COULD THEY MAKE IT ANY MORE OBVIOUS? Sk8r Boi maestro Avril Lavigne is engaged to her longtime boyfriend, the frontman of pop-punk outfit Sum 41. No word on whether the ceremony will be simple or complicated, or whether wedding planning is making her all frustrated. That said, I wish the couple their own happy ending.

THE WORLD IS WATCHING: While I decided to evacuate Philadelphia this weekend, others didn't: Daniel Rubin, Philly Future, Chris Bowers and Matt Stoller are among those who liveblogging Live8 today from the scene. AOL, meanwhile, has all the concerts streaming live for free online with video and audio right here.

Just saw Green Day's Billie Joe shout "Deutschland!" in the middle of performing "American Idiot" in Berlin -- along with a healthy amount of seven-second delay usage.

It's going to be a fun day to watch, but make sure you visit The One Campaign, Make Poverty History and DATA to understand why debt relief and fair trade matter so much for the future of Africa.

MY OTHER BROTHER DARRYL: During the course of Lisa de Moraes' weekly WaPo chat today, a Top 100 TV Quotes Ever list is born.

One I'd add: "The sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli."

It's a long weekend. Supplement as appropriate.

LIGHTEN UP? Just in case, God forbid, this website is a primary news source for you, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has announced her resignation from the Court.

Trivia buffs will note that the original source of the leak, about an hour ago, was an email to staff members from Heritage Foundation director of executive branch relations Virginia L. Thomas, who would have reason to know it was true.

YAR! If you found the recent New Yorker piece on transoceanic scrap rafter Poppa Neutrino of interest (see interview with author), you'll probably be interested in seeing the official Floating Neutrinos website.

YOUR KNIGHTS MIGHT BE NICE BOYS BUT SADLY WE'RE ALL GOYS: Rumors of its death strike me as a shade exaggerated, but some folks at Time Out New York (perhaps the third best weekly magazine about goings-on in the big city) have offered up some suggestions as to how to fix Broadway.

Some of them are spot on: More dancing. Less Sondheim. Forget about the canned music. Get ushers actively involved in the exit process (please oh please!). Keep an eye on summer theatre festivals to find the next Urinetown. Some are at least interesting: Create a National Theatre. Offer more opportunities for press contact with directors and designers to create a more educated public. Enough with the countless winks and nods that have become de rigueur for Broadway metatheatre. (Urinetown has a Les Miz number -- or ten. Spamalot needs more Jews to succeed on Broadway. And so forth. Broadway has been all about Broadway for an awfully long time, so this isn't exactly new news.) And some are head scratchers: Hire more dramaturgs. (I have never understood what the purpose of a dramaturg is, and I feel no more enlightened after reading TONY's plea for more of them.) Avoid songs like Wicked's sole showstopper, "Defying Gravity," at all costs.

Whatever you think of the merits of the authors' suggestions, it's nice to see Broadway being covered in a manner that is neither gushy nor too-high-falutin'-for-words.

I MEMORIZED EVERY LINE, EVERY CURVE. I CAME ACROSS TIME FOR YOU: I don't know what's stranger about this story, that a Christian group is calling for Jessica Simpson to film a less naughty (but presumably not all together unnaughty) version of her video for "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" or that the group, styled "The Resistance," is lead by someone named John Connor.