Earlier this month saw the launch of Orange County Food Blogs, and in charge of all the online show and tell about OC eats is Chubbypanda. We asked this "Epicurious Wanderer" for his own end-of-the-year list representing the best eats in the County, and for this list, we're going ethnic.

1. Japanese - Frenzy Sushi (my review)

The freshness and quality of the fish served at Frenzy Sushi is amazing. The Hamachi no Hara (yellowtail belly), Saba (marinated mackerel), and Maguro (Bluefin tuna) are must-haves here. If you like rolls, order the Firecracker or Caterpillar.

Frenzy Sushi 369 E 17th St, #17, Costa Mesa 92627 1-949-646-1333
http://www.frenzysushi.com

2. Chinese (Shanghai) - New Shanghai(my review)

Delightfully cheap and delicious, the fiery flavors of the Shanghai, Sichuan, and Hunan cuisine dishes served at New Shanghai are perfect for a cold winter's night. I highly recommend the Niu Rou Mian (Beef Noodle Soup), Gong Bao Ji Ding (Kung Pao Chicken), and Zhao Liu Yu Pian (Fish Filets in Wine Sauce).

New Shanghai 5408 Walnut Ave # B, Irvine 92604 (Open until midnight every night)

3. Vietnamese - Pagolac (my review)

I first tried Bo Bay Mon (Seven Courses of Beef) at Pagolac and it was a dining revelation. Even better were the Bo Nuong Vi (Grilled Beef) and Tom Nuong Vi (Grilled Shrimp). Although you may be a little leery of sampling Mam Nem (fermented shrimp sauce), take the plunge and you'll experience a true flavor sensation.

Pagolac 14580 Brookhurst St., Westminster 92683 1-714-531-4740

4. Peruvian - Peruvian Kitchen (my review)

Peruvian food is one of the world's ultimate fusion cuisines, and Peruvian Kitchen delivers the complex blend of flavors and influences for a very reasonable price. Try the Tiradito al Aji (a carpaccio of fish marinated in a spicy sauce), the Anticuchos de Corazon (grilled pieces of seasoned beef heart), and the Yucca a la Huancaina (cassava cheese puffs covered in a spicy cream sauce.

Peruvian Kitchen 8610 Warner Ave., Fountain Valley 92708-3132 1-714-847-7555
http://www.peruviankitchen.com

Flickr is full of pictures of women. The only ones worth a damn are the hot ones of women in LA. We will make an exception for photos of cute women.

Thanks to Creative Commons it was easier to whittle down the best ones by using those which we are legally able to post on this website / blog / whatever this is.

21 more pictures after the jump so sit back and enjoy.

top photo by JK***

We admit it. We love year-end Best Of lists. Why? We think lists by a variety of people are a far better way to see trends and discover new acts than say award shows or sales charts. If it weren't for Best Of lists it's rare that you'd hear so much about TV on the Radio, The Cold War Kids, The Hold Steady, Joanna Newsum, or the Knife - and who knows, maybe it's these types of lists that will turn on people to these sweet new tunes.

Tomorrow many of you will be raging downtown at Giant Maximus and grooving to (among other artists) the three-hour set by the #2 DJ in the world Armin Van Buuren inside one of those super huge, heated, circus tents.

Last month we nabbed an exclusive interview with the handsome DJ where he talked about his record label, the death of vinyl, and why he doesn't blog very much.

This month we give you his Top 10 favorite new cds of this year which we cut and pasted directly from his email to us because we are lazy intent in keeping it real.

For Armin's list and details on the all night street party happening downtown about 28 hours from now we'll see you on the other side of the jump...

A long time ago in a peninsula far far away (if a 90 minute drive is far), there was a college newspaper so good that Matt Welch's only regular writing assignment was the two or three sentences in the Weather box.

Though this was late-'80s Santa Barbara and the weather for an entire year was Sunny and Mild (we were in the midst of a year-long drought), somehow Welch's Weather box was one of the widest-read and most-loved parts of the award-winning college rag, UCSB's Daily Nexus.

Instead of getting his diploma, Welch ran off to Czechoslovakia with a few other Nexites and helped start the first English language newspaper in Prague, Prognosis.The paper (and the founders) got major attention from media outlets everywhere, and they all came to interview Matt -- including his future employer.

Welch went on to work for a few business journals in Eastern Europe, and once he came back home he freelanced a bit and eventually found a comfortable home at Reason, a libertarian oasis of insightful journalism. One of Matt's duties at Reason was to write on their burgeoning blog "Hit & Run", where he did his best not to be distracted by some of the loonies who trolled in the comments.

Because he's a consummate writer and had great bosses, Matt was allowed to freelance from time to time for places like ESPN.com, Slate, and Wired, but some of his best pieces were his anti-LA Times pieces in the LA Times.

They were so good, in fact, that the Times hired him. And now, not only does he occasionally (it's a secret you see) write the paper's unsigned editorial, but he works with the guest columnists, edits their work, and manages one of the Times' many blogs, Opinion LA. And of course to show off he plays in an Americana band, when he's not droning on endlessly about 1930s baseball players in a way only a dozen or so bespectacled Jamesian nerds would appreciate in his personal blog, one of the first "warblogs".

Today he humored us with his list of 10 Ten Best Things About Working for the Evil MSM.

Even though I call LA home, I didn't always live here. Over the years, I've spent time in various other parts of Southern California. Encinitas, Del Mar, San Diego and Fullerton are all places I once lived. Actually, I still think of Encinitas as my other home but as this is LAist and not Encinitasist, that’s not really relevant at the moment.

When I first started coming to LA in the early 90s it was mostly for work. I commuted from Fullerton (aka “The O.C.”) where I lived after finishing college so I could try my hand in the entertainment industry. Even though the commute was "technically" only about 30 miles or so, it took way too long to do and would add at least another 2.5 to 3 hours onto an already very long workday.

It's always fascinating when old media attacks new media, and today's example takes on yours truly, LAist.

In a piece about Best Of lists on websites, the New York Times leads with this oddity: "As any media consumer knows, this is the season of the list."

First of all, in this, the era of YouTube and TiVo and 54 million blogs, is there really such a thing as a "media consumer"? Isn't everyone a media consumer at this point? Secondly, shouldn't it be "'tis the season for lists?" Maybe we're being defensive. Moving on...

In the next paragraph, the Paper of Record takes a shot at the largest group of folks who link to the NYT daily: blogs.

In the blogosphere, the top 10 moments of 2006 tend to involve navel gazing. Kyle Bunch of Blogebrity.com offered his list of the “Top 10 Blogebrities of 2006” to Laist.com. They included Jason Calacanis, the founder of Weblogs, and Kevin Rose, the founder of Digg.com. At No. 1: Ze Frank, whose daily videos take on subjects ranging from trade sanctions on North Korea to which fresh fruits are best for wearing on your fingers.

For example, how can you write a piece about Best Of lists on the Internet and not mention the exhaustive and ridiculously wonderful Fimoculous' list of Best Of Lists? As of this morning it contains 575 lists from all over the web, including several -- from, omg -- The New York Times.

After the jump we will present to you our Top 10 20 24 Best New York Times Best Of Stories of 2006.

Fucker :)

(And no, we won't call you lazy for not knowing about the best-known best-of list-of-lists, we'll just call you 20th century, out of your element, and quaint.)

He goes by the moniker "Bandini" and his mission is to find the city's best tacos. Sound like an ill-conceived Food Network show (maybe not, come to think of it--who do we talk to about a pitch meeting?) or what? Actually, it's the premise of a local foodblog called--what else?--The Great Taco Hunt. And here are his picks for the 10 Best Taco Trucks he frequented in 2006.

1.Tacos El Korita -East Olympic Blvd and Herbert Ave, East LA
Olympic blvd off the 710 is a taco mecca. In the evenings taco trucks line the blvd and on the weekends the taco tables come out with the fire roasting spits of al pastor. But it is El Korita that keeps me coming back to this stretch of taco bliss. It's the delicious salsa roja and verde and the tender and spiced meats but the kicker is the tortillas hechas a mano(homemade) that are formed and pressed right inside the truck.

2. El Pique -York and Ave 53, Highland Park
The taquero at El Pique is a taco master. From the perfectly oiled corn tortillas to the finely chopped meats to the spicy salsa roja. It is all part of his master plan to get you addicted to his tacos and turn you into a Chivas football supporter.

3. Tacos la Fonda -Vineland and Vanowen, San Fernando Valley
Tortillas hechas a mano, lean and tender meat and the smokiest salsa roja north of mulholland. They get so busy on the weekends they take your order with a pad and pen in the parking lot.

4. La Golondrina-4910 Huntington Dr, El Sereno
The ladies at La Golondrina recognize the finer points of a taco. The corn tortillas are toasted and oiled perfectly, the meat is delicate and tender and the salsa is complex and spicy. They show off their culinary skills by offering enchiladas. Enchiladas out of a taco truck. Very Nice.

5. El Chato- La Brea and Olympic
What was formally El Pecas #2 is now El Chato but don't let the name change fool ya. They still have the same great tacos. The generator roars well into the night as this taco
wagon is quickly becoming the destination for the late night drunkard crowd (guilty as charged). Ordering al pastor from the rotating spit is a must but don't sleep on the asada. The secret at el chato is the hint of fresh chile in every bite. Sabroso!

Anne Smith is the owner of the New School of Cooking in Culver City (which just happens to be a favorite of this LAist), which offers classes for everyone, from beginning to advanced. An aficianado of all things culinary, Smith is also interested in promoting sustainable agriculture, supporting local farmers and reducing our carbon imprint. She recently launched a blog that companions the School's website, and she has also offered us her top ten thoughts about cooking, eating, and making efforts to live a little more green. Words to the wise for those of us with a pen poised to write out our New Year's Resolutions...

1. Best place to get started if you don’t know how to cook at all:
Take a knife skills class. Offered at least once a month, there is no better way to get organized in the kitchen or start to learn proper technique. http://newschoolofcooking.com. 310 842 9702 8690 Washington Boulevard Culver City 90232.

2. Best way find great local produce and support small farms:
Go to your local farmer’s market. With demand on the rise, there are markets sprinkled all over the city literally every day of the week. Nothing will get you better acquainted with what’s in season and who has the best goods than a trip to your local farmer’s market.
http://www.farmernet.com/events/cfms

3. Best way to support small farms if you can’t get to the farmer’s market:
Eat at Tender Greens. Chefs Erik Oberholtzer and Matt Lyman are partners in organic Scarborough Farms so they are able to get the best produce to the table within hours of harvesting. 9523 Culver Blvd. Culver City CA 90232. 310 842 8300. http://tendergreensfood.com If you don’t live near Culver City, there are several other restaurants in town who promote and support sustainable agriculture and local purveyors. Do a google search.

