Bostonist would like to offer some advice for future New England Real Ale Exhibition attendees: (1) Buy tickets in advance. (2) Bring plenty of friends, and make sure they do (1). Bostonist did (2) but not (1), and consequently spent two hours over the course of two evenings waiting in line to see the inside of the Dilboy Post VFW just once. There's some incredible beer in there—eighty firkins of it (which is a......

-- Richard "Pops" Picardi, Sr., a 76 year old cab dispatcher, was arrested Friday for dealing drugs from his Chelsea workplace. The Revere man was noted by police for his advanced age and his prosthetic leg. He faces charges that he sold the painkillers OxyContin, Roxicet and Percocet to undercover police agents over a period of about a month. [Herald; Globe] -- Authorities say the South Boston fire that killed Acia Johnson, 14, and Sophia......

Wicked Local reports that two soused chaps not only puked in a cab and stiffed the driver, but actually stole from him as well. You gotta feel for cabbies in these situations. A fine fellow from Somerville and his Providence pal allegedly hacked it up in the backseat of a cab, then nabbed the driver's bag from the front seat and scurried away with it after a scuffle. The bag was located later that night......

-- A Malden teen was shot in Somerville last night, the victim of an apparent drive-by shooting. The 15 year old was shot in the lung and is expected to survive. Police are seeking four suspects in the crime, last seen driving a green Dodge Stratus. [WBZTV; Somerville Journal] -- A domestic incident in Roxbury turned ugly last night, as police officers responded to a call from a man under threat from his ex-girlfriend. After......

-- Police have arrested a 17 year-old suspect in the February 16 shooting death of Brockton cab driver Edward Conley. The incident happened on Galen Street, a Brockton cul-de-sac. Police say that Adilson Neves bragged about the shooting to friends and gave a taped confession while in custody. Neves admitted that he had left a shoe at the crime scene, according to authorities. He was arraigned today in Brockton District Court and faces charges including......

--Dice-K is a daddy! [Boston Herald] --Yet another Globe reporter, Charles Sennott, is jumping ship. [Media Nation] --Somerville's potential Hotel Davis Square will not be a "fly-by-night Motel 6," so says Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone (especially not one that advertises jacuzzis, right?). [Somerville Journal] --Still feeling the love for freshly former NESN sportscaster Tina Cervasio and the rear end that launched a thousand ships. [Surviving Grady] --Families with money have found a new playground......

-- Police report that a Somerville woman, aged 28, attacked her roommate, trapped her in their house, and set fire to the building. [Somerville Journal] -- A North Cambridge man who was found shot in front of his house early on Tuesday may face his own set of charges. Police say they found "a large amount" of marijuana and a sawed-off shotgun in the man's home. Nobody has been charged in connection with his shooting......

The Globe is diving into the nitty-gritty of the T problems with its "GlobeWatch." A reader let Christina Pazzanese know that conditions at the Sullivan Square stop are not only dirty and gross, but also unsafe: A Globe reporter's visit last week found that while snow had melted along the sidewalk from Broadway to Maffa Way, the busy walkway was dirty and a section under the highway overpass was quite dark even during the day.......

-- Police arrested the Dorchester man responsible for the February 27th lunch brawl at West Roxbury High School. Edwin Reyes, 39, surrendered to police yesterday. Police say that Reyes led a posse of four adults, including his two brothers and an unidentified woman, to assault a West Roxbury student who had allegedly beat up Reyes's son. Reyes stands accused of punching a West Roxbury student and driving his car into a school police officer while......

Books Is it possible to be saved by the Sex Pistols? The answer to that is a resounding yes. Michael Patrick MacDonald will be reading from Easter Rising, an account of his youth in the Boston punk scene, at Brookline Booksmith. Bostonist had the opportunity to hear him read from the book when he spoke at UMass-Boston, and we say with great emphasis that this is a must-see, not just for those who love......

Bostonist tends not to eat at places with the word “junkyard” in their name, but when the food is as good as at Spike’s Junkyard Dogs, rules can be broken. Spike’s offers up hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, subs, salads, and wings (plus burgers at the Somerville and Boylston branches) that are quick, inventive, and delicious. The obvious order is a hot dog, but there are so many toppings to choose from. You can order......

Music and Cryptozoology A set of local organizations--Cloud City (aka Ben Sisto), The Footlight Club, and the Milky Way--are throwing a fund-raiser for 826 Boston. In a match made in heaven, the bookish Harry & the Potters will be the main event, and the openers will be Pants Yell! If you're nice, Bigfoot might show up in the shadows. Be observant. The Footlight Club, 7A Eliot Street, Jamaica Plain, 5:30 doors, 6:30 show, $12.......

http://www.myspace.com/unionsquareroundtable" target="_blank">Union Square Round Table Friday, February 29 PA's Lounge, 345 Somerville Ave, Somerville (Union Sq) 9:00 p.m., $8 for 21+ / $11 for 18+ It's the bonus day of the year, so Bonus! is tonight's theme of the (now) bimonthly multi-media performance night that's usually two hour-long segments. How the theme will manifest itself is a surpise until the performance, but frequent musical guest Yoni Gordon usually tries to tie in at least......

Short Cartoons You saw the nominees for the Live Action Short Film Academy Award last night; come back to the ICA for the contenders in the animated category. Formats include traditional 2D animation, CGI, and claymation. Check out the John Lennon interview film "I Met the Walrus." Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Avenue, South Boston, 7:00pm. $7/$9. Recover Heal a broken heart with laughter. Ben Karlin has assembled a collection of raucous breakup......

