Interaction

The Philadelphia Police Department has launched a more-interactive Web site as part of an effort to engage the public through the Internet and its social-networking tools. "We can use technology to really engage with people, and that's something that's been underutilized so far," said Karima Zedan, the department's director of strategic communications. "This is our first step in that direction. " The department now has a Twitter account, a YouTube channel, and an emergency text and e-mail alert system - and has plans for a Facebook page.

The Inquirer Editorial Board has launched its own blog, called Say What?, to give our readers another window to read provocative opinions on local, national, and international events. Say What? will provide speedier insight and analyses of the news events that matter most to our readers. It will also allow readers to have more interaction with the Editorial Board, so they can share their thoughts and comments. Check out Say What? and tell us what you think. Just go to: http://go.

InterAct Theatre Company's 20/20 New Play Commission Program will present 20 new plays over the next six seasons; the bold project is to produce plays dealing with issues likely to be the social challenges of the next 20 years. Michael Whistler's Little Lamb, under Seth Rozin's direction, is the inaugural drama, and it is stuffed full of issues; we can only hope that the next 19 will be better - both as theater and as sociopolitical commentary. Little Lamb starts with the first of its several homilies: An unidentified woman (Cathy Simpson)

Children and their caregivers are invited to explore fashion design at "Fashion, Fun and Therapy" from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday at the Little Wonders Child Growth & Developmental Center in East Norriton. The fashion-forward party will promote the launch of ByKidsOnly.com, an interactive site where kids ages 5 to 13 can illustrate their own clothing and then vote for their favorite designs. The event also celebrates the third anniversary of the Little Wonders Center, an innovative gym for child growth and development.

Before going to a hotel with his new girlfriend, Michael Murtha, 68, took a special "love potion" from a vitamin store to enhance the moment. "I looked at the bottle and there was some vague reference to be careful about potential interactions," said Murtha, who was on drugs for high blood pressure and mild diabetes. "But she was eager and I was eager so I threw it down. " It was New Year's Eve 2006. And far from the fireworks of a new love, Murtha got a queasy stomach. His heart raced.

For the ladies of Square Rootz, the push and pull of MySpace always trumps traditional marketing when getting the word out about their year-old lifestyle and media collective. They post announcements there for Philadelphia and New York events. They link MySpace friends to the grassroots organization's blog entries. MySpace acts as an indispensable business tool, says the group's cofounder, Marly Pierre-Louis. Yet ask Pierre-Louis how she feels about MySpace as a social tool, and that's another story.

It was a dreary Friday, the kind of day farmers like Karen Vollmecke and her mother, Jan, use to get take care of paperwork that takes a backseat during the long, fertile spring days. At the Vollmecke Orchard & CSA, rain cascaded off the roof of an outbuilding and into tanks that hold 1,500 gallons of water, a hedge against a future drought and a sign of the commitment to "green" agricultural practices that characterizes most CSA (community-supported agriculture) farms. A business model rooted in a community-oriented philosophy, CSAs encourage a direct relationship between farmer and consumer.

There's no shortage of products and methods available right now promising to help Americans get in shape - bulky exercise equipment, fad diets, weight-loss programs. But how about playing a video game to shed those extra pounds? That's the thinking behind Wii Fit, Nintendo's latest offering, which aims to blend the fun of a video game with the health benefits of a regular exercise routine. Ever since Nintendo launched the Wii in November 2006, one of its most important goals has been to make gaming more physically active and, in the process, draw in new players by going beyond the stereotype of couch potatoes staring vacantly at a television screen.

IT'S NOT THE job of Eagles coach Andy Reid to make the job of the media easier. Conversely, it's not our job to make his job the information-controlled Shangri-La most coaches are seeking. The media is not here to serve as the Eagles' mouthpiece, to put a positive spin on everything that comes out of the NovaCare Complex. That's what Dave Spadaro and the other members of the official Web site of the Philadelphia Eagles are for. The relationships between the media and the subjects it covers must remain adversarial.

Shrugging off W.C. Fields' advice about not working with children and animals, Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett follow up their appealing tween romance Little Manhattan with the anemic tween action-adventure Nim's Island . Abigail Breslin is Nim, a resourceful 11-year-old Robin Crusoe who flourishes on a remote South Pacific isle with her father, Jack (Gerard Butler), a marine biologist. Lonely? Not Nim, whose menagerie includes a cuddly sea lion, a chatty bearded dragon, and an ESP-gifted pelican.