Month: January 2010

Categories
Living

One habit you shouldn't kick

New Year’s resolutions bug me: much too ambitious and made in haste. To ensure success this year, try these fun-to-keep wine-related resolutions.

1. Keep a wine journal. This summer, I was a guest at a dinner honoring a wine salesman and bon vivant who won his battle against cancer. We had several remarkable wines that night and after each, he pulled out a black leather notebook to record his notes. Whether it’s our baby’s first words or our first grand cru Burgundy, our memories are fallible no matter how unforgettable the moment feels.

 

2. Travel within your backyard. With 1,000 acres under vine and more than 20 wineries, our Monticello AVA (American Viticultural Area) is bursting its barrel with talented winemakers, unique varietals, and stunning backdrops. Get to know them.

3. Travel beyond your backyard. How else can you travel to Colchagua Valley, Chile one night and Valle d’Aosta, Italy the next night? Try grapes you’ve never heard of from regions you’ve never been to—Plavac Mali from Croatia, anyone?

4. Ignore the scores. Vow to trust your palate again. The most important thing to know about wine is what you like and that is as easy as tasting wines without the influence of others.

5. Drink more sparkling wines. See last week’s column, but in summary: a) they are prolific and affordable, b) they are the perfect food wines, and c) they are downright delicious.

6. Don’t fear big, sweet wines. Why are we so scared of fortified wines when a Fino Sherry with some Marcona almonds is one of life’s yummiest combos? Same goes for Madeira or Port with Stilton or dark chocolate. Keep a bottle around to nip on and you’ll celebrate the next blizzard.

7. Eat more cheese. So many cheeses, so little time.

8. Pair wine with everyday cuisine. Don’t think Tuesday’s turkey meatloaf deserves a glass of vino? Keep everyday wines on hand for everyday meals and you’ll be amazed at just how exciting meatloaf becomes.

9. Make friends with a wine retailer. Our town is blessed with dozens of wine shops run by people with oodles of professional drinking experience. Tap their knowledge, try their recommendations, share your thoughts and you will forge one of the most satisfying relationships of your life.

10. Plan wine nights with your friends. Great minds drink alike, so gather your friends for a blind tasting or pairing dinner. You will learn something new and have fun in the process.

11. Buy wines for your cellar. My husband and I recently shared a 2001 Barolo with friends who had been aging it in their closet, somewhere between her running shoes and his climbing gear. No matter the space, there are many wines worth buying and saving for a rainy day, eight years later.

12. Drink wines from your cellar. Don’t save a bottle for a special occasion when opening that bottle is a special occasion. Life is short and wine is made to share and enjoy. 

Categories
Living

Serendipity do

The love story between Wendy Browning and Randy Lynch is one of two ships passing in the night—only these two ships kept narrowly missing each other for more than 15 years before they finally had their first date in January 2007.

Randy Lynch and Wendy Browning
November 22, 2009
Photo by Sarah Cramer Shields

The first time they missed each other was in 1993, when Randy lived across the street from Wendy’s sister Celeste in Tampa, Florida. They missed each other again in the late ’90s in New York City, where they lived a mere four blocks from each other and frequented the same bars and restaurants. And it was highly coincidental when it was discovered that Randy at one point lived on the same street (though at different times, but still) as the mother of Wendy’s godson in Rye, New York. They had even met each other in passing at a wedding and an engagement party over the years. So it was nothing but serendipity when the couple, both Manhattanites, were eventually set up on a blind date by mutual friends that fateful January.

They met at Pastis, a raucous French bistro in the Meatpacking District. To help him identify her, Wendy told Randy she had long blond hair and would be wearing black pants and a black top—an intriguing though less-than-helpful description since it fits approximately 94 percent of Manhattan women. It took Randy, who is a managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, a moment to pinpoint his date amongst the throng, but he was aided by Wendy’s eye-catching fire engine red coat. Over burgers and frites, the couple laughed and talked, both delighted by the realization this wasn’t to be a blind date from hell—quite the opposite, actually. They ended up going on four more dates in a week, a somewhat rare occurrence in Manhattan’s cynical dating world, where it’s not uncommon for budding couples to go weeks without seeing each other.

They dated for the remainder of winter and into spring, but their togetherness was cut short. Wendy, a staffing director at Bloomingdales, was set to leave for Tanzania to work as a volunteer for four months, a trip she had paid for a mere nine days before meeting Randy.

“I had lived in New York City for 10 years, and needed a break,” says the 36-year old. “And then I met Randy. It goes to show you find the person when you least expect it. It was incredibly hard to leave town.”