4. Best scrambled eggs:
Ammo. I love everything about Ammo. The restaurant combines a wonderful atmosphere with kind service and exceptional and affordable food. They emphasize local, seasonal ingredients and sustainable agriculture. Delicious for brunch, lunch and dinner, and I really did have the best scrambled eggs ever cooked by a restaurant just last week.
323 467 3293 1155 N. Highland Ave. LA 90038. http://ammocafe.com

5. Best little way to do something big for the environment:
Stop buying imported water. Water from Fiji, France and the Italian Alps is delicious, but water is heavy and getting it here requires fossil fuels that we do not need to burn. Buy local, or better yet, filter your water and pour it into a Nalgene water bottle. Then you’re both saving gas and reducing your plastic consumption.

Just when you forgot that you live in the most beautiful city in the world, LAist is here to remind you.

Right: A sapphire sky sets over Zuma Beach.

More photos after the jump.

Though the sun has been doing a bit of a peek-a-boo with us the past few days, we can't help noticing the increase in sunshine since we made it past last week's winter solstice. Hooray sunshine! Much as we like a nice blustery day, one of the main reasons we live in southern California is the intimate relationship with have with ol' Sol down here.

Esteemed musician/composer/polar bear/lexicographer of hoot Mike Watt seems to like the sun too, as he frequently goes out in the LA Harbor on his kayak to check it out before many of us are awake. Thankfully, he brings along a camera, and is always willing to share his favorite snaps.

Nine more photos of the sun rising in San Pedro can be found after the jump. All but one have been taken in 2006; no matter what's transpired this year, after looking at these pictures you have to admit it's been a pretty good 365 days around that flaming ball:

Maybe it wasn't cool in the South to go to the record store to get the new Dixie Chicks cd, but on the internet nobody can judge you. The Chicks were boycotted by Country radio and their fans said that they shouldn't have said what they said about President Bush, but when it came down to picking up their new cd, the people let their fingers do the buying. And if you ask us, they bought a wonderful cd. (It was also the website's Most Wished-For CD)

Here are the rest of the big sellers on Amazon this year via CrunchGear

- Music: Taking The Long Way by Dixie Chicks
- DVD: Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
- Software: World of Warcraft
- Electronics: Apple iPods (various)
- Home & Garden: Calphalon Commercial Hard-Anodized 12-Inch Everyday Pan with Lid
- Health & Personal Care: Pampers Cruisers (various sizes)
- Grocery: Senseo Douwe Egberts Dark Roast Coffee Pods
- Computer & Video Games: Nintendo DS Lite - Polar White
- Automotive: Sylvania DOT-it Self-Adhesive Bright White LED Light
- Apparel & Accessories: Levi's(R) 501(R) Button Fly Jeans
- Shoes: Rockport Men's Clarksdale Oxford
- Sports & Outdoors: Razor A Kick Scooter
- Jewelry: 14k White Gold, Round, Diamond Stud Earrings
- Watches: Bulova Women's Diamond Bezel Chronograph Watch
- Beauty: Bare Escentuals Get Started Kit
- Baby: Contoured Changing Pad
- Toys: Radica 20 Questions
- Books: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't by Jim Collins

Joseph Mailander is editor of Martini Republic, a local blog, a national blog, a political and cultural blog, but most of all, a toper's blog at heart. Beyond Joseph, Dr. Cocktail (Ted Haigh), Tod Mesirow (of Monster Garage fame) and anonyblogger Alex DeLarge (an obvious surly drunk) all monitor the beverage industry there with the kind of scrutiny that puts them at the top of all beverage industry blogrolls. MartiniRepublic's fabled drinks blog is here; it's a blog that "spills over" into their other blogs all too often.

Here are Joseph's Top Ten Cocktails from 2006:

10. The Vesper

Bond: "But who would want to kill me, sir?" M: "Jealous husbands, outraged chefs, humiliated tailors...the list is endless!" When James Bond wasn't busy humiliating tailors, he was often (but far from exclusively) busy drinking Vespers, a drink actually invented by Ian Fleming for the Scottish peasant turned Cold War hero. Originally, it went something like this: Three measures of Gordon's gin, one measure of vodka and a half measure of Kina Lillet as shaken in a together until ice-cold. Serve in a deep champagne goblet with the ubiquitous large thin slice of lemon peel. The most recent incarnation has sent bartenders scrambling for Lillet, which is fine with me, as I love the stuff; but be advised the old Kina Lillet included quinine, and today's Lillet Blanc, far sweeter, does not. Someone wishing to taste a Vesper as it tasted circa 1953, Casino Royale's publication date, would use a more formidable gin than Gordon's, and also would be tempted to drop a pinch of quinine powder into the concoction. For more tips on how to live the well-Bonded life, see the Commander, and more on what Bond actually drank, see The Dossier. And of course, you should never be drunk in public, but willing to act drunk should the situation warrant it.

9. Campari on the rocks

Visit your local bar, and if you're attentive to what's new, you'll see a half-gone bottle of Campari up in the slot near the liqueurs, maybe misplaced, maybe placed accurately next to the Fernet Branca despite its signature Campari-red glow. Not fair to say that it's like anchovies, "You either love it or hate it"; no, not fair at all, for far more people like anchovies. But Americans, sensibly rejecting the overly-sweet from a spirits-biz that's force-feeding them sugar drinks, are warming to the taste of bitterness like never before, and Campari is the lead exemplar of suave bitter this year. Bi-curious? Rocks and an orange wedge does it nice. of 2006

Many things make it into the LAist email box. But when anything is sent from Springfield we mark it Spam immediately.

Somehow this slipped through the filter.

We keeeed. The Simpsons have been on the air longer than most of you could pee straight and apparently this year they have decided to agree on some resolutions. Here they be...

In preparation for the New Year, Homer, Marge and many of their fellow Springfieldians vow to change their ways in 2007:

Homer: I resolve to lose 10 pounds, and then gain it back by Valentines Day.

Marge: I resolve to finally learn how to make pancakes that don't stick to the pan. Bart helped me come up with that one.

Krusty: In 2007, I promise not to keep using the same old jokes Ive been telling since 1961.

Chief Wiggum: In the coming year, I resolve to learn how to work the safety on my gun.

Comic Book Guy: In 2007, I resolve to boldly go where I have never gone before out on a date with a woman.

Barney: I resolve to quit drinking coffee. It leaves less room for beer.

Ned Flanders: I resolve to be pious and kind and gentle and yippee, skippee I already am! Happy 2007, everybody!

Yesterday we introduced you to the book, Skinny Bitch, and today we bring you the Skinny Bitch herself, Rory Freedman. We were lucky enough to meet her at an event we told you about back in November while chowing on some Indian food. So listen up, here are her rants:

1. A few nights ago, my friend and I went to see an indie film called Shortbus that we knew almost nothing about. The little blurb we read mentioned that intricate relationships of strangers were weaved together in New York City. (And it was playing at the Laemmle on Fairfax and Beverly for only three bucks.) Well, you can imagine our surprise when the opening scene of the movie had a guy giving himself a blowjob!

I haven’t yet wrapped my mind around the movie and I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it. But at the very least, it was thought provoking, and definitely the raciest film of 2006. (Think porn meets indie. Literally.) And I have to honor the courage of all the actors, who really put themselves out there for the world to see.

2. Okay, don’t think I’m a total perv, but I’ve gotta give a shout-out to a classy but kick-ass online sex boutique that launched this year: Secrets of the Ladies Room

3. Now that I’ve got your attention, I can segue into boring health stuff. If you take yourself too seriously to read Skinny Bitch ,go get a copy of The China Study. The China Study is the most comprehensive study of health and nutrition ever conducted. And its author spent four decades of scientific research, education, and policy-making at the highest levels in our society. It’s one of the best health/diet books that hit the shelves this year. And surprisingly easy to digest.

4. If you’re too simple or stupid to read an entire book, Gliving.tv is the place to get intelligent, digestible, usable information. They’re the premier “Contemporary Green Lifestyle Network,” without being stuffy or boring or overly technical. They know that people care about food, fashion, health, and the environment, but don’t want to be hit over the head with boring blah blah blah all day long. If you’re too self-absorbed to care about the environment without asking, “What’s in it for me?”, this is the site for you.

Do you hear the wind howling his name? Ken Layne is coming back to Los Angeles. That's why the gods are washing off the streets and blowing the smog aside.

Wonkette's West Coast Bureau Chief began this year at the helm of the ridiculously funny and mindbogglingly weird Sploid. Instead of burning bridges, Nick Denton shuttered Sploid and moved the hilariously cranky Layne over to Wonkette in a rare move by the Gawker head, who usually chews up his former editors and spits 'em out.

But Ken Layne is a rare breed as is evidenced by his bitter farewell post on Sploid. Needless to say we were giddy when he agreed to submit a Top 10 list, which we gladly present to you:

Happy Boxing Days, sellouts!

2006 is the year when I finally get to come home to LA after a four-year Exile in the Eastern Sierra up around Reno. The movers boxed up everything today. My beloved Jeep was hauled away by The People this afternoon. And the truck can't possibly hold all the liquor the movers wouldn't pack, due to discrimination. So I have to drink it all, now.

PS - If you have a really nice 3-bedroom house in the Silver Lake / Los Feliz / Echo Park area, I will take that. Contact me via Wonkette. Lease to own, whatever. Must be beautiful ... luckily that's not a rare thing in the neighborhood. Also, dog friendly. I've got Hunter. He is a good pal.

Top 10 Best Things about 2006 (mostly stuff was that released in 2006, and the rest I discovered in 2006) after the jump...

Being a single man in LA is a piece of cake - as long as you have all the right tools.

Most men solely concern themselves with how to get a girl into his bed. If a guy is smart he will know what to do to keep her there, or make it easier for her to want to come back.

These are the Top 10 things which will keep that smile on your new girl's face and have her singing your praises to her friends the second she's able to flip open her phone.

10. Tampons. And pads. Even though the majority of the women that you will bring home have gone at least a few years of dealing with Auntie Flow, most women are in denial each month and "surprises" happen. Nothing worse than making out with a new girl, having her excuse herself only to ask to be driven home after she discovers she is suddenly unprepared. If you have a box of tampons and a box of pads not only will she probably take you up on your generosity but we bet that she will never forget you again. And if she challenges you, simply said that you were a good Boy Scout who took to heart its creed to "always be prepared."

9. Rope. And know how to tie knots. There are only a few things a man needs to know in bed. A gentleman who understands how and when to use three simple knots will appear just as worldly as a man who can order a meal in French. Know how to tie knots and you can speak any language you want.

