There's nothing like a loud, baseless Herald story to get the morning started right. Today's tabloid trumps Heath Ledger's death with, "BUSTED! Deval Casino Plan's Just Like Michigan's... And They Lost $10M Last year." This Bostonist happens to be wearing a Detroit Tigers cap and sweatshirt as we type this, but we don't need Michigander bias to be dismayed by the lack of evidence in their piece. The story's only statistic-backed argument is that......

Many women get close to their hairdressers, whether they're forking over too much for a haircut or going to SuperCuts. But have you been worried that your hairdresser might hate you? Kayleen Schaefer at the New York Times did a trend piece on how the most successful hairstylists don't gossip with or barely even talk to their customers. The first hairstylist profiled was Mario Russo of Boston: “I’m not in a position to give you......

In Los Angeles, LAist most definitely celebrated Thanksgiving like no other. After all, one has to keep up all the energy to keep on walking the line at the Writers Strike and fighting the unfortunate return of the wildfires in Malibu, which single handedly destroyed over fifty homes within the first 24 hours. National outlets may be covering the fires, but CNN also found it is easier to buy a gun than fruit and......

For all his rakish ways and unfortunate dating advice, the mere presence of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady makes some women go weak in the knees. Or weak in the brains. NBC reporter Andrea Kremer conducted what should have been a typical post-game interview with Tom Brady and Randy Moss. Watch Kremer's goo-goo eyes: Here's a link to the entire interview on NBC Sports (via Deadspin). At first, it seemed as if sports bloggers were exaggerating.......

Now that absinthe is legally available in Boston, you may be tempted to try it out. But, like many potent liquids, absinthe should be quaffed with care. Hanky Panky of LUPEC, the Boston chapter of Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails, has a few words of advice for absinthe novices: "As Absinthe is quite high as far as alcohol content is concerned, you most frequently find it being used in very small quantities.......

--The man who fell off a roof and died at an Allston party Friday night has been identified as 21-year-old student Shawn Dow. Dow attended the Art Institute of Boston. Although a brawl erupted at the party, BPD reports indicate that Dow wasn't involved and accidentally fell off the roof. However, according to the Globe, "Some of Dow's friends and classmates who attended the party disputed the police account, saying a beating in the brawl......

Sarah Hartshorne, also known as Vita Lightly of the Boston Babydolls, was eliminated from this week's America's Next Top Model. She took the time to answer a few of Bostonist's questions about the experience and her future plans. 1. What advice would you give anyone who is considering trying out for America's Next Top Model? I would say to take everything seriously except for yourself. There is so much to learn and so much to......

--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......

After several judges gave him a finger-wagging, Herald writer and talking head Howie Carr will return to WRKO after he tried to move to WTKK, according to All Access....

Now that the Red Sox have won the World Series, how are they doing with the publicity grind? We'll evaluate each one's turn on late-nite television: Manny Ramirez on Leno: Two versions of Manny Ramirez exist--the sulky one and the gleeful one who invites everyone over to his house for drinks. Gleeful Manny showed up on Leno. He chatted with Leno about cars and awkwardly hit fists with Steve Carrell. At first, it seemed like......

Word is out that there's a plague of rats in the city. Not that it's anything new. Rats fall in and out of vogue in Boston media all the time. Around this time last year, the Globe did a story on a rat invasion in the Back Bay. For the record, the Back Bay did not handle it well. In the latest story, David Abel at the Globe reports that rat complaints are up: "In......

Dan Savage Thursday, October 18, 8:00 pm The Heights Room, Boston College, Free More info. The ubiquitous sex columnist and friend of Colbert Dan Savage will offer advice at Boston College tomorrow. Lena Chen at Sex and the Ivy told us of the appearance and said she might be there herself. (Now that would be something if Chen and Savage were on a panel together!) Savage has popped up frequently in the Ist-a-Verse. Seattlest was......

--Beauty and the Geek: John, the MIT student Bostonist thinks is most likely to get some, received a "booty dance" from one of the beauties and admitted, "I didn’t know where to look." Romance was also on the minds of the other local contestants. Girl geek Nicole admitted that she had a crush on one of the boy geeks. Somerville LARPer Dave said of her revelation in his confessional, "I have to admit, my curiosity......

--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......

WGBH's Victory Garden has started its 32nd season with a new host, the beefcakey Australian Jamie Durie. When we heard about the new season and were offered a chance to chat with Durie, we were skeptical because we have neither land nor lawn upon which to garden. But we realized we were being short-sighted. All apartments, dorm rooms, and cubes could use some oxygen and a few natural processes just to freshen things up a......

--The Cambridge City Council has decided to name intersections after Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The Track Girls write that the council plans "to dedicate the intersections of Pearl and Cottage streets to Affleck and the corner of Pearl and Auburn streets to Damon." Once this is accomplished, wait for the college students to start defacing Affleck's corner and shouting, "And that's what I think of Gigli!" And then wait for someone to launch a......

