Lifestyle

“Killing Them Softly,” Andrew Dominik’s adaptation of the George V. Higgins crime novel “Cogan’s Trade,” will have its gala premiere tonight at the Cannes Film Festival. The film screened this morning for the press, who were treated to a gritty, stylized and deeply cynical genre exercise in which Brad Pitt played hardened hit man Jackie Cogan. (Pitt last worked with Dominik on “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”) Ray Liotta, Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendolsohn co-star in a film that takes its inspiration from Martin Scorsese, murder ballads and America's recent economic crisis which, as in the movie was brought on by greed and a fatal lack of self-control.  
Brad Pitt

From the very first scene, “Killing Them Softly” interleaves its story of low-lifes and bloody assassinations with politics, setting the tale during the 2008 presidential election, including lots of clips of George W. Bush and then-candidate Barack Obama discussing the financial meltdown, and painting Jackie as a Darwinian capitalist who would be right at home at Bain Capital – at least as the company is being depicted by the Obama re-election campaign.

“Killing Them Softly” is due out in September, just in time for the elections. But Dominik and Pitt – who produced the movie – insisted they have no political agenda.

For the third summer, 1, 600 museums are opening their doors and abolishing admission for active duty military and their families.
First lady Michelle Obama hosts Military Spouse Appreciation Day earlier this month. (Win McNamee - GETTY IMAGES)

The renewal of the Blue Stars Museums program, which starts Memorial Day and goes through Labor Day, was announced Tuesday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The major sponsors are the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense and the museums.

The Webbys were awarded Monday night, all 140 of them, which we will now list right he —

No! Ha ha. We shan’t list all of the Webbys, that memed, streamed celebration of the Internet, though you can watch the whole show online if you desire (#tothecloud). We’ll list only the highlights, which are numerous. These awards are an excellent place to pop up if you want to be thought of as techy, nerdy, cool, nerdy-cool, innovative, un-Grandpa-like, etc., and there aren’t a lot of other venues that would draw the participation of both Bill Clinton and Justin Long (#DrewBarrymorescreening?)

Onward to the acceptance speeches, which, in what is the Webbys most brilliant innovation, are always limited to five words.

Each Tuesday on the Style blog, we round up the latest pop music headlines along with all of Style’s pop music coverage from the previous week.

● If you’re the type who’s ready to shell out for plane tickets along with your music festival tickets, Austin City Limits has announced its 2012 line-up. This year’s mega-concert takes place in the Texas capital Oct. 12-14 and will feature performances by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Jack White, Iggy and the Stooges and dozens more.
Jack White signs copies of the record he made with Stephen Colbert in New York. The former White Stripe has released his first solo album, “Blunderbuss." (Charles Sykes - AP)

At the Smithsonian Institution, scientists have been researching life on Earth and leading explorations everywhere on the planet for more than 160 years.
The National Museum of Natural History has a little bit of everything — here are the Pink Cattleheart, left, and Postman butterflies. In 2013 the museum plans to add an exhibition on the human genome. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

The National Museum of Natural History has been the prime location for intricate displays of the scientists’ work. Now the museum has partnered with the National Human Genome Research Institute of NIH to develop an exhibit about a scientific breakthrough that is still a mystery to most of the public.

In June 2013, the museum will mark the 10th anniversary of the first complete sequencing of the human genome — the blueprint of human biology — with a new exhibition. The exhibition will be partially funded with a $3 million pledge from Life Technologies Foundation, the charitable division of Life Technologies Corp.