Back to (film) school

Earlier this year, I received an e-mail from the lead mentor at Light House Studio, the film mentoring program to which students show up never having held a camera, and sometimes leave with an acceptance letter from a prestigious film school. Jason Robinson, the mentor, said the studio was running a program for advanced students wherein the kids would create music videos over the course of a week for songs by local musicians, and would I be willing to let the kids make a video for one of my songs?

Small Bites

 Know your farm, know your food The third annual “Meet Yer Eats” Farm Tour is Labor Day Monday, September 5 from 10am-4pm. This is your chance to visit three to five (that’s about all you’ll be likely to manage in a day, figuring in travel times) of 19 participating area farms. Buy a car pass […]

Wine schooling

As pleasant as the sleepy and sparsely populated summers are here, the start of school injects energy back into this brainy little town. If you’re anything like me, you get student envy: wistfully thinking back to brand new Trapper Keepers and 5-Subject notebooks. The good news is that with your compulsory education complete, you can use your free time to learn while you drink.

Restless Farewell

She is the kind-hearted folk queen, more of a traditionalist, who, having recognized greatness in her counterpart, introduces him and his less palatable, but perhaps more brilliant, songs to the world. His twitchy affect is softened by her gorgeous trill, her wacky, glowing grace. We’re jealous that she got him and he got her, but they seem to love each other, and that, in turn, makes them both lovable.

Blue ribbon cones

The melody of an ice cream truck can whisk you down memory lane as fast as a lick of a Bomb Pop, but this vestige of nostalgia seems to have gone the way of the paperboy and the milkman. Thankfully, there’s still one truck jingling its way around town.

Small bites

Easy as ABC In the category of “News you may have missed last week,” Boylan Heights issued a “self-imposed” dry week after Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control concluded the restaurant had served underage patrons, according to media sources. ABC said the Corner burger joint could shut down for 30 days or pay a fine and shut […]

We are what we drink

James Bond had his shaken-not-stirred martinis; The Dude had his White Russians and Carrie Bradshaw had her Cosmopolitans. In this day when our Facebook profiles precede us, it’s nice to have a signature that captures our three-dimensional selves. Hairstyles, clothes and scents help to define our styles, but I say drink orders are the window […]

Whites, rosés and reds of Rioja

When life gets in the way of vacation, you’ve always got wine. Opening a bottle and pairing it with regional foods can take you on a virtual voyage faster than you can click your heels and say, “There’s no place like the Mediterranean.” And my Spanish high heels found their way back home the minute […]

Small bites

New developments A change is gonna come to the Downtown Mudhouse. The java spot—best in town, according to readers—shut its doors for an estimated three weeks to give the space a makeover. Says Julia Minnerly of the Crozet shop, the red wall behind the bar will be removed to open things up. “A big goal,” […]