Month: January 2007

Categories
News

Students swap sex, disease

More UVA students are twisting their tongues around the unfamiliar names of antibiotics like ciprofloxacin and azithromycin these days than they did in years past, and it’s not because they’re going pre-med.

According to Dr. Colin Ramirez, a 17-year veteran of UVA’s Elson Student Health Center (www.virginia.edu/studenthealth), students in recent years have been increasingly diagnosed with nonspecific urethritis, an inflammation of the urethra often accompanied by painful urination and discharge. These cases are not caused by gonorrhea, syphilis or chlamydia, which can create the same symptoms; instead, Ramirez attributes the rise to a better medical understanding of opportunistic organisms that inhabit the mouth and throat, paired with a rising rate of oral sex among students.


Wrap it up, even for oral sex, docs say. Infections related to oral-genital contact are on the rise among  undergrads.

“There’s been, I think, pretty clear epidemiology pointing toward increased oral sex in middle school and high school,” says Ramirez. “The awareness of that came out five or 10 years ago, and if you think of that cohort moving into the college population, that makes sense.”

A 2005 University of California study strongly suggests that Ramirez is correct, stating that because “adolescents perceive oral sex as less risky, more prevalent and more acceptable than vaginal sex, it stands to reason that adolescents are more likely to engage in oral sex.” Closer to home, a 2003 piece in The Cavalier Daily revealed this little gem: “This is one aspect of college parties that nobody likes to talk about or acknowledge: The accepted protocol of students meeting, perhaps exchanging first names and having unprotected oral sex.”

With oral-genital contact on the rise and the medical revelations that otherwise benign organisms in the mouth and throat may cause irritating urethral infections, what’s a poor undergrad to do? The answer, according to Ramirez, lies in communication and condoms and dental dams.

The alternative is a trip to the pharmacy—and a bigger vocabulary.

Categories
Arts

Capsule reviews of films playing in town

Babel (R, 142 minutes) Alejandro González Iñárritu (director of 21 Grams and Amores Perros) contributes another weighty ensemble piece. This complex, occasionally sluggish rumination on communication (or the lack thereof) in modern-day society takes place in three places at once. In Morocco, a couple (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) gets involved in a shooting crisis. In California, a housekeeper tries to get to her son’s wedding down Mexico way. In Japan, a deaf-mute girls tries desperately to shed her virginity. The film is relentlessly grim, and the message may be lost on some; but as always, Iñárritu deserves credit for making a film that is actually about something. In English, French, Japanese, Spanish, Berber and Arabic with English subtitles. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Because I Said So (PG-13, 101 minutes) A meddling, overprotective mother (Diane Keaton) keeps trying to set her youngest daughter (Mandy Moore) up with the right man so the kid won’t follow in her footsteps. Keaton and Moore make a nice duo, but the mild, middle-of-the-road humor makes this a rather ordinary romcom. Coming Friday; check local listings

Blood and Chocolate (PG-13, 98 minutes) Slightly classier-looking than your average teen horror movie, this flick (from German director Katja von Garnier) tells the story of a teenage werewolf (Agnes Bruckner, Blue Car) torn between honoring her family’s secret and her love for a hunky young dude (Hugh Dancy, King Arthur). Based on the book by teen lit writer Annette Curtis Klause. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Catch and Release (PG-13, 124 minutes) Jennifer Garner (“Alias”) jumps into the comedy/drama/romance stewpot as a woman struggling to accept the sudden death of her husband-to-be and the secrets he kept from her. After attending a funeral on what was supposed to be her wedding day, our heroine moves in with two male pals (Kevin Smith and Sam Jaeger, providing comic relief). What follows is your typical romantic comedy complete with syrup-filled ending. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4

