An -istful week

There's a whole wide world out there, and here's the proof:

DCist revels in The University of Maryland's basketball triumphs, marvels at Metro's security strategy, and applauds DC local Katie Couric's new gig.

()

Phillyist is all about the Philadelphia Film Festival. OK, not all about -- they still have time for loitering, underage sex, and random wacky news.

We would have to send a camera around the world to get shots as bizarre as Katie's big 'ol bump and Kenny Rogers bad plastic surgery (Kenny Rogers doesn't know when to fold 'em!). Despite such bizarre sightings in LA, LAist interviewee Vanessa Grigoriadis chose to move there (to be with her fiancee, awww). Somebody ask Vanessa if they have record release parties as fun as the ones for LA based bands Languis and Spaceland in New York!

Bostonist has the best local papers! While The Globe reports on a baby shower gone bad, the 'Herald coins a gruesome new term. They put down the paper long enough to comment on an election that has gone to the dogs, and, speaking of dogs -- check out this personal ad. Of course, it wouldn't be Boston without baseball, and, speaking of balls, here's why same-sex marriage can be outlawed for out-of-state couples.

This chick we read about on Houstonist should talk to Phillyist's sexually active teen -- we think that they could find some interesting common ground. Or maybe not. A million dollars worth of pot would have us finding common ground with a lot of folks (and, hey, since we might get arrested for being drunk in a bar, weed's looking better and better to us), but maybe not Tom DeLay. Speaking of common ground, they also debated the need for a "record labels", and followed that up with an interview with the founder of Pandora

()

Miamist reminds us not to wear a thong to our Dolphins cheerleader tryouts, but we're more worried about getting busted for driving with a suspended licence. Other crimes we won't be committing: bird theft, misspelled hate speech, and...well, if it's not a crime to do the "Gator Chomp" on the lawn of the White House, it should be.

Torontoist warns us that downtown Toronto isn't that safe. First falling billboards, then
self-immolations in donut shops and now falling bricks! Maybe you'd better escape to the safety of Montreal. We'd really be psyched if that train served dandelion salad, but we'll settle for Coke Blak. (We've had some and we LOVE IT.)

SFist is one step closer to getting free citywide wireless, but until we get the internet ported straight into our brains we'll still have time for sex. Foodies seem to dig food-reality show Top Chef, and Barry Bonds probably wishespeople had thrown food at him in San Diego instead of syringes. SFist also spoke to the producer of The Devil and Daniel Johnston, a movie that's so good that our glibness escapes us.

()

And it's back! You know what brought it back? Gothamist telling us about balls of heroin! Thank you Gothamist, for restoring us to our jerky glory. You know what else makes us feel jerky? The Times redesign. We'll say nothing jerky or glib about the reaction the trailer for Flight 93 is getting. Finally, Gothamist does their damndest to top DCist's rioting over women's basketball with a Hasidim protest. Is it riot week and no one told us?

Chicagoist readers had a lot of time on their hands and thoughts in their heads about Wal-Mart, bicyclists, and dumb criminals. Chicagoist writers previewed Chicago's upcoming baseball season, made a tasty bowl of clam chowder and scratched their heads in wonder at the wrestler/public speaker/caveman known as The Warrior.

Austinist gets all smug because they're third safest big city in America. Yeah, from crime, maybe, but what about the endorsed spread of disease or outbreaks of pillow fighting? But if you're a guy, thank goodness that now there's a place to deal with those outbreaks of the dermal variety.

Fresh from an evening of fashion fun Shanghaiist rips Kristie Lu Stout a new one. Maybe someone needs to send her a copy of Dave Liang's "Shanghai Restoration Project"? For the more mainstream tastes, the Rolling Stones are coming to town, but it seems too too coincidental that they're also reporting on body parts that keep turning up in Gansu. The two news items are unrelaed, we're sure.

Links compiled by SFist Eve

All images by Matt Wright of Austinist