Month: May 2011

Categories
Living

Hunt and Wimer race to document an exploding sport

Ever since Dave Matthews struck it big, locals have been wondering what’s our Next Big Thing. While that discussion has often veered towards bands, what stands perhaps the best chance of keeping Charlottesville on the national cultural map is something else entirely: scantily clad women arm wrestling for charity.

Check out the latest CLAW bout at 7:30pm on Saturday, May 28, at the Blue Moon Diner. Proceeds benefit A FERTILE Foundation.

As CLAW—Charlottesville Lady Arm Wrestlers, invented after an impromptu arm wrestling bout between local performers Jennifer Tidwell and Jodie Plaisance—infects the nation like a bad case of jock itch, filmmaker Brian Wimer and photographer Billy Hunt find themselves in the unique position of having documented the events almost from the beginning. Today, CLAW has grown from a fun Charlottesville fundraiser into a bona fide national organization with chapters from Brooklyn to Chicago, and D.C. to Taos, New Mexico. “It’s exploding,” says Wimer. “Six months from now, there will probably be six more.”

With the pair’s ongoing documentary project, dubbed CLAW: The Movie, they have appointed themselves the sport’s official chroniclers, a task that is part sports photography, part war photography, part anthropology. (Wimer and Hunt are trying to raise $5,000 to fund their travel and other expenses through Kickstarter.com.)

As new chapters spring up in different cities across the nation, says Hunt, “Each organization has its own way of doing things.” In Chicago, a longtime destination for aspiring improv comics, he says the emphasis is on performance; the referee can make wrestlers do anything he wants—Hokey Pokey included. In careerist D.C., CLAW is super-competitive, with wrestlers at each other’s throats to raise the most money for charity. And in the small, working-class city of Kingston, in New York’s Hudson Valley, matches emphasize the spirit of public service, with wrestlers campaigning for charities they themselves benefited from.
But as the sport has spread, so have injuries associated with it. One wrestler aggravated a previous back injury after a brutal bout; another had to bow out because of tendonitis. All this in addition to the now-infamous incident at Blue Moon Diner in February, where the sound of a wrestler’s arm breaking echoed throughout the audience. “Like a regular sport, they’re fighting through their injuries,” says Hunt. “It’s a serious thing.”

Though painful, it makes for rich documentary material. Hunt and Wimer say they’re planning to tag along with the CLAW roadshow next spring, when representatives will hand-deliver the gospel of sexy women arm wrestling for charity to smaller communities across the nation. Easier to document for the local filmmakers will be a potential CLAW national championship, to be held in town next year.

As for the competitive spirit that makes CLAW a fun night out, Hunt and Wimer have plenty, too. “We are the best lady arm wrestling documentarians that have ever lived—ever, in the history of the world,” says Hunt. 

Play it forward

By the time you read this Live Arts will have announced its 2011-2012 season. This year’s committee was led by Sara Holdren, a production assistant and regular theater presence around town. Holdren writes in the announcement that the season’s selections try to “distill and maintain the spirit of Live Arts, while branching out into ever new and exciting territory.” (Expect a permanent replacement for Satch Huizenga, the producing artistic director who resigned in December, in the coming months.)

So how’d they do? The season opens with Superior Donuts in October, Tracy Letts’ comedy about a Chicago sweet shop and its former radical owner. Later, Live Arts mines the early 20th century with the French playwright Georges Feydeau’s 1907 work, A Flea in Her Ear (March 2012) and the Russian playwright Leonid Andreyev’s He Who Gets Slapped (May 2012).

And then there are the surefire blockbusters: Mel Brooks’ film classic-turned-Broadway classic The Producers opens in December. The much-loved musical Hairspray, based on the movie by John Waters, opens in July 2012.