8. A maid. Since you and your visitor(s) will be intimately exploring every inch of every room of your castle, make sure that the floors, the walls, the closets, and the corners are clean. Maids in LA are cheap. Invest often.

If one were to name an LA blogging power-couple, LAist would look no further than Franklin Avenue's Mike and Maria.

Just over the last few months the pair led a 15+ mile walk down the entirety of Wilshire Blvd., Maria was nominated for a Grammy, they've continued their food blog Rate a Restaurant, as well as kept us up-to-date on the very sad demise of the Ambassador Hotel.

This morning we join them in bidding adieu to ten LA things that were ripped from our collective hearts...

Ten Los Angeles Disappearing Acts in 2006

1. The Ambassador Hotel: My heart still sinks every time I pass by the mostly-empty site on Wilshire. To add insult to injury, it now appears that the LAUSD’s one token nod to preservation – incorporating the shell of the Cocoanut Grove into the new high school being built there – won’t be happening either.

2. Aron’s Records and Rhino Records: Both independent record stores announced their shutdowns within a month of each other. My CD collection is stocked with countless gems I managed to find at Aron’s and Rhino’s parking lot sales through the years. Big box retail stores, the Internet and indie powerhouse Amoeba were too much for both institutions, and after decades serving music lovers, both called it quits.

more after the jump...

Theres lots of places I've been with friends this year and lots of places I've made my Dad take me when he's out here on business, but dates? Well, 2006 was a pretty dry year for this gal... So here are a few date places I've heard about through my friends who actually do things like..date....So I guess here's my wishlist for 2007...

1. Chateau Marmont: I know, I know, what a cliche, but I think thats the draw right? If the date is going poorly you have a pretty good chance of spotting a celeb and being able to text your BFF about it, thats good enough for me.

2. Katsu-Ya: This sushi place located on Ventura is too good to be true- they have out of this world sushi and creative rolls with all kinds of combos- just make sure you don't go on a first date- big sushi bites and falling rice is the worst.

3. Hugo's: This healthy brunch spot on Santa Monica is a perfect morning after meal venue....

4. Real Food Daily: This is the place I dream of my hippy vegan guitar playing boyfriend who doesn't exist treating me to after his gig.

5. Cafe des Artistes: This is to feel French and Fancy on a night out in Hollywood.

6. Hirozen: A small sushi spot located in a shopping center on Beverly and Orlando with straight forward rolls. My friend saw Anthony Keidis there once. I love him. So I will frequent Hirozen until I see him myself and make him fall in love with me. Is that weird?

7. Amagi's Karaoke: This hole in the wall dive karaoke place (also in a strip mall) has cheap drinks, an ecclectic crowd, and a great songlist. I just want to go get silly with a date here... and sing some Air Supply of course.

Crazy Aunt Purl is the true-life diary of a thirty-something, newly divorced, displaced Southern obsessive knitter who has four cats. Because nothing is sexier than a divorced woman with four cats.

We were stoked when Zach brought her to our attention this fall and doubly stoked when she said she would give us her list of LA yarn emporiums...

Los Angeles has more yarn shops than any place on earth. That is probably not a real fact, but it sounds plausible and I'm sticking with it.

I was pretty convinced I would never have the patience or coordination to knit, but when I got divorced and found myself alone with four cats and a growing Cabernet problem, knitting became my new obsession. For one thing, you can do it in your pajamas while drinking wine and watching bad Tivo. Sexy! But you can also do it in public, wearing four-inch heels and drinking wine with the eclectic, lovely, gorgeous and talented women (and
men!) of the West Hollywood Stitch 'n Bitch group.

I had no idea that knitting would both help me meet people and also make me broker than a three-dollar bill. Yarn is not cheap, folks.

But you know what they say: Love is expensive. Love costs.

This list is not in order of which yarn stores are best-to-worst, but it is ordered by how much money I have spent in each one.

One of our favorite local food blogs is Eating LA, which is helmed by Pat Saperstein, a senior editor at Variety. LAist asked her to put together her own Best of 2006, which she has so kindly shared with us; we can't help but notice that she likes pork and--if we may interpret--dislikes the deluge of Pinkberry frozen yogurt shops. Is it coincidence, we wonder, that she, too links the year to the pig, like our other tasty list contributor, Jonathan Gold?

Like film critics, apparently food writers are required to come up with their best moments in food for the year. Here are 10 or so of Eating L.A.'s top trends and favorite spots for the year:

1. Best newcomers: Mozza, BLD, Cut, Lou, Square One, and no doubt Hatfield's, except I still haven't eaten there. When you look back, it was actually a pretty good year for places that use really flavorful, high-quality ingredients. Coincidentally or not, all the newcomers are very big on piggy products like pig candy, artisanal charcuterie and thick bacon -- even Cut offers a great pork belly appetizer along with the super-pricey steaks.

2. Best rediscovered favorites: I got back in touch with my meat-eating side at old-timers Taylor's and the Pacific Dining Car. At Taylor's I found my ideal meal: a Molly salad; either the burger or the London Broil appetizer, and one of their excellent Manhattans. At the Pacific Dining Car, I had the most expertly-cooked steak salad ever for lunch, and vowed to return for a real steak. Another satisfying beef-fest was at the food bloggers dinner at Manna Korean Barbecue. I got flamed by Korean food experts, but hey, it tasted good to me.

3. Worst Asian-inspired fast food trend: the Pinkberry's invasion. These places are springing up everywhere, guaranteed to increase bad parking situations anywhere they light. All that parking angst for a few blandish flavors of frozen yogurt -- I just don't get it.

4. Best Asian-inspired fast food trend: Famima. You can actually get a solid meal at these adorable Japanese minimarts. While Christmas shopping in Glendale the other day, I picked up a very respectable warm pork bun and a triangular salmon rice ball, along with green tea mousse with a surprise red bean layer. And some rice crackers and Pockys for later. There's also warm clam chowder and grilled cheese paninis, and every kind of potato chip you could want.

5. Best tacos I had this year: I thought I hit the jackpot at El Parian in February, but a recent trip to the Echo Park Taco Zone truck may have changed my mind.

LA is home to many tv and film professionals. One thing that you learn about production crews is they're typically easy-going, funny, and amazingly smart. They've seen it all: the tantrums, the egos, the drama, the abuse, and the beauty. They laugh it off and wait till its time to break everything down, go home, and do it again in the morning.

The "stars" come and go but the real pros have been doing what they do every day.

Peggy Archer is a crew professional who writes a kickass blog, Totally Unauthorized, where she writes a little about the long hours and thankless grunt work, but also captures some of the oddities of our fair city. LAist particularly likes her photos of abandoned curbside couches.

We are very pleased that she accepted our invitation to give us her Top 10 places to spend her entire paycheck:

1) Koontz Hardware: Fuck Home Depot and their huge aisles filled with crappy stuff and a staff who don't give a damn. If you can fit down Koontz's narrow aisles, you'll find just about anything you need to wire, fix or build, well, anything. They also have a very knowledgeable staff who are more than happy to walk one through basic home repairs and brainstorm about work problems. They also have really neato stuff that I don't need,but compulsively buy anyway.

2) Electronic City: In the film industry, we put stuff to weird uses - like powering lights mounted in a pickup truck's bed with 6 marine batteries connected together - and most of the stuff we use isn't carried by conventional hardware stores, or even conventional electronic stores. Electronic city have it all, and they're used to movie electricians coming in and asking for strange things, like an adapter for a piece of equipment that hasn't been manufactured since 1864. They carry just about any kind of electronic cable, meter, adapter, connector and the stuff to make it all work, plus they have a very friendly staff who have never yet looked at me like I've lost my mind - even the time when I accidentally cut my cable TV line with a weed whacker and needed the stuff to repair it before The Daily Show aired.

3) Mole-Richardson: Bags and tapes and sprays and random strange tools. This place has everything set workers need - admittedly at a premium price - including a lot of items one can't get anywhere else for any amount of money.

In our never ending quest to squeeze in as many Top 10 lists as possible before the end of the January, we now present our highly subjective list of electronic albums from the past 350+ days. No prior knowledge of club music required. Consider this part of your education.

1. John Tejada "Cleaning Sounds is a Filthy Business" (Palette)
Though he's a local boy, Tejada has always managed to stay a couple steps ahead of the international set and stake out his own territory. His blend of minimal rhythms and emotional Orbital-esque melodies catapult him into the realm of super-producer in our book.

2. Jeff Samuel "Step" (Trapez)
Some of the best 'minimal' techno has to offer, Samuel's first full length release delivers the goods in a bouncy yet understated package that eclipses most of his 12" releases from the past few years. Techno that won't give you an Excedrin headache "This Big".

3. Isolée "Western Store" (Playhouse)
Rajko Müller's compilation of previously released singles for the Playhouse imprint still sounds fresher than most of what passes for "minimal techno" these days. There's a welcome warmth and variety in tone that overshadows even his own album of new material of a year ago. Proof that some artists get most their good ideas out early in their career.

When he's not publishing the Gothamist empire, Jake Dobkin enjoys a peaceful weekend involving fly fishing, trading arms for hostages, and rollin in his 6-4 taking pictures of graffiti - or what the kids call "street art".

He's even created a blog, Streetsy, solely to celebrate the art that he's photographed around the world.

The map above contains Jake's top ten best LA Street Art spots in our fair city. Maybe you know of some good ones too.

"Nerdy" men, or what I like to call "the boy/man next door" have made a strong showing in 2006 and I'm here to list the cream of the crop.

1. John Krasinski - "Jim" the anti-stud in the NBC hit "The Office", he wins us over with his everyday charm.

2. Andy Samberg - This genius 28-year-old newbie to "Saturday Night Live" brought us "Lazy Sunday" and "D**k in a Box" -- he's bringing funny back to Saturdays, and makes me feel all funny inside.

3. Jordan Bratman - We have to give it up for Mr. Christina Aguilera -- he has his lady crooning love songs to him and confessing her love all over the place, which makes me think he must be doing something right.

4. Jim Rash - The most obscure on the list, Jim is the sexy bald-headed director of the Sunday show at the Groundlings theater, as well as part of the cast of "Help Me, Help You". Trust me: either tune in, or go to the Groundlings Sunday show -- you won't be sorry. Oh, he wears glasses too.

5. Al Gore - C'mon. Any man trying to Save the World is sexy, even if his weapon of choice is a PowerPoint presentation.

6. Weekend table host at the Griddle Cafe - This guy is short and bald, but keeps throngs of people trying to get a table in strict order in the sexiest, most authoritative way...I also saw him fight a guy who was messing with him, and it was hot.

