Halloween makes me nostalgic %u2014 mostly because, while growing up, my father would constantly try to scare the living crap out of us.

The most recent disaster is nearly 100 years in the making, with Turkey massing 100,000 troops on the border with Kurdish northern Iraq, erasing whatever gains might have been reaped from the recent drop-off in casualties.

Sammy "The Sidewalk Snatcher" Benakmoume must be feeling lucky, because the real estate developer is betting against the house. And the house hates to lose.

Thousands are in prison for life because they were with the wrong crowd at the wrong time, not because they actually committed the crime. | I think it would have been just as effective if you would have used alternatives to the profanity. | The seemingly all-knowing Taussig and Namako might have some clues to what the new mayor will face, but are clueless when they give their tripe on real estate taxes and the BPT. | A wholesale purge would remove distinguished judges [and] be a grave miscarriage of justice. | Thanks for the inspired report on the Solar Decathlon.

I should've known better. After all, the you-got-credentials! e-mail that arrived last week established a lay of the land that, when translated, read: Sorry, bro, you're not getting within 100 yards of Obama or the wicked bar-exam-failing witch he was allegedly setting out to confront.

It's no secret that Pennsylvania has a closed-door policy when it comes to allowing public access to government records. But as the year winds down, recent action in Harrisburg makes it seem as if state legislators are taking extra precautions to open those doorways %u2014and ensure their election success next year.

Dancers advance and retreat. Their costumes are all black or all white and virtually unisex; even men wear skirts. The skirts are props that become veils, or even capes flourished matador-like for other dancers to push through like bulls.

Adrian Tomine's Shortcomings opens with a Chinese-American woman comparing her grandfather to the fortune cookies he makes, "a hard protective shell, containing haiku-like wisdom."

The Xperimenters will offer three sets of performances at the Wilma a year (in November, March and July), giving the talented crew a huge opportunity to develop their company, create work and establish an audience.

Your ears may require a bit of aural adjustment the first time you listen to Çudamani, a Balinese gamelan ensemble.

You were an obedient child. You'd never dream of sticking it to the man. So how are you going to get that cutie-pie anarchist boy stuck on you?

David Kessler's documentary If You Break the Skin, You Must Come In, made as part of a project to teach teens in foster care about art and filmmaking, never manages to hide its amateur origins.

The public unraveling of Britney Spears has been one of the most singularly unpleasant and joyless tabloid spectacles since the death of Princess Diana.

When Weedeater singer "Dixie" Dave Collins opens his mouth, it sounds like Swamp Thing blowing chunks of bong water and whiskey.

A solemn, even grieving mood pervades the balance of the program, including a Stabat Mater setting by the great Polish composer Szymanowski, and a newly commissioned piece by Penn composer James Primosch based on Vietnam War-era poetry by Denise Levertov.

It's impossible to ignore the moody musical thread that Ken Burns wove through PBS' The War.

1 Violet Crumble, Ants Pants Café | 2 Peanut Chew, Nifty Fifty's | 3 Apple Pie, The Pop Shop | 4 Falooda, Palace at the Ben | 5 Vanilla, Johnnie's Dog House

Apple Festival at Peddler's Village | Dia de los Muertos at Xochitl | Philadelphia Whiskey Festival | Breakfast and Raw Food Lecture | Slow Food Dinner at Penne Restaurant

Adam Ferrara's latest role as Chief "Needles" Nelson on FX's Rescue Me is a departure from his previous Comedy Central specials and guest spots on

Katie Henry is "too tough to be a Katie." The local designer prefers you call her Hank, the tough nickname she lends to her line of bags.

The PIMA Group, a local performing arts nonprofit, is breaking out the bingo cards to fund their latest dance project, Look!

It's no surprise that the Rotunda's first mural will be a community effort.

In a perfect world, bridesmaid dresses would not exist. But this world is far from perfect, and your closet is full of taffeta.