Children of Men (R, 109 minutes) Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón, who’s given us everything from Y Tu Mamá También to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, helms this low-tech sci-fi film set in the year 2027. Seems that in this polluted, dystopic future, mankind has lost the ability to procreate. Clive Owen (Inside Man, Sin City) is a reformed activist who agrees to help transport a mysteriously pregnant woman (multiple Oscar nominee Julianne Moore) to a sanctuary at sea, where her child’s birth may help scientists save mankind. Based on the novel by P.D. James. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Dreamgirls (PG-13, 125 minutes)  It takes a little while to get into the mood of this lengthy showbiz musical. Once it’s fully up to speed, however, the film sings along at an absorbing clip. Like the Broadway musical that inspired it, the tune-filled tale follows the rise and fall of a Diana Ross and the Supremes-like musical group from the late ’50s through the turbulent ’60s and on into the disco era of the ’70s. Of course, there’s plenty of backstage backstabbing as the group’s beautiful lead singer (Beyoncé Knowles) gets groomed for superstardom by her husband/manager (Jamie Foxx). Former “American Idol” contestant Jennifer Hudson is the real showstopper here, commanding the spotlight as the group’s bitchy but supremely talented backup singer. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4

Epic Movie (PG-13, 86 minutes) From the people who brought you Scary Movie and Date Movie comes yet another crude parody of assorted movie genres. This one sticks more or less to recent Hollywood blockbusters like The Chronicles of Narnia, X-Men: The Last Stand, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Snakes on a Plane. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Freedom Writers (P6-13, 123 minutes) Veteran screenwriter Richard LaGravenese takes a stab at directing in this latest instalment in the miracle-worker-teacher genre. Hilary Swank stars as a teacher who brings her disadvantaged and racially divided students together. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

The Hitcher (R, 90 minutes) For teenagers and people with very short memories comes a remake of the 1986 thriller starring Rutger Hauer and C. Thomas Howell. The original, about a serial-killing hitchhiker, was fairly preposterous to begin with. That didn’t stop music video director Dave Meyers from recasting it with Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings) as the bad guy and Sophia Bush (“One Tree Hill”) as the (now female) victim. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6   

The Last King of Scotland (R, 123 minutes) This gritty biopic recounts the life of brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin as seen by his personal physician. (Yes, Amin did at one point declare himself King of Scotland.) Forest Whitaker (fresh off “The Shield”) gives a major performance, making Amin both monstrous and pitiful. The film’s jarring camerawork adds to the thrilling nature of this ugly but absorbing tale. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Letters from Iwo Jima (R, 141 minutes) Clint Eastwood shot this back-to-back with his film Flags of Our Fathers. This one tells more or less the same story, but from the Japanese perspective. Whereas Flags bogged down a bit in post-war preachiness and cliché characters, Letters is an uncompromising look at the painful defeat of the Japanese. Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) gives a powerful performance. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

The Messengers (PG-13, 84 minutes) Hip-hot Asian filmmakers Danny and Oxide Pang (The Eye, Bangkok Dangerous—both of which are being remade stateside) offer up their first American film, a haunted house thriller wedged firmly in the Far East mold. Kristen Stewart (Zathura) moves to an isolated farm in the middle of North Dakota with parents Penelope Ann Miller (Adventures in Babysitting) and Dylan McDermott (he of “The Practice” hunkitude). In short order, our gal’s baby bro is spying creepy ghosts in every corner. There are a few atmospheric scares, but it’s slow going, and borrows quite a bit from films like The Grudge. Coming Friday; check local listings

Night at the Museum (PG, 108 minutes) Ben Stiller stars in this fantasy-filled adaptation of the best-selling children’s book of the same name. In it, he plays a bumbling new security guard at the Museum of Natural History who accidentally lets loose an ancient curse causing all of the displays to come to life. Hijinks ensue. Cameos include Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Mickey Rooney and Owen Wilson. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4

