I’m a New Yorker and I love my coffee. With so many options around, it’s easy to get caught up with one or two convenient places, overlooking some of the many great purveyors around.

Not too long ago, I discovered what has quickly become my favorite source for coffee in the city. While this may sound like a bit of a stretch, I mean it when I say that this could very well be the best cup of coffee in the entire city.

The original Stumptown Coffee Roasters is based in Oregon, and there aren’t many locations to date. Still, the coffee here is treasured by its patrons and the chain’s expansion to New York is a pleasant surprise.

I can’t say which of the coffees happens to be my favorite. I might equally love them all, to be honest. What I do know is that patrons all seem to claim that everything there is top notch.

The prices are reasonable, and most comparable to those you’d find at Starbucks, but the coffee itself seems to be of a much higher grade. There’s also a nice early 20th century theme going on, as the baristas dress in traditional gear.

I’ve read reviews online after trying Stumptown’s coffee to see if others feel the same way that I do. What I found was that many Seattle residents swear by the chain, calling it the best coffee that Seattle has to offer.

I was surprised to see that even Seattle residents who frequent their local Stumptown call it the best coffee they’ve ever had. With so many great options abound in Seattle, such choice words really go to show how great this coffee is.

If you have a Stumptown near you, consider yourself lucky and try it out. If you don’t, hope that the chain expands, and take advantage of any traveling opportunity you may get and try it out.

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British Director Danny Boyle’s, Slumdog Millionaire, the success tale of a Mumbai slum-dweller, managed to hog all limelight at Broadcast Film Critics Association’s 14th annual Critics Choice Awards.

The Mumbai based movie bagged as many as five awards including the Best Film, Best Director for Danny Boyle, Best Writer for Simon Beaufoy, Best Young Actor for Dev Patel and Best Composer for India’s living legend - A.R. Rahman.

Dev Patel, who played the protagonist Jamal, was named best young actor. The storyline is based on a teenaged slum dweller who dreams to become rich overnight and goes on to be the youngest winner of the Indian version of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’. Young Ayush who plays Jamal in his childhood, was also appreciated for his acting skills.

The Fox Searchlight flick, which has also been named in Time magazine’s list of Top Ten Films of 2008, is a frontrunner for Oscar nominations after this phenomenal success.

Freida Pinto, who played the love interest of star Dev Patel, said at the glittering ceremony, “Everybody back in India’s probably rejoicing already because they are hooked onto Google”. A.R. Rahman, named best composer, declared, “This is for India!”

Slumdog Millionaire consolidated its Oscar nomination chances last week winning a slew of key awards and by being nominated in four Golden Globes categories including best film, best director (Danny Boyle), best adapted screenplay (Simon Beaufoy) and best original score (A R Rahman). Widely televised worldwide, the Globes are given by Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Last week, the $15 million movie which has grossed nearly $6 million in North America in limited release in four weeks, was honored with two awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association including best direction and music, one from the New York Film Critics’ Circle, as well as six nominations for the Critics Choice Awards including best picture. It has been declared the year’s best by the National Board of Review. In London, where Slumdog also won best film at the British Independent Film Awards, also became a sentimental winner. ‘We are thrilled that we can hopefully bring some positive light to what has happened over there (the terrorist attacks in Mumbai) by honoring this film,’ board President Annie Schulhof said at the awards.  

Louisiana rapper Lil Wayne garnered the most Grammy nominations, about eight of them while its British alternative rock band Coldplay grabbed close to seven nominations as the Recording Academy announced this year’s nominees on Wednesday.

Both nominated for their prestigious albums, Lil Wayne and Coldplay maintained stiff competition for the album of the year award at the 51st annual Grammy Awards. Rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West and R&B crooner Ne-Yo, received six nominations each, while Alison Krauss, John Mayer, Robert Plant, Radiohead and newcomer Jazmine Sullivan received five each.

In a way it’s an odd time for the industry to celebrate. With CD sales dipping by the minute in the last few years, and music downloads, that continue to rise, have yet to fill the gap, musicians too are feeling the pinch as record labels struggle with piracy issues from consumers and direct marketing by artists.

The first ever event in Africa, MTV has launched its music award program with acts from across the world’s poorest continent nominated for prizes in the Nigerian capital.

As Peter Okoye of P-Square rehearsed for the MTV Africa Music Awards show in Abuja, Nigeria, the spokeswoman for the MGTV Network Africa, Alison Reid, stated that the winners were being selected by fans sending text messages. Since the continent has been renowned for vibrant music scene, they have had grave difficulties in marketing these overseas. The Awards night hope to change the scene by offering several artists a lot more exposure and a platform to celebrate its artistry. The awards will be slotted in five categories, including best group, best R&B act and the evening’s top award, artist of the year. Performers from South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Gabon and others are also expected to be nominated for the show.