Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The Score

A weekly rating of the city zeitgeist.

Posted on Tue, May 21, 2013 at 4:19 PM

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+7 Dominion Riverrock draws tens of thousands of Richmonders to a festival of daredevil boulder climbers, bike flippers and adventure competitions. Heck, even the reggae singer was forced to show bravery.

-3 City Council members are surprised to learn that the budget for the Washington Redskins training camp has increased by $1.1 million, an increase of 10 percent from its original $10 million estimate. To be fair, this is the kind of accounting they're used to in D.C.

+4 Local beer lovers celebrate American Craft Beer Week with tastings, drink specials and tap explorations across town. In some circles, this is called Saturday.

-1 At its convention in Richmond, the Virginia Republican Party swings for the far right field, with a delegation of 8,000 choosing a highly conservative ticket for statewide office. Those popping sounds you hear are champagne bottles being opened at "The Daily Show."

+1 The Air Sex World Championships, a more adult version of air guitar, announces that it's making a stop again in Richmond, bringing the competition to Strange Matter on June 14. The next morning, get ready for the Air Walk of Shame Showdown.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The Score

This Week: one drunken weekend, Maggie Walker ranking, washing-machine brawl + more.

Posted on Tue, May 14, 2013 at 2:36 PM

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+8 Mother's Day brings out the brunches, greeting cards and well-wishes in homes and restaurants across the city. Because nothing says "thanks for bringing me into this world and dealing with all my crap" like two minutes in the card aisle of CVS.

+6 We get two wine festivals, a beer festival and a seafood festival with all-you-can-drink brew — in a single weekend. Is this a festival infestation or an infestation of festivals? Either way, by the time the cicadas invade we'll all be too drunk to notice.

-7 Caroline County officials, residents and some local Islamic leaders express outrage over the secret burial of Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev at a cemetery near Kings Dominion. No plans to update the tourist attraction brochures.

+5 Students, teachers and administrators at Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies revel in a ranking from Newsweek and the Daily Beast as the 14th best public high school in the country. Nerds rule!

-2 The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports on a fight over washing-machine noise between South Side neighbors, in which police charged a woman with aggravated assault for using pepper spray on another. Next time, ladies, can't you just Shout it out?

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

The Score

A weekly rating of the city zeitgeist.

Posted on Tue, May 7, 2013 at 10:33 AM

-4 With its scouting-for-ideas trip to Denver done, the Greater Richmond Chamber says next year’s intercity visit will take city officials and business folks to Tampa, Fla. So get ready for Richmond’s Next Big Thing: A pirate-themed entertainment district anchored by steakhouses and strip clubs. In other words, Norfolk. *

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+5 With shows across town, RVA Fashion Week celebrates its fifth year and closes on a high note. Now everyone can exhale and go back to looking schlubby.

+4 Rugged Maniac draws 4,500 adventure seekers to Petersburg, where they tackle a 5-kilometer obstacle course over walls, down a water slide and through tunnels of mud. Proving that you can race through a muddy field in Petersburg without stumbling over Confederate bones.

-2 Speaking of mud, the television ad battle for Virginia governor begins, with Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe running his first statewide ad alongside Republican Ken Cuccinelli. Yet again our TVs are held hostage by three undecided voters.

+3 The city kicks off a Bicycle Commuter Challenge, with the mayor encouraging people to log miles biked to work, leading up to a Bike to Work Day on May 17. Extra cool points if you double a friend or co-worker on the handle bars.

* With credit for inspiration from @richmondgl, @sarvay and @themarinara.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The Score

This Week: NASCAR weekend, RVA Fashion Week, coach cookoff showdown + more.

Posted on Tue, Apr 30, 2013 at 3:32 PM

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+8 It's NASCAR weekend, with Kevin Harvick winning the big Toyota Owners 400 and Kyle Busch making news for his victory in the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown. Then there was that one creepy dude trying to get on Danica Patrick's lap.

+3 Food and travel renegade Anthony Bourdain draws a crowd to the Landmark Theater with his spicy anecdotes, irreverent take on the dining industry and the bashing of Paula Deen. Yup, he still has a beef with the Butter Queen. Mmm, buttery beef y'all.

+5 RVA Fashion Week kicks off its fifth year with a City Skyline Trunk Show, featuring designers and performances atop the observation deck at City Hall. It concluded with a base-jumper taking a dazzling leap using Dirtwoman's bloomers as a parachute.

+1 Giving itself a makeover, the Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau changes its name to Richmond Region Tourism. Now if only we could get the region's leaders to visit each other.

+2 In a charity cook-off for the Positive Vibe Cafe, University of Richmond men's basketball coach Chris Mooney beats VCU counterpart Shaka Smart with a sautéed calamari appetizer and a duck breast over sweet-potato pancake. Shaka should have gone with that dish of crow he served Dick Vitale in the 2011 NCAA tournament.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

The Score

This Week: RVA Earth Day, cancer-fighting ball players, impending cicada madness + more.

