When celebrities come to town to make movies, they usually descend upon us in a flash, look pretty, drink our booze, eat our ice cream and zip back out again. But Ricky Gervais, who is making a movie in Lowell, is leaving us a little something special in his blog. After a rocky start in which Gervais made fun of the Lowell Sun and the Lowell Sun responded in kind, Gervais appears to be back......

Bostonist called it! Once we wondered if Tom Brady was evolving into his panty model girlfriend Gisele Bundchen. Well, he might be. The New York Post has unleashed a bombshell that Brady, who is a Stetson model and a Smart Water model and an everything model, might be donning Calvin Klein underwear for a new series of ads. The Calvin Klein label has a sweet tooth for New England men, as Mark Wahlberg once......

The Hasty Pudding, the filet mignon to the Harvard Lampoon's ground chuck, has announced the recipients of its Hasty Pudding award. This year, Charlize Theron is Woman of the Year, and Christopher Walken will be Man of the Year. The Crimson announced that Theron will be honored with a parade and roast on February 7, while Walken will be honored on February 15. Walken has been spotted here recently while filming The Lonely Maiden. And......

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......

Like Vince Wilfork, Tom Brady proves that when you're a New England Patriot, you can do whatever the hell you want. Unlike Wilfork, Brady isn't overdoing his macho. Instead, the gossip site TMZ spotted him toting a little dog carrier (screengrab from TMZ, head to the site for the full video): Let's not try to give him too much crap for the small dog. He had just met a supposedly overzealous fan who claimed that......

As any Massachusetts resident well knows, former governor and Republican presidential aspirant Mitt Romney can transform himself overnight. One minute, he's the moderate governor of a liberal state. The next, he's a staunch conservative who claims that he somehow tamed the residents of that state. In the second and last installment of the Year in Mitt Mashups, we'll look at the various disguises Romney wears: An Osmond Mitt Romney has never shied away from being......

Since Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is sticking around Boston and it's campaign time, he's dipping his toe into the waters of politics again by endorsing Republican John McCain for president. Having Schilling near New Hampshire must make McCain feel a little better. In New Hampshire, he can compete with Mike Huckabee, who is on the rise thanks to an endorsement from Chuck Norris. When it comes to tough guys with a political bent to......

Oprah Winfrey was in Manchester, New Hampshire, last night as part of her very public endorsement of presidential candidate Barack Obama, and 8,500 people showed up to hear her. The Herald sent Jessica Heslam and Mike Underwood up there. They interviewed several people who seemed to be more swayed by the celebrity endorsement than by Barack Obama's record. One woman said, "Just because Oprah believes in him, maybe there's more to him." While that surely......

--This week, Spatch revealed that he has been living with a celebrity and has been hiding it from the world all this time. [Derspatchel] --Joel Brown is puzzled over the Attorney General's decision that the Citi Center was "generally consistent" with other charities when it came to the money it gave to its CEO. [HubArts] --Men will soon have access to Manolos. And the leopard-print sandals are insane! [On Common Ground] --Carrying your own bag......

Oprah and Obama Sunday, December 9 Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, NH Doors at 6:00 pm, rally at 7:30 pm You can knock, but you might not get in. Waiting List As the presidential race heats up, Barack Obama isn't messing around. He's already been to Boston several times and paid extra-special attention to New Hampshire, but now he's uncorking his secret weapon--Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey will be with Obama in South Carolina Sunday morning, and then......

Donald Trump might be serious about putting a casino in Massachusetts after all. The Globe is reporting that Donald Trump and Charles Sarkis, who owns Wonderland, are talking. Matt Viser points out that this could touch off a battle between Trump Wonderland and Suffolk Downs. Sarkis and Suffolk Downs owner Richard Fields had been in talks in the past to join forces, but Trump could drive a wedge in that relationship. Viser writes, Fields and......

--Where have all the gay bars gone? Robert David Sullivan writes that we should be concerned about their disappearance: "In the Boston area, many of Harvard Square's bookstores, Kenmore Square's student eateries, and myriad other places that guaranteed a diverse urban experience have closed their doors, replaced by a far more uniform lineup of bank branches, chain stores, and upscale restaurants." A must-read. [Boston Globe] --If you haven't noticed with the cold temperatures and long......

Billy Joel said "Only The Good Die Young," but let's just say he has no idea what he's talking about, and only the really good die at the ripe old ages of, say, 69. So goes the news for Friday, November 30th, as Evel Knievel - a legendary stuntman who's fame hasn't been succeeded by generations to follow. One can only wonder with the speed of technology and special effects if masters of amazement......

There's more perks to being a BPD officer besides police details. The Globe did a feature on Michael O'Connor, the police officer who must handle traffic and keep an eye on stars who are filming movies in Boston. The gist of the story is that O'Connor has been busier lately with The Lonely Maiden starring Morgan Freeman, William H. Macy, and Christopher Walken. O'Connor is also keeping an eye on Real Men Cry with Ethan......

--Paul F. Ware Jr., the special prosecutor looking into the Big Dig has cost the state $1 million so far. Maybe, if the AG's office actually gets around to getting some money out of Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, they can foot the bill. [Boston Globe] --More gratuitous limos and tour buses in New Hampshire! Oprah's coming to town to campaign for Obama! She'll be in Manchester, NH, on December 9. [WBZ] --The Worcester Telegram & Gazette gets......

