Entertainment_Culture

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ASSOCIATED PRESS The trial of Dr. Conrad Murray on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of superstar Michael Jackson hinges on the doctor's administration of a powerful anesthetic, propofol, to help the insomniac singer sleep during preparation for his This Is It tour.

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Katey Caceres, 8, hugs the Sesame Street character 'Honker' during the National Book Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.(T.J. Kirkpatrick/ The Washington Times)

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Shelia P. Moses, left, an author for young readers, greets Samra Beyene, 11, center in glasses, of Haymarket, Va., and Nikita Rao, 7, of Herndon, Va., after speaking during the National Book Festival. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/ The Washington Times)

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The GOP presidential hopeful's new book "This Is Herman Cain!" has an Oct. 4 release date, which is very favorable timing for last week's Florida straw poll winner. (Simon and Schuster)

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Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford in "Star Wars" (Lucasfilm Ltd./Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment)

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Vivek Khemka, Dish Network's vice president of product management, speaks at a new conference Friday in San Francisco announcing a new video-subscription service from Blockbuster and Dish Network Corp. called "Movie Pass." Dish Network bought Blockbuster out of bankruptcy court for $234 million five months ago. (Associated Press)

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Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg talks about Timeline at a developers conference Sept. 22 in San Francisco. Users can share their choices of music, movies, games and news sources with their friends as part of what the Facebook website describes as a new way to "tell your life story with a new kind of profile." (Associated Press)

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Jose Tomas, Spain's No. 1 bullfighter, performs at the Monumental ring in Barcelona on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011, as the country's powerful northeastern region of Catalonia bade farewell to the nation's emblematic tradition of bullfighting. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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Virginia Tech running back David Wilson rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown in Tech's 30-10 win against Marshall on Saturday in Huntington, W.Va. (AP Photo/Randy Snyder)

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Hollywood movies that performed poorly at the box office relative to what they cost to produce include "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" with Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton. (Associated Press/Disney)

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Hollywood movies that performed poorly at the box office relative to what they cost to produce include "Land of the Lost" with Will Ferrell (left). (Associated Press/Universal Pictures)

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Lower-budget box office winners include "The Fighter" with Christian Bale (left) and Mark Wahlberg. (Associated Press/Paramount Pictures)

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Hollywood movies that performed poorly at the box office relative to what they cost to produce include "Cowboys & Aliens" with Daniel Craig. (Associated Press/Universal Pictures)

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Nationals star Stephen Strasburg, besides being a box office attraction on days he pitches, may soon be a marketing goldmine if the team's ad campaign resonates with fans. (Associated Press)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Nationals star Stephen Strasburg, besides being a box office attraction on days he pitches, may soon be a marketing goldmine if the team's ad campaign (above) resonates with fans.

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OPEN ROAD FILMS VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS The presence of Robert De Niro (left) and Jason Statham can't save "The Killer Elite," which is weighed down by its murky plot, action cliches and wooden dialogue.

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COLUMBIA PICTURES-SONY PHOTOGRAPHS VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS Brad Pitt (above, left) portrays A's general manager Billy Beane, and Jonah Hill plays a sidekick fictional Yale grad in economics.

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FILE - In this June 9, 2011 file photo, Brad Paisley performs during the CMA Fan Festival in Nashville, Tenn. Paisley is releasing his first book on Nov. 1 called "Diary of a Player". (AP Photo/Wade Payne, file)

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Concert: Brad Paisley The motivation for Brad Paisley's first number one single "He Didn't Have to Be," according to his writing partner Kelly Lovelace, was "Let's make a song about you two that will make your wife cry." The track was about Lovelace's relationship with his stepson, who Paisley correctly surmised was as dear to Lovelace as if he were his own flesh and blood. That track was released in 1999, and seven records later, still perfectly captures Paisley's knack for plucking at the human heart as if it were a guitar. On his latest album, "This Is Country Music," Paisley almost says he "almost [broke] down crying" while recording the title track. But it's not all tears with country music's wunderkind (unlike his acoustic-strumming peers, Paisley's guitar chops are as good as his vocals). The West Virginia native is also a skilled pro at weaving tongue-in-cheek pop satires into his work. See, for instance, "Celebrity" from 2003's "Mud on the Tires," a song about a small-town mechanic who claims while helping a stranded celebrity, "I'm the most famous person in the country"--the country being the backwoods. Regardless of what Paisley plays this weekend, you can bet you'll both laugh and cry, possibly during the same song.Sept. 24 at Jiffy Lube Live, 7800 Cellar Door Dr., Bristow, VA. Phone: 703-754-6400. Web: www.livenation.com

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In this 1994 file photo originally released by Warner Bros. Records, alternative rock band R.E.M., from left, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe, Bill Berry, and Peter Buck are shown when they released their new album "Monster." (AP Photo/Warner Bros.)