But Randy, who is now 39, was very supportive, and encouraged Wendy to go and have an adventure. While Wendy went to work in an orphanage nearly 8,000 miles away, Randy kept in touch by sending long e-mails and care packages containing goodies like chocolate-frosted donuts. He even traveled to Tanzania near the end of her trip and the couple went on safari.

“The only thing I saw was Randy’s face covered by a camera lens,” she jokes.

They ended the trip back in the village where Randy had the opportunity to meet the children at the orphanage.

When they returned to New York in the late summer of 2007, they dated for six more months before Randy proposed to Wendy on a brisk day in March on the beach in Bridgehampton, New York.

“It was the tail end of winter so we had the entire beach to ourselves,” says Randy.

But Wendy was so caught up in the moment she forgot to say the word “yes.” Randy had to ask if her gasps could be interpreted as an affirmative. They could.

The couple decided to get married in Charlottesville, the home of Wendy’s alma mater. “I have a lot of good memories there,” she says. “My godson lives there. Deep down it’s where I always wanted to get married but I wasn’t sure Randy would agree. But when we visited, he’s the one who initially brought it up, ‘Why don’t we get married here?’ Who was I to argue?”

Wendy and Randy wed on November 22 at St. Paul’s Ivy, attended by 150 friends and family flying in from as far away as Turkey.

The highlight of the wedding was during the reception at Farmington when Wendy, who “loves being the center of attention,” bounded up on stage to sing karaoke. Randy, who is known for hating the limelight, surprised everyone, most of all his bride, by getting up on stage to belt out ’80s hair metal tunes with her.

The newlyweds brought down the house by singing a stirring duet of “Sister Christian” by Night Ranger.

Categories
News

Blanket action

Hey Ace: During the snowstorm, I cleaned my house and went through some old things. I have a couple of blankets I no longer use, and was wondering how I might go about getting them to somebody in need. Which organizations collect these, and to whom do they distribute?—Giving-it-away-in-Charlottesville

It really is a shame that the Whiteout of ’09 didn’t happen any sooner. For one, Ace might not have had to spend three days in an airport, subsisting on the unexpected kindness of the ticketing staff and his own fertile imagination. Of course, there weren’t many comfortable places to sleep, but Ace, who never leaves home without his ankle-length overcoat, was well equipped to rest warm and snug. But not everyone is so fortunate. Many people—and animals—go cold during the winter months from lack of such a simple amenity as a warm blanket.

Again, it’s a shame the snowstorm didn’t happen earlier, because then you might have found those blankets in time to donate them to the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA during their 4th Annual Blanket Drive, which lasted throughout the first two weeks of December and collected over 1,100 blankets and towels for kennel dogs and cats. Although the official drive has ended, Ace can’t imagine the SPCA would turn away additional blanket donations if you were to visit their office on Berkmar Drive.

Nationally, there are a number of organizations that will accept and redistribute blankets and other comfort items to the needy. The American Red Cross holds regular blanket drives, and other groups make blanket distribution their main priority. Project Linus, for example, delivers blankets to seriously ill or traumatized children, and can be reached through their Central Virginia chapter. Another, Project Night Night, creates care packages for homeless children and pre-teens. A list of chapter locations, and donation item guidelines, can be found at projectnightnight.org.

These options notwithstanding, you could always try the airport on a snowy night.

You can ask Ace yourself. Intrepid investigative reporter Ace Atkins has been chasing readers’ leads for 21 years. If you have a question for Ace, e-mail it to ace@c-ville.com.

Categories
News

Search on for director to "serve humanity"

At a time when many people are looking for work, UVA is still looking to hire its first ever Executive Director for Technology Transfer and Ventures. The role represents UVA’s broader attempt to increase revenue from and recognition for its inventions and innovations.

Thomas Skalak, UVA’s vice president for research, says that the role of Executive Director of Technology Transfer and Ventures is “to recognize one of our primary missions is dissemination of knowledge to move new ideas, inventions, and discoveries that come from faculty, students, and scholarly research into society.”

At the September 11 Board of Visitors meeting, UVA’s Vice President for Research Thomas Skalak gave an update on changes to UVA’s process for technology transfer. Whenever a UVA student or professor invents or discovers something, the university transfers intellectual property rights to a nonprofit organization, the UVA Patent Foundation (UVAPF). The UVAPF and its staff of about 20 people then help patent those ideas and license them to companies in exchange for a fee. But as the minutes for that BOV meeting noted, “Patent Foundation revenues have dropped at the same time that research grants for faculty have increased.” In short, UVA was getting less bang for every research buck.

