Vampire Weekend - Giving Up the Gun (Video)

tableau writer Campbell Bird said he would recommend Contra to "just about anyone," while offering the caveat that Vampire Weekend "may appear to have an unquenchable thirst for all things bizarre and pretentious." This thirst manifests itself quite openly in their new video for "Giving Up the Gun."

It's quintessential Vampire Weekend. It makes you smile, ponder the lyrics, and want to write a blog post in atypically high diction.

Basically, if you like Vampire Weekend, you'll love watching a Jonas Brother, Wu Tang Clan member RZA, Lil' Jon, and a drunk and cocksure Jake Gyllenhaal in this slo-mo, tennis themed video.

UVa Drama Presents: The Seagull

Trigorin (Andrew Cronacher), Arkadina (Laura Rikard), Konstantin (Geoff Culbertson) and Nina (Isabella Sazak) from Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull. ©2010 Michael Bailey

The University drama department continues its season with The Seagull, written by famous Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov and directed by University alumnae Amanda McRaven.

Like Woolf's To the Lighthouse, The Seagull centers around a diverse cast of characters vacationing together. Interactions among the main characters, all of whom are artists — or wannabe artists — lead to a love triangle and other dramatic conflicts. The Seagull tackles themes such as unrequited love, artistic ambition and jealousy. And although it was written during the late 1800s, it's a play that has survived the test of time to resonate with modern viewers.

The Seagull is running Feb. 18-20 and Feb. 24-27, with all performances beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8 for students, $12 for seniors and faculty, and $14 for the general public. They are available online at http://www.artsboxoffice.virginia.edu/ and by phone at 434-924-3376. Alternatively, you can stop by the box office at Culbreth Theatre. Don't miss out!

Winter Olympics 2010

Women's figure skating is usually the biggest hitter on the ice for the Winter Olympics games. Usually the most highly viewed of all the events, this year stands to be no different, despite the lack of an American figure-skating superstar: Think Sasha Cohen, Michelle Kwan, Tara Lipinski.

In fact, Team USA's best chance for a medal comes from two Olympics newcomers: 17-year-old Rachael Flatt and 16-year-old Mirai Nagasu. American girls are the underdogs in the game dominated by names like Mao Asada, Miki Ando and Kim Yu-na, the reigning world champion.

Known as "The Queen" in her home country of South Korea, Kim Yu-na has dominated the figure skating world during the past year and is the favorite for the gold. Yet if there's one sport where being the favorite is a pitfall, it's figure skating. World champions have often fallen to the incredible amount of pressure at the games, never skating their best.

And no skater has ever faced as much pressure as Kim. In Korea, three TV networks have played endless loops of her falling -- during a practice. Even a simple skate malfunction became headline news for the Ice Princess who has been declared the South Korean "Person of the Year" for the past two years and "Top Athlete" for the past three years.

But Kim continues to insist that she's doing it for herself.

"Competing or winning competitions, it's not for my country, it's for me," she said. "I am not skating just to win gold. I am skating for skating."

Don't miss the short program tonight, 8 p.m. on NBC.