Lest we forget the fare that will receive short runs, the local comedy writer Denise Stewart will reprise her recent autobiographical one-woman show Dirty Barbie & Other Girlhood Tales in late November. A new theater ensemble called Melanin will also premiere; the group, run by Leslie Baskfield, Clinton Johnston, Ray Smith and Jared Ivory, is dedicated to “exploring works of African-American artists and interpreting works through an African-American perspective” and will put on three one-night-onlys: Tennessee Williams’ Night of the Iguana, Pearl Cleage’s A Song for Coretta and Paul Lawrence Dunbar’s Oak and Ivy.

See the complete announcement on the Feedback blog at c-ville.com.

 

Categories
News

Size Matters; Astronomers; Self-released

UVA’s alumni magazine arrived in the mail the other day. On the front, in text that wraps around Dave Matthews’ balding head like a halo, is the title of the cover article: “Rockin’ The Grounds.” Inside, after profiles of Wahoo rockers ranging from Skip Castro and SGGL to Pavement and Parachute, a sidebar article asks “What’s next?” In an accompanying photo, Astronomers bassist Alexandra Angelich (a graduating Hoo) is raising her instrument over her head, as if to say, “I’ve got the answer right here.”

Angelich and her bandmates—Nate Bolling, David Brear and Graham Partridge—are now sharing that answer with the masses in the form of Size Matters, their first full-length album and the follow-up to 2009’s Think Fast! EP. While that first release made good on its title by packing an immediate sonic punch, Size Matters finds the band opting to gaze at the stars rather than aim for them. With that more pensive and laid-back approach, the curves and dynamics of the band’s music have space to bend and sway.

That breathing room results in some amazing, quiet moments, starting with a beautiful breakdown in the middle of opening track “The Great Attractor,” which slows to an ambient lull before the guitars rev back up. Perhaps the best such moment is on “Saccharin,” when the band completely drops its instrumentation for an interlude of a cappella vocals and handclaps.

“Sharpshooter” is probably the album’s most single-worthy track, inviting easy comparisons to bands like The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand and Muse. But just when it seems like they might start gunning for the modern rock charts, Astronomers follow with “Tatterdemalion,” a track as odd and off-kilter as its title, with guitars ringing out like sirens and crunching drums driving it to an eerie close. The two-part suite of “The Gardener” is no less daring, moving from raw piano and vocals to a tense feedback-fueled climax before throwing down a zipping 45-second coda that’s over before you can figure out whether it fits or not.

On “A Toast to Finding Out,” the penultimate track, Bolling takes up a Thom Yorke-esque falsetto to belt out a moving romantic lament. Then the band flips things again, finishing with “Spectral Theorem,” a psychedelic spoken word jam that references the neocortex, the part of the brain responsible for sensory perception, conscious thought, spatial reasoning and motor commands.

On Size Matters, rather than running with “bigger is better,” Astronomers show that variation is key. Their neocortices are hard at work in these songs, giving the album space, consciousness and movement. If they had materialized in the ’70s, maybe Astronomers would have rocked a massive drunken crowd at Easters. If they had sprung from the late ’80s they might have gotten weird in a 14th Street basement with Stephen Malkmus and David Berman. Today, though, Size Matters places Astronomers in a constellation of local bands making interesting and nuanced rock music, somewhere near the punk fist-bobbing of the Invisible Hand, the rocketing explorations of Corsair and the glam-y glow of the Borrowed Beams of Light.

Charles Hurt adds Scottsville tire plant to land holdings

Dr. Charles Hurt, one of the largest landowners in Albemarle County for more than two decades, has reportedly signed a deal to purchase the 61-acre Hyosung Tire plant in Scottsville. The 180,000-square-foot plant is currently assessed at $3.9 million, down from a $4.2 million assessment in 2008. However, the property recently bore a $2.2 million price tag. Hurt has not offered comment about the price of purchase.

The former U.S. Rubber Company plant was built by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1944 to manufacture tires for military vehicles. During the years after the war, the plant continued to manufacture tires while U.S. Rubber became Uniroyal, merged with B.F. Goodrich Company and eventually was bought by Michelin Group. Hyosung purchased the company in 2002.

