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The round, pastel-colored sculptures in front of the American University

Museum at the Katzen Arts Center seem to herald the landing of aliens.

Congressional Cemetery, which the NationalTrust for Historic Preservation named as one ofthe country’s most endangered historic sites,is experiencing a rebirth, thanks to volunteersand dog owners, who pay a fee so their petscan roam free.

The bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi, wholed India to freedom from British rule, was a giftfrom India and the Indian American communityand stands near the Indian Embassy.

From the Pony Express to e-mail, the Smithsonian's

National Postal Museum celebrates the send-off

of the written word.Start hereDriver’s route

Look for celestial bodies through the U.S. NavalObservatory’s 12-inch refracting telescope.

Leave the city behind on the 3A-mileLittle Falls Stream Valley Park Trail.

The hills of Fort Dupont Parkonce provided safety and shelterfor runaway slaves.

The Tudor-style Henley Park Hotel wasoriginally an apartment building that housedsenators and representatives.

Take in one of the best views of Washingtonduring tea time on the seventh floor of theWashington National Cathedral.

Legend has it that gold miner Thomas F. Walsh embedded a gold barover the arch of the Walsh-McLean House (now the IndonesianEmbassy) as a tribute to the source of his wealth.

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RoadTrip The Stately Sights of Massachusetts Avenue

MAP BY JEROME COOKSON FOR THE WASHINGTON POST; PHOTOS BY PHUONG LY FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

WHERE: The District and Bethesda.

WHY: A haunted mansion, the church of Darth Vader and sculptural surprises.

HOW FAR: About 11 miles from start to finish.

O n Massachusetts Avenue, see how themighty have risen — and fallen.

The 12-mile road, which stretchesfrom the D.C. border with PrinceGeorge’s County into Bethesda, is

best known for its stately mansions. During the1920s, the area around Sheridan, Dupont and Scottcircles was so gilded with tycoons and socialites thatit became known as Millionaires’ Row. The GreatDepression, however, turned many of those richesto rags.

The opulent beaux-arts-style Walsh-McLeanHouse near Dupont Circle, once the most expensivehome in Washington, suffered the ultimate fall fromgrace. Gold-mining heiress Evalyn Walsh McLeanbought the Hope Diamond in 1911 and became af-flicted with its alleged curse: Her son died in a carcrash, her husband ran off with another woman, herdaughter fatally overdosed on drugs and her debtspiled up. The 60-room mansion had been built for

$835,000 in 1901-03 but was sold in 1952 to the In-donesian government for $335,000. The house be-came an embassy, and Millionaires’ Row turned intoEmbassy Row.

Darth Vader may have once lorded over theGalactic Empire, but now he oversees the groundsof the Washington National Cathedral. The lime-stone Vader sculpture resulted from a cathedral con-test in 1985 in which children submitted designs forcarvings. Look for Luke Skywalker’s father perchedamid the Gothic spires on the northwest tower, fac-ing the cathedral’s dark side, of course.

Another fancy Massachusetts Avenue institution,the Henley Park Hotel, also features surprisingsculpture. Among the 119 medieval-style gargoylesare the faces of a cigar-chomping man and a bespec-tacled woman. The immortalized couple are the ho-tel’s stone mason and his wife. Score one for theworkingman.

— Phuong Ly

Road Trip maps are available at www.washingtonpost.com/roadtrip, as are

addresses and hours of operation (be sure tocheck before you go). Have an idea for a trip?E-mail roadtrip@washpost.com.

SOURCE 11-25-07 DC EE N8 CMYK

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N8 Sunday, November 25, 2007 The Washington Postx

WEDNESDAY IN STYLE Escapes goes tax-free shopping in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

Conan PlayStation 3, Xbox 360Rated Mature THQ $59.99

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TITLE BASIC STORY SAMPLE GRAB GRADEWHAT YOU’LL LOVE

KERI RUSSELL BY ALAN MARKFIELD — FOX SEARCHLIGHT

“As many ways as there are to spell the holiday, so are there ways to enjoy, anticipate, loathe, and love the festival of lights.”

— From the introduction

Despite the kitschy packaging and overabundance of latke jokes, the best of these essays grapple honestly with season-less issues of identity, family and consumer culture.

The Princeton historian explores the ways Colonial American culture and the concept of “whiteness” were shaped by European settlers uniting against their Native American neighbors.

Perhaps stealing a move from Kanye West, Pitbull injects a refreshing dose of cleverness into his predominantly lecherous rhymes.

“Been up, been down, paid dues, earned stripes / Been in lawsuits / Welcome to

my life / I’m too Latin for hip-hop and too hip-hop for Latin / Did y’all fi gure out?/ I’ma keep rappin’ ”

— “The Truth (Interlude)”

Madonna’s ballads translate well, but her poppier fare doesn’t. A banjo-laden version of “Borderline”? No, thanks.

— C.R.

The movie just isn’t as funny as it should be, and the whole thing sometimes feels like a number of

regular “Futurama” episodes stapled together.

