South of the James

Weekends are normally the time for winding down, watching sports (or playing for you more adventurous types), sleeping late, and sneaking in the Sunday talk shows before church. Plus, as Myron likes to say, no one reads blogs much on weekends any. At any rate, Saturday and Sunday are great days to reflect on the happenings during the work-week (or for you “billable hours” types, they’re merely Days 6 and 7 in your weekly quest to charge clients) and catch up news and views that went unblogged on your site. Or, this could just be another opportunity for me to pontificate about things that I find fascinating. At any rate, here goes the first installment of “Chitlins with Béarnaise Sauce: The South of the James Weekender.”

Stradivarius in Da House!

Nuttin’ But Stringz, a “violin fusion” duo blending classical music with rapping, swung into Richmond last weekend as part of the free-to-the-public 49^th Annual Arts in the Park at Dogwood Dell (and inspired the title of the new blog feature). That venue plays hosts to events that bring out an eclectic blend of city patrons (with sprinkles of suburbanites) of all shapes, sizes, ages and colors. This event was no different – some came for the string music, some for the hip-hop…I came to watch it all. Things got off to an inauspicious start as they gave a major shot-out to the Memphis audience. Yes, you’re seeing that right; they wanted to know how we Memphis residents were feeling. Mind you, we were in Richmond, but why get all caught up in technicalities of geography. Let’s just say that these brothers (literally and figuratively) provided plenty of unintentional comedy along with a touch of music.

The scene was punctuated by two unique characters. The first was this bohemian guy who planted himself right in front of the stage, prancing and preening around while mouthing lyrics of some form the entire time. His unintended partner in crime was a new-age looking woman twirling light-sticks (or something) to the rhythm of the beats. From what I gathered, neither of them was an official part of the act, but they were well worth the price of admission.

NBS offered to get crunk (they said it, not me) on their rendition of the Luther Vandross/ Richard Marx ballad “Dance with My Father,” and they went “back to Julliard” on a shortened riff of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D.” Now, I can seriously appreciate different types of music, as my tastes run the gamut (I even have an Afro-Celtic CD in my collection). But, this particular merging of hip-hop beats, an overlay of strings, and repetitive improvisations left me a little wanting. Curiously, they appeared to be “bow-syncing” (like lip syncing…but with violins) at times. Still, they are obviously talented guys pursuing a unique musical niche. As Beethoven rolled over and over, I couldn’t help but think of how ironic it was that this performance came just hours before tickets for Dave Chappelle’s Richmond performance went on sale here in Memp…I mean Richmond.

Chesterfield Poaches Newport News’ Superintendent…Let the Giggling continue…

Just one week after the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Michael Paul Williams gives credit to Chesterfield for out-stripping Henrico on racial inclusiveness in county leadership, the county’s School Board hired Dr. Marcus J. Newsome away from
Newport News to head up the county’s schools. An African American, Newsome replaces Dr. Billy Cannaday, the county’s first black superintendent and Gov. Kaine’s choice to oversee the Commonwealth’s school. Well, well, well, I know that our county’s top leader has the last name “King,” but…

Seriously, this looks like another excellent hire who will continue down the path of high-quality leadership and high performance set forth by his predecessors and adding his own wrinkles. The county has one of the better school systems in the Commonwealth, which makes it a magnet for families moving into the region. Coming right after the Board of Supervisors made a great choice for the Midlothian District’s interim term, Chesterfield’s leaders seem to be on a nice run as of late.

(Cat)Walk This Way…

After a year of trying to deny it to my wife, I decided to come clean this week…as a major fan of the Bravo Channel’s Project Runway. Yes, this fashionista reality show has won me over. Maybe it’s the roomful of catty and cutthroat designer wannabes slicing and dicing fabric and each other. Or, it could be the talent-driven, bottom-line orientation unusual for most “reality shows” that plays into my need for measurable outcomes. Or, maybe it’s just the easy-on-the-eyes presence of Heidi Klum. Whatever the cause, I’m hooked.

Although I watched the show sporadically in the first season and regularly got into last year’s offering (Santino was crazy, but he should’ve won), it was not until this current 3rd season of the New York-based show that I really sunk my teeth in. That most of the fashion items on the show are geared toward the fairer sex is no deterrent to my watching (there are models after all…hee-hee-hee) – It’s actually, a bit “educational” for me.

Seriously, I never quite know what fashions are in or out of style for women, something which makes it hard to shop for my female family members come birthday, anniversary and Christmas time. After all, in a man’s world, changing the buttons on a garment is a maintenance and upgrade thing, not the inspiration for an entirely new season’s worth of clothing lines. But, as I learned from watching “The Devil Wears Prada,” it all relates somehow to the stuff that we regular folk wear.

