You can ring in the new year with this hottie at Revolution Rock Bar's NYE 2011 burlesque celebration

Let’s face it: It’s pretty lame to spend New Year’s Eve in PJs watching a disco ball drop on TV at some cool celebration you’re not at. Even though 2011 is only days away, it’s not too late to make plans for a night on the town. Blast has put together a list of our top five spots to ring in the new year, each offering a unique NYE experience. Cheers!

A red carpet celebration

Calderwood Pavilion

Guys, dust off that tux and ladies grab that dress you’ve been waiting for an excuse to wear and attend the ultimate NYE celebration, which just so happens to be the official NYE event of Blast Magazine! The James Bond-themed event, hosted by Miss Massachusetts 2010 Lacey Wilson and Miss Maine 2010 Katie Whittier, will feature a red carpet entrance, professional photographers and videographers, live music and DJ entertainment, party favors, complimentary appetizers from 10 to 11 p.m. and prizes awarded to the best dressed party-goers!

Where: Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont St., Boston

When: 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Tickets: $85 for general admission, $140 for VIP, VIP table for five $999. A portion of the profits will benefit The Home For Little Wanderers charity. For tickets and more information, go here. 21+ event

A sexy, scandalous soirée

Revolution Rock Bar

Enter 2011 with some va-va-voom! The world-famous burlesque group, Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce, wants to celebrate the new year with you! Enjoy the sultry and scantily-clad ladies’ performances along with complimentary appetizers, a champagne toast and party favors.

Where: Revolution Rock Bar, 200 High St., Boston

When: 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Tickets: $60. More information and tickets available here. VIP tickets also available. 21+ event

A soulful and stylish night

The Beehive

This hip spot, known for its live jazz, old school-style cocktails and fabulous food, just might be the coolest place to ring in the new year. Choose from over 69 champagnes to fill your glass, nosh on a buffet of hors d’oeuvres and desserts and feast your eyes on shimmying belly dancers while listening to live funk music.

Where: The Beehive, Boston Center for the Arts, 541 Tremont St., Boston

When: 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

Tickets: $65 without food, $95 with food. Cash bar. For tickets and more information, go here or call 617-423-0069. 21+ event

A casual, inexpensive experience

Kings Lounge

Tuck that cash back in your wallet and enjoy a cover-free evening at Kings’ Back Bay and Dedham locations. There will be bowling, music, party favors and a menu available all night long. Looking to add a little romance? Then order from the three-course pre fixe menu, complete with a champagne toast, for $45 per person.

Where: Kings Back Bay, 50 Dalton St., Boston and Kings Dedham, 600 Legacy Place, Dedham

When: Doors open at 8 p.m.

Tickets: None needed; no cover charge.

For more information, go to KingsBackBay.com or KingsDedham.com or call 617-266-2695 (Back Bay) or 781-329-6000 (Dedham). 21+ event

A high-energy, club-atmosphere

The Estate

Dance your way into the new year with music from award-winning DJ Buddy Costa at this swanky, celebrity-studded night spot. Get party favors and join in a champagne toast with all the other hot, young partiers you’ve been grinding against all night!

Where: The Estate, One Boylston Place, Boston

When: Doors open at 10 p.m.

Tickets: $75, $60 in advance. For tickets and  more information, go here or call 617-351-7000. 21+ event

Guys, you can breathe a sigh of relief: your manhood can officially be recovered after your girlfriends and wives drag you to the mall for some serious wallet-denting, crowd-pushing, sale-chasing Black Friday shopping.

Thanks to Kings, a retro-inspired bowling alley, pool hall and bar, you can relax with a beer, watch the game, play some pool, eat some grub and forget the retail-induced trauma of the day. And ladies, you can avoid traumatizing your boyfriends and husbands in the first place by dropping them off at the “sitter” while you get started on that Christmas list.

Details

Friday, Nov. 26, 2010

Kings Back Bay location from 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Kings Dedham location from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.

No cover; must be 21+

“Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Not true, at least in the case of these brilliant TV shows. We all know the pain of falling head-over-heels for a new show, only to realize that you are the only one in the world who understands its true brilliance…before it’s too late. Here is a list of eight of the best shows to be cancelled before their time.