— Greg Zinman

The game’s unconventional control

system feels clunky at fi rst; more-experienced gamers

may be turned off by it.— Evan Narcisse

Conan’s clean-cut voice is all wrong. It’s more Superman than blood-soaked, violence-loving brute.

— Christopher Healy

This game doesn’t pussyfoot around: From the opening scene you’ll be attacked on all sides by an onslaught of foes. No downtime here.

Creed’s stunning graph-ics and animation, as well as its sprawling, historically accurate environments and tense cat-and-mouse gameplay, make it one of the year’s most ambitious titles.

The spirited acting trumps the unnatu-rally sweetened dialogue, and the disc offers a generous helping of extras, including a tribute to director Adrienne Shelly, who was killed last year.

The animated fan fave returns in the fi rst of four feature-length adventures, as beer-swilling robot Bender comes under the control of intergalactic scam artists.

So, 99 percent of tribute albums are total garbage, right? Here’s your 1 percent: a gaggle of obscure freak-folkies paying homage to a freaky pop matriarch.

Journey through one man’s genetic history as he inhabits the life of his 12th-century ancestor, an executioner named Altair who fought during the Crusades.

Known for serving up dance-fl oor scorchers, the Miami rapper brings things down to a simmer on his fourth album.

The Boatlift Pitbull TVT $18.98

Our Savage Neigh-bors: How Indian War Transformed Early America By Peter Silver W.W. Norton $29.95

Eighteen youngish writers contribute personal essays — from the snarky to the sentimental — riffi ng on the ancient Jewish holiday.

How to Spell Chanukah Edited by Emily FranklinAlgonquin $18.95

The seemingly random plotting pays off nicely, and the disc has a great commentary track with the cast and series creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen. Oh, and Hypnotoad!

“I have a tale to tell / Sometimes it gets so hard to hide it well / I was not ready for the fall / Too blind to see the writing on the wall”

— Winter Flowers make “Live to Tell” sound like a sublime Richard

and Linda Thompson outtake

Giant Drag’s weepy “Oh Father” and Jonathan Wilson’s ruddy “La Isla Bonita” should convince you that Madge is a thriving folk singer in some alternate universe.

“I Can’t Have No Affair Because It’s Wrong and I Don’t Want Earl to Kill Me Pie: vanilla custard with banana. Hold the banana . . . ”

— Jenna daydreams up a culinary creation

Each medieval Middle Eastern city in the game boasts special locations that offer panoramic views to help players plan their political killing.

Silver gracefully demonstrates the way that a desire for self-preservation can give rise to a hatred of The Other, a lesson with obvious analogies to the modern age.

Jenna (Keri Russell, right) is a waitress with a dream of winning a pie-baking contest. Problem is, she’s pregnant, married to a horrible man (Jeremy

Sisto) and having an affair with her married gyne-cologist (Nathan Fillion).

Hey, is that girl Conan just rescued topless? Yes, she is, folks. This is Conan unabridged.

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The fi lm’s Southern-fried whimsy and pie-as-commentary motif may trigger a diabetic coma

or two.— G.Z.

Though packed with interesting stories, the book is a dense historical study at heart. The end result is far more educational than it is entertaining.

— Sara Cardace

With appearances by 17 (count ’em!) guest artists, Pit ends up sounding like a supporting character on his own album.

— Chris Richards

Read in one sitting, the talent divide becomes pronounced. Feel free to breeze over clunkers such as “The Only Dreidel in Idaho,” with its irritating use of IM-speak.

— Reviewed by Adriana Leshko

“Much of the mid-Atlantic countryside had been turned into a crazy patchwork of overlapping

linguistic, cultural, and religious zones. There were no ethnic homelands here, and no one could doubt they lived in a world that was being radically remade.”

“I’m a doctor, sir. The mere fact that I’m blond and have a breathy voice, full, sensual lips and a steaming-hot body doesn’t make me a bimbo.” “Tell me about it.”

— Crustacean Dr. Zoidberg (voiced by Billy West) empathizes with a colleague

In an adventure based on the original Robert E. Howard novels

(not the Arnie fi lms), the barbarian king meets up with a pirate queen, and they hack and slash their way to love.

B-

Futurama: Bender’s Big Score Not rated 20th Century Fox $29.99

Waitress PG-13 20th Century Fox $29.99

Through the Wilderness: A Tribute to Madonna Various artists Manimal Vinyl $17.98

Assassin’s Creed PlayStation 3, Xbox 360Rated MatureUbisoft $59.99

WHAT YOU WON’T

MediaMix A Quick Take on New Releases

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Proofed by: phadkep Time: 16:49 - 11-21-2007 Separation: C M Y K HIGH-RES PROOF. IMAGES ARE RIPPED. FULL PROOF INTEGRITY.Product: SOURCE LayoutDesk: SOU PubDate: 11-25-07 Zone: DC Edition: EE Page: RDTRIP