During the peak of business operations, the plant employed more than 300 people. By 2009, that number was down to 106 employees, and the plant closed. The site is currently zoned heavy industrial, which means it can by used by-right as a manufacturing plant, a tow yard, a farmers market or, with a special use permit, an airport.

 

Categories
Living

Summer 2011: The Sex Files

 We’ve come a long way since the pill was introduced in the 1950s. Today, there are many birth control options available—some of them over the counter (OTC), others prescribed by a medical practitioner (MP). Ask your health provider about which method might be best for you.

BARRIER METHODS

Barriers block the sperm from reaching the egg. They can be either mechanical or chemical. All of these are nonhormonal methods and most of them (except condoms) do not protect against sexually transmitted infections.

The effectiveness is listed in parenthesis following each method as “(perfect use/typical use).” (2/15) means that with perfect use 2 percent of individuals using this method unintentionally get pregnant in a year, while with typical use (which includes occasionally forgetting to use it) 15 percent get pregnant. Different methods can be combined to increase effectiveness, e.g. condoms and diaphragm.

Mechanical barriers

Male Condom (2/15); OTC
Female Condom (5/21); OTC
Cervical Cap (9/16 no baby, 26/32 after childbirth); MP
Diaphragm (6/16); MP
Sponges (13/19); OTC

Chemical barriers

Spermicidal creams, films, foams, jellies, suppositories and tablets (15/29); OTC
Unlike the regular male condom, the female condom is designed to be worn by the woman. A small pouch with two flexible rings at each end, the ring at the dead end fits around the cervix of the uterus and the other ring stays outside the entrance to the vagina, lining the wall of the vagina all around.

Both the cervical cap and diaphragm are fitted by a health provider, since the size of a cervix varies and changes after delivery of a baby. They can be inserted up to a few hours before intercourse and must remain in place for at least 6 hours afterwards in order to be most effective. With good care (wash in mild soap and store in a cool, dry place), these devices can be reused for up to two years.

Sponges are technically both mechanical and chemical barriers, since they contain a spermicide, which is a substance that makes sperm unable to move. Just before insertion, wet the sponge with tap water to activate the spermicide.

HORMONE PILLS

Combination oral contraceptives (0.3/8); MP
Progestin-only oral contraceptives (0.3/8); MP

Combination oral contraceptives (the pill) contain various amounts of estrogen and progestin. To be most effective, they should be taken every day at the same time, as should the progestin-only pills (called minipills).

Birth control pills are not ideal for everyone, specifically women older than 45, who smoke, have high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, are obese or have frequent headaches.

HORMONE PATCH

Transdermal contraceptive patch (0.3/8); MP
The patch is a hormone-con-taining adhesive that sticks to the skin and has to be changed every week for three weeks. The fourth week is a “patch-free” week, to allow menstruation.

HORMONE INJECTION

Depo-Provera (0.3/3); MP
These are monthly injections into the buttock or upper arm.

INSERTABLE HORMONE METHODS

Vaginal ring (0.3/8); MP
Intrauterine system (IUS) (0.1/0.1); MP

68

That’s the percentage of women who use condoms the first time they have sex with a new partner.

The vaginal ring contains estrogen and progestin and is inserted once for three weeks. The fourth week is a “ring-free” week to allow menstruation. If you’re comfortable using tampons, inserting the ring shouldn’t be a problem. When inserted correctly, the ring cannot be felt by you or your partner.

NONHORMONAL INTRAUTERINE METHODS

Intrauterine Device (0.6/0.8); MP

As compared to the IUS (a small, plastic, T-shaped, pro-gestin-containing stem, which is inserted into the uterus), the IUD contains no hormone, but only copper. Both devices work by preventing the sperm from reaching the egg as well as by preventing the fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. Both of these need to be inserted and removed by a trained health provider. You’ll feel a mild menstrual cramp during the quick procedure. You cannot feel the device in-side your uterus and it’s a good idea to periodically check whether the small string that is attached to the IUS/IUD remains at the opening of your cervix (at the end of your vagina) to make sure that you have not accidentally lost it.