Tom Brady has been opening his mouth a lot lately. Today, he brushed off TapeGate as nothing, but he is also taking a stab at giving men dating advice. Here's what he had to say in an interview with Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated: "You can't let them know you're that interested. I try to get this across to my best friend. He's really into this girl, but I keep telling him she's got to......

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......

It's like Punxsutawney Phil at Groundhog Day. It's not really fall until a student plows his or her U-Haul into an overpass on Storrow Drive. This particular incident happened on Saturday afternoon, and the driver didn't stop until he or she took the roof clean off the U-Haul! The pictures on WBZ show the roof of the U-Haul dangling from the overpass, like a rumpled bedsheet. Of course, the incident clogged Labor Day weekend traffic.......

Earlier today the home page of Channel 5's website carried a story about a Massachusetts bridge closure in prominent position. It's since been buried on the site. The story with the headline "Mass. Bridge Closed After Minn. Tragedy" evoked imagery of any of those bridges we reported on earlier, I-91 closures as it crisscrosses the Connecticut river, or some span over hills on Rt. 2, or even more local like the length that leads over......

Pat Purcell, publisher of the Herald, has sold the Herald building and its land in the South End to a development group of which he is a part. Obviously the money-making potential of the paper pales in comparison to high-rent apartments and office space. The Globe labels Purcell's move as an "effort to transform Herald assets into cash and to streamline the tabloid's operations." If we translate that phrase, it might mean that Purcell is......

NESN starts airing "Sox Appeal" tomorrow night after the Red Sox – Orioles game. The show follows one person as he or she mingles with three other people during a game, and the show's website leers, "There's more than one way to score at a Red Sox game!" Well, maybe, if the thought of peanuts, beer, fans who forgot to wear deodorant, and brawling gets you hot, then this is your kind of show.......

--It's pathetic, totally pathetic, when people can't have a birthday party that doesn't end with shots fired and two dead bodies. Yesterday in Dorchester, a birthday cookout was winding down. Two men were in a car leaving the cookout when a fight erupted and someone used guns to win. These deaths mark the 35th and 36th murders of the year. So, what about those increased foot patrols? --The Birthday Cookout Murders story doesn't end there.......

If you take the D-line, all we can say is - sorry, you’re kinda screwed until August. But, don’t despair. We’re here to help you. If you’re crafty and lucky, you’re only a little bit screwed! That’s right! Remember when the new Charlie cards came out and everyone was all, "This sucks! I never take a bus. Why do I am I forced to pay for a service that I never use?" Now you can......

In the winter of 1846-47, a party of 33 settlers, led by brothers Jacob and George Donner, ran into a snowstorm in the Sierra Mountains. After a few months of ox-slaughtering and shivering, fifteen of them set off to find some help. They, of course, famously got caught in a blizzard and had to resort to cannibalism to stay alive. This historical tidbit is meant merely to provide perspective, and reflect that this week's Sox......

The Red Sox have been living large off of the Foes' inferior bullpens all season. Sadly, what goes around came around last night. The unstoppable Okajima and unbeatable Papelbon were respectively stopped and beaten by the Yankees, who took 2 out of 3 from the Sox for the second straight series. This one was a typical Sox-Yankees seesaw affair. Josh Beckett pitched well, but spotted the Yanks a 4-0 lead. But the Sox got it......

So you'd like to get in touch with your inner zombie this weekend and do the Boston Zombie March from Davis Square to The Cellar. But, if you are a zombie novice, whatever shall you wear? Bostonist e-mailed the crew at Halfway to Human, and part-time human Jesse Hirsch gave a few practical and stylish tips. Hirsch has some basic words of advice: "Searching for a zombie costume can be pretty easy, you just come......

Greg Behrendt will be at the Comedy Connection tonight at 6:00, 8:15, and 10:30. You can see full episodes of BU Tonight online and interview clips on YouTube. We got a clip of Greg Behrendt on BU Tonight, and now we're addicted. Not to Greg Behrendt, but to BU Tonight, which is hosted by Christian Lynch. Behrendt is OK, but we're just not that into him. (Oh, that was the world's worst pun, and we......

Sometimes even those of us who live in the rock clubs can forget how to behave ourselves. Maybe it’s some strange alchemy of alcohol and entitlement. Maybe it’s a vague attachment to the spirit of “punk rock.“ Or maybe it’s just plain rudeness. Just in case, here’s a brief refresher course on the things to keep in mind from people who know best - the ones who work there. 1) Keep Your Hands to Yourself......

The mayor is going on a PR burst to assure the city's residents that everything is under control. Unfortunately, those words are ringing hollow. The Globe was there when Menino spoke to the congregation at the Morning Star Baptist Church: "There are good things happening. Let's not focus on the negatives." Sure, accentuate the positive! When young men are getting shot in the head on the bus! And sixteen people have been murdered! Hey, at......