Fun around town, for $10 or less: Jazziest: Book release party for Ben Ratliff's The Jazz Ear featuring critically-acclaimed Philadelphia pianist Orrin Evans, presented by Ars Nova at the International House (3701 Chestnut), 8PM. Free Constantine's Sword: Screening of Constantine's Sword as part of the Jewish Film Festival at the Gershman Y (401 S Broad), 7PM. $10 Open Mic: Free at The Fire (412 W. Girard). Sign up at 8:30PM. (21+) Sing Your Life!: Karaoke......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY: Too Cool For: Screening of The Cool School: Story of the Ferus Art Gallery followed by The Way We Do Art Now and Other Sacred Tales at the International House (3701 Chestnut), 7PM. $7 Not Lost: Found, a performance by Davy Rothbart, at the Painted Bride (230 Vine), 7PM. $10 No Wining: Breaking Through the Cork Ceiling, a wine panel discussion with six female winemakers at the......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Once More, With Feeling: Screening of Christmas on Mars, directed by Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne, at Marvelous Records (208 S 40th), 8 & 10PM. $5 Lotta Stories: Barrelhouse and Philadelphia's Get Free Movement present 8 Million Stories, with readings from local authors and music by DJ Foxx Boogie at Tattooed Mom (530 South), 8:30PM. Free Poetry Reading: Faculty and students from the University of Delaware with read......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Free Mid-Day Music: Diane Meredith Belcher at St Mark's Church (1625 Locust), 12:45PM. Free Jazzy: Victor North and the Jazz Jam at Chris' Jazz Café (1421 Sansom), 9PM. $3 Is It Fatal?: Sparky's Flaw at Upstairs at World Cafe Live (3025 Walnut), 8PM. $10 Got a frugal tip? Don't be stingy! Send it here and share the wealth!......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY Photos: Gallery talk by Stuart Rome, with photographer Koichiro Kurita, at Project Basho (1305 Germantown Ave), 7PM. Free Improv: Improv comedy with the N Crowd at the Actors Center (257 N 3rd), 8PM. $10 Jazzy: Erronius Krunk at Chris' Jazz Café (1421 Sansom), 5-7PM. $5 Mooses: Agent Moosehead and Now Soon Nowhere at Upstairs at World Café Live (3025 Walnut), 9PM. $9 Haunted: The tall ship Gazela......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Jazzy: Dan Loomis at Chris' Jazz Café (1421 Sansom), 8PM. $10 Open Mic: Free at The Fire (412 W. Girard). Sign up at 8:30PM. (21+) Sing Your Life!: Karaoke With DJ Sara Sherr Mondays upstairs at the Khyber (56 S. Second), 9PM - 2 AM. Free (21+) Got a frugal tip? Don't be stingy! Send it here and share the wealth!......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Touchy: Music collective Bad Touch, presented by Ars Nova Workshop, at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut), 8PM. Free Spookeh: Miro Dance Theatre presents preliminary work on Spooky Action, inspired by the particle accelerator Fermilab, at their Girard College Studio (2101 S College Ave), 6:30PM. Free Burn Baby: Both Ends Burning at the Khyber (56 S 2nd), 9PM. Free Dangerous: The Skull Defekts, Little Women, and Talk Normal at Danger......

Friday nights are always something to celebrate at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where Art After 5 brings the top names in jazz and international music to the Museum’s elegant Great Stair Hall. Each Friday evening the space becomes a lively concert hall, with table service, cocktails, elegant café-style appetizers, and desserts. The fall 2008 season features the return of popular favorite artists and several exciting newcomers, while the first-ever Art After 5 Halloween......

It’s Fall Guide time! Pick your poison: Classical, Dance, Jazz, Opera, Rock/Pop, Roots, Theater, or Visual Arts. If we knew scotch was available, Captain Noah may have held us in sway a bit longer. Fairmount Park is a bit of a hot potato, but maybe not legally so. Music Baby! Local company Disc Makers buys up indie-fave CD Baby, and A.D. Amorosi finds out why. Truer words and all that: “Being a Democrat and......

Need some variety in your life? Melange Variety Cabaret...On The Fringe is the ticket for you. It features belly dancing, music (R&B, blues, jazz, indie), clowning, puppetry, electronic music gadgetry... and, well, basically it's a cabaret! The remaining three shows promise to be lively and unlike any other show in Fringe. Which, considering the craziness variety that is Fringe, is certainly saying something. The full lineup can be seen here. Catch them tonight, Friday, and......