Charlottesville’s Annette Owens, MD, Ph.D., is certified by the American Association of Sex-uality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists. She has co-edited the four-volume book, Sexual Health (Praeger).

Categories
Living

Small Bites

 Baldi hacked?

Imagine our surprise last week when, after nearly a year with nary a word, once-local restaurateur and now-infamous runaway Jim Baldi accepted our Facebook friend request, along with 21 others.

We suspect it wasn’t the former Bel Rio owner himself who logged on, but at least one of his new friends left a friendly comment for the fugitive: Says Roberto Lucas, “i hope ur guys doing well!!!!!! kiko lucas.” Attempts to contact Lucas were unsuccessful.

Dinner and a movie

Are you looking to be stuffed, culturally speaking? On June 5, C-VILLE Weekly and The Paramount Theater are hosting Taste 434, a local food, wine and film event.

Enjoy a tasting discussion with Joel Salatin’s son, Daniel Salatin, The Rock Barn owner Ben Thompson, Brookville Restaurant owner Harrison Keevil, Richard Bean of Double H Farm and Emily Manley of the Local Food Hub. Afterward, watch Food, Inc. and devour a locally sourced dinner at Keevil’s Downtown eatery.

The event, which begins at 3:30pm, costs $12 for the tasting and film, plus $55 for the benefit dinner. Visit theparamount.net for more info or stop by the box office for tickets.

Eat REDD

Who says fashion and food don’t mix? Local polo purveyor Robert Redd earned a spot on the menu at Littlejohn’s New York Deli. What’s more, the Robert Redd Sandwich has its own Twitter feed. Follow @REDDSandwich to get all the updates.

 

Categories
Living

Summer 2011: PICKS

On the money

Anyone will tell you saving is a chore–it’s easier to “invest” in shoes than stocks, but the dividends are questionable. We spoke with financial advisor Margie Swanson of M.H. Swanson & Associates to get the 411 on easy investing.

First thing’s first: Eradicate debt. Carrying credit card debt or a loan will stop progress towards investing before it starts. You can’t invest money you don’t have.

Next, systemize savings. Set up a savings account into which a specified amount from your paycheck is automatically deposited each month. This way, you can steadily build up a six-month liquid cash reserve.

Once you have some capital built up, do your research. “Knowledge in any situation is power,” says Swanson. First establish a retirement account, especially if your workplace offers to match your deposit up to a certain amount. Otherwise you’re passing up free money. A money market account or cash equivalent account (such as a Certificate of Deposit) is good in the short-term. Fixed-income mutual funds, through which you and a few others can pool a set amount of cash with a financial institution for a predetermined interest rate, are less risky than growth investments such as stocks.—Sean Santiago

Good save

Money talk

If you’d rather sock away straight cash, try putting aside a portion of each paycheck. Assuming you get paid twice per month, how much will you save if you stash away…
$25/paycheck from age 30-60: $18,000
$50/paycheck from age 30-60: $36,000
$100/paycheck from age 30-60: $72,000
$200/paycheck from age 30-60: $144,000

Maybe investing’s not your bag. That’s OK. Sacrifice a few daily staples and you’ll feel instant relief on your wallet.

Daily java fix: One $2 cup each day of the work week equals $10. Multiplied by four (for each week of the month, that’s $40. Subtract the cost of a travel mug (approximately $7) and a box of 100 tea bags (approximately $5, and easier on the stomach) and you’d save $28 that month (and $40 every month thereafter).

Work commute: A 10-mile drive to and from work each day (a five-mile commute each way), at 37 cents per mile, equals $3.70 per day. That’s $18.50 per week and $74 per month. Switch to a $1.50 day pass with the Charlottesville Area Transit and you’ll shave off $44 per month. (If you travel four miles or less every day, stick with driving. It’s actually cheaper.) If you work for or attend UVA, you can ride the bus for free. (Translation: Beaucoup de savings!)

