This Bostonist always pictured solar panels being best-suited to dot the rooftops of sun-baked, equatorial locales. But according to the Associated Press (via the Herald), the Commonwealth is quickly becoming a leader in solar energy. The AP piece talked to one solar executive whose biggest customer is Germany--not a country known for its tropical lifestyle. He says that, "Solar works better when you have cool, sunny days, so a solar system here in Massachusetts,... [continue]

Cold enough out there for you? Nubian ∑agle ©™'s chilly shot of Jamaica Pond reinforces the sub-zero windchill that has settled into Boston today. Stay warm!... [continue]

Update: Deval Patrick can rest easy. Obama took 38% of the Iowa caucus vote. For some reason, Bostonist couldn't get Huey Lewis' "If This Is It … Please Let Me Know …" out of their head while watching the Iowa caucus returns on CNN. So many middle-tier candidates will get their rejections over with tonight. CNN and Fox News projected early that Mike Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses with a come-from-behind victory that had little... [continue]

Unlike the Top 10 Most Commented stories, the top 10 favorites represented a selection of all the fun, the playful, and just plain odd that this city has to offer. You loved sex scandals at the local schools, Vendetta Gunn, and the local productions On Broadway and "BU Tonight." But we were really surprised at how much you loved … Barbie. Yeah, Barbie. 10. Arlington School System Turns Into Peyton Place 9. Boston Blotter: Penis... [continue]

Boston Celtic Kendrick Perkins might miss today's game against the Sacramento Kings because a bed attacked his toe. No kidding. Even the AP just let Perkins tell the story of the headboard that tried to take his toe: I was asleep. I guess whoever put my bed together didn't put it together right when I moved, so one side of my bed fell. My bed was tilted, so I got out of my bed to...... [continue]

For the past few months, Bostonist has engaged in a scientific experiment. We've been sniffing around T stops to find out which ones are the most pleasant and which ones are an offense to the olfactory nerves. Each day this week, we'll evaluate the odors you will find at various T stops. Today, the Blue Line: Aquarium: High tide, dolphin pee Airport: Pleather luggage, SFO-BOS redeye sweat, pee Government Center: Dunkin Donuts, stale cigarette...... [continue]

After much debate over whether or not the blue-and-yellow DIY furniture behemoth that is IKEA would be good for Somerville, IKEA has received permits to start building at Assembly Square. George Hassett at the Somerville News reports that construction will begin next summer, 10 years after IKEA first started making noise about moving in. That doesn't mean everyone's issues with the IKEA have been resolved. Somerville residents still want dibs on the jobs the IKEA...... [continue]

A tipster just alerted us to the fact that Yahoo! sports text messaging update service sent out at about 9:40 p.m. tonight an alert that tonight's baseball game began at 8:40 p.m. Dear Yahoo!: Sox won in four. Season's over. Love, Bostonist...... [continue]

We love Dots and Butterfinger minis, but lately Bostonist has been wondering what kind of higher-end Halloween candies you can get around town. Some of our spooky finds included “eyeballs” at Gourmet Boutique, … A white-chocolate shell painted to look like a blood-shot eye gives way to a grossly gooey lemon crème filling. A little too gross for us: We preferred their mint-chocolate leaves with chocolate filling. The incomparable L.A. Burdick has adorable white... [continue]

The Brendan Behan Pub isn't the greatest place in Boston to catch a ballgame. The Jamaica Plain watering hole is little more than a single room with booths crammed to one side, the bar taking up the other. Patrons jostle each other to get a view of the single projection screen on the far wall. And tonight, during Game Four of the World Series, the women's restroom was out of order. But its patrons... [continue]

Congratulations, Sox fans! You made it through approximately three minutes of the Red Sox Rally Monday festivities at City Hall Plaza before the first chants of "Yankees Suck" filled the air. New record! Well done! A few thousand fans descended upon the plaza early Monday afternoon to cheer on their hometown baseball team (and decry the arch rivals) for the Boston version of the shindigs going on across the country. Rally Monday was a tradition...... [continue]

*B.G.Lewandowski* is fast becoming a Photo of the Day darling. With pictures like these, can you blame me for loving his work? I could ramble on and on about what makes this photo so great, but honestly, Brian's work is so good, I feel I don't have to. I just love this shot - Enjoy!... [continue]

WGBH's Victory Garden has started its 32nd season with a new host, the beefcakey Australian Jamie Durie. When we heard about the new season and were offered a chance to chat with Durie, we were skeptical because we have neither land nor lawn upon which to garden. But we realized we were being short-sighted. All apartments, dorm rooms, and cubes could use some oxygen and a few natural processes just to freshen things up a... [continue]

State legislators are debating whether or not to ban the use of cell phones while driving. Last Tuesday, the Transportation Committee discussed a bill that would ban the use of all handheld phones in cars while permitting hands-free phones for grownups. Anyone under 18 caught with a cell phone, handheld or otherwise, would have his or her permit or license suspended for a year. State Senator Steven Baddour opposes the ban for adults, but he... [continue]

Flickr user barnhizzle gives us another neat macro shot. Can you tell where this photo was taken when viewed from this unique angle? We loved the movement of the water and great depth of focus... [continue]

Sorry, Boy Britney - you are too old for Final Club. Plus, you are a boy. Update: A kind tipster e-mailed us the text of the craigslist post but forgot to mention that it came from Sex and the Ivy, whose eagle eye caught it first. And, besides, how can you resist a blog with the tagline "The Bleeding Heart Nympho's Guide to College Life"? The following ad has been pulled from Craigslist, but...... [continue]

Update: Our Ist-a-Verse family called the individual in this story a "Boston Idiot." We would like to clarify; hence, the photo. Yet another hoser ran across the Fenway Park field yesterday during the Red Sox-Yankees game. In the seventh inning, the guy 20-year-old Charles Gendron, of Maine, ran across the field and grabbed the cap off the head of Robinson Cano, the Yankees' second baseman. NESN cut away from the action, but Bostonist saw...... [continue]