Today Clif Garboden worked his last day as Senior Managing Editor of the Boston Phoenix. This post is here as our tribute to our comrade, who fell victim to the Phoenix's first layoffs in a generation. After we recover from sending him off in traditional Phoenix fashion -- old friends, tall tales, and several drinks too many -- we'll be serenading him in the comments section.

Hey, folks -- I'm going to be interviewing the Discovery Channel's "Shark Guy" (and local marine biologist) Dr. Greg Skomal on Monday, and I want your input.

Skomal just put out a new book, The Shark Handbook, which is awesome. (And if you're caught reading it in a restaurant, will probably cause your server to start squealing giddily about the Discovery Channel's "Shark Week."

No Winnebago Man.



No Numa Numa guy.



No Little Superstar.



The dynamite booms no longer, and only the echoes of the "small daring boy's" chortling remain.

Something about Waxy.org's "meme scenery" is profoundly unsettling. The silent emptiness seems to whisper balefully, like those scenes in 28 Days Later, or an old mining ghost town, or Prypiat

Previously we alerted all Masshole would-be actors of a casting call for Mark Wahlberg's upcoming Irish Mickey Ward biopic. But if you didn't make the callbacks list for that one, don't fret: Ben Affleck is going to be shooting The Town, his adaptation of Prince of Thieves (we hadn't heard of it before, either). Here's the notice, check out the Comic Sans:

Seriously, more trouble for the MBTA
FBI investigating allegations of sexual misconduct [Boston Globe]

Cop shoots cop
In NYC [Newsday]

Obama wants a cyber czar
For security purposes [BBC]

Bush is talking
Discusses "enhanced interrogation," among other things [Dallas Morning News]

2009 Spelling bee
Winning word: Laodicean [Philly Inquirer]

GM expected to file for bankruptcy
Looks to be about certain [LA Times]

Time Warner spinning off AOL
Merger undone. [CNN]

Robot may have destroyed evidence of life on Mars
Booooooo, Mars Robot. Boooooooo. [New Scientist]

Chris Brown speaks
Refers to those angry at him as "haters" [WaPo]

Barcelona wins UEFA Championship
It's pretty hard to root for Man U. [USA Today]

I missed the Ann Coulter-Bill Maher bout this past March – when a fistfight broke out at the Wang Theatre – but I imagine the mix resembled last night’s crowd at the James Carville-Karl Rove smackdown. There were no vigilante mobs or dreadlocked liberals yelling “war criminal,” but heads were certainly prepared to throw fists across the aisle.

Looking closely at Sotomayor
Court opinions scrutinized, battle looms [NY Times]

So this North Korea thing
Is this going to be trouble? [WaPo]

California Supreme Court upholds Prop 8
Ugh. [LA Times]

Microsoft unveils new Zune
They still make Zunes? [PC World]

Buffy remake without Joss Whedon?
REALLY!?!?!???!!??? [Entertainment Weekly]

As your morning paper might have told you, this week Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick embarks on a statewide town hall meeting tour. Today’s event is in Dennis, and from there he’ll be taking questions in 14 other community forums from Boston and Arlington to Chicopee and Pittsfield.

If you plan on attending the summer town hall festivities - and you should - here are some recommended questions.

If there is one place where you can just sit back and relax, it's 42-feet above the esplanade in an arm-chair.

When Disney's Up promotional team and Allied Advertising came to the Charles River Esplanade last Thursday offering free rides in their balloon-powered arm chair, I jumped at the chance. How many people get to chillax in an arm chair during work hours, over 40 feet above the esplanade for free?

This past weekend marked the ninth year of the Northeast’s largest anime convention, Anime Boston. Gamers, geeks, and cosplayers flooded the Hynes Convention Center by the thousands, and luckily for them, much has improved since last year. For one thing, AB finally outsourced its registration to professionals, so long lines for pass pick-up are a thing of the past.

Obama picks Sotomayor
First Hispanic Supreme Court nominee ever [NY Times]

North Korea runs second test
This is probably not good. [CSM]

California Court to rule on gay marriage
Determine constitutionality of Prop. 8 [CNN]

Clark Rockefeller trial opens
Surely we'll learn more about this guy now [ABC News]

I had the pleasure of choosing my favorite Rooftop Comedy clips and calling it "work."

One of my choices? This bit from Mike Birbiglia. For the remaining fruits of my comedy labor, visit RooftopComedy.com

Where's Bulma?

I was up pretty late last night. How could I have been so irresponsible on a Wednesday? Well, I have an awful lot of work to do before Friday morning, and the list taped to my apartment wall still has a few items that aren’t crossed off: “finish armor,” “paint gloves,” “make arm bracelets,” and a couple other bits and pieces that I’ll have to wrap up tonight.

Via Harmonix dude Sean Baptiste's Twitter feed comes this dispatch from the BPD's Twitter feed from not long ago:

1. Boston_Police INJURED OFFICER: Officer from district 4 transported to Beth Israel Hospital, human bite to arm, suspect in custody. 20 May 2009 from TwitterBerry