After work unwind: If you’re brave enough to give it up (trust us—it’s possible!), cancelling your basic cable would save you at least $30 per month—even more if you get extra channels like HBO. Read a book or take a walk outside instead. Just 30 minutes of mild exercise per day can lower your cholesterol and your risk of diabetes.—Caite White

GET SCREENED

Martha Jefferson and UVA hospitals provide a free skin cancer screening each spring, but here are a few practices around town that take regular appointments.

Albemarle Dermatology Associates (above Signature Medical Spa, 3350 Berkmar Dr., 923-4651) 
Charlottesville Dermatology (600 Peter Jefferson Pkwy., Suite 230, 984-2400)
Family Dermatology of Albemarle (215 Wayles Ln., Suite 150, 964-9500)

Behind the screening

Here’s the bad news: Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, accounting for nearly half of all the cancers in the country. The good news: When caught early, the majority of skin cancers can be cured.

Getting screened every two years should become part of your sun protection strategy. During a screening, a dermatologist will visually inspect your entire body, paying close attention to areas most often exposed to the sun. Between screenings, check moles, spots and birthmarks every month at home. Look for any unusual growths, changes in color, irregular borders or sores that won’t heal.—Megan Headley

 

SPF’d?

The acronym for sun protection factor, SPF indicates how long a sunscreen remains effective on the skin. If you normally develop a sunburn in 10 minutes without wearing a sunscreen, SPF 15 will protect you for 150 minutes. SPF 45 blocks 98 percent of UVB rays (nothing blocks 100 percent) and is as much protection as you need with reapplication every two hours. Choose a broad-spectrum sunblock that absorbs both UVA and UVB rays and avoid PABA-based products if you have sensitive skin.—M.H.

All you needle

On the quest for eternal youth—or at least the appearance of it? These days, spas and dermatologists offer an extensive menu of nonsurgical cosmetic enhancements, with temporary injectables among the most popular. With minimal pain and healing time and little associated risk of allergic reactions, the various options available differ most in terms of cost: The more you plunk down, the longer you’re wrinkle-free. Here’s the fill in on how to lose those lines.—M.H.

Botox, Dysport
What is it? Botulinum toxin Type A; injected into facial muscles
Cost: $300-450
Targeted facial area: Wrinkles
How long does it last? Three to six months
Collagen
What is it? Bovine or human collagen; injected under the skin
Cost: $450-550
Targeted facial area: Wrinkles and folds, fat loss, scarring, lip augmentation
How long does it last? Three to six months
Juvederm, Perlane, Restylane
What are they? Hyaluronic acid-based gel; injected under the skin
Cost: $500-600
Targeted facial area: Wrinkles and folds, fat loss, scarring, under-eye hollows, lip augmentation
How long does it last? Six to 12 months
Radiesse
What is it? Calcium Hydroxylatpatite-based gel; injected under the skin
Cost: $650-700
Targeted facial area: Wrinkles and folds, fat loss, scarring, under-eye hollows, lip augmentation
How long does it last? Two to three years

Ten for the road: Download these MP3s today

Local music maven Katie Jackson, aka DJ Frenchbraid, is more hip than skinny jeans. When she’s not spinning vinyl (in a side ponytail and requisite vintage headband), Jackson plays guitar and has performed with Charlottesville natives Kiste and a Misfits cover band. Her top 10 picks, she says, are “a mix of “electronic, rock, ambient, doom, minimalist, pop.” Naturally.—Christy Baker

“Bad Day (Javelin Mix)” by Darwin Deez
“True Blue” by Dirty Beaches
“Black and Yellow (DJ Kue Remix)” by Wiz Khalifa
“Bewitched” by Candlemass
“Embody” by SebastiAn
“You” by Gold Panda
“Lost and Found” by Sparks
“Dirty Mister Dirty” by Generationals
“Helicopter” by Deerhunter
“Jet Boy Jet Girl” by Elton Motello

 

 

 

Get these apps!

