--Boston 911 operators are under scrutiny again because a call taker's error led to a delay in the arrival of police as a 76-year-old man was being beaten. [Boston Globe] --Smokers aren't too happy about the Senate's approval of a $1 rise in cigarette taxes. [Boston Herald] --Speaking of tax increases, Brookline voters approved a tax override. [Boston Globe] --In the "brass balls" department, the mayor of Newton, David Cohen, wants a pay raise.......

-- Police found a man shot to death this morning in Hyde Park. The body was found shortly after 7:00am, and there are few details to report. [BPDNews] -- A woman was sexually assaulted on her way home after last night's Red Sox game, authorities say. She had been walking down Winchester St. in Brookline, drunk, when a man approached her and started a conversation. Things became sinister when he pinned her to the front......

-- A stabbing this afternoon in Jamaica Plain has left one person hospitalized and another in custody, authorities say. The incident may have been the result of a domestic dispute. [Globe] -- Two men were found shot this morning in the McCormick Housing Development in South Boston. The victims, 18 and 23 years old, were taken to Boston Medical Center where they are suspected to survive. Authorities have not suggested any motives in the shootings,......

--Meet the allegedly worst colleague ever: Revere police officer Evan Franklin may be fired because he is accused of running away after Officer Dan Talbot was shot in the head and killed behind Revere High School. He is also accused of lying to investigators after the incident. The officers were off-duty but had been drinking before the incident. [WBZ, background: Bostonist] --Yesterday, a fire broke out in a Brookline home on Harrison Street, and......

The wild turkeys are back in Brookline! Funny, it seems that they never went away. However, this time, it's for real because it's mating season, and turkeys don't like coitus interruptus. Wicked Local Brookline notes that an animal control officer sustained a leg injury thanks to an upset turkey. But the Brookline Police Department offers a few tips on turkey-fighting, most of which amounts to common sense (spotted via Metaboston): Don’t feed turkeys —......

--A four-alarm fire broke out in Brookline overnight on Sewall Avenue. The building was vacant, but 120 people were evacuated, and three firefighters were injured. [WCVB] --Heist, heist baby. The Herald pulls out all the stops when anniversary the theft of priceless art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. [Boston Herald] --Whole Foods plus the South End sounds like a perfect storm for satire. [Boston Real Estate Blog] --The priceless line of......

Books Is it possible to be saved by the Sex Pistols? The answer to that is a resounding yes. Michael Patrick MacDonald will be reading from Easter Rising, an account of his youth in the Boston punk scene, at Brookline Booksmith. Bostonist had the opportunity to hear him read from the book when he spoke at UMass-Boston, and we say with great emphasis that this is a must-see, not just for those who love......

Dance Party JD Samson and Johanna Fateman, of the terribly missed Le Tigre, are now working it as a DJ duo known MEN. The new stuff definitely riffs off the best of Le Tigre, which still owns the award for best prom photo/album cover ever. Great Scott, 1222 Comm Ave, $12, 9:00 pm. Movies When we started writing about this happening, we swore we wouldn't do this, but "ARE YOU TALKIN' TO ME?" Taxi......

Books --Charles Bock's Beautiful Children isn't as delicate as it sounds. A couple reels after their child vanishes in the Las Vegas desert--only it's so, so much more than that, and it's received a flood of attention. The Globe thought Bock threw too much into his debut, but everyone seems to agree that he's ambitious. Brookline Booksmith, 7:00 pm, free. Speaking of free, he's letting you download the book without dropping a single dime.......

--Revere police arrived to a crime scene today at 3:15 p.m. They reported a fatal stabbing and a non-fatal shooting. There aren't many details available at this point, but a source tells the Herald that the victim was attacked by her son. [Boston Herald] --A Brookline teen was charged with drunken driving after hitting a 21-year-old pedestrian on Comm Ave between Exeter and Fairfield in the Back Bay at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday. He......

Books Susan Choi draws on real-life, high-profile crimes for her literary works. Her last book was American Woman, based on the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, and now she's inspired by her father's real-life experience as a former colleague of the Unabomber in her latest, A Person of Interest. Brookline Booksmith, 7:00 pm, free. Movies Child of the Big City and Daydreams are two silent films from the vanguard of pre-revolution Russian cinema. The former......

Wait--can you hear that? No? Close your eyes and listen carefully: A warm breeze gently rustles the palm trees and drifts over your tan skin. Sparkling blue waves crash into stark white sand; in the distance you hear hula music and laughter. Aloha! You've arrived… Ok, so maybe you can't hop a plane to Hawaii today, but you can take a vacation from the beef stew and pasta you've been eating all winter. This Mahi......

A recent article in the New York Times pondered that constant buzzing question, are Americans willfully stupid? Though it may seem asking this question is a favorite pastime of the popular rag, a recent profile on a bevy of books on the subject argues Americans are less willfully stupid than they are openly hostile towards the smarty-pantses of the nation. Author Susan Jacoby, whose book The Age of Unreason came out last week, says she......

Books Manil Suri's The Age of Shiva follows a woman as she tries to find a life outside male expectations. Meera, a young woman in India, marries the man she desires, only to discover he's Mr. Wrong. Eventually, she throws all her hopes on her son, and the intensity of her feelings prompted the San Francisco Chronicle to call the work "a steamy, hot-out-of-the-oven offering of mother love." Whoa, there! Brookline Booksmith, 7:00 pm,......

Most taquerias in the Boston area are counter service, fast food-type places. You order your burrito and move down the line, making sure you get all the right fillings. But at Taqueria Mexico, in Lynn, Waltham, and Coolidge Corner, Brookline, a hot, cheap, delicious, and sit-down meal is only a few minutes away. The Brookline location is small, with only a handful of tables, so service is quick. Hot and fresh tortilla chips and......

