Soldier Jonathan Aponte is facing criminal charges of conspiracy and falsely reporting an incident after admitting that he hired a hit man to shoot him. Why did he hire a hit man? Because Aponte didn't want to return to Iraq. The 20-year-old Bronx resident, his wife Alexandra Gonzalez, and the "hitman," Felix Padilla, all face jail time for the plot. Aponte had apparently joked that he wanted to get shot in the leg to avoid......

A reader came to us with a problem. While she's lucky enough to have a nice Fort Greene backyard for grilling and cookouts, mosquitoes still view her and her friends as bait, even with a thick coating of anti-mosquito spray, anti-bug incense, and 7 citronella tiki torches. Is there a mosquito-eating reptile or amphibian that is indigenous to the region that I could purchase and release into my backyard without upsetting the balance of nature......

Reading both of Clay McLeod Chapman’s novels and seeing the Pumpkin Pie Show within a single week made for some very strange dreams. But when I saw that the novelist and storyteller was bringing the Pumpkin Pie Show in its current incarnation, Junta High, to the stage, I couldn’t resist combining the experience of reading his words and seeing his words performed all at the same time, to compare the two and see the connection......

Chuck Klosterman...