I think "halls" (VFW/Elks/American Legion, etc.) are OP's best bet. It's my understanding that you can bring your own food, but I think they also require you to buy their booze, served by their bartenders (cash bar could be an option if guests would be OK with that).

Reminds me of nightmares that I have where I'm driving a moving car but somehow am in the backseat and trying to get at the steering wheel and pedals.

What year though? I was working a corporate event in '97 and the photographer had a digital camera that he had rented -- he was super nervous because it was a $10,000 camera. My partner and I were early adopters and bought a Nikon Coolpix in '99 for $1,000(!), and it shot only stills. We got a digital camcorder in 2000, but I think they were pretty new. Digital took off quickly at that point, but as the OP mentioned this video had been made in '94, I'm assuming it was shot on an analog tape-based camcorder and edited with a specific video controller.

Not me, but whoever did it had access to special video editing gear. Back in the mid-90s you couldn’t edit on a laptop or personal computer like you can today. Digital cameras didn’t exist (and if they did, they were super expensive and used only by professionals). This was done well!

I haven't been to HoB since pre-pandemic times, but back then you couldn't go to a floor that's different from your ticket's designation. Sucky policy, hopefully they've changed it.

It was a crepe restaurant, not sure about the Mandlebaums. I do know it was a national chain (not huge though). Here’s its wiki page. They also had wonderful salads.

Back Bay:

Magic Pan (corner of Newbury & Berkeley) Bailey’s (Boylston St) 29 Newbury Newbury Steak House (Mass Ave)

Cambridge

Grendel’s Den upstairs (Harvard Sq) Joyce Chen (Alewife) Bel Canto (Mass Ave btw Central & Harvard Sq)

Brookline:

B&D Deli Tam o’shanter

Watertown:

Lanno’s

That’s valid

Unfortunately housing stock is low right now, so your choices are pretty limited. Belmont, Newton, Needham, Lexington are all towns that are known for their excellent school districts. However, a quick search on realtor.com resulted in no 4-BR homes priced at $1M or less; a small handful of 3-BRs could be found. Also you're probably going to need to forego the acreage in these towns in that budget and bedroom configuration. Another person mentioned Arlington; its schools are very good, and it's a great community. There's one house in your price range w/ 4 BRs on the market (just to give you an idea of what $1M gets you).

Natick seems to have good schools, and you might be able to find something in your price range w/ 4 BRs (and maybe even a little more acreage).

Since you're OK with being far away from Boston, look at West Newbury. Here's a house on the market that might check a number of boxes for you.

Phew yay!!

did you make your train?

I don’t have a specific person to recommend, but in the immediate term you might benefit from seeing an executive functioning coach. A Google search should help you find someone either in your area or who can see you remotely.

I don’t have a specific recommendation for your location, but I think companies like Service Pro do cleanups after house fires; this would probably be the type of company to hire for a major deep cleaning.

I saw a gathering of people holding signs in Watertown Square on Saturday and wondered the same; also was a little confused by an "Ayatollah Biden" sign in the mix.

You still need to make your landlord aware of this, shitty or not. Communicate via email as well as by phone to serve as a documentation of the issue.

I wonder if part of it has to do with being tolerant/"used to" your local water, but I'm often surprised how bad water smells and tastes when I travel outside of the Boston area. In particular, I find that Atlanta's water tastes and smells like chlorine, and Florida's smells like sulphur (and feels super harsh on my hair).

There’s one still open at Brigham Circle in Mission Hill. That would be an excellent sad/bad place to go for Valentine’s Day.

You should check out Providence! It may be a better fit for you than Boston in terms of affordability and being a smaller city.

Good Will Hunting, Next Stop Wonderland, Gone Baby Gone, Mystic River

When you say "New York," are you talking about NYC or NY state?

iopener has an ecstatic dance event once a month at the Somerville Armory. Looks like next one is February 19.

Also put in a squirt bottle (like the kind at diners for ketchup & mustard) for more precision drawing.

Try food coloring

Precipitation in the winter is normal. Since the temps are above freezing (and higher than normal), it’s coming down as rain instead of snow.

I never heard of using Mermaid -- love it!