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Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Pardon Wendy Liebman if she forgets what town she is in this weekend. Liebman has been running the Comedy Connection circuit since Tuesday, from Boston to […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Is Celtic punk an oxymoron? Dublin-born Dave King, singer, songwriter and guitarist for Flogging Molly, gave the question some thought. "I think Irish traditional music has […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY "A Funny Kind of Love" raised several thousand dollars Tuesday night for Autism Speaks and the National Alliance for Autism Research. The real highlight, though, was […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY In Gary Grossman's new novel, "Executive Treason," a fictional talk-radio show garners enough power to bring down the U.S. government. Unbelievable? Perhaps. But as Grossman, an […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY The Internet smut trail that police followed in the Neil Entwistle case is just the latest example of online infidelity. "It's much more prevalent than it […]

Byline: SEAN L. MCCARTHY Plenty of Web sites provide advice or warnings for people who suspect their spouses or significant others are cheating on them. At couplescompany.com, relationship coach Larry […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY In the world of eBay, "Brokeback Mountain" has already crushed its Oscar competitors. More than 1,400 "Brokeback" items were up for bid yesterday, or about 1,300 […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Fed up with Valentine's Day? So is comedian Wendy Liebman. "The Valentine's Day thing, they just commercialize it. It's a big flower day and chocolate day," […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Give Rudi Macaggi 30 seconds, and he'll find a way to delight and amaze you. He proved that a few summers ago on Fox's "30 Seconds […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Millions of TV viewers have seen Jim Gaffigan this week. He appeared in a Super Bowl ad for Sierra Mist, while Comedy Central has aired his […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY For better or worse, Boston's wannabe "Idols" will finally get their shot at the spotlight. Promos for tonight's hourlong highlight reel from "American Idol" 's Hub […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY If your only reason to watch tonight's Super Bowl was to see the ads, don't bother. America Online already has six of the $2.5 million, 30-second […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Boston's Chinatown celebrates the Year of the Dog today with a parade and fireworks. If you miss that, Disney brings a movie about real-life sled dogs […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Last week, Emerson College sketch comedy troupe Chocolate Cake City didn't even have a Web site. Today, the troupe is the latest Internet sensation, thanks to […]

Byline: SEAN L. MCCARTHY Springfield gave birth to the motorcycle. The first motorized two-wheeler arrived in 1901, the Indian Motocycle - the 'r' was dropped neither by accent nor accident. […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Boston bikers may pop a wheelie over this weekend's fortuitous two-wheel timing. They can not only see a great new movie about Indian motorcycles starring Sir […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY The Tribe dares you to sink to their level as they launch an improvised half-hour episodic show tonight called "Sea Mission: Aquanuts Prime." Set in 2050, […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Munich" - not a blockbuster in the bunch nominated yesterday for Oscar's Best Picture. Could the […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY David Copperfield never stops working. And that's not an illusion. The magician recently put on 50 shows in two weeks and has eight shows (and counting) […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY How long can you get away with saying "Happy New Year"? "There is no cut-off point," says DJ Hazard. "We just keep saying it until you're […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Hearty partyers still looking for entertainment in the midnight hour are in luck on the outskirts of Boston. First stop: Brookline. Yes, Brookline. The Coolidge Corner […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY With the Patriots not in the Super Bowl (what? really?) and the Red Sox still a few weeks away from spring training, the Celtics and Bruins […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY At 2 feet tall, the Sony QRIO looks like a cross between a mini-astronaut and the machines gone amok in "I, Robot." Four QRIOs danced for […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Christian Finnegan called later than expected Wednesday night because the folks at VH1 wanted him to tape an extra sketch or two for "Best Week Ever." […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Psst ... The nation's most popular TV show has a secret. Don't tell anyone: "American Idol" is karaoke. "It's really the same thing," said Marti Speranza, […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Getting a Screen Actors Guild card is a rite of passage for any performer. Stand-up comedian Ira Proctor of Canton might get his SAG card by […]

Byline: SEAN L. MCCARTHY At least once a year, sometimes more, a Friday falls on the 13th of the month (next chance in 2006: October). For some people, the world […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Comedian Bob Marley planned to take his kids to the New England Aquarium today. Then he realized it's Friday the 13th. "I saw that on the […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Performing on a late-night talk show can jar a stand-up comedian who forgets that one is playing to the camera more than to the studio audience. […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Philadelphia is pulling out all the stops to celebrate Ben Franklin's 300th birthday - including putting ads in Boston T stations. Which rankles Franklin impersonator Bill […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Many famously funny people have studied at Emerson College. Soon Emerson students will be able to study funny people through the college's new American Comedy Archives, […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY STAND UP & SING, HARP LADY! Deborah Henson-Conant's one-woman show, at Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway Theatre, through Jan. 29. To see Deborah Henson-Conant emerge onstage, wild […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer wants you to remember the 1966 Texas Western college basketball team, just as he had you "Remember the Titans." "Glory Road" (opening Friday) […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Many Boston comedy fans know Corey Manning as part of "the dynamic duo of comedy," with fellow stand-up Chris Tabb. Does that mean they're Batman and […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Celebrities are just like us. So says this month's TV offerings, which have them trying ballroom dance (season two of "Dancing With the Stars" starts at […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY David Lee Roth is no Howard Stern. Turns out he's no Adam Corolla, either. The most shocking thing about Roth's debut yesterday morning as would-be East […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY The "Bigger Bang" tour that got rolling in Fenway Park last summer produced the biggest bang ever for the concert business. The Rolling Stones set an […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY How do you replace a morning radio icon? With a rock icon. Former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth puts that theory to the test tomorrow […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY The latest TV ads for "Hostel" boast that the film's torture scenes are so graphic, they've already resulted in multiple calls for paramedics at screenings in […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Horror films have explored our many fears over the years. We've been spooked by serial-killer boogeymen such as Freddy, Jason and Mike Myers, chased by animals […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Most people gain weight during the holidays. Not Ralphie May. Not this year. The "Celebrity Fit Club" and "Last Comic Standing" alum, whose weight has yo-yo'd […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY The LeeVees, at the Paradise, Tuesday night. In Adam Sandler's world, Hanukkah lasts eight crazy nights. But the LeeVees ended their monthlong "Hanukkah Rocks" tour with […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY In the new comedy "The Ringer," Johnny Knoxville's character learn to love the Special Olympics, yelling at his uncle, saying he never wants to hear him […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY "Rumor Has It" that Jennifer Aniston gets it on onscreen with her alleged birth father, played by Kevin Costner. OK. Wait a second. That's a double […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY These could be the busiest two weeks of the year for Tony V. He hosted holiday parties earlier this week at the Comedy Studio and the […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY TIS THE SEASON TO HAIKU: IF THE DAY BEFORE IS CHRISTMAS EVE, THEN TODAY IS CHRISTMAS ADAM? TODAY SKETCHED-OUT SANTA Some people embrace the holidays. Others, […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Think TV ratings are confusing now? Just wait until 2006, when Nielsen Media Research begins reporting viewership statistics two additional ways to include Nielsen families who […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Cell phone jamming is illegal. For now, anyway. The National Association of Theatre Owners would like to block those annoying cell phone calls at the cineplex. […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY "King Kong" is a movie that begs to be seen on the big screen. Which is exactly what Hollywood hopes will ultimately revive the industry after […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY In the end, Howard Stern's departure from so-called "terrestrial" radio sounded and looked a lot like the fond farewells of beloved TV sitcoms. The mouth that […]