Photo credit: sniderscion Torontoist spent its week uncovering who was behind mysterious ads for a drug called "Obay" that popped up across the country (Scientology? Frank Shepard Fairey?), first tracing them to an advocacy group called Colleges Ontario and then confirming their suspicions a few days later.Phillyist learned how to put on a puppet show – it's not as easy as you might think!Shanghaiist discovers that the average starting monthly pay for fresh graduates......

--Are you freaking out over the fact that the St. Patrick's Day parade falls on the same day as Palm Sunday, March 16? 'Cause the press sure seems to be making a fuss. [Boston Herald, Boston Globe] --The local papers are bombarding us with Foreclosure Doom. Foreclosures in Massachusetts are up 128% in January. Bus tours of foreclosed homes might reflect a corresponding increase. [Boston Globe] --A Globe blog post headlined "Suburbs, the future......

derequito grabbed some great shots of the Chinese New Year festivities in Chinatown this past Sunday. This photo perfectly captures the noise, smoke, and general activity of the day. Happy Year of the Rat!......

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,......

Bostonist was on the phone with our buddy Keith on Thursday, chatting about the upcoming Boston Pops spring season. The initial season announcement had just crossed our desk at Bostonist HQ, and we wanted to see what Keith thought of a spring and summer that will include jazz, Broadway, a season-long tribute to Leonard Bernstein, and appearances by Natalie Cole, Natalie Merchant, and Amanda Palmer. By Keith, of course, we mean Keith Lockhart, who is......

Chinese New Year Harvard Square is celebrating the Year of the Rat with a Lion Dance Parade. Perhaps even more meaningful for some Cambridge residents, the Hong Kong (yay scorpion bowl!) is holding an open house in honor of its 54th anniversary. But be aware that they are having a craft party, not a scorpion bowl party. 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, free. Art Instruction You've seen the MFA's British Prints show, and you......

bartendermagic_com grabbed this fantastic action shot while out on a recent photo walk/Flickr meet-up. Organized by the Boston Photo Mob group on Flickr, they are planning on meeting again for the Chinese New Year Parade on February 17th. Head on over to the group for more info if you're interested in joining.......

--More on the murder of a man at King Arthur's Lounge on Thursday: The shooting may have been the result of a gang rivalry, but the shooters and the victim were in the strip joint together for two hours, just coexisting, before the violence erupted. O'Ryan Johnson reports that the victim used to be with the Latin Kings. [Boston Herald] --Police have arrested a woman in connection with the hit-and-run death of George Azarian, who......

Whether your New Year’s resolution is to clean out your closet or expand its contents, local consignment shops are a great resource for thrifty shoppers. Second Time Around, with three locations in Boston, is a treasure trove of high-end fashion priced on an automatic markdown system—your discount is determined by the color of the price tag. As with all consignment and vintage stores, it’s better to go in without a particular piece in mind. And......

--The media has become entranced by the image of a dude looking like a lady and robbing a bank in Somerset on Wednesday. There's really not much of a story here, except that the dude in question makes for one ugly woman. Apparently, Mrs. Doubtfire was hotter. [Boston Globe] --A suspect turned himself in for the murder of Joseph Clarke, who was the first person killed in Boston this year. The suspect allegedly shot Clarke......

--A parking rage incident turned so ugly in Chelsea early this morning that a man was shot in the stomach. The Chelsea police chief said the whole mess started solely because one parked car was "touching" another parked car. And this is what happens when people with anger-management issues have guns. [Boston Globe] --In a drug-related shooting, an innocent 68-year-old man was shot in the back in Roxbury after trying to defend his apartment building......

Thanks to an influx of new readers, Bostonist grew this year, and we'd like to launch a few new regular columns. Here's the specifics: 1. Food Writer: One column every Tuesday. Bostonist's New Year's Resolution is to write more about food. As you can see, we are partial to recipes and restaurant reviews. 2. Drink Writer: This city loves its booze. Bartender interviews, reviews of new drinks, reviews of your favorite bars--we'd love to......

--This is borderline blotter and definitely dumbass. A South Boston high school set up a shooting range for its students. The shooting range is for Junior ROTC students and is in the basement at Monument High School. According to the Herald, "A school employee notified the Herald about the practice after seeing two teenagers firing weapons at targets without supervision or warning signs in a locked classroom in early December." Weren't school officials trying to......

--The Boston Police Department and the DA's Office are investigating the death of an inmate at the Suffolk County House of Correction. 41-year-old Darryl Lee Leslie died on New Year's Eve while being moved to maximum security because he was, according to a jail spokesman, "planning a violent attack." An autopsy is being performed. [Boston Globe] --A 15-year-old who was shot in the stomach at a New Year's Eve party in New Bedford has since......

--Last night, a snowplow struck a pregnant woman as she was walking in Billerica. She is now in the hospital. Her injuries are non-life-threatening. The driver of the snowplow stayed on the scene, but he was citied for driving with a suspended license. [Boston Globe] --A woman riding in a car tried to remove a police barricade that had been set up in response to the fatal South Boston fire early on New Year's Day.......

Our friend Paul Keleher is quickly becoming our go-to guy for great holiday photos. This shot of a fire dancer, or 'poi,' is clearly fantastic - the long exposure he used captures the dancer's full range of motion. A perfect shot with which to ring in the New Year. Happy Oh-Eight everyone! Here's to a great year......

