Round-Up: Wednesday, Dec. 30

Listen:
[mp3] : jj – 5 minuter med jj

[mp3] : jj – baby


List: USA Today has some interesting tidbits about US cities
Top Ten Literate Cities
1. Seattle
2. Washington
3. Minneapolis
4. Pittsburgh
5. Atlanta
6. Portland, Ore.
7. St. Paul
8. Boston
9. Cincinnati
10. Denver
62. Los Angeles

"Cities where lots of people read also tend to feature a vibrant singles' scene, a study suggests. It finds that Boston, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta boast high rankings both as "literate cities" and as places for single people to live."

Tend to offer the most active singles' scenes: Boston, Seattle, Washington, and Atlanta

•Are safer: Minneapolis, Boston, Seattle, Portland, Denver and Cincinnati

•Are more walkable: Seattle, Washington, D.C., Portland, Boston and Denver

•Are healthier: Washington, D.C., and Denver

News: Statewide Trans Fat Ban Starts Friday (CA is the first state to do so)

Get High and Lucky: Join the Mile High Club in a Hot Air Balloon in Temecula

Learn: I'm starting to listen to university lectures as I do mindless projects courtesy of itunesU. Currently listening to UCLA's Psych 176 on intimate relationships. Tidbits: year #2 of marriage is the most common year to get divorced, divorce rate is even higher w/ remarriages,

and of course, the younger you are the more likely you are to get divorced

Eat: Top New Restaurants of 2009 compiled by Eater LA

Q: Who are the top newcomers of 2009?

Jonathan Gold, LA Weekly: Tasting Kitchen, Mo-Chica, Bistro LQ, Mozza 2 Go, Church + State 2.0.

Lesley Bargar Suter, Los Angeles Magazine: Drago Centro, Mo Chica, Tavern, Bottega Louie, Wurstkuche...dare I say, the Lazy Ox?

Eric Alperin, mixologist, The Varnish: Duh, The Varnish (Totally kidding)... Copa D'Oro, Roger Room, Tarpit.

Jeff Miller, Thrillist: I think for all the excitement of Bouchon, I don't know anyone who's had a legendary meal there yet (and I was only there for the press opening night, when I was more floored by watching Larry King and Ludacris shake hands than any of the food.) The place I keep sending people back to is Mexico in West Hollywood -- I was shocked by how good and fresh the food there was, and there's no better place for some outdoor margarita drinking in LA. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention The Golden State: not only are Jason and Jim good friends, but their burger is second to none.

Cedd Moses, restaurant/bar owner: Rivera (food and cocktails) and Mo-Chica Peruvian.

Mark Peel, chef and restaurant owner, The Tar Pit: The Tar Pit, of course. Mozza to Go. Bouchon. Church & State.

Odell: Bouchon because it's Thomas Keller, The Varnish, The Tasting Kitchen, Umami, Ado, JTYH.

Round-Up: Thursday, Dec. 31

Watch: Great Mash-up of 2009 in Pop




Dine Out: Top 10 New Restaurants of the Decade in LA (Zagat)

Read: One of my favorite former professors, Amy Zegart, listing 5 observations about the Undie Bomber and the intelligence failure.

Anticipate: Weekly Entertainment Round-Up (My favorite feature on Absolutepunk.net)

List:
TOP SELLING ALBUMS OF THE DECADE IN THE U.S.:
1. The Beatles, 1 (11,499,000 copies sold)
2. *NSYNC, No Strings Attached (11,112,000)
3. Norah Jones, Come Away With Me (10,546,000)
4. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP (10,204,000)
5. Eminem, The Eminem Show (9,799,000)
6. Usher, Confessions (9,712,000)
7. Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory (9,663,000)
8. Creed, Human Clay (9,491,000)
9. Britney Spears, Oops! … I Did It Again (9,185,000)
10. Nelly, Country Grammar (8,461,000)

TOP SELLING SINGLES OF THE DECADE IN THE U.S.:
1. Flo Rida feat. T-Pain - “Low” (5,214,000)
2. Lady Gaga feat. Colby O’Donis - “Just Dance” (4,690,000)
3. Jason Mraz - “I’m Yours” (4,619,000)
4. Timbaland feat. OneRepublic - “Apologize” (4,439,000)
5. The Black Eyed Peas - “Boom Boom Pow” (4,349,000)
6. Soulja Boy Tell’em - “Crank That” (4,315,000)
7. Lady Gaga - “Poker Face” (4,200,000)
8. Coldplay - “Viva la Vida” (4,140,000)
9. Taylor Swift - “Love Story” (4,005,000)
10. Katy Perry - “Hot N Cold” (3,945,000)


Listen: Rufus Wainright - "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"



Happy New Year and stay safe! Hope everyone gets a kiss at midnight.

Round-Up: Tuesday, Dec. 29

Read: Anthony Bourdain writes about "Foodie Nation" in NYT

Reminisce: The Decade in Music Genre Hype (Spoiler alert: the current trend is glo-fi)

Chart: Compare listening habits of New Yorkers vs. rest of world

Predict: 10 music-tech trends that will shape the next decade. I discussed most of these in the class I taught about the future of the music industry, and I think this list is pretty well done.

Listen:

Brendan Benson-A Whole Lot Better

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Watch:

Tech Support - watch more funny videos

Listen: Stream 12 Acoustic Manchester Orchestra Tracks

Round-Up: Monday, Dec. 28

Listen: KiD CuDi rapping over Vampire Weekend's "Ottoman."




