In the midst of our fleeting lives, one sometimes feels called to take a stand. A meaningless but symbolic stand. Two towns in Vermont, Brattleboro and Marlboro, about two hours northwest of Boston, passed resolutions calling for President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney to be arrested if they ever enter the towns' jurisdiction in southern Vermont. The ballot asked voters to indict our nation's executives for "crimes against our Constitution." The vote......

In a city packed with top colleges and brilliant thinkers, the word "nerd" is bound to strike a nerve. "Nerd" and "Geek" are commonly considered insults, but many Bostonians have shrugged off the label and are either enjoying success or are on their way to success in scholarly pursuits. So-called nerds live here in a fairly safe haven. But sometimes, nerd contempt bubbles up. Witness the anger against MIT student Star Simpson, who walked into......

Rudy Giuliani might be out of the presidential spotlight, but one of his comments regarding the Boston Red Sox is back to haunt him thanks to the Topps Baseball Card Company. The supposed die-hard Yankee fan will be in the background of a card featuring the celebration of the Boston Red Sox winning the 2007 World Series. To refresh your memory, a reporter asked Rudy who he was rooting for last October and he......

Tina Cervasio, whose aerodynamic behind put Papelbon in a state of awe, is leaving NESN at the end of March. Wailing and gnashing of teeth ensued, as New England--not to mention players--were besotted with Cervasio. What happened? Cervasio was a big enough name that it would be surprising if NESN didn't fight to keep her. The Track Girls say, however, that Cervasio wanted more money in her contract, and http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1070220&srvc=home&position=2">NESN wasn't willing to cough up.......

Ted Kennedy catches a lot of crap just being himself. Ted-Kennedy-As-Orator is probably Jon Stewart's second-favorite impression after the George W. Bush chuckle. Throw in the alleged drinky-drinky, and Ted Kennedy makes for quite the media spectacle. Since he announced his endorsement of presidential aspirant Barack Obama, the Peanut Gallery has renewed its love affair with poking fun at Teddy. But Glenn Beck at Headline News hurt our brains when he started imagining our Senator......

MAKE: put us on the alert that LED art is all over the city today, and the Bush-Meets-Mooninite piece is only one of the samples visible at the MAKE: Blog. Are you seeing any Lite-Brite world leaders and religious figures flipping you the bird today? MAKE lists the locations of a few of the critters. Image from the MAKE: Blog.......

Hillary Clinton has a strong chance of becoming president, if it weren't for the continued momentum of Barack Obama. However, no matter how much hope and Oprah Obama ladles on the land, Clinton will always have one strong advantage--former president Bill Clinton. Is that entirely fair? Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy, who knows a thing or two about political dynasties, says no. Kennedy hasn't bestowed his endorsement on anyone, but he has, according to Jonathan Alter......

Music Kimya Dawson has long been one of those buried indie-rock treasures, at least until the release of Juno. The former member of the Moldy Peaches and avid livejournal diarist contributes a large part of the soundtrack, and stars Ellen Page and Michael Cera cover one of her songs, "Anyone Else But You." In fact, Page suggested that Dawson be on the soundtrack since she felt Juno would be a Moldy Peaches fan. Bostonist......

Former Massachusetts governor and presidential aspirant Romney is putting his New England Spanking behind him and focusing entirely on winning the Michigan primary. He has pulled advertising from South Carolina and Florida and is going whole hog. Michigan seems to be loving the attention, at least according to the AP. Writer Glen Johnson declared that Romney received a "Hero's Welcome." But it's still not the kind of welcome Romney was expecting only a few weeks......

Celebrity sightings in New Hampshire were common. For example, the ubiquitous Chuck Norris was with Mike Huckabee, and Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins were with John Edwards. And we all know about "Cooter." However, the New York Times was privy to a few wacky rumors: One man telling his friend that Curt Schilling, the Boston Red Sox pitcher, had been in the state campaigning for Senator John McCain. The friend then said he had also......

--Three firefighters were injured in a blaze in Weymouth. At first, officials suspected arson because the home was about to be sold, but they've since declared it accidental. [WBZ] --Firefighters could use a dose of good PR, but it's not coming. On the heels of cheating accusations, some firefighters are under suspicion of boosting their disability pensions by claiming their injuries took place when they were filling in for higher-paid superiors. [Boston Globe] --In a......

Music Hallelujah the Hills will continue their commitment to banishing collective psychosis with indie rock. With Faces on Film. See today's earlier post for the glorious details of this show. Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge, 9:00 pm. Comedy If actor, comedian, occasional HuffPo blogger Rick Overton seems familiar, it's because he was God. Really. He's been in scads of movies and TV shows, and he played God on "Joan of Arcadia." Comedy Connection, Faneuil Hall, 8:00......

--A 22-year-old man was shot in Roxbury outside Packy's Pub early this morning. He is now in critical condition. The Globe reports that police learned about the shooting from ShotSpotter. --BPD News is back with a flood of Christmas news. On Friday, allegedly inebriated young men annoyed the police. Four young men from Milton (who were a little old to be from the Academy) showed up at a party in Brighton. They had not been......

Mayor Thomas Menino probably won't be happy with today's Boston Herald. The lead story paints a picture of Menino as a master player of the blame game. The article seems to be the result of Menino's rage after the snowstorm mess. Jessica Van Sack writes that people noticed Menino didn't step up and admit that any of those problems were his fault. It's old-school "you smelt it, you dealt it" politics. The piece suggests that......

