Month: October 2009

Categories
News

Twenty years of local news and arts in the spotlight

“If music be the food of love, play on,” says Orsino in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a local production of which we praised in 2007 for its direction, musical numbers and actors—one of whom happens to be the subject of this week’s cover story. Local thespian Clinton Johnston is directing the Four County Players in Othello for the next few weeks, giving us another reason to highlight his talents. And speaking of talent, with the closing of Is last week, we were reminded of Gravity Lounge, another venue that closed earlier this year. Join us next week for another backstage look at C-VILLE’s history.

Paging through the archives

“Though Clinton Johnston and Eamon Hyland are a brilliant pair as Olivia’s ‘drunkle,’ Sir Toby Belch and his protegé, Sir Andrew Aguecheek (by way of Jaleel White’s ‘Steve Urkle’), Allen Van Houzen’s turn as Feste the Fool binds the three, through an unflinchingly giddy, quick-tongued delivery of even quicker puns.”

Brendan Fitzgerald
August 13, 2007

Getting covered

February 17, 2009

Categories
Living

October 2009: Get Real

Leafy hazards

For the proud homeowner, there are few sights more appealing than a gorgeous old tree tinged with autumn colors in front of a carefully tended home.

But just because a tree may look grand and sweeping doesn’t mean it’s necessarily an asset to the home. In fact, many homeowners don’t give enough consideration to potential problems big trees may pose to a property….or neighborly relations.

 

Most homeowners know that if a tree dies and falls over onto their house or another structure such as a swing set or woodshed, their homeowners insurance will cover the expenses, both to repair the damage and have the tree hauled away.

But who’s responsible should that same tree topple over into the neighbor’s dining room? “It depends,” says Greg Leffler, an agent at State Farm insurance in Charlottesville. “If the accident was weather-related and the tree was otherwise healthy—which is to say, no one was at fault—each homeowners insurance pays for damage to each respective property, right up to the property line.” So even if the tree owner’s damages are nothing more serious than some upturned dirt and rocks, while the neighbor’s roof is half gone, each side’s insurance has to pay for damages to their own properties. Insurance premiums won’t go up for either the tree owner or neighbor.

But if the neighbor whose dining room was destroyed can prove the tree owner was actually negligent—the tree had posed an obvious risk for several years—and decides to sue, then the tree owner’s insurance may end up paying for everything: legal fees for both parties and damage to both properties. And the tree owner can expect his insurance premiums to increase.

To prove negligence, a neighbor must keep a paper trail, either by producing copies of warning letters/e-mails or photos of the offending tree. 

So how to know a tree—whether for the tree owner or neighbor—may one day pose a problem? Large cracks are an obvious sign, but there are others that can be a bit more elusive to spot, says certified arborist Wayne Scott of Partlow’s Tree Service.

The most common sign, and the one that accounts for nearly 20 percent of Scott’s calls, is when the root system starts to crack through a cement driveway, deck or even the foundation of the house. “This means the tree was planted too close to the home and must come down,” says Scott. “Otherwise, the roots will girdle—they’ll turn back around and start growing into the tree, which will kill it.” 

Fungus or mushrooms growing around the base of the tree is another clue problems are forthcoming since it means the root system is in the process of rotting, or dying. The rot will continue up the trunk, which is why fungus sometimes appears on trees.

Multi-stem trees—trees that look like two trees growing from the same trunk—also pose a hazard since one stem is usually weaker than the other and will start to lean…or break.  

For more issues with trees, check out the USDA Forestry Services’ “How to Recognize Hazardous Defects in Trees” at na.fs.fed.us.

One more thing: If a homeowner decides to chop down a perfectly healthy tree because it’s obstructing the view, she is within her rights to do that, says Scott. The only thing stopping her is if she belongs to a homeowner’s association or similar organization that prohibits it.

Categories
Living

October 2009: D.I.Y. Diary

Front porch blues

A front porch is a wonderful piece of civilization, but not if it threatens to dump guests onto the ground when the framing underneath it finally gives way. This was the unpleasant prospect that drove us to renovate our little veranda. What drove us to do it on a sub-freezing January weekend, with an icy carpet of snow on the ground, is less clear.

Problem number one: The frame under the porch floor consisted of joists that bowed wildly, pulling their ends away from the center support to which they should have been nailed. Instead of removing these, we just doubled them up with new lumber—a technique with a satisfying name: “sistering.” With my mom’s help, we got eight new joists cut, measured and installed in one very long Saturday afternoon. Mom probably expected us to stop after four, but she was a good sport when—already deep into the darkness of evening—we decided to go for all eight.

Problem number two: Two of the columns supporting the porch roof were rotting at their bases. We built all-new columns—a good excuse to use our trusty hydraulic to raise the roof while slipping the old column out and the new column in.

