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It's a Small "Ist-A-Verse" After All

By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 9, 2007 4:00PM

There was very little else for Londonist to be concerned with when the threat of a Tube strike became a very unpleasant reality. The inconvenience was extreme: there aren't many alternatives to the Tube in London despite the best efforts of the Londonist team to get everyone from A to B. Brighter news came in the form of the first ever female Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater as the position is more commonly known, and several smiles as well as lots of cash were raised by some plucky urban ironing. London is apparently full of lies and whales:one of these things is true. We leave that up to you to figure out.

The students have returned to Boston, and they've really made a mark. Bostonist was impressed by an incident in which a Northeastern University student shouted out his window that his roommate was selling pot. This guy might be the worst roommate ever - Boston police arrested both students, and NU kicked them out. Another student drove a U-Haul under an overpass, peeling off the top of the U-Haul and clogging Labor Day weekend traffic. But we still like the students anyway, enough to give them tips on how to cook chicken and where to buy cupcakes. And their shenanigans don't top the local brainiac who drove his truck into a moving trolley. Beyond the students, Bostonist is loving the fresh young Red Sox. Last, but not least, we're thinking Gisele Bundchen might have a bitch streak inher a mile wide.

LAist, along with the rest of the city, celebrated Los Angeles' 226th birthday in the form of a nine mile walk retracing the steps of the original settlers who established the pueblo back in 1781. On Labor Day, there was more celebration over past jobs, whether that be a phone scam artist or professional bootlegger. And heck, why not celebrate Thai Town by reviewing every restaurant in and surrounding the neighborhood? In the un-celebratory category, bicyclists were shocked of a story about a Beverly Hills SUV driver attacking a cyclist , only to have the cyclist get two tickets from the cops. A follow up to the incident came out with hints of optimism. As they say in LA, see you on the streets!

Readers of Chicagoist had a lot of pent-up energy to expel this week. It's probably because they all work out at the same place, the now-shuttered Cheetah Gym and wonder if they'll ever see their September dues back in their bank accounts. But that wasn't the only story that gained their attention. The on-again/off-again annual state bailout of the region's public transportation system was off again (for now). But if Mayor Daley gets his way--and he usually does--Chicago residents may be able to rent bikes like in Paris when the CTA grinds to a halt. Readers all agree that Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano is a big fat overpaid baby. Finally, there was a time when people complained about having an airport on the lake; now they're bitching about having to hear lewd lyrics from concerts on the lake.

SFist saw the Bay Bridge open early after it shut down during the Labor Day Weekend. Steve Jobs dropped the price of the iPhone, still manages to sport a fine ass after all these years. Devastating wildfires in the Bay Area made for some gorgeous sunrises, and a 911 crank caller has logged in over 2,000 fake emergency calls since March. Speaking of insanity, American Airlines will force San Francisco departing passengers to use major credit or debit card (no cash!) for snacks, booze, and headphones. Also, Summer of Love celebrated 40 years of groovy vibes and navel-gazing.

Phillyist is going crazy catching performances at the 2007 Philadelphia Live Arts/Philly Fringe Festivals. But they're still making time for hating, laughing, and rhyming. And hey: pretty!

Curious about what's up across the rest of the Ist-A-Verse? Check out this week's favorites on href="http://austinist.com/labs/favorites">Austinist, Houstonist, Gothamist, Sampaist, Shanghaiist, Torontoist, and DCist.

Compiled and edited by Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey.

Images: Flickr user moocatmoocat on Phillyist; Flickr user The City Project on LAist; Flickr user crow soup on SFist.