7. The guy who cries on "Extreme Home Makeover" - the glasses-wearing carpenter is my fav, not just because he can build stuff, but because he is always weeping. I love it. So do you.

photo by supamb

Tod Brilliant is a self-made eco-celebrity and decided his top 10 list to share with LAist readers would be about the most critical websites that will help you learn to save our massively fucked planet.

Now in his words: Surely you’ve heard of me, seen my billboards, listened to my interviews. I’m grateful to LAist for giving me yet another venue to promote my mission. My apologies if I’m approaching overexposed status. My team assure me there is no such thing, but I’m not so certain. For those rare few who don’t know me already: Before there was Bono, before there was Summer Rayne Oakes, there was the original eco-conscious hipster celebrity--me. Okay, that's edging ever so slightly toward pure bullshit, but I needed an intro of some sort before I jump into the Top Ten Most Critical Websites That Will Help You Learn to Save Our Massively Fucked Planet.

Here we go:
1. Earth Policy Institute: Lester Brown's vitally important organization that helps spread accurate climate change information to all corners of the globe. Brown's book "Plan B 2.0" is the only book that lays out a clear path to the salvation of our planet. Gore's movie was okay, but nowhere did it invoke a comprehensive plan of action."Plan B 2.0" is this very plan of attack. Not only was this book on Bill Clinton's reading list, but Ted Turner purchased a copy for every living billionaire and head of state in an effort to wake them the hell up. Short on funds to buy the book? Brown has made it available free of charge on his website as a PDF file. If you read one book in 2007, make it this one. Trust me on this. If you don't find it to be absolutely vital, I will personally refund your purchase price. No joke.
Note: The EPI website is rather primitive, as they haven't the time/resources to boost it (anyone want to donate their effort to this? You'd be doing a WORLD of good, really, and you'd have the chance to get to know some of the world's greatest superheroes).

2. SAVE DARFUR: Could well be number one, this site. It's all tied together, human rights and environmental disaster. Read Lester Brown's book, or anything by economist rockstar Jeffrey Sachs, and you'll understand in a jiffy. What is happening right now in Sudan and Chad is a true genocide. Oddly enough, you don't find Israel or the United States doing a damned thing about it - even after we all pledged "never again" after watching Hotel Rwanda, right? Well, never is now. And as you read this, a five year-old child is being tossed, alive, into a burning hut while his soon-to-be-raped and butchered mother is forced to watch. Nothing is worse than this, my friends. N O T H I N G.

3. Tod Brilliant: May as well get my self-promotion out of the way. Not only do I offer the most insightful (and sporadic, especially as I'm in a secret tropical location until after the New Year) bits on the frightfully fractured world of sustainable living/ecological awareness, but I've been known to call out the myriad hypocrites (Gore included) who hold back true progress. It's a great site, if only because my observations are so incredibly transparent and myopic. In truth, I'm merely holding onto the URL with random meanderings, as it is supposed to augment a documentary set for 2007 national release that details my rise via self-anointed celebrity status -- all as a ruse to elevate the above-mentioned Lester Brown - a man whose decades of dedication to the world's most important cause have gone largely unnoticed by the masses who appoint our pop-culture icons. There was a time when the great minds (Einstein, even Oppenheimer) were accorded respect and celebrity status. What the fuck happened? Why is it that the very people who can help save us from oblivion are relegated to the shadows while the Paris Hilton's of the world garner daily front page headlines? If my producer-partners ever get their asses into gear, we'll ask that question in a very public way.

4. Treehugger: Many of you have heard of Treehugger, I'm sure. For those who have not, don't be put off by the name that brings to mind patchouli-wearing Humboldt County types (Humboldt is in NorCal, where they grow all the weed/mind control for ingestion by the commoners). Treehugger is simply a fantastic source for news updates/tidbits on all aspects of the environmentally conscious world. Good people, wonderful vision, great site. Add it to your RSS feed. Each day you'll find at least one thing you pass on to your pals, provided you have any.

You know you love Tom Green even after he starts working with Jay Leno. We won't hold that against him. We also won't hold "Freddy Got Fingered" against him, or divorcing America's Sweetheart Drew Barrymore.

You also know you love Tom Green when you watch his wildly unpredictable web-show on his blog at TomGreen.com

But mostly you love him in the same way that you love watching a plane hurdle straight to the Earth, twisting slowly, as a huge plume of black smoke trails behind it leaving a mark like a snail would.

Because we love Tom Green we hope he can pull out of what is inevitable. Although after having the same billing as that laughing high-voiced fat gay guy (and having a lower billing than Stuh stuh Stutterning John) on the Tonight Show, nothing could be worse.

The Tom Green Meltdown is like watching a bullet pierce through an apple in super slow motion. Everything appears more beautiful than ever until you realize what's happening - fruiticide - and every angle is better than the one before it.

The intensely abrasive and experimental and wild 40 Bands 80 Minutes was directed beautifully by Sean Carnage.

We were lucky enough to have him hand over a Top 10 list that's creative and insightful, and dare we say a little inspiring.

TOP TEN ANGELENOS THAT INSPIRE ME TO BE “BAD”!

After filming L.A.'s most talented musicians for 40 BANDS 80 MINUTES!, I want to push things further with a new movie—HOW TO BE BAD: AN L.A. TO Z GUIDE! It's going to be an anthology of all the crazy and naughty things L.A. underground people do to keep their art flowing.

The following L.A. people inspire me to be BAD-ASS and to never, EVER give up:

1. Xin Sarith - Xin’s like the Picasso Bruce Lee of YouTube. Xin's got real renegade style—a true artist who couldn't come from anywhere but Southern California.

2. Treiops Treyfid - Treiops made baffling, futuristic D&D sounds with Pitchblende in the 1990s. Now he’s in L.A. and channeling the art scene, so watch out!

3. Retard Disco - Alex and Andy and their DVD/record label are superheros of everything young, hip, queer and ROCK!

4. Margot Totally Mag! - L.A. most inspired zine editor. Just when you thought nothing new could be done with a celebrity-worship magazine, Margot turns it all upside down with Totally Mag! Joyful and cheeky.

Jonathan Gold just might be both the first and last word on food in the city. His Counter Intelligence column is the centerpiece of his coverage of consumption in the Eat/Drink section of the LA Weekly; many of his findings are tidily compiled in a book of the same name that we urged you to buy earlier this month for the person on your list who's ready to take their dining out to the next level. His quest for the exotic or unusual has been known to provoke countless taste buds in the readership he's earned since he signed on at the Weekly in 1986. We also love his regular on-air visits to Evan Kleiman's "Good Food" show on KCRW. Gold's Best of 2006 is an homage to the pig. Bon appetit!

1. Stir-fried smoked pig’s tongue. You’ll want this one with extra chile, Hunan-style. Dong Ting Chun, 140 W. Valley Blvd., San Gabriel.

2. Pizza with guanciale and bagna cauda. Cured pig’s cheek, pureed anchovies and a runny fried egg. It’s what all the cool kids will be eating instead of pepperoni next year. Mozza, 641 N. Highland Ave.

3. Old-fashioned liverwurst. For those of us who worry that their regular liverwurst isn’t, in fact, livery enough. Schreiner’s, 3417 Ocean View Blvd., Glendale.

4. Red-cooked trotters. Simmered for half a lifetime with rock sugar and fresh ginger, served from the most beautiful crock on the dim sum cart these feet are pure, EEEEE pleasure. Full House Seafood, 1220 S Golden West Ave, Arcadia.

5. Lonja. Deep-fried pigskin with an inch of meat and fat attached, and dense enough to crack a tooth. If Chunky bars were made out of pig instead of chocolate, they would be lonja. Antojitos Denise’s, 4060 E. Olympic Blvd.

6. Ham hock. Cooked for days, served with greens, soft as sin, this is pure Thai soul food. Rod-Ded, 5623 Hollywood Blvd.

Council President Eric Garcetti represents the Thirteenth Council District which includes all or part of the communities of Glassell Park, Atwater Village, Elysian Valley, Echo Park, Historic Filipinotown, Silver Lake, East Hollywood and Hollywood.

Otherwise known as LAist's 'Hood.

Because we're represented brilliantly, when we sent our councilmember a request to take part in this collection of Best Of lists not only did he respond quickly and wonderfully, but he reached behind our ear and pulled out a shiny silver dollar.

Here now are Eric Garcetti's Top 10 Cultural Products of Council District 13 in 2006:

Where better to have the Crossroads of the World than in the truly global cultural intersection that I represent? From indie film and music in Echo Park to Thai parades in Hollywood, here are ten top cultural emanations from the proudly eclectic 13th council district from 2006. Some will cross the globe. Others exist for the enjoyment of the neighborhood and its visitors. Rankings are scientifically calculated to express the order in which I wrote things down.

10. Meet the new Netty’s: reservoir. Neighborhood activist and restaurateur Netty Carr sold her landmark Silver Lake Boulevard restaurant to renowned local chefs Gloria Felix and Elizabeth Belkind. The new owners have already offered a few “pilot” brunches; I’ve tried and enjoyed every single thing on offer. Netty, of course, could have captured this award on her own, and we are sad to see her go. (This is more properly a 2007 sneak preview.)

9. The completed mural by the Silverlakers at Thomas Starr King Middle School and the brand-new mosaic at Mayberry Elementary by Pilar Reynaldo. Urban schools need dazzling art that makes students’ surroundings more interesting and embellishes the community’s streetscape. These two new projects fit the bill. I got to help grout the mosaic, too.

8. The Echo Park Farmers’ Market, newest addition to the CD13 farmer’s market archipelago. Nothing more cultural than agri-cultural.

7. The last hurrah of the Evidence Room, Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. Evidence Room artistic director Bart DeLorenzo led L.A.’s theater scene for a few good shows, then a great run, and ultimately a solid era of electric, path-breaking art. For the first time I saw the theater, a converted factory, open onto the city outside, a touching and relevant gesture. Also, my buddy Leo Marks played Trofimov, the student.

Kyle Bunch watches the blogosphere every day as head honcho of Blogebrity. Prepare as he breaks down the top 10 Blogebrities and sneaks in an eleventh when noone's lookin:

Per Tony's mission to load LAist with as many Top 10's of 2006 as possible, we humbly submit our list of The Top 10 Blogebrities of 2006*, in order from coffee hot (thousands of links) to magma hot (magazine covers, development deals, merchandising rights, etc.), on the Blogebrity Hotness Scale™

TIE - 10.) Jessica Coen // Vanity Fair / (formerly of) Gawker
Like Ana Marie Cox before her -- parlayed her Gawker Media gig into a full-time job at a major media outlet (Only, Ana Marie Cox didn't spend a quarter of her time at Wonkette lampooning her future bosses.) and left throngs of readers longing for their daily cup of Coen.