At the very least, my healthy addiction to Project Runway helps me pass the time away when I find myself seated on the “throne of disgrace.” You know, that’s the chair (or two) that the mall stores provide for men who accompany the lady-shoppers in their lives on excursions co-sponsored by Visa and Master Card. I dare say that at some point in their lives, most men have to take their place among the few and the not-so-proud (this was so not part of my marriage orientation materials!).

Now, as a result of my televised “fashion education” lessons from icons like of Michael Kors (hint: his women’s fragrances make nice gifts, fellas), Diane Von Furstenberg (or “Mrs. Barry Diller” for you Internet business mogul fans), and Vera Wang (can’t speak for her clothing line, but her china patterns look awfully fragile…sorry wedding registry flashback), I can deftly sidestep those terror-inducing landmine questions like “Does this make me look fat?” with responses like (in my know-it-all voice), “Actually, the seams are stitched a bit awkwardly, and that color does not seem to bring out the best in your skin tone.” Danke schoen, Project Runway!

Sevilla on Swift Creek?

Saturday night was the grand opening of Emilio’s new suburban Chesterfield location. Emilio’s is one of a small number of Spanish eateries in Metro Richmond, and its location in the growing Hull Street corridor is a welcome addition for those of us looking for finer dining without having to schlep too far. I’ll let the foodie of the house go into much more detail at some point in the future, but I felt compelled to say something now.

Opening night’s can be difficult for any new establishment, and we showed up toward the latter part of the evening. Let’s just say that the Richmond notable handled its own rather nicely. The wait-staff was incredibly friendly, the Sangria was cold and fruity with a nice kick, the fresh-baked bread (with tomato spread) was excellent, and the various “arroz” dishes that we ate were top-notch. Even the house salad dressing was great. Dinner and drinks were punctuated with the seductive sounds of live Latin jazz, and the buzz among the tightly-packed diners and barflies created incredible ambiance. With Emilio’s now located just 5-10 minutes from Casa de Haskins, I get a sneaky feeling that they’ll be seeing a lot of us. Life south of the James just got muy fantastico!

Country Roads (with 4 lanes and lots of bypasses) Take Me Home: Sorensen Surveys Southside Virginia

This weekend’s Sorensen session was held in the historic city of Danville (last capital of the Confederacy for you trivia buffs) and most of the workshops revolved around planning and development. Southside’s particular economic growth challenges provided a timely backdrop for our discussions. My classmates from the Northern part of Virginia got a taste of the culinary delights old (fried chicken, BBQ, peach cobbler…drool) and new, and we were introduced into the unique political culture that produced such notables as guest speakers Sen. Charles Hawkins, Del. Danny Marshall, and Del. Ward Armstrong. The highlight of the weekend for me was meeting and chatting with former Del. Barnie Day who inscribed a nice message into my copy of his Notes from the Sausage Factory. I guess all of those pesky e-mails to him paid off as he actually had positive comments about this blog.

One of the key issues that that bubbles close to the surface of Southside is the crossroads at which the region finds itself with respect to its political culture. For the most part, Southsiders profess a love of lower taxes, smaller government and generally value the notion self-reliance. However, many of the region’s municipalities have inadequate infrastructure systems, challenged educational systems, and insufficient locally-derived public revenue to provide for much of its needs.Additionally, many of Southside’s citizens and communities rely significantly on income transfers from government social welfare and health programs, as well as, favorable state funding formulas that allocate more funds per capita to poor locales like those in Southside as opposed to “donor” regions in other parts of Virginia.

While money is not in itself a silver bullet for rural revitalization, the fact remains that a raising public investment from local sources is critical to providing the region with more self-sufficiency to position it better for long-term gains. Working through this seeming contradiction poses fundamental questions about the region’s identity that must be addressed by leaders and citizens alike if Southside is going to make the great leap forward that is hoped for by anyone connected to the communities there.

At any rate, spending a humid summer weekend in Danville and surroundings brought back a flood of fond memories from my childhood. It also reminds me to dress lightly for next weekend’s family gatherings a few counties over. Driving past one of the tractor and farm equipment dealerships (I want to say it was a John Deere retailer) on Hwy. 58 reminded me of the times I spent with my late Grandmother running errands in that city and in South Boston, which were often followed by nights “camping out” on her front porch in makeshift “tents” with my cousins. We were brave little men willing to adjust to both the hot and heavy air and the voracious mosquitoes who always managed to dine sufficiently at our expense. Bolstered by our lawn chair and blanket fortifications, we gamely ignored the random calls of the wild (bobcats, bullfrogs…and as I told the younger ones, werewolves) which more than faintly flowed into our ears. Courageous as we were, somehow, the morning sun somehow found us sleeping inside the confines of Grandma’s air-conditioned house.

As an expatriate Southsider (along with Sorensen’s female Ricky Bobby;)), I hope that God’s Country has more than a prayer at competing in the global, technology-driven, flattened world in which we now live. And for good measure, I surely hope that when I get to Heaven, St. Peter will have cleaned the kudzu vines (Southside’s real illegal immigrant problem) off those Pearly Gates…