Twenty years of local news and arts in the spotlight

It’s amazing to us that a little less than 13 years ago, we sent a reporter to investigate a pending facelift in Belmont and he came back writing about the neighborhood’s “P.R. problem.” Sheesh, where did that go? These days, the place has an image too hip for its own good. At least that’s what […]

Average dude

I feel so average. It’s hard to feel average in a country where no one feels average. Everyone’s a unique snowflake, a maverick, one of a kind. I am no exception. I feel exceptionally exceptional most days. But in reality I’m not special.   I’m a pretty average American. I’m overweight. I have high cholesterol […]

A New Hope

Ace, help a fanboy out. Ever since Daniel Jordan abdicated his executive post at Monticello and was replaced by some lady named Bowman, my fellow Jefferson geeks and I have been petitioning the writers to have him retconned back into the picture. Because let’s face it—DJ was Monticello. And forgive us, but in this post-Battlestar […]

Deeds and McDonnell court youth for high voter turnout

During the last presidential election, young voter turnout was unprecedented. Among Democrats, the overall turnout jumped 90 percent in 2008, compared to four years earlier. Young Democrats’ participation jumped 135 percent.  Will the same number of young Virginians come out to vote for their future governor?   Creigh Deeds, Democratic nominee for governor, appeared in […]

Beyond the fringe

All right, we might as well state our position up front, so that anyone who disagrees with us can throw the paper down in disgust right now: It is the official position of the Odd Dominion that President Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii, the 50th star on the United States flag, on August […]

Little boxes

Ace, is there a single USPS blue mailbox between the railroad tracks adjacent to Water Street and Mill Creek, including all of Belmont? If so, I can’t find it. Has regular mail finally vanished, or am I just looking in the wrong places?—Blue-Box-Deprived-In-Belmont If you’re worried that non-electronic communication is going the way of the […]

There will be bacon

Three lifeless pigs hang from six hooks in the walk-in fridge. Split in two, their bright skin is waxy white, traced with miniscule purple veins. A small, pink pearl sliding down one ankle is the only visible sign of blood. Each carcass shows outward evidence of the animal it once was: little pink toenails, traces […]

Interest in China growing

China has recently blossomed into one of the fastest growing economies in the world with a rapidly increasing population and a greater emphasis on contact with the outside world. The University of Virginia has been actively pursuing an academic relationship with the nation for some time and the interest is only growing. “China is a […]