Notes on a Scandal (R, 92 minutes) Cate Blanchett is a pottery teacher who gets involved with a student. Judi Dench is her mentor. The film explores the dangerous psychological territory between the two women as their friendship develops and reaches a crisis point. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Pan’s Labyrinth (R, 117 minutes) From Mexican director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Blade II, The Devil’s Backbone, Cronos) comes this intelligent, phantasmagorical fantasy about a young girl who travels with her pregnant mother to post-war Spain. Hoping to avoid the grim reality of Franco’s fascist repression, our heroine escapes into a fantasy world of her own creation. In time, the two worlds—one stylized and beautiful, one bloody and brutal—begin to meld. Despite certain Alice in Wonderland connections, this dark, disturbing fantasy is not a kids’ film. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

The Pursuit of Happyness (PG-13, 117 minutes) Will Smith stars in this tear-jerking can-do drama as a struggling, largely homeless single father who takes custody of his young son (real-life offspring Jaden Smith). Unable to support himself, Dad makes a life-changing decison—to get a job as an unpaid intern on Wall Street. This “inspired by a true story” tale is just as schmaltzy as you would expect, but Smith the Elder does give a emotional, award-hungry performance. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4

The Queen (PG-13, 118 minutes) U.K. director Stephen Frears (High Fidelity, The Grifters, Dangerous Liaisons) takes the death of Princess Diana and spins it into a pop culture biopic about Queen Elizabeth II. Expect Oscar attention for star Helen Mirren, whose portrait of QEII is both imperious and impartial. The script speculates on the week after Diana’s death, during which the royal family was conspicuously silent and unseen. Michael Sheen (Underworld) matches Mirren note-for-note as the surprisingly sympathetic Prime Minister Tony Blair, who tries to talk the Queen out of her stiff upper-lip resolve. An absorbing appeal for governmental sympathy in an era when many leaders seem content to simply fiddle while Rome burns (Hurricane? What hurricane?). Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Smokin’ Aces (R, 108 minutes) It’s been a while since we’ve had to dust off the adjective “Tarantinoesque,” but here we are again. Joe Carnahan (Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane) writes and directs this action thriller about a whole collection of hyper-colorful hitmen who descend on a Reno hotel to bump off a cheesy-magicial-turned-Mob-informant (Jeremy Piven). Among the cast are Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Wayne Newton, Ben Affleck, Peter Berg, Andy Garcia, Jason Bateman and Matthew Fox. The violence is over the top and completely gratuitous, but it is kind of satifying in a mid-’90s “wish I was John Woo” kind of way. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Stomp the Yard (PG-13, 114 minutes) If you can’t get enough of urban dance movies like You Got Served and Step Up, then you might have some use for this formulaic pic about a troubled teen from L.A. who winds up at a black university in Atlanta, where he tries to win over a girl while being courted by two fraternities who desire his near mystical abilities in the realm of free-style step dancing. Unless you went to a primarily African-American college in the southern U.S. you’ve probably never heard of step-dancing. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Volver (R, 120 minutes) Pedro Almodóvar returns with another delicious comedy/drama. Here, a freshly deceased woman (Carmen Maura) returns to her hometown in order to fix the situations she couldn’t resolve in life. Penélope Cruz plays one of the woman’s daughters, a troubled cleaner. Typical of Almodóvar, the films spins off in a multitude of directions, mixing sincere melodrama and sly humor. Occasionally, you might miss the campy filmmaker of yesteryear, but it’s hard to deny this guy’s talent for placing women on the silver screen. In Spanish with English subtitles. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre

Categories
News

Wincing the Night Away

cd By indie standards, The Shins are huge. They’ve been helped along the way by a catchy tune in a McDonald’s commercial and the words Zach Braff put into the mouth of Natalie Portman in his film Garden State: Surely, The Shins Will Change Your Life will one day be the title of a book about the turn-of-the-millennium rise of independent rock. But The Shins’ greatest strength is that they’ve always seemed like a small band—like your band—even as their first two albums sold very solid numbers for the Sub Pop label.

