Not a single note of incidental music plays on the soundtrack to Of Gods and Men. But just because every sound we hear is generated onscreen doesn't mean that director Xavier Beauvois isn't using sound just as strategically as the most grandiosely scored films. Like the best musicians, in fact, Beauvois knows the power of silence, and employs it liberally. The result are long, languorous stretches in which the eight Trappist monks at the center of the story go about their daily tasks, or roam the countryside contemplatively. more ›

Seriously, this has to be one of the best D.C. Council exchanges ever. Here's Harry Thomas, Jr. (D-Ward 5), during the debate this afternoon over a bill that would institute residency requirements for homeless people to access the city's shelters, which ended up passing by a 9-4 vote. more ›

Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl will be elevated to the Catholic Church's College of Cardinals in November. The 69-year-old Wuerl is the second American to be named to the body of Catholic leaders who are tasked with advising and, when the time comes, selecting the Pope. Wuerl has been the District's Archbishop since 2006, when he succeeded Theodore Cardinal McCarrick. Of course, this news is a lot more shiny than the last time that Wuerl was in the headlines. In 2009, the Archbishop defended the Washington Archdiocese's threats to pull social work contracts if the D.C. Council approved legislation legalizing same sex marriage with some seriously shaky reasoning. Wuerl is also on record as being a proponent of a public referendum on gay marriage. more ›

After the D.C. Council voted this week to legalize same-sex marriage, Bishop Harry Jackson, the proposal's most prominent opponent, sounded almost conciliatory in congratulating the District's gay rights movement for winning the legislative battle. But now Jackson is back to his hard-charging ways, threatening to take the measure to Congress and defeat a number of the council members who voted for the legislation. more ›

I'm the last person to buy into anything remotely related to mumbo-jumbo, but when I heard that Amma, aka Mata Amritanandamayi, was coming to Tysons Corner this weekend, it seemed worth a mention. Amma's deal is that she runs an ashram in India, but spends half the year traveling around the world, setting up camp in various hotels and convention centers and offering free hugs to anyone who wants one. The sale of CDs and books espousing her philosophy of unconditional love have made Amma lots of money, but she reportedly gives most of it away to charities, and people who have visited her tell me that the bottom line is that this woman gives the world's greatest hugs. You show up, get a number, wait for your turn, and get a big, warm bear hug. If this sounds like something you'd like to do, go here for all the details. Amma's at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. more ›

A White House spokesperson has issued a statement repudiating a report from Time magazine published online today that said President Obama had decided to make the Evergreen Chapel at Camp David his primary place of worship, in order to facilitate more privacy. "The President and First Family continue to look for a church home. They have enjoyed worshipping at Camp David and several other congregations over the months, and will choose a church at the time that is best for their family," is the word from Deputy White House Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki (via the Christian Science Monitor). more ›

The Obamas have finally ended the speculation about which D.C. church they would join - by picking none of them, Amy Sullivan reports in Time magazine. Instead, President Obama has reportedly decided to make the same choice as George W. Bush, and worship at Evergreen Chapel, the nondenominational church at Camp David. more ›

Groups including Bilerico D.C., The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club and The Log Cabin Republicans of Metro D.C. sponsored a community forum on gay marriage and the faith community Wednesday night at All Souls Church in Adams Morgan. The panel featured Episcopal priest Rev. Monique Ellison, D.C. For Marriage Chair Michael Crawford and ACLU attorney Sharon McGowan. more ›

You might remember reading about the Divine Mercy Care pharmacy, a new Catholic retail pharmacy planned for a location near Route 50 in Chantilly, Va., in the Post back in June. Well yesterday the 'Pro-life' pharmacy opened to the public, after having been blessed by a Catholic bishop. The concept behind the store is that it's just like any other pharmacy, except they won't sell birth control pills, condoms, or the morning after pill. They still sell Viagra, however, because obviously men's reproductive health is just more important than women's health. Several states such as California and New Jersey have recently passed laws that force these so-called pharmacists who refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control pills to do their jobs, but Virginia has no laws preventing this kind of store from opening. We guess the nice thing about this store is at least it's obvious about what it's up to, unlike some pharmacists at other retail chains, who could decide to refuse to fill your prescription without any warning. more ›

Via WTOP, the Archdiocese of Washington is trying to get the word out to would-be scalpers of tickets to the papal mass on April 17 that they are breaking the law.

