By David O'Reilly, The Philadelphia Inquirer Jan. 20--In the Buddhist realm of nonbeing, form and color have no names.

By David O'Reilly, The Philadelphia Inquirer Dec. 25--Her poodle, Biscuit, was leaping for joy at the sight of her, but 8-year-old Caly Miccicke couldn't manage a smile. "Do you want some help?" asked her father, Sal, who stood in their driveway by his wife's car.

By Christian Schmollinger and Dinakar Sethuraman Chevron, one of the largest U.S. energy companies, will keep its stake in a natural gas project in Myanmar, defying calls to leave after a crackdown on protesters by the country's ruling junta.

By David O'Reilly, The Philadelphia Inquirer Aug. 27--Jeff Ziegler was 19, working for a Lutheran youth program, when he asked his father for some advice. "How should I handle it if any of the kids tell me they're gay?" he asked his father, a Lutheran pastor.

By David O'Reilly, The Philadelphia Inquirer Apr. 29--Two are Catholic, two are Baptist, and one keeps his religious options open. They are the five major Democratic candidates for mayor of Philadelphia.