I don’t pretend to be all hip and cool and have my well-manicured finger on the pulse of the latest and greatest in all of musicdom.

That’s what we have he-of-the-impending nuptials, Michael Darpino, for.

Anyway, I know what I like. And I like Keane, and I looove The Killers.

These two bands are on a double bill at the lovely Merriweather Post Pavilion, set for Wednesday, June 8th. (Okay, okay, there are a couple of other acts playing too…but I’m not cool enough to have the foggiest notion of who the other two acts are.)

Keane’s 70s-soft-rock-Bread-meets-Coldplay sound is in heavy rotation for me these days. And The Killers? Well, I love them with a love once reserved only for Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies…I mean, come on…Eric Roberts is in their video…plus, they seem like they’d put on one helluva live show.

So, yeah…The Killers and Keane are playing.

And there was much rejoicing.

You can join me in my rejoicing when you buy your tickets during tomorrow morning’s pre-sale courtesy of The Dreaded Ticketmaster.

What’s that you say? You don’t have the password for the pre-sale?

And lo, there came the word. And the word was: lasvegas.

And it was good.

Apparently, there was a major incident after the game last night. A man fell from the 500 level of the stadium down to the 100 level concourse, hitting his head on the railings between levels. He was airlifted by the US Park Police to DC General and later, Washington Hospital Center, having suffered multiple broken bones and serious multi-system trauma.

Ow, dude.

Metroblogging�s own, Michael Hannigan Darpino will marry Greta Maria Kauffman this Saturday, April 23rd, 2005 at 4 o�clock in the afternoon at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington.

Greta is a native of Arlington, Virginia. She is the eldest daughter of Dean and Ingrid Kaufffman.

Michael is originally from Franklinville, New Jersey and has lived in Washington for 12 years. He is the eldest son of Stanley and Sondra Darpino.

Greta and Michael have been together since 1999. They are both very excited to be tying the knot and they look forward to many, fun-filled years of adventure together.

The Oxford Tavern, aka the Zoo Bar, is definitely one of my favorite places to get a late night beer. It’s literally across the street from the zoo on Connecticut, and open until 2am. There

– seen outside 9:30 club

Last night Tiffany and I went out to the ballpark to watch the Nats and the Marlins do battle in Eastern DC. Getting to our second game was a little trickier for me, and a little less so for Tiff. The trains were busier for me, primarily because I got there an hour later than I had for opening day, but without the detailed search at the gate, things were much easier for Tiff. We got to our seats just after 6pm, which meant had we been going to the Orioles game, we might have just hit 95 Northbound.

They seem to have gotten the concession problems sorted out, as I never saw a line longer than 3-4 people and even those seemed pretty rare. There were about 16,000 fewer people for this Tuesday night game under an overcast sky than there were for Opening Night. However, those that showed up came to cheer on the Nats. There was a large group of high school students behind us in 511 that were raucous and loud the whole night, trying out new cheers just about each inning (least likely to work, but it does? Let’s Go Nat-ties) and riling up the crowd. After a rough 3rd inning, the Nats were down 5-1 and they just weren’t able to get their offense hitting on all cylinders. Frequently, they’d get a pair of back to back hits and then just strand the runners at 1st and 2nd. Cristian Guzman did have a fairly good night, raising his average about 50 points, but he just can’t seem to get over the Mendoza Line just yet.

Tonight was also my first experience with Screech, the new mascot for the Nationals. Screech is supposed to be a bald eagle, but instead looks more like an inflated chicken. When I think of eagles, I think of long, hooked, point, sharp beaks. You know, the kind used to rend flesh. I mean, eagles also have sharp talons, useful for picking trout out of streams and fending off pigeons. Screech, however, looks about as menacing or threatening as your average baby chicken. However, it is surmised that the cuteness is a psychological ploy to draw you in close, only to eviscerate you with its…stubby beak.

*sigh* I guess with Talon and Slapshot, there’s just no room for another buff rockstar Eagle, and instead we get their dorky kid brother. The best moment of the night was leaving the game, as the throngs headed for Stadium/Armory. There, on the platform was a grinning Marlins fan, with a mascot comparison a whole three days in the making: our Screech replaced with Saved By The Bell’s Screech. Oh tell me you didn’t think of it, too.

The Nats are now 8-6, but still at least tied for 1st in the NL East. They face the braves tonight and tomorrow, followed by a weekend road trip to the Big Apple.

With the news of the election of a new pope all over the news, and with Star Wars episode III to be released in about a month, the time seems about right to remind people of the Darth Vader statue (well, a grotesque, to be accurate) sitting atop the National Cathedral. The cathedral’s website has a guide to the Vader head available here.

I know nothing about birds. I am no good at identifying birds. So what follows is my best description of the giant bird that attacked my car while driving on Braddock Road in Fairfax today.

The thing was like Rodan’s cousin. Or maybe it was the drunk uncle of Hawkman from Buck Rogers. Or possibly it was the lazy Vulture from Looney Tunes. Whatever the hell it was, the bird was friggin gigantic.

Here’s the scene. I’m driving about 50 MPH up Braddock, cruising along the treeline, when suddenly this gigantic brown and white Hawk/Buzzard/American-Bald-Eagle-looking massive scary bird swoops out of the trees, dive bombing right into the hood of my car. The bird then bounced off the hood and hovered, spreading its wings to full span which was (I swear) the width of my hood, and then it let out a blood-curdling screech. Of course my moving car proceeded to whack the hell out of the hovering war-bird one more time before it recovered and flew next to my car until I outran it.

This is a true story. I am beginning to rethink my daily route to George Mason. First my car exploded into a giant ball of fire on Braddock Road and now giant birds are attacking me there.

One option would be to Metro to Fairfax each morning, but then I’m afraid King Kong would grab the train a-la the poster for the 1976 re-make. I could try driving 66 but then I’d probably get picked off by some sniper while stuck in traffic.

Anyway I look at my situation it is lose-lose. Of course there is no guarantee that the giant killer bird will remain exclusively on Braddock Road, hence my warning to all of you to be on the look out for this Aviarian Assassin in your neck of the woods.

Sure, it’s not surprising to hear that in a town full of powerful people, there are a few who will trade sex for power. However, that seems to have been brought to the forefront over the last few years, what with Monica Lewinsky and Jessica Cutler taking up some real limelight here in the District. Now, expect to see Cutler’s face back in the media, as her book The Washingtonienne will be out in the next two months.

No word as of yet if she’ll do a public book signing.

Also due is a work of fiction by Ana Marie “Assfucking” Cox, or, as many know her Wonkette. Don’t expect much more than tabloid writing here…

Students from George Washington University and American University got their taxes filed long before the April 15 deadline. They were involved in a fundraising event for the American Cancer Society.

Teams raised money from the community and pledged to walk continuously between 7pm of April 15th and 7pm of April 16th. Each team had at least one member walking or running at any given time while the others probably huddled in tents on AU’s quad.

Many of the 60 teams were from George Washington University, followed by other local colleges and universities. There were also a few corporate sponsors and other community organizations sent teams to participate.

The festivities were set off by a survivors walk, where survivors of cancer took the first lap around the quad. Later that evening a lighting ceremony was conducted to remember those that did not survive.

At last count, this year’s relay raised over $55,000 that will go toward the fight against cancer. If you would like to get involved in relays such as these that take place all the time, you can find more information at the American Cancer Society’s website.