Georgina Stark, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Washington, tells WTOP, "You cannot sell a sacrament. This is a mass, so it is a sacrament. The tickets are not for sale." more ›

The gay blogosphere is alight with the news that a female choir member at the Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church on Rhode Island Ave. outed over 100 church members in two separate emails to Bishop Alfred Owens, Jr. more ›

Sure, you picked up a book or two last year. You tore through God Is Not Great, nodding in agreement along the way. You read Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows on the Metro, brandishing the cover proudly and caring little that anyone saw you. You read a lot of graphic novels. And, then, just for grins and giggles, you picked up The Divine Comedy in the original Italian. more ›

Reverend Billy and his Church of Stop Shopping are of the opinion that the masses have an opiate other than religion. And if it's the merchandise that keeps us in line, then there is no time of year when we binge on our fix of choice like the holiday season. Bank accounts and credit card statements across the nation can do the testifying for us on this point. And so it is at the most... more ›

The Holiday season is in full swing in NYC, with holiday lights in Brooklyn, a giant snow globe in Bryan Park and Chanukah specials for ham. One citizen decided to go vigilante on annoying car alarms, a murder suspect used a fake Asian accent on the stand and a video of a man being beaten up by teenage girls on a subway shocked the city. And we interviewed soon-to-be-leaving-Gawker editor Choire Sicha, who said,... more ›

The interconnectivity of all things – for some, this bond is religion; for others, just fateful coincidences. But whatever your interpretation of the relationship between all things, a stunning study of one era’s belief in interconnectivity is now on display at the Sackler Gallery in the Smithsonian’s Patterned Feathers, Piercing Eyes exhibition. The show, on display through April 2008, is a startling reminder that art is much more than just paint and a brush. Those... more ›

Remember "Who Sucked Out the Feeling"? The 1996 single, with a proper title of "Sucked Out," propelled Knoxville, Tennessee's Superdrag to a brief amount of alternative rock fame, back when it was still called alternative rock. The song, off their fantastic album Regretfully Yours, had a catchy British Invasion vibe, a yelled chorus with John Davis's voice cracking as he got to the "feeling" part, and a Buzz Bin video on MTV with the mop-topped... more ›

Local LGBT activists are upset over a document distributed by the Washington Nationals, according to City Desk. The document details the team's Vendor Procurement Program and features Major League Baseball's affirmative action policy, which includes this portion:The Licensee shall not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment or against any service recipient or applicant for services because of race, color, ethnic status, religion, sex, age, national origin, disable veteran status, Vietnam era veteran status,... more ›

FRIDAY: >> Two shows for DAM! Fest tonight, with events at Rock and Roll Hotel and the Red and the Black. The former includes an appearance by recent Three Stars subject the Beanstalk Library, plus The Exit, Dragons of Zynth and The Teeth. Stick around for the free afterparty, We Fought the Hej, a combo of two of our favorite DJ nights, Hej Hej and We Fought the Big One. >> Don't forget to check... more ›

Written by DCist Contributor Stephanie Taylor Mark Andersen came to Washington decades ago as a student of international relations, but was heartbroken by what he saw right in his own backyard. What he describes as the distance between the city's idealism and its reality, particularly in terms of radical income disparities and the effects of historic racism, were too much for him to ignore. So he became a different type of diplomat, founding Positive Force... more ›

You'd think that, once the Almighty found himself on the business end of God Is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens' latest broadside, there'd be hell to pay. Instead, Hitchens' book became an international bestseller, racking up laudatory reviews and garnering an even larger audience for his witty contrarianism. Which makes one suspect that perhaps The Hitch is on to something. As if it needed more attention, yesterday God Is Not Great was named one of five... more ›

College is a time for experimentation. Trying new things and learning about subjects you didn't know about. It's also a time when you experience the wider world, meeting people from around the country, comparing what's the same and different where you're from and where they're from, expanding your horizons. And sometimes it's a time to do things you've only heard about but don't really know what they mean. Because that always works out for the... more ›