1. Arrested Development
No TV family has ever been so dysfunctional to such comedic effect in the history of television. The Bluths were a successful model home dynasty, until shady government dealings left them bankrupt and their patriarch in jail. Now it’s all up to Michael, the one sane member of the family, to hold them all together. Will Arnette, Jason Bateman and especially Michael Cera pretty much owe their comedic careers to this show. Despite its cancellation, however, there are constant rumors of a film being made. Maybe this year?

2. Firefly
It was a space western. The perfect marriage of two radically different genres. Add to that a cast of plucky underdogs, groundbreaking cinematography and the humor and drama Joss Whedon (creator of “Buffy,” “Angel,” and “Dollhouse”) is known for, and you’d think you’d have an instant hit. You’d be wrong. But at least “Firefly” fans got to say “I told you so” when their beloved show was turned into a big damn movie, “Serenity.”

3. Greg the Bunny
Puppets, or “Fabricated Americans” live among us. Some of them are working alongside humans in a children’s show called “Sweet Knuckle Junction.” But instead of charmed lives, they all have problems with substance abuse, ex-wives and failure. Seth Green starred (alongside adorable Greg the bunny) in this ridiculous satire.

4. Wonderfalls
Graduating and moving back home can be frustrating. But for Jaye, who works a dead-end job at a Niagara Falls gift shop, it starts to get a little weird when the taxidermied animals in the shop start ordering her to help people in need.

5. Freaks and Geeks
The show followed the Weir siblings, Lindsey and Sam, through their eternal quest to fit in with their chosen social castes. Lindsey went from the star mathlete to an army-jacket-wearing “freak” and Sam, pining for his cheerleader dream girl, has always been a “geek.”

6. Pushing Daisies
Possibly the most adorable love story ever, Pushing Daisies focuses on the Piemaker, who has the unique talent of bringing dead things back to life. But there’s a catch: If he touches something twice, it goes back to being dead. This comes in handy while solving crimes with no-nonsense P.I. Emerson Cod, but things get a bit complicated when he brings his childhood sweetheart back to life, and can never touch her again. Also, Kristin Chenoweth sings.

7. Carnivale
The battle between good and evil takes place in the Dustbowl in the 1930′s. Humanity’s only hope lies in a traveling carnival and Ben, their new recruit and reluctant hero. Layered with symbolism, a complex mythology, and phenomenal acting, it was hard to believe “Carnivale” wasn’t renewed for a third season.

8. Kings
The classic tale of the Bible’s King David came to life for one brief season last spring. With little-to-no heavy-handed religious themes, viewers were taken into a modern-day interpretation of the story. With some of the most incredible writing television has seen in a long time and superb acting (especially by Ian McShane, or “King Silas”), the hour-long show immersed viewers in a tale of bravery, betrayal, love and power. Alas, we were left full of questions at the season finale.

It almost happened to “30 Rock,” it almost happened to “Dollhouse,” and it could still happen to “Glee.” Please, watch original shows. Don’t let the networks kill off innocent plotlines on a whim.

A late update on this story and I apologize for that:

The famed Louvre museum quickly resolved its quarrel with Egypt yesterday by agreeing to return the steles Egyptian antiquities chief Zahi Hawass accused them of purchasing on the black market, the New York Times reports.

French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand organized a special meeting to make a final decision on the fate of the five relics. The committee came to the conclusion that Egypt had provided sufficient evidence to prove the pieces were stolen and thus, made a unanimous decision to return them in good faith.

Mitterrand had previously told media that he was in favor of returning the pieces as long as proof that they were stolen was provided by Egypt.

Mitterrand also told media that the relics were not purchased on the black market. In fact, he said, four of the pieces were purchased from the Maspero gallery in France in 2000 and the other from an auction in Paris three years later.

The five estranged frescoes are believed to be from the tomb of Tetaki, a 3,200-year-old cleric who was laid to rest in the Valley of Kings near Luxor.

Egypt says it will resume relations with the museum after the relics are returned home. The French culture ministry is optimistic that the whole ordeal will be resolved in a matter of weeks.