It may be a new year, but I'm not quite prepared to let go of the last one: More Ron Orp highlights some of my top dining and Good to know recommendations from previous newsletters. May the best of 2009 follow you into 2010.

Give my love to the city, Ron

Get another crack at your Christmas wish list: swap or sell your unwanted holiday surprises at Seefeld Razzia. Music and refreshments will help banish your January blues. Entry is free.
Thursday 8 pm, Seefeld Razzia

If techno, electroclash and house are up your alley, check out Berlin’s Toktok at Cabaret this Friday. If your tastes are more nostalgic, indulge in some old-is-new-again rock ‘n’ roll with the Elvis Explosion at El Lokal. In either case, dancing shoes (blue suede or otherwise) are required.
Friday 11 pm, Cabaret, and 10pm El Lokal

Powpow’s Cheap Pumps contest at Revier Club is all about high heels, long legs and good fashion. The most unusual shoes win their owner a 200 franc gift certificate to The Gloss. Techno and deep house music by Bontempi and Garcon Sauvage.
Friday 10.30 pm, Revier Club

Prayer Of Death, aka Fai Baba, invites you to start 2010 off right and “get clean with dirty guitar music.” From the Mississippi Delta blues to Indian sitar drones from the deepest swamps of the Ganges, Fai Baba is a self-proclaimed trip.
Saturday 11 pm, Gasometerstrasse 45

Early birds (or ultimate night owls) can start their day off with a dance party. Djs include bvoice, Mickey Monzza and Andri. To fuel the party, a small buffet will be provided: choose between a Russian breakfast of caviar, egg and vodka, or a Bavarian-style pretzel with beer.
Sunday 7 am to 8 pm, Nüschelerstrasse 31

That’s the question Viola has been asking since 2008, when the tri-lingual musical duo formed. Expect everything from kitschy ballads to electropop, and all points in between. This songwriting duo knows their way around both a folk song and a mixing board. Catch them at Bar Corazon.
Monday 9 pm, Bar Corazon

Despite my best intentions, I over-indulged this Christmas season, and now it’s time for my annual resolution: get fit and healthy for the new year. With a McFit location in the Hauptbahnhof, even I can’t use my busy schedule as an excuse to shirk the treadmill. Of course, for those days when I need more pampering than punishment, I might take in a steam bath at the Fitnesspark Münstergasse, or a massage at Amrita Fitness or the ever popular Labo Spa. To kick myself into high gear, there’s always the option of a Holmes Place personal trainer, but I’ll think I’ll ease myself into this new regime... starting tomorrow.

RiffRaff, together with Ascot Elite Entertainment, presents a sneak preview of the new Coen Brothers’ film, A Serious Man. I love the biting sarcasm and Schadenfreude of this story: a black comedy set in 1967, the film centres on Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother won’t move out of the house. I have five pairs of tickets to give away to this screening. Email me.
Tuesday 8.30 pm, RiffRaff

Like GoogleMaps, Australian-based NearMaps offers a birds-eye view of the world, but instead of using satellite technology, the website uses photomaps: high-resolution images from planes that are updated every month. The TimeView function shows a given area over time, revealing geographical changes in the area.