Entertainment_Culture

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In her season debut, Matee Ajavon led all scorers with 19 points in the Mystics' 64-61 win over the Shock. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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In this undated TV image originally released by CBS, Vivian Vance, left, and Lucille Ball are shown in a scene from the comedy series, "I Love Lucy." Ball, who died on April 26, 1989, would have celebrated her 100th birthday on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/CBS, file)

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Somdev Devvarman, shown in Los Angeles last week, was a two-time national singles champion at the University of Virginia. (Associated Press)

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Stand-up Comedy: John Mulaney In a sketch about hangover cures, John Mulaney plays a patient searching for the trick to partying without pain. "What are some hangover cures?" he asks his doctors. "There are no hangover cures," his doctor says. "OK, so let's run down the list," Mulaney replies. Dry stuff, perhaps, but it seems to be helping at Saturday Night Live, where Mulaney is an up-and-coming writer. Aug. 4-7 at the DC Improv, 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW. Phone: 202-296-7008. Web: dcimprov.com

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Concert: Alison Krauss & Union Station at Wolf Trap Alison Krauss holds the honor of having sung both the most beautiful song in the world, and the saddest. For "O Brother Where Art Thou?" (another Coen Bros classic), Krauss sang the gospel call to prayer, "Down to the River to Pray." You don't have to appreciate the message to fall head over heels for the meter and melody of Krauss's hymn, which adds more singers with every chorus. In 2005, Brad Paisley won Song of the Year from the Country Music Association for "Whiskey Lullaby," a tragic ode to a pair of lovers who drink themselves to death, each missing the other. The song is one of three Paisley hits to go platinum, and it likely would not have done so had it not been a duet with Krauss. With Union Station, Krauss plays a more pure form of bluegrass, full of joy, banjo rolls, and Krauss' quivering voice. August 7 at Wolf Trap, 1645 Trap Road, Vienna, Va. Phone: (703) 255-1900. Web; www.wolftrap.org

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Theater: Daredevils and Yellow-Bellies The idea behind SpeakEasyDC is that everyone has a story to tell, some folks just need a little encouragement. Under the leadership of Director Amy Saidman, SpeakEasyDC has turned into a place where the social worker who lives down the hall from you learned to hold an entire audience captive with a story about a hilariously haphazard Valentine's date, but also where some of D.C.'s best comedic performers have honed their craft. This week's show is called "Daredevils & Yellow-Bellies: Stories about courage and cowardice." August 9 at Town Danceboutique 2009 8th St, NW. Phone: 240.888.9751. Web: speakeasydc.com

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** FILE ** Peddrew-Yates Residence Hall, near Dietrick Dining Center, is locked down on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011, on the Virginia Tech Campus in Blacksburg, Va., after three youths attending a summer camp on Virginia Tech's campus said they saw a man outside New Residence Hall East "holding what may have been a handgun," the university said. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Rebecca Barnett)

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** FILE ** In this Tuesday, May 17, 2011, file photo, Aretha Franklin performs during a star-studded double-taping of "Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular," in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

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President Obama greets attendees after speaking at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on Wednesday at a fundraiser on the eve of his 50th birthday. (Associated Press)

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Mr. Obama is welcomed by singer Jennifer Hudson and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel at a Chicago fundraiser Wednesday. One Republican critic said of the president: "The first job Obama is interested in saving is his own." (Associated Press)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Andrew Breitbart didn't doctor a recent video clip. So says Huffington Post in an apology for giving that impression.

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This 1971 artist's sketch provided by the FBI shows the skyjacker known as "Dan Cooper" or "D.B. Cooper." A jet was hijacked on Nov. 24, 1971. (Associated Press)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS This artist's rendering shows a simulation of a collision between the moon and a companion moon about 4 billion years ago. Earth once had a second moon until it made the fatal mistake of smacking the moon in what some are calling the "big splat," astronomers now theorize.

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Daily Caller After her Tuesday concert at the Verizon Center, Taylor Swift and some friends paid a visit to the Lincoln Memorial. The pop-country star tweeted that it was "Pretty magical."

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Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman threw for 884 yards and seven touchdowns with an 81.2 passer rating in 2010. (Associated Press)

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PHOTOGRAPH PROVIDED BY AMRAPALI MEDIA VISION Actors playing Nazis trek through the Himalayas, standing in for the Alps, in "Dear Friend Hitler," a risible Bollywood film not meant as a farce.

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PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY AMRAPALI MEDIA VISION Diminutive actor Raghubir Yadav plays Adolf Hitler in the Indian movie "Dear Friend Hitler," based on two letters Mahatma Gandhi wrote to the Fuhrer beseeching him to avoid war. Avijit Dutt plays Gandhi.

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YOUTUBE Maddie Briann Aldridge, niece of pop legend Britney Spears, was caught singing her aunt's song "Up N' Down" last week. Miss Spears tweeted a YouTube video of the performance Friday.

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In this photo provided by ABC, "The Bachelorette," Ashley Hebert kisses J.P. Rosenbaum on the season finale in Fiji. Hebert chose the 34-year-old construction manager over winemaker Ben Flajnik from California in Monday's two-hour finale. (AP Photo/ABC, Matt Klitscher)