Your long day of corporate drudgery is over. Get out and enjoy the city! Here are a few ideas to get you started, lovingly picked by Boston Daily.

The last time we went Shopping Under the Influence, we woke up with a hangover and a credit card bill that went on for pages. Hopefully we can control ourselves for the Achilles Project’s first dining experience-slash-sale.

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Well that was fun. The three-way deal with the Marlins and Pirates? It was on, then it wasn’t, then it was, now it isn’t?

Then Jason Bay was going to the Rays. Then he wasn’t.

The maybe deal with the Dodgers? Didn’t happen, although it did lead to these great headlines on boston.com’s Extra Bases blog.

Dodgers in play, too (2:32)

Count out LA (3:05)

Then boston.com crashed for a few minutes right around 4 p.m. and anarchy reigned. (We kid. Boston.com’s coverage of the trade deadline was fantastic, and with every reporter working overtime you’re going to get conflicting reports).

So, Manny stays. For now. We think. What are we all going to do next year at this time?

UPDATE: Or not. Manny’s apparently going to the Dodgers. Bay’s coming to the Sox. Minor leaguers to change hands.

UPDATE II: According to reports, the Sox kicked in Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen. Initial reaction? The Sox made out better than anyone could have hoped. Bay is a very good player, and they didn’t give up anyone in the Jed Lowrie, Michael Bowden range of prospects.

We here at Boston Daily were devastated when we heard a rumor that John Kerry spokesman David Wade is leaving his post for a job with Barack Obama’s yet-to-be-named running mate.

“I’m taking a leave of absence through the election,” Wade tells Boston Daily. “Today’s my last day.”

While the relentless media pressure usually grinds the snark out of the strongest of spokespeople, Wade has boldly called out power players on the national and local scene during his time with Kerry. After the jump, we review some of his greatest hits.

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After months of research, Boston magazine is proud to present the Best of Boston 2008 issue. We scoured the city for the best of everything, from bikini waxers to brasseries. It was hard work, but we did it for you, dear readers.

Because we’re a bunch of teases, we aren’t posting the full list of winners to the site until August 26. But we are giving you a peek at some of our choices throughout the month, starting today.

The winner for Makeup is. . .

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Taking you around the Internet for your afternoon enjoyment.

Of course that hasn’t happened. This isn’t California, after all: Gov. Deval Patrick signed the bill that allows any out-of-state gay couples to marry, saying that in the five years since same-sex marriage has been legal in Massachusetts, “the sky has not fallen, the earth has not opened to swallow us all up[.]” [WHDH]

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If the Legislature had spent a little bit more time voting on bills instead of mounting campaigns to become House Speaker or working 15-hour weeks, maybe they wouldn’t have to stay in the chambers until late tonight to accomplish all the stuff they should have done before the end of the legislative session.

But they didn’t, so now it’s time to cram months of legislation into a few precious hours. Let the frenzy begin!

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Channel 7 sports reporter Julie Donaldson continues to sit on the broadcasting sidelines due to the criminal proceedings against her allegedly abusive boyfriend, Ivan Lattimore. It seems that with every positive development for her in the case, there’s another revelation that could prove damning to Donaldson.

After the jump, we break down the latest drama.

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When Manny Ramirez held up that sign, the one that said he would get traded for Brett Favre, you thought what? Bemusement? Anger? Nothing? When Manny told ESPN Deportes, “The Red Sox don’t deserve me,” how did that strike you?

We’re beyond the point of being angry, and a good number of people who excused his behavior are also past the point of laughing it off. So, we are left with nothing. Well, possibly Jason Bay and John Grabow from the Pirates, according to the media reports this morning, but in the case of Manny Ramirez and the Red Sox there is now emptiness.

It didn’t have to be like this, of course. Manny owned this town. Not like his partner in the middle of the order, David Ortiz, who is beloved, but Manny had a hold of the city’s imagination like no other athlete in recent memory. And now that’s gone. (more…)

Last weekend, we set our TiVo to catch fugitive mobster James “Whitey” Bulger’s most recent appearance on America’s Most Wanted. This Saturday, the story of kidnapper Clark Rockefeller (or whatever his real name is) will be featured on the program.

If authorities in New York hadn’t captured Rodlyn Petitbois last night, the true-crime show would probably be preparing to set up a Massachusetts Bureau.

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Your condensed guide to today’s daily papers.

One kidnapper is found: Alleged killer and kidnapper Rodlyn Petitbois was found in Brooklyn last night, along with his four children and their mother. [Globe]

While Mr. Crockafeller is still at large: Having a yacht, untraceable gold bullion, and no discernible identity really makes staying incognito easier, doesn’t it? [Herald]

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