Entertainment

Called a “ground-breaking episode, a first for a scripted series on mainstream television,” on ABC Family’s website, the all-signed episode of Switched At Birth aired on March 4.

Switched explores issues of deaf discrimination, coming of age and identity with an innovative new show. “It’s an exciting, visual, empowering story of kids, who are different, fighting back, and it allows our audience to experience the world as our deaf characters do,” show producer Lizzy Weiss said to ABC.

Amazon’s Kindle has evolved from being exclusively a reading device, to being a full blown tablet.

The newest additions include a 9-inch screen with high-resolution graphics, an HD camera and a plethora of new apps, including classics like Angry Birds, HBO and Netflix.

All of these qualities raise the question: Do the new, state-of-the-art features distract from the original purpose of the Kindle?

The original basis of the Kindle was to make books more accessible; a contemporary take on reading, per se.

Dutch Uncles are a band that started out writing finicky songs in odd time signatures for, it seemed, no other reason except that they could.

Approaching Pho Sate, you’d never know the value within. The restaurant is hidden under an overhang in a dull strip mall on the corner of Graham Road and Route 50.

However, the inside of the restaurant is vibrant, both as a result of the kiwi-green walls and the downright delicious soup.

The line was running out the door when we got there, with tables full of Northern Virginians enjoying lunch. Why is this place so popular?

The Madman’s Daughter, by author Megan Shepherd and published at the end of January, is a science-fiction book about a surgeon pushing the boundaries of nature and science. Taking place in urban London in the late 1800s, it is Shepherd’s first novel.

The book contains vivid settings of bustling lower-class London and a deserted tropical island off the coast of Australia. Shepherd describes the settings in a very detailed and believable way, using lifelike language. She uses imagery to set an eerie tone that is present throughout the novel.

Over the years that Silversun Pickups have been recording music, they’ve been almost constantly compared to 90’s-era shoegaze, punk rock and psychedelic rock bands — think Smashing Pumpkins or My Bloody Valentine.

Their most recent release, Neck of the Woods, seems to actually try to embrace that association with the past. The resulting blend of ambience with grungy guitar hooks, ethereal vocals and thrumming bass is an homage to a time when rock was constantly being redefined. In doing so, Silversun Pickups have created one of the best albums of the year.

A view from a car window. A bridge at sunrise. A ballerina dancing on a road in the woods.

So opens senior Madeleine Fleshman’s short film, “A Screaming Cry in a Silent Room,” which won first place in Video Fairfax’s annual film festival in the high school age category.

“I really enjoy writing but I haven’t taken the time to continue it recently,” Fleshman said, “so this was my chance to combine film with something that functioned more like a short story.”

Fleshman originally created this film to serve as both her final exam and IB exam in her IB Film Study HL II class.

A man in a leotard, a green monster, a Norse god and a Playboy made $642 million in a week. The Avengers broke records its opening weekend and outperformed both Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II as well as The Dark Knight. Although the film’s publicity was years in the making, Marvel Studios has nonetheless succeeded in translating the entire Marvel universe to the big screen, and has made billions in the process.

In a studio in downtown Herndon, an actor is delivering a monologue. Upstage, the rest of the ensemble sits in a circle, their backs to the audience. A low beat comes up behind her words. “There are so many people like me—sometimes I just have to wonder why?” she starts. “They all dance, why am I different? … Because the anger inside of me gets to be so possessive. I clear out the garage, lace up my hardshoes—tight. Turn on the music; let the noise flood through me. Drown out life. Drill and drill. Hammer and push. Push myself.” She continues, her words intertwining with the beat.

People skip class to go. Others say they went before anyone else did.

No, this isn’t Chipotle. It’s Unique. The massive store located in Merrifield is a mecca for serious thrifters, but students are increasingly going to find their own clothes.

However, the store still elicits mixed reactions because of varying responses to buying secondhand clothes.