--A contrarian perspective on the Red Sox rings--they're tacky. "Don't they look like something out of Flavor Flav's jewelry box? Isn't this awfully Yankee-esque?" [HubArts] --Bostonist loves the ice cream man and will defend the ice cream man from City Councilor Sal LaMattina in any situation. But we must agree that ice-cream-man music doesn't need "the hello a drag queen might give before following it up with 'bitch!'" [Third Decade] --The recent coke bust in......

--Is it possible that a $28 bottle of beer could be indeed "worth every penny"? Find out. [Boston Geek] --Speaking of beverages, after reading about the dubious beverage "Peanut Lolita," find out how to make "Beard Clippings." [Pax Arcana] --That guy who ate a Big Mac in one bite is back, and he just ate six Spike's Junkyard Dogs in one sitting. Oof. [Andy Eats] --How did Mission Hill become its own neighborhood, even though......

--Not something you want to hear from your cab dispatcher: "I'm gonna go take my break. Just going to jump off the Tobin Bridge. Be right back." [Everyone Loves a Boston Girl] --A fun review and even more fun photos (check out the one of the drummer for Frightened Rabbit) at the Sons & Daughters, Bodies of Water, and Frightened Rabbit show at the Middle East. [Shy Turnip] --One of our favorite local bloggers got......

--John Kerry has a funny bone. Who knew? [Blue Mass Group] --A cool history lesson about the old seals of Massachusetts towns. [Third Decade] --There's been an outbreak of Inexplicable Dread Toward Restaurant Lemon Slices, but a former bartender reassures us that it is most likely okay and that "Purell is not a condiment." [Pax Arcana] --Miss Von Schtoop articulates why online comment brawls make for such good reading. (Uh, please don't start a comment......

--What? "Oh Cruel World" is gone from the Weekly Dig? Bring it back! [Loaded Gun Boston] --Anyone else remember Orange Julius? [O'Malley on the Web] --The Dish loves MIT's new foldable, stackable car almost as much as we do. [The Dish] --Dumb new gym trend: Working out while drinking coffee at the same time. Why so dumb? A) Spillage. B) Dehydration. [On Common Ground] --Speaking of coffee shenanigans, ride the blue line and drink coffee......

--Is it really Al Gore Rumor Time? [Media Nation] --We hear there's some good pirate radio to be found on 88.5. [b0st0n] --An expression that sums up just how fed up with winter we all are. [Shamrag] --Barstool Sports thinks a lot of MILFs are at Whole Foods, or at least the one in Hingham. That must be the case, because the top fashion at our local Whole Foods is a look of sneering entitlement......

--Find out where to meet up on March 6 to ask Rep. Ed Markey (aka "Biz Markey") to support Cape Wind. [Blue Mass Group, more on Cape Wind from Bostonist] --Holy crap. This guy eats a Big Mac in one bite. Honest. Where is Morgan Spurlock when you need him? [Andy Eats via Menu Pages] --Following a more highbrow food track, Le Cordon Bleu is opening in Cambirdge on April 7. [Beantown Bloggery] --Apparently Barstool......

--Heating oil, which is already insanely expensive, costs less if you pay cash. Not that it will make you feel any better. [The Big Guy] --A Google map of foreclosures in Boston. [Boston Real Estate Blog] --Remembering what happened five years ago during the horrible fire at the Station nightclub in Rhode Island. [Platinum Elite] --Where to eat if you are living or working in Longwood. [Menu Pages] --Mega Man sighting! [Sushiesque] --Did you say......

--Adam Gaffin of Universal Hub was on NPR this week to discuss Boston Crime, which tracks violent crime on a Google map and allows people to comment on cases. A must-listen. They describe him as a "computer guy by day, crime chronicler by night." [NPR] --What's with the rats all over a recent edition of the Boston Globe? [Massachusetts Liberal] --Where to find pictures of Boston back in the day. [Beantown Bloggery] --Food sniglets! [Cave......

--Matt O'Malley offers a ward-by-ward breakdown of how the city of Boston voted in the Democratic primary. [Matt O'Malley] --Barstool Sports is calling for a boycott of the Boston Herald "except the Inside Track" because of sportswriter John Tomase's story about the Patriots videotaping the Rams. [Barstool Sports] --Massachusetts will be representing on reality TV when Big Brother airs--but will they be representing well? [Third Decade] --Valentine's is coming up, and one local website offers......

--A possible idea for Banditos Misteriosos? It might beat No Pants 2K8, if only for the reason that your bare thighs wouldn't have to touch any part of an MBTA car. [b0st0n LiveJournal] --Barstool Sports has no love for Arlen Specter now that Specter is mucking around with VideoTapeGate. A sample line: "Next up on the agenda, investigating the role of WWF referees in world title victory by Andre the Giant over Hulk Hogan in......

--Facts of Life plus puns doesn't seem like it would be that funny. Oh, but it is! [Derspatchel] --A look at why people are going to remember Heath Ledger for reasons beyond the initial shock of a sudden celebrity death. [VickieVictoria] --Phew. The MBTA can spell after all. That anorexic font is still unappealing, though. [b0st0n LiveJournal] --Did Tom Brady get his flowers for Gisele Bundchen at Stop & Shop? [Anali's First Amendment] Think your......

