Best/Worst of February

Worst over-exaggerating right-wing website: Drudge Report. There is sometimes worth new items on this site, but for the most part Matt Drudge or his staff post items that are way overblown or completely false. As I write, the headline is "Is it Something He Said?" underneath a chart showing the declining value of the Dow Jones average. (Ed. Note: after writing this I found another reference to Drudge's trend here) It couldn't possibly have anything to do with the general policy of de-regulation under the last administration. It must be a speech that outlines the plan of recovery that surveys have shown are generally approved by the public. Also featured are articles about how Joe Biden forgot the name of the recovery website and how Keith Olbermann said "Oh God" just before Jindal's response to Obama's speech. Check the video on that to see what you really think.

Worst GOP response to a presidential address: Bobby Jindal. It felt like Sesame Street. I hope his policies are better than his speaking ability or this guy's presidential hopes are not looking good.

Worst? Best? surprise package: My Something Store Purchase. So I got a wire stripper/cutter. Its actually pretty useful and way better than a pouch made of zippers, which seems to be the most common gift.

Best TV Show new to me. Flight of the Choncords. I briefly checked it out early in its run, but maybe caught a bad two minutes. I freakin' love this show - specifically the songs.

Worst Movie News: Ghostbusters 3. I'm going with no on this one.

Best Podcast of the Month: BBC's 5 Live Football Daily. Daily soccer news quick and to the point. Really enjoyable.

Best Podcast change: Sections of TotN. NPR's Talk of the Nation Podcast is now broken up into sections, one for each topic. It lets you decide which ones you want to hear. Brilliant.

Worst radio show to disappear: Tom Leykis. I sort of liked his show back when it was on AM. Once it was on FM it turned into the same thing everyday: Tom talking about how to get laid and callers bragging about getting laid. Lame. Good riddance.

Worst news: Radio is dying. Indie 103.1 is gone. 97.1 Talk is now Disney-pop. What's next. Not satellite. Their subscriptions are also down. And I'm not paying for radio.

Best Sports Tournament: UEFA Champions League. You take the top teams from all of the European leagues and have them compete against each other. Sure, there are pitfalls, but it never fails to produce excitement. Usually it comes down to mostly English, Spanish, and Italian teams, but Germany and even Portugal sneak in once in a while. My Mighty Reds Liverpool FC beat superstar central Real Madrid yesterday with a goal by Israeli international Yossi Benayoun in the 82nd minute.

Best news for me, Worst news for him: Landon Donovan's stay at Bayern Munich in Germany doesn't seem to be working out. He wasn't even on the bench yesterday for their 5-0 thrashing of Sporting Lisbon. Sucks for him, awesome for the Galaxy.

Worst Lose-Lose situation: David Beckham. He wants to stay in Italy. I want him to stay in Italy. It looks increasingly unlikely that it will happen. Nothing like having $250 million worth of a player who would rather be somewhere else. Fact is he contributed little to the Galaxy outside of shirt and ticket sales.

Something

So there is an internet store called the Something Store. You send them $10 and they send you something. What you get is new and may be worth a dollar or a lot more than $10. You just don't know.

Well, I had about $12 sitting in my PayPal account and no idea what else I would do with it, so I ordered "something" and I am excited about what I might get. However, I am likely to be disappointed. The one thing I dread is a pouch covered in zippers that seems to be the most common gift.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Real American Art

Best/Worst of January

I just want to talk about some of the things I liked and disliked in January.

Best Food. We went to dinner at Red, White and Bluezz in Pasadena. It was super good. Had venison with a sour cherry reduction sauce. Really good wine list. Pricey, but recommended.

Best new President. Barack Obama. Yeah, I sound like a dork saying it again and he had very little competition in this category, but I am pretty amped about the possibilities.

Worst website that I check out almost every day. Drudge Report. I just can't get over how ridiculous this guy is. If you go there right now I am willing to guess that at least one headline is completely blown out of proportion. And he loves pointing out when its really cold in places despite our claims of global warming, which only points out that he doesn't know the difference between weather and climate.

Worst state. California. Money is withheld from my paycheck so I can pay taxes at the end of the year. California spent it and will be sending me in IOU. Will they pay penalties and interest like I would have to if I didn't pay? Not likely. At least we have the highest paid state legislature in the country.

Best new (to me) bar. The York. White people are sometimes scared to enter Highland Park. Yeah, I said it. Well, it is not only home to possibly the best Taco Truck in Los Angeles, but also hosts The York. Good beer. Good food. Attractive and very nice bartenders. Best jukebox selections in history. And most important - not a scene.

Worst weather. Southern California. I know the East coasters will get all pissy about this, but I have a bit of a problem with 80+ in January. OK, its not that big of a problem and I know this is why my house cost so much, but still. A little cold would be nice.

Best book. I read 2.5 books in January and they were actually all good. Pasadena's One City One Story book this year is Luis Alberto Urrea's The Hummingbird's Daughter. Interesting story, really well written. Also read The Watchmen. Too much naked blue guy, but excited about the movie. Still working on Thomas Friedman's Hot, Flat and Crowded. I've been marking interesting or great ideas with little post-it flags. I have around 40 things marked so far. Great read.

Best Tax Software. Dude, I love Turbo Tax. It makes my life sooooooo easy. Got the whole thing done in like an hour.

Best TV. If you haven't gone flatscreen HD yet you really need to. The picture is so much better and it just takes up less space. Don't feel the pressure to go all out and get the monster 60"+ model, you don't need it to appreciate the clarity. I went with the 32" Toshiba and its perfect. Everyone said that no matter what I bought I would wish I had got one a little bigger, but I'm just not feeling that. (However, if you have the $$$, by all means get a big-ass TV)

Best Christmas gift. This counts for January because I started using it in January. Amanda got me a new Klean Kanteen stainless steel water bottle. Its awesome. Holds 40 ounces and doesn't get all musty and gross like the nalgene bottle. Stop wasting plastic and get one.

Ed. Note: I edited a part of this post after publishing it since there was some offense taken at one remark. That's why it looks different. I apologize if offense was taken, none was intended.