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WASHINGTON (AP) -- George Scurlock Jr. remembers his grandfather - always clad in a suit and tie - meticulously posing subjects and setting lights to ensure his photographs of Washington's black community reflected its dignity and ambition....

Adrian Desmond and James Moore's book links Darwin's hatred of slavery with his work on natural selection; Adam Gopnik's compares Darwin's writing style with Lincoln's.

Film News: Oscar nominees: director -- This is Daldry's third nomination, so it's obvious the Academy is a big fan of his work. That 'The Reader' defied conventional wisdom to do so well overall in the nominations bodes well for a groundswell that could lift Daldry to the top this time.

At last, The National Theater of the United States of America returns to Performance Space 122 with its triumphant educative spectacular CHAUTAUQUA!In its own explosive style and rhythm, the NTUSA uses the historic narrative of the late 19th century adult education movement to explore ever prescient questions about art, education and commerce. The Chautauqua Circuit, a wildly popular lecture circuit that flourished across America from 1874 to the Great Depression, used lecture, debate, demonstration, and performance to spread ideas about history, science, art, culture and progressive politics from farmland to rural community in an attempt to strengthen the national fiber by educating and uplifting the common man. Embracing this mission, the NTUSA combines its own work with that of a revolving roster of guest scholars, artists and performers, as they attempt to disseminate their own status as artist and entertainers, and the figure out the place of art in our common culture of commerc

Film News: Film fest a very early launchpad for Oscar race -- Ever since the Academy Awards moved a month earlier in 2004, Hollywood has been struggling to work out how the Berlin Intl. Film Festival fits into its new calendar.

Berlin Intl. Film Festival: Reality check for Blighty -- Buyers and sellers in the U.K. are adopting a cautious wait-and-see attitude as the economic recession works itself from the City to the High Street.

Film News: Veteran worked on 'American Graffiti,' 'Truman' -- Bette Iverson, the key hair stylist on films including 'American Graffiti' and 'The Truman Show,' died Dec. 12 of throat cancer in Los Angeles. She was 79.

SHEERA BEN-DAVID, acclaimed as 'an exciting and provocative vocalist' by United Press International and 'a fully-developed dramatic singer who delivers the goods on several counts' by The New York Times, will return to the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel with an exclusive return engagement from February 24 to March 7. Her new show 'Let Me Sing And I'm Happy' will celebrate the new year with an eclectic mix of classic standards by George Gershwin ('Nice Work If You Can Get It'), Harold Arlen ('Ill Wind') and Harry Warren ('Zing A Little Zong') along with popular hits by Stevie Wonder ('Sir Duke'), ABBA ('Thank You For The Music') and John Denver ('Perhaps Love').

Jolie played the heroine in Paramount Pictures' "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001) and "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" (2003), which were inspired by...

Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson have defended themselves against allegations that they exploited child actors, in the latest round of controversy to hit the Oscar-tipped British film, Variety reports.They issued a statement yesterday in response to an article in the Daily Telegraph, which said the two eight-year-olds who played the characters of Salim and Latika as youngsters had been paid paltry amounts for their services.Both children are real-life slum dwellers from Mumbai. Rubiana Ali (Latika) was allegedly paid £500 for a year's work while Azharuddin Ismail (Salim) received £1,700, according to the children's parents.But in the statement, Boyle and producer Christian Colson said the children were enrolled in school for the first time after the film was made, while a fund had been set up to cover their education, basic living costs, healthcare and any emergencies. If they remain in school until they are 18, the children would receive another '