USA TODAY

Weird World of Wine: A News Round-Up

Slate: The William Koch lawsuit over counterfeit wine sparks a look at how a $10,000 bottle of wine is a show of "prestige, rarity and age" and not necessarily of quality. NPR: New Jersey winemakers are seeking to formalize a geographical label of sorts -- Outer Coastal Plain -- to circumvent stere ... More >>

Meet the L.A. Couple Who Are Finalists for the Doritos Super Bowl Ad Contest For the Third Year in a Row

Tyler Dixon and Heather Kasprzak met as nemeses at the Super Bowl in Dallas in 2011. Both had created award-winning ads selected out of thousands by Doritos to air during the Super Bowl. Both were also hoping to be ranked No. 1 by the USA Today Ad Meter, which would award them the $1 million Doritos ... More >>

Meatless Mondays: L.A. City Council's Wealthy, $178,789 Salaried Members Tell Los Angeles Households, Many of Which Rely on Frijoles

Also See: L.A. City Council Approves Meatless Mondays in Squid Ink. The Los Angeles City Council really failed a pop quiz showing how disconnected, overpaid and puffed-up its 15 elected politicians have become, when it voted 14-0 to urge L.A.'s 3.8 million residents to adopt Meatless Mondays. Woul ... More >>

Eat More Chocolate, Win a Nobel Prize

What is the secret to winning a Nobel prize? A genius IQ? Long, lonely hours in the lab or library? An unfaltering commitment to establishing peace in the Middle East (good luck with that)? Actually, it turns out that Nobel prizes are within reach for all of us, because the secret may be eating a ... More >>

[Updated] Multistate Listeria Outbreak Triggers Cheese Recall

Update: 9/12, 10:50 a.m. The CDC is now reporting at least one death in connection with the Listeria outbreak related to imported cheese, according to USA Today. Three deaths total have been reported among those who were sickened after eating Frescolina ricotta salata, but Listeria has not been con ... More >>

Organic Food Is Not Better for You, Study Finds

People who purchase organic food because they think it is more nutritious just got handed their heads of lettuce on a platter by Stanford University scientists. In a recent study, the researchers found that not only is organic food not better for you, it is not even any less prone to bacterial conta ... More >>

[Updated] Jose Andres' Imaginary New York Restaurant, or How The Internet Ruined News

Updated, 2:33 p.m.: Raphael Brion, Editor of Eater National, claims via Twitter that the confusion is actually the fault of USA Today, which changed their story without citing the change on the web. He also provided a link to a cached version of the USA Today story that indeed claimed Andres would b ... More >>

BMW M6 Does 136 MPH in SoCal, CHP Says: Journalist Behind Wheel Gets Big Ticket

Putting the hammer down in a hot German touring car is almost required these days for automotive journalists. Rare is the piece that doesn't mention taking a vehicle to the limit and taking its speed beyond the legal limit. (Go ahead, flip through your favorite magazine with Track, Driver or Car i ... More >>

Matt Groening Pulls Plug on 'Life in Hell,' Comic That Helped Inspire The Simpsons

Matt Groening pulled the plug on the iconic comic strip, "Life in Hell," that helped give birth to The Simpsons on Fox. USA Today reports that the last of the syndicated comics was published June 15, but that reruns will be provided through July 13. The characters Binky and Sheba gave life to the " ... More >>

The Manny Pacquiao Misquote: A Timeline

Salon's sometimes media critic Mary Elizabeth Williams just wagged her mighty finger at the rumor mill that has become online journalism -- a system that allowed Manny Pacquiao to be misquoted as saying gay men should be "put to death" yesterday. In truth, Pacquiao's original interviewer deceptively ... More >>

7-Eleven Introduces Slurpee Lite Free Slurpee Day

7-Eleven is introducing a new low-calorie, sugar-free Slurpee at its stores nationwide this week. The offering targets women in their 20s who have bought into the whole "skinny girl" hoopla. Right off the bat, we see a couple of problems with this move. One, we weren't aware that anyone over the ag ... More >>

Food News Roundup: Food Fraud, Defining "Gluten-Free" Starbucks as Third Largest U.S. Chain

Huffington Post: Olive oil, milk, honey, saffron, orange juice, coffee and apple juice are among the most-adulterated food products. With this kind of food fraud, even careful label-reading won't help. The Washington Post: What is truly "gluten-free?" The FDA has been trying to decide for seven yea ... More >>

Venice Rapper 'Killer Reese One' Says Facebook Posts, Tweets, Lyrics Used Against Him in Court

Killer Reese One, the lyrical half of Venice hip-hop duo King Fantastic, released a presser last month saying he was "taken into custody" by L.A. sheriff's deputies on February 3 -- but he won't say why. When he was apparently released on February 10, the rapper Tweeted: "my official statement on t ... More >>

Geek Chicks: PyLadies, a Gang of Female Computer Programmers

Nanette GonzalesKatharine Jarmul, PyLady​It's not that the PyLadies are intimidated by the men who dominate computer programmer events and workshops. It's just that they got tired of feeling like outsiders.Katharine Jarmul, 29, remembers the day they first identified the problem. She and t ... More >>