Ah, religion. We've all read about its role in public and private life and how fewer and fewer people are going to church these days. Ben Franklin said "Lighthouses are more helpful than churches." And in D.C., churches often cause a lot of debate about parking, "newcomers" versus older residents, and abandoned properties. And yet, despite all the distractions of our modern age, some young people in the city are still able to practice their... more ›

MONDAY As a part of its ongoing “Face It: We Are Probably All Going To Die or at the Very Least, Suffer Immeasurably” Series, Politics and Prose kicks off the week with a visit from Stephen Flynn, author of The Edge of Disaster, which, apparently, we are teetering on (cf. “all going to die,” “suffer immeasurably”). Also: CSI: Miami is on tonight! 5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 7 p.m. TUESDAY The art of letter writing is... more ›

While we didn't get too many Sanjaya spottings over the weekend, it seems like a few actual celebrities mixed it up at this weekend's White House Correspondents Dinner. Sheryl Crow and Laurie David, producer of An Inconvenient Truth, chatted with Karl Rove between cocktails and dessert. Crow and "Inconvenient Truth" producer David walked over to the presidential adviser's table, where David suggested that Rove "take a new look at global warming." David says Rove... more ›

Wednesday brought more developments in the Virginia Tech shootings that left 33 people dead, including the gunman, Cho Seung Hui -- a South Korean citizen who grew up in the Washington suburb of Centreville, Va. In addition to the teachers who have come forward saying they alerted the administration over a year ago about Cho's behavior, today more people described him as a loner who barely spoke to his class- and suite-mates. Several said he... more ›

MONDAY Richard Preston, fresh off his Daily Show appearance, where he confounded Jon Stewart, brings his unique perspective on some of America's oldest residents, California redwood trees, in The Wild Trees. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, 7:00 p.m. TUESDAY With the glut of celebrities proclaiming themselves Buddhists, it's sometimes hard to pin down the historical and ethical roots of this ancient religion. Author Lama Surya Das, who the Dalai Lama calls 'The American... more ›

Past attendees of any of the F.W. Thomas Performaces, the semi-regular literary-comedic efforts of City Paper contributor Adam Mazmanian held at Warehouse, are well versed in the religion of Lowery. That's T.M. Lowery, or Mike Lowery, or Thomas Michael Lowery, depending on who you ask, the baby-faced "artist-in-residence" of F.W. Thomas and proprietor of The Argyle Academy, a collection of neurotic cartoon animal characters. Mazmanian invited Lowery to present some of his drawings at the inaugural F.W. Thomas performance, and has asked him back (nearly) every time ever since. more ›

Former DCist contributor Jeff Simmermon has a fascinating couple of posts (warning: photos of dead animals in that link) over at And I Am Not Lying for Real (hat tip: Free Ride) about an apparent feud between two Santeria practitioners in the Mt. Pleasant/Adams Morgan area.

Those dirty white doves lying by the curb alongside three little samurai hats made of coconut, their car-flattened heads some distance away -- they're not just some sick coincidence, a bored metalhead's idea of art or a Hot Topic teen's notebook dream rendered real. According to my neighbor, they're part of a spell meant to discredit him in the DC Santeria community and rob him of some of his prominence and prestige. more ›

MONDAY It’s anybody’s guess as to whether Mark Twain would have approved of Jon Clinch’s Finn, the dark, call-it-a-prequel, story of Huck Finn’s father, depicted herein as a degenerate bigot. But you know what? Suck it, Twain: you’re dead! At Olsson’s in Crystal City, 2200 Crystal Drive, 7 p.m. TUESDAY If your two favoritest things in the whole wide world are crayons and burlesque shows, then DCist is finally ready to offer an event that... more ›

MONDAY Murder, urban intrigue, and the promiscuous pen of Edgar Allan Poe are the ingredients of Daniel Stashower’s treatise on the evolution of the detective story, The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allen Poe, and the Invention of Murder. Chapters, 445 11th Street, NW., 1pm. TUESDAY Head on over to the Baird Auditorium at the National Museum of Natural History to hear Andrea Mitchell discuss Talking Back: . . . to Presidents, Dictators, and... more ›