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Published: Oct 21, 2008

Ever since Sarah Palin shimmied down from Alaska with a shotgun on her shoulder, a baby on the hip and those naughty librarian glasses, femininity, girl power and all the rest have come under intense scrutiny. Love her or want to strangle her with one of those giant crabs, this lady is a force to be reckoned with. While Maria Raha's latest book, Hellions: Pop Culture's Rebel Women (Seal Press, $15.95), doesn't take on Palin, it does examine Marilyn, Britney, Paris and Frida in an attempt to define "rebel" in 2008. (If you haven't noticed, Lindsay has been doing stints in rehab and making out with girls while beating the crap out of the paparazzi.) Raha is coming by Robin's for a reading and discussion, which will be followed by an open mic — and here's betting Ms. Palin's wink doesn't escape the conversation.

—Monica Weymouth

Sun., Oct. 26, 2 p.m., free, Robin's Bookstore, 108 S. 13th St., 215-735-9600, robinsbookstore.com.

When we interviewed John Hodgman — Daily Show correspondent, Apple pitchman — on the eve of his 2006 215 Festival appearance, we asked if titling his first book The Areas of My Expertise: An Almanac of Complete World Knowledge made it difficult to follow up. He replied: "As it turns out there is more COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE being discovered or made up every day, so I am forced to follow this book with not one but two further volumes." The first follow-up, More Information Than You Require (Dutton), hit shelves this week and again compiles absurd falsity upon absurd falsity. It's the unofficial GOP campaign motto: There's always more to know when you're making it up.

—Brian Howard

Fri., Oct. 24, 9 p.m., $10, Latvian Society of Philadelphia, 531 N. Seventh St., 215-922-9798, 215festival.com.

Nice People Theatre Co. finally turns nasty with Marisa Wegrzyn's Psalms of a Questionable Nature, a darker play than her twisted comedy Killing Women (NPTC, 2006 Fringe). Beautiful stepsisters Greta (Janice Rowland, impressive in Flashpoint's The Faculty Room last season) and Moo (Rachel Joffred, terrific as both King Lear's Cordelia and a Jungle Book monkey at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival last summer) deal with hideous family secrets locked in their dead parents' creepy basement. At this time of year, of course, "nice" means scary good.

—Mark Cofta

Oct. 24-Nov. 9, $15, Walnut Street Theatre, Studio 5, 825 Walnut St., 267-909-3309, nicepeopletheatre.org.

Whether you're a cape-and-tights fan or just a funny pages connoisseur, the "Life in Boxes" exhibit opening at Penn this month has something for everyone. Local Steven Rothman (pictured), a Penn graduate, has donated more than 25,000 titles: cartoon strips, animation, comic book collections and everything in between, a small fraction of which will be displayed. Says Rothman, "The project has allowed me to see just what can be started on a dime." You may not be able to pick up Batman for 10 cents anymore, but you can take a peek back at your childhood for free. Excelsior!

—Greg Niedt

Oct. 27-March 22, 2009, free, Kamin Gallery, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 3420 Walnut St., 215-898-7555, library.upenn.edu/exhibits/lifeinboxes.html.

I don't know what sort of party InterAct's literary director and resident dramaturg Rebecca Wright might have planned for Vincent Delaney's pre-Palin-nomination script about a Republican front-runner on the edge of disaster. But with People's Light & Theatre Co. member Susan Wilder as the drunked-up, tight-jawed pol "Laura Smith," the promise of girl-on-girl action (not just sucking face, pigs) with her intern (Meghan Heimbecker) and the ghost of FDR (Tim Moyer) floating about, expect something that'll question the way you look at the ballot box. And hey, The War Party's take on mammoth Republican loss: Is this satire or a promise?

—A.D. Amorosi

Oct. 24-Nov. 23, $15-$28, InterAct at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., 215-568-8079, interacttheatre.org.

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