Iranian Film Festival The Red Card (Carte ghermez) Mahnaz Afzali, 74 minutes, documentary, Persian with subtitles Saturday, November 17, 3:15 pm Remis Auditorium, MFA, Boston $10, Tickets and More Info While Iran's culture seems largely shut off from the United States or represented by the face of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the culture shares two strong similarities with that of America--celebrity worship and an attraction to bizarre crimes. The documentary The Red Card is like the OJ......

A kind tipster sent along an e-mail announcing a special website devoted to David, the Somerville LARPer who is currently competing on "Beauty and the Geek." Some of David's college friends have decided to give their friend a boost and find him a date. They have built the site in his honor, and they list all kinds of reasons why a woman want to meet him in person. If you are interested in a geek......

MBTA commuters connecting through Airport, North and South Stations had a touching reunion this morning... with the sound of their own thoughts. T-Radio has been suspended. And a month early at that. Evidently, hearing a steady stream of lite rock, celebrity gossip and commercials through speakers with the fidelity of a Fisher Price record player while held captive on a subway platform turned out not to be as popular among Bostonians as was once......

"Authorial Intent" wraps up book events for the week in the Boston area. Wednesday, October 24 Chris Matthews, 6:00 pm, Coolidge Corner (via Brookline Booksmith), $5 Recently, Jon Stewart sank his fangs into Matthews for pimping the concept that "Life's a Campaign," which is, admittedly, a little scary. Bostonist prefers the old saw that life is a bowl of cherries. Watch what Matthews has dubbed the "interview from hell," and you'll already be armed with......

Adaptations II: Novels into Film Thursday, October 11, 7:30pm, Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline Co-Sponsored by Grub Street Tickets: $15/$12 (for Grub Street or Coolidge Corner members) More information here. As if there weren't enough literary events happening in Boston today, the Coolidge Corner and Grub Street are bringing you their second Adaptations event. As the name implies, the focus is on novels that have been adapted for the screen. Four novelists, Arthur Golden, Russell Banks,......

Bridget Moynahan, BabyMomma to Tom Brady (she also happens to be an actress though many have forgotten that), wasn't kidding when she gave her son the last name of "Moynahan." TMZ dug around and got a copy of the birth certificate, which it emblazoned on its website. Little John Edward Thomas, aka "JET," must be the Celebrity Baby of the Moment. The TMZ post, which just confirms what people already knew, generated 81 comments last......

Ann Patchett, Wednesday, September 26, 6:00 pm, Coolidge Corner (via Brookline Booksmith) The author of Bel Canto situates her latest book in Boston, and the plot should seem awfully familiar - the head of a political family tries to perpetuate a political dynasty. A Boston mayor steps down and tries to drive two of his adopted sons into politics. In the span of one day, events unfold that might change those plans. Vincent Lam, Wednesday,......

Bridget Moynahan, Tom Brady's ex and baby mama, and little John Edward Thomas Moynahan will be on the cover of OK! Magazine tomorrow in a set of exclusive photos. OK! Magazine belongs to the Cult of Celebrity Momma Worship. Moms rule - only if they're famous. Just like so many celeb rags, OK! focuses on how mothers lose baby weight, chatters over baby bumps, and delivers cringe-worthy feature headlines like "J-Lo Looks Preg-O!" Somehow, linking......

--Julie Balise of the Northeastern News spotted Alec Baldwin, shooting for Bachelor No. 2 (who isn’t?), saying nice things about toddlers and performing eternal damage control after he left a nastygram on his daughter's voicemail. Yes, Bostonist subscribes to the NU News feed for items other than its crime log, but we do love its crime log so. --Ben Affleck was in town to preview the movie he directed, Gone Baby Gone, which has been......

You know those TGIFriday's commercials, where they portray the hard workers of today sitting at a round table and laughing, drinking, and eating inexpensive but tasty comfort foods to celebrate the end of another work week? Not this time. This Friday, it's time for a fast, light meal and one or all of the variety of events going on in this city. It seems there's been a lot more nightlife lately, with parties happening left......

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers market......

--While fitness guru Richard Simmons was tormenting the Fox 25 news crew, rapper LL Cool J was teaching fitness moves to AARP conventioneers at the Convention & Exposition Center. The Globe did a long piece on LL and his hotness, lingering up on one of his exercise moves: At one point, Cool J [Copyediting question: How does one find a rapper's surname?] demonstrated an exercise that required lying on his back, thrusting one leg in......

Now that it's fall and writers are stepping out for tours, we'll be offering a spotlight on the best of the week's readings. You'll still see book reviews and interviews with authors, but "Authorial Intent" will help you get the jump on tickets so you don't wind up out in the cold. Also, it's impossible to read everything, so please e-mail Bostonist if "Authorial Intent" misses anything. Thursday, September 6, 7:00 pm, Robert Whitcomb and......

Tom Brady has had a lot on his mind as of late: the upcoming Pats season, the new arrival of lil' JET Moynahan, making sure to spend enough quality time with Gisele Bundchen. We get it. It's tough to be a multi-millionaire football star, famous hottie and anything-but-typical Boston guy. But this flip-flopping business has got to stop. Boston.com features today some photos of Tom and Gisele hanging out Wednesday in the Back Bay, and......

Were we sore baseball losers, we might snicker about how Johnny Damon's version of a home run is about as wussy as his arm. We could hypothesize about what Yankee operative snuck into the Red Sox clubhouse to tamper with the Icy Hot Manny Ramirez and Bobby Kielty were using to prevent their backs from seizing up during play. We might even politely ask Cameron Diaz to quit jinxing our team and instead focus on......