Apologies for the lateness of this one. --New skinny font at T stops. And someone who works for the MBTA didn't look up the street names before sending the sign text to the printer. Gah! [b0st0n LiveJournal--with pictures] --The South End Is Over chimes in on the Globe's recent piece on gentrification and sends a crystal-clear message to anyone who bitches about the homeless in the South End: "As I have mentioned on this blog......

--Useful, detailed advice on how to get your car started in the bitter cold. [b0st0n LiveJournal] --Dan Kennedy evaluates all the speeches the winners (and runners-up) gave after the Iowa caucuses. [Media Nation] --A rave review of La Voile in the Back Bay. [Cave Cibum] --And a not-so-rave review of The Publick House for their treatment of people who were just trying to enjoy trivia night and who arrived more than willing to spend money......

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......

--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......

--This week, Spatch revealed that he has been living with a celebrity and has been hiding it from the world all this time. [Derspatchel] --Joel Brown is puzzled over the Attorney General's decision that the Citi Center was "generally consistent" with other charities when it came to the money it gave to its CEO. [HubArts] --Men will soon have access to Manolos. And the leopard-print sandals are insane! [On Common Ground] --Carrying your own bag......

--Boston Daily has been following the story of Bernard Margolis, the Boston Public Library president who got fired by Mayor Menino. And Margolis has plenty to say about it. [Boston Daily] --The South End Is Over isn't over. And the incoming yuppies South End Is Over doesn't like better watch out: "If the Eagle ever closes, which I hope it will not, if only to annoy the pretentious Atelier dwelling yups across the street, I......

--Spectacular photos of Matt Damon in 2005, brought back in honor of Damon's selection as People's "Sexiest Man Alive." [Lolita Parker Jr., who also did the great "Escape From MBTA" pictures] --The secret to Dane Cook's success is simple. [Derspatchel] --How to make your own turducken--if you dare! [Menu Pages] --Wolf Blitzer gets savaged after the Democrats debated in Las Vegas. [Blue Mass Group] --We're bad about typos because we're slobs without a copyeditor. Surely,......

This rounds up the best of local blogs. Now that we're doing "Bite Size News," "Series of Tubes" will repeat those links, too. --Matt O'Malley, who has run for city councilor himself, analyzes the votes in the Boston City Council election and finds out what may have gone wrong for Felix Arroyo and right for John Connolly. [O'Malley on the Web] --Brace yourselves! Bobby Brown will perform at the Boston Music Awards on December 1.......

--Mike Mennonno writes a wonderful post about the power of the Polaroid. Photo of the Day fans, take note: "It's hard to say whether the fleshiness of polaroids is an illusion of their application or inherent in the process, but Warhol's polaroids capture that same sinuous, sensuous seediness polaroids seem made for. You don't get that with digital, with its sharp focus and white light." --Newton Streets & Sidewalks had another encounter with a turkey.......

--Neighbors for Neighbors is concerned about what T Radio is going to do to the buskers who perform every day at various stops and provides a list of who to contact if you want to do something about it. --At Blue Mass Group, the president of NECN displays an obvious fear of bloggers. Yeah, we're really scary. --Susie thinks that her "obsession with all things pumpkin" will get out of control this fall. --Fabulously Out......

--Meet the best state trooper ever and the dumbest truck driver ever over at Other People's Emergencies. --Spatch lists the many reasons why you should stay the hell away from High School Musical. We appreciate his bravery in watching it for us. --Jeff at the Boston Community Live Journal page has some helpful tips for those who are new to Boston, including a template for ordering at Dunkies: "(size), (type), (extras) and (food)." --Beantown Bloggery......

--Bad sound at the Iron & Wine show launched a debate about bum acoustics in most Boston venues. (Bostonist can feel their pain after multiple sound issues during Sxip's Hour of Charm at the A.R.T.) --Adam G at Universal Hub saw the craziest advice at Paul Revere Park. --Bad Transit made another brief appearance by posting a commuter's tale of woe when his monthly pass triggered a "See Attendant" message. --Joel Brown muses upon the......

--Everyone's got an opinion about Governor Deval Patrick's casino plan. Dan Kennedy at Media Nation, who also cross-posts at Blue Mass Group, has been taking the anti-casino view and offers an interesting post about how the new revenue Patrick has been discussing is just "rearranged money." --Britney Spears still will not go away. Onward Charles has discovered video trance remixes of that weird "Leave Britney Alone!" guy. Where does he she* find this stuff? It's......

Okay, okay, this edition of "Series of Tubes" isn't all about Britney Spears, but local bloggers had plenty to say about her dopey performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. --Karen is far more sympathetic to Britney's case because America can't resist a story of someone like Spears. --Rude Boy finds similarities between Miz Spears and Family Guy. A debate then ensued as to whether or not it was appropriate to discuss Spears in the......

Welcome to "Series of Tubes," in which Bostonist rounds up developments among local bloggers over the past week. If you want to make sure your blog is on Bostonist's radar, please e-mail caroline@bostonist.com or leave a link in the Contribute section. --David at Blue Mass Group describes the horrible conditions animals must endure at the Wonderland and Raynham dog tracks. His post and the facts described within are more than enough to make a person......