TIE - 10.) Jason Calacanis // Calacanis.com / CalacanisCast
His outspoken personality rubs some the wrong way, but his candor over the past year in his blog and now podcast -- while going from entrepreneur to AOL exec., through his departure at AOL -- offer an entertaining look into corporate culture and entrepreneurial thinking running head-on into each other.

9.) Zach Klein, Ricky Van Veen, Jakob Lodwick & the CH Staff // CollegeHumor
While rumors of a Facebook buyout circled all year long, the CH "clan" turned their loyal college audience into REAL dollars, selling a majority stake in the company to Barry Diller's IAC for a handsome some (total rumored to be $30 mil or so). With a movie in development, and Diller's resources behind them, the College Humor guys are laughing all the way to the bank.

8.) Ninja & Co. // Ask a Ninja
The Ninja was pretty much a 2006-only phenomenon (they released their first episode in late 2005, everything else in 2006). From airing their 2nd episode on January 5th, to throwing a big Yahoo/Revver-sponsored party at Cinespace upon releasing their first DVD in December, the people at Ask a Ninja had a big year.

7.) Gina Trapani, Adam Pash, Rick Broida, & Wendy Boswell // Lifehacker
It started as a surprising new title for a company whose primary trade was gossip, but Lifehacker has grown into one of the most
widely-read (and almost entirely snark free) Gawker Media titles. And they aren't stopping at pixels and bits. Lifehacker: The Book is available in stores now.

6.) Team TMZ // TMZ.com
You may not love their content -- but you can't deny the role they've played in some of the year's biggest gossip stories. From Mel Gibson's crazy night to Brandon Davis's Firecrotch rant , the year in gossip wouldn't have been the same without the muckracking excellence of TMZ.com.

5.) Kevin Rose // Digg / Diggnation
Now entering its third year of existence, Digg continues to be a huge source of traffic for bloggers, while Diggnation remains one of the few podcasts that doesn't totally put you to sleep, thanks largely to one savvy production decision -- alcohol + video podcasting = better video podcasting.

Rogers Cadenhead has been in the news this week because he is the owner of the online store called Wargames.com, a site he's owned for eight years.

He's in the news because MGM owns the movie rights to the '80s Matthew Broderick nuclear flick WarGames -- which they are releasing a sequel to next year for some reason -- and they want to snake the URL away from Mr. Cadenhead.

The bad news for Cadenhead is that MGM's lawyer has never lost a case like this, but the good news is MGM didn't trademark the name until three years after Cadenhead had the domain.

We will keep you up to date on this fascinating lawsuit, but after the jump we asked Rogers to send us his favorite wargames of the year, and he obliged like a true gentleman...

Alexandra Le Tellier is the Managing Editor of LA.com, the swanky, chic, stylin' website about LA.

LA.com just delivered a five-part Best Of guide to LA's newest and retooled hot spots of everywhere from spas to Philly cheese steak spring rolls.

But we wanted to know more. We wanted to get inside the head of Alexandra. To where she lives. What she's passionate about personally. You know, the dirt!

What we discovered is that she knows a place where you can get cookies the size of your face.

Find out where, after the jump...

The Format put out one of the best records of the year. They also gave one of the best shows in Hollywood this summer. For some reason though we haven't seen them on very many Best Of 2006 lists which makes us a little sad inside.

Dog Problems was funny, uplifting, dance alongy, and sometimes deep. Bro can sing, and the songs are multilayered and unique. Maybe it's not cool to like the Format just yet? Must have been another email that we lost to the spam filter.

Hailing from Arizona and singing happy songs about sad things, the shaggy haired singer Nate Reuss joined in on the fun and gave us his Top 10 favorite cds of 2006:

1. The long winters- putting the days to bed

2. Regina spektor- begin to hope

3. Dr. Dog- easy beat

4. Anathallo- floating world

5. Rhett miller- the believer

6. Jolie holland- springtime can kill you

7. Lindsey buckingham- under the skin

8. The new strokes record

9. Belle & sebastian- the life pursuit

10. Rainer maria- catastrophe keeps us together

We think Morningwood's "Nth Degree" is a catchy song and we love the lead singer Chantal's attitude. Did you see her on Letterman? Man!

She is part rock n' roller, part what-you-see-is-what-you-get, and a great live performer. Now, best of all, has left NYC to habitate with us in our fair city.

So LAist is proud to present Chantal's top 10 CD's of 2006:

1. Morningwood, Morningwood (umm, do I need to explain why I think so?)

2. Mindless Self Indulgence, You'll Rebel to Anything

3. Madonna, Confessions On a Dancefloor

4. Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not

5. Beyonce, Bday

6. The Lashes, Get It

7. Wolfmother, Wolfmother

8. Gnarls Barkley, St.Elsewhere

9. Chamillionaire, The Sound of Revenge

10. Beck, The Information

Catch a video after the jump!

For years you've heard Tom McNamara even if you didn't see him. As the Stage Manager at E! you could hear him laugh off screen during "Talk Soup", "Coming Attractions", all the Red Carpet events, and now during "The Soup".

E!'s studios are very small and rarely is there a live audience so the "studio audience" is usually a few cameramen, some producers, and Tom. A long time ago Tom's little "whooooo"s started to be just as funny as the jokes and if you pay attention you can hear him a few times a week.

Anyone who laughs at the jokes on E! is clearly drunk so we asked Tommy Mac if he would contribute to our Best of List with some of his favorite watering holes.

So with no further adieu here are Tom McNamara's Top 10 Best LA Bars

1. Tom Bergins
2. Fat Face Fenners Faloon
3 .On The Rocks
4. Poop Deck
5. Sharks Cove
6. Grunions
7. The Shack
8. Hennessys
9. Lighthouse
10. Hermosa Yacht Club

photo by watch4u

LAist has been around the block. And we know people. We have friends in high places and we have some friends who are simply high. Somewhere in between we have discovered what we could safely assume is something close to "the truth".

One of our friends showed us an unedited list of a very popular search engine and we were somewhat surprised to see "ass" pretty close to the most searched-for term. Ass? In all of our years we've put some weird things in search boxes, but never "ass". It was fascinating.

Business 2.0 yesterday had a post about popular search terms. Some of the lists were released, one was leaked. You decide which ones you think was edited for consumption and which one was the real deal holyfield.

Lists after the jump...

photo by dvshorts

Not that we care what they think in Frisco but the SF Weekly (wait, we thought you weren't supposed to call it SF? hmmmm) named Honeycut the Best Soul/Funk Band in town.

Well, this isn't your father's soul music. There's Garbage in there, some electronica... modern might be a good way to put it. Sorta sounds like Beck's forays into nu whiteboy funk which is dangerous because even Beck has failed in that world more than he's succeeded.

Honeycut is out on the road supporting their new cd, "The Day I Turned To Glass", on DJ Shadow's label, Quannam. They play tonight at Spaceland for one of their Club NME dealies. Don't ask us what makes Club NME shows there any different than regular shows there, but ok.

If you're in SF San Fran on New Year's Eve, Honeycut will be playing at the Great American Music Hall, right near that interesting theater run by those brothers... what were their names? And in January Honeycut returns to LA opening up for your girl Lady Sovereign.

Honeycut was nice enough to give us their Top 10 Best CDs of 2006:

1- Starlight Mints 'Drowaton' (Barsuk)

2- Herbert 'Scale' (K7)

3- TV On The Radio 'Return To Cookie Mountain' (4AD)

4- PSAPP 'The Only Thing I Ever Wanted' (Domino)

5- Pigeon John 'Summer Time Pool Party' (Quannum)

6- Tom Waits 'Orphans' (Anti)

7. The Moore Brothers - Murdered By The Moore Brothers (Plain)

8. A Band Of Bees - Free The Bees (EMI)

9. Bert Jansch - Black Swan (Drag City)

10. The Cuts - From Here On Out (Birdman)

Toronto has called you out, LA. Last week they put up a post comparing our city with theirs and Editor David Topping put together this Top 10 Reasons Why Toronto is better than LA.

Clearly they don't realize that LA does have a downtown, it's where the Raptors come twice a year to get their asses kicked.

1. Our phallic symbol in our Torontoist logo is bigger than your phallic symbol in your LAist logo.

2. Our prostitutes don't get killed as much!

3. We have snow! and Tobogganing!

4. For several months every year we're spared that pesky warmth that L.A. residents have to put up with ALL YEAR ROUND. Suckers.

5. You don't need a car to live here.

6. We only have to put up with your celebrities once a year.

7. We don't have a stupid sign.

8. Our celebrities aren't very famous.

9. LA's music festival is called LAMF (heh), and this is its myspace. Toronto's music festival is called NXNE, and this is its myspace.

10. We have a downtown.

photo by kriss@montreal

It's not that Cory Kennedy is an unlikely It girl, it's just that she's an unlikely California It girl, to some. Perhaps they prefer the ditzy blonde surfer girl, well LAist, and clearly everyone else cool, is down with the scrawny fun sixteen-year-old who always seems pleasantly wasted.

When Hef talks about Girls Next Door, Cory is the type that we'd like to have.

As seen on TheCobraSnake.com, Cory is clearly always up for a party and her expressive looks always make for great photos. Over the years we've seen her eat, drink, dance, smoke, and become friends with the biggest names in teenage partying.

Simply go to her blog and watch her hang out with LL, Mischa, and the usual suspects. The rumor's she is Vincent Gallo's girlfriend, but what girl would stand for her bf announcing to the world that he will make love to any woman for $100k?

Anyways, we keeed because we love which is why we proudly present to you Cory Kennedy's Top Best Things about LA in 2006, after the jump...

Yes folks it that time of year again when people make lists of the top whatevers that did something, didn't do something, inspired them, made them laugh, cry, sick or any number of other things.

For better or worse, I'm no different and am caught up in the whole list thing. So, I will be providing a list of my own for your enjoyment, distraction, derision or otherwise perusal.

My list is the top-ten TV shows of 2006. Some new, some old but all constitute the best of the year -- at least according to me. But enough of my yapping, let’s get to the shows, shall we?

1. Battlestar Galactica - Seriously, just forget the whole "sc-fi thing" and this show is just the best drama on television that keeps getting better and better. Conflict, romance and the nature of humanity all wrapped up in grittily realistic and superbly executed package makes this show richly deserve its place at the top of my list. Watch it -- you won't be sorry.

2. Veronica Mars - She's cute and sassy and can solve your case like nobody's business. Veronica Mars is a great show with a great cast on a crappy network that probably doesn't appreciate it. Plus, Kristen Bell is just as cute as a button -- did I mention that?