Comedy Just when you're sick of all the caucusing and candidate crap, Jimmy Tingle makes a triumphant local return with his show "Jimmy Tingle for President." Bostonist interviewed the candidate, and he's going to have plenty to say. Regent Theatre, Arlington, 8:00 pm. $30 orchestra / $25 balcony. PS--Mr. Tingle himself told Bostonist another show has been added for next Saturday, February 23. Dirty Movies Be careful who sits behind you tonight as sex......

Manchildren Founder of K Records and former member of Beat Happening, Calvin Johnson mastered precious naivete decades before it became the default indie mode. His off-kilter baritone is what sold it, and he's bringing his voice and an acoustic guitar to Cambridge tonight. Teenbeat Records founder Mark Robinson also performs as Cotton Candy. Lily Pad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, 7:00pm, $10. Men With Children Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers is returning to......

Veggiest Quick Hits -- Happy Valentine's Day! For us being vegan is all about the love. We love our bodies and want to keep them healthy and strong and free of animal products. We love the environment and want to protect it from the extremely destructive practices of factory farming. We love animals and don't want to see them mistreated. You'll most certainly be doing your heart a favor. Heart disease is still one......

Music --The Willows bring to the Middle East Upstairs a brand of Americana country rock inspired by the seasonal carnival scene up in Salem. Alas, no salt water taffy is included in the price of admission. With The Vic Morrows, The Resonance, The Giant Melons. Middle East Upstairs, 472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, doors 9:00, 18+, $8. --While the show has been sold out for weeks, if there's any way you can get in we......

Books --Self-described philosopher-comedians Tom Cathcart and Daniel Klein discuss Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington. Imagine Jon Stewart after he stops shouting "Whaaaa??" takes some time off for a philosophy PhD, and returns to TV. Brookline Booksmith, 7:00 pm, free. --Find out why Drew Gilpin Faust is the president of Harvard, and you're not. Faust will discuss her book This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War at the Harvard Coop......

--A man was shot in the chest in Cambridge last night at the intersection of Windsor and Harvard. Police say the injury is life-threatening. [Boston Globe] --A robber attacked a clerk at the Brookline convenience store One Stop Market, holding a knife to the clerk's throat, on Wednesday. The "other BPD" has released videotape in an effort to track the man down. [Fox 25] --A suspect has been named in the murder of nurse Margaret......

--Word is out that former House Speaker and current WRKO radio-show host is going to drop his plans to become a lobbyist, finally realizing that lobbying while being a talking head might be a conflict of interest. Adam G. joked, "The WRKO job must pay more." [Boston Globe, Universal Hub] --Former Massachusetts governor and now former presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he won't try to be vice-president. But he's changed his mind before. [WCVB]......

Music Cat Power will be at the Orpheum. Last time Bostonist saw her, she seemed a little plowed and, with her dark glasses, she resembled country singer Ronnie Milsap. Since then, she's been hanging out with Karl Lagerfeld. She's different every time, but the music is always memorable. 7:30 pm. It's cosmopolitan night at the MFA, and we aren't talking about drinks. The uber-sophisticated Keren Ann and Dean & Britta will perform. MFA, Remis Auditorium,......

Super Tuesday Obama? Clinton? Romney? Huckabee? Are you getting them all mixed up right about now? Try to get untangled because today is Super Tuesday and the Massachusetts Presidential Primary. Vote so you can at least weed a few of these candidates out. Find out where your polling station is. Girl Scout Cookies Warning: Expensive event ahead. For $45, you can find out what local chefs can do with Girl Scout Cookies, and proceeds will......

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......

The Publick House is known primarily for its beers – a selection of Belgian brews too vast to enumerate. The food menu is not quite as long, but there are some fantastic eats to go along with the great drinks. The Veggie Burger is the top cheap eat pick at $9. The burger is actually made of vegetables – a rarity in the land of veggie burgers. It’s packed with peas, carrots and zucchini, a......

Super Bowl --Looking for a good Super Bowl party? Bring your favorite beer mug to the Milky Way, where the big game will screen, and then you can celebrate with some candlepin bowling. Sponsored by the Mug Project, which wants people to use a mug instead of guzzling their way through disposable cups, and Neighbors for Neighbors. 6:00 pm. --MenuPages also provides listings of restaurants with promising Super Bowl parties, including 75 Chestnut, Big......

--DA Dan Conley has announced a suspect in the murder of Jeffrey Santiago at King Arthur's Lounge in Chelsea--19-year-old Jesse Camacho. Conley has authorized a warrant and wants the public's help in finding him. Here's a description: Camacho goes by the street names of ‘Fat Jesse,’ ‘Baby Jay,’ and ‘Syke.’ He is described as a heavyset Latin male standing between 5’5” and 5’7” tall, weighing about 280 lbs. He is believed to be armed and......

Art The exhibit Rhythms of Modern Life: British Prints 1914–1939 shows the sharp, mechanical-feeling prints that set the artistic tone for the future. Museum of Fine Arts. Read Bostonist's preview of the show. Runs through June 1. Fashion Put away your spindles. Fashionistas can flash forward to the 21st century at Seamless, which showcases "experimental works in computational apparel design." The dry-witted Steven Rosengard of Project Runway 4 will be hosting, and Red Sox......

Music The ICA has invited DJ Spooky (aka Paul D. Miller) to town for an entire weekend. Don't forget--Bostonist has the full scoop and will provide a review. The first event is the talk "Rhythm Science," a multimedia event in which he talks about the ever-changing media landscape and its impact on artists. ICA Boston, 6:30 pm., $12. Books Neil Shubin will read from Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the......