--Former Massachusetts Speaker of the House and radio host Tom Finneran cries. Conveniently, a camera is there. [Boston Herald] --Equally conveniently, the Herald finds someone to analyze the supposedly hot new trend of men crying. How come we never get asked to discuss this stuff? They ask if guys can cry, too. Uh, they have tear ducts, right? [Boston Herald] --Another winter day, another snow collapse, this time for a gas station canopy in Worcester.......

--King Downing, the ACLU coordinator for the Campaign Against Racial Profiling, won his case against the Massachusetts Port Authority and the State Police. He sued because he felt that he was illegally detained at Logan Airport in 2003, and a jury agreed with him. [Boston Herald, WCVB] --City officials in Everett plan to develop an emergency plan to improve response to disasters following last week's tanker explosion. [WBZ] --The Boston Society of Film Critics gathered......

The guy who drove the tanker truck that exploded in Everett is officially Blotter material. Not only did Chad LaFrance have some driving trouble on his record, but he admitted to issuing a bomb threat in 1997. The Globe quoted what he wrote on a package at a UPS store where he used to work: "Tick. Tick.Tick. The time is running out. UPS Sucks. Danger. Explosive illegal bombs enclosed. Watch handling." His aunt called it......

--Only one woman at MIT this year was granted tenure. Uh, you've come a long way, baby? [Boston Globe] --In better news for gender equality, Massachusetts ranks fifth when it comes to the number of women in powerful state government positions. Women make up almost half of Governor Deval Patrick's leadership team. [Boston Herald] --Seven people were injured in a house fire in Brockton yesterday afternoon, including former Brockton city councilor George Papas. [The Enterprise]......

Somebody's in trouble. The trucker who took a turn too fast in Everett and caused the tanker explosion and fire that left 60 people homeless at last count had a lead foot. Casey Ross at the Herald writes: Chad LaFrance, 30, of Dover, N.H., has three speeding violations between 2000 and 2002 in New Hampshire, with one citation for going 83 mph in a 55-mph zone in 2001, according to a spokeswoman for N.H.......

Early this morning, a gas-tank truck driver took a turn too fast in Everett, and his truck tipped over at the Route 16/Route 99 rotary, prompting an explosion and fire. 200 people were evacuated, 40 cars were destroyed, and at least 3 homes caught fire. No one has been reported hurt so far. That's the key phrase--"so far." The latest TV news reports indicate it is still a mess. WBZ has raw footage of......

BARONESS Friday, November 30th Middle East Downstairs Cambridge, MA w/ Witchcraft, Radio Moscow 18+ / $10 ADV / $12 DOS MySpace: Baroness The debut EP First by Savannah's Baroness was a bit of al ife-changer. More of a life-reinvigorator. Produced by Phillip Cope of Kylesa, the three tracks harnessed much that had been missing from the blend of technical metal with a heavy dose of stoner meticulousity. To call the Southeast band "metal" is......

--The man who was robbing people in the South End by impersonating a police detective has been arrested. The DA's office says that Anthony Burney, 32, of Lynn, was charged with "two counts of unarmed robbery and single counts of impersonating a police officer, kidnapping, and larceny over $250." Burney forced one man he was robbing on a trip through the subway system. From the DA's office: That victim described a long and bizarre trip......

--Don't eat the yellow pills: "Mixing cough syrup, Vicodin or Lipitor with cat litter is the new advice on getting rid of unused medications. Preferably used cat litter." [WCVB] --Another BPD (pardon us, ex-BPD) officer has pled guilty to protecting shipments of cocaine. Unfortunately for him, the people shipping the cocaine were undercover FBI. [Boston Globe] --A boiler explosion in Salem sends three people to the hospital. [WCVB] --A huge sinkhole in the middle of......

MUSCLES Jokers Of The Scene @ Hearthrob Middlesex Lounge 315 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, MA 9pm - 1am 21+ / $5 MySpace: Muscles MySpace: Jokers Of The Scene MySpace: Hearthrob The UK-based Modular Records is fast becoming one of Britain's most important electronic music exports on a global level. Now, Klaxons are one of the biggest indie bands to carry the dance party torch, uniting it with the rock venue atmosphere and audience. Stepping up......

The mayor's office put out a release yesterday stating that Trigen, the company in charge of the steam pipes snaking under the city, has agreed to review the condition of its pipes: Trigen has committed to conduct a comprehensive assessment of its entire steam system and has commissioned an outside firm with expertise in steam energy to perform this review. This assessment is now underway and includes an immediate inspection of critical infrastructure and an......

Dear Trigen, We couldn't help but notice that yet another steam pipe explosion rained asbestos down up on Boston last Saturday afternoon at Merrimac and New Chardon. The steam-pipe explosion downtown and the various steam-related issues have us skittish. In fact, we've taken to playing "step on a crack, break your mama's back," only it's the high-stakes version. Now we're skipping over manholes, terrified that they will send a manhole cover flying at us and......

--The BPD has announced that an "errant shot" hit Steven Odom, 13, in the head in front of his own home. Odom was killed in Dorchester on Thursday night. Commish Davis says that police already have leads. But that's not going to help the family. Gangs and gunfights in this city are a huge problem, and it's incidents like these, where an innocent kid dies, that makes it seem as if the police and the......

--On Saturday, some alleged whack-job trying to get a piece of Star Simpson glory told an AirTran employee at Logan Airport, "I'm with al-Qaeda. I'm with them and I'm here to blow up things." Hardy har. Those words earned 27-year-old Ermiyas Asfaw, from DC, a one-way trip to jail. Attention, world: You may be able to do whatever you want in other cities, but Boston is sensitive. We may not agree with their hypersensitivity, but......