Given that there were no local games to be had on Tuesday evening, we here at Bostonist wanted to dig below the surface, uncover some little-known facts about the local sports scene and its ripple effect. And did we* come up with some gems for you! -- Mike Ditka Doesn't Like the Pats! As we mentioned Tuesday afternoon, Ditka spoke out after Sunday's Pats win and said that Tom Brady was as wrong for acknowledging......

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......

Former Massachusetts governor and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney has decided to reassure voters about his Mormon faith in a speech. He typically diverted questions away from his faith in interviews--but former Arkansas governor, the folksy Weight Watchers posterboy Mike Huckabee, is posing a surprise challenge. Politico is already calling the speech a "huge gamble," but it might help. Romney's faith is the one thing he hasn't flip-flopped on. It's sad that some people can't leave......

The cold weather - and holiday festivities - descended upon Gothamist. The Rockefeller Christmas tree was lit, Broadway stagehand finally ended their strike, and NASCAR decided to run their victory lap through Times Square. There were disturbing photographs revealing the working conditions in which many city manholes are produced and ninjas were also a hot topic, either robbing homes or entering into alibis. But the city was really rocked by how Rudy Giuliani's visits......

"There's always a small cataclysm," Merry Rutrick explained. "That's what we talk about." Rutrick is a co-host of Drinking Liberally Boston, and the cataclysm last Wednesday night was the impending vote in the US House to overturn President Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program funding bill. "I'm so psyched that Tsongas got elected," said co-host Ethan Tavan. "I hope she gets sworn in in time for the vote." (She did, and......

Authorial Intent is Bostonist's wrap-up of readings around the city. Thursday, October 18 Joan Blades, 6:30 pm, Rabb Auditorium, Boston Public Library, Ford Hall Forum Series. Blades is the cofounder of moveon.org, and she's got a lot on her mind besides "General Betray-Us," which Congress gnawed on like they had nothing better to do. She'll be talking about momsrising.org, her organization that pushes for more rights for moms and families. Saturday, October 20 Frank, Mark,......

Jimmy Tingle called Bostonist yesterday to console us about the closing of Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway in Davis Square. Tingle admitted in the conversation that the sheer work involved with running the theater was taking its toll, and he needed a break. He said, "I've done this, and I basically need to do something else." He stressed that his decision to close the Theater had nothing to do with the fact that the lease was......

Democrat Niki Tsongas won today's race to replace Rep. Marty Meehan in the Fifth Congressional District. Tsongas, who was backed by some serious Democrat firepower, defeated Republican Jim Ogonowski. Ogonowski put up a fight when it came to percentages. Tsongas had 51 percent of the vote, while Ogonowski had 45 percent. Tsongas is the widow of the late Senator and one-time presidential candidate Paul Tsongas and a dean at Middlesex Community College. She is the......

As it gets closer to Halloween for LAist, a contributer recollects her tale of staring down the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, otherwise known as the Night Stalker. Must think happy thoughts -- okay, free organic chocolate chip cookies for Los Angeles -- now that's a happy thought. Other happy Los Angeles thoughts include an interview with Jack Kehler of The Big Lebowski (he was the Dude's landlord), a beautiful and magical photographic moment in Venice......

Authorial Intent spotlights readings throughout the area. All events are free unless otherwise noted. Michelle Wildgen, You're Not You, Wednesday, October 3, 7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith. In Wildgen's debut novel, which is enjoying glowing reviews, Bec, a drifting college student, takes care of Kate, an older, sophisticated woman dying from ALS. The two grow close, and soon Bec is taking care of business for Kate - such as carrying out a clever little way to......

Current Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick is ripping on former Massachusetts governor and political aspirant Mitt Romney over health care. Patrick also pointed out that Romney's "aw, shucks" demeanor doesn't properly advertise the product within the package. Patrick said of Romney, "He's a nice fellow. But a shameless candidate." That line has echoes of the Southern "bless your heart," in which a person delivers an insult and cushions it with the line "bless your heart." The......

John Kerry just can't catch a break. First there was that whole losing the presidency to G.W. thing, then the lack of education lands you in Iraq comment, and now this. A local Florida news station is reporting that a University of Florida student was tasered after asking John Kerry possibly controversial questions that included whether Kerry was in the "Skull and Crossbones" society with George W. Bush. That's the short story. Upon reviewing the......

"Authorial Intent" is Bostonist's fledgling attempt to wrap up all the readings in Greater Boston. Steve Almond, Thursday, September 13, 7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith. Read Bostonist's interview with Steve Almond. His latest book is named (Not that You Asked). Rest assured, if you ask, Almond will answer. In great and glorious detail. Brookline Booksmith's latest e-mail blast warns that, if you plan on attending, you better bring candy if you know what's good for you.......

After announcing 23 percent growth in Harvard's endowment, Mohamed El-Erian, the man largely credited for raking in all that dough and president of Harvard Management Company, has announced that he is leaving. El-Erian is going back to California and rejoining his previous employer, Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO). He also told the Crimson that he wants to be closer to family. After all the resignations in the Bush Administration to "spend more time with......

Steve Almond's (Not that You Asked) will be sold in bookstores starting today. He will be reading at Brookline Booksmith on Thursday, September 13, at 7:00 pm. Almond spoke with Bostonist right after Karl Rove resigned, so we caught him when he really raging against The Man. He resigned from Boston College when BC invited Condoleezza Rice to speak at their commencement, so he didn't mince words when it came to Rove or any other......

If you thought Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy has been around forever, you would be right. The man is old. And Congress has proof - he was recently honored for casting his 15,000th roll call vote in the Senate. The only ones who beat him are the still-alive-but-barely Robert Byrd and the dead-as-a-doornail Strom Thurmond. It's finally a bit of good news for Kennedy, whose family recently encountered a White Van Man, whose ex-wife was found......