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... more ›

What with Paris Hilton's release earlier this week and the upcoming celebration of American Independence (sorry, Londonist!), we've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to choose, and most importantly, freedom to blog. Here are a few things we're happy we've been free to blog about this week. Being the nation's capital, DCist felt especially proud to let freedom ring this week by exposing the really important issues, like how sad they... more ›

With baseball's Winter Meetings now underway in Orlando, baseball's hot stove is heating up. Both Chicago clubs are at the center of many rumors, as pitching has been the clear focus of this offseason for most teams. The Cubs have been mentioned as suitors of nearly all big-name free agent pitchers, from Daisuke Matsuzaka to Jason Schmidt. With the Red Sox winning the rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka and Schmidt likely out of the Cubs'... more ›

While they say you can get "IT" on eBay, unfortunately for the Cubs, that doesn't include starting pitching. However, that doesn't mean they aren't bidding for some arms this off-season. The Cubs are believed to be one of the teams who have submitted a bid on Japanese right-handed pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, a 26-year-old star for the Seibu Lions. Many believe that his talent can translate into a front-line starter in the Majors. In his eight... more ›