Newspapers Dead Within Five Years, USC Predicts

Cristian Hernandez​As if the ink-stained wretches of the newspaper world need anymore bad news, the USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future says the print product some of you like to pick up of your driveway every morning will go the way of the dinosaur within five years. A Digital Future ... More >>

Eating Junk Food May Lower Sperm Count

Flickr/ebruliMore fries, less sperm?​ Eating a diet high in junk food could make sperm sparse, slow and obese, a pair of studies presented Monday at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. suggest. The research highlights an apparent link between nutritio ... More >>

Marc Maron on KCRW: LA Weekly's Ultimate Guide to the Top 10 Comedy Podcasts

Doug SadlerHost Howard Kremer, guest Zach Galifianakis and co-host Kulap Vilaysack fart up, err chart up the room on the podcast Who Charted?​ As the Buggles once forecasted in their 1980s pop single: "Video Killed the Radio Star." Today, it's more accurate to say that the podcast resurrecte ... More >>

Sexy Women Still Party at Age 40, Says Alarming Report Focusing on Ladies of California

Sandra can still party, apparently.​From the Department of No Frigging Duh know comes this fine scoop from USA Today ... today. Forty-year-old women, it turns out, like to party too. The in-depth story looks mostly at the fine, middle-aged ladies off California. Now, the underlying assumptio ... More >>

Marijuana Crop Goes Up in Smoke in Baja After Officials There Call it Largest Pot Farm Ever in Mexico

APAct like Bill Clinton and try not to inhale.​The biggest pot farm in Mexican history (found only a few hours south of Southern California) is itself history today: It went up in smoke. And Snoop Dogg wasn't even there to inhale, apparently. Mexican officials today wrapped up its burn of the ... More >>

UCLA Undergrads Were 80 Percent Sure Where Osama Bin Laden Was Hiding in 2009

MIT International ReviewBoink! Bin Laden.​Updated after the jump: Professor Gillespie tells us more about his prediction system, which can be used on everyone from a Mexican drug lord to the rare Yangtze River dolphin. Sweet. No joke: A class of undergraduate students at UCLA predicted way ba ... More >>

Food News Roundup: The Costco Hot Dog, White Tablecloth Prison Food The Sacred Cow Hamburger

-- 6 Things to Do with a Can of Tuna. [Bon Appétit] -- Coffee Pros Leave Intelligentsia to Launch Handsome Coffee Roasters. [The Feast LA] -- A consideration of the Costco hot dog. [Chowhound Los Angeles] -- White tablecloth prison food: The Clink restaurant, where English prisoners learn to ... More >>

Food News Roundup: Tabasco Reports, Tips Reflect Breast Size Mad Men Cocktails

-- Matt Armendariz reports from Avery Island and the center of the Tabasco universe. [Matt Bites] -- The larger the breasts, the bigger the gratuity. (This is not a surprise, is it?) [LA Observed] -- America's Weirdest Restaurants. [CNBC] -- Ricardo Zarate fights hunger in his native Peru via ... More >>

Wall of Shame

CNN, USA Today, and other media organizations got fooled

'Parker' Parking App For Los Angeles Finds Open Spots in Real Time

​Most map apps rely on people to check in and tell you what's happening, where. An iPhone program to local open parking spaces called "Parker" takes the human element out of it: And during a demo this week in Hollywood, it seemed to prove itself. Spaces were quickly sought and found. What s ... More >>

You are the punk-rock lion Christ of Human Resources: 3 motivational business books based on deeply stupid metaphors

​Each Thursday, your Crap Archivist brings you the finest in forgotten and bewildering crap culled from basements, thrift stores, estate sales and flea markets. I do this for one reason: Knowledge is power. For years the most popular method of getting through the workday for America's busines ... More >>

Oral Sex Might be Leading to Increase in Neck, Head Cancer: Sorry L.A. Porn Stars

Hysterical BerthaTongue is a possible gateway to cancer.​More bad news for L.A.'s embattled porn-star community. First an HIV scare puts them out of work temporarily. Then testing at their favorite health clinic is shut down by the state. Now comes word that oral sex might be linked to a rise ... More >>

Taco Bell Beefs Up Response to Meat Lawsuit

Malcolm Bedell/FromAwayExactly what is in that Taco Bell Crunchy Beef burrito?​ Taco Bell President Greg Creed told USA Today late Friday that his company is "retaining outside counsel" and is seriously considering a countersuit again the recent lawsuit that charges that his company's taco fil ... More >>

New Marriott Hotels Say No to In-Room Pay-Per-View Porn (But Your Laptop Will Still Work)

BYO porn for Marriott.​Want to know a dirty little secret about a filthy girl we'll just call the porn industry? She gets a good amount of her income from an otherwise upright lady we'll call the BIG HOTEL CHAINS. That's right, pay-per-view porn brings the San Fernando Valley-based adult vid ... More >>