-- Update on the stabbing in Revere. Police have identified the suspect. 23 year-old Cory Roche, of Lynn, allegedly stabbed his mother to death in her home yesterday. Police responding to the incident shot Roche in the torso after he allegedly refused to drop a knife. Roche has a long criminal history and probably suffers from mental illness, according to court papers. A 2004 mental evaluation noted that he claims to hear voices. No motive......

Art Somerville's Nave Gallery has brought us thoughtful installations before, but their new "Ghost Town" sounds positively compelling. Artists imagine our earth in a process of transformation, with cities growing and shrinking, populations moving, people interacting with nature, and everything cycling both naturally and unnaturally toward growth, decay, and chaos. Might sound like a bunch of hippie nonsense, but we think it makes for some appealing art. "Ghost Town" runs through March 21 at......

A pair of blotter items reveals that the crack cocaine in Somerville is not making residents any smarter. -- Three Somerville men were arrested when they were found in a blue van on Kingman Road trying to make crack. According to police, the men were discovered surrounded by drug paraphernalia and in possession of cocaine and baking soda. The men were reportedly trying to cook their own crack using a metal can. Bostonist doesn't condone......

It turns out that Tisch Library at Tufts University is pervier than a Red Line train during rush hour. Under the headline ">"Public masturbation a persistent problem at Tisch Library," Tufts Daily reports that, in the past year, four women claim to have encountered inappropriate public acts of self pleasure in the library. It sounds hilarious, but it is sexual harassment. On February 10, a man was picked up by the police for "motions or......

-- If you saw a red-handed man downtown today, he was probably a bank robber. Police are searching for a man in his 50s in connection with the afternoon hold-up of the First Federal Savings Bank. The man fled the scene in a cab until a red dye pack in his loot bag exploded. He then fled on foot. Confidential to cabbies: people running from a bank with a bag of money are likely to......

--Hug a social worker today. If you've ever wondered why the Department of Social Services couldn't stop an act of violence from happening, read this eye-opening article on just how hard it is to be a social worker. According to the piece, "between one-third and three-quarters of all social workers nationwide have been threatened, physically assaulted, or had their property damaged." [Boston Globe] --A Bridgewater State College student and his girlfriend, a student at......

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,......

Ever "Written to the Top" to complain to the MBTA that a bus or train you expected never arrived? And maybe, just maybe, they wrote back in apology? It's likely they did it on purpose, according to a Herald article: Top MBTA officials acknowledge that for years the agency has been secretly cutting thousands of bus and train trips from published schedules to lower costs - a practice that has left legions of customers waiting......

--With this winter's especially foul weather, we have entered a new level of pothole hell. [Boston Globe] --Although some local figures might be gearing up to run against Mayor Menino, the mayor might be earning votes by working to help Hendry Street residents floored by the mortgage foreclosure crisis. [Boston Herald] --Despite all that planning, construction on the new Harvard Allston Science Complex has already pissed off Allston residents. Neighbors had been told construction......

Jimmy Tingle for President Saturday, February 16 and Saturday, February 23 Regent Theatre Arlington, 8:00 pm. $30 orchestra / $25 balcony When Jimmy Tingle shut down the theater in Somerville that bore his name, it seemed as if Tingle would take some time off from the day-to-day stresses of running the theater. However, he wasn't going to stay off the stage for long. He will be returning to Arlington tomorrow for his one-man show, which......

-- An early Valentine's Day celebration turned violent this morning when a 41 year-old Roxbury man allegedly assaulted his date in her Dorchester home with an aluminum pan. The pair had been celebrating the holiday with cocktails before they got into an argument. She was washing dishes when the argument escalated to blows. The suspect struck the victim repeatedly with the pan before police arrived. He stands charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. [BPDNews]......

Music --The Magnetic Fields, on Valentine's Day? Could anything be better for a first date, or any sort of date? They even work well for a broken heart. Well, only if you got tickets in time. Check the Craig, as this one is a hot ticket. Somerville Theatre, Davis Square, 8:00 pm, $27.50. Good luck getting in! --Drown your Valentine's Day sorrows with a night of indie rock and dancing at Viva Viva's Valentine's......

--The Coast Guard reined in a 933-foot tanker that broke down off the coast of Cape Cod. The tanker held liquefied natural gas, but the Coast Guard said it didn't leak any. [Boston Globe] --Soon after an accident in which an elderly driver struck a child while he was on his way to vote in Randolph, State Sen. Steve Baddour is campaigning to boost tests for all drivers "throughout their driving careers." [Boston Herald]......

33rd Annual Sci-Fi Film Festival Sunday, February 17, noon, until Monday, February 18, noon Somerville Theatre $55 in advance / $65 day of show More info on the festival The annual Sci-Fi Film Festival will kick off this weekend. Each year has a new theme, and the theme this time around is "The Future is Passe," in which "the future had been predicted, but that time has past." Bostonist asked Garen Daly, organizer of the......

--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 19-year-old is accused of killing his social worker, 53-year-old Diruhi S. Mattian, in North Andover last night. The accused is now in the hospital recovering from stab wounds he gave himself. [ http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/02/social_worker_i.html">Boston Globe] --A woman was found murdered in her Medfield home last night. The victim, 47-year-old Margaret Ninos, was a nurse at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She died of head injuries. Police are investigating, and she leaves behind a 7-year-old daughter.......