That downward trend had been occurring more or less steadily since 2001. Even though the UVAPF generated $4.6 million in revenue in 2008, it struggled to break even. According to the minutes of the meeting, whereas the top universities generate revenue from technology transfer worth about 10 percent of their research investments, and the average university nationally generates 2 percent, UVA in 2008 only generated 1.4 percent. Hence, UVA overhauled its system to give more money back to the inventors and the departments or labs that housed them in the hopes of spurring more innovation. So far, it has—with 12 patents, 65 deals and 178 disclosures in 2008. In 2009, 25 U.S. patents were issued and 57 deals with companies and institutions were also recorded and 162 invention disclosures were reported.

But finding someone to lead the way to further improvements and to help court corporate buyers for UVA ideas is crucial, too. “The basic idea of this role,” says Skalak, “is to recognize one of our primary missions is dissemination of knowledge to move new ideas, inventions, and discoveries that come from faculty, students, and scholarly research into society.” The job posting itself calls the process “science and scholarship serving humanity.” Skalak hoped to have an Executive Director for Technology Transfer and Ventures by the end of October. So far, that hasn’t happened.

The position appeared on UVA’s Human Resources job site just before the September BOV meeting. It also made the usual rounds of classifieds for academics, such as the Chronicle of Higher Education, as well as the Wall Street Journal or the website Technology Transfer Tactics. Ideally, the applicant has a science PhD, significant university research experience, knowledge of how start-up businesses and intellectual property work, and the ability to raise capital. The ad stops just short of asking that candidates also play the violin. “The person,” Skalak explains, “will be the primary face of the university with external private partners to build relationships.”

Gary Helmuth, who leads the executive search for UVA HR, did not reply to several requests for information about how many people have applied and when the search might conclude. However, the position is listed as open till filled, with a start date of the 2010 academic year. Meanwhile, says Skalak, “We do believe that the definition of this process and the search have already created national recognition that UVA is a leader in the area of innovation and research.”

C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.

Categories
News

Want to be a Cav in 2010? Avoid 1984 in 250 words

For the 2009-2010 academic year, UVA received 21,839 applications for undergraduate enrollment—a 17 percent increase from the previous year, accompanied by a 6 percent drop in the acceptance rate. Factor in this year’s $51.1 million reduction in state funding, and stakes may feel a bit higher for wannabe Wahoos.

So last week, days before the January 1 submission deadline, I sat down with UVA’s Common Application Supplement—the five-page document that asks would-be students to sign their first Honor Code agreement and write 250-word essays about their favorite word and pieces of art that challenged them. For the record, my 2001 responses were “Hope” (prescient!) and a Bad Religion song. I got in.

But, man, I wish I’d searched outside of the College of Arts & Sciences questions. The first questions for applicants to the architecture and nursing schools amount to, “Really? Us?” (“What led you to apply to the School of Architecture?”)

Then there are the tantalizing creative prompts restricted to Transfer Applicants Only. There’s the classic “Dinner with a trio of people, living or dead” question. Another includes the hypothetical, “If life does, in fact, exist elsewhere in the universe…” And does that Guaranteed Admission Agreement between UVA and Virginia community colleges make the content of any essays moot? I need more room and more time, UVA! I am large! I contain multitudes! I wonder if other applicants are having the same creative crises…

If so, I hope their experiences calling the Office of Undergraduate Admission are as reassuring as my own was. After one terrifying minute of busy lines (“All agents are currently busy. Please remain on the line and somebody will be with you shortly”), I spoke with Assistant Dean of Admissions Jeannine LaLonde, who answers applicant questions at uvaapplication.blog spot.com.

“Most of the questions at this point result from students worrying about little details that they think will hurt them,” says LaLonde. “They worry about how things come together once they get here.”

And while the small selection of questions may seem limiting, it sounds as if students are better off mining their own experiences for novel answers than griping about a lack of novel questions.

“Every year, there are trends in the books or music,” says LaLonde, who keeps a running list of the musicians cited. She also offers up a quick list of popular books mentioned in the Arts & Sciences essays: George Orwell’s 1984, Fahrenheit 451. For a while, The Da Vinci Code and The Kite Runner were also trendy picks. “It’s always in line with the books that are being assigned at the schools.”

Be bold, applicants of today and students of tomorrow! Dare beyond the parameters of your essay prompts! Or, use the word “parameters” when you write about Winston and Big Brother. That word should score you some points.

C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.

