Win or lose, we'd always planned on evaluating the best and the worst Super Bowl commercials. In general, 2008 was a bum year for commercials since most of them seemed to forget to tell the audience what it is they're actually promoting, but a few broke away from the pack. The Best 1. The Doritos commerical with the huge rat/person dressed as a rat. So the word "Doritos" wasn't mentioned, but the rat-person was a......

We could choose to be disappointed. We figured (and we weren't the only ones) that the combination of crappy weather, boisterous fans and motivated personnel would mean the Patriots would kick the Jets' butts up and down the field for three hours. We figured that, even though we're better than New York in every sport right now, yesterday would be a cathartic blowout to soothe any lingering anti-NY feelings around here. Well, not quite. The......

Michael Ian Black With Michael Showalter Thursday, November 29, 7:30pm Somerville Theatre 55 Davis Square, Somerville (T: Davis Square) Get tickets Listen to the Interview Here: Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 20 years, then you've seen the work of comedian/writer/actor/director Michael Ian Black. Let's rattle off just a few of his accomplishments: co-creator of "The State," "Viva Variety," and "Stella." You've seen him co-star in NBC's "Ed," as well as......

4:05 PM: Welcome to the Bostonist live blog of the Patriots/Colts game, live from Bostonist Auxiliary HQ in Central Mass. We're trying to follow the Celtics game right now (45-37, mid-3rd quarter), but the lure of watching Minnesota Vikings rushers destroy San Diego is hard to pass up. 4:15: It's time. Due to contractual obligations, CBS has to cut away from the end of the Viking-Charger game to show us a few commercials before going......

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......

Dear Dane: We know that you have a lot on your plate, what with wrapping up "Bachelor No. 2," recording all these MLB commercials and keeping college kids in a frenzy. So we here at Bostonist wanted to help out. You see, the commercials you've been offering us between innings are driving us mad - as is your hair. We thought that, given the busy day you must have today, we'd help out out a......

There is a lot to love about the MBTA. Its mascot is a man who began a nightmarish lifelong captivity 'neath the streets of Boston when he tried to take the T to Jamaica Plain. It offers Bostonians spontaneous trust exercises. It grants importance to our geographically inclined citizens. And, let's face it, it gets us to work. But America's oldest subway is poised to become America's most annoying. The concept is T-Radio, and it......

--Just because you're old doesn't mean you're done running from the law. 69-year-old Sean Bennett, of Somerville, was driving--badly--on Tremont Street. Although he tried to drive away, the law won. --Forget cuddling up with a blanket. Some guy got plowed on half a bottle of Captain Morgan and snuggled up with a firearm early Sunday morning. Police found 20-year-old Nestor Rosado, of Hyde Park, "passed out on the steps of 19 Mariposa Street." (Yes, we......

We thought it was weird when a former Nader advisor filed suit against Bill Belichick for Videotapegate. But Paul Flannery at the Boston Magazine blog came across what may be the weirdest lawsuit of all time. Jonathan Lee Riches is a convicted felon who likes to file lawsuits. Flannery writes that Riches filed 36 of them in September. In the Pats-related suit, according to the Smoking Gun, Richman hand-writes, "Defendants cheated in the 2005 Superbowl......

Lots of Romney news going around today … Former Massachusetts governor and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney had a bright idea--giving regular voters the chance to make his campaign commercials. The voters could paste together elements provided by Team Romney and their own ideas, and Team Romney has picked the top nine. The winning ad will air on television. Despite Romney's excellent grasp of cutting-edge technology, he put himself in a vulnerable position. Slate.com quickly assembled......

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......

Starbucks, schmarbucks. Dunkin' Donuts thinks it can rule the world. It's rolled out corny commercials with the likes of Naomi Campbell and Rachael Ray leaving skidmarks on a floor. The next step in world domination starts this month, when our beloved Dunkin' Donuts begins selling packaged Dunkin' coffee across the United States at Wal-Mart, Kroger, and other stores. This is excellent news for anyone who no longer lives in New England yet who still feels......

In a move that boggles the mind, Mitt Romney has declared that he won't take part in the Republican version of the CNN/YouTube debate in December. Why? Here's the reason: Asked about the [YouTube] format, which featured video questions submitted by the public, Romney said "There is a degree of respectfulness that ought to be associated with the process for selecting a nominee. From what I've heard, that level of respectfulness was breached." But......

Just over a year ago (in June 2006) the ACLU threatened the MBTA with a lawsuit, alleging that their unwritten policy against amateur photography on the nation's oldest subway system was unconstitutional. Specifically the ACLU asserted that it was a violation of the first amendment rights (free speech specifically, though a fair argument could be made for freedom of press, we challenge you to give us a legitimate application for freedom of religion.) The......

So many car insurance commercials on TV, so little relevance to Massachusetts drivers. This is the only state in the country where insurance rates are set by a government panel, which has worked out well for some folks (bad drivers and insurers willing to play ball) and not so well for other folks (good drivers in bad neighborhoods, big-time out-of-town companies). Now Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burns wants to shake things up, proposing a limited shift......

We're getting a little burnt-out on Mitt Romney because the man seems to be everywhere. But we were curious to find out what happened when Mitt Romney took the big-money types to Fenway Park. It's surprising that Romney would set foot in Massachusetts, especially since he claimed that he tamed the state in one of his first campaign commercials. But people can't say no to Fenway. And, if they can afford nice tickets, then they......

