Chronicling the past week via quick links and pithy commentary (Name that Frog edition).

Could it be that a librarian takes down the mayor? Who says the printed word has lost its influence?

The Charlie Jacobs backstory: Is right here.

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The news from Hillary Clinton’s Rochester, New Hampshire campaign office is better, but the standoff hasn’t completely been resolved. WMUR reports that two hostages have been released, but it’s unclear if all the staffers are out.

Two hostages have been released from the Hillary Clinton campaign office in Rochester, police said, but it was unclear if there were any more inside.

An armed man took hostages at the office on 28 North Main St. Friday afternoon, and officials with the campaign said that there were two workers taken hostage in the office, but police have not confirmed that those were the only two hostages in the building.

Mitt Romney isn’t likely to win many popularity contests in Massachusetts, which makes the findings about him a new Survey USA/WBZ poll none too shocking. When pitted against several Democratic front runners, the former governor loses every time. That’s not the really interesting revelation, however. That would be the lack of support for  Barack Obama.

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Sometimes we can’t figure out Tom Menino. When he’s at events like a tree lighting ceremony he seems like a perfectly affable guy. But when we read the nasty stories from those who worked with the man, we’re not so sure he’s the inarticulate teddy bear we hope he is. Globe columnist Steve Bailey confirms that the Bernard Margolis saga isn’t an isolated incident of the mayor’s ability to shut somebody down. It seems our mayor has been playing more games on the golf course than the ones that involve a 9-iron.

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Various news outlets are reporting that hostages have been taken at one of Hillary Clinton’s campaign offices in Rochester, New Hampshire.

From WCVB’s coverage:

An armed man took at least two workers hostage Friday at a Hillary Clinton presidential campaign office in New Hampshire, police said.

The incident happened at about 1 p.m. Friday at 28 Main St. in Rochester. Officials said that a man is holding people hostage at the office, but it is unclear how many people are being held.There are several police officers positioned across the street from the office, crouched down behind cruisers with guns drawn, according to a reported at the scene.

Clinton isn’t in the Granite State, and the nearby office for fellow candidate Barack Obama has also been evacuated. We’ll have more details as they become available.

It’s the weekend. You can spend it curled up in blankets as a cold wind blows against your windows, or you can bundle up and go outside to enjoy it. Here are some suggestions for your precious two days of total freedom, prepared for you by Boston Daily.

Tonight
We love Christopher Guest, and we can only imagine that he loves the delicious irony of appearing at the Berklee College of Music to meet the students who embody most of the stereotypes he’s portrayed in movies like This is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind. But maybe we’re just projecting.

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A couple quick hits for you this morning on casinos:

First, Representative David Flynn of Bridgewater, House Dean and Chair of the Joint Committee on Bonding Capital Expenditures and State Assets (say that ten times fast), has scheduled a hearing for December 13 to study a host of revenue matters, but most prominently the potential economic impact of casinos on the state.

“The focus of the whole hearing will be projection of revenue,” Flynn says. “The main thing is, I think it recent years, Massachusetts has been all anchor and no sail and I think it’s time to get the show on the road one way or the other.” (more…)

Some NFL analysts study trends. Others study stats. Our man, Gonz, does neither. But that won’t stop him from breaking down each week’s Patriots’ game. His picks are for amusement purposes only, since last year he dropped a small fortune to the world’s worst bookie.

Thanksgiving mercifully saved me from having to breakdown last week’s Pats-Eagles game. Between us, I just didn’t have it in me to write a preview about New England beating the crap out of my hometown Birds. Plus, had I written that, I would have been wrong.

In case you missed it, the once invulnerable New England Patriots, the guys everyone figured would throttle each of their opponents on their way to an undefeated season, barely squeaked out a win at home against Philadelphia last Sunday Night. In fact, the Pats were, arguably, one fewer AJ Feeley interception away from losing that game.

Suddenly, the Pats don’t look quite as unbeatable as they once did.

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We know we’ve been a bit heavy on the cross-promotion this week, but bear with us. In the March 2007 issue of Boston magazine, Cape Cod writer Peter Manso detailed the huge flaws in the trial of Christopher McCowen, the man who was found guilty of murdering fashion writer Christina Worthington in 2002. Manso described the charges of racism in the jury room, which has led a judge to call the jury back to find out what really happened.

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While our generation may best know James Taylor as the singer-songwriter from our mom’s vinyl collection, or as the guy who sings at Fenway a lot, the Belmont-born musician has more to his name than Greatest Hits. During the 70’s, he also had a brief career as a movie star.

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