The folks at City Magazine must not get out much
City Magazine, the free (ad supported) arts and entertainment mag that is circulated throughout the area, is out with its annual dining roundup and based on the inaccuracies in that list, the folks that claim to rate the area’s restaurants don’t get out much. At first passing, a found a half dozen eateries listed that [...]
Lies, damn lies and Internet hoaxes
A reader recently reprinted, as a comment to an article about the race between Rep. Rick Boucher and Congressional wannabe Morgan Griffith, a widely-circulated email that claims to contain damning facts about illegal immigrants, food stamps and welfare in this country. Nothing in the email is true. It has been proven false by numerous “fact [...]
Be careful what you wish for
On Tuesday, I noted how most of the summer’s storms have missed us and lamented the lack of rain. Later in the day a massive storm dumped more than an inch of rain on us in less than 30 minutes, soaking the landscape and leaving our driveway an impassable mass of gullies and washouts. As [...]
Past time to rain on our parade
Dark, ominous clouds loomed on the horizon Monday night as I rode my Harley out of Roanoke and headed home after a long day. Then the lightning started. I stepped up my pace. This looked like a storm that I needed to beat home. Even with what appeared to be an approaching storm, the rapidly-falling [...]
FloydFest 9 was best ever
Grace Potter and Mountain Heart closed out FloydFest 9 Sunday afternoon, bringing the annual musical extravaganza to a successful conclusion for what just about everyone agrees was the best one yet. This year’s FloydFest was more of everything: More musical acts on more stages, more people, a more diverse offering of musical styles, more of [...]
Levon Helm rocks FloydFest 9
[slide] By the time rock and roll legend Levon Helm took the stage at FloydFest 9 Saturday night, a nearly full moon hung over the Dreaming Creek stage and it was obvious that the annual music event that bears Floyd’s name had become a legend of its own. FF founders Erica Johnson and Kris Hodges [...]
Floyd Fest 9, Day 2
[slide] Hot weather didn’t cool the enthusiasm of those flocking to day 2 of FloydFest 9 Friday. A power outage from a blown fuse threatened the action Friday night but Railroad Earth performed with generator power. Seems the same fuse circuit that put last year’s festival in the dark for a while blew again. FloydFest [...]
FloydFest 9 is a mountain happening
[slide] FloydFest 9 kicked off Thursday amid the heat and humidity of the hills just inside Patrick County just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Now firmly established as part of the national festival scene, FloydFest is more than a four-day music event. It’s an instant community that brings another national spotlight on the area. The [...]
Odds favor another term for Boucher
Many Congressional incumbents around the country are in trouble. At the moment, veteran 9th District Congressman Rick Boucher does not appear to be one of them. A new poll shows Democrat Boucher leading Republican challenger Morgan Griffith by 13 points — 52-39 percent. An incumbent with more than 50 percent re-elect is not usually considered [...]
Afflicting the comfortable…it’s never personal
At least once a week (more often lately) someone comes up to me at breakfast or at a public gathering and asks: “Why do you hate (insert name here)?” When I respond that I don’t hate whomever they are referring to, the followup question is usually “then why did you write all those nasty things [...]