Bostonist never thought of Bill Belichick as cover material, unless one counts the awesomeness of the Sports Illustrated cover with Belichick as Santa. But a few gay males might get a surprise when they pick up the latest issue of Spirit Magazine, "Boston's Premier Magazine for the Gay and Lesbian Community." Because there's Bill Belichick's mug and hoodie alternative on the cover. Fabulous it is not. First off, Belichick is a cougar-sexual. Second, "Belichick" and......

The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film continues its annual Top 100 List tradition with a list of the one hundred funniest films of all time. All members were asked to contribute 20 ideas, which were then compiled into the final list of mostly modern American films. According to the press release: Many filmmakers from various eras appear more than once on the list, including Tim Burton, Charles Chaplin, Christopher Guest, Albert Brooks, John Waters, Buster......

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......

Bus schedule improvements? Mattapan high-speed? New Blue Line trains? Oooh, Santa Charlie isn't finished with us yet! The MBTA just announced that T riders are now able to use their cell phones and other wireless gadgets at Park Street, Downtown Crossing, Government Center, and State Street. They can also use wireless in the tunnels connecting the stations. Where to start? The news has its positives and negatives. The positives are obvious--less boredom while waiting......

As Bostonist did with books, we've tackled best of/worst of lists for movies. Not only are we including the latest best of/worst of lists, but we dug through each list to find which movies impressed every single critic and which ones were absolutely appalling. Here are links for recent "Best Of" lists: American Film Institute Top 10 National Board of Review The Onion AV Club Golden Globe Nominees Metacritic (FYI: The amazing Killer of Sheep......

Bostonist is still feeling the egg nog. Therefore, the following magazine cover featuring Bill Belichick hit us hard. Enjoy it in all its glory: Wow. How did Sports Illustrated know that we already envisioned a hoodie-clad Belichick commandeering a sleigh in "'Twas the Night Before Christmas (Redux Remix)"? Also, keep checking Bostonist, where we'll be gazing back on the sports highlights, not to mention a few lowlights, for the year. The list of disappointments, starring......

In a surprise move, the NFL has decided to expand the broadcast of the Patriots-Giants game, which it had previously limited to WCVB and the NFL Network, leaving many New England residents out in the cold. The game will air on Saturday, December 29, at 8:00 pm. Boston residents will be able to watch it on WCVB, but the Herald reports that the NFL will allow the game to air on CBS and NBC, too.......

Bostonist friend Paul Keleher helps us in hoping you all had a very Merry Christmas. His fun shot certainly has a hefty helping of whimsy, and the bright colors put a smile on our face. As one astute observer pointed out, Paul's Santa Claus is so magic he doesn't even need reindeer!......

The MBTA is making like Santa Claus, increasing the number of times the 111 and 15 buses run and boosting the Silver Line for the holidays. Now they've announced that the trolley between the Ashmont and Mattapan stops is back in business. Trolley service will begin again tomorrow, December 22. The trolley had been shut down for 18 months. The trolley stops include Ashmont, Cedar Grove, Butler, Milton, Central Avenue, Valley Road, Capen Street,......

Already feeling the pressure of holiday family time? Leave the house. Run away. Tonight's events will help add some spice to your Santa. Music --Holiday stress? Family freaking out on you? Swap "Jingle Bells" for "Raw Power" with The Scrooges--a band that dresses in Santa suits and covers the Stooges. They'll be at Great Scott tonight at 9:00. 1222 Commonwealth Ave, Allston. Theater --The New Repertory Theater is showing David Sedaris' Santaland Diaries, which......

Councilor John Tobin thinks that Dominic Luberto, the man whose "Christmas Castle" bathes Jamaica Plain in holiday light, is courting disaster. Tobin wants Luberto to hire a police detail because he thinks gawkers driving past the "Christmas Castle" might cause a car accident. It's a legitimate question. One of Luberto's neighbors said recently, "I love the lights. I just don't want anybody to get killed." Luberto is rebuffing Tobin's suggestion. He told WHDH that the......

Santa Speedo Run Saturday, December 15, 1:00 pm Lir, 903 Boylston, Boston Run goes down Boylston to Berkeley and back up Newbury Official Site For some reason, people are compelled to prove their strength by taking off their clothes in winter and running around, displaying their pasty, quivering flash to one and all. (Tufts, we're talking to you.) But the people participating in the 8th annual Santa Speedo Run are stripping down to their skivvies......

Brrrrlesque Saturday, December 15, midnight Coolidge Corner Theater, 290 Harvard St., Brookline (T: Coolidge Corner) $12.50 in advance, $20 at the door Official Boston Babydolls site In the press release we got, Boston Babydolls impresario Scratch declares, "People hate the cold, the rising gas prices, and - of course - the snow. But there's a lot that's beautiful about new England in the winter, and we wanted to remind people of some of those things."......

We had this one on deck until stuff got nuts in New Hampshire and Evel Knievel leapt over his last car … The acting US Surgeon General told the Herald that he thinks Santa is a fattie. The story is so silly that it is barely worth discussing, except to say one thing to the Surgeon General Steven K. Galson. Parents, block this site from your computer or get 'em out of the room. Santa.......

Everybody's favorite mustache month is wrapping up nicely, with some film stars ostensibly in town to shoot movies but succeeding mostly in displaying some fine facial hair. Both William H. Macy and Steve Martin rocked the 'stache in Boston recently. We like Martin's dapper style, but Macy wins for volume. (The bathrobe is a nice touch, too.) And with December looming, Santa brings out the beard 'n mustache combo, much to the dismay of some......