3. The Wire – If you are not watching The Wire you don’t know what good television is. This show is brilliantly written and directed and features an ensemble cast with so much talent they make you forget you’re watching actors and instead make you think you’re watching real people. It’s just that good.

4. Heroes – At first I didn’t know what to make of this show but over the weeks its just gotten better and better. Plus, it has some very attractive cast members, including Ali Larter and jail-bait Hayden Panettiere (at least until next August), so that’s a definite plus. And, as I love all-things comic book this show works for me and it'll work for you too.

5. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – Fake news is better than real news any day. Besides, with the state of “real” news, this show provides the only news you need. Plus it’s just about the funniest show on television. Help advance the liberal media agenda and watch this show.

6. The Shield - This is one of the rare cop shows that was able to transcend its genre and become something more. Sure, its about much of the usual cop-show stuff but its realism, writing, direction and stellar performances, especially by Michael Chiklis as the deeply troubled and conflicted Vic Mackey, make this show a compelling hour and elevate it above similar shows.

7. House – Two words -- Hugh Laurie. That’s all you need to know about this show. Although, there are others in it and its very well done, its Laurie that makes the show work and excel.

Watching him hobble around, cane in hand, spewing vile and still receiving the reluctant admiration of his colleagues because he’s simply a bona-fide genius is a great time. Oh, and the rest of the cast is pretty good too.

8. The Unit - A show that mixes the creator of The Shield with the genius of David Mamet has to be good, right? Well, this show is better than good because it’s great. The show also manages to throw in quite a few life-lessons and makes you think about things like honor, commitment, loyalty and sacrifice. And did I mention that stuff blows up?

Plus, Dennis Haysbert and the rest of the Delta Force kick serious ass. Serious ass? Yeah, serious ass. You mean serious ass? Yeah, serious ass. What about the machine? The machine -- f**k the machine.

9. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip – Say what you want about Aaron Sorkin but you can’t underestimate his genius. Sure, he sometimes takes things a little to the extreme but that’s what makes him, and this show, interesting. After a somewhat rocky start, the show has gotten better and better as the cast (and Sorkin) find their rhythm.

Plus, there are some real standouts in the cast including Amanda Peet, Steven Weber, Sarah Paulson and yes, even that guy from Friends and the other guy from The West Wing. Try to look past the sometimes in-your-face “message” and just enjoy the witty banter, moments of sheer comic brilliance and some good sketch-comedy too.

10. Men In Trees – Just to prove that I don’t just like “guy” shows I wanted to include this show on my list. Plus, its just a good show too so it was easy to put it here. It’s funny, cute and also shows what a simple premise done very well can result in – a terrific show.

It’s hard doing a show like this without going into the eventual “sappy” territory that plagued other shows like this in the past. Somehow, this show manages to avoid that trap and remain a charming diversion -- which is so often needed these days.

Ok, that's my list. What's yours?

Before the current tyrannical rule of Tony Pierce, Carolyn Kellogg was the editor of LAist, in a time many yearn for. But she decamped for the University of Pittsburgh, where she's getting an MFA in creative writing.

In between bouts of homesickness, she blogs about books and podcasts interviews with writers who rock at pinkyspaperhaus.com.

Top 10 LA Things You Don't Realize You'll Miss, Until It's Too Late

10. Beaches. I hardly went to 'em. Doh.

9. Freeways. Where I live now, the big highways have just two lanes in each direction. Dude, La Brea is wider than that.

8. LA Radio. Oh, I used to think radio sucked. KPCC's local talk shows are irritating, KCRW has the most sonambulistic program director ever, and Indie 103 ain't indie. But you know what? They're solid gold compared to the radio wasteland out here.

7. LA blogs. LA Observed, Blogging.la , Losanjealous and dear dear LAist. So much to love.

6. Food from south of the border that's not Taco Bell. Pupusas, mole, chimichangas, nopales... so good. And so cheap!

5. Food from the other side of the Pacific. Get thee to a Korean hot pot.

4. Food from IN the Pacific. Sushi sushi sushi sush, where's the little sushi sush?

3. A Hollywood evening trifecta, all within two blocks: movie at the American Cinematheque, drinks at Musso & Frank, a hot dog and fries at Skooby's.

2. The eternal sunshine.

1. The absolute fabulousness. LA has more cultural events, more food, more art, more drinks, more wonderful people, more parties, more rock shows, more bike rides, more fashion, more hikes, more shopping, more architectural wonders, more fabulousness than any person could hope to experience. But it's SO worth trying.

Not that long ago Jason Toney was the Editor of LAist and now he works for The Mouse in their online division. And he's still bustin on Negro Please. And he's still bobbin his head to the fat beats.

As we continue our list of top ten best of lists, we give you Jason Toney's Best LA Hip Hop CDs of 2006:

In a pretty dismal year for hip-hop, local hip-hop head Peanut Butter Wolf and his Stones Throw label put out some of their best work ever and the absolute top of my overall best list for the year are two of their releases. So I said to myself, "Self, you've got an LA record label making LA records. Make a list."

Good idea.

1. Donuts by J Dilla. For all those who miss the incredible James Yancey, this is the perfectly bittersweet album of the year. Exceptional beats that showcase his genius.
2. Beat Konducta Vol 1-2 by Madlib. Madlib and J Dilla made up Jaylib. You can't have one without the other and Madlib's beat collection is a wonderful compliment to Donuts.
3. Expressions (2012 A.U.) by Dudley Perkins. Dudley is on some George Jetson type shit. The future of the funk is now and Mr. Perkins has got next.
4. Exodus into Unheard Rhythms by Oh No. Beats. Rhymes. Life. When was the last time a rapper told you to "Smile a lil bit and frown a little less"?
5. The Worthnothings [EP] by Georgia Anne Muldrow (pictured). If Dudley went to the future, Georgia entered the 4th dimension. There are not words to describe soul like this.
6. Chrome Children by Various Artists. The rare groove "Third Rock" by Pure Essence is reason enough to love this disc.
7. Stones Throw: Ten Years by Various Artists. If you don't know, now you know.
8. Shine Through by Aloe Blacc. Aloe's been a KCRW darling this fall. Don't let that sway you. This is good.
9. Throwback Rap Attack by Percee P. Just one song with remixes by Madlib, Cut Chemist and Oh No. Recognize the P.
10. At the Mall by Baron Zen. I actually haven't heard Peanut Butter Wolf's Soul/Punk alter ego but it's Stones Throw so it has to be good, right? Right.

He can't help it that he takes better pictures than everyone. He can't help it that pretty girls want to hang out with him and pose. You should be happy that he's bff with Kid Millionaire, and pimping out the white rapper Mickey Avalon. Would you rather that he was hanging out with Joel Madden?

One of his interns became an overnight sensation, his tshirts are collectors items, and his website continues to knock out the hits - including the above photo from his trip recently to the north pole tavern. Currently he's in Germany on a World Tour.

Join us now as The Cobra Snake delivers his Top 10 Favorite Numbers of 2006

10- number 7
9- number 5
8- number 8
7- number 4
6- number 2
5- number 3
4- number 1
3- number 6
2- number 10
1- number 9

photo courtesy The Cobra Snake, used by permission

Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger are two of America's most beloved chefs. The duo have been business partners for over 20 years, beginning with the opening of City Cafe on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles in 1981. Currently they are hands-on owner-operators of the popular and critically acclaimed Border Grill restaurants in Santa Monica and Las Vegas, serving upscale, modern Mexican food in a hip, urban cantina setting. The pair also own and operate Ciudad restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles, featuring the bold and seductive flavors of the Latin world.

Natural teachers, the partners are prolific in many media outlets. They are authors of five cookbooks, including Cooking with Too Hot Tamales, Mesa Mexicana, and City Cuisine. They are television veterans, appearing on 396 episodes of the popular Too Hot Tamales and Tamales World Tour programs on Food Network. Since 1996, they have had several homes on the radio dial in Los Angeles, including KCRW, KFWB, and KFI. In addition, Border Grill and Ciudad dishes “starred” in the 2001 Samuel Goldwyn feature film, Tortilla Soup. Mary Sue and Susan are also the creators of the Border Girls brand of fresh prepared foods at Whole Foods Market, as well as a line of signature peppermills and salt mills manufactured by Vic Firth Gourmet.

Mary Sue and Susan are also active members of the community, playing leading roles in many culinary associations and charities, notably Share Our Strength, the Scleroderma Research Foundation, the Chefs Collaborative, and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs.

1. Peking Poultry
717 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, 213-680-2588

Fabulously fresh chicken, chicken feet, squab, ducks and geese, live fish in tanks, and nice quail eggs.

2. Mitsuwa Marketplace
3760 S Centinela Ave., Los Angeles, 310-398-2113, mitsuwa.com

Very fresh Tamaki Haiga rice, sliced meats for shabu shabu, fresh wasabi and fresh sashimi grade fish, seaweeds, rice crackers, Japanese pickles, and sake.

3. Bharat Bazaar
11510 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, 310-398-6766

Delicious vegetarian take out, ALL Indian ingredients, very fresh basmati rice, daals, tamarind, fresh young coconut, spices like black mustard, fresh curry neem leaves, and bhel puri mix for chutneys.

Veteran shoegazers the black watch harken back the guitar heavy likes of Swervedriver and Ride. Frontman John Andrew Fredrick, who received his PH.D. in English at UCSB during the rise of college rock, has been known to teach occasionally at Santa Monica College. He was nice enough to put together a list of random coolnesses of 2006.

If you still haven't gotten anything for that hard-to-buy-for hipster on your shopping list, you might want to consider the black watch's Tatterdemalion on Stonegarden Records. Because there's no such thing as too much rock.

Top Ten Random for 2006 by John Andrew Fredrick:

1. "Just by Looking at You I Can Tell That Your Band Sucks" (T-shirt idea--patented, and mine, actually, so don't go getting any ideas of your own, if you don't mind!)

2. "Get Over Him By Getting Under Someone Hotter" (babydoll T-shirt idea--ibid.)

3. William Boyd's new novel, Restless

4. "Pulling our Weight"--single by The Radio Dept.