Problem number three: We were cold and exhausted. Fortunately, this one was easiest of all to fix.—Spackled Egg

Categories
Living

October 2009: Instant Decorator

All good things come in threes. The Dixie Chicks, tennis balls, SweetTarts, and this month’s project: decorative mirrors. Of course, you wouldn’t have to make only three of these. We have visions of filling up an entire wall with them, each covered in a different pattern. And, for less than $3 each (what’d we tell you?), it’s a definite possibility. Three cheers to great taste!—Caite White

Materials: Three wooden frames, three pieces of scrapbooking paper in a pattern of your choice, three round mirrors big enough to cover the open space where a picture would go (found at any craft store), super glue, Mod Podge, craft paint in a color that complements your paper.

Tools: X-Acto knife, two paintbrushes.

Paint the inside of the frame.

After it dries, use Mod Podge to glue the paper onto the front of the frame and wrap it neatly around the edges. Glue to the back of the frame.

If you want, paint the frame with Mod Podge to give it a glossy finish.

Once dry, super glue the mirror to the back of the frame, leaving the mirror to appear through its opening.

Repeat on the two remaining frames.

 

Categories
Living

October 2009: Toolbox

Saws, y’all!

 

You know you’re a true DIYer when you’re ready to move on from mere paintbrushes, hammers and screwdrivers to the really fun stuff: power tools. One power player that you’ll need for doing serious business such as cutting into plaster, drywall, wood and metal is the hand-held electric reciprocating saw, commonly referred to generically as a “Sawzall” after the popular brand version of the same name manufactured by Milwaukee Tools.
 
The blade of the recipro saw moves up and down rapidly, and its portability, strength and short stroke length make it the preferred power saw for cutting into heavy-duty materials such as pipe, especially in very tight spaces.

You’ll find many uses for the recipro saw, but be mindful of the dangers. Though it’s small, the thing can kick back on you and knock you backward (been there), raise sparks (I never operate mine with short sleeves anymore) and cause debris to fly off into your face (I never operate mine without safety goggles anymore).

And whatever you do, don’t use the saw on old, unused oil pipes and then accidentally cut a gas line, especially on a Sunday evening. The on-call guy from the power company will be very unhappy with you, and your house could explode. I never do that. Anymore.—Katherine Ludwig

Categories
Living

October 2009: Signals of interest

The Albemarle home of Rob Capon looks perfectly ordinary—until you notice the 30-foot radio antenna in the backyard. Together with the small astronomical observatory on the other side of the house, the antenna is a clear sign that someone of a technical bent lives here. And inside the house is another giveaway: an entire room devoted to Capon’s love for ham radio.

 

Packed with gear—a transceiver, amplifier, computer, microphone and Morse code key—the room is a catalogue of dials and knobs. On the wall is a world map with white pins stuck into every country and territory recognized by the American Radio Relay League—338 in all. The pins mark the success of Capon’s quest, just completed in August, to make contact with every one of these entities.

“It took 36 years and four months,” Capon says, who broadcasts under callsign W3DX. “It’s very technically hard and it takes a real sustained activity. You have to be tenacious about this goal for decades.” Only 1,400 people worldwide have done it, in fact.

One reason it’s tough: Some entities are uninhabited, reachable only when ham radio operators undertake an expedition to temporarily broadcast from their shores. This can cause a “pile-up”—a traffic jam on the airwaves as operators all over the world try to make contact.

Yemen was Capon’s last confirmed country. Though his quest is complete, his enthusiasm for the hobby is undiminished, as is evident when he shows a visitor his 10-element beam antenna in the yard. “This is just a beast,” he says. “If I didn’t have a beam I would have missed a few countries. An antenna that pretty you just want to salute.”—Erika Howsare

•

“When I was 11, I injured my leg and I was on crutches for six weeks. My parents gave me an AM/FM radio, and I listened to stations all over the Eastern U.S. I would send them a signal report and they would send me confirmation cards. Then I saved up with my paper route and got a short-wave radio….When I was 14, I passed my ham radio exam.

“I’ve always had a radio room, for at least 25 years. This is my transceiver. This is a 1,000-watt amplifier—what I call lighting the afterburners. This little baby here rotates my antenna. Here’s my Morse code key.

“It would have been difficult to do this in less than 20 years [because some entities broadcast so infrequently]. When I worked Andaman and Nicobar Islands, that was the first time someone went there [to broadcast] in 17 years. It’s at the entrance of Bengal Bay in India. As fate would have it, the Indian government finally gave permission for someone to go there and then the [2004] tsunami hit. Ham radio was the only communication. They set up a station in the governor’s office.

