cVillain

Chewy & The Stormettes Endorse Car Wars @ JPJ

Ian — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:29:23 +0000

The UVa Community Credit Union and numerous local car dealers have joined forces with the John Paul Jones Arena to host the areas largest auto sales event ever. [Info]

Coffee Party Kicks Off Across The Nation – Greenberry’s Provides Your Fix

Ian — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:09:39 +0000

Last week was the inaugural meeting of the Charlottesville, Virginia Coffee Party Movement. Aided by the enchanting atmosphere of Rapture, the six participants sat down and discussed how the party movement might move forward and gain some momentum. We are reliving that experience again, this Saturday, at Greenberry’s in the Barrack’s Road Shopping Center.

All residents are invited to attend.

Get more Coffee Party information below:

MISSION: The Coffee Party Movement gives voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government. We recognize that the federal government is not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges that we face as Americans. As voters and grassroots volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them. [Info]

Weekend Preview – Warm, Wet, & Green

Ian — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:00:58 +0000

Friday:

The Southern - Sets the chairs out for Landon Pigg with Ted Pitney. The nomadic Landon has roots in Nashville, but spends time with his acoustic guitar traveling the nation. Pitney, on the other hand, has spent at least a few years working directly in Charlottesville’s musical vein, with previous partner Sarah White, and a new band forming this summer. @8:00PM – $10.00 [Info]
Rapture – Brings this Stevie Jay character back AGAIN for the umpteenth time in 2010. Come see what all the fuss is about with exploration of Live, Love, Sex, Death… And Other Works In Progress. @7:30 – $10(as you leave). [Info]

Saturday:

The Paramount - Celebrates the dedication of our armed services, with the Kevin Bacon film: Taking Chance, with a reception afterwards. @4:00PM – $Free [Info]
Downtown Mall – Charlottesville Young Professionals plan to paint the town green with a bar crawl/scavenger hunt of epic proportions. Kicking off @ West Main, the crawl will take you through Escafe, Ventana, Rapture, and finally The X-Lounge. Come adorned in green, and purchase a wristband through a CYP representative to be granted access to the drink specials. P.S. Bring cash to expedite the bar hopping schedule. @6:30 – $5.00 (wristband) [Info]
The Southern - Finally brings the long awaited Girlyman with Special Guest Andy Moore to town. The trio of hip 60’s born souls provide a blended of classical and jazz works, along with synchronistic ad-libs and ditties. Inspirational roots include The Mamas & The Papas, along with Simon & Garfunkel. @7:00PM – $15.00 [Info]
The Jefferson - Holds a family reunion, with Baaba Seth coming back to take the stage. This talented tribe combine the best of rock, funk, and jazz to African, Reggae, Latin, and Zydeco to create a high-energy, captivating live show and more. @7:30PM – $15.00 [Info]
Club 216 - Hosts an open house event in honor of St. Patricks Day. Come decked out in green, gold, or sparkly delicious rainbows to enjoy the festivities and snacks until 5AM. No membership required. @10:00PM – $10.00? [Info]

Sunday:

The Paramount - Shows us all the adventures of the mountains, with the Banff Mountain Film Festival in its 34th year. Be prepared for big screen viewing of mountain culture, rock climbing, backcountry skiing, and unbelievable feats of human endurance. @4:00PM – $15:00 [Info]

As always… Any corrections/substitutions/refunds? [Photo Credits]

Belmont Wins ‘Outstanding Neighborhood Effort’ Award

Ian — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:00:35 +0000

The Charlottesville Planning Commission Awards have just been released for 2010, and Belmont placed first for overall ‘effort’, I’d say we read this as ‘outcry’, but either way it does show dedication. The release states:

“Over an extended period of months, members of the neighborhood brought energy and focus to the
discussion of ordinance modifications for items related to the Downtown Belmont commercial area.
Noise, definitions of use, and public safety / pedestrian concerns were noted at public hearings regarding
a rezoning application in Hinton Ave. These issues continued to be discussed after the close of the
particular rezoning effort, with enough interest and energy to prompt City Council to initiate a special
research project for the improvement of public space and ordinances associated with small commercial
mixed use zones adjacent to low density neighborhoods. By keeping these issues before the Council, the
neighborhood has helped develop a series of studies and concepts for the Downtown Belmont area that
will help resolve similar issues in other parts of the City in the future.”

Hopefully the lessons learned in the troubled area will help guide future rezoning efforts, and create awareness regarding the possible pitfalls of mixing businesses of this type, with residents who give a damn.

Other notable winners are the “Outstanding Plan Of Development”, for the tie between the Fry’s Spring Service Station, and the Sunrise Court area, with the latter being recognized for “…preserving the ability of existing residents of the redevelopment area to stay rooted in their neighborhood (if they so choose.)” Which sounds most akin to “letting people live where they currently reside, or not…”

Charlottesville Says Goodbye To Two Of Our Best

Ian — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:00:06 +0000

We would like to extend the greatest of thanks to two amazingly talented culinary artist for their hard work, as both Chul Kee Ko (Ten) and Josh Hutter (Blue Light Grill) are no longer with the Capshaw restaurant group. Both executive chefs brought more than a decade of experience to the table, with Ko having served as Chef de Cuisine for Jean Georges N.Y., one of the cities few restaurants to consistently be ranked four stars by the N.Y. Times, and Josh having worked at Arterra, the Marriott’s flagship restaurant, before returning to Charlottesville to head up Si Tapas, and later becoming the driving force behind the rejuvenation of Blue Light Grill.

The Ten torch is being passed to Pei Chang, who has spent nearly 3 years sharpening his skill in preparation for the challenge, while Blue Light will move from a head chef design, to a team oriented structure.