Which is why the opening few seconds of “Sleeping Lessons,” the first track on their new album, Wincing the Night Away, come as such a shock: There’s a single, spacey synthesizer pulse playing a scale, then the entrance of leader James Mercer’s vocals, sounding (with the studio processing) like he spent last year listening to Thom Yorke’s solo album. An acoustic guitar eventually folds in, followed by big, electric power chords until we find ourselves in the middle of a hugely appealing (and huge) rock song. The Shins, suddenly, don’t sound so small. But then the following track, “Australia,” feels more like the Shins of old, with its bouncy acoustic guitar strum and instantly appealing, singalong melody; the mid-tempo, Smiths-like “Phantom Limb” is almost as catchy.


The Shins, former small fish of the indie rock world, upgrade to a bigger pond with 2007’s Wincing the Night Away.

Clearly, the tunefulness of the band’s songwriting is what carries the day, no matter how their sound changes. So it’s disturbing when this quality begins to flag somewhere near the album’s midpoint. The ethereal mood piece, “Black Wave,” pokes around the edges of a structure without committing; the dirge-like “Split Needles” is modern rock for the working man and little more. These duffs would stand out less if The Shins weren’t so admirably committed to economy, with the 11 songs here whipping by in just over 40 minutes. For half an album, The Shins sound bigger and better than ever, but then something unnameable happens. Their sound has lost some personality and, for a band like The Shins, that counts for a lot.

Categories
Living

Sweet and spicy cure

If ever there was a comfort food, it has to be soup. Forget Oprah with her mashed potatoes, and forget everybody else with their chocolate chip cookies and carbo-loaded bread. What could be a better serotonin booster on a bleak, snowy evening than a warm bowl of thick chowder? The owners of The Carving Board Café, located in Albemarle Square, have a spicy cure for the winter doldrums—Grilled Corn Soup with Chili Cream.


Justin Van Der Linde updates good ol’ corn chowder with a bit of Southwestern zing.

“I’ve always been a fan of corn chowders so this is kind of a New-Age version,“ says Carving Board Café co-owner Justin Van Der Linde, who created this recipe along with his partner Candice Liptak. Van Der Linde says it’s that touch of Mexican flavor from the chili powder that gives the soup added zing, “which is nice in these winter months to keep you warm.” he says. “Plus, sometimes corn chowders are a little bland so this has a little spice to it. The grilled flavor is really nice too.”

The Carving Board Cafe’s Grilled Corn Soup with Chili Cream

5 ears fresh sweet corn on the cob (husks removed)
2 oz. olive oil
5 oz. diced onion
5 oz. diced celery
5 oz. diced carrot
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno chilies, minced
2 qt. vegetable stock
5 oz. heavy cream

Chili Cream (combine the following and keep refrigerated)
5 oz. sour cream
2 Tbs. chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Brush corn with 1 oz. olive oil and grill on either a char-grill or flat grill until kernels are golden brown. Turn frequently. Remove corn from grill and allow to cool. In a large stockpot, heat 1 oz. of olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté diced onion, celery, and carrot until the onion is translucent, adding the garlic and jalapenos in about halfway through. Add vegetable stock. Remove corn from the kernels and add to the pot. Simmer until all vegetables are tender. Purée soup in either a food processor or with an immersion blender. Bring soup back to a simmer and reduce to a medium consistency. Remove from heat and add the heavy cream. Ladle into preheated soup cups. Garnish with a dollop of chili cream and enjoy! Serves 10.

Categories
Living

The agony of defeat

I’m not at the Super Bowl (www.nfl.com).

I may be the only sports writer in America not at Media Day five days before the big event.

ESPN is there.  So are Sports Illustrated and Fox Sports along with all the major networks.   You’ll see that weasel Pat O’Brien asking stuff for Access Hollywood. Even those little pains in the butt from Nickelodeon are there!

Not me. C-VILLE decided not to pick up the tab this year (some issue with me, a large bar bill, and an expense report from last year’s bowl game).


Peyton Manning’s smooth road to the Super Bowl contrasts sharply with the Cowboys’ bumbling quarterback Tony Romo, and the unsure hands of the Patriots’ Reche Caldwell.

