Been a while since we've seen any good celebrity gossip. But Boston Daily has a little treat about Eli Roth, the director born in Massachusetts who grew up to be the king of icky torture porn and who inspired an article titled, "What's a Nice Jewish Boy from Newton Doing Making Films Like This?" Roth's brand of horror has made him a Hollywood name, but he's not big enough to sleep with Lindsay Lohan, which......

--Are you freaking out over the fact that the St. Patrick's Day parade falls on the same day as Palm Sunday, March 16? 'Cause the press sure seems to be making a fuss. [Boston Herald, Boston Globe] --The local papers are bombarding us with Foreclosure Doom. Foreclosures in Massachusetts are up 128% in January. Bus tours of foreclosed homes might reflect a corresponding increase. [Boston Globe] --A Globe blog post headlined "Suburbs, the future......

First, there were the rumors about Tom Brady getting hair plugs. Now, our Governor shaves his head. The state of the Commonwealth's hair is in flux. The reaction on the internet to this news has been mixed: Boston Daily drew comparisons to Britney Spears' infamous head shaving. Local pundit Seth Gitell, though admittedly biased, praised Patrick for his "courageous leadership." Meanwhile, the majority of Universal Hub voters say that they don't care about the story......

--The State Supreme Judicial Court just overturned the conviction of a Methuen ex-police officer accused of raping a woman in 2000. The case hinged on whether or not lawyers could prove the woman was "too intoxicated to consent, not that she was merely high and drunk." However, the SJC felt that the trial judge didn't give proper instructions to the jurors. The ex-officer will get a new trial. [Boston Globe] --In a similar case,......

--While the episode of a BPD officer holding up a Roslindale gas station is still fresh in our memory, two BPD officers are accused of breaking the law. One narcotics detective tested positive for steroids, and a domestic violence detective was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend. Did these two not get the memo? Don't become the bad guys. [Boston Globe] --Bostonist saw that Che Sosa, the man who stabbed his own attorney while on trial......

--If we can't make an event out of a Super Bowl victory, then we'll make one out of Super Tuesday. Get answers to your burning questions, watch McLovin learn to vote, experience the rock-star presence of Barack Obama, and find out where to party. [All links Bostonist] --One of presidential candidate Mitt Romney's fund-raisers, James Sims, has stepped down from his post as a national finance co-chair. It seems that he had trouble paying......

Despite what Bostonist is now calling "The Debacle" of last night, other stuff happened today. --The weather will be appropriately "dreary" on the day during which the Rolling Rally was scheduled. But at least it will be easier to vote! [Boston Globe] --Speaking of elections, many of the presidential candidates are looking for Massachusetts love. [WBZ] --The mother of Imette St. Guillen, who was murdered by a bouncer in New York City, has filed......

--Another "wintry mix" is already heading into town this evening to smack you in the face and mess up your drive home. Whoopee. [WBZ] --MBTA fare machines refused credit cards this morning, right at the first of the month when people were trying to add money. Read what T riders did about it. Bostonist has been down this ugly road before. [Boston Globe] --A man died overnight after he was speeding through the Sumner......

--A Brazilian doctor pled guilty today of manslaughter after allegedly killing a woman in a botched liposuction surgery that took place in a Framingham house in 2006. However, the judge has rejected the guilty plea. [WBZ] --The elderly and disabled are understandably unhappy that the Rolling Rally will be held the same day as Super Tuesday should the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl. During a Rolling Rally, it is impossible to cross......

--The city of Boston is lawyering up big-time for an expected suit from Shawn Drumgold, a man wrongly convicted of the 1989 murder of a 12-year-old. Drumgold spent 15 years behind bars. [Boston Globe] --An elderly woman died of cardiac arrest in an overnight house fire in Newton that also sent three residents and two firefighters to the hospital. [WCVB] --It's official. Mike Huckabee is in the Boston Marathon, and he'll run as part......

The Globe reported that the Metro was shrinking, and Joe Keohane at Boston Daily noted that the Globe got details wrong. Then the Metro trumped that little blunder by reporting that the Globe was planning "hundreds" of layoffs and would raise the price of the paper to 75 cents. The Globe told the Herald that's not so. Meanwhile, the Herald stands by, endlessly amused, not the least because the Globe and the Metro are......

--Ooh. Somebody heard Whitey Bulger's voice. Please tell us--who has set the time limit for how long the press can go without a Whitey Bulger story? [Boston Herald] --A busted air-traffic-control radar delayed planes at Logan last night. Tell Johnny to put the plug back in the wall. [Boston Globe] --Let's get this out of the way right now: Heath Ledger has nothing to do with Boston. But Michele McPhee, the Herald's former queen......

Yesterday, Bostonist spread the word that the daily paper the Metro is going through a tough time, a fairly standard story as far as journalism is concerned. While comparing the Globe and the Herald's takes on the Metro shakeup, which included staff dismissals and the publisher's resignation, Bostonist noticed a change in tone between the articles. Boston Daily's Joe Keohane worked his sources at the Metro and found that the Globe may have gotten parts......

Victoria Beckham, aka "Posh" of the Spice Girls, aka Mrs. David Beckham, aka Lost Alien From the Planet of Zor, will be in Boston to promote dVb, her own sunglass and jeans line, so we hear from Bostonista at Boston Daily. The last time a Beckham was in town, a tipper informed us that David Beckham went to the Cheesecake Factory, of all places. So keep an eye out. The woman looks like she......

