Entertainment_Culture

20110821-154932-pic-166410825.jpg

A Nissan Leaf charges at a station in Portland, Ore. (Associated Press)

20110818-175706-pic-96157491.jpg

Jacob Lusk is one of the 11 finalists who will be part of "American Idol Live!" on August 19 at Verizon Center.

20110818-175706-pic-102580427.jpg

Concert: Ke$ha Every generation of music lovers is eventually forced to look back on the artists they supported and wonder, What was I thinking? For children of the 70s, it's Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. For children of the 80s, it's pretty much everything. For your kids, it'll likely be Ke$ha, the sing-talking empress of pop-trash. While no adult in his or her right mind would put money down for a Ke$ha album (much less an entire concert), your kids might want to, and this once, you should indulge them. There will be plenty of time to say "I told you so" when they get to college and develop decent taste in music. Aug. 21 at the George Mason University Patriot Center, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax. Phone: (703) 993-3000. Web: patriotcenter.com

20110818-175706-pic-313309686.jpg

Festival: UkeFest If all goes according to plan, a Guinness World Record will be broken in North Bethesda next week. The record in question is in the Largest Ukulele Ensemble category, and the record breakers will be whoever decides to attend UkeFest. Grammy-winning hosts Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer will not only perform a free ukulele concert, but also try to get as many attendees as possible--beginners included!--to play the same song at the same time. Godspeed, ladies. Aug. 24 at the Strathmore Music Center, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Phone: (301) 581-5100. Web: strathmore.org

20110818-174252-pic-643174085.jpg

A surly gang of troubled teenage hoodlums, helped by a young nurse they tried to mug (played by Jodie Whittaker, second from right) fend off an alien invasion in "Attack the Block." The film is the directorial debut of British comedian Joe Cornish. (Photo provided by Sony Pictures)

20110818-171115-pic-550433086.jpg

Jason Momoa stars in director Marcus Nispel's remake of "Conan the Barbarian." The film relies on a glut of gore and violence in lieu of an intriguing story line, and Mr. Momoa struggles to portray the title role originally made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Lionsgate via Associated Press)

20110818-165906-pic-372814448.jpg

Merrill Lynch Credit Corp. is seeking to foreclose on Burt Reynolds' Florida home, claiming the Emmy-winning actor has not made a mortgage payment since Sept. 1. Mr. Reynolds reportedly tried to sell the home in 2009. (Associated Press)

20110818-163902-pic-618431773.jpg

Richard Lewis poses for photographs at the 80th birthday "Sahl-ute" to comic Mort Sahl, at Wadsworth Theater in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles on Thursday, June 28, 2007. (AP Photo/Ann Johansson)

20110818-153824-pic-474302315.jpg

Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky gives summer visitors a place to escape the heat by offering a variety of unique tours through a tapestry of rock formations. One popular area is the Rotunda. (Associated Press)

Obama_2#5.jpg

President Obama speaks at a town-hall meeting in Atkinson, Ill., as part of his three-day economic bus tour. "If everybody took an attitude of shared sacrifice, we could solve our deficit and debt problem next week," he tells a hybrid-seed factory audience. (Associated Press)

20110817-224637-pic-426844451.jpg

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is offering to pay Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and his "Jersey Shore" castmates to stop wearing its upscale brand of clothes on the show.

Nationals Strasburg~s_Hasc.jpg

Stephen Strasburg had a rough outing Wednesday night in his latest rehab start from Tommy John surgery. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

20110817-173918-pic-740060333.jpg

HULU VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS The debut episode of Morgan Spurlock's "A Day in the LIfe" series follows billionaire Richard Branson for 24 hours.

SECURITY_05.jpg

Patrons walk through the National Gallery of Art in Washington on April 8, a week after Matisse's "The Plumed Hat" was vandalized. (Associated Press)

Drugmaker Allegation_Live.jpg

**FILE** This photo from July 2009 shows the sign outside Baxter International Inc. in Deerfield, Ill. (Associated Press/Arlington Heights Daily Herald)

20110816-181642-pic-479136379.jpg

Minnesota's Jiim Thome follows the flight of his 600th home run Monday night at Detroit. No. 599 came an inning earlier. (Associated Press)

20110816-165056-pic-231949664.jpg

Elvis tribute artist Marcos Santos gives a personal serenade to Louise Smith of Southaven, Miss., during a performance in the Graceland Entertainment Pavilion on Monday night before the annual vigil.