--A massive fire that started in an abandoned nightclub and eventually destroyed 14 buildings in downtown Lawrence broke into the national news. In a miracle given the size of the fire, no one was hurt. However, 30 families were displaced. Authorities think the fire is suspicious. The owner, who was in the process of turning the spot into a restaurant, says he has no insurance and that someone "jealous of his success" started it.......

Here's the top Oddblotter story of the year--just in time for Christmas! You've already seen some impressive tales, but the winning Oddblotter story of the year is a real head-scratcher. 1. The Priest Who Stalked Conan O'Brien. As if Boston priests didn't already have a bad reputation (sorry, Cardinal O'Malley, but they still do), Father David Ajemian, who had worked in Stoneham, took a shine to Conan O'Brien. The pair had a lot in common,......

A kind tipster sent along an e-mail announcing a special website devoted to David, the Somerville LARPer who is currently competing on "Beauty and the Geek." Some of David's college friends have decided to give their friend a boost and find him a date. They have built the site in his honor, and they list all kinds of reasons why a woman want to meet him in person. If you are interested in a geek......

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did......

--The person who died when a BPD cruiser struck her car yesterday has been identified as Annemarie McNally, 36, of South Boston. The officer was responding to a call when he hit her car. One witness told the Herald: "I hate to talk bad about the hurt, but she was flying. The cop was behind her. I don’t know if she hit a curb or what, but the back of her car kind of lifted.......

Father David Ajemian, who was arrested in New York City last week for stalking Conan O'Brien, is back in town after making bail. Once home, he promptly went missing, only to be found a few hours later. So if you thought you saw Conan O'Brien's priest-stalker around the South End, you probably did. The BPD issued a report telling people to be on the lookout (BOLO in BPD parlance) for Father Ajemian. The report notes......

The story about a Boston priest getting arrested for stalking Conan O'Brien keeps getting weirder, if that's possible. Reverend David Ajemian, 46, who attended Milton and Harvard and who was a local priest, was nabbed trying to get into an O'Brien taping. The Smoking Gun has documents that show Ajemian may be even stranger than previously thought. Letters indicate that Ajemian was mad at John McEnroe as well, and he claimed that McEnroe assaulted them......

Some stories just sound like terrible jokes. But this one is all too real. WBZ reports that a priest from Boston got arrested last Friday for stalking Conan O'Brien. Pardon us for using the words "priest" and "hell" in the same post, but, seriously, what the hell? You couldn't make that up. And the Archdiocese of Boston took its own sweet time to release the news. They waited until today to announce that Reverend David......

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......

There's so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it's almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don't have to! Londonist took a walk through Oliver Twist's London, thanks to a gorgeous map layer for Google Earth. They also caught up with modern-day fictional London, with the Fantastic Four and 28 Weeks Later. It was a week of insanity over at DCist. They started the week off with......

What do two guys from the greater Boston area talk about on late night television? Easter candy of course. Last week B.J. Novak, a Newton native and star of the office, was on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (Conan's from Brookline and is a Harvard alum.) B.J. was on Conan to promote his new movie Rain Over Me but like many late night TV interviews it took a little while to get there. They started......

Seattlest saw a house party get senselessly attacked with a shotgun and end in seven dead. A local senator is debated and their version of the big dig is investigated. To truly get to the bottom of it they interview the writer Jonathan Raban. Bostonist has its first birthday party and investigates how to attach more gambling dollars to the Red Sox. Benjamin Franklin is celebrated and Johnny Damon is not. Image by Ethan Bagley......

Bostonist has been enjoying Chris Elliott's humor ever since our parents let us stay up late one night back in the 80s and we saw him on Letterman. Elliott has continued to appear on Dave's show for years, and he went on to star in his own sitcom with his real father, Bob Elliott, on Fox back in 1990. Starring as a 30-year-old man who works as a paperboy living with his parents, Get A......