First Night Monday, December 31 Everywhere (see below) All outdoor events are free. All indoor events are accessible with a First Night button ($15) Official First Night site Wizard-rockers Harry and the Potters will bring the magic to the First Night proceedings. At first, Bostonist was skeptical because, although the masses love their Harry Potter, that gimmick was bound to get old. And then we were thrilled to discover that they play straight-up, fuzzy......

First Night Film Festival Monday, December 31 All movies will screen in Room 312 of the Hynes Convention Center, except for the Dylan at Newport feature, which will be in Hall D. All indoor events are accessible with a First Night button ($15) Official First Night site First Night usually inspires thoughts of fireworks, ice sculptures, and outdoor activities. But movies are First Night's secret weapon because a) the lineup of movies is great and......

First Night Monday, December 31 Everywhere (see below) All outdoor events are free. All indoor events are accessible with a First Night button ($15) Official First Night site Artists use the cold weather to their advantage with ice sculptures. The sculptures will be on the Common starting at 1:00 pm until midnight. You can look at a frozen version of Florida courtesy of Donald Chapelle, an American eagle that would make Stephen Colbert proud, and......

First Night Monday, December 31 Everywhere in Boston (see below) All indoor outdoor events are free. All outdoor indoor events are accessible with a First Night button ($15) Official First Night site First Night has been preparing to ring in the New Year. Revelers can enjoy all the First Night outdoor events, such as the ice sculptures and the fireworks, for free. But they'll need to pick up a button to attend the indoor events,......

--The Mattapan teenager who was shot in the jaw yesterday has not been named but was a student and basketball player at Charlestown High. Also yesterday, a man was stabbed last night on Cambridge Street, and he is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries. --An armed robbery happened at the Au Bon Pain at Harvard Square the night of November 19. Matt Dunning Erin Smith at the Cambridge Chronicle reports that three masked robbers "tied......

Say "au revoir" to the emergency small coffee at Au Bon Pain, T riders. The Cambridge Chronicle reports that starting this week, the MBTA will open their super-secret bathrooms to the public at Central, Harvard, Porter and Alewife stations. At the request of Cambridge City Manager Bob Healy, the T has has agreed to allow public restroom access at those stations for one year, as part of a pilot program. In other words, if......

--Massholes Behind the Wheel: A driver was so appalled by another driver that he called the phone number on the side of the truck. (Apparently the phone number wasn't 1-800-EAT-SHIT.) Anyway, instead of reaching an operator or supervisor, the bad driver himself answered and was surprised that another driver would dare question his driving. The BPD report notes that the truck driver argued with the other driver - with whom he was still sharing the......

This week is officially Bike Week. Regular commuters, part time enthusiasts, friends, and allies of bikers will be donning their helmets (please put on your helmet) and taking to the streets to celebrate a great form of human powered transportation. While many events take place from Boston to NoHo we're focusing our attention on those happening close to home. Free biker appreciation breakfasts and group rides have been organized. Check out the full listing at......

A BPD officer has been arrested on drug-related charges. The officer, Jose Ortiz, has been on the force since 1986 and worked in the Back Bay and the South End. Details on the arrest were murky at first, but Ed Davis' opinion on Ortiz was clear. His statement is chock-full of irate zingers, such as "Ortiz disgraced his badge and dishonored his brother and sister officers" and "Good cops don’t like bad cops." And, if......

When Bostonist has had it with the Au Bon Pain lunch scene, we turn to our co-workers for lunch suggestions and last week, we were led to a delightful place. Located on Church Street in Bay Village (that tiny area between Back Bay/the Theater District/South End), Rachel’s Kitchen is a tiny, bright place to pop in and grab a sandwich and a retro soda pop in a glass bottle. The place is not a place......

It’s still sweater weather. Damn it. Bostonist refuses to bust out the jacket and scarf quite yet. We’re hoping that the rest of Boston will join us in the no bundling crusade. Smothered with your muffle it’s harder for Bostonist and our compadres to overhear those great comments you’ve been making. Before it gets too cold outside we’d like to remind you--when you hear something say something. Drop Bostonist a line: bostonistoveheard @ gmail.com......

Bostonist should have mentioned it sooner, but better late than never: this is Bike Week (sometimes known as Bike to Work Week). That means tons of bike-friendly activities all over the state, which are listed at the helpful website of Massbike, our favorite tireless champion of two-wheeled transport. Being great lovers of free stuff, we especially recommend the free breakfasts for bike commuters. There's one tomorrow in front of the Au Bon Pain in Harvard......

Harvard's annual four day art festival, Arts First, starts tonight with an art walk to four of the dormitory galleries. This year includes over 200 events, from Japanese tea ceremonies and Shakespeare to Yo-Yos and jazz. Throw in a parade and a picnic, and we're sold. Maybe we'll even catch a glimpse of John Lithgow, the exceptionally tall founder of Arts First. Perhaps he'll be at the conversation and reading with this year's medalist,......

Bostonist couldn't help but notice the difference in Bostonian attitudes today. Suddenly everyone decided to stop doing that whole keeping-their-eyes-trained-at-the-ground-and-muttering-swears thing. Naturally, we attributed this to the weather, seeing as we finally felt comfortable crawling out of our dank winter hidey-holes (spider holes?) today. You know spring has arrived in New England when the kids start doing scooter tricks in Copley again. It's actually really nice to see people (and birds) out and about, although......