5. Tristram Shandy (the film--of course the film! the book's unreadable!)

6. Quynh Nyguyen, an impossibly beautiful, sexy and intelligent Vietnamese UCLA grad I met
when our record label head forced me into that dark, dank, loathsome sink of iniquity, the 4001
Bar in Silverlake, around six months ago

7. Walking out, within 10 minutes, of the latest fulsomely ornate travesty by Sophia Coppola (decision--"aye-d" by Quynh Nyguyen, which is one of the reasons why she's so beautiful)

8. Smart Brown Handbag, Harry Larry (their best record yet!)

9. Vermont Canyon Tennis Club Tennis Bums (who, clocking me reading Idylls of the King
courtside, gave me my new nickname: Lord Tennisbum)

10. Jack Rabid's review of our new CD, Tatterdemalion, in The Big Takeover (because, unlike this guy who has a zine called Dagger, not once did Jack refer to your less-than-humble servant as "the Rodney Dangerfield of indie rock)

Asher Garber was born and mostly raised in the Valley. He saw "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" during its first weekend run at the Pacific 4 in the Sherman Oaks Galleria. An alum of Oakwood High in NoHo and UCSB, Asher eventually moved to Austin, TX where he owns and operates Room 710, one of the original Red River rock clubs, all while desperately trying hard to actually finish his first real live, no-shit-I’ve-got-one, book.

Because Asher sees hundreds of bands live each year in one of the best clubs of one of the best towns for new music, we asked him to give us his list of top ten touring bands that have come through his club and who LA should be checking out:

Asher Garber's Top 10 710 Touring Bands

1. Tia Carrera -- Really brings in a whole Band of Gypsies feel, but nobody here is strung out on heroin and mad at their label and only doing the gig because of a contract. Jason Morales (guitar) just had a baby, and now that he's discovering how much he wants to be a dad, the band has been doing some in town gigging after a self-imposed break. Their last tour led them to CMJ in NYC, where they make all of that processed salsa that everyone in San Antonio knows is full of shit.

2. Dixie Witch -- Unfortunately, this being Texas and all, sometimes it's hard for three longhaired guys driving in a van across the state. More unfortunately, the Dixie Witch crew were pulled over and had to spend the night in some shittown and missed the Southern California portion of their last tour. But they'll be back. Trinidad Leal (drums) works door for me, so don't you give him any crap.

3. Captured! By Robots -- Based in San Francisco, Captured! is one man-- J. Bot-- and a ragtag crew of animatronic robots who play death metal and give him lots of shit on stage. Because robots are better than people, OK? Last year, he performed for us twice. The Wedding Show, in which J. (which I think stands for Jew) dressed as a rabbi and wedded willing partners, and his Greatest Hits Extravaganza, which is His Greatest Hits. Not that he's a nerd, but J. and the fellas have recorded a tribute to Star Trek.

Some of these restaurants made their debut this year, and some are perennial faves. Some are wallet-breakers, and some are low-budget. So we didn't make it there this year...maybe this can be our restaurant resolution list for 2-0-0-7. (I can, however, say I have eaten at any given listed location if anyone wants to volunteer to take me there for my 30th birthday, which so conveniently happens to take place just before 2006 comes to a close.)

1. Providence
I keep hearing and reading that this place is "the best." Well, dammit, I want to go there to see for myself.

2. Spago
For the tasting menu.

3. AOC
Small plates are the most fun with big groups. So who's in?

4. Mozza
Let's just see what all the fuss is about for this recently-launched pizzeria.

5. Cut
This ultra-posh steak-perience drew raves and flak upon its opening this year. I have no objection whatsoever to indulging in dry-aged prime cuts of meat that run upwards of $40/lb. I just don't want to pay for it myself.

6. Sushi Tenn
I will confess to being geographically lazy when it comes to my sushi-exploration of L.A. I get stuck in the Valley--and why shouldn't I, when the Valley has such stellar sushi? This is why I need to get dragged over to the Westside to see what they've got.

7. Soot Bull Jeep
I've had a wicked craving for good Korean BBQ since I last had some this summer in NYC's Korean 'hood, and Soot Bull Jeep is rumored to be the best.

8. New Concept
Dim Sum is best done en masse, with a someone who knows a lot about it at the helm and doing all the pointing and picking from the mysterious carts. And while I'm adventurous, I'm not that person. I'm willing to be taken underwing and to the SGV. Am I willing to try chicken feet? The jury's still out.

9. 25 Degrees
This summer I showed off the city to my charming and celeb-obsessed out-of-town cousin. We roamed the Hollywood Roosevelt, but for some reason she didn't feel like having lunch there, despite the amazing wafting aroma of hamburgers stealing out of 25 Degrees. Why is it so hard to convince someone to spend $20 on a burger with me? Were big bucks burgers the food fad of 2006?

10. Hotel Bel Air
I have this fantasy of having lunch at the Hotel Bel Air with Diane Keaton (I know, weird...). We order shrimp Caesar salads and drink lots of wine and talk about men, photography, art, preserving local landmarks, and film. Since this isn't likely to happen anytime soon, I'll settle for having high tea at the hotel.

Chris Schlarb, the executive producer of 40 Bands 80 Minutes has done something LA hasn't seen in decades. In an incredible melding of classic punk docs like Decline of Western Civilization and Urgh! A Music War, Schlarb and director Sean Carnage took their cameras to Hollywood's Il Corral and beautifully archived what's happening in the experimental punk scene.

Think you like noise? Think you're punk enough? LAist had to tap out after 19 bands 38 minutes. Drummer playing trumpet - fine. Maybe gay rap trio - fine. Chick singing to prerecorded beats and synths - fine. But after a while it wears on you separating the punks from the poseurs and once again we've been found out.

Chris Schlarb's Most Profound Deaths of 2006

Instead of giving some staid mechanical/material top 10 list I figured I’d try to dig a little deeper. This is a list of the most profound losses I experienced this year. Of course this is not representative of the greater importance of anyone included or not included herein and listing them 1 to 10 is nothing more than a contrivance to remember and reflect on these lives lived.

10. Pip Pyle- Curiously monikered and little known British drummer who performed in Gong and Hatfield and the North. Had the distinction of replacing two of the most revered drummers in England: Charles Hayward (of This Heat) in All Wet And Dripping and Bill Bruford (of Yes) in National Health.

9. Rod Dedeaux- Briefly the shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers and for 46 years, the manager of the USC Trojan Baseball Team. He played and coached my grandfather and spoke at his funeral. The baseball field at USC is named in his honor.

Straight from my iPod:

1. Justin Timberlake - SexyBack
The pinnacle of guilty pleasure straight from MTV's Total Request Live fame. Still a great club banger.

2. The Fray - Look After You
All of their songs sound the same but this one hasn't lost its replayability.

3. The Dixie Chicks - The Long Way Around
There is nothing to feel guilty about listening to the Dixie Chicks. They kick ass. The only reason it's on this list is for those who preach against commercialism.

4. OK Go - Do What You Want
It's like Franz Ferdinand but better.

5. Nickelback - Far Away
I like this song and I'm not ashamed to say it...

I couldn't really think of more than 5 great pop songs worth mentioning. But I bet YOU can. Go ahead and add your Top 5 of 06 to the comments so that we can all make a massive playlist of guilty pleasure music.

One of my favorite technocratic pastimes is cruising the iTunes store and finding new bands by the "Listeners Also Bought" feature. Joining forces with LAist last year brought me new avenues to discovering music and I am always excited to share my zeal for something.

And in no specific order...

1. Nearer Than Heaven by The Delays
I discovered these guys on one of the best shows on INHD called London Live.

2. Plan B by Mute Math
These guys were one of the first bands I covered for LAist. The band's manager forgot to put me on the list at the Troubadour so I marched over to the band's tour bus and met the band. These extremely nice guys can energize up an audience like no other.

3. Hoodwink by Anathallo
One of the most beautiful bands ever. I got to see them this past fall.

4. Bubblecraft by Pilotdrift
Another of the first bands I reviewed. The music is all quite lovely.

5. Matches by The Format
These guys headlined the night I saw Anathallo and were a beautiful surprise. LAist editor Tony Pierce happens to be a huge fan of these guys too.

6. Forest Fire by Athlete
I discovered them in 2005, but I will always love these guys and everything new they put out.

7. Shades of Grey by Waking Ashland
Okay, I discovered these guys in December of 2005. Close enough.

8. Snake Oil by Typical Cats
This is the jazziest hip-hop martini swinging tune.

9. The Ave by Blue Scholors
I just love the 80's sounding game show rings behind the rapping.

10. Dream On by Depeche Mode as sung by Scala & Kolacny Brothers
If there is anything you check, check this hauntingly blissful version sung by a children's choir accompanied by a piano.

11. La Cumbia del Mole by Lila Downs
So 11 is the new 10. Whatever. Along with Julieta Venegas, Lila Downs is one of my favorite female Spanish speaking singers.

Leah (pronounced Lay-uh) is a great blogger. Born in Canada, she's been blogging since she was 14. We wont hold it against her that she lives in Austin. With her husband.

Here's Leah top ten best movies of 2006:

10. Monster House
Even though this is a kids movie, I'd be lying if I said it didn't give me the heebie jeebies.

9. Hard Candy
I wouldn't watch it again but it was intense and had me on the edge of my seat/getting ready to cover my eyes the whole time.

8. Superman Returns
I'm a sucker for action and the scene where Superman is wet and they are kicking the crap out of him was one of my favorite scenes from any movie this year.

7. V for Vendetta
Action again, what's up! Natalie Portman made the movie for me.

6. Casino Royale
It dragged towards the end but while it was good... it was really good. The first chase scene looked like something out of XMen. When did Bond start chasing mutants?

5. Thank You For Smoking
A smart, quirky, enjoyable film. My only complaint is that demon child that keeps getting cast as a... demon child.

4. Little Miss Sunshine
A family flick for the not so normal family. The whole cast ruled me.

3. Stranger Than Fiction
I can understand that this wasn't the perfect movie or even close to it but I was just SO in the mood for this when I saw it. Flours? Seriously? You got me!

2. Brick
For sure a movie that should be viewed several times to get the maximum viewing pleasure. Joseph Gorden Levitt is great and I love a movie that keeps you guessing.

1. The Prestige
I'm picking my top 10 by how much I remember loving them and being IN IT while watching. The Prestige.. I was so in it. The twists, the turns, David Bowie, everything! And I also love a movie when you can leave the theatre and can still want to talk about it an hour later. When is this DVD release date!

Leah blogs at vacant.cc

Tim Sullivan writes a weekly column for the San Francisco Chronicle. He says he still has no idea what it's about. He likes punk rock music and posting photos on Buzznet. And, according to this list, he likes Frisco over our beautiful paradise.

We can only wonder which is worse: not having a football team, or having two of the worst teams in all of football?

Timmmmmmmay's Top 11 Reason's SF is Better Than LA

11. Orange County not nearby.

10. Valley not nearby.

9. Robin Williams is nearby.

8. Robert Scheer still has newspaper column here.

7. LSD much more fun than LAPD.

6. Nobody walks in LA.

5. "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" uttered only when mocking name "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim."

