"I remember distinctly looking at myself in the mirror, and I just didn't look like the guy that I was. I don't even know how to describe it, but it looked like the mustache was in the wrong place. So I just shaved it off. And the next morning I felt like a different person, like I had shed the image of this guy from the old days. I think it had a lot to do with me moving on as a person and growing up — leaving the old John behind. I never looked back after that."

by Brian Howard

The best ingredient in the recipe for changing Mormons' opinions may well be time, not confrontation.

by Ryan Godfrey

Framed by Robert Indiana's LOVE and turgid Billy Penn, they chanted, "Repeal 8, Love is great."

by Bruce Schimmel

What You Say

Brandon wondered what she could do about such a large and formidable problem as citywide gun violence. She was just a fashion designer, after all. Then it struck her: Take the guns out of circulation. Melt them down. Turn them into jewelry.

A former rocker turns to karaoke.

by Isaiah Thompson

The march to Independence Mall starts at 10 a.m. on the west side of City Hall. And, let me guess, ends with the fashioning of a golden Ron Paul idol?

Things have been quiet at the pharmacy since the second robbery — thanks, possibly, to a private security guard. The police have stepped up their presence on the corner since the robberies as well, as has Penn bicycle security. At the moment, it's probably the most heavily guarded business on Baltimore Avenue.

When news breaks in Philadelphia, we make jokes.

With all the public outcry that's accompanied the proposed cuts, the concept of reaching out to alternative sources of funding may now appear especially attractive. Is the city looking into it?

"I expected a few hundred people to show up," says Brandi Fitzgerald, one of the organizers of the Philadelphia protest. It was Internet word-of-mouth that took that number up to 6,000.

by Mike Newall

Temple's student-centric production of La Bohème does Puccini proud.

by A.D. Amorosi

Q&A with La Bohème's educational trio, who've spent quite a few long nights at the opera.

by A.D. Amorosi

John Vettese sees what develops

by John Vettese

by Mark Cofta

by Peter Burwasser

Fri.-Sat., Nov. 21-22, 8 p.m., $25, Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St., 215-925-9914, paintedbride.org.

by Deni Kasrel

Thu., Nov. 20, 7 p.m., free, Wooden Shoe Books, 508 S. Fifth St. 215-413-0999, woodenshoebooks.com.

by Dianca Potts

Nakazora and Foreclosed | Drapo Vodou: Haitian Vodou Flags | Snoom

The Last Hurrah of the Clementines

by Holly Otterbein

Danny Boyle plunges into modern-day India like a tourist on a short visa, zipping from the slums of Mumbai to the Taj Mahal, and taking his young protagonist from indigence to the edge of wealth.

A journalist asked him, "Are you pro- or against family?" "I was not able to answer such a question," Desplechin says. "Families just are."

Send repertory film listings to molly.eichel@citypaper.net.

Originally hailing from Peru, Chavez felt a personal and familial resonance with the woman on the soap box and clung to the image, bringing it with her when she moved from Houston to Brooklyn in 2005, assuming it would find its way into a painting.

The music of The Mural and the Mint has a way of sneaking up on you. Perhaps it's because composer/singer Michael Kiley likes to book shows at places like the warehouse-y The Parlor and the dainty L'Etage.

Rodney Anonymous vs. The World

by Rodney Anonymous

"Casual Satisfaction"

by Patrick Rapa

She Ends All | Subtle | Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson | Madonna | Jedi Mind Tricks

Sun., Nov. 23, 8 p.m., $20, with Newton Faulkner and David Ford, TLA, 334 South St., livenation.com.

by M.J. Fine

Sat., Nov. 22, 9 p.m., $20, TLA, 334 South St., 215-922-1011, livenation.com.

by M.J. Fine

Fri., Nov. 21, 8 p.m., $16.50, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Ben Franklin Parkway, 215-569-8080, philadelphiachambermusic.org.

by Peter Burwasser

What makes Wokano such a fun spot isn't just its adventurous fare. It's that it makes room at the table for everyone — even those who play it safe.

Argan Moroccan Cuisine | Who's Hungry in The Green Room | D.P. Dough | New chef at The Ugly American

Menus came to my wife and me, followed soon by a couple of toys for our junior food critic. This is probably the last time the burgeoning tyrant will be coming along with us, but Hinge's vibe is so friendly and comfortable that it almost made me forget the reasons why.

Get Out!

by Nikki Volpicelli

Sol Sender on the big "O"

by Holly Otterbein

Green Homes Tour

by Dianca Potts

You're the Asshole Who Laughs at Dead Baby Jokes

by Andrew Thompson

You're Making All Your Gifts This Year

by Holly Otterbein

The Bucklette

by Nikki Volpicelli