Tuesday, July 24
Fox reacts to Tech killings
The New York Times, picking up an Associated Press story, reports that Fox has opted to alter a scene in a new midseason drama in response to the April massacre at Virginia Tech. Fox plans to unveil "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," a show based on the Terminator movies. But after the Tech tragedy, producers decided that a scene showing an attack in a high school should be revised. According to the Times, "the drama, with a woman as its hero, is being introduced to take advantage of the increase in female viewers generally enjoyed by Fox when ‘American Idol’ returns in January."
Wednesday, July 25
Virginia wine: the latest toast
 He’ll drink to that: Al Schornberg, left, got more appreciation for his Keswick Vineyards last week. |
In what has become something of a weekly occurrence, another publication is celebrating the fine wine of Central Virginia. This time it’s roanoke.com, the online version of The Roanoke Times. Gordon Kendall spent some time at Keswick Vineyards, where the story of Al and Kathy Schornbergs’ near-death experience and subsequent conversion from Michigan entrepreneurs to Virginia farmers makes the expected impression on him. Also impressive? The history of Edgewood Estate, where the Schornbergs settled in 2000: "King George II had granted the land in 1727, and the estate was built in 1911 by a direct descendent of the grantee, Nicholas Meriwether." Yes, and what of the wine? Kendall liked the 2004 Heritage, among others, a wine he compares to French Bordeaux, despite a difference in varietals. "This wine emulates the style displaying earthy aromas and a rich and savory palate on which cherry and leather flavors cascade."
Thursday, July 26
Muslim prayer rooms, including at UVA, spark debate
USA Today reports in its online edition that some public schools and universities are granting requests from organized groups of Muslim students to create prayer rooms and install ritual foot baths. Among universities listed by the Muslim Students’ Association as having prayer rooms for "Muslim students only," the paper reports, is UVA. The usual array of opinions is represented, including Christians who see the benefits accorded to Muslims as preferential. The chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy offers a reasoned assessment: "Unusual accommodations for one faith at the cost of everybody else doesn’t fall on the side of pluralism."
Friday, July 27
"College basketball is going to miss a giant"
 Former Cavs’ men’s basketball head coach Pete Gillen and other ACC coaches and players mourn the untimely death of Skip Prosser, the Wake Forest coach who was mentored by Gillen at the start of his career. |
Sports pages around the country, including The Washington Post’s, are reporting today on the shock and grief felt by former Cavaliers men’s basketball coach Pete Gillen and others, upon learning that Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser dropped dead of a heart attack following his regular morning jog yesterday. He was 56. Gillen gave Prosser his first college position at Xavier University, where Prosser remained as Gillen’s assistant for eight seasons. "He was confident and believed in himself, but he had no ego," Gillen said. "Most coaches, to get to the top, have to step on some people. But he didn’t have any enemies…"
Saturday, July 28
Unemployment: June’s magic number was 2.8 percent
State unemployment rates increased in June for the usual summertime reason: College students flooding the market looking for seasonal work. At the end of the week, the Virginia Employment Commission announced state unemployment numbers for June, up 0.4 percentage points from May to 3.2 percent. But locally, the number was only 2.8 percent, 0.1 percent less than the year-ago measure, but up 0.6 percentage points from May 2007. Still, Charlottesville is well ahead of the national game; overall unemployment in the country is at 4.7 percent. Closer to home, the troubled Southside continues to have a jobs problem, with the June unemployment rate at 6.4 percent.
Sunday, July 29
Hometown lit mag gets blockbuster support
 Possible title for John Grisham’s next project? "What I did on my summer vacation." |
Needing a dose of something extra, the staff of the Southaven High School literary magazine reached out to a famous alumni, asking John Grisham if he had a few words he could share with the current students of his Mississippi alma mater. And, as the Hattiesburg American reports on its website today, a couple of months later the bajillion-selling author complied with an essay about his days at the school. To meet the deadline, the Albemarle author took time from his work on Playing For Pizza, due in late September. The new book, described as a "comic novel" is, according to Grisham’s website, "about a one-time American football star who moves to Italy to play for the Parma Panthers and finds himself entangled in a series of cultural misadventures."
Monday, July 30
Impermanent vacations
This week’s installment of the public radio show, "The Infinite Mind"—which isn’t broadcast in Charlottesville—taps the expertise of UVA history prof Cindy Aron as it delves into the deeper meanings of the American vacation. Aron, who published a book in 1999 called Working at Play: A History of Vacations in the United States, enlightens listeners about how vacations started out as a way to get healthier (in Virginia, people went to take the curative waters of Bath County, for example). Later, they evolved (or devolved) into self-improvement sessions, when those itchy Victorians decided that idleness was dangerous, and that attending lectures and praying was a better way to take a break.
