No tanks; I'll have sushi

There is some special place in my heart reserved for cities and towns well past their prime, an affection that comes, I suppose, from having lived in places like New Haven, Connecticut, and rural eastern North Carolina. So I was delighted when I had the opportunity recently to check out Danville—for few Virginia cities are […]

Shower at your own risk

Somewhere on the New Jersey Turnpike, I tell my girlfriend about my grandfather’s only rule about the cabin in Ryegate Corner, Vermont. “Turn the clocks to the walls,” he said. “Eat when you’re hungry, sleep when you’re tired.” It’s the same schedule kept by the cows at the Nelson family farm, the closest residence to […]

No missing out

A four-day blur of tacos, sun, Lone Star beer, pizza and—of course—bands. That’s the short and easy description of my trip to the annual four-day live music orgy known as South By Southwest. Destination: South By Southwest Music and Media Conference Location: Austin, Texas Distance from Charlottesville: 1,403 miles Dates for 2009 festival: March 18-22 […]

Football fields and churches

I am inclined to disbelieve in life’s exactness, but I swear this to be true. Precisely in the middle of the 10-hour drive that connects my old home of Washington, D.C., to my hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana, a drive I have made many times in many emotional states and will continue to make for the […]

The struggle to reduce staff driving

The University is trying to “go green” in many aspects of its operations. Yet most of UVA’s 10,000 full-time staff continue to drive their own vehicle to and from work, despite efforts to offer alternatives. Over the course of the last academic year, UVA Parking and Transportation has unveiled a series of new programs geared […]

What's in your backpack?

Emily Filler Emily Filler Age: 27 Year: Graduate student Concentration: Religious studies Hometown: Ovid, Michigan What’s in your backpack? Datebook, chapter from Berakhot from the Mishnah, The Meaning and End of Religion by Wilfred Cantwell Smith, wallet, phone, passport, keys, dental floss, highlighter, assorted medicines, teabags, gift certificate to a bookstore.

Put away your posterboard

When Southern Cal’s players gaze into the Cavalier Nation on Saturday, they will find no sign of bravado, insults or irony. Daddy Hoo is tired of your signs, regardless of whether they praise or malign. Administrators sent out an e-mail to all University students last week that lauded “the passionate support” of the student body […]