El Presidente of Barstool Sports got a kick out of the Copley Square pillow fight, orchestrated by the Banditos Misterosos. However, it isn't for the reasons you'd think: Now I got to be honest here. I’m kind of pissed I missed this one. I would have loved to start mashing these freaks with pillows. Because the thing about hippies is that they think a pillow fight is all fun and games. But where I......

--More from the pillow fight! --The fallout continues over Governor Deval Patrick's failed casino proposal and House Speaker Sal DiMasi's success in stopping it. Dan Kennedy has called DiMasi a "Bare-Knuckles Do-Gooder." But the Herald notes that those who voted against the proposal may have received certain rewards. [Media Nation / Boston Herald] --Boston College law professors now want to uninvite Attorney General Michael Mukasey from giving the commencement address since he won't say......

Our sources say 400 people showed up to the local action for World Pillow Fight Day at Copley Square, and the fighting went on for a good hour. Derequito was there: And Bailey of Diverted Motion points us to some feather-filled video: Image from Derequito from photos tagged "Bostonist" on Flickr. YouTube video from StalePhish.......

--The Massachusetts House voted overwhelmingly in favor of preliminary approval to pour $1 billion into life sciences investment over 10 years. [WBZ Radio] --Of course Manny Ramirez would forget about $10,000 that the state of Massachusetts owes him. And if you think the state owes you some money, too, go to findmassmoney.com. [Boston Herald] --Is it just us, or is Bridget Moynahan looking better and classier than ever? Or is it just extended Super......

Bookgasms There is no public institution that inspires Bostonist with so many warm feelings as the public library. And there is no charity event quite like a library book sale to make Bostonist into a heartless marauder, fighting tooth and nail with no quarter given nor expected. City-wide Friends of the BPL are offering one today at Copley. Stay out of our freaking way. Central Library, Copley Square, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm. Movies It's......

First Night Monday, December 31 Everywhere (see below) All outdoor events are free. All indoor events are accessible with a First Night button ($15) Official First Night site Wizard-rockers Harry and the Potters will bring the magic to the First Night proceedings. At first, Bostonist was skeptical because, although the masses love their Harry Potter, that gimmick was bound to get old. And then we were thrilled to discover that they play straight-up, fuzzy......

Josh Ritter Tuesday, December 11 Club Passim, Harvard Square 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., $35-$75 (SOLD OUT) When Josh Ritter closed his most recent Somerville show with a rambled monologue in which he dispensed impractical driving directions from Davis Square to Canada (via the Fresh Pond Whole Foods) and plugged his two upcoming benefit concerts at Passim, Bostonist jumped at the chance to see him in such a cozy, acoustic-friendly venue—and so did everyone......

Boston Public Library president Bernard A. Margolis officially lost his job yesterday. It was a move Margolis had seen coming since last May, when Judith Kurland, Thomas Menino's chief of staff told him that his contract would not be renewed beyond its current term. Freed from the constraints of office, Margolis told the Globe what he really thinks about Menino. He's a dummy. An "anti-intellectual" whose reign over Boston Margolis likened to Hugo Chavez's Venezuelan......

If you see incredibly offensive signs or spot a ruckus breaking out at Boston churches tomorrow, don't be surprised. Bostonist wants to warn you that Fred Phelps, the poor excuse for a human being who has picketed funerals of American soldiers with signs that say "GOD HATES FAGS," will be in town this weekend. Sam Baltrusis at EDGE Boston writes, Rev. Fred Phelps and his vitriolic, anti-gay group of supporters will be in Massachusetts on......

Be prepared to take a long lunch break tomorrow. Mayor Menino has announced that Red Sox celebration festivities will begin tomorrow at noon. Bostonist watched the WBZ webcast of Mayor Menino giving the details. The players will be riding in duck boats in a repeat of 2004's "rolling rally." Menino said that the parade will follow the same route as it did in 2004. Here's an image of last year's route from the Globe.......

--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......

Story time. It's early 2001 at a snowy New England college campus. Collegiate-Aged Bostonist takes in a set by San Francisco-based Matt Nathanson in the campus student center. It is Nathanson's birthday and Sister Helen Prejean (of "Dead Man Walking" fame) is also appearing on campus. Did we mention that this is a Catholic college? Nathanson winds up performing a very, very intimate two sets and, we imagine, having a pretty sucky birthday. But Bostonist......

"This is one of my photos I took sometime last week during a magical sunset at Copley Square. The light there during that time of day is really intense, and you would never think it." Photo and commentary from trevorpower.......

This year the 111th Boston Marathon will be run, as usual, on Patriots Day. April 16th. The Boston Athletic Association (BAA) will be producing the event with over 500,000 spectators, as they have since the Marathon began in 1897. The Boston Marathon is the oldest annual marathon in the world - the modern marathon was revived by the Olympics in 1896, but is only run once every four years. As we were looking to......

Dunkin Donuts is giving out free iced coffee all day today to celebrate the arrival of spring. So get out there and enjoy sixteen ounces of the cold, caffeinated stuff! Yesterday they had Vanilla Ice (or Rob Van Winkle, as he prefers to be known) and actor Lenny Clarke from The Winner hosting a karaoke contest in Copley Square. Whoever could create a Dunkin' Donuts themed rap to "Ice Ice Baby" would win all sorts......

