Reader ianqui took this photograph of a cardboard box getting into the Halloween spirit early - by trying to be the Astor Place cube! Granted, it's not painted black, but white is so much more fetching to passers-by who want to scrawl various messages. We like to think of this box as Alamo-ette. In 2005, the Astor Place cube, also known as The Alamo, was removed for repairs (and returned eight months later). It......

We've never been all that intrigued by Burning Man, but Limewire has some great photos of the recent annual desert voyage that make it look more appealing than appalling. That's right, someone - actually the Open Planning Project - recreated New York City right there in the Black Rock Desert. It sort of begs the question "why leave New York in the first place?" but you've gotta hand it to them for even including......

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. The deaths of two firefighters shook Bostonist this week. Boston's firefighters bent over backwards all week long - first, they fought flames pouring from the Boston Tea Party museum, and then a restaurant fire killed two and injured many more. Their efforts make everything else - like Tom......

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked......

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......

THEATER: A revival of Patrick Hamilton’s thriller Gaslight has just begun at Irish Rep; some may remember the award-winning 1944 film version starring Ingrid Bergman and Angela Lansbury. The chilling study in domestic domination to the max concerns a diabolical husband who, not satisfied in exploiting his wife’s savings to buy their house, plots her murder. But while he’s out the police inspector comes in to warn the poor bride that her husband is suspected......

Let's take a look back at a week that raised this Zen koan: if Kevin Federline got into a wrestling ring with a wrestler, who would you root for? Austinist was in an entertainment state of mind as they covered the dickens out of the Austin Film Festival, depicted all the Big 12 football coaches as South Park characters, and interviewed Jose Gonzalez. Chicagoist talked about the passion as they bid adieu to Bell......

THEATER: Though some might balk at an outdoor performance in this muggy, thunderstormy weather, The Drilling CompaNY's version of As You Like It, the next installment of Shakespeare in the Park(ing) Lot (directed by Jesse Ontiveros), is bound to exude enough cool to counteract the waves of heat rising from the asphalt. It also helps if you show up with your own chair so you don't have to exert yourself in a scuffle to nab......

As it gets warmer and we come out of hibernation, we all have the desire to dress up like our favorite furry woodland creatures. Right? Okay, maybe not. However, we're guessing you'll do it anyway. It's a theme, you see, from the people who bring us Zombiecon and Leprecon comes the Horned Ball. Kostume Kult's Annual Spring Ritual & Burning Man fundraiser. Crazy diversions, bestial dancing and discoveries will be had. Random theatrics will be......

ART: Brooklyn Fire Proof will be presenting the final installment of curator Marc Gartman's series of exhibitions featuring successful contemporary independent musicians who are also visual artists. Previous series included the work of, among others, Bill Callahan (Smog), Devendra Banhart and David Pajo (Slint). This series (the fourth) will include artwork from DC Berman (Silver Jews), John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats), Pall Jenkins (The Black Heart Procession), Jason Molina (Magnolia Electric Co.) and Archer Prewitt......

Tonight & Tomorrow night @ Volume come witness some large scale art as installation artists show off their works before some of them head out to Burning Man. The event will feature: Saul Melman, Anakin Koenig Airways, Alejandra Airaldi (an installation artist with a background in architectural and fine arts), Dennis Del Zotto (his large indoor cavernous environments were prominent in the early 90's NY nightlife scene), and Fake-Air (a 20,000 cubic ft walk-in......

Deborah Schoeneman, New York Magazine...

Jonny Diamond, The L Magazine...

While everyone has thought that various ads on Craigslist seem more cinematic than real (missed connections - that is so romantic comedy...we're not saying it's always good romantic comedy...), San Francisco director Michael Ferris Gibson is making a movie about Craigslist users. Wired says that people who posted ads on August 4, 2003, were asked to participate in what will be a 90 minute DV film, and Gibson and his crew are sifting through almost......

For your case of the Mondays, here's the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro to cheer you (and me) up. What's a catbus? Here's one answer, here's another. Even Burning Man had a Catbus.......