Categories
News

New growth area could be south Albemarle

In 2005, David and Elizabeth Breeden put their 1,353 acres near Old Lynchburg Road up for sale. Certain that development would change the pristine woodlands forever, it was not an easy decision. 

The Commonwealth of Virginia has bought Biscuit Run for $9.8 million. Now, questions remain about the well-being of the county: Where will growth go? For Brian Daly, director of the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, the best thing that can happen now is “to offer everyone to participate in the master planning process for the park, regardless whether you live in the city or the county.”

“I go for a walk in the woods and there’s a piece of me that knows that this will be over in the next five years,” said Elizabeth then. “And that’s kind of heartbreaking.”

But five years later the land has not changed at all—and it very likely won’t. Last Wednesday, the Commonwealth of Virginia bought the land, known as Biscuit Run, for $9.8 million and tax credits, intending to use it as parkland.
The Breedens had sold it for $46.5 million to developer Hunter Craig and other investors.

Craig’s initial designs called for up to 5,000 new housing units, but after several public hearings, he scaled back to 3,100 housing units—more in keeping with county’s Neighborhood Model.

But in 2007, citing lack of sufficient infrastructure for the area stretching from Old Lynchburg Road to Rte. 20, the Albemarle County Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the Board of Supervisors deny rezoning. Craig went back to the drawing board and returned with proffers worth $41 million. Rezoning was granted in September 2007.

Nonetheless, some, including the Sierra Club, worried about the environmental impact.

With Biscuit Run out of contention, questions remain about where the county will direct growth now. Although Mark Graham, the county’s community development director, says it is still unknown exactly where to direct new growth, south Albemarle will come under consideration: “Currently, in our work program for next year, 2011, we have plans to do a southern urban area master plan, and presumably, if we were going to look at shifting some of that development potential to some other part of the southern urban area it would be done as part of that master plan process,” he says. The southern urban area spreads from Rte. 20 south of I-64, wrapping around Rte. 250 and all the way up to Barracks Road.

The state estimates that its park system, which includes 35 parks, brought in $180 million in 2009 for localities. Pat Mullaney, director of Albemarle Parks and Recreation says, “I don’t see the state park as being an urgent need for Albemarle County residents. The state is looking at it as a regional facility, but I do think we are well-served with parkland without that growth area land going to a state park.” The county park system will include 3,000 acres by the end of 2010.

Somehow, the state, which has been struggling to close a huge budget shortfall, has found close to $10 million to buy Biscuit Run. Kim Hodge, spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, says about $5 million came from the 2002 general obligation bond—to be used on parks—and the remaining $4.8 million from “transportation enhancement” money. The sale, Charlottesville Tomorrow reports, is a “bargain sale,” allowing the developer to apply for tax credits amounting to about 40 percent of appraisal. At present, Biscuit Run is assessed at close to $44 million, making the tax credits on that alone worth as much as $17 million or so.

C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.

Categories
Arts

Capsule Reviews

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel! (PG, 89 minutes) The Chipmunks flick that will likely appeal to the High School Musical crowd, thanks to the debut of the Chipettes! Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

Avatar (PG-13, 162 minutes) Read C-VILLE’s featured review here. James Cameron’s opus uses brand-new filmmaking technology to tell the story of a Marine (Sam Worthington) sent to the planet Pandora on an undercover mission that takes a few unexpected turns. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

The Blind Side (PG-13, 126 minutes) A troubled black kid (Quinton Aaron) from a ruined family gets taken in by a wealthy white Tennessee couple (Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw), whose nurturance helps propel him into the NFL. True story. Director John Lee Hancock adapts Michael Lewis’ book about Baltimore Raven Michael Oher’s life. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Daybreakers (R, 98 minutes) Ethan Hawke stars in a flick about a virus that turns humans into vampires. Perfect for people who feel torn between zombie and vampire movies! Opening Friday

Did You Hear About the Morgans? (108 minutes) In this rom-com from the writer-director of Music and Lyrics, Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant play Manhattan marrieds whose troubled relationship might just be saved by witness protection in Wyoming. Mary Steenburgen and Sam Elliott co-star. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

An Education (PG-13, 100 minutes) Read C-VILLE’s full review here. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre

Invictus (PG-13, 134 minutes) Read C-VILLE’s featured review here. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

It’s Complicated (R, 120 minutes) This is writer-director Nancy Meyers’ new romantic comedy, in which 2010 Oscars hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin compete for the affections of Meryl Streep. Sounds simple enough. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Leap Year (PG) Watch as Amy Adams’ character undertakes an epic quest to…propose to her boyfriend. Opening Friday