Hey guys, have we mentioned it's Live Arts Festival/Philly Fringe time? Despite being a good recycler, you're still a little trashy. We'll admit, we didn't know what khat was, but apparently ICE doesn't like it. The guards at the Art Museum are asking for paid sick leave. It's like talking to a statue. A peek into the Democratic National Convention… and getting there. While in the political mood, get involved with a worthy cause. It's......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY Jazzy: Nick Colionne, part of Smooth Jazz Summer Nights at the Great Plaza on Penn’s Landing (Chestnut and Columbus Blvd), 7:30PM. Free Nebula: Nebula, Totimoshi, Serpent Throne, and El Toro de Oro at the Khyber (56 S 2nd), 9PM. $10 Benefit for Philadelphia Jobs with Justice: NYC-based Rude Mechanical Orchestra joins locals Tha Truth, Old Goats, and International Anthem for Irrational Numbers at LAVA Space (4134 Lancaster),......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Nobody’s Fool: Camp Bette continues with an outdoor screening of All About Eve at the International House (3701 Chestnut), 8PM. Free Jazzy: The Friends of Malcolm X Memorial Park present Barbara Walker at the Summer Heritage Jazz Series in the Park (52nd and Pine), 7-9PM. Free Transform Your Mind: Introduction to Buddhist psychology presented by the Menlha Buddhist Center at the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia (1906 S......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY Be a Champ: Kick off the Summer Games with food and entertainment at the Evening of Champions in Chinatown (10th and Arch), 5:30PM. Free Last Chance to Help teh Aminals (by Watching Naked Ladies, That Is): Last Suicide Girls PAWS benefit of the summer at Raven Lounge (1718 Sansom), 9PM. $5 080808: Chiptune Party with No Carrier, 8GB, Nullsleep, Animal Style, Cheap Dinosaurs, Auto Da Fe, and......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY: Theme=Red + Black: The 5th Anniversary party for Sex Dwarf, our favorite new wave dance party, at Fluid (614 S 4th), 9PM. Free before 10PM, $5 after Smooth Jazz: Smooth Jazz Summer Nights presents Warren Hill at the Great Plaza on Penn’s Landing (Chestnut and Columbus Blvd), 7:30PM. Free SATURDAY: ACANA: ACANA African Festival at the Great Plaza on Penn’s Landing (Chestnut and Columbus Blvd), 12PM. Free......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Hop on the Ferry: Sunset Jazz Series presents Spyro Gyra at Wiggins Park (Mickle Street and Riverside Drive, Camden), 8Pm. Free Tuesday Night Raw: Comic Energy hosts the weekly standup and open mic at Tori’s (119 South), 9:30PM. $5 Look Up: Yoga with Kristin Shipler every Tuesday and Thursday at the Unitarian Society of Germantown (6511 Lincoln Dr), 6-7PM. $10 Saint Joan: Weekly free feminist film featuring The......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY: Last Friday: Last Friday featuring author Samara O’Shea and musician Gina Kaz at the Philadelphia Art Alliance (251 S 18th), 7PM. $5 Free R&B: Sounds of R&B series finale featuring Ledisi and Lalah Hathaway at the Great Plaza on Penn’s Landing (Chestnut and Columbus Blvd), 7:30PM. Free City Hall Film Series: Showing this week: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in the courtyard at City......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: We Can Yap With the Best of Them: Inaugural Yappy Hour featuring a full dog menu for your furry friend and specialty cocktails for you, proceeds of which benefit the PA SPCA, at Tavern 17 (220 S 17th), 5-7PM every last Thursday through September. Free + food and drink Nice Way to Wind Down: Music on the Mall, a free summer concert series, featuring local four-man vocal group......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY Outdoor Music: Friday Night Summer Jazz Concerts every Friday in Cedar Park (50th and Baltimore), 6-8PM. Free The N Crowd: Improv comedy troupe the N Crowd perform at the Actors Center (257 N 3rd), 8PM. $10 Brakes CD Release Party: XPN welcomes The Brakes with Ben Arnold and Carney at Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N Frankford), 8PM. $10 SATURDAY The Kids Are All Right: Paul Green School of......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY Beautiful Boy: Beautiful Boy, a scripted and improvised comedy work written and performed by 1812 Productions cofounder Pete Pryor and inspired by his autistic son, at the Playground at the Adrienne (2030 Sansom), 8PM. $10 (also on Saturday and Sunday at 2PM) Ruling Triumvirate: DJ Deejay spins Madonna, Michael, and Prince at Moshulu Bar & Restaurant (401 S Columbus Blvd), 9PM-2AM. $8 SATURDAY Crafty In Person: Philly......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Take a Long Lunch: Mapping Memories, a collage workshop using paper and fabric materials, at Moore College of Art & Design (20th & the Parkway), 1-3PM. Free Trio, Again: Jazz night with Re-Trio folks Ben Schacter, Matt Scarano, and Leon Boykins at Doc Watson's (216 S 11th), 9PM. $5 CD Release Party: Celebrate the new CD from Pattern is Movement, also featuring Helio Sequence and DJ Counterpoint at......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Why Not an Even Minute?: 54 Seconds at Upstairs at World Café Live (3025 Walnut), 8PM. $10 Showcase Showdown: Dance party benefit for the Arden's Professional Apprentice class at L’Etage (6th and Bainbridge), 9PM-2AM. $5 Jazz Jam: Karl Jones and His Quartet at Chris' Jazz Café (1421 Sansom), 9PM. $2 Happy Times: Eph Tradition, Doomsday Machine Schematic, The Claw, and I’d Rather Be Dead at Tritone (1508 South),......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Gather ‘Em Up: The Gathering, a monthly collection of emcees, graffiti artists, and pop-lockers tearing it up at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut), 10PM-2AM. Free (donations appreciated) Moving Pictures: Tango of Slaves and Zygosis as part of the Moving Pictures series at the International House (3701 Chestnut), 7PM. $7 Boogaloo!: The Dirty Boogaloo from NYC gives Philly some love with a side of Souljazz at The Fire (412 W......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: We Heart Kahlo: Miro Dance Theatre presents a preview of “Self-Portrait,” a celebration of Frida Kahlo’s life and art at Girard College (2102 S College Ave), 6:30PM. Free Jazz It Up: Off Duty Superheroes at Ortlieb's Jazzhaus (847 N 3rd), 8PM. Free Art and Beer: Philly Brewing Co. teams up with Nexus Gallery for a night of local beer and beer-inspired art at the Crane Arts Building (1400......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: First Person Salon: How Philly Moves, a multi-disciplinary documentary of dance from photog JJ Tiziou and sculptor James Peniston, and featuring Andrew David Watson, Nicole Bindler, and Miss Koco, at the Gershman Y (401 S Broad), 7PM. $10 Sheets of Sound: Author Francis Davis will read from his biography of John Coltrane, Sheets of Sound, presented by Ars Nova Workshop, at the Kelly Writers House (3805 Locust Walk),......