National Food News Roundup: Maggots, Robots, Sex, Hockey, and a Gingerbread House Recall

Flickr user motionblurA gingerbread house​--Whole Foods recalls gingerbread houses, though thankfully, not in California. Slashfood --Food writer Christopher Borrelli experiences foodie fatigue. ChiTrib -- Food stuck in neanderthal teeth illuminates early human eating habits. Discovery --Surve ... More >>

Marijuana Prices In Medical-Pot States Like California At Low, Low Prices (Thanks To Drug Gangs And Mexican Cartels)

Your bud Mary Jane doesn't cost as much as she used to.​The legalization of medical pot in 14 states including, of course, California, has driven the price of weed down to new lows. This, of course, makes no economic since, since legalization = more demand = less supply = higher prices, in ou ... More >>

Unwinding The Spin From The Dodger Divorce Ruling

Photo by Ted SoquiFrank McCourt: beaten but unbowed​Last March, Frank McCourt gave USA Today a rare interview about his divorce. He reassured fans that everything was business as usual with the Dodgers, and he rejected comparisons to the divorce of John and Becky Moores, which forced the sale of t ... More >>

James Franco, Anne Hathaway To Host Oscars?

Movie WebAnne Hathaway and James Franco are rumored to be cast together in a future "Alien" prequel​Access Hollywood and USA Today -- followed by everyone else, now, in a game of scrambly Hollywood telephone -- are reporting that dashing youngsters James Franco and Anne Hathaway have been chos ... More >>

Small Town Bans Chain Restaurants -- Gets Sued

Flickr/Simon ShekShould this sandwich be illegal?​ Some towns, to maintain their unique personality, have an ordinance in place banning "formula restaurants" like McDonald's and Applebee's from opening up within their borders. One of those towns -- Springdale, Utah -- has been doing it since ... More >>

Software Could Prevent Texting And Web-Browsing While Driving

​Though thirty states, including California, have banned the practice of texting while driving, many drivers text and surf the web during their rush hour commutes anyway. This practice, however, may no longer be physically possible. According to USA Today, two companies have partnered up toget ... More >>

Airplane Food Is Grosser Than You Thought

Flickr/Mr. MysteryDoes this meal have an unsavory history?​ While airlines debate whether or not to serve peanuts to potentially allergic passengers, they apparently haven't been paying attention to what's being served up from their caterers. USA Today reports that many meals served by major a ... More >>

Should Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Be Included Among Staples Center's Statues Of Local Sports Heros?

​USA Today columnist Mike Lopresti wonders aloud why Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is not among those local sports heroes honored with statues outside Staples Center. Magic Johnson, Wayne Gretzky, Oscar De La Hoya and Chick Hearn are there. But no Kareem. Lopresti writes: " ... When the famous Lakers-Ce ... More >>

NBA To Put Logos on Food: The Phoenix Suns Can Be Toast, Literally

USA TodayToast the Phoenix Suns​Imagine watching last night's Western Conference playoff game between the Lakers and the Suns, getting up to make something to eat and being able to have your toaster brand the Suns logo onto that slice of toast. Not only would your hunger have been abated, but ... More >>

USDA Ups Ground Beef Standards In U.S. Schools: Mystery Meat Looks For New Home

N. Galuten​ Jamie Oliver can sleep easier now. Starting July 1st, all ground beef intended for the National School Lunch Program will be held to much higher standards. Said U.S. PIRG public health advocate Liz Hitchcock in a statement, "By raising the bar for ground beef served in schools and ... More >>

School Of Pot: A Syllabus For Cannabis

​As medical marijuana becomes part of the fabric of life in California it probably comes as no surprise that a school, Oaksterdam University, is cashing in on interest in the Golden State's biggest cash crop. At the Los Angeles campus, near the Beverly Center, students are learning about the ... More >>

Naruto Tops American Idol in 2009 Yahoo Searches

Check out Shannon Cottrell's timeline "Britney Watch Out, Naruto Dominates." It's not that Naruto hadn't made Yahoo's top searches of the year before, but when we saw the anime series sandwiched in between Britney Spears and American Idol, we couldn't help but notice the rank of the anime/manga fra ... More >>

That New Model For Journalism? It's Here (And It Ain't Pretty)

We've seen the future of journalism, and it's a little scary. The old way has organizations employing reporters and editors who, according to their training and experience, decide what's worth covering -- stories that hold politicians accountable, uphold shining examples of leadership, unearth wrong ... More >>

Moguls Will Be Moguls at Camp Allen

Shareholders get burned around the Big Media campfire

Hipsters Must Die

10 signs of the (Yindie) apocalypse

We Have Ways of Making You Not Talk

Song of the Whistleblower

Damn Polls

The weird science that gives George the edge right now

Kama Sutra Journalism

bLAnd LAnd

Sitegeist’s semiannual scene column (with special guest editor Rita Elkbrute)

Pretty Vacant

Julia Roberts as masochistic fantasy

Times Marketing Sprint