Both departing chef’s are destined for D.C. pastures, as Ko has accepted the executive chef position for the not yet open Buddha Bar (there is already a 30 day wait, which is rapidly approaching 60), and while Josh is keeping mum for now, he promises to fill us in once settled.

If you never had the opportunity to sample the creations of these two talents, you sorely missed out on some of the best that Charlottesville has had to offer.

Camino Invites You In For A Bay Dinner & Discussion

Ian — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:32:17 +0000

Our friends at Camino will be hosting an informational benefit dinner to promote awareness of the Chesapeake Clean Water Act in conjunction with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. There will be information, and CBF representatives to answer any questions. The CCWA will be voted on later this month.

We will have two seatings on Tuesday, March 9th. One from 5:30-6:30, and the second 8:00-9:00. There is room for about 40 people at each seating.

The menu will feature sea/bay food that is affected by by the water that runs into our streams and rivers to the Bay. The menu is being fine tuned as we speak, and will feature such tasty items as Rappahannock River Oysters, Bay Scallops, Hog Island Clams, Wild Stripe Bass, and Poached Flounder with Blue Crab.
Come enjoy a great meal, and find out what you can do to help promote clean soil, water, and food.

Reservations are required, 434-293-2323. [Info]

Coffee Party Gets Down To Business, Encourages .Gov To Follow Suit

Ian — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:36:13 +0000

Tomorrow, the first meeting of the Coffee Party chapter of Central Virginia will be gathering downtown at Rapture, Wednesday, 2 March 2010 at 7:30pm. The guest speaker will be Eric Byler who heads up the greater Virginia Coffee Party movement.

If you’re unaware, the Coffee Party is a nationwide group that seeks a higher level of dialog that acknowledges that the government is not the enemy, but that we, the people, are the government. Their mission statement is. . .

Both the NYTimes (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/us/politics/02coffee.html) and the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/25/AR2010022505517.html) have covered the on-going phenomenon. Going from 9,000 Facebook fans on Friday to around 52,000 today, it’s quickly picking up momentum.

Anyone may attend and everyone is encouraged to do so. [Info]

Newsplex Goes Phishing

Ian — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:22:07 +0000

An interesting Twitter message started making the rounds yesterday, and we received a few from our friends over at the Newsplex. The message read “haha. This you???? http://tr.im/PyJZ“, after following the link we were met with a phishing redirect to MySpace.com, and all of the horror that entails.

While the actual risk over having your twitter or MySpace page hacked is relatively low, the true concern lies in other software downloads that are often recommended to friends or mass mailed to buddy lists. Most malware in todays world consists of either software applications which attempt to convince you to spend money/enter credit card information, or a much less noticeable piece of software, called a Bot. Bots are simply servers, residing on your computer, which query for commands handed out by a central website or IRC channel. With massive infections, such as the Conficker Botnet having roughly 10,000,000 estimated PCs under its control, these networks can be utilized for everything from Spam to Denial Of Service attacks (which haven’t made mainstream news for some time). At it’s peak, the Conficker network was able to send roughly 10 billion pieces of spam e-mail each day, and botnet system like it are the actual culprit behind most of the spam seen in e-mail boxes constantly.

The most effective way to avoid potential infections is to team an up to date anti virus application with the latest browser of your choice, and the knowledge to review your address bar location (as shown above, it certainly doesn’t read MySpace.com) before submitting information. For a free anti virus/anti spyware application, check out the recent release of Microsoft Security Essentials which has met with solid reviews (4.5/5 stars being awarded on CNET). [Info]

Speak! Teaches Us A Thing Or Two About Vodka

Ian — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:11:48 +0000

Our friends over at Speak! shot us an invite for one of their cultural events, which typically pair regional foods with their counterpart drinks. This should be a great way to stay warm for the last few weeks of winter.

Friday, February 26
5:30-7:30pm
$25 per person
Pre-registration required (Limit 30) Register/Pre-pay on-line to save your spot!

Za zdorov’je! To your health! : A Cultural Workshop on Russian Food and Drink

The stereotypical Russian is most often associated with vodka. Is this accurate? What is the history of drinking in Russia? What is the current attitude in Russia towards alcohol, and towards vodka in particular? Dr. Rachel Stauffer, an expert on Russian language and culture, will explain why, when, and how Russians drink. Attendees will have the opportunity to taste the foods that are most often paired for drinking throughout Russia and Eastern Europe in conjunction with a tasting of premium vodkas from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden, and Canada.

Mobile Billboards Shamble Onto Charlottesville Roads

Ian — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:55:47 +0000

In an age where Eco friendliness is being embraced by the mainstream, and our national market forecast remains bleak, businesses continue to find new ways to push the envelope with the almighty advertising dollar (even though comedy and sex do soften the blow).

Mobile billboards started appearing in the mid to early 90s in larger cities (we have even passed a roving IKEA bedroom set on the highway before), but the trend seemed to have skipped over Charlottesville, until a few nTelos examples were spotted in the past weeks.

In opposition to arguments over fuel use, & increased eye & road pollution, companies have started turning increasingly towards outdoor advertisements, where station changing and Tivo concerns are alleviated. Larger locales have additionally seen an upswing in on-sidewalk posters, and projection ads shown on buildings after dark. Locally, however, Albemarle county previously filed charges against Tom Slonaker, the Forest Lakes Arby’s franchise owner, for improperly parked advertising vehicles, displaying ads in his windows, and affixing flags to light posts outside of his establishment.

A few locales have managed to ban nuisances of this type, while others have had enforced bans marked unconstitutional. What do you think? Merely a nuisance, or are you green enough to be concerned? Whatever the case may be, the first time one of these gets stuck under the railroad bridge on the corner, please snap a pic for posterity.