“I worked them two days before the tsunami. It took about 10 hours to break through and make contact. Asia’s very difficult because the signal has to go over the North Pole, and you’re behind the Japanese stations which are very competitive in Asia. The Caribbean is the flip side. For me, firing a signal to the Caribbean would be like firing a bazooka through that window [whereas it would be difficult for operators in Asia]. Every operator has areas that are tough to contact.

“I’ve had really pleasurable long contacts. A long chat with K C Four Triple A—that’s the South Pole station. They talked about how cold it was, their weather balloons, their scientific experiments. And with people in the Balkans during the war, talking in a very heartfelt way.

“But when a rare station goes on the air there’s no time for that. They would say, ‘W3DX, 599.’ I would say ‘TU [thank you], 599.’ Also ‘73’ which means ‘Best wishes’ in ham radio. Bang. You’re doing 40 words a minute [in Morse code] at that point.

“Now that I’ve worked all the countries, I’d like to go on expeditions. And I have to stay on my toes because there will be new countries. The Netherland Antilles is going to be broken into four entities. Kosovo will become an entity.

“It’s like fishing—you have to know where the fish are.”

Categories
News

Celebration; Madonna; Warner Bros.

“Who’s That Girl?” Seriously? Thirty-six songs on the two-disc version of Madonna’s otherwise groovy, career-spanning greatest hits compilation, Celebration, and she includes “Who’s That Girl?” If you’re going to bother with that largely forgettable movie soundtrack, why not include the vaguely danceable “Commotion,” instead?

Upon further consideration, maybe it’s a wise number to include—if not from a musical point of view, then from a cultural perspective. Because, when it comes to the Queen of the Dance Floor, these days, the question “Who’s that girl” truly burns for an answer. Burns, as in heartburn. Or is that heartbreak? Take a gander at Madonna circa 2009 and you might as well ask, “Who’s that face?”

Celebration invites reveling in Madonna’s vast achievements as a recording artist. Never a remarkable singer, early on she transformed her vocal shortcomings into assets that she married to unrelenting musical curiosity. Love that bratty sound she trademarked in the mid- and late-’80s, and songs like “Into the Groove,” “Open Your Heart,” “Dress You Up” and “Like a Prayer” flaunt her insolent, commanding attitude and her underlying don’t-give-a-shit playfulness. Oh, remember when Madonna promised to lead us through the wilderness with a witty, ambitious combination of disco sex appeal, businesswoman savvy and cardinal danger? Remember when she had her own cheekbones?

Starting with the cover art, Celebration insists that you remember. There she is, circa True Blue and Sean Penn, nostrils flaring, half-lidded insolent eyes daring you to reach her, insouciant beauty mark reminding you, as she made clear in the “Papa Don’t Preach” video, that Italians do it better. At this point, you may be thinking that your correspondent is an old school, “I Love the 80s” type of fan who parted ways with Madge about the time she hennaed her hands and wore that Indian princess outfit to an awards show. Not so! She’s had my heart from “Music makes the world go round” (“Everybody,” 1982) to “Music makes the bourgeoisie and the rebel” (“Music,” 2000) and beyond.

But increasingly I think she no longer wants me to dress her up in my love. Let’s leave the whole Third World baby snatching out of the discussion. After all, if l’affaire Polanski proves anything it’s that reasonable people can disagree about whether an artist’s work can and should be separated from his or her personal life and behavior. We can restrict our evidence to recent collaborations and still cover plenty of ground in a discussion of how Madonna’s shepherding (or pimping) her ambitions these days. I fancy myself a little Justin Timberlake, just like any red-blooded female, but there’s something just downright embarrassing about listening to Madonna, nearly twice his age, panting about how she’s got only “Four Minutes” to save the world with him. Coming from a woman who was savvy enough to get William Orbit into the mainstream with the yogi-hedonist-mystical-techno record “Ray of Light,” teaming up with JT seems like a suggestion that came down from the suits in Marketing. Along those lines, Celebration features a new cut that pairs Madonna with Lil Wayne. You can file that one under “whatever.”

But let’s face it: There is only so much of Madonna the Woman that can be filtered from Madonna the Artist. Because she has made her body, her appetites, and her intelligent mining of female types the foundation of her work, we must return to personal matters. By which I mean, of course, the scary plastic surgery and the ridiculous modeling. (Crotch shots? Really? How to say this, Madonna: You have nothing to prove any longer in that department.) There was a time when you could justify my love, when I could open my heart to you, when you didn’t have to tell me to stop. But these days, my darling Madge, you seem like more of a beautiful stranger.

Brian Wimer’s zombie musical comes to Vinegar Hill Theatre [VIDEO]

Two things to know about your arts blogger. Thing the first: Hates how fall and winter make the days shorter, and will do anything for a distraction. Thing the second: Will use any excuse at hand to see a movie on the cheap.

