & Water Show along the lakefront. In what's becoming an annual tradition around there, staff member Todd McClamroch even got to fly with one of the participants. Chicagoist's decidedly opinionated readership was also appalled that one of their staffers found a popular local brewpub to be a great place to bring a kid. They also think that an unlikely activist for immigration rights should just take her medicine and offered their own suggestions to how the city should capitalize on the local music scene. And everyone thinks that a suggested tax on bottled water is a great idea.

While LAist is prepares for Burning Man's 21st, they celebrated what would have been Charles Bukowski's 87th birthday. Hell, why not celebrate The Dude at Lebowski Fest. Or guys and girls dressed up as Oompa Loompas or sexy 1960's flight attendants playing beach volleyball in a tournament? But the true celebration for Los Angeles will come on the peaceful day when black and brown learn to get down.

This week, SFist found (a presumably pre-AA) Mayor Gavin Newsom looking strikingly similar Sophia Loren. On the downside, the Tenderloin Housing Clinic forced its one-time ally and documentarian to foolishly take down his informative and helpful hallway cam. SFist cover boy Ed Jew came to the defense of local radio nut, Michael Savage; SFPD got cross with some skaters; and the left-hand-inflicted folk finally got their day.

Londonist met some interesting characters this week. First, they spoke to a lady who collects stories about virginity loss. Another Londoner is renting herself out on dates to raise money for brain tumor research. And why was Bill Cinton wearing orange socks with a green tie?

Bostonist welcomed Ron Jeremy to town, but his visit wasn't without incident. A drunk driver nearly took out the porn star's tour bus. Of course everyone wanted a picture with Ron Jeremy - and a cop might be in trouble for posing in uniform. If it's not porn, it'll be sports and politics on the front page. Mitt Romney was mixed in both when it was released that he and his wife have significant investment in YES, the TV network that televises all of the Evil Empire's games. Bostonist issued a warning about peeing on the toilet seat, as such action may have been the background that will send a woman to jail for first-degree murder. And Boston beat out all the other -ist cities in the survey that gave Boston the title of Bloggiest city.

Over at DCist, the news that former Mayor Marion Barry and Michael Jackson have become friends was just too much for them to take, so they spent the rest of the week trying to get over it. While recovering, they wondered why movies set in D.C. never get it right, why Metro won't just outright direct people to stand to the right and walk to the left, why GQ Magazine could possibly think Condoleezza Rice is the most influential person in town, and what's up with that Samuel Gompers Monument.

Week Around the -ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 07:05:17 GMT

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt, who has completely covered her house in mosaic tiles.

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Phillyist took a trip down memory lane at Warped Tour - and then reminded people how to behave and what to wear--or not--when you get there. Staffers fretted about germs, took in more than a few laughs, and bet Editor Jim's left nut that readers would enjoy .

Austinist interviewed ACL Fest artists Midlake and The National, and started discussing the many scheduling conflicts with Round 1: Spoon Vs. Queens Of The Stone Age. They also co-hosted a wild boat party on Lake Travis. Meanwhile, the elderly are staging a raid on the city's coffers, while the city's affordable housing program moves forward. Austin police uncovered a local prostitution ring exploiting illegal immigrants, and a new survey found that Austinites are unlikely to put out on first dates. And say hello to America's newest Bachelor: Austinite Brad "McSteamy" Womack, owner of local shot bars Chuggin' Monkey and Dizzy Rooster.

LAist got jolted by a small, but nerve tingling earthquake last week, but there was much more excitement in the air than that. In depth, they discovered a neighborhood that many natives never knew about and munched on food at a rare Buddhist Temple's Farmers Market while Google launched their street view maps feature that largely ignored most of Los Angeles. They chatted up Jenji Kohan, creator of Showtime's Weeds, and found that Brad Pitt is finally serving his jury duty. The only way things could get any better is if he were assigned to Nicole Richie's DUI case, or maybe an art show where the the Golden Girls go wild (yes, from the TV show).

Torontoist got tons of photos of one of the city's biggest parties, Caribana,and celebrated girl-oriented rock. They discovered a cute sign on a construction site, got kind of excited for architect Will Alsop's latest creation, and kind of a little less excited for the H&M's shitty new (partially-illegal) ad campaign. Also, they're on a Panorama kick as of late, and their latest is of a harbourfront bridge.

It's been a long, hot week in the city for DCist, with record-setting temperatures besieging Washington and generally giving everyone a bit of a the crazies. Judging by their comment threads, the heat didn't make for the best time for D.C. to find out that a Capitol Hill bar is refusing entry to Marines without dates or that their new Metro Chief is considering getting rid of late night train service. But it was a great time to catch up with Spoon's Britt Daniel at the Virgin Festival and get the lowdown on David Beckham's Major League Soccer debut against D.C. United.

The Ten