Having tasted a 'Kobe' flat iron steak quoted as 'Wagyu' and not knowing what 'Wagyu' stood for, I did a little research.
To keep it simple Wagyu refers to all Japanese beef cattle ('Wa' meaning japanese and 'gyu' stands for cattle). This type of breed produces 'Kobe' beef. It is so labeled because 'Wagyu' were first bred in the city of Kobe some 170 years ago.
They were originally a cross breed of Asian cattle with European breeds that took place in the late 1800's.
Although it was closed to cross breeding in 1910, there are various regional lines in Japan.
For more details on that read Cattle Today's page.
They are now bred in US ranches such as Morgan Ranch in Nebraska and others in California.
The high price of 'Kobe' beef is due to its small production as lean beef is more widely distributed and popular since the 1940's.
'Wagyu' are known for their marbling and fat content which makes for a very tender meat.

The australian band 'Architecture in Helsinki' offers a taste of its bouncy pop on its creative website.
While browsing pages with interesting graphics, a sample of its songs play.
The band is currently touring the USA. Its latest album, 'In case we die', was released in the US by Bar-None.

Thanks to Coudal for bringing them to our attention.

Say you live in the tri-state area (around New York to translate for readers outside this area) and have friends visiting from out of state or abroad Shop Gotham offers walking and shopping tours of the Big Apple. The company started in 2001 is run by Rebecca Merritt and Johanna Cap who put their Love of shopping to work for you. This is a fun way to discover the city for foreign visitors as well.

If I did not want to feel out of place while visiting Paris, France from Montclair, New Jersey, I could well stay at Hostel 'Le Montclair' in Montmartre. An important detail: this is an Hostel so it is more designed for the No Frills-Budget Traveler.

If you either do not have the time or the appetite to browse through numerous newspapers or websites for the news of the day, the Financial Times offers What the papers say , a summary of the Headlines in the Uk, Asia, and the US.

Feel blue due to the grey skies of the early autumn, our feisty New York based wine friends, The Wine Chicks, tells us what they think the 'Scooby Doo' characters would drink. Forgive them for naming Velma as Thelma.

The Harilela family occupies a 100,000 square feet mansion in Hong Kong that can accomodate up to 70 relatives. Managing it is like running a hotel but most family members sure enjoy all its amenities.
Read 'Nobody wants to fly a gilded nest' by Kitty Go in this week-end's Financial Times for the rest of the story.

The offbeat shoe maker Camper has expanded its palette by opening a boutique hotel Casa Camper and a health food 'bar' Camper Foodball which you can even enter on your bicycle or skates. They are both located in the El Raval neighborhood of Barcelona. The 'Boqueria' market which i enjoyed visiting many times is nearby.

And you thought that only fashion designers introduced their new collections. Clotilde of Chocolate and Zucchini proves us wrong with her review of the Fall-Winter creations by parisian pastry chef Pierre Herme.

If you are traveling to Paris, his shop is located at 72, rue Bonaparte 75006/ Paris

Always looking for different and affordable flavors in my (red) wine choices, I decided to give a try to 'Colonia Las Liebres' (or Colony of Hares) produced  by Altos Las Hormigas in Mendoza (Argentina). It got a respectable score from wine reviewers and my decision was sealed by the fact that it is distributed by Michael Skurnik wines of Long Island, New York whose taste I trust.
It is a medium bodied wine with a good finish that went well with a light lunch of grilled pork and rice and vegetables and it can be found in the $9.00 range.