jan. 23

Links we love today: Drinking at Starbucks, 90s TV, creation vs. curation andmore

Assistant Editor Samantha Pitchel reads everything so you don’t have to.

Here are the links we loved today:

It’s Monday, and you know what that means — new podcasts! Comedy Bang Bang with Tig, Ronna and Beverly; WTF with Marc Maron and guest Ralphie May.

The 50 most successful indie movies; 10 reasons running doesn’t suck as much as you think; 8 brilliant iPhone games that aren’t Angry Birds; 5 ways to make the work day healthy; Author Emma Straub recommends 3 “rich and snooty” reads.

7 shows reimagined as 90s sitcoms; 8 mostly forgotten 90s cartoons.

n+personals is probably the only dating site I’d ever use.

YouTube hits 4 billion daily views; Apple sees 350,000 textbook downloads within three days.

LIFE photographer Jeff Vespa’s celeb portraits from Sundance; Incredible photos of metro tunnels in St Petersburg, Russia; SFMOMA exhibits Francesca Woodman’s photography.

Edward Gorey’s beautiful illustrated envelopes and letters.

Mad Men’s two-hour premiere episode titled “A Little Kiss.”

Leonard Cohen’s new album, Old Ideas, streaming now at NPR; Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner’s latest project, a concerto titled “41 Strings,” is streaming online.

Breakthru Radio has an interview and live session with Speedy Ortiz.

Newbery and Caldecott award winners announced; National Book Critics Circle Awards finalists announced.

Comedy Central set to launch in India.

MTV’s fake boy band 2GETHER to reunite (minus “the cute one” Michael Cuccione, who passed away in 2001).

Either awesome or terrible: Starbucks to sell alcohol in some US stores.

Felix Salmon on how sharing disrupts media:

There are lots of ways of publishing content onto the web, and if you look at the relative popularity of, say, WordPress vs Tumblr vs Twitter, then it’s easy to come to the conclusion that the easier you make it to publish, the more popular you’re going to be. But at Tumblr, at least, there’s something else very interesting going on: according to Karp, there are 9 curators for every creator on his site.

Lifehacker takes a look at the state of file sharing websites; How to ease a case of “text neck.”

New Yelle video for “Comme Une Enfant,” featuring cameos from TJ Miller and Martin Starr!

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merry xmas atx!

Austin makes merry as one of the best cities to celebrate Christmas

City of Austin Government - Facebook

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Austinites are right at home when it comes to experiencing the best Christmas in Texas this year. The very merry state capital has jumped into the No. 23 spot on WalletHub's annual list of the best cities for celebrating Christmas in 2024.

The yearly report ranks the 100 most populous U.S. cities across five key dimensions: Traditions and fun, observance, generosity, shopping opportunities, plus travel and meal costs.

Austin previously ranked as the No. 31 best U.S. city for celebrating Christmas in WalletHub's 2023 report.

Here's how Austin performed in the five main categories in the study:

No. 19 – Traditions and fun rank
No. 20 – Shopping rank
No. 36 – Costs rank
No. 42 – Generosity rank
No. 72 – Observance rank

Austin gets to cheer itself on as the highest-ranked Texas city in 2024 thanks to its heap of holiday happenings, including numerous delightful light displays throughout town. From local restaurants and bars putting their all into creating festive feasts to-go and delightful cocktail experiences, to locals supporting small businesses at holiday markets, there is plenty to get Austinites in the holiday spirit this year.

Smaller Central Texas towns like Smithville have also transformed into fun, festive escapes for city dwellers this time of year.

Austin households also have bigger holiday budgets in 2024 than they did the year before. According to a separate WalletHub study, the average Austin household is expected to spend about $1,905 on Christmas gifts this year, versus $1,877 in 2023.

"With inflation making Christmas celebrations, gifts, food and travel more expensive, certain cities are much better for your wallet than others during the holiday," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "In addition to being affordable, the best cities have a large number of people celebrating, plenty of places for Christians to worship, populations who give generously to charity, and plenty of fun activities to enjoy with family and friends."

In a separate report by home services provider Thumbtack, Austin was crowned the No. 1 most festive U.S. city for the third year in a row.

Elsewhere in Texas, other festive cities that earned spots in the top 50 include San Antonio (No. 30), Dallas (No. 31), and Houston (No. 41).

The top 10 best places to experience Christmas in 2024 are:

No. 1 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 2 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
No. 4 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 5 – Orlando, Florida
No. 6 – San Francisco, California
No. 7 – St. Louis, Missouri
No. 8 – Miami, Florida
No. 9 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 10 – New York, New York

christmas holidays lists bests