Over at Melophobe you'll find a review by RBM of The New Pornographers' current tour. Their latest album, Challengers, has fans raving, but the band's Washington, D.C. 9:30 Club show didn't exactly sing. Here you'll find a few shots that didn't make the review.
Update: Neko Case has unexpectedly departed the Pornographers' current tour after taking a bad fall in Washington and injuring her ankle. The Melophobe staff wishes her well.
The widow of a Nevada National Guardsman killed in Afghanistan wants her husband's Wiccan faith recognized. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs permits 38 religious symbols to adorn headstones and memorials, like the one commemorating Sgt. Patrick Stewart's unit. That list includes the Christian cross and even a symbol for atheists, but the government has not yet approved the Wiccan pentacle.
if you throw a dart at a map of the district, you're not likely to hit Ward One. It's not only the city's smallest ward, it's also the most diverse. Perhaps it's no wonder, then, that life in Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant, and Adams Morgan is changing. As WAMU's Raul Moreno reports, gentrification is having a profound impact on Ward-One schools, especially those serving DC's Latino community.
You've heard the stories: military recruiters for the all-volunteer armed forces are having trouble meeting their quotas. They're trying hard to attract young people - particularly students looking for a career. But not all students are eager to talk to a military recruiter. Case-in-point: an undergrad at George Mason University who's encouraging other students NOT to sign on the dotted line, and who's now in legal trouble because of it. He could face charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct next week in Fairfax after he handed out pamphlets that urged young people not to join the military. It's a legal issue that's drawing a lot of attention, as we hear from reporter Raul Moreno.
