For about a year now, I've been mildly obsessed with kayaking the length of the Schuylkill. (Not that I owned a kayak, mind you.) Then a couple months ago, contributing photographer Michael M. Koehler dropped a line proposing a photo essay of the exact same thing.

Why should taxpayers reward companies for building where there's no mass transit? Why should we help employers avoid paying taxes where their workers live? Or help those who don't pay enough to attract local workers?

"Jesus H. Christ in a tuxedo shirt with ruffles, that's startling."

On Monday, after posting $75,000 bail for a host of drug and weapons charges, Edward Mack pulls up in front of The Caddi Lounge in his black SUV. It's one of the five bars raided in the 22nd Police District last Friday evening as part of their new crime-reduction initiative, Operation Pressure Point. Police held a press conference saying they found enough guns and ammo inside Caddi to "take over a small country."

Chinatown North, as we know it, is a no-man's-land of old factory buildings, sparse strips of row houses and streets overwhelmed by tall weeds and trash. But thanks to the Asian Arts Initiative's 2009 "Chinatown In/flux: Future Landscapes" project, revitalization may not be out of reach.

Goodlands is a community arts program based out of the Centro Nueva Creacion community center at Second and Tioga aimed at breaking through the negativity surrounding the Latino Corridor, often referred to as "the Badlands."

Artist Eve Andrée Laramée asks the logical next question: If plants slept, what would they dream about?

Juxtapose presents two world premieres that fall squarely into opposite camps: Martha Clark's dark, unsettling, costume-heavy dance-theater fusion (pictured) is inspired by the photographs of Diane Arbus, while Jeanne Ruddy's LARK aims to be movement for movement's sake.

The AIA Philadelphia Associate Committee is whipping up 14 site-specific installations whose cans will be donated to local food banks when the exhibit closes.

Where most people see a religious allegory, Amie Potsic sees something much more basic and universal: a wound.

Playwright/director Nagle Jackson returns to Hedgerow Theatre for his new comedy in which a prosperous couple explores whether there's really anything to their relationship — or themselves — without their possessions.

In his new memoir Closing Time, Queenan sobers up to reveal the root of his anger: an abusive alcoholic father whose erratic job history condemned Queenan to an East Falls housing project childhood.

Geoff Sobelle is a virtuoso. He has superlative technique and a plethora of ideas. But his performance is all about novelty and so full of self-conscious cleverness that the character never coheres.

How do you reinvent the inexplicable? That was the challenge faced by Philly prog-pop weirdos Make a Rising when the band imploded a few months back.

Schallfaktor's Sittenverfall is a lot better than it has any right to be. Theoretically, anyone could've made this CD — all they would need are some glitchy beats and atmospheric synth pads.

Snowstorm's shows typically last no more than 10 minutes or so, but the brevity is less a matter of "leave 'em wanting more" than a strategy of "leave 'em shell-shocked and dazed."

Open tuned and gently plucked, slack key guitar is one of the most tranquil musical experiences.

Boston's Freezepop have been in the retro-'80s electropop game longer than most, but that doesn't mean they've ever bothered to grow up.

Portland's Laura Gibson isn't going to knock you over with her music.

Years ago, putting two tenor players onstage together would inevitably lead to a cutting contest, the saxophonists' equivalent of pistols at dawn.

Reef the Lost Cauze and King Magnetic somehow found time to make Shadyville, a mixtape with walk-ons by Brother Ali and Edo G.

If the name of her duo raises your hackles, just wait until you hear Aussie guitarist Kate Cooper sing about heat, hope and heartache.

Surrounded by the smoldering ruins of a great civilization wrecked by monsters he once served, Richard Strauss wrote his farewell to music and life in 1948.

DJ Brunch at Cantina Los Caballitos | Sam Adams Manayunk Brew Fest | Team Jamaica Bickle Fundraiser at Blue Bananas Café | Roast Chicken Demo with David Katz

1 Wheat Berries | 2 Amaranth | 3 Millet | 4 Bulgur wheat | 5 Roasted buckwheat (kasha)

The show built on themes running through member artists' work. It is split into two halves, the first concentrating on the natural world, the second on the man-made, but both dealing with ideas of imaginary landscapes and environments.

Earth Day Fest & Flea Market | Mini Terrarium Demonstration | 5K Run for Clean Air | Disneynature's Earth | The Waitstaff's Somewhat Special Earth Day Show

Mayer will show attendees how to relieve headaches, reduce stress and utilize pressure points through massage. She'll also give simple tips to newbies, like working with the direction of a tendon instead of against it.

If you're itching for some business time with the two sexiest New Zealanders to ever shake their sugar lumps on HBO, the Flight of the Conchords boys will be in Upper Darby this week.

The annual event was previously called the Philadelphia Book Festival, but the name was changed to reflect the variety of programming. "There's so much more than just books here," Goddard says. "We're presenting music and performances — stuff not necessarily in books."