If you didn't know, cows are eating chocolate these days because corn is too expensive. But with the rising candy prices, will chocolate byproducts remain an affordable alternative for cow farmers seeking cheap feed? This remains to be seen. But if you find an M&M in your steak, don't be too surprised. Fortunately, there are a few grass-fed beef options locally, if you prefer your cows to eat a junk-free diet.......

We're sure you've been lusting after lobster rolls since reading The Great Bostonist Lobster Rollover posts, so you'll be happy to hear that lobster prices are down. Several restaurants are offering fixed-price lobster dinners, or you can go the DIY route and make your own lobster roll--for even less than ours cost us! Yum.......

Image tagged Bostonist by pappatom Iran missile photo appears doctored. [NYT] Feds say Frannie and Freddie are fine. [NYT] Dog tracks may become simulcast central if dog racing is banned. [Herald] Final Jeopardy featured a question about an MTV show last night. The world is over. [Gawker] Instead of retirement, Baby Boomers are getting new careers. [Globe] Disney has made a day spa for robots. Sorta. [Loaded Gun Boston]......

Young Turks Two Art Exhibit Nave Gallery 155 Powder House Blvd, Somerville Through November 4 Hours: Friday 5:00-8:00 p.m., Saturday & Sunday 1:00-5:00 p.m. (Also featuring Alasdair Roberts, Charalambides, and Heather Leigh Murray Friday from 8:00-10:00 p.m.) Look in your wallet. How many credit cards do you have in there? How many pieces of plastic that identify you, confirm your existence, enable your participation in our corporate economy? How many of these actually reveal......

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......

Governor Deval Patrick has signed off on a "tax holiday" that will encourage people to go shopping and juice the local economy. If you don't feel like paying the state's 5 percent sales tax, then you can drop your bucks on whatever you like as long as it doesn’t go over $2,500 on the weekend of August 11 and 12. Massachusetts has done this in the past because maybe the schools, the transportation, and......

Today it seems like anyone can get an honorary degree. Even Pats owner Robert Kraft got one at this year's UMass-Boston graduation. But some honorary degrees get sticky. For example, twenty years ago, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe received an honorary degree at UMass. Today, UMass trustees are reconsidering their decision today. According to the Globe, "the Undergraduate Student Senate at UMass-Boston unanimously passed a request to retract the degree." And for good reason. Although he......

Allegedly Robert P. Dooley has defrauded Home Depot of enough money to build his own house. Approximately $330k of merchandise was swiped by the former IRS official. The Boston Globe reports that the former Salem resident would walk into a Home Depot store, fill his cart with “floor tiles, casement windows, sliding doors, or other items” and bypass the checkout line. He'd head straight to the returns line (always a painfully long line in Bostonist's......

Daisuke Matsuzaka Mania has already jumped the shark, and the season hasn't even started yet. The Globe had a long, loving look at how the arrival of Matsuzaka is going to juice up Boston's economy. (Better hide Pastor Wall's warning to tourists about the risks of getting shot around here.) We are anticipating Matsuzaka's official debut as much as the next sports fan. And we are tickled that one guy is expected to pump $14......

The Globe has an interesting article today by Marcella Bombardieri about how aging faculty members might be affecting the university hiring system. The thrust of the piece is that professors who refuse to retire may be "plugging the pipeline" for young academics hoping for one of the rare plum professorial gigs, resulting in a conflict between the wisdom of elders and the fresh new ideas younger academics might bring. But the article doesn't mention the......

Today is May Day, which in the old days, when labor had some clout in this country, meant unruly socialist rallies and general anarchy in the streets. In this more civilized time, we have learned to peg our obligatory working man's holiday to a long weekend, guaranteeing that most wage slaves will be home grilling rather than out seeking to overthrow their duly elected government. Perhaps conscious of the date's history, many of the same......

In Bostonist’s experience, the southeast corner of Foss Park, at the corner of Broadway and McGrath Highway in Somerville, serves two purposes: In the afternoons of fair weather days, it is the gathering place for Somervillians of all ages wishing to play team sports on the park’s many fields. In the early mornings of all days, rain and shine, it is the gathering place for immigrant day laborers, who wait to be picked up by......

Bostonist hates to beat an uninsured horse, but big news is big news: The state House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed Speaker Sal DiMasi's proposal to provide healthcare to practically everyone, mostly by taxing businesses. Business groups had initially complained that the proposal imposed an unfair double-tax on certain companies with highly paid employees. Not surprisingly, the correction of this problem didn't change their minds. Bostonist will be interested to see how the Governor, who has......

The Boston Globe may actually have something interesting to run in the Sidekick this week. The story emerged earlier today that, unlike other metropolitan areas , the MBTA was experiencing the lowest volume in riders since 2000. Boston.com started collecting riders opinions at 6:30 a.m. this morning, an early hour to start catching the flack that T riders are so easy to provide about their travels. We presume this question of the day will make......

Sure a bit of a stretch for a rhyme, but Bostonist thought it prudent put something up here about the latest union news. Anecdotal evidence suggests that unions are quite popular in Boston. Many of Bostonist’s friends are in several different unions in the area, a couple are even those crazy union organizers. Chicagoist writes today that the Teamsters, the United Food and Commercial Workers, and UNITE HERE are boycotting the organized labor conglomerate AFL-CIO.......

What the hell is going on with the economy? Boston was just named one of the 10 least affordable cities to reside. This doesn't mean this is a bad place to live considering most of the other cities on the expensive list (NYC, San Francisco) are a lot more appealing than the affordable cities (New London, Harrisburg). Nevertheless, that doesn't ease Bostonist's fears that the economy hasn't been too sharp over the past few years.......

File this one under random: As pets are now going to spas instead of dog runs and getting massages instead of walks, they receive better treatment than their owners these days. Pet food makers are joining in by producing natural, healthier foods for your dogs and cats...and one of their special ingredients turns out to be cranberries, the major fruit export from here in the lovely Bay State. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth recently released......