Photo by rjseg1

• Chicagoist started the week with bitter cold, explored a video game based on its transit system, celebrated a fantastic year of local music and food & drink, and finished the week with warmth and flooding.
• Torontoist was supposed to shut down in the new year, huh? Yeah, not so much now. They prepared to ring in the new year by looking back at their cities' Heroes and Villains of 2008.
• Gothamist readers had strong opinions about a video of carriage horses working in the wintry weather.
• Londonist discovered that traditional Christmas food can have its less-obvious side-effects.
• LAist found a private Christian school that bragged about its high standardized test scores. Their secret to success? By diversity, errrrr, eliminating "non-English speaking students; behavior problem students and severely learning-deficient students."
• Shanghaiist was amused by how people party and dance in rural China.
• DCist saw an ordinary water main break turn into a dramatic rescue operation.
• Seattlest was of two minds about being snowbound for over a week--it was either the worst of times, or the best of times. But at least no one started shooting.
• Phillyist examined the polite way to tip a stripper.
• SFist reported on car vandalism and police states, food court melee and Greek uprisings, and full-frontal nudity and Cal students.