LAist began the month with a new food series exploring the popular and unknown late-night eats around town. If a Top Chef winner opened up a late-night spot in Los Angeles, denizens would flock to it, yet the LA Times and other media might be wary. Turning to sports, the Dodger season was quite memorable in the way that it imploded and the LA County Sheriff's Department made some games of their own such as......

A Jets fan took Videotapegate way too personally and is suing the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick for taping the Jets' signals. When this item appeared on Sports by Brooks, it looked like a clever gag. But someone is actually suing the Pats, and they want $148 million for himself and the disillusioned Jets ticket holders. Carl Mayer of Princeton Township, New Jersey, has some high-minded notions about the sports complex. Mayer's attorney said,......

Was there any doubt? The Patriots, good as they are, and now with the increased motivation of having the rest of the world hate them? Belichick, who is the smartest coach in the world anyway, now with the incentive to prove it? The wagons have been circled. You're either with us or against us. And the San Diego Chargers, who fancied themselves one of the elite teams in the NFL, got their butts handed to......

--Instead of saving up their allowance, pulling out some teeth for the Tooth Fairy, or asking Santa, three kids allegedly plotted a Nintendo Wii heist. The kids broke into a house on Chandler Street, but the owner came home and saw a 12-year-old girl in medias res, with the Wii in her hands. The owner grabbed the girl while her so-called friends, a 12-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy, tried to escape. The BPD was......

Prix de beaute shows at the Harvard Film Archive tonight at 7:00 pm. Smile will follow at 9:00 pm. What with all the hurrah about those pictures of Miss New Jersey horsin' around, it's time to turn a jaundiced eye to the world of the beauty pageant. The Harvard Film Archive proves that sticking it to the beauty pageant has been an honorable enterprise throughout the history of film. The first movie, 1930's Prix de......

Action figures haven't gotten much action around Bostonist headquarters recently. The last time the G.I. Joe snuck into our lives was when we discovered a wonderful set of dubbed "knowing is half the battle" PSA's that were floating around the internets. The best one might be "porkchop sandwiches." But there's a new Joe on the block. Pros vs. G. I. Joes pits the army action figures against sports players – including the Red Sox's own......

NECCO, the New England Confectionary Company in Revere, might get sued by a New Mexico family. The Tapias of Santa Fe claim their son bit into a NECCO chocolate marshmallow egg and cut his tongue on a razor blade. Of course, we've heard of all the urban legends about dangerous objects in food. They are often hoaxes, such as the legendary finger-in-the-Wendy's-chili incident. But we'll wait to see what the investigation reveals. NECCO isn't overreacting,......

A sign hung outside of Picante one day as we stumbled to the Red Line one Sunday morning. It read "Brunch" and in smaller letters right next to that "Mexican Brunch." We had an inkling that Picante served such a thing (it's printed on their menu – but no times or days of the week are given). A few weeks later the decision was made to check it out. We price was right at about......

Happy Holidays! Chances are, you're reading this the day after Christmas, back at your day job after all-too-short a holiday, and the last thing you want from us is stuff about the holidays. But that's just too bad. Because, see, here in the Ist-A-Verse, we do things ahead of time. It might be December 26 for you, but that's what you get for not checking your Favorite Local Blog on Christmas Eve. Austinist is......

Once upon a time in a land far, far…oh. No. It was Brockton. Back in 1890 James Edgar of Edgar's Department Store in Brockton sported a white beard and a belly laugh, he suited up as Santa Claus for an appearance in his Brockton Store. It wasn't Macy's, it wasn't Coke, it was a store in "The City of Champions" where the department store Santa was born. In the interest of full disclosure it appears......

Yuletide on YouTube: Trapped in the Clauset. A seasonally inspired parody of R. Kelly's, um, masterpiece(?) has been making its way all over the internets this past week. The three part series is blatantly absurd, while there aren't any midgets Rudolph, an elf, and maybe even the birthday boy himself show up. Sacrilege? Yes. Funny? Sure. "That's what you say when you're Santa: you say Ho three times in a row." That's not the best,......

Boston joins in the celebration of late Warhol muse and Pop Art Poster Girl Edie Sedgwick. Tonight, the MFA will screen Sedgwick's final movie, Ciao! Manhattan, which was released shortly after her death in 1971. The Sedgwick tribute is timed to complement the release of Edie: Girl on Fire by David Weisman, who also directed Ciao! Manhattan, and Melissa Painter. It's probably a good idea to see Sedgwick on screen and read about her......

We're thinking of format. No, not like the formatting changes that WERS just made to their programming. More like readability of the weekly picks. It's fall now, and since we never really get around to spring cleaning in the spring, maybe we'll get to it in the fall. If you've got suggestions drop them in an email to music at bostonist.com or just right in the comments. But be on the lookout – this......

Since there isn't much going on in the news today (aside from the horrible mixup in West Virginia), Bostonist thought we'd toss some random news your way. Ex-Sox Player Onto Bigger and Better Things? Mo Vaughn is coming back to Boston but not in a Red Sox uniform. The former heavy hitter, who retired from baseball in 2003, has been given the green light to proceed with opening his own high-end car wash on Route......

With the holidays behind us and the doldrums of winter officially underway (to say nothing of the dreaded return to the workaday life), now is a time when the seasonal affective disorder can set in kinda hard. So let Bostonist forestall that sorry fate, if only for a little while, by regaling you with the tale of the how our Russian Jewish immigrant family celebrates the birth of Christ: This year, December 25 marked two......