T-Minus One Month....

Until the BEST HOLIDAY OF THE YEAR is back. Last year you might remember that I went with several friends (including famous food blogger Tannazie who took pictures) to Loteria Grill in Hollywood. This year I'm thinking of going to Loteria at the 3rd Street Farmer's Market. Here are some other links from last year.

And because no post would be complete without a map, here is Piedras Negras, Mexico. Supposedly they have the International Nacho Fest there. Although there are few links and it doesn't take place on 10/21. And it seems ass hard to get to. But I digress



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25 Delectable Dining Deals

Two months off? No problem! Evidently the Best Summer Ever includes little to no blogging. Never fear because the LA Times just published a list of 25 Delectable Dining Deals. Includes personal favorite Golden State Cafe!

Map included!


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Unfortunately the map contains no placemarks for pork shoulder.

Who wants to buy a house?

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From the good people at Curbed comes an article about the last four luxury apartment towers to be built in Los Angeles (well, until residential real estate goes through its current bust and comes back to an inevitable boom).

Anybody have a few extra (million) dollars lying around?

Maybe You Should Move to El Paso

My sister, bless her little heart, knows that I really like maps. Especially Google Maps. So when she sent me a link today about an interesting Google Map mashup I was understandably excited. The link she sent, from a company named PSFK who's about section says this:

PSFK is a trends and innovation company that publishes a daily news site, provides trends research and innovation consultancy and hosts idea-generating events. We aim to inspire our readers, our clients and our guests to make things better - whether that’s better marketing, better lives or a better world.

This mission statement nonsense aside, what I thought was interesting was that PSFK titled the page "Google Map: When Will Recession End Locally?" The reason I find this interesting is that when you look at the map on it's original site from the Sacramento Bee, it's not really about when the recession will end per se, rather it is a visual representation of when a certain organization (IHS Global Insight, a "leading economic forecaster") thinks that different areas will return to pre-recession employment levels. Whew.




All this got me thinking about how different people have different ways of measuring what exactly constitutes a recession (or a depression for that matter), how to determine when a recession starts or ends, and how exactly does it affect day to day lives of people. I think we can all agree that employment is a part but is it the only part? I would say no. Then again, I'm 100% unqualified to make any kind of economic arguments. For a good place to read about the economy and finance I would definitely point you to the blog Calculated Risk. They even have a recent post detailing which states are currently in a recession. The answer? Basically everywhere except North Dakota. Maybe we should all move to Fargo instead of El Paso? I doubt we should move to Youngstown, OH or Elkhart, IN though.

NYC Metro Cuff

From Tiffany Burnett (ht notcot), a New York City Metro Map wrist cuff. Map Jewelry! Somewhat cooler than my London Tube T-shirt that my sister wouldn't let me wear until we left London.