SoCal Meteorologist Rankings - #8 Maria Quiban

There isn't a lot of layers to peel back with the native Hawaiian nor any drama like our previous two meteorologists... and that's actually refreshing. Maria definitely has her fans and although I am not one of them, I certainly am in no hurry to change the channel when she is forecasting our sunny Southern Californian skies. Maria has her own basic travel website where you can go check out random information such as how much to tip people, how to pack, as well as several other pages still under construction... but I dig that she is trying. I am not sure how long she will be a weatherlady as she has built up a pretty solid resume on IMBD with filmwork lately (mostly playing a tv anchor or meteorologist though) but in the meantime we will all enjoy your appealing appearance and above average forecasting skills.

Knowledge and Professionalism: 6
Entertainment Value: 7
Appearance: 8
Total: 21

SoCal Meteorologist Rankings - #9 Mark Kriski

There is really nothing I can say about poor Mark Kriski that Howard Stern hasn't already said unless that is I chose to say some nice thing about Kriski. There are few people in this world that you do not pick a fight with, and I would say that Shock Jockey Howard Stern probably belongs to that list. Stern went on a tirade of the irrelevance of weatherman (specifically Kriski) for a good 20 minutes in retort to Kriski saying that Stern has been more irrelevant since leaving radio to go to Sirius, obviously something that Stern is pretty sensitive about. It's actually pretty hilarious how bad Stern rips on Kriski saying things like he has a spray painted head and a facelift, he's a f*@king douchebag, etc. Check it here if you are so inclined.

I have been watching Kriski off and on since I was in high school back in the 90's, back then he seemed like a used car salesman who would always flirt with Jennifer York in the Skycam helicopter.... kind of made your skin crawl sometimes actually. Over the years though Kriski has mellowed out and takes his job as seriously as he can while being on the KTLA morning news I guess and now that he has gotten the attention of Stern for a nano-second he is hated by millions of Stern listeners instead of just disliked by thousands of Angeleno's.

Knowledge and Professionalism: 6
Entertainment Value: 6
Appearance: 7
Total: 19

SoCal Meteorologist Rankings - #10 Jillian Reynolds

Jillian Reynolds (formerly Barberie) is part of the Entertainment (Not News) triumvirate of Good Day LA on Fox. Look, this team has their niche and it just happens to not be news reporting. They have a following of fans that enjoy their banter, cutting each other off as they speak, blunt remarks, and over caffeinated opinions.

Jillian has in fact made a great name for herself over the last decade or so. She is a spokesperson for Nutri System, she does a National weather segment on FOX NFL Sundays, and she has appeared in several men's magazines as a sex symbol. She's definitely entertaining to her Cougar nation and probably appeals to many Angeleno's in that she is completely self absorbed. You really can't take a meteorologist who reads magazine and sends text messages while on air seriously. Although Jillian may be a meteorologist by trade, she is really an entertainer (to those who find her entertaining that is) and she is an iconic representation of LA as she is probably the one newswoman that is recognizable across the country.

Knowledge and Professionalism: 4
Entertainment Value: 7
Appearance: 7
Total: 18

Jalames 1st Annual Southern California Meteorologist Rankings

When we consume our local news at night or morning we are exposed to a great deal of information and often many depressing stories about what is going on in Southern Cal and the rest of our country be it car chases, homicides, traffic, and as of late news about the recession and unemployment.... booo. I would say in a given newscast, 70-80% of the information that we consume is overwhelmingly negative... and then the weatherman/woman comes on and moods lighten! This is especially the case since we live in Southern Cal and aside from Rain, Santa Ana winds, occasional flooding, and fires our weathermen have great news of sunny skies and beautiful beaches... they are the purveyors of information that effect every single one of us. So there was an overturned semi on the 10 you say?? Well that may effect a few thousand for an hour or so but the weather is universal. We all talk about it and we all bask in it or shake our fists collectively at it. And this my friends is why our meteorologists are celebrities. But not just anyone will do.... this is LA, the entertainment capital of our country. The land of self obsession, vanity, and microscopic attention spans. Our meteorologists need to be excellent.


I have ranked the top 10 meteorologists for Southern California and did so based on the scientific Jalames Meterologist ranking formula:

Categories (each on a scale of 1-10):
Knowledge and Professionalism
Entertainment Value
Appearance

The maximum score would be a 30

I hope you enjoy the rankings as much as I enjoyed putting them together, obviously this is a very subjective ranking by yours truly and while you may disagree you would probably be wrong! I will rank them in reverse order starting at #12 and finishing at #1 over the next week or so... let's get started

Sustainable Seafood and Bad Shrimp

If you are like me and are enamored by the taste of a perfectly seared piece of Ahi or a perfectly cooked piece of Chilean Sea Bass (Thomas Keller has the best recipe for this), then you should also be cognisant of the sustainability of seafood as to preserve its availability for several years to come. Overfishing is rampant and types of fish that you may enjoy today may be extinct in our lifetime.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has created a handy pocket guide for you to print out and take with you to the market the next time you pick up some fish. Please use it.



Another Seafood item that I am passionate about is the huge supply of shrimp in our markets from Thailand and Vietnam. This could be the most lethal item in your supermarket. DO NOT EAT IT. Here is an excerpt from one of many articles I have read on this large influx of dangerous shellfish being imported into the US:

"Once the shrimp arrive stateside, less than 2 percent of the shipments are inspected, according to the FDA. About half of the inspected shipments are detained for safety, packaging, or sanitation violations. Shrimp account for nearly a quarter of all detained seafood. They comprise 38 percent of seafood turned away for salmonella violations, and 35 percent turned away for "filth.""

If you dare to read more, and I hope you do, check out this article.