You’ll feel pretty, oh so pretty. Download these beauty-focused apps right now.
iFitness Hero
Straightforward instructions for fat-busting cardio exercises, plus features to track weight, fitness routines and overall progress. $0.99
Stylebook
In the mood for über-organization? Use this app to photograph every item in your closet, keep track of how many times you’ve worn each piece and assemble outfits. $3.99
Hair Cast 2
Bad hair days begone: This app uses your location to analyze weather conditions and provide styling tips based on your hair type. Free

Eat by number

Walk into a place like Revolutionary Soup and the menu can be daunting. And, if you’re keeping tabs on your caloric intake, placing your order can be even more of a challenge. Here are a few tasty choices, broken down by calorie estimation.

You could have a Lisa Quesadilla: white cheddar, chevre, house seasoned black beans and fresh spinach are layered between two flour tortillas and grilled. With a side of salsa and sour cream, although scrumptious, Lisa weighs in at a hefty 750 calories.

Instead, try a 12 oz. Crab & Corn Chowder at 310 calories. The house salad (177 calories), with local spring greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, mandarin oranges, topped with roasted pumpkin seeds and a side of balsamic vinaigrette is a must-order. For a grand total of 487 calories, you might still have room for dessert. (Try the gooey, fresh baked brownie at 150 calories or house-made chocolate chip cookie at 65 calories).—C.B.

The calorie amounts are the author’s estimates, which were made using a calorie counter app from FatSecret.

Hips and salsa

Feel the burn, Latin-style. Improvisational workout routine turned into home fitness phenomenon, Zumba is the brainchild of a Colombian fitness instructor who, by happy accident, left his standard workout music at home one day. It’s an intensive “fitness party,” loosely combining the footwork of salsa, meringue and other Latin dances with resistance training. The cardiovascular exercise targets the abdominal area and is great for building core strength.

ACAC Zumba instructor Gerardo Jimenez leads a group of hip-shakin’ ladies.

“There’s lots of hip shaking,” says Gold’s Gym’s Heidi Shaner. “It’s very easy to pick up and…you don’t feel self-conscious, because you’re in a group.”—S.S.

Zumba every day

Monday at Shergold Studio (652 W. Rio Rd., 975-4611): 6-7pm, $10 or $80 for 10 classes
Tuesday at Charlottesville Parks and Recreation (1000A Cherry Ave., 970-3072): 7-8pm, $8 for Charlottesville residents and $11 for all others
Wednesday at ACAC Downtown (111 Monticello Ave., 984-3800): 5:30-6:30pm, $12 guest fee
Thursday at Dance Explosion (2363 Commonwealth Dr., 953-8268): 8-9am, $12 guest fee
or Gold’s Gym (1801 Hydraulic Rd., 973-1307): 7:40-8:40pm, $15 24-hour guest fee
Friday at Albemarle Square ACAC (500 Albemarle Sq., 978-3800): 8:45-9:30am, $12 guest fee

Categories
Arts

Checking in with Betsy Tucker

What were you doing when we called?
Looking for flights back from our impending 9-month stay in London. My husband has a Fulbright, and we’ll be in Leeds, England, until January and then we’re going to New Zealand until the end of April or May. He’s working on a book on charm, but he’s also teaching one course at Leeds University.

Director and UVA professor Betsy Tucker directs Six Degrees of Separation, playing at Live Arts through June 12.

What are you working on right now?
I’m directing Six Degrees of Separation at Live Arts. It is a play written in the 1990s about a real life incident, about a kid who talked his way into the homes of a lot of fancy rich people in New York, and convinced them that he was the son of Sidney Poitier. He didn’t steal anything, he just kind of hung out with the rich people until he was discovered. So that’s what the play is about—the rich people who have this experience.