Text messages aren't just our favorite way to vote Sanjaya off of American Idol, they're also the quickest way to get in touch, no matter where we are. The mobile is always close at hand (and usually in the pocket) if we're at a concert, in class, or even in the cube toiling away on our TPS reports a text message won't likely go ignored for long. A number of US colleges and universities have......

Do they have to keep picking on us? Wired published a story today about new wave advertising. The lead paragraph made mention of the January 31 boondoggle by the Boston Police"These types of marketing tactics will not and should not be tolerated," vowed Boston Mayor Thomas Menino after the now-infamous blinking LED ads for the Cartoon Network's Aqua Teen Hunger Force were discovered on bridges and underpasses, leading to a bomb scare that shut down......

The Super Bowl is supposed to be a face-off between the two best football teams, but it's also a free-for-all among corporations as they scramble for your advertising dollars. This year seemed a touch uninspired, but a few ads were either funny enough or odd enough to stand out. Bostonist braved all the commercials and brings the best to you. We'd also like to hear your thoughts on the ads in the comments. Without further......

While all those Midwest folks are placing their bets on the home town team, we'll be sitting tight watching commercials and betting some squares like we just don’t care. Just like we don't care because we don't, the Pats are already out. So we're in it to win it with the boys of summer this year. Pitchers and Catchers report in about two weeks on February 17. Sometime between now and then the equipment truck......

Justin Long as Mac, John Hodgman as PC. The serial ads illuminating why the Mac is so much hipper than the PC have left many with mixed feelings about their preferred platform. Hodgman is hilarious, no matter if his platform is books, the Daily Show, or comedy tours. It's hard not to like him, even if Apple Computer, Inc. wants to play him off as the bad guy who's prone to virus infection and poor......

Texas is thawing, the Northeast is freezing, and a sort of natural order seems almost restored to the Ist-A-Verse. Almost. Londonist HQ—that is to say, the city of London—was battered by heavy winds, making it a bad time to be a twelve-meter (nearly forty-foot) tall snowman. Still, not everyone decided to keep warmly covered. Meanwhile, back indoors, the Big Brother racism is now causing all kinds of headaches for international diplomats, and Londonist got into......

Soon, our Eastern friends will find themselves as addicted to donuts and coffee as we are if Dunkin' Donuts has its way. Yesterday, Dunkin' Donuts put out a press release to declare the company has opened a store in Taipei, Taiwan. Besides the obvious donuts, the Taipei menu includes "sweet potato, green apple and pineapple doughnuts, and mochi rings." The Wall Street Journal reported that Dunkin' Donuts won't shock the Taiwanese customers with coffee just......

When the MBTA rolls the first trains at the start of service on Monday morning it will be on a Sunday schedule for the holiday and the 2007 fare increase will be in full effect. There's still a lot of confusion as to how the changes will effect riders and we're going to attempt to run down the most significant changes below. CharlieTicket and Cash: Both these methods will cost the most. $1.50 for a......

Well, not really. No one is actually named Jordan, it's a little unclear where that name even came from in the first place. In 1999 Jordan's was sold to Berkshire Hathaway for somewhere in the neighborhood of $225 Mil, in cash. Barry and Eliot Tatelman remained in control of the day to day operations of the stores – and as the personalities advertising them on radio and television. But Barry just peaced and is looking......

While Bostonist preferred the first gubenatorial debate in which Independent Christy Mihos and Republican Kerry Healey practically got into a knock-down, drag-out catfight, last night's debate at Faneuil Hall followed a more classic debate model, in which the candidates sent out messages that worked on an explicit and a subliminal level. Explicitly, the politicians appeared to focus on the needs of the people. Subliminally, Republican Kerry Healey's reputation as an animatronic aristocrat was sealed.......

Bostonist is by no means immune to the pseudo-historical un-period pieces opening this weekend, Marie Antoinette and The Prestige, or to the less new but equally pretty Illusionist (now at our favorite theater for cheap matinees) and Camille (it's like Moulin Rouge, but with character development). But today we'd like to draw your attention to a documentary about an obscure local band called the Pixies and to the abundance of short film collections being offered......

We knew Deval Patrick was in the race last year – he threw his hat in early. If it weren't for that pesky Romney character we would have known Kerry Healey was in the race earlier. After primary voting yesterday it finally became clear who the front-runners in the race for Governor would be. Deval Patrick picked up 50% of the democratic primary vote to beat out his challengers Chris Gabrieli and Tom Reilly. There......

Besides bombarding us with commercials of Meryl Streep's Anna Wintourized face, the movie people behind The Devil Wears Prada are launching a nationwide free caffeine break this afternoon for all those lowly assistants who work hard for a living. While New York and L.A. have numerous participating coffee houses, our fair city only has the following four joining in the Devil promotion running from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. today. (Update: The freebie is a large......

While Bostonist is stuck in the office this week with our co-workers on vacation, we’ve noticed that things are not only quiet at work, but in the news arena too. We’ve kept ourselves occupied with this SNL skit floating around the web and now we’re rounding up the latest news stories from the past couple days so you can read them and then keep on eating those leftover holiday chocolates next to the copy machine.......