We here at Boston Daily love animals. From gregarious turkeys to flustered mother ducks, we love all God’s creatures. (Aside from the ones that try to kill us.)

But we also love local traditions. So our feelings about this weekend’s 22nd Annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament are conflicted. More than 200 boats will try to catch sharks off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, prompting an outcry from animal rights activists.

Including one dreamy noted fashion photographer.

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Earlier this afternoon, Mayor Tom Menino and Farm Aid co-founder John Mellencamp made a visit to the Copley Farmers Market to announce the star-studded line-up for the annual Farm Aid concert, which hits New England for the first time in its 23-year history on September 20.

Menino was quick to welcome Mellencamp to the Hub in his own special way—a complete mangling of the rocker’s name. Dozens of cringing fans tried to help Hizzoner, but he continued to stumble. Say it with us, Mayor— Mell-EN-camp!

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No one will ever be able to accuse the Boston Celtics of not enjoying their recent success. The players promised to not sleep for a month, and judging by some reports, they haven’t.

“I’ve been getting a lot of cat naps,” Kevin Garnett said last night at the premiere of the team’s championship DVD release. “I am the national spokesman for cat naps. Enjoy 17. Enjoy it now. ” Garnett playfully added that we didn’t see any pictures of him emanating from Las Vegas.

The team reunited at the Garden for the invite-only soiree, and while they were pelted by questions about the possible return of prodigal son/ free agent James Posey, they were mostly still basking in the championship glow.

“It’s really great to see these guys a month later,” owner Wyc Grousbeck said. “It’s just really cool to get everyone together and say, ‘Hey. We did it.’” (more…)

Our excitement for the Democratic National Convention continues to build. Ted Kennedy’s return to the Senate fueled our hopes that he will give an oration in Denver that will put Barack Obama’s 2004 speech in Boston to shame. Earlier today we learned Maria Menounos is gonna be there too.

But having all these great people in one location will take a lot of traveling, and if there’s anybody who can’t live with green guilt, it’s a Democrat.

To stop the visions of polar bears without an ice floe that haunts their dreams, the Massachusetts delegates have decided to install compact fluorescent light bulbs in low-income housing around the state to offset the carbon they’ll put out while traveling to Denver.

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As Josh Beckett walked the red carpet of last night’s Second Annual Beckett Bowl, we noticed he was wearing a gigantic belt buckle that, at first glance, looked to be the Red Sox B, paired with jeans and a button-down shirt. But when we spied the same logo on a bracelet his girlfriend was wearing, we saw it was a little different.

“It’s his brand,” Whitney Hayes said over the wails of frenzied fans begging for autographs.

As city-dwelling northerners, we immediately thought she meant it in the sneakers and politics sense of the word. But she meant it in the traditional cattle-singeing sense of branding. (It also appears on the gates of Beckett’s Herradura Ranch.)

After that bit of culture shock, we needed something familiar and comforting. So we were happy when Glen “Big Baby” Davis arrived on the red carpet.

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We here at Boston Daily are excited for the 2008 Democratic National Convention because the event will take place in Denver, and not in our backyard as it did four years ago. So, we’ll be able to get to work without getting a cavity search on the T.

Perhaps the thing we’re looking forward to most is the idea that Ted Kennedy could give a speech that will rival the oratorical genius he displayed at the 1980 DNC.

But it seems Democrats have some issues to sort out before the convention even gets underway. Yesterday, the New York Times reported the DNC is running behind schedule and over budget.

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We didn’t grow up on the North Shore, so many of its traditions are alien to us. Sometimes, as with Gloucester’s greasy pole contest during St. Peter’s Fiesta, we can totally get on board.

Today, we learned about Beverly Farms’ annual Fourth of July Horribles Parade, which is in the news for crudely mocking the pregnancy furor that rocked Gloucester.

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We’ve got good news, and we’ve got bad news.

The good? It’s going to be a fun weekend in Boston.

The bad news? City-dwellers are warned that getting around town is going to be well nigh impossible this weekend, thanks to several parades, festivals, and train repairs.

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Like a lot of people we can’t wait to see the Sex and the City movie. It’s all the heavy drinking, frustration with men, and female bonding we crave, except in a different city and dressed in much nicer clothes. (Speaking of the wardrobe, we’re counting down our favorite Carrie Bradshaw ensembles on Bostonista.)

So we’re pretty excited for the movie. Note that we said excited. Not insane. Some Sex fans have crossed into stark raving lunacy in advance of the movie’s release tomorrow.

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The line to get in to the Boylston Street Apple Store stretched down Fairfield Street for several blocks for last night’s grand opening. Some determined souls had spent the night in front of the three-floor Mecca of Macs, but most of the people we spoke to showed up sometime during the afternoon.

Though no one seemed to know why.

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