Tell us about your day job.
My day job has been teaching at the University of Virginia. I’m about to finish teaching my last class after 37 years of teaching. I probably won’t stop teaching. I won’t stop directing. I’ll just do it less regularly and less formally. What I’m planning on doing, when I stop teaching, is a lot of visual art. I’m going to spend next year painting and drawing, and see how far I get with that.

Tell us about a work of art that you wish were in your private collection.
I would take almost any Matisse, almost any Matisse you could give me. That would be nice.

What is your first artistic memory from childhood?
I certainly remember my first public performances. “I’m a Little Teapot,” and I think I recited in a bunny costume, which doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I think that’s what happened. I think the poem was part of a school recital and I think the bunny costume was left over from Halloween.

Which of your works are you most proud of?
I’ve done a number of shows at Live Arts that I’m proud of. I like working there. I like working with good grown-up actors and mixing them with UVA students. I’ve got some really wonderful people in town who are young, just out of college, and are really terrific actors. I love that; it’s really fun. A huge cast is in this current show—18.

Who is your favorite artist outside of your medium?
I saw this Yugoslav woman [Marina Abramovic] at the MoMA in the fall. [Her show] “The Artist is Present” was an interesting thing. But I think some of her other works that were on exhibit there were very impressive. She scrubbed all of the flesh off of a pile of cow bones; I mean she spent months doing this, and absorbing that horrible stench and cleansing these bones. She does these very extreme physical gestures, and they’re very profound. Her commitment and her extremism is very challenging for artists. I also like political art and it’s hard not to see all of her work as political, so I find her work very challenging.

Locally, who would you like to collaborate with?
I think Steve Nachmanovitch and Will Kerner. Steve is an improvisational musician—he’s actually a very famous musician. He wrote a book called Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art. He works sometimes with dancers on improvised performances, and I think that stuff is interesting. And Will Kerner is a photographer. He did the sets for Mapping the Dark at Live Arts and I think his graphic stuff is really wonderful and theatrical, so it would be wonderful to find a way to work with him.

If you could have dinner with any one person, living or dead, who would it be?
I first thought of Oscar Wilde, but that’s a performance really. Or maybe someone like Galileo—someone who was on the cutting edge of science or modernity in his or her time. I think that Elizabeth Cady Stanton would be a gas to talk to. She wrote the declaration of women’s rights. She drafted the bylaws for the first Seneca Falls convention. She was a great early American feminist and a theorist of women’s political rights. That whole crowd would be really fun.

What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
I don’t think I’m really afraid of anything at my age, and certainly not of failing. What have I got to lose?

Categories
Arts

The O’s end

 “The Oprah Winfrey Show”
Wednesday 4pm, NBC29
After 25 seasons and more than 5,000 episodes, the Queen of Talk ends her award-winning talk show. It’s impossible to overstate Oprah Winfrey’s influence on modern American culture. Her show has been home to some major pop-culture moments. Ellen DeGeneres came out on her stage in 1997. Liberace gave Oprah his last interview in 1986. And Tom Cruise will never live down that insane couch-jumping incident in 2005. Details on the final show are being kept under wraps, but rumor has it you can expect major stars like Beyoncé, Madonna, Will Smith, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and John Travolta.

“So You Think You Can Dance”
Thursday 8pm, Fox
Another new season, another fairly major shake-up for “So You Think You Can Dance.” Last year saw the ousting of screaming ballroom expert/Hot Tamale Train conductor Mary Murphy from the judging panel, replaced by mega-talented but mercurial contemporary-dance genius Mia Michaels. Michaels is gone again—reportedly she’s not involved in Season 8 at all—and Murphy is back where she belongs, alongside producer/judge Nigel Lythgoe and, regrettably, Broadway guy Adam Shankman. But the bigger change is a hybrid of the original Top 20 format with last year’s all-stars experiment. After the initial auditions and the grueling Vegas week, 20 dancers will compete on the live shows. When they’re whittled to a Top 10 they’ll be paired with great dancers from seasons past. Sounds like a brilliant idea to me, especially if it means more time with Pasha and Anya.

