Aleksandar Hemon The Lazarus Project Tonight, 7pm, Porter Square Books Aleksandar Hemon’s a genius. Or at least the MacArthur Foundation thinks so. Hemon won one of the organization’s famed “genius grants” in 2004 to fund research for his latest book, The Lazarus Project, an exploration of immigrant identity. Given that it was grant-powered itself, the book creates an odd sort of meta-reality in that it’s about a writer creating a book (about immigration and identity,... [continue]

Ah, the Somerville Theatre. It gives you beer; AltCom gives you laughs. Together, beer and laughs are dangerous—they can make you pee your pants. Bostonist narrowly avoided a very wet debacle last night as we took in the hilarity that was AltCom. When there are four comics and the first act is already making you giggle like a schoolgirl and cross your legs desperately, you know the evening’s going to end good—but hopefully not in... [continue]

It's Bike Week here in the Bay State, so strap on your helmet, jump on your bike, and pedal to one of these book events this week. Make sure to bring a bag so you can cart your signed book home. Bostonist recommends starred events. *Sunday, May 11, 5:30pm, Porter Square Books Henry Winkler, The Life of Me: Enter, Your Own Risk Monday, May 12th, 7pm, Brookline Booksmith Elizabeth George, Careless in Red *Monday, May... [continue]

LeBron James may be on his way to joining the list of worst performances ever by a superstar vs. a Boston team. [Barstool Sports] Brookline police are offering a Rape Aggression Defense course in May. [Brookline TAB] New buses are rollin' out on the South Shore. [Quincy Patriot Ledger] Pulitzer-winning Globe reporter Charlie Savage defects to the New York Times. [Media Nation] We always knew those MIT kids were up to something. Two seniors were... [continue]

Esquire has named Charlie's Kitchen, a favorite Bostonist hangout, one of the Best Bars in America, describing Charlie's as "your father's bar," and not "so Cambridge that it's fixated on legacy." Bostonist likes any excuse to hang out at Charlie's, so we went over there last night to make sure the bar's ambiance hadn't changed since the last time we were there... about three days ago. Charlie's is still the same neon-lit, cheeseburger-filled haven it... [continue]

The weather forecast makes us cry, cry, cry. [Weather.com] If you're using tricky methods to avoid tolls, watch yourself--because the police are watching you. [WBZTV] Pangea Day works to promote unity and tolerance. [Pangea Day] Ooooooh oooh oooh oooooh ooh ooh oooooooh--Liv Tyler and Spacehog rocker hubby separate. We're just glad to have been reminded of "In the Meantime." [Boston Channel] Crazy Vermonters race around contiguous U.S. in just 106 hours. No word number of... [continue]

It's funny that Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz's new film is called What Happens in Vegas. It implies the usual counterpart to that line, "...stays in Vegas," but sadly the film doesn't take its own advice. This movie should have stayed in the film reel, or in the writer's head, or in Ashton Kutcher's pants, or any other place it didn't have the opportunity to enter the collective American consciousness. If there's anything we don't... [continue]

Fareed Zakaria’s new book, The Post-American World, deals with “the rise of the rest,” the great successes that traditionally poorer and less powerful nations (particularly India and China) have achieved in the past few decades. Harvard Bookstore brought Zakaria to First Parish Church last night to discuss his book and politics in general with Harvard history prof Niall Ferguson. Bostonist was there to get the Post-American scoop. The evening started with Ferguson asking some broad... [continue]

O Holy Condo, your fees are so expensive: Concord Baptist Church in the South End may be turned into some condos. We ask, where would Jesus live? [Boston Real Estate Blog] Madonna will be getting Boston all sticky with her candy on October 15. Ew? Yum? You decide. [Madonna.com] Women are getting more jobs. The only problem is the pay--still less than what men earn. [Business Week via Jezebel] After a crash on Comm Ave... [continue]

If you haven't already gotten your mom something for Mother's Day, it's not too late! If she lives elsewhere, there are plenty of florists willing to let you pay the big bucks to get a nice shipment to Mummy Dearest by Sunday, or you can always rush a box of chocolates to your maternal unit. If you're looking for something local or a little more unique, Bostonist has a couple of interesting ideas to share.... [continue]