Philadelphia native Michael Brecker is one of the most expressive, celebrated jazz saxophonists of his generation. Musicians ranging from Paul Simon to Frank Sinatra, from Quincy Jones to Herbie Hancock, featured him on their albums. After a career that included over 900 albums and more than a dozen Grammy awards, he died at age 58 from a bone marrow disease known as myelodysplastic syndrome. Under normal circumstances, bone marrow makes blood stem cells that go......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY Bring Your Own Tank: SCUBA National Touring Dance Alliance at the Conwell Dance Theater on Temple’s campus (Broad and Montgomery), 8PM. $10 (also on Saturday) Last Friday: Celebrate March’s last Friday with poet Matthew Dickman, singer/songwriter Irene Molloy, and extended gallery hours at the Philadelphia Art Alliance (251 S 18th), 7PM. $5 SATURDAY Free Classical: The Six, performing Bach and Monteverdi and conducted by Matt Glandorf at......

Oh Friday, our Friday, how we love you, our Friday! We waited and waited, and lo, you have come! You teach us to smile, you show us the way. You are once and forever, our favorite day! ART AFTER 5: OUR FATHER WHO ART BLAKEY We spend a lot of time telling you to check out the local art scene and get involved in some of the incredible music that comes through our fine......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: A Reading that Has Nothing to Do with the Sudan: Authors Lionel Shriver (The Post-Birthday World) and Laura Lippman (Another Thing to Fall) read from their latest works at the Central Branch of the Free Library (1901 Vine), 7PM. Free Moonstone Poetry Series: Local poet Justin Vitiello and non-local poet Jon Thompson read from selected works at Robin’s Bookstore (108 S. 13th), 6PM. Free Who's the Boss?: Vibrophonist......

There is only so much to be said about Monday. We are running out of metaphors, puns and descriptive analogies. So, let's make a brief mention of walking etiquette. You can read a more in-depth discussion via a past edition of Monday Manners. The people who can't walk a straight line must be corralled into maintaining a steady course. Often, as was the case this morning, these people are not homeless or drunk: they......