“My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding”
Sunday 9pm, TLC
After exposing the secret lives of polygamists, hoarders, child-pageant mothers, and strangest of all, the Palin family, TLC turns its attention to another bizarre subsection of humanity: the gypsy/traveler community. “Gypsy” is actually a British documentary series that scored major ratings when it premiered in the U.K. The seven-part series offers a look at a group of people who follow very different, very old religious and cultural traditions, but who also embrace the modern celebrity-obsessed culture. Look for an American gypsy doc from TLC later this year.

Categories
The Editor's Desk

Readers respond to previous issues

Land preserver

I appreciated your article on the ACE program and am writing to say I strongly support ACE and its efforts to preserve rural land. Rural land is a prime asset to Albemarle and while the initial benfits of preserving it may be less clear than those of some other programs in the near term, the long term benfits to the county’s health are huge. I would support efforts to increase ACE funding even at the expense of other programs if necessary.

Benjamin Brewster
Charlottesville

Correction

Due to a reporting error, an April 26 feature article, “Profiles in Homeschooling,” incorrectly asserted that parents who belong to Albemarle Christian Teaching Support, Inc. must sign a statement of faith. In fact, they only must “respect” it.

 

Categories
Arts

Jane Eyre; PG-13, 115 minutes; Vinegar Hill Theatre

 You would not be wrong to wonder if it’s even possible to get fired up for a new movie version of Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel, which has been adapted into some form of motion picture at least once every decade since 1914. But this one, intelligently scripted by Moira Buffini (Tamara Drewe) and directed by Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre) has its own fire to spare.

Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre) directed the latest version of Jane Eyre, starring Mia Wasikowska as Jane and Michael Fassbender as Mr. Rochester.

You know the drill: A headstrong teenaged governess (Mia Wasikowska), having overcome a really rotten childhood, falls for a brooding lord (Michael Fassbender) with his own dark past. The most important thing to understand about Jane Eyre is that she’s self-possessed, given all that has preceded her arrival at the gloomy estate of one Edward Rochester. This fellow, too, might be called self-possessed, and also a tad temperamental. As he and Jane talk to each other, most of the time in beautifully lofty language, they find themselves engaged in a mutually invigorating battle of wills. A romance between them should therefore seem inevitable, but also unlikely; in addition to the differences of age and social status, there is also that one rather important thing he’s not telling her. Hint: Is that a voice in her head or in the attic?

That Jane, said to be plain, and Rochester, said (by Jane) to be ugly, are portrayed respectively by the un-plain Wasikowska and the un-ugly Fassbender doesn’t impugn Fukunaga’s fidelity to the book. You can just take it for granted that these two characters have a long movie history of interesting but technically inaccurate casting: She’s been played by the likes of Joan Fontaine, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Samantha Morton; he by the likes of Orson Welles, William Hurt and Timothy Dalton. What matters most is the rapport between them, and with Wasikowska and Fassbender in the roles, it’s electric.

For any pair of actors, this duo is a strange inheritance. Taking Jane Eyre into account along with Fish Tank before it, Fassbender might be seen as settling into that peculiar niche, formerly occupied by Jeremy Irons, of the slender suave Englishman who seems always to be having on-screen affairs with teenaged girls. Well, power to him: He sure is good at it. Wasikowska for her part is as steady and alert as ever, delivering exactly the right blend of wisdom and vulnerability. Having abided Tim Burton’s ultimately shrug-worthy Alice in Wonderland, she finally has the classic reboot that she deserves.

The supporting cast includes strategic applications of Judi Dench, Jamie Bell, Sally Hawkins and Simon McBurney. The film also benefits from Fukunaga’s reunion with Sin Nombre cinematographer Adriano Goldman, who again shows a keen eye for the inherent expressionism of natural light—another means by which an old story comes newly to life. By being greater than the sum of its parts, this Jane Eyre should stay fresh for a while, at least until the next one.