Nine (PG-13, 118 minutes) Read C-VILLE’s featured review here. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

The Princess and the Frog (G, 95 minutes) Anika Noni Rose, Terrence Howard, John Goodman and others lend their voices to Disney’s animated and updated fairy tale, set in Louisiana’s bayous. Randy Newman supplies the music. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

The Road (R, 113 minutes) It’s the end of the world as Cormac McCarthy knows it; Viggo Mortenson plays a father desperate to keep a sense of morality intact for his son, Kodi Smit-McPhee. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Sherlock Holmes (PG-13, 140 minutes) Robert Downey, Jr. stars as the master sleuth, with Jude Law as his sidekick Dr. Watson, in director Guy Ritchie’s sooty, bare-knuckle action thriller. Rachel McAdams co-stars. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (PG-13, 122 minutes)  If that heterosexuality-challenging trailer I watch on YouTube so regularly is any indication, the second movie installment of Stephenie Meyer’s supernatural bestseller franchise (starring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner) is all about strapping shirtless lads turning into wolves. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Up in the Air (R, 109 minutes) Read C-VILLE’s full review here. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

The Young Victoria (PG, 100 minutes) Do you have Prince Albert in a can? Just kidding. Emily Blunt stars in a film about the early years of Queen Vicky’s reign. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre

Youth in Revolt (R, 90 minutes) No more Mr. Nice Guy for Michael Cera, who concocts an alternate identity to woo a lady and be a badass. Opening Friday

Dave Norris remains mayor, Belmont noise controversy heads to neighborhood meeting

At last night’s City Council meeting, the first for newly elected Councilor Kristin Szakos, Council selected the new mayor. He turns out to be the old mayor

Dave Norris, who was re-elected, had nominated Holly Edwards, noting that “in many ways Holly Edwards has become the conscience of City Council and has a vision for this community.”

Edwards, in turn, declined the nomination and said that the office of the mayor should be an elected position and that she believed the office should promote continuity. She nominated Norris, who, ultimately, was selected again as mayor. Edwards is the new vice mayor.

But aside from procedural matters, Council was asked to consider an amendment to the city’s noise ordinance that would decrease the allowable noise in commercial Belmont from 75 decibels to 55 after 11pm. The noise issue was fueled by last year’s rezoning application of 814 Hinton Avenue.

“We feel that is a reasonable level. It is very low,” said Jim Tolbert, director of Neighborhood Development Services. According to Tolbert, 55 decibels is loud talking rather than normal conversation.

“My feeling is that we are being asked to make a big decision very quickly, and I think we need to make a decision,” said Councilor David Brown.

“I think we need to improve things in Belmont, probably in some other neighborhoods, but I am a little worried that we don’t have enough information to know exactly what we are doing."

Ultimately, Council decided to hold a second meeting to give residents the chance to voice concerns and bring forth their ideas.
 

Photos from John Gibson’s Live Arts farewell

On Sunday night, I attended a farewell event at Live Arts for departing artistic director John Gibson. The evening included comments from recent and longtime Live Arts performers, directors and contributors that touched on the theater’s involvement in, among other things, local dance, reimagined musicals, new work, the African-American community, and the community at large. (Comments ranged from lengthy to improvised to scripted to, in one instance, very, very brief.) Throw in a Paul Simon sing-along to "The Only Living Boy in New York" and an accordion processional to an afterparty, and you have a community theater send-off.

On the occasion of Gibson’s departure (and the arrival of the new guard), I think Live Arts’ commitment to all the areas mentioned above and more deserve revisiting. Two decades in, how has Live Arts’ place within and connection to our community as a whole changed? Leave your thoughts below, after pictures from the event.

Sara Holdren, Amanda McRaven and Doug Schneider (from left) talk musicals.

Jennifer Hoyt Tidwell performs a complete and abridged history of new work at Live Arts.

Zap McConnell and Katharine Birdsall discuss Live Arts’ commitment to movement and dance.

John Gibson (right) gets the Simon serenade onstage.

Wilco skips Charlottesville, Pavement re-gifts us

For those of you tuning in during the PM, don’t let your dials pass a few items of note—namely, longtime WTJU General Manager Chuck Taylor’s recent retirement. For the rest of you, music news that is trying to break your heart. Namely:

  • For all you Pavement, er, non-completists: The Matador Records blog announced that the one-time locals will release a "best of" compilation, Quarantine the Past, on March 9. So, the pitch of Geddy Lee’s vocals will remain a mystery a while longer.