Underworld will be performing at Bank of America Pavilion tonight. Doors are at 6:30 pm, and the show is at 7:30 pm. With John Digweed, DJ Dave Ralph. Last night Bostonist was out at the Middlesex Lounge listening to local DJs spin some of the best minimal and house that's out right now. Though the room was dimly lit and the atmosphere was very chill, the spectrum of sobriety went from stone cold to completely......

Follow-Up: The Downtown Steam Pipe Explosion The steam-pipe explosion yesterday sent asbestos into the air and freaked everyone the hell out. Boston got lucky. Remember what happened in New York. The city is testing for asbestos, and several people were decontaminated. As of this morning, Otis Street was still closed. The pipe is owned by Trigen. Trigen is the same company that Menino has been butting heads with over pipe maintenance. Menino wants the Department......

--Cookie Monster would be very, very sad. An employee of the Bon Appetit restaurant inside Lesley University lost his mind on Saturday morning and told his boss exactly how he felt. Jose Arevalo's boss told him to plate some cookies. He didn't feel like plating any damn cookies, so he said he "wasn't listening to her because she was a woman," shoved her, squeezed her neck, and threw her into the door of the walk-in......

--An explosion at an Easton home that may have resulted from a gas leak sent six people to the hospital this morning. The blast was so strong that it flattened the two-story structure. Four students from Stonehill College were living in the home. Three had minor injuries, and one is recovering at Brigham and Women's. Two Bay State Gas employees were working nearby at the time of the explosion, and they were also sent to......

We were appropriately nervous when Manny Ramirez sustained the left oblique strain. Our concern came partly due to the fact that we wanted one of the Red Sox big bats to deliver during the home stretch. But it was mostly because we worried that Manny would once again have us where it feels like he always wants us: freaking out over a gap in both offense and outfield defense, hoping and pleading with him to......

Mayor Menino's looked like he's had steam coming from his ears before. Exhibit A: Aqua Teen Hunger Force. But, recently, he's come quite close to having steam literally coming from his ears. An explosion caused by steam in an old pipe rattled New York City, killing one and leaving a gaping hole in a street near Grand Central. Now Mayor Menino is wondering if a similar explosion could happen here. The sudden awareness of the......

This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too - two of them in -Ist cities. Sampaist was shocked when a passenger jet crashed into the center of Sao Paulo, killing at least 200 people. The airplane, an Airbus A320, skidded off the runway at the......

Well, when it comes to accidents, we sure are careful! Don't be fooled by the Blotter! Our rate of accidental deaths is low compared to the rest of the nation. Yeah, it surprised us, too, especially since the ink maker and paint maker behind the November Danvers explosion just got cited with 23 health and safety violations. But good for us! The National Safety Council says "Massachusetts had the lowest accidental death rate at 20.6......

Machete fever continues. This time, the owner of Pao Brasil bakery in Marlborough wielded a machete against a perp who was trying to break into his establishment. Dilson Lopes must have been fed up because this was the fourth break in he's had to deal with. The man had had enough. Galen Moore of the MetroWest Daily News takes it from there: "The 40-year-old father of three did what any business owner would do: He......

Six men, including two men from Boston, have been indicted for prostituting teenage girls. The charges include "conspiracy to transport minors across state lines for prostitution." These people placed ads in the paper or kidnapped teenagers off the street and put them to work. And these alleged scumbags fancied themselves pimps and gave themselves big pimpin' names, such as "Young Stallion," "Syncere," "Ruby Black," "Young Indian," and "Breeze." The last guy, from Portland, Maine, is......

Did pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka reveal his "Ultimate Galactic Dragon Gyroball Pitch Power Explosion" in the Red Sox game against Boston College? No. But, in Dice-K's own - translated - words, he did okay. He played two innings, and a BC player scored a double off his very first pitch. (Did that player's stock go up, or what?) After that, Matsuzaka decided he wasn't going to mess around, and no one else scored. Also, we were......

You know Daisuke-mania has hit when The Onion chimes in on the story. Daisuke and his Ultimate Galactic Dragon Gyroball Pitch Power Explosion take the mound in Fort Myers tonight, trying to do to the overmatched Boston College squad what B.C. basketball did to Fairfield, New Hampshire and Sacred Heart this year. Also making his Spring debut (assuming he doesn't wander off) is Manny Ramirez. The Herald's Michael Silverman is the latest to take a......

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......

Lisa Williams started up H2Otown.info as a community site about Watertown. For ease we'll call it a blog. It's a site with dated entries that flow chronologically – but it welcomes community members to sign up, log in, and share their news about Watertown. Inspired locally relevant blogging. You'll find mentions of cars who's mirrors were smashed off to the large explosion at a gas station last month. Things you may not find out about......

September 17 terrorism comes to the Hub. The Boston Globe got hold of a memo outlining the plans for an upcoming terrorism drill to be conducted by federal officials and the City's office of homeland security. There is great value in staging drills, but there is a bit of complacency that comes along with knowing that a drill will happen. When the fire alarm goes off in the building it's a slow stroll out to......

Podcasting has been an explosion for erotica, sexual health, and adult humor. Just take a trip to your local top podcast list and marvel at the number of sexual podcasts topping the charts. With sexual content coming into its own, the city of Boston was not going to be left out. The Urban Family Night Show is a group of five friends who get together to shoot the breeze with a large helping of......