Billy Hunt’s scream portraits are all the rage (and joy)

Billy Hunt is a Charlottesville-based photographer who pairs fun, accessible concepts with high-quality image-making. He’s probably best known for his extensive photography of the Collective of Lady’s Arm Wrestling (CLAW) project, as well as a client list that includes Dave Matthews Band, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post. His […]

Non-profit awards housing grants to police officers

If it weren’t for the Charlottesville Police Foundation, Charlottesville police officers Cory Culbreath and Robbie Oberholzer wouldn’t be living in the city they serve. Relatively low salaries and today’s harsh lending environment are making home ownership increasingly difficult for police officers and other public servants, forcing many to live in surrounding, less expensive counties. But […]

T.V.: “Project Runway,” “Bachelor Pad,” “Alphas”

“Project Runway”  Thursday 9pm, Lifetime It wasn’t long ago that I was bemoaning the state of this once-great fashion design show, but the charming “All Stars” spin-off did a lot to cleanse my Gretchen-and-Anya-stained palate (a second “All Stars” season is reportedly in the pipeline, by the way). Season 10 will feature 16 wannabe fashionistas […]

Moonrise Kingdom; PG-13, 94 minutes; Regal Downtown Mall 6

The new Wes Anderson movie is certainly a richer pastiche than anything else you’ll see at the multiplex this season. And in its Andersonian manner, Moonrise Kingdom is a nourishing regressive pleasure, a sort of summer movie for grown-ups. Yes, the manner is mannered, but the intention is noble: to affirm the dignity of escapism […]

The Storyline Project fosters creative connections

Monticello Road is an odd part of Charlottesville. It was once literally the road to Jefferson’s house, but the construction of I-64 and Route 20 have truncated it to a short stretch that cuts through southern Charlottesville’s Belmont neighborhood. Though it’s only a mile in length, Monticello Road is a cross-section of residential homes, fancy […]

Albemarle upgrades county trails and recreation space

Dan Mahon has one of the coolest jobs in Virginia. While other Albemarle County staff are stuck behind desks, this ponytailed child at heart spends most of his days running around Albemarle’s parks and trails, which serve as both his office and his backyard. As Albemarle’s Outdoor Recreation Supervisor, Mahon’s duty is to develop and […]

T.V.: “Trust Us with Your Life,” “Political Animals,” “Breaking Bad”

 “Trust Us with Your Life”  Tuesday 9pm, ABC This comedy series from the creators of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” brings back the televised improv concept, but with a celebrity talk-show spin. Each episode will feature a different famous person—Serena Williams, Jerry Springer, Florence Henderson, and Ricky Gervais among them—being interviewed by host Fred Willard, as […]

Rob Tarbell and Douglas Boyce fuse visual art and musical composition

A collaboration between visual artist Rob Tarbell and composer Douglas Boyce, “Bird-like Things in Things Like Trees” was conceived two summers ago during an artist residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Auvillar, France. While there, both men became captivated by a distinctive birdsong. Their unsuccessful quest to identify the bird became […]

The Amazing Spider-Man; PG-13, 136 minutes; Carmike Cinema 6

Odd that a movie about an arachnoid teenager coming of age and falling in love and doing battle with a lizard-man to save Manhattan should be so forgettable. What to blame but reboot-itis? Sam Raimi’s trilogy of just a few years ago was after all just a numbered series of spider-men, but this new movie […]