On the left there is Matrix, who along with Futurebound rocked the hell out of Club Bonbon with some crazy drum and bass on Friday. More pictures, including a review of the "Punk from Xi'an" show at the Live Bar, after the jump. more ›

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• Gothamist went to the scene of the Trump Soho construction collapse, which left one construction worker dead and others injured (an indirect culprit - Manhattan's hot real estate market, causing rushed construction jobs).
• Shanghaiist is confused by media reports as to whether Playboy will be available in China during the year of the Olympics.
• LAist got fugged in an interview with the Go Fug Yourself girls.

Even a hundred TV-shows cannot hide that something is seriously wrong in the way quality control is done in this country. And yes, there is now a fair amount of China-bashing going on, but that is very well deserved China-bashing. But the question what Mattel, and other companies, have been doing to stop this scandalous export of faulty products is a question that is all too easy ignored. Of course it is awful that millions of American children might be in danger when they bite on their toys, but has anybody already looked after the thousands of Chinese workers who have been painting those toys? They must have been exposed to much higher dangerous levels of lead than any of the children involved... It is shocking to see that Mattel get almost the role of a victim, instead of that of at least a fellow conspirator.

It seems that the TIME Magazine China Blog has been blocked by the Great Firewall of China (GFW), or "GFW-ed" to use the industry nomenclature. The blog normally covers a full-range of issues, including topics and analysis that local media wouldn't touch with a 10 meter 棍, and as a rule, TIME tends to "err on the side of free speech." However, evidently the blog took things a step too far for China's censors, when on June 4th, all three bloggers (Simon Elegant, Bill Powell, and Austin Ramzy) wrote about the world's largest public square. more ›

We have a friend who we swear is paid by the New York Times, because all he ever does is send us links to stories from that rag. The latest is entitled "Singing and Doing the Hustle in Austin" and covers the South by Southwest Music Festival, which is an indie music fan's wet dream (it ended on Sunday). The story mentions that more than 20 percent of the musical acts in the festival came from outside the US. Then it said this: more ›

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... more ›

Texas is thawing, the Northeast is freezing, and a sort of natural order seems almost restored to the Ist-A-Verse. Almost. more ›

We don't know about you, but it's friggin cold out there. Well, not for some of you. It seems as though places that are supposed to be cold are warm and places that are supposed to be warm are cold. Or maybe that's just us. Either way, we're freezing. more ›

Danwei told us about The China Blog, a group blog by the China correspondents for TIME that launched this month. The writers are Simon Elegant (Beijing), Bill Powell (Shanghai), Austin Ramzy (Hong Kong) and Susan Jakes (Beijing). Looks like it could be a nice addition to the fold if they can keep posting on a regular basis. more ›

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. more ›

As 2006 ends and 2007 begins, the -ists look back not at the past week, but at the past year. So here it is, your Best of 2006 Spectacular. And from all of us at the -ists, happy New Year! more ›

Torontoist has some awesome, cutting edge news: A movie is being made about a gay hockey player - filmmakers even got approval from the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs! Also awesome: Toronto's "Do the Sneeze Sleeve Campaign". And most awesome is this dreamy photograph of Toronto's skyline in fog. more ›

is a hit. It's getting rave reviews, grossing millions, and definitely the most quotable thing we've seen in ages. But Borat seems to have missed most of the -ist cities, and we were all wondering how the film would have been different if he'd made his way around the world on the -ist tour. more ›

Last night, we separately witnessed two of the best gigs we’ve seen in a long, long time -- and the good news is that they’re both playing again. more ›

Austinist was in an entertainment state of mind as they covered the dickens out of the Austin Film Festival, depicted all the Big 12 football coaches as South Park characters, and interviewed Jose Gonzalez. more ›

Let's look back at a week in which no site in the -ist network adopted anyone from Africa... more ›

Especially his big toe. The center from Shanghai had one of his big toenails removed yesterday. This is the third nail he's had removed since July 2004, one of which turned into an infection and required surgery and caused him to miss 21 games last season. After this most recent removal, Yao will be on the shelf for at least another week. more ›

What was this about relaxing on the last weekend of a holiday? Nonsense, that’s what it was. We’ve been busy -- actually Brad’s been busy and we tried to help him (more on that in a few), but we still managed to get the show out … albeit, a few days late. Sorry. more ›

As fall settles in and another calendar page gets turned, thoughts turn from bbq's and vacations to holidays and the realization that '06 is coming to an end. With all that going on, with change in the air, we wonder what is it that made that makes the -ists ponder? more ›

Londonist answers the questions "How much is a cab from London to Marrakech?", and "Can a monkey blog?", as well as asks "What kind of guy can get shot in the knee then cycle to the hospital?" more ›

Phillyist keeps it fresh by getting a new motto, learning to prioritize, and taking in an experimental indie rock show. more ›

Hey, have y'all been using our new "Recommend this" feature at the bottom of each post? This week we're bringing you the "Most Recommended" posts from across the -ist world, as well as recommending some of our own. more ›

We -ists are an eclectic bunch, but there's a couple of things we all love: famous people, social causes, and wacky local facts. Join us as we starf**k, get virtuous, and learn across the -ist network! more ›

OK, OK, we must confess we didn't actually taste the pulled pork at Bubba's Texas-Style Bar-B-Que & Saloon, which opened last month in Hongqiao -- because they didn't have any. This, as any connoisseur of this countrified cuisine will tell you, is not uncommon. Sometimes barbecue joints will not have everything on their menu available ... because it's not done cooking yet. A pig's butt needs to spend a decent amount of time in the smoker to get nice and tender. Deal with it. (Or, better yet, call ahead if you have a craving for something in particular. That way you can make sure you aren't making a wasted trip out to Shanghai suburbia.) more ›

LAist has so much fun this week! They go to E3, where they overhear the timeless remark "Man, this is where nerdy girls get laid." Is that a promise? They also give us this week's best CDs and make us realize that LA is the best place to use Zillow. more ›

Londonist prepares a Happy Birthday bath for Buddah this week and then things get all cliched. A madman goes on a rampage while axe-wiedling and London's mayor warns an American diplomat to avoid the kitchen if the heat bothers him so much. more ›

LAist tracks an award-winning TV writer who worked on Good Times to a homeless shelter and sees a Little Old Lady get a jaywalking ticket because she can't get across fast enough (in the same post!). Poets invade Metro and an LAist contributor's new book asks WWJB. more ›

Mercer Human Resource Consulting just released its annual standard of living report, which ranks the quality of life in the world's major big cities. Shanghaiist has kept up the results the last few years, and there haven't been any major changes. Bloomberg reports: more ›

Unfortunately, Shanghaiist was not quite through with lunch when we decided it was a good idea to read a South China Morning Post (subscription only, and therefore unlinkable) story entitled "Woman decapitated by husband". Of course a story like this is expected to be gruesome by any account. But, there are a few key words in this particular story that bump up the queasiness factor: more ›