4. Pot, not coke.

3. Paris Who?

2. We just don't give a fuck.

1. And the boobs are oh so very real.

Hulk Hogan's gorgeous teenage daughter had a hard time getting out of the grasp of those 24 inch pythons, as was evident in the VH-1 hit reality series "Hogan Knows Best".

We saw her get tracked via the internet when her brother placed a LoJack-like device on her car when she went on a date and when she turned right instead of turning left the Hulkster rang her up on the phone and immediately checked in with his sticky-sweet daughter.

The 17-year-old came out with her debut this year, "Undiscovered", -- which wasn't half bad if you like poppy processed dance music -- which could easily be heard booming from the clubs on Hollywood Blvd. And as we can see from the list that she sent exclusively to LAist, dancing is clearly on Brooktini's mind.

Brooke Hogan's Top Ten Best Singles of 2006

1. “Give It Up to Me” - Sean Paul

2. “My Love” - Justin Timberlake

3. “Temperature” - Sean Paul

4. “Promiscuous” - Nelly Furtado

5. “Grillz” - Nelly featuring Paul Wall

6. “SexyBack” - Justin Timberlake

7. “Ain’t No Other Man” - Christina Aguilera

8. “We Ride” - Rihanna

9. “We Belong Together” - Mariah Carey

10. “Buttons” - Pussycat Dolls

If you use Wordpress and your blog looks good, you probably have Theron Parlin to thank. One of the most downloaded designers of Wordpress themes, Theron is currently at Start Us Up, a start up based in Framingham, MA that writes and releases cool web applications and helps other companies bring enterprise level success to their ideas while building lots of relationships.

Theron recently gave away his Technorati Top 10 blog, Thought Mechanics, and started a new, more modest blog called ZeroRule, where he talks about web development, technology and things generally related to Theron.

It is our pleasure to present his top ten best designed web sites of 2006... with his comments... after the jump

Our pals at Londonist are the first to jump on the orgy of Best Of lists, so heres what they have to say...

A list for LA? Got to be film related, but because we don't have a film industry anymore I've had to alternate between a great flick of 2006 (with a British connection) and an associated great Brit. Don't worry you'll see what I mean. So in reverse order:

10 - Steve Coogan. One of the funniest men from this small island. We keep sending him over yet you keep paying attention to Sacha Baron Cohen instead. What is wrong with you?

9. Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story. Funniest film of last year for us and this year for you. Oddly it didn't resort to forcing sex aids onto the disabled.

8. United 93 - Most poignant film of the year. Every fibre of you knows how the film ends and yet you want it to turn out differently. Great cast, but greater direction and while it's not strictly a British movie the man at the helm most certainly was.

7. Paul Greengrass - maybe the subject of 9/11 needed the kind of distance that Greengrass could bring, but he certainly kept a steady hand on a difficult job. Stone's "World Trade Center" plays like a Police Academy movie in comparison.

6. V for Vendetta - The one film this year we were sure was going to suck and suck hard. Natalie's accent seems to have wandered in from a Federation trading planet and while the movie strays way off from the comic book we still loved it.

5. Alan Moore - you treat this man so badly he'll have nothing to do with you anymore. Please stop.

4. Daniel Craig - we took the piss because he was blonde, but we started to get an uneasy feeling after Munich that maybe the Broccolis knew what they were doing.

3. Casino Royale - A Bond that runs through walls, gets beaten up all the time and reacts to being outsmarted by picking up the nearest sharp object. And that's before we even get to 'that' torture scene.

2. Michael Caine - An institution that gets better with age (the exact opposite of the Monarchy).

1. Children of Men - Depressing, grey, violent, downbeat and yet filled with heart and great music - which confused us as we thought it was supposed to be set in the London of the future. Best film of the year.

PS We are so so sorry for Jason Statham.

photo by Findo

Colin Meloy might look like just another guy in line at Radio Shack, but he knows no fear. After being called out by Stephen Colbert on the Colbert Report for utilizing his trademarked Green Screen effect, Meloy upped the ante -- and on December 20th on Comedy Central, we will all benefit from the “Decemberists vs. Stephen Colbert Guitar Solo Challenge.”

Meloy also accepted LAist's dare of handing over a Top 10 best CDs of 2006 list, at the risk of dissing his friends and alienating his label mates. As you cruise around the web or flip through year-end lists in magazines, don't be surprised if you see the Decemberists' "Crane Wife" atop many lists.

However, we're just jealous that the frontman got to write the 33 1/3 mini book about the Replacements' "Let it Be" album.

Colin Meloy of Decemberists' Top 10 best CDs of '06

1. Neko Case, "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood"

2. Lily Allen, "Alright Still"

3. The Waterboys, "Fisherman's Blues (reissue)"

4. Joanna Newsom, "Ys"

5. They Might Be Giants, "Venue Songs"

6. Robyn Hitchcock, "Ole Tarantula"

7. My Brightest Diamond, "Bring Me the Workhorse"

8. Cat Power, "The Greatest"

9. Camera Obscura, "Let's Get Out of This Country"

10. Espers, II

As the year comes to a close, LAist is asking famous celebs, local politicians, and other movers & shakers of LA to tell us what they thought were tops of 2006.

LACityNerd hit the blogging scene earlier this year and this cat has blown us away with the knowledge and history that is spewed upon the blog. Who is it? We will never know. At least we are allowed to ask questions. Lots of questions. Whoever you are, Nerd, rock it in 2007 baby. Rock it.

1. Voters pass Measure R, which extends the terms from 2 to 3 for city councilmembers

2. Mayor Villaraigosa's trip to Sacramento the day before the passage of AB1381

3. Mayor Villaraigosa proposes (and passes) raising trash fees to "pay
for more cops"

4. Implementation of the Venice Beach Ocean Front Walk "Free Speech
Protection" ordinance

5. Election of Eric Garcetti as City Council President

6. The City Council Votes to expand the elephant enclosures at the LA Zoo

7. The Neighborhood Council Review ("912") Commission is established

8. Gail Goldberg is hired to be the City's new Director of Planning

9. Groundbreaking for Metro's "Expo Line"

10. Council approves to meet and begins meeting in the Valley once a month

Photo by jimw via Flickr

Xeni Jardin is a long-time contributor and co-editor of the mighty BoingBoing. She's a Contributing Writer for Wired and you can also hear her quite often on your radio if its tuned into .

Recently she traveled to Guatemala (just getting back home this week) and blogged about it beautifully on her travel blog.

Because she's perfect, when we asked her to compile a list, she chose "Top ten places to buy things that consume electricity in LA" whose title alone made us smile.

(1) Samy's Cameras on Fairfax (http://www.samys.com/)

(2) Fry's in Burbank (http://www.frys.com/)

(3) Apple store in the Grove (http://www.apple.com/retail/thegrove/
week/20061210.html)

(4) APEX electronics (http://www.apexelectronic.com/)

(5) Giant Robot (http://www.giantrobot.com/)

(6) Liz's Antique Hardware (http://lahardware.com/)

(7) Wherever you can find a local Tesla Motors sales rep (http://www.teslamotors.com)

(8) Guitar Center (http://www.guitarcenter.com/)

(9) Sur La Table at the Grove (http://www.surlatable.com)

(10) Lockheed Martin Skunk Works (think big, buy a stealth bomber or an invisible solar death ray -- it's in Palmdale) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk_Works)

photo of Xeni floating in microgravity by Jim Campbell

With the year winding down, LAist is asking famous celebs, local politicians, and other movers & shakers of LA to tell us what they thought were tops of 2006

Mark Frauenfelder is the co-founder of the wildly successful blog BoingBoing, which many charts rank as the most popular blog in the galaxy. When he's not telling people where to go on the blogosphere, he's helping people create amazing things via MAKE magazine, for which he is editor in chief. Or he's illustrating something that you'll probably never imagine came from the pen of a mighty blogger.

Here's Mark's Top 10 list of LA Painters...

Coop (www.artofcoop.com)

Tim Biskup (www.timbiskup.com)

Seonna Hong (http://www.seonnahong.com)

Amanda Vissell (http://www.thegirlsproductions.com/)

Bill Barminski (http://www.barminski.com/)

Robert Williams (http://www.lowbrowartworld.com/robert_williams.html)

Todd Schorr (http://www.toddschorr.com/)

Kathy Staico Schorr (http://www.mkgallery.com/artists/kathyschorr/kschorr.html)

Mark Ryden (www.markryden.com/)

Gary Panter (http://www.garypanter.com/)

Illustration by Mark Frauenfelder used by permission, all rights reserved

With the year winding down, LAist is asking famous celebs, local politicians, and other movers & shakers of LA to tell us what they thought were tops of 2006.

Before founding PostSecret, Frank Warren grew up in the Valley and attended Colfax Elementary School with Adam Carolla.

If you missed his book signing last month, you can catch him on January 15th at Borders Books in Torrance as he signs the next PS book, "The Secret Lives of Men and Women".

PostSecret Guy's top ten websites of 2006:

1. Boing Boing
http://boingboing.net
A Directory of Wonderful Things

2. Wooster Collective
http://www.woostercollective.com
A Celebration of Street Art

3. Found Magazine
http://www.foundmagazine.com
Humor and Poetry Underfoot

4. Pandora
http://www.pandora.com
The Music Genome Project

5. This American Life
http://www.thislife.org
Ira Glass is an American Treasure

6.Edmunds
http://www.edmunds.com
Buying a Car? Educate Yourself Here first.

7. ACLU
http://www.aclu.org
Take Direct Action on Net Neutrality

8. Rotten Tomatoes
http://www.rottentomatoes.com
Life's Too Short to See Bad Movies.

9. PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
Medical Literature Direct

10. Blogger
http://www.blogger.com
The Best Thing Since Postcards!

Two phrases come to mind to describe Josh Radin (and opener Schuyler Fisk's) show. Smitten kitten and waxing nostalgic. The show started with his playing songs from his new album We Were Here but really Josh has not been here before. Selling out the Troubadour is quite a feat. His connections to fellow Northwestern alums Cary Brothers and Zach Braff have helped him along, but the Troubadour was all Josh Radin. And we were there to see it.

His soft musings kept the chatter in the house to a bare bones minimum, which is quite impressive considering that means silencing all the CAA, Columbia and other music executives that came out to see him perform. His classic boy singer/songwriter looks had the few of us girls not in tow with boyfriends dreaming of him. And as he reflected to the crowd on relationships that gone wrong and the girls that got away, or broke your heart or the one on the train in France that you never talked to and always wondered what would have been, we shot each other sideways glancing saying, "Oh we wouldn't do that to dear tender-hearted Josh." We felt for him, and then sigh, Schuyler came onstage to perform Paperweight and you have never seen two cuter musicians on stage, and completely smitten with each other. Even for the warped and cynical, they were sweet.