Untrained Melody

 Perched on a wooden stool by the front door and holding a microphone with one hand, Conley Jones belts out “Better Man” to a tinny, digitized arrangement with angst enough to make Eddie Vedder proud. With his free hand, he casually checks IDs as those in search of Baja Bean’s Tuesday night special—$3 margaritas and […]

The plane truth

—Fli-Curious   A: Well, Fli, though practically Lilliputian in physical dimension, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport is hardly a stagnant, small airfield. Total passenger traffic this year had reached 301,122 as of November 19, an increase of 13.7 percent compared to the same period last year. So you’d be wise to wear your steel-toed shoes when braving […]

“The only band that matters.”

Those words, declared by CBS, were used to promote the brick-throwing explosion of punk idealism and rebellion that was The Clash. There’s hardly a more compact statement of the scale and impossibility of rock’s sometime ambitions and pretensions than that.  With the November 23 release of U2’s 11th studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic […]

All in the family

—Scared Shifflett   A: Well ’fraidy cat, Ace delved into the annals of Virginia Colonial history seeking answers to your query. But before Ace regurgitates his research findings, yours truly, being a well-integrated member of Charlottesville’s social circle and acquaintance of many a Shifflett, can tell you that the names Shifflett, Shiflett, Shifflette, can I […]

Sleeping with the enemy

Anise Labrum was 20 years old and living in Los Angeles not long before the 2000 presidential election. She had been seeing her boyfriend for about a year. Back then, Labrum, a fashion stylist, loosely considered herself a Democrat. Her sweetheart, on the other hand, was a Republican. They knew they differed on politics, but […]

The moral minority

—Faith Chill A: Ace advises you to have faith, Faith. Most of the ministers who signed the quarter-page ad are retired clergy, so they were not breaking any congregational rules and they weren’t speaking for anyone but themselves. The one exception, Rev. David Takahashi Morris, who leads the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church-Unitarian Universalist, is allowed […]

The green scene

Here in Charlottesville, where architects seemingly outnumber traffic lights, the concept of building “green”—or environmentally friendly—homes, schools and city buildings is an idea whose time has come.  Whether you chalk it up to rising electricity prices or greater public awareness of the toxic chemicals in traditional building materials, there’s no denying that the trend of […]

For unlawful cable knowledge

—Mother Ducker A: Well, Mother Ducker, first and foremost: Comcast cable? Excuse Ace’s ignorance, but Ace thought Adelphia was King Cable in Charlottesville. Confused, Ace poked around the business listings in the phone book and the “coms” went as follows: Comair, Comberg, Combs, Comdial.  Ace then made some inquiries at Adelphia. No Comcast competition ‘round […]

Electoral knowledge

—Donald Bumsfelt A: Well, Mr. Bumsfelt, Ace, like you, has developed a true fondness over the past year of Campaign Reeject Bush for the project’s 38-year-old mastermind, who was first profiled in the pages of C-VILLE in the beginning of May. But sadly, after November 2, Schrader decamps from campaign headquarters (a table outside of […]

How to act like a man

In the roughly 25 years since his death at age 50, Steve McQueen has enjoyed a vibrant afterlife in the American pop consciousness. Including memoirs by two ex-wives, biographical treatments have come out at a pace of at least one every three years. Remakes of his movies—Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger’s turn at The Getaway […]