Vote: See picks for the best cup of coffee in Los Angeles, and vote for your favorite.

Read: First hand account of California medical marijuana dispensaries.

List: Best (and Worst) Movies of the Decade according to Metacritic

Laugh: Cosmetic surgery and Guide to Gift Givers and Carbon Credits webcomics

Watch: My favorite comedian Patton Oswalt

Patton Oswalt - Christmas Shoes - watch more funny videos

Watch: A full-set of The Mountain Goats, who in the past year has quickly made its way up my list of favorite musicians.

Round-Up: Thursday, Dec. 24

Drink: Free Coffee and Tea at Peet's Today!

Listen: Great list of the best cover songs of the decade. You will probably see a few of these resurface on my Best of 2009 music list in January. Includes youtube videos.

Watch: Top Music Videos of 2009

Read: Wondering What Festivus is all about?

Good memories watching Matt & Kim play at the Cooperage (like a coffee-shop) at UCLA a couple of years ago. They seemed like the happiest husband and wife in the world when they played.

Round-Up: Wednesday, Dec. 23

Listen: Bombadil - "Otto the Bear"


Read: NYT article on the psychology behind menus
They discuss the cons of putting dollar signs on menus, putting expensive decoy items near the top of menus to make other items seem more reasonable,and how to highlight more profitable dishes.
Most interesting part to me was the description of 4 types of diners: "The customers he calls “Entrees” do not want a lot of description, just the bottom line on what the dish is and how much it is going to cost. “Recipes,” on the other hand, ask many questions and want to know as much as they can about the ingredients. “Barbecues” share food and like chatty servers who wear name tags. “Desserts” are trendy people who want to order trendy things." - What type of diner are you? (I'm more of a "Recipes" diner these days)

Badass of the Week: "A 52-year old man walked into a Detroit diner with a five-inch knife stuck in his chest, ordered coffee and waited for the ambulance. [MSNBC]" (H/T Grub Street LA)

Laugh: Santa webcomic

Drink: Wine enthusiast lists 2006 Julia's Vineyard Pinot Noir from Santa Maria's Cambria as #1 Wine of 2009. It's only $21 a bottle.

Watch: Everything is better with bacon on it. Knives up!

Top Chef: Hungry Ladies - watch more funny videos

Political Science: 538 identifies the most valuable Democrat Congressman (warning, it's pretty wonky)

Round-Up: Tuesday, Dec. 22

Deal of the Day: Get $15 worth of food and drinks at Flake in Venice for $7. Yelp it. Buy it before midnight 12/22, use it by 3/23.

Eat: According to Bon Appetit, one of the 10 best dishes in the country under $10 is the Filipino Maharlika pork sausage with caramelized onions; $6.75; Wurstkuche, Los Angeles.

Read: The Economist takes a stand against Direct Democracy and ballot initiatives.

Cook: Black Bean Chili with Eggplant recipe

Listen: Telekinesis- "Coast of Carolina" - Saw them in D.C. last April when I was visiting my buddy Andrey.


Watch: Cheap but creative music video. "Dublin’s tallest building was turned into a giant light canvas during 24TH SEPT – 11TH OCT by Daft.ie. Video director Fionn Kidney encouraged enthusiasts to use their DV cameras to capture footage of the animating building from multiple angles throughout Dublin."

Round-Up: Monday, Dec. 21

Remember: Top One-Liners of the Decade

Read: What's in the health care bill?

Listen: Jarvis Cocker - "Leftovers." I just started listening to Jarvis, and I'm really digging the sound. I chose this song because many of the lyrics resonate with me (sadly).

Watch:

Laugh: Green Eggs and Ham webcomic

Chart: This chart is a depiction of the different factions of the American right. Courtesy of 538.com.

Round-Up: Friday, Dec. 18 Pt. 2

Play: Portraits of world leaders (most of them taken at UN General Assembly). Play with the interactive portfolio at the New Yorker.

Rumor: Google to buy Yelp?

Cook: Broccoli Quiche with Gruyère and Cheddar recipe

Laugh: Karma webcomic

Listen: Los Campesinos! - "These Are Listed Buildings" (from upcoming album Romance is Boring


Watch: Sweet video from a great band (mildly NSFW). Get the Yeasayer single from the band for here.

Round-Up: Friday, Dec. 18

Listen:

Dominos - The Big Pink

Download: Top free iPhone apps (I just downloaded a majority of these and have been testing them the past couple of days)

Read: Quick and dirty summary of arguments around the health care bill. 538 really is "politics done right." Not a bad primer if you haven't been following it too closely.

Relax: ABC7 News Story on Leisure World (OC, near my hometown) that are using the medical marijuana laws the way they were intended.

Laugh: 4 webcomics - Mexico, Tiger Woods, Slinky, Facebook Reconnect

Watch:

Random Web Offerings

Eat: A $750 cupcake you can buy in Las Vegas.

Improve Your Computer Performance: Top 10 Tiny and Awesome Windows Utilities

Switch to Google Chrome: I've been using Google Chrome since it was first released and I still think its by far the best web browser. Google Chrome now supports extensions, see check out a list of the top 10 Google Chrome extensions.

Listen: NPR's The Year in Music, 2009

Exercise: Read about why you may be more likely to get sick when you are relaxing during the holidays and why exercise might be the key to not getting sick again this holiday.

Watch:

Evolution of the Hipster

Paste (one of my favorite publications) has a quick history of the evolution of the "hipster" during the 2000s. It's funny, but also a little scary because of how accurate it is. Check it out.