The Catholic Church is shaking things up these days, huh? The same Church that silenced Galileo Galilei has acknowledged that aliens could maybe exist. Further, the Church says that xenomorphs might not require redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church is only talking astrobiology in theoretical terms right now, but what's preventing the Vatican from launching its own national space program? Could we see, you know, a mission to Mars?

Leaves have fallen and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. You know what that means -- turkey! Also, it's time to get back to the hardwood. Welcome to the first edition of The Hi-Lo, DCist's new roundup of the week that was in DMV college hoops.

This Self-Centered Sunday business redounds to everyone's benefit when someone like caroline.angelo composes such a bright portrait. The ocher color of the wall looks like it was chosen to match the freckles on the subject's arms. Further, the brightly lit section of the wall contrasts with the olive of her headband in a way that's almost difficult -- the eye strains to perceive them as a similar hue. Of course, obscuring the face is a notorious strategy in contemporary portraiture, and in this shot, caroline.angelo captures a lot of fun despite not revealing the subject's eyes.

Walking to The Passenger last night, my mind drifted toward thoughts about the development of the area north of H Street along 7th Street NW. Perhaps it was destiny, then, that I stumbled over this photograph of Mt. Vernon Square taken in 1992 by Jack Boucher for the Historic American Buildings Survey of the Library of Congress, which DCist flickr contributor rockcreek shared with our image pool yesterday. It's a good reminder of how far the neighbohood has come in the last seventeen years.

Should the District's early-out/easy-out retirement payments be considered a "bonus"? This is the debate in the latest chapter of the overarching tiff between the Fenty administration and the D.C. Council. The Examiner's Michael Neibauer reports today that four District employees have been denied such exit payments by the Department of Human Resources, after the Council approved a 2010 budget which outlaws all "bonuses and special payments" to District employees.

It didn't take much to turn Redskins fans' frowns into smiles: a fake field goal throw for a touchdown, an injury to starting Denver starting QB Kyle Orton, and, finally, a win over a halfway decent team to celebrate. The future still looks bleak, but yes, the Redskins are now 3-6 after last week's 27-17 home win against the Broncos. Redskins fans seemed to hold their heads high this week, knowing that this team -- perhaps definitively -- is not the worst in football. We might even get to enjoy another win or two before the season's over!

As you might expect, there is not all that much to hear this week, with the Thanksgiving holiday and all. But you can give thanks for the chance to hear a few good concerts.

A congressional report issued yesterday by two ranking Republicans suggests that schools chancellor Michelle Rhee performed "damage control" for her now-fiance Kevin Johnson during investigations into Johnson's alleged sexual misconduct and misuse of Americorps funds at the St. Hope charter school he founded in Sacramento.

Olsen's career had plenty of highlights, despite the fact that recurring ankle troubles -- the most serious of which occurred while Olsen was on loan at Nottingham Forest in 2000 -- cost him a considerably unfair portion of his prime, especially on the international stage. United fans certainly have plenty of memories to look back fondly on from his time in the Black-and-Red: his hat trick at RFK against New York in 2007, his man of the match performance in the 1999 MLS Cup final, or even his equalizer against New England early this year. Personally, my favorite memory of Ben Olsen was on a sweltering hot day in June 2008, when Olsen -- in but 15 minutes, his only action that season -- received an overwhelming reception from the nearly 36,000 fans who had come to the stadium that day to jeer David Beckham.

. Holy hell, but this picture is horrible.

An independent report commissioned by DC Appleseed and the Brookings Institution has concluded that it is "critical to the success and sustainability of" the new Community College of the District of Columbia to sever ties with the University of the District of Columbia. UDC, which has always had plenty of problems balancing the hefty costs of a four-year university and its open-enrollment-assisted reputation as a two-year college, split focus in August into the University and the Community College. Both operations still operate under UDC's administration.

Good morning, Washington. The Brookland-CUA Metrorail station was closed for about ninety minutes last night after another person intentionally placed themselves on the tracks in front of an oncoming train. Last night's incident pushes the number of suicides in Metrorail stations this year into double digits. WMATA says that at about 9:18 p.m., a man who had gone on to the tracks was struck by a Red Line train heading in the direction of Shady Grove, dying of his injuries. Trains were single tracking through the station for some time last night, but the area is now clear -- aside from the weekend's planned track work, of course.