After the tiger attack and ensuing chaos at the San Francisco Zoo, here's some good zoo news, for a change. The New England Aquarium is welcoming many new arrivals. An anaconda celebrated the new year by giving birth to 14 little ones. WBZ explains how anaconda-birthing works: The pregnant 16-foot anaconda finished giving birth to all 14 babies around 5 a.m. Tuesday. While most snakes lay external eggs, anaconda eggs remains inside the mother's body......

The first day of 2008 came and went on Wednesday,and Boston sports teams are now all undefeated this year. Or, in other words, no one's set the tone of the new year through a game. The Celts could set a high bar tonight when they welcome Houston to the Garden. Boston had a few days to celebrate the holiday and recover from the physical play they encountered in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Those hoping......

--Good news--crime is officially down. Here's the stats: The number of homicides in the city dropped to 66 in 2007, down from 74 in 2006 and below the 10-year high of 75 in 2005. The number of nonfatal shootings fell from 373 to 322 in 2007, as of Dec. 25. For the period from Jan. 1 to Dec. 23, aggravated assaults fell from 4,351 in 2006 to 4,166 last year. Another interesting note--despite early skepticism......

Kind of a slow week on Series of Tubes (why it's a bit late) for the end of year, but we've got the goods. --Finally, someone else articulates why Celtic Woman is so weird. [Margalit] --Dan Kennedy had to talk about the whole Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy to his own teenage daughter. Awkward. He writes, "I wish her to be gone from Zoey 101." [Media Nation/Guardian UK] --When the Patriots beat the Giants and got......

On New Year's Eve, firefighters battled a seven-alarm fire at a condo complex in South Boston. One 47-year-old man, Peter Clancy, died of smoke inhalation at the scene. Then, this morning, firefighters discovered the body of a woman who has not yet been identified. However, neighbors told the Globe that the second victim is Clancy's 46-year-old wife, Arvette. Eighteen families were left homeless as a result of the fire. The Clancy's had a 15-year-old......

Tom Brady is a great quarterback and we would never dispute his judgment on the field. But he should never, ever, ever give dating advice. Remember what happened last time? Unfortunately, Bostonist saw on Deadspin that he's at it again. Here's what a "source" said Brady allegedly told Romo from MSNBC: "After that debacle of a game with Jessica being flashed on the screens during every play, Tom told Tony to put a stop to......

Nicolas Cage mopped up the competition this weekend with the National Treasure sequel, which looked a lot like a remake of the first one. It's basically expensive kids' movie stuff. However, a friend of ours who paid to see it pointed out that those who like the ladies will see a lot of Diane Kruger in skimpy, damp clothes. Julia Roberts is probably wishing she could beat a chipmunk with her Oscar right about now.......

alternatewords helps us in wishing you a happy and healthy 2008. Here's hoping that you're able to always view your cup half-full in the upcoming year..........

SFist saw Christmas Day turn tragic after a Siberian tiger escaped from her pen at the San Francisco Zoo, killing a visitor and mauling two others. Phillyist counted down the top ten items on Philadelphia's New Year's wish list. Gothamist looked at the wooden bikes being offered for NYC's first bike share program on Governors Island. LAist received a Christmas present in the form of a drunk Santa Claus in a g-string. Bostonist launched......

--New England Confectionery Co., aka NECCO, was sold to a company in Bethesda, Maryland. So, will the name be changed to Maryland Confectionary Company, or MACCO? We certainly hope not. [Boston Globe] --More reasons to give up your car. On New Year's Day, tolls at the Allston-Brighton and Route 128 plazas will go up from $1 to $1.25. The price jump is even higher for the Ted Williams Tunnel and the Sumner Tunnel: $3 to......

Who knew three little chipmunks could show so much strength? Alvin and company stayed near the top of the box office list this week with a #3 showing, losing only to the mighty Nic Cage (we never thought we'd call Nic "mighty," but there you go) and Will Smith (we've been calling him "mighty" for years). Cage's National Treasure: Book of Secrets had the third biggest Christmas opening weekend ever, after Lord of the Rings:......

--Now that Spatch has been rooming with a CW celebrity, perhaps he thought that another CW reality show, the mother-daughter beauty pageant extravaganza Crowned, might be as good. He was wrong. [Derspatchel] --VickieVictoria encounters "Wookie porn," as in the Star Wars holiday special. [VickieVictoria] --While the return of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert is like a holiday gift, not everyone is happy about it. The writers' strike is still going on, and "it's not funny......

First Night Monday, December 31 Everywhere in Boston (see below) All indoor outdoor events are free. All outdoor indoor events are accessible with a First Night button ($15) Official First Night site First Night has been preparing to ring in the New Year. Revelers can enjoy all the First Night outdoor events, such as the ice sculptures and the fireworks, for free. But they'll need to pick up a button to attend the indoor events,......

Be There: Chase the Rising Sun Opening Saturday, December 15, 7:00-9:30 pm Exhibition runs from December 15 to January 15 LAB Boston, 13 Brighton Avenue, Allston Free Birdhead Design website Michael Crigler is primarily known as a fashion designer and artist. He makes clothes for his Birdhead line and is having an opening this weekend at LAB, but this opening is also a farewell party. Crigler and his wife, Lauren, are going on a trip......