Thankfully, fall is a cut-rate movie fan’s Xanadu in Charlottesville because Cinematheque and OFFScreen start up at UVA, and you can catch popular programming and a pretty reliably curated film series each week for less than the price of poppin’ corn. And, since these screenings should save you a few bucks, here’s a cinema-centric way to spend the extra Benjies: Catch a screening of Eat Me: A Zombie Musical by local director Brian Wimer on October 18 at Vinegar Hill Theatre for $10.

Director Brian Wimer at the 2009 Fright Night Film Fest, where he cleaned up with his horror films Eat Me and Mantra.

OFFScreen: My usual Sunday night while a student at UVA, and a place to catch things like that David Lynch flick with the super-rare aspect ratio (Wild at Heart) or that Fugazi documentary (Instrument). OFFScreen shows flicks in the Newcomb Hall Theater every Sunday night for $3 (or the occasional $5 double-feature). The current OFFScreen schedule is available here, and the Canadian zombie flick Pontypool looks particularly awesome.

Cinematheque: Apparently, I could’ve saved $6.50 or so if I waited to see The Hangover with a bunch of undergrads. Face it, people—that’s just the sort of ambience you want while you watch Bradley Coper and Zach Galifianakis bludgeon their livers with booze. In the next week, Cinematheque also screens Up and The Ugly Truth at Newcomb Hall Theater. Price? Again, $3.

Virginia Film Society: In terms of plots, the annual fall film series from VFS seems more bent towards thrills than most years in recent memory. With roughly a film screening per month at Vinegar Hill Theatre, the schedule ups the anticipation. Take a gander here.

For those of you who plan to splurge on the silver screen in one fell swoop, the 2009 Virginia Film Festival announces its lineup tomorrow night. Feedback will report back with details.

*Addendum: Forgot to add something for those of you who like talking about movies but don’t actually have time to watch them. How thoughtless! Here you go:

City Council grants RWSA easement to relocate pipeline in McIntire Park

Last night, City Council voted to grant the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority an easement to relocate a sewer pipe to make room for the construction of the Meadowcreek Parkway (MCP).

The vote, 3-2, with Mayor Dave Norris and Councilor Holly Edwards voting against the ordinance, came after Edwards inquired about possible alternatives to the relocation in McIntire Park and voiced concerned that a design for the 250 Interchange wasn’t yet chosen. The replacement of the Schenk’s Branch is listed as the second priority in RWSA’s capital plan.

"I am not underestimating the importance of the city residents who will benefit from this, but I don’t feel that I can move forward in good faith without the final design of the Interchange," she said.

Norris, who is an opponent of the MCP, said that while he understands the need to replace the overused pipeline and its health impacts, he could not vote for granting an easement that is based on the design of a road that he opposes.

Councilor David Brown, who voted favorably, said that he understands the need for the upgraded and bigger pipeline.

A public hearing on the design of the 250 Interchange is scheduled for October 29 at 5pm in the City Space and is open to the public.
 

Eco-fatigue in the paint store

Recently I was in a Sherwin-Williams store (a couple of them, actually; there was a bit of a snafu involving paint bases and inventory) when I experienced two odd moments. The first was upon entering the store, when I noticed for the first time in my life the company’s logo. I took a (bad) photo of it later:

"Cover the Earth!"

A better image is here, along with evidence that I’m not the first blogger to question the wisdom of this particular corporate logo. It seems to beg the use of the word "glop" in any description—as in, that paint is glopping all over the planet! Someone stop it! Other bloggers, too, have noticed the company’s spintastic explanation of the logo on its website. It’s right here, at the bottom of their "GreenSure Initiatives" page.

Which brings me to the second odd moment. I was standing around waiting for paint to be tinted and noticed a special little section of "eco" products: no-VOC paint, paintbrushes whose handles are made with FSC-certified wood, biodegradable paint trays, etc. And whereas during the past few years, I likely would have been somewhat cheered to see these products, this time I just felt sort of irritated. "What good does one lousy shelf of supposedly green products do in a big store full of conventional stuff?" I thought.

Quite possibly, it was my pre-existing bad mood talking (see: snafu), but it sometimes does strike me as deeply beside the point to worry about the handle of a paintbrush being FSC-certified.

Many personal eco-actions require a big leap of faith for the person undertaking them to believe they are worthwhile and effective—it’s that familiar "If everyone did it, what a difference it would make!" argument, which we rarely or never get to observe firsthand. We just muddle along, buying our paintbrushes and turning off light switches, while the big trends (climate change, extinction) continue to get worse. Meanwhile, companies have found a nifty new way to make money: putting "green" lables on their products and organizing special sections in their stores to appeal to a small, earnest subgroup of customers. Sometimes it really feels like too little, too late.

Clearly, readers, I need a little pep talk.