Theatre companies and arts journalists nationwide are asking themselves how to generate younger audience interest. The League of American Theatres and Producers reported last year that the theatre audiences are getting younger, but the average age is still 42. Boston serves as a strong model for the rest of the U.S. to check out. The metro area's mix of new (The Boston Conservatory's new "Heaven & Hell -- The Fantastical Temptation of the 7 Deadly......

There is something to be said for aerial photography. It's a great way to see the city on the large. It's expensive to take and it's not very interactive unless you know a pilot and can hop a ride to go check out the sites yourself. There is a company based in LA that is using technology to provide not only an aerial, zoomable view, but also panoramas and time lapse photography using gigapixel digital......

It may be the holidays, but it's been a terrible weekend for the entire city. First was Friday night's Dorchester drive-by that left three wounded, one critically. Last night, two people were stabbed outside Symphony Hall while the Holiday Pops merrily carried on. And then there's yesterday's news of some idiot who held up a priest with a hunting knife - inside the St. Francis Chapel. On top of that incident is the attempted kidnapping......

Hot on the heels of his feature film debut in Jesus Camp (Bostonist's most enthusiastic movie pick in October), megapreacher Ted Haggard faces allegations of methamphetamine use and indiscretions with a male prostitute. Haggard was (until last night) president of the National Association of Evangelicals and senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, where you can rent a "prayer closet" for $25 per night and apparently give new meaning to the phrase for......

Need your seasonally-mandated scary-movie fix, but wary of those Grudge 2's and Saw XXVIII's? Bostonist has researched the alternatives, and alternatives to those alternatives. Thursday 10/26 House of Wax The BPL schedule doesn't specify which House of Wax, but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it's not last year's tepid Paris Hilton vehicle. Boston Public Library (South Boston Branch, 646 East Broadway), 6 pm, free For a gentler, lighthearted ghost story,......

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......

There was a time and a place when Bostonist kept missing upcoming shows in the area because we were too busy to pay attention. Along came Tourfilter. A locally based website (now with worldwide reach) that allows us to take a look at upcoming shows based on the information provided by the venue. Each and every day they let us know who's coming to town, where they'll be, and which of our friends are......

In a world where there's nothing to do but watch movies. In a city full of theaters, museums, and libraries. One moviegoer who can be in three places at once. This week, Al Franken becomes a politician, David Hasselhoff dresses up as a scifi hero, every girl becomes a star, and ancient religious art turns into modern heaps of rubble. Friday 9/29 Piccadilly The Hays Code, adopted by the American film industry in 1930, didn't......

After a sparse, lackadaisical August, the fall semester has arrived with a frenzied syllabus of film screenings: a slew of new documentaries, our favorite Terry Gilliam movies, a notoriously disorganized film festival, and a guest lecture from Bruce Campbell, chainsaw-wielder emeritus. Thursday 9/7 Four Eyed Monsters Two pale, artsy Brooklynites met through online personals, maxed out seven credit cards to make a movie about it, moved back in with their parents in Massachusetts, and made......

Who needs advance reviews when this Bostonist's got an excuse to wear her vintage stewardess uniform to the theater? Thursday 8/17 Snakes On A Plane Jon Stewart: What's the plot? Samuel L. Jackson: Uhhh... Bad guy wants to bring down the plane... Stewart: What's on the plane? Jackson: Victims. Stewart: No no no no. Jackson: Reptiles? Stewart: Yes! Jackson: Poisonous reptiles! Stewart: Yes! Jackson: Snakes on a mother***ing plane! Stewart: They wanted to make it......

In a world where there's nothing to do but watch movies. In a city full of theaters, museums, and libraries. One moviegoer who can be in three places at once. Thursday 8/3 Stolen One of the things that endears the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to us (along with the dim lighting, strict ban on electronic devices, and terse signage) is how the frames of missing paintings hang empty on the walls. (As per Mrs. Gardner's......

Eight Days a Week. The music scene is hot, and we realize that we're not giving you enough lead time on some of the best way to cure a case of the Mondays – with a Monday evening show. This week we're putting eight days into our weekly music picks. Starting on Monday and running through the following week. This week we're eating locally – and listening locally. Several local acts find prominence on......

In a world where there's nothing to do but watch movies. In a city full of theaters, museums, and libraries. One moviegoer who can be in three places at once. Opening Friday 6/9 Clean Maggie Cheung, still inexplicably less popular than Ziyi Zhang in this country, kicks her drug habit in Paris. Kendall Square Cinema Showing through next week, $7-$9.25 IMDB | web site | trailers Sketches of Frank Gehry Sidney Pollack's film documents the......

The MBTA is holding a public hearing regarding the proposed fare hike at the Boston Public Library's main branch in Back Bay this afternoon. Some local bloggers and T-riders have called for a rally to precede the meeting held in Copley Square. Unfortunately the meeting is taking place before the average work day is finished. Getting to the rally and/or the meeting may prove difficult for many, especially if you're taking the T. The series......

We’re working for the weekend and it's only Monday. Rainy day outside and the sun is reported MIA until Wednesday. Despite the current gloom, things are looking mighty green outside - a good sign of spring. Flowering trees have done their thing and soon we’ll be smelling the lilacs. For now we’re settling for another cup of Stella while we soak up the tunes and the increasing temperatures. Monday 4/24: John Vanderslice mk Ultra......