Dear Ace: I was down by City Hall the other day and noticed statues of three presidents sculpted into the building. Somewhat disconcerting to me was the size of James Madison; he was a pretty short guy, no? In the sculpture, he isn’t. Why?—Constance Tooshun Constance: It isn’t simply that James Madison was a “pretty short […]
Despite all the button-busting, broad-chested swagger of the steeled human sculptures that form the skyline of Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay—the Orson Welles drive to destroy something immense like a planet or a media structure, or the Harry Houdini pairing of ingenuity and stubbornness, superpowers grappling with human […]
Most people no longer expect much from a transcontinental flight: a movie, a snack, maybe a little deep vein thrombosis. But Peter Russell, the hero of James Collins’ Beginner’s Greek, is a romantic—he expects to meet “the perfect woman” on his New York-to-L.A. flight. Improbably, he does. His seatmate, Holly, thinks he’s pretty nice, too, […]
More feature articles: Baby, you’re a rich manThe false promise of the state lottery The games people playTake your Pick 3 A school teacher named Chris Menke played the same Pick 3 number every day for a year and won big twice, so I decide to stick with one I’ve already played—fruitlessly so far—4-0-8. Just […]
More feature articles: Baby, you’re a rich manThe false promise of the state lottery Lottery biblesSneaky Pete’s got some tips The Virginia Lottery can be played in so many wonderful ways. At the top of the heap is a little game called Mega Millions, which recently topped out with a $270 million jackpot. “With more […]
For the second straight March, the social advocacy group called IMPACT (Interfaith Movement Promoting Action by Congregations Together) demanded that the city commit funds to affordable housing in front of hundreds of churchgoers, and for the second straight time they received a majority of affirmative responses. Last year’s so-called Nehemiah Action was held at the […]
Markell Henderson Worked for the city for: 7 years Resides in: Louisa Job title: Firefighter at the City of Charlottesville Fire House No. 1. As a driver, Henderson’s primary responsibilities include checking the fire truck to make sure it is ready for action. Best of times: “The brotherhood among us firefighters. We spend a lot […]
The fact that two members of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council voted to keep the names of anonymous donors to UVA from public eyes could mean a couple things.
William Keene, a UVA professor of environmental sciences, understands that universities produce a relatively miniscule amount of the world’s emissions that scientists widely acknowledge are changing our climate. But he firmly believes that since governments aren’t taking serious initiatives, it’s time for the University to step up and lead. So Keene and art history Professor […]