Photo by Andy Sternberg/LAist A posthumous tribute wall dedicated to singer/songwriter Elliot Smith sat defaced by graffiti for months on end -- LAist said enough, so did the fans and city council.SFist was surprised to learn that chronic presidential candidate Ralph Nader picked former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez as his running mate.Phillyist explored the possibilities of green cleaning.In the latest edition of Reel Toronto, a bi-weekly feature looking at films shot in Toronto......

If you're one of those people who sits in the car for more than an hour every day on your way to and from work, we're sorry — and there's bad news: It may be getting worse. According to a transportation researcher, Texas' strong population growth over the next 20 years or so will mean that we'll see more and more "extreme commutes" of an hour or more. Better invest in some books on tape,......

All across the Ist-A-Verse (or at least the American parts thereof), writers and editors are in the midst of enjoying their three-day weekend. But after the week we've all had, we feel like the break is not only needed, but deserved. Just look at everything we've been doing! Gothamist headed into the Memorial Day weekend with a number of tasks accomplished. They worried about Long Islanders giving New Yorkers a bad name. They tried......

It seems like, all across the network, folks were up to no good. Maybe it was all the green beer from last weekend... Gothamist spent the week writing about New Yorkers behaving badly: at the post office, at the Garden, and at the fertility clinic. Calvin Klein may not be misbehaving, but he's just a little dirty, and in a completely different way than some NYC kitchens. SFist had its share of misbehave-rs, too, like......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

After seeing pictures of how crowded the malls were this weekend, Houstonist is thinking of embracing this Interweb thing and doing a lot of our holiday shopping online — and we're not alone: According to a recent poll, Houston ranks sixth in the U.S. in online shopping spending for this holiday season. The AOL Shopping/Zogby International Poll shows that the average Houstonian expects to spend $527.96 online in the next four weeks — a fairly......

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor......

It's Friday, another grueling week of piloting your cube has ended. You and the rest of the water cooler kids are counting the minutes until your boss heads to the club house for her early afternoon sales meeting/golf-a-thon. Then, happy hour is officially in effect. The trouble is that the tribe can't break the habit of going to the same old watering hole since no one can remember life before Schlitz night at Bob's Country......

We spend a lot of time on the internet. And occasionally, we run across something about this city or the state it's in that we like enough to share. So if you've got reflections on anything from why you're a Houstonian-not-a-Texan to why it is nobody ever says "Don't Mess With Rhode Island" with a straight face, send them our way. We'll use them in our new occasional series, Read This. Lilit Marcus is a......

The shot from flickr user and houstonist photo contributor slipshod snapshot. This is a shot of the Mecom-Rockwell Fountain in Hermann Park. This little snippet is from Stephen Fox's "Big Park, Little Plans: A History of Hermann Park" - Between 1967 and 1969 a new Miller Outdoor Theater, designed by Eugene Werlin and Associates, was constructed on the site of the old Doric proscenium. A high, bermed lawn provided amphitheater-type seating in front of......

Houstonist's out-of-town friends have long chided us about what a crappy town we live in. And statistically, we guess they're right, sort of: According to a national survey, Houstonians are the nation's worst at scooping their dogs' poop. Well, there go the 2016 Olympics. The survey, conducted by animal health company Merial, was meant to promote awareness of health threats that come from failing to pick up after your pet (hookworms and roundworms can be......

Now that we’ve all recovered (haven’t we?) from this weekend’s NFL draft, it’s time to refocus on the game at hand -- baseball; more specifically, Roger Clemens. Beginning today, the Astros can officially start courting Clemens to stay in Houston for another half partial season. Don’t expect Roger’s final decision to come quick, negotiations may drag out for a month or two. Most likely, he’ll land in either Houston, New York or Boston (Dallas......

An update on a rather confusing, semi pointless weight-loss contest sponsored by Good Morning America and AOL.com: The Houstonians are still heavier than the New Yorkers. Throughout the month, a team in Houston — which was named the fattest American city by Men's Health magazine in 2005 — and a team of "GMA" audience members have been competing to lose the most weight. On Jan. 2, the team in Houston weighed in at 2,231......