Twenty years ago, a one-man band called World Party had a minor hit single, "Ship of Fools." I haven't been able to get this song out of my head for the past few days, because it feels like the soundtrack to life lately.

Congress, apparently content to explore ever new depths in public disapproval, is on the verge of having a single member derail the most meaningful reform of the federal Freedom of Information Act in years.

Horseshoe crabs look scary, though they're actually rather gentle. I can pick up a horseshoe and tickle its gills — and expect nothing more than a gentle salute from a set of soft claws.

"We urge schools to stop chick-hatching projects and replace them with kinder ways to teach children about embryo development" | "How do you figure that if Bill Green had not run, Juan Ramos would have?" | "William Penn didn't name his colony after himself as part of some sort of nasty and nefarious plot against the human race. Charles II did." | "For Philadelphia to achieve 30 trees per acre means about 500,000 more trees than Philadelphia has today!" | "I knew Mumia personally and firmly believe his innocence, but doubt racism caused him to be framed."

I checked in with the notably straight and narrow candidate to see if he secretly buys Kiehl's products, watches Project Runway, and clips Martha Stewart Living recipes.

She's the only female on the local FBI's most-wanted list this year, but Ann Kirby isn't a bank robber. She was a petty criminal, heroin and meth addict and Kensington Avenue prostitute who allegedly beat her 9-year-old stepdaughter so severely that the girl was hospitalized.

As one mother took her leave of a limelight that decimated her life, two who'd never met were taking their cause to the Lone Star state. And they, too, have had a rough run of things.

"I think there is a 60 percent chance that [Gore] will run," surmises Cook, who left the Fattah camp last fall. Of Hillary, he says, "She is a printing press, but no paper tiger."

They call themselves "Philadelphia's all-comedy theater company" but 1812 Productions is after more than just laughs.

An "a-oow" sound begins at the front of my mouth and is expelled on my breath through tightly o-shaped lips. — Shirley Thomas

As every theater artist knows, they're both legally (unless the writer's long dead) and ethically bound to present a play as written.

Does this famously in-your-face, anti-establishment, pacifist show still pack a wallop?

If the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, Robert "Mero Cocinero" Karimi has the recipe for world peace.

That women far outnumber men as concert dance performers is a curious situation.

Tchaikovsky gave Sleeping Beauty one of his greatest scores and Peter Cazalet's costume and scenic design make the production look as good as it sounds.

It's big, fat, indoor-outdoor block party time! And now, thanks to the good people at InLiquid.com, your cheap-ass ticket to arty bliss lasts two days.

Summer is prime time for big local art shows, and the biggest of them all, "The Big Art Show," seems to have mastered the medium.

Now a deteriorated ruin, Eastern State Penitentiary is a bountiful space for site-specific choreographer Leah Stein to examine the physical and psychological aspects of confinement.

Susan Muaddi Darraj's debut as a fiction writer has been a long time coming.

Geoff DiMasi, of the newly renovated design firm P'unk Avenue, decided to bring together Benna and the rest of his artistic neighbors for a South Philly take on Old City's First Friday.

Mostly, it's an effective method of shoplifting or some new way to get high, but sometimes those kids loitering outside Hot Topic actually hit upon something.

In Electrelane's hands, simple chord progressions that hardly seem to move yield beguiling melodies.

Sensitive types, take cover — Finn Andrews is nothing but a heartache.

Leela James borrows her vibe from the R&B singers of the '60s and mixes it with a few new-school elements to come up with a sound she calls "back porch soul."

When MV & EE sing, "I inhaled a vortex last night," they're not just discussing their taste in smokables.

Spargelzeit | Meet the Distiller | Dogfish Head Dance of the 7 Ales | Outdoor Grill Class | Wine Wizard on the Rhone

Few spots combine heritage and contemporary diversions quite like the New Angle Lounge at 39th and Lancaster.

The Spirit of Philadelphia | Fountain Restaurant | The Tank Bar | The Feeding Frenzy Cafe | Valley Green Inn

Sure, he's had 18 Letterman appearances and toured theaters nationwide, but he's yet to receive mainstream recognition. All that may change with the contract Regan recently signed with Comedy Central.

Can't wait for the new Harry Potter? The Free Library welcomes the Harry Potter Knight Bus and its magic-related activities.

Bump it with the kids from 12th Air Command, Key West, PGN, Shampoo, Woody's and other hometown homo staples at this weekend's annual Philly Pride party and parade.

The executive director of the Full-Figured Diva Academy (FFDA) wants the shapely lasses of Philly to know there's more to plus-size fashion than muumuus and caftans.

Odunde — Philly's own African New Year's street party — really gets kicking around noon this Sunday, but if you want a prime spot, be at 23rd and South by 10:30 a.m.

Since 1938, Elfreth's Alley has been fighting against real estate developers and highway expansion projects by throwing an annual block party.

Small bikes don't mean small performance at the annual Round Up USA, a weekend-long exhibition put on by the folks at Trophy Bikes