More so than the average Chinese noodle eatery, Nan Zhou, an almost hole-in-the-wall getaway, wants to give the impresion of both simplicity and fun. Squished next to a garage and a slew of other establishments, the place is hardly homey. It doesn't seat more than two dozen people, and if you don't know how to use chopsticks you're fresh out of luck.

He graced the pages of National Geographic. He rock climbed two vertical miles in a day, solo. He wore a Wonderwoman costume as he traversed a 600-foot mountain. He brings granny panties, which he refers to as "prayer flags," on almost every climb. Michael Reardon, a free solo rock climber, may have done everything there is to do when it comes to solo climbing.

Tucked around the obscure corner of 43rd and Chestnut lays a beacon of warmth and comfort for the weary and over worked. Owned and operated by Pakistani emigres, Kabobeesh provides traditional Pakistani delights from various curries to kabobs cooked on medieval looking steel rods.

On the main page of its Web site, La Famiglia boldly refers to itself as "Philadelphia's Best Italian Restaurant" and its "most distinctive dining experience." What the family-owned restaurant might appear to lack in subtlety, it compensates for with its welcoming atmosphere and a menu bursting with variety and flavor.

All doctors are heroes in their own rights, but most do not put their lives in danger to save others and share their plight with the world. Jerry Erlich is not like most doctors. Erlich spoke last night about his experiences working with Doctors Without Borders in Darfur in 2004 to a crowd of about 40 students in Huntsman Hall.

When Marie Antoinette allegedly said "let them eat cake" as a response to peasants rioting for bread, newly appointed PIK professor Adrian Raine thinks the French queen might have been on to something. Part of the interdisciplinary Penn Integrates Knowledge program, Raine and fellow PIK professor Philippe Bourgois focus their research on violence prevention - work that could be contributed to long-term efforts to reduce crime.

When Columbia arrived in Philadelphia on Friday to take on Penn, there was certainly some potential for a classic Ivy League battle. It was supposed to be an intriguing matchup between a mature, peaking team and one that could turn out to be the League's next big thing.

The sixth sense, it turns out, may not just be the product of M. Night Shyamalan's imagination. For the past 28 years, the Princeton University Engineering Anomalies Research lab has been researching how machines may be affected by human presence and emotion.

The Big Red got a monster game from center Andrew Naeve, shot 52 percent from the floor and had two second-half threes each from Ryan Wittman and Geoff Reeves to not only stay close the entire time, but to take a lead at the Palestra with 12 minutes to go.

The announcement that the two convicted sex offenders who had been working for the University would no longer be employed at Penn coincides with a University discussion about changing Penn's hiring and admissions policies that Provost Ron Daniels said is "well underway.

Milton Street says that Philadelphia has major problems, and that it should be up to a former hot-dog vendor and duck-boat tour operator to fix the city. Last Thursday, the older brother of Mayor John Street announced he was entering this year's mayoral race as a Democrat, despite an upcoming federal tax-fraud and corruption trial that is scheduled to start May 14, the day before the Democratic primary.

It was a wild weekend for the Penn women's basketball team, in which - for better and for worse - nothing really went as expected. After getting picked apart by then last-place Columbia 65-46 in New York City on Friday, the Quakers (9-13, 4-5 Ivy) made the long trip up to Ithaca, N.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Recovering from "the most disappointing day of squash I've ever had" wasn't easy for senior and co-captain Paula Pearson or her Penn teammates. And it was a bittersweet weekend for them at the Howe Cup in New Haven. A No. 2 seed in the championship tournament, the Quakers expected nothing less than at least a berth in the final - and a national title was well within their grasp.

Saturday started and ended well for the women's tennis team. But the time in between left much to be desired. After sweeping the doubles against No. 14 Virginia Commonwealth, the Quakers lost the singles 5-1 to fall in the overall match, 5-2. The team rebounded with an easy 5-0 win over Georgetown (1-2) only hours afterward.

70College presidents who have signed a pledge to reduce their carbon emissions and use renewable energy sources.Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education

Daniel Schwartz is a College freshman from Decatur, Ga. His e-mail address is schwarm@sas.upenn.edu.

Penn hopes eastward expansion will connect the University to Center City, but students are already going out of their way to experience life beyond College Green. The city is full of opportunities, ranging from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the man who plays guitar on 13th and Market streets every Saturday, and students are finding creative methods to take advantage of them.