Commonwealth Ave was closed for a while this morning thanks to a major multi-vehicle crash. MyFoxBoston has video of the charred scene and the Boston Globe has some intense pictures. The Green Line was running shuttle buses for a while in the area. It's back to normal but expecting delays. If you're headed to Allston/Brighton, prepare for a possible additional headache on this already annoyingly rainy day. Via Universal Hub, Boston Daily.... [continue]

Via Wicked Local, Newsday reports that a Somerville woman gave birth yesterday at the Port Authority bus station in New York. We can't imagine a worse place to give birth, except perhaps on a Fung Wah bus that's in motion. The family was apparently en route to Oklahoma City for some inexplicable reason--we recommend avoiding all bus travel when 9 months pregnant. Despite his strange beginnings, the baby (born at around 6:00 p.m. Tuesday near... [continue]

What's the trashiest TV show concept you can think of? MTV's The Real World probably comes close. Though it used to feature real people with occupations, brains, and sometimes even college degrees (from Harvard, no less), the show has degenerated over the years into alcoholism-condoning, hookup-filled, cancer-causing trash. And what better place for a trashy show than the fakest location of all: Hollywood? MTV's wet dream, The Real World: Hollywood, hasn't just signaled the downfall... [continue]

We didn't know there was a World Sport Stacking Association, but we've found out--thanks to Steve Purugganan, or "Speedy Stevie" as we've decided to call him. The Longmeadow resident is the new Cup Stacking World Champion, owing to his uncanny ability to put cups on top of one another with great alacrity. There are several types of stacking, including 3-3-3 and 3-6-3, meaning you stack up pyramids of 3, 3, and 3 cups (so... [continue]

Bad art is great... for you to poop near! It seems one Museum of Bad Art isn't enough to meet Massachusetts' demand for the utterly artless, so the Somerville Theatre is adding an installation of bad art near its downstairs restrooms. The next time you need to pee during a movie, take solace in the fact that even though you'll probably be missing the best part of the film, at least you'll have the chance... [continue]

As companies in this economy are wont to do, First Marblehead Corp. is savin' money by slashin' spending--which means slashing salaries. The 500 jobs cut will save $200 million, helping the company continue ripping off students assisting locals in realizing their dreams. The bank's website says it has 1000 employees as of June 2007; guess they've cut their ranks by half. This comes less than a month after news that one of First Marblehead's partners... [continue]

National Poetry Month may be over, but that doesn't mean it's time for you to put away the books. It's dreary out right now, but warmer weather should be just around the corner, enabling you to crack a book in the great outdoors. Our lovely local bookstores are bringing us bunches of great readings in May. Big names like Fareed Zakaria, Mike Gravel, and Howard Zinn will discuss politics, while Brookline native BabaWawa returns to... [continue]

We're not so sure about the name (is he from Cleveland?), but one thing's for sure: Big Brown made history by being the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby from the 20th post since 1929, and the first horse since 1915 to win the Derby with three or fewer starts. Sadly, his victory was marred by the death of filly Eight Belles, who finished second in the race but pulled up poorly, broke two... [continue]

An early Easter made April less holiday-filled than usual, so now that May has rolled around, everyone's ready for a bit of celebrating. The first of May is host to more holidays than you might imagine, from the obvious MAYDAY! to the perhaps lesser-known Law Day. Here's an overview of May 1 holidays and a brief preview of stuff to do on May 5, Boston's beloved CINCO DE MAYO (strangely unrelated to the sandwich spread).... [continue]

The USPS is changing postal rates again, and people are rushing to snap up Forever stamps before the new rates go into effect. Starting May 12, first class stamps will rise to 42 cents, continuing that annoying tradition of involving pennies in postal pricing. Trendy square greeting cards will now be priced at 62 cents, making it even harder to be hip. Everyone's favorite traveling companion, the postcard, remains relatively affordable at 27 cents. The... [continue]