Movies --The ultimate sci-fi slumber party will happen with the 33rd Annual Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival, where this year's theme is "The Future is Passe," and the main event is a screening of A Boy and His Dog, starring Don Johnson. Get more details. Somerville Theatre, Davis Square, 12:00 noon, running through 12:00 noon the next day. Gender Bending Trannies take the stage for Traniwreck, Boston's only all-gender, all-genre burlesque variety show. Expect comedy,......

The point of the holidays is to give as much as you receive, and tonight's chosen events (plus one announcement) have the giving spirit in mind. Music Benefit for Jeanne Sheehy at T.T. the Bear's with Jonny Pape, Auto Interiors, Joyce & Chick of Scarce, Downbeat 5, AdFrank, The Pills, and the Shods (who are returning after what their site describes as "a few years of vacation." 10 Brookline St., Cambridge, 9:05 pm. More......

COLOR Friday, December 7th Milky Way Lounge 403 Centre Street Jamaica Plain, MA 9pm / 21+ / $5 MySpace w/ resident Joseph Colbourne special guest: David Shaw A recently added night to Boston's blossoming dance party scene, COLOR - hosted by Ben Sisto - takes on a handful of meanings. Open to all, the genres spun cover a vibrant variety. The idea behind it, too, is to join art and music, bringing in guests......

--The banner brawl continues. The Highway Department decided that the banners declaring support for the troops that hang over the roadways pose a potential road hazard. That decision poses a potential PR nightmare, and Governor Deval Patrick has put it on hold. [Boston Globe] --Corinne Stephen, 26, was sentenced to 8 to 12 years for the involuntary manslaughter of her foster child, 4-year-old Dontel Jeffers. [DA's Office, background] --A longshoreman fessed up to putting......

It's not often that an event, by its very existence, gives the lie to two powerful stereotypes about a place. But in a city known for neither its happy hours nor its tacos, Bella Luna's Taco Happy Hour does just that. Let's be clear. There are no five-cent beers at this happy hour, no discounted shots named after infamous sexual acts. But there are tacos. Four different kinds, all prepared on fresh corn tortillas, all......

There's a little trick we've picked up. Walk a little bit and shave $5 off your cab fare. Not only are you more likely to find an empty cab on Tremont Street at 2 a.m. but there will be less navigating one way streets than if you try and pick it up from Faneuil Hall af bar close (when everyone else is looking for a ride). Of course it's not foolproof, luckily most of......

There are a couple of spring events we've gotten used to. Free iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts or a scoop from Ben and Jerry's make their appearance in March and April, respectively, about a month apart. This year JP Licks joins the crew of freebie days. May 17, 2007 will be the first free coffee day at all 7 of their locations. They're hoping to prove how awesome their coffee is by giving it away......

Today the Globe ran a piece on Jackson Square. Void from the coverage was any mention of "cultural center," ample coverage was given to "crime stricken area." Jackson Square a precarious area between Roxbury and Jamaica Plain has been discussed as the anchor to the stretch of Centre Street to be renamed "Avenue de las Americas." Though we haven't heard much about the renaming initiative since it was first floated back in August. Avenue de......

Bostonist loves us some ice cream. We're too lazy (and full of ice cream) to find the statistic that says New Englanders eat more ice cream than anyone else in the nation. We're pretty sure that our winter intake of creamy deliciousness tops the summer consumption of other parts of the country. Are we proud? Yes. We've got our share of local chains and independent parlors to find our tasty treats – and Jamaica Plain-based......

The Boston Globe reports today on an initiative by some local Latin American groups that is gaining support among some city officials. The City is considering renaming a portion of Centre Street in Jamaica Plain "Avenue de las Americas. At-Large City Council member Felix Arroyo, and Boston's first Hispanic council member, was named in the report as a supporter of the proposal. The idea is to give recognition to the portion of Centre Street......

No one likes bike-related head injuries less than Bostonist. Last fall we had an unfortunate run-in with the unused trolley tracks on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain. Riding at a too-shallow angle to the tracks, our front tire jammed in the groove and we were rudely and rapidly sent over the handlebars and onto our head. Banged up but generally intact, we were helped to our feet by kindly passersby, and, after a brief self-inspection,......

Baby its cold outside. The weather has brought us temperatures that we’re not quite ready to handle. Bostonist doesn’t want to go outside and find our next meal. Sitting in our apartment we’re deciding if we’re going to venture out and sit in a toasty restaurant to dig up dinner or if take out or, better yet, delivery is in our future. Where do we turn? The internets of course. Two new services have made......

Yesterday Bostonist got an interesting link while looking up the location of our new dentist. Amazon’s A9 search service has launched a “block view” for Boston yellow pages searching. The results are cool, and remind us what the city looks like when there isn’t 4 feet of snow piled in front of everything. According to the A9 site they traveled the streets with trucks equipped with digital cameras and GPS systems, then linked the......