Update: The Cambridge Chronicle hopped right on it and, while they couldn't reach the owner, things aren't looking so good for the burnt caramel: "Toscanini’s Ice Cream, a mainstay for cool treats in Central Square since 1981, may not ever open again, and its owner, Gus Rancatore, owes the state’s Department of Revenue more than $167,000 in back taxes." (Thanks, Ron!) Another Update: The Web Outside is already running a campaign to save--or at......

Update: Adam notices that Rachael Ray is no longer on the Dunkies website. Perhaps her big mouth cost her a job? From what we gather, no one likes Rachael Ray's association with Dunkin' Donuts. And they will like it even less when they hear what she had to say about the beverage she is paid so handsomely to promote. A rumor has been swirling on the Internets, starting at New York Magazine, floating to Jezebel,......

--Yet another explanation for why you should have a sinking feeling in your tummy any time you go over a bridge in Massachusetts. [Boston Herald] --Another storm is expected for Friday, but it's not prompting the mass freakout that the last storm did. [WBZ] --The city of Boston will build a statue that honors Martin Luther King, Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King. [AP/Boston Globe] --The Committee on Children, Families, and Individuals With......

--This week, legislators will consider banning all hand-held gadgets while driving. [Boston Globe] --You may have noticed that Cape Wind received good news today, but don't expect a wind turbine at City Hall. The idea of the turbine blowing over on the plaza effectively ended the mayor's plan. [Boston Globe] --How to build an igloo in eight easy steps. Was the weather today really that bad? [Boston Globe] --One of NESN's most familiar faces......

Thespians stopped by Boston this week to read for the miniseries that will be based on BU professor and left-wing darling Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. And here's what happens when an intellectual heavyweight's work gets mixed up with this thing we call pop culture: --Somehow, it just doesn't seem right to call noted author Howard Zinn the "Zinn-Meister." It makes us think of the SNL skit with Rob Schneider at......

--Boston NOW made a little boo-boo. [Boston Daily, Universal Hub, everyone but Boston NOW] --Former Boston Red Sox owner Buddy LeRoux has died at the age of 77. LeRoux, a part-owner, was known for trying to take control of the whole organization in a public and messy fashion in 1983. [Boston Globe] --33 teachers in Salem are getting laid off. Obviously, the brainiac who put this idea together didn't realize that teachers work year-round. A......

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......

The space-saver war continues. Yesterday, Donovan Slack followed up on the city's attempts to get a few residents of South Boston to stop saving parking spaces after a snowstorm, even though they can keep the space for 48 hours. Apparently a few protesters feel that tradition trumps the law: But sending a special crew to South Boston angered some in the neighborhood. They interpreted the move as another offensive in the years-long battle between City......

The assassination of Pakistan's former prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has left many aghast at the chaos that is tearing Pakistan apart. Wonkette set up a "snark free zone" in response, writing of pictures taken at the scene: "… it makes all the backstabbing and machinations of our candidates trying to plant stupid rumors about drug use and out-of-wedlock babies and all the rest of it seem that much more nauseating and petty......

While on Meet the Press, when Tim Russert wasn't waving flip-flops in his face, Mitt Romney got teary when recalling the time in 1978 when he learned the Mormon church would accept black people. Some news outlets focused on the crying, such as the Boston Herald and Boston Daily. (At least one black Mormon wasn't impressed with the show because Romney didn't apologize for the church's discrimination.) Bostonist shrugged and figured all politicians have......

--When word got out that Mayor Menino wanted to bring in a petting zoo to revitalize Downtown Crossing, we thought it was a joke. But it turns out that the barnyard animals are at the crossing on weekends outside Filene's Basement. Animal activists are underwhelmed, and how can looking at sad, cold animals inspire people to shop? [Boston Herald] --Wondering what all the screaming was about early yesterday evening at Downtown Crossing? It didn't......

Former Massachusetts governor and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney delivered a thoughtful, moving speech today at the George Bush Sr. Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas. Romney delivered points that no one could argue with--namely, that religious liberty is "fundamental to America's greatness." No kidding. Isn't that why the pilgrims came here in the first place? Aside from a few "duh" moments, Romney delivered a solid speech with some quotable lines, particularly: "Americans do......

Bostonist was suffering from a major BPD News withdrawal because they haven't updated since Sunday. Turns out we're not the only ones. Universal Hub and Boston Daily were also wondering where BPD News went. Bostonist contacted the BPD, and Julie Fratalia of Media Relations told us that the site is having some software problems. They're working on it as we speak, and she said she hopes the site is back up and running by......

Michele McPhee, Boston's queen bee of crime reporting, is jumping from the Herald to a full-time slot at WTKK. Boston Daily landed the scoop confirming what two of Boston's most reliable mediawatchers, Dan Kennedy of Media Nation and Adam Reilly of the Phoenix, heard. From Joe Keohane at Boston Daily: "Sources close to McPhee confirm this, and add that she’s taken a full-time gig at WTKK-FM and ditched daily journalism altogether." What will the Herald......

The Transportation Department and Mayor Tom Menino want you to know that, if you get a parking ticket, you can pay for your ticket if you donate a toy "of equal or greater value than the fine on the ticket." As Amy Derjue at Boston Daily points out, "some lame toy from Family Dollar" will not do. If you have a parking ticket that you've been putting off paying, the offer doesn't apply to you.......

--Boston Daily has been following the story of Bernard Margolis, the Boston Public Library president who got fired by Mayor Menino. And Margolis has plenty to say about it. [Boston Daily] --The South End Is Over isn't over. And the incoming yuppies South End Is Over doesn't like better watch out: "If the Eagle ever closes, which I hope it will not, if only to annoy the pretentious Atelier dwelling yups across the street, I......