Photo by Andy Sternberg/LAist A posthumous tribute wall dedicated to singer/songwriter Elliot Smith sat defaced by graffiti for months on end -- LAist said enough, so did the fans and city council.SFist was surprised to learn that chronic presidential candidate Ralph Nader picked former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez as his running mate.Phillyist explored the possibilities of green cleaning.In the latest edition of Reel Toronto, a bi-weekly feature looking at films shot in Toronto......

If your first thought upon hearing of the new movie I'm Reed Fish is "Who's Reed Fish?" you're certainly not alone. Who is Reed Fish? Is that even a real name? How could his (her?) parents be so cruel/awesome? Why don't more people have animal last names (we want to meet a Mr. Platypus)? Shouldn't Reed Fish & Co. be the name of a hedge fund company? And are there real live "reed fish"? (Yes,......

All across the Ist-A-Verse (or at least the American parts thereof), writers and editors are in the midst of enjoying their three-day weekend. But after the week we've all had, we feel like the break is not only needed, but deserved. Just look at everything we've been doing! Gothamist headed into the Memorial Day weekend with a number of tasks accomplished. They worried about Long Islanders giving New Yorkers a bad name. They tried a......

Followers of the indie-rock scene may be a little shocked to find out that it has only been two years since Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's debut demos stormed across the blogosphere. The decidedly scruffy demos were a revelation, full of Talking Heads-like vocals, soaring minimal guitar lines, and (perhaps most importantly) a very danceable rhythm section that sounded quite different to the many Interpol-derivatives of the day. Having seen the then-unknown CHYSY win......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor......

Multi-instrumentalist and programmer Evan Mast and guitarist Mike Stroud are very busy boys. Between day jobs running record labels and graphic design, studio and tour stints with the likes of Ben Kweller and Dashboard Confessional and a wide assortment of side projects, the New Yorkers formerly known as Cherry found time to record one of the summer's most talked-about albums and are now touring the U.S. The sound is a more studio developed one......

The New York Times suddenly has a hankering for Texas food. Over the past ten days, three separate articles have praised the virtues of everything from Salt Lick BBQ sauce to Whataburger. You foodies may not consider these items haute cuisine, but it's exotic enough to get attention, we suppose. Other objects of the Times' devotion include Blue Bell Ice Cream and Shiner Bock. We take all of these items for granted, so it's......

So ends the time of the year where hipsters everywhere take notice of our uncanny little city/big town, and it becomes the focus of all the world for a short time. We will have to wait a whole year for a particularly disgusting New York VICE magazine to insult our beautiful Austin, mine it for drugs, and pretend they own the town. Too bad. However, not all New Yorkers suck, not by a long shot.......

We have excellent bars, and Mexican food, and BBQ sauce comes out of a tap in between the hot and cold water in every house. And then, there is the yearly blossoming of 20 thousand UT co-eds into skirts and tank tops, so that they may frolic unencumbered in our many vegan coffee shops....