So in protest I refuse to talk about the Colts and the Bears.  While Chicago head coach Lovie Smith and Indianapolis colleague Tony Dungy become the first black head coaches ever in a Super Bowl, I choose to ignore the historical relevance.

Nevermind that the NFL’s golden boy Peyton Manning got the “Monkeys” named Brady and Bill off his back, and don’t even think I’m going down the path of “with a win is Brian Urlacher placed into the lineup of greatest linebackers ever” debate.

Let’s talk about teams that are like me…not there.  The teams that “could-a, would-a, and should-a been there”…like me.  (Are you getting the idea, that I’d rather be on South Beach than Barracks Road?)

Sure the Colts and the Bears earned it, they deserve it, and they were the teams that fought blah, blah, blah!!!!!! 

How about the teams that fate turned its ugly rear on?

What happens if Tony Romo doesn’t let that snap slip through his fingers on the potential game-winning field goal in Seattle on Wild Card weekend?  What happens if Jordan Babineaux doesn’t pursue and make that tackle of Romo on the one-yard line? 

Could the Cowboys have pulled the upset the Seahawks failed to do?  Would it have made Bill Parcells stay?  Way to go Romo, you ruined the Cowboys!

The “what ifs” were so emotionally bitter cold for some teams this playoff season it would’ve made Minsk seem balmy.

What could have been if Philadelphia’s replacement offensive guard Scott Young doesn’t move early on a fourth and 10 completion from Jeff Garcia to Hank Baskett? Instead, Eagles head coach Andy Reid freezes, deciding to punt with 1:56 left and two timeouts and the Birds never see the ball again.

The next day, in San Diego, the Chargers yak up five different opportunities to bury New England including a certain Bolts interception of Brady that gets fumbled right back to the Patriots.   If San Diego wins, they host the AFC Championship and maybe the Colts aren’t that lucky this time around?

Then again, fate did turn nasty on New England when Reche Caldwell dropped a third quarter touchdown pass last weekend that my 4-week-old niece could have hauled in.

Yet this is reality. 

Super Bowl XLI will feature the Colts, who finally got over a hump so big it’s registered as a mountain, and the Bears will try to run to a Lombardi Trophy with former Virginia star Thomas Jones.

You won’t be seeing the Cowboys. Neither the Chargers nor the Birds. The Patriots aren’t there…and neither am I.

Prediction:  Colts 24 Bears 16.

Wes McElroy hosts “The Final Round” on ESPN 840. M-F 3pm-5pm.

Categories
News

29N fire station breaks ground

After mutual words of thanks between some County Supervisors and the County’s Department of Fire Rescue, the group of men gathered behind the podium on Lonesome Pine Lane picked up their shovels—each labeled with a sharp “Fire Rescue” logo—and dug into the Hollymead ground. By next fall, Lonesome Pine Lane will be replaced by an intersection and the surrounding ground will be home to the Hollymead Fire Rescue station.


With the volume of development headed to the Hollymead area, the ground will be breaking on more than just a fire station.

After a few scoops of earth from J. Dan Eggleston, chief of the Albemarle County Department of Fire Rescue, and a hard-hatted Ken Boyd, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, the group broke up into smaller social circles—some to talk with the press about the site, others to warm their hearts with steaming Starbucks coffee and flaky Panera pastries from the nearby Hollymead Town Center.

“When you look at the map of this area, this is the center of development,” said Eggleston, alluding to Hollymead Town Center and the National Ground Intelligence Center, both no more than two miles from the site. “There is a lot of need that goes along with expansion, and I consider fire safety part of the infrastructure.” Additionally, the County has approved plans for another 1,500 dwelling units in the area.

Categories
News

When Trucks hit bridges

What is it about bridges lately that has people wanting so much to slam into them? That’s the question City and County officials may be pondering, with a seeming increase in the number of bridge-related accidents throughout the area—and a special shout out goes to the 14th Street railroad bridge on the Corner, which wins the award for Most Likely to Be Struck By a Truck.


