lazy link roundup

Need solid city info? Ask 'Mr. Philadelphia': This is a cool piece on 29-year-old Albert Lee, aka "Mr. Philadelphia," who knows virtually everything there is to know about the City of Brotherly Love, and answers all e-mails sent to the Independence Visitor Center's Web site.

Noodle shop that sold lottery ticket basks in the rich broth of fame: In San Gabriel, California, a family-operated noodle house has become an instant landmark after selling a winning lottery ticket worth $165.6 million -- the second-biggest Mega Millions jackpot in California history.

The Burmese Come to Houston: This is an interesting story in the Houston Press on the small but growing number of Burmese families putting down roots in Houston's Sun Blossom Mountain -- despite the outdated and drastically underfunded state of the U.S. resettlement program.

SAT Scores Fall as Gap Widens; Asians Gain: Last year, high school students' performance on the SAT college entrance exam fell slightly, with the score gap generally widening between lower-performing minority groups and white and Asian American students.

Ang Lee, hippie?: Good article on acclaimed Taiwanese American director Ang Lee, who's movie Taking Woodstock -- the story of the landmark generation-defining 1969 concert -- is just the latest entry in a career of unlikely, expectation-bending films.

Journey Rocks Out with New Frontman: Another story on Arnel Pineda, the Manila cover band singer who was plucked out of obscurity via YouTube to become the current front man of legendary rock band Journey. You just wait -- some day, this guy's amazing story will be made into a movie.

'Smallville' heroine Kristin Kreuk joins 'Chuck': Kristin Kreuk, who plays Lana Lang on Smallville, will be joining NBC's Chuck for a multiple-episode arc as Hannah, "a girl Chuck meets on a flight to Paris," who ends up working at the Buy More. Calm down, fellow geeks.