We get a lot of weird feedback here at City Paper. But I'm pretty sure we've never been offered a tub.

Be sweet to bees, and they'll be good to you. And especially be careful when you're playing in their cribs — which we recently did, with some thriving hives in West Philly.

The Chinese could sacrifice a Tibetan Monk during the closing ceremonies of the Olympics and they would hardly get a rise out of the White House.

"You obviously miss the star-studded days of the Walnut. However, if you examine the economic history of the theater, and the Walnut in particular, you would understand why stars make no economic or artistic sense."

What kind of legit institution hosts lock-picking seminars, a class called "Motorcycle Anatomy and Manual Transmission 101," or the International Noise Conference festival tour?

Charles Hayes' work would likely not fascinate the art world. There are no "How did he do that?" moments or stunning displays of technical prowess. But transcending his amateurism is an instinctive conceptual maturity.

Luckily, rumors of art in New Jersey are true, and a lot of it is excellent.

Largely an inventive four-actor cutting of Shakespeare's script, R&J tells its own story of overpowering first love.

Gilliam's art continues to straddle the line between painting and sculpture.

"When I first started, I had this notion that it would be a serious endeavor — a look at the life of a gay lector. That died on the vine. It was humor that saved me."

"He could change himself from a charity case into an entrepreneur."

When Sixteen Stone came out eight months after grunge died in Kurt Cobain's greenhouse, Bush was written off as a Nirvana knockoff, poseurs, pretty boys and Neanderthals.

Ruby, the 4-year-old music director of the family, has demanded that this song be played with the "a lot" button (repeat) engaged on the car stereo on the way to and from pretty much everywhere for the last few months.

Think Syd Barrett minus the insanity, or Brian Eno without the better-paying pop-music day gigs.

Misnomer or not, it was perhaps inevitable that a group that plays this fast and loose with both jazz and rock conventions should prove unable to sustain any single identity for very long.

1 Three Way Beets | 2 Roasted Beet Salad | 3 Bietola con Crema di Ricotta | 4 Red Beet Soup | 5 Golden Beet Panzanella Salad

Philly's Phunniest is gearing up to pick a winner this weekend. The talent pool — which has been narrowed down from 140 to 28 over the past week — will be further trimmed to eight comics going into the finals Saturday. In addition to bragging rights, this last leg of the contest will award one comedian $1,000.

Even though she holds BSAs from Chicago's Art Institute and the International Academy of Merchandising & Design, Parker plans to host in-store "I Wish I Were in Art School" critique nights for those looking to get some constructive, honest feedback.

Around this time of year, there is no shortage of invertebrates.

Scott Kellogg, one of the founders of the Rhizome Collective in Austin, Texas, will lecture on the merits of sustainable collectives and give advice on how to start your own.

The number 6 celebrates the annual event's sixth anniversary, but we'll pretend it's for first baseman/very worthy first-base partner Ryan Howard.

Proceeds from this one-night-only titty fest will help support a trio of local 3-Day walkers who need to raise $2,200 each to participate in the intense trek.