There’s no backing out of this situation. When truck drivers hit bridges, as this one did to the 14th Street bridge recently, VDOT likes to send them (or their insurance company) the bill.

VDOT Public Affairs Officer Lou Hatter, who oversees the Culpeper District, says while there’s no record for the number of bridge-related accidents throughout the region, he’s noticed an increase in the last year, with two that highlight the glaring reason you don’t want to hit a bridge: the cost. When a truck hit the Old Ivy Road bridge in June, the accident left structural damage that resulted in a $450,000 price tag—so far. In December, another unlucky driver struck the bridge under Route 17 and Interstate 66 in Fauquier County, and that cost could be equally high.

While VDOT absorbs the initial cost for the what is deemed “emergency work,” the final bill usually ends up in the mailbox of the sad soul who struck the bridge (or oftentimes, as in the case of the Old Ivy Road bridge, the sad soul’s insurance company). Of course, many times drivers will strike the bridge’s guard rails and take off, leaving VDOT or the City to come up with the money.

Which is why police don’t have a lot of patience for bridge-striking fools and their oversized vehicles. The 14th Street bridge is struck often, says Charlottesville Police Sgt. L.A. Durrette, despite an installed mechanical device that beeps loudly when an oversized vehicle is headed for the bridge, accidents there still occur. And when they do, there’s always a ticket involved. An accident could incur a moving violation, but Durrette points out that usually drivers are slapped with a reckless driving ticket that then sends them to court, where each ruling—and set of fines—will depend on the judge.

Anytime a bridge is hit, structural engineers with VDOT will arrive to determine if the structure is safe. In the case of the Old Ivy Road bridge, repair work could last for months, depending on the severity of the damage. Work there is ongoing and isn’t expected to be done until the next month—even longer should weather delays push back work.

If only you could blame it on the bridge.

Categories
News

What’s in your backpack?

Sam Chernoff
Year: Fourth
Major: Economics and music
Hometown: New York, NY


What’s in your backpack? Books, highlighter, check book, Airborne medicine, map of Venice, beer coaster, stripper brochure, gym shorts, lap top.

Categories
News

Hot cases 3.0

The offenders in these hot cases have more than a few things in common. The former Lutheran pastor and schoolteacher are both accused of liking kids…in that way. And two cousins who share the name Cook (albeit spelled differently) have a history of committing crimes together. Now, they’re each suing police officers for $2 million and $10 million, and hoping the civil system will treat them better than the criminal justice system did.

The peeping porno pastor
Gregory Briehl, a former pastor at Peace Lutheran Church, turned himself in last July for possession of child pornography and unlawful videotaping. Briehl pleaded “no contest” to two misdemeanor counts of videotaping adults in his bathroom at home as they undressed, sometimes climbing trees or a swing set to peep. A jury trial is set for March 27 for charges related to child pornography allegedly found on Briehl’s computer. He resigned his position at the church last spring, before the indictments.

Sour note


CHS Chorus Director Jonathan Spivey was indicted on seven counts of child sex abuse last November.

Jonathan Spivey, Charlottesville High School chorus director of 15 years, was indicted in November on seven counts of child sex abuse. He’s accused of having four instances of sexual contact and three instances of verbal propositioning of students he supervised. He is free on $50,000 bond, but cannot have any contact with his own minor children. A grand jury hearing to set trial will be held February 20.

Ingo shooter and cousin
Robert Lee Cooke is serving a 10-year prison sentence for killing a police dog while fleeing a burglary in October 2004. He is also in a wheelchair from gun shot wounds he sustained when Albemarle police officer Andy Gluba fired his service weapon during the incident. Now, Cooke is suing Gluba for $2 million in Albemarle Circuit Court—the lawsuit was filed last October.

