Weekend Extra: The Best of the Week in the Global "Ist" Village
By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 12, 2007 4:00PM
Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt, who has completely covered her house in mosaic tiles.
Phillyist took a trip down memory lane at Warped Tour - and then reminded people how to behave and what to wear--or not--when you get there. Staffers fretted about germs, took in more than a few laughs, and bet Editor Jim's left nut that readers would enjoy The Ten.
Austinist interviewed ACL Fest artists Midlake and The National, and started discussing the many scheduling conflicts with Round 1: Spoon Vs. Queens Of The Stone Age. They also co-hosted a wild boat party on Lake Travis. Meanwhile, the elderly are staging a raid on the city's coffers, while the city's affordable housing program moves forward. Austin police uncovered a local prostitution ring exploiting illegal immigrants, and a new survey found that Austinites are unlikely to put out on first dates. And say hello to America's newest Bachelor: Austinite Brad "McSteamy" Womack, owner of local shot bars Chuggin' Monkey and Dizzy Rooster.
LAist got jolted by a small, but nerve tingling earthquake last week, but there was much more excitement in the air than that. In depth, they discovered a neighborhood that many natives never knew about and munched on food at a rare Buddhist Temple's Farmers Market while Google launched their street view maps feature that largely ignored most of Los Angeles. They chatted up Jenji Kohan, creator of Showtime's Weeds, and found that Brad Pitt is finally serving his jury duty. The only way things could get any better is if he were assigned to Nicole Richie's DUI case, or maybe an art show where the the Golden Girls go wild (yes, from the TV show).
Torontoist got tons of photos of one of the city's biggest parties, Caribana,and celebrated girl-oriented rock. They discovered a cute sign on a construction site, got kind of excited for architect Will Alsop's latest creation, and kind of a little less excited for the H&M's shitty new (partially-illegal) ad campaign. Also, they're on a Panorama kick as of late, and their latest is of a harbourfront bridge.
It's been a long, hot week in the city for DCist, with record-setting temperatures besieging Washington and generally giving everyone a bit of a the crazies. Judging by their comment threads, the heat didn't make for the best time for D.C. to find out that a Capitol Hill bar is refusing entry to Marines without dates or that their new Metro Chief is considering getting rid of late night train service. But it was a great time to catch up with Spoon's Britt Daniel at the Virgin Festival and get the lowdown on David Beckham's Major League Soccer debut against D.C. United.
Seattlest watches as a park gets transformed into an enormous concert hall, but who's playing? No one knows. Other unanswered questions: Who soaped the Kinkos fountain, again and is Seattle Paradise City? And if so, oh, won't you please take me home, yeah, yeah. And gay dads are the new new dads.
For Gothamist, the week started promisingly when street artist Judith Supine hung a piece of art from the Williamsburg Bridge. Next, it learned how Rudy Giuliani's daughter supports Barack Obama and a Mets fan caught Barry Bonds' 756th home run ball. But then crazy weather resulted in a tornado touching down in Brooklyn AND for the subway system to come to a stand still (there's nothing like the MTA telling commuters not to take the subway). At least the weather didn't affect the Beastie Boys concerts.
Bostonist has learned some valuable lessons just as the school season approaches. 1. Don't use "quick-drying" glue in your tunnels. 2. Don't drink so much blackberry brandy that police officers think you're dead. 3. Do believe in miracles, at least when it comes to the sudden turnaround in the Celtics' prospects. 4. Do see Massachusetts through the eyes of Eugene Mirman. And 5. Do further your career by pretending to be Steve Jobs.
Over at Chicagoist the week began with first-person accounts of what it was like to be behind the scenes at Lollapalooza. All wasn't bread, circuses, and Lolla, however. The second site in the "Ist-a-verse" poked at hornets nests when they wrote about a community's heated response to a police shooting on the west side; the probability that the latest in a seemingly endless series of doomsday scenarios proposed by its public transit authority might actually occur; and the dearth of good Chinese food on the north side of the city.
SFist held its breath until their face turned blue when San Francisco canceled the city's insane and insanely popular Halloween in the Castro. But they found solace when Barry Bonds beat Hank Aaron's home run record*; Barack Obama pretended to be a blue-collar worker; Walter, beloved Ed Jew public commenter/singer, made an encore presentation via a Nancy Sinatra cover; and a passive-aggressive found missive sent readers into a tizzy.
Want to know what else is happening across the Ist-a-Verse? Check out this week's favorites on Houstonist, Sampaist, and Shanghaiist.
Media, from top: Mosaic house from Londonist, video from Austinist, photograph of David Beckham playing in DC by Kyle Gustafson/DCist, photograph of Judith Supine street art from Gothamist, and slideshow of Lollapalooza from Chicagoist staff photographer Olivia Leigh.