He’s not the only Cook(e) displeased with local police service. Cooke’s counsin, Kerry von Reese Cook, with whom he robbed the By-Pass Market when they were teenagers in 1988, was shot by cops in a domestic disturbance at a Friendship Court apartment in August 2004.
He was in a coma for three weeks, and now uses a colostomy bag. He filed suit last August, seeking $10 million from the officers on that call, Police Chief Timothy J. Longo, the police department and the City. Hearings have not been scheduled for either lawsuit.

Cook’s lawyer, William Rogers of Port Haywood, says they are waiting until Cook’s criminal case, which ended in a mistrial, is re-heard. Janice Redinger, Cooke’s counsel, could not be reached by press time. The lawyers have one year from the filing date to serve the suits.

More hot cases to follow in 2007!
Court cases to follow in 2007
More cases for the new year

Categories
Living

Mix master

As far as real-life modern romances go, few top the story of Rob Sheffield and his wife, Renée Crist, who lived in Charlottesville in the ’90s when they were young marrieds. Their story nearly swamped Sweet with emotion when she was reading Sheffield’s new book, Love is a Mix Tape (www.randomhouse.com/crown/mixtape), the other night. It’s not just the fact that Sheffield, now a very successful Rolling Stone (www.rollingstone.com) music writer after getting his start here, became a widower after five years of marriage, leaving his love forever young and tragic. Nor the fact that his wife wrote music reviews for this very newspaper and hosted WTJU’s most excellent Thursday afternoon tunefest, “Ground Rule Double Dutch.” Though, take Sweet’s word for it —especially if you want to avoid a streaky, tearful evening—the ending chapters that describe Renée’s premature death and Rob’s struggle to make sense of something insensible are incredibly sad and romantic. It’s a three-hanky ordeal, all the way.
   

No, Sugar has to say, it’s the way Rob appreciated Renée that propels this romance into the Top 10. (What else ranks up there, you wonder? Lucy Honeychurch and George Emerson’s passion, of course, and the incomparable love story of Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Don’t get Cook-
iekins started!)
   
But back to Rob Sheffield. What really gets Sweet’s pulse racing is the way he took in the good, bad and everythingness of his sassy Appalachian bride. She knew her way around a sewing machine and the Baltimore Orioles’ lineup and the complete Pavement back catalogue with equal authority and accordingly he was ga-ga, as any deserving man should be. Rob was the perfect suitor: driven by instinct yet somehow funny and practical, too. He was very levelheaded about the things that really matter—small stuff like pop music, which can actually break the deal, as everyone knows.
   
“In the animal kingdom, Renée and I would have recognized each other’s scents; for us, it was a matter of having the same favorite Meat Puppets album. Music was a physical bond between us, and the fact that she still owned her childhood 45 of Andy Gibb’s ‘I Just Want to Be Your Everything’ was tantamount to an arranged marriage. The idea that we might not belong together never really crossed my mind.”
   
Sweet will wait to continue while you incurable romantics pick yourselves off the floor and reposition the newspaper in your hands.

To resume: Love is a Mix Tape is also about life’s living soundtracks, as you might expect coming from a music writer eulogizing his love affair with another music writer. As such, the book gave Sugaree some great ideas for tunes to bust out of the locked crate of musical memories. “Kiss Me on the Bus” by the Replacements. “Don’t Worry Baby” by the Beach Boys.
   
But perhaps more than the musical numbers that Rob adds to his accounts, it’s the props and set and New Wavy back story that got to Sweet. What follows is maybe the most charming description in the pop culture canon of a man imagining a thoroughly beguiling woman. Read it and swoon, dear ones. Better yet, read it and then buy the book to savor the rest:
   
“I’ve always dreamed of a new wave girl to stand up front and be shameless and lippy, to take the heat, teach me her tricks, teach me to be brave like her. I needed someone with a quicker wit than mine. The new wave girl was brazen and scarlet. She would take me under her wing and teach me to join the human race, the way Bananarama did with their ‘Shy Boy.’ She would pick me out and shake me up and turn me around, turn me into someone new. She would spin me right round, like a record.”