Posted on Tue, Apr 23, 2013 at 12:28 PM

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+8 Thousands of Richmonders become one with nature, celebrating Earth Day with free festivals, riverside fun and outdoor adventures. Then there was the dude we saw recycling a PBR can into a bong.

-2 Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican who explored running for governor as an independent, tells the T-D that he regrets dropping out of the race so soon. See? This is the kind of bold decisiveness we're going to miss in Virginia's next governor.

+3 Richmond School Superintendent Yvonne Brandon says she's stepping down, a mutual decision between her and the School Board. But considering how many city school kids play hooky, she'll still be seeing a lot of them out and about.

+2 The University of Richmond's baseball players and coaches shave their heads, the student newspaper reports, raising $6,612 for the Vs. Cancer Foundation. We haven't seen this many bald athletes since the Shriners zipped around in those little cars at the Christmas parade.

-4 Bug experts give a heads-up for a glut of cicadas soon to hit Richmond, a major swarm season described in the Washington Post as a "frenzy of sex and death" that will last as long as six weeks. Where do we sign up?

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Score

This Week: Science Museum changes, Beer Fest sells out, Soup Nazi Squirrels + more.

Posted on Tue, Apr 16, 2013 at 3:55 PM

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+3 The T-D reports that the Science Museum of Virginia is raising $60 million to transform into a marketing agency for science. So much work to get kids in the door. Let's just face it: We've lost a generation to Justin Bieber.

+4 The inaugural Carytown Craft Beer Festival sells out at 3,500 revelers on a sunny Sunday. The "Mile of Style" quickly turns into the "Quarter of Quaff."

+2 The Richmond Flying Squirrels announce that the Soup Nazi from "Seinfeld" will appear at Friday's game as part of a canned soup drive for FeedMore. And if you can't bring any cans you're welcome to make a donation from your Costanza wallet.

+1 Richmond native Henry Hager and his wife, former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager, become new parents with the birth of Margaret Laura "Mila" Hager. Grandpa Bush finally has a reason to unpack that Mission Accomplished banner.

+7 More than 38,600 people run in the Monument Avenue 10-K, a day filled with inspiring stories, good times and free entertainment. But more important, considering events in Boston: Everyone was safe.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

The Score

This Week: Kung Fu Grandpa, Dogwood Classic recap, anti-sodomy redux + more.

Posted on Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 3:22 PM

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+4 That "Kung Fu Grandpa" video, of a Richmond man practicing his nun chuck skills in a Food Lion parking lot, climbs toward 10 million views on YouTube and spurs a website selling related merchandise. This is what happens when nursing homes have Bruce Lee movie marathon nights.

+3 The Richmond Flying Squirrels suspend their sold-out season opener because of rain, but chase away the gloom the next night with their first no-hitter in franchise history. It was so exciting that The Diamond started crumbling all around them.

+5 The inaugural Dogwood Classic brings dressed-up revelers to Colonial Downs, where a gelding named Sporty wins the $25,000 title run while carefree tailgaters party it up. The fun is followed by Sunday's race to the last Advil in the medicine cabinet.

+1 A fugitive from Richmond City Jail who broke free from an officer's grip last week is recaptured by authorities after he tries jumping from the window of a residence where he was hiding. He should have tried jumping from a dam instead. It worked for Harrison Ford.

-4 With Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli seeking to put Virginia's anti-sodomy laws back on the books, banning oral and anal sex, Mother Jones reports that his camp won't say whether he's ever violated the law. Though he's fine talking out of either orifice.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The Score

This Week: Wet Easter Parade, April Fool's and More Mumps

Posted on Tue, Apr 2, 2013 at 2:40 PM

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+6 Despite the damp weather, thousands of people turn out for Monument Avenue's Easter on Parade festival, trotting out their dressed-up dogs, wacky hats and pastel-heavy attire. This is how we imagine cotillions at the Country Club of Virginia.

+4 Groovin' in the Garden continues to reveal its concert series lineup at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, which includes Iron & Wine, Josh Ritter and Carbon Leaf. Opening acts include Beer & Wine, Bug Spray and the Awkward Makeouts.

-1 After reports of mumps at the University of Richmond, VCU confirms a case on its campus. Proving that even heated cross-town rivalries can be overcome by a few shared beers, a little smooching and a virus or two.

-2 Fake news stories, prank jokes and little white lies entertain residents across the area on April Fool's Day. This must be what it's like to work in politics.

+3 Richmond police say employees of a South Side McDonald's thwarted an armed robber by hitting him and keeping him detained until police arrived. Until they found out it was just that kooky Hamburglar! Then they all just sat around and had a good laugh.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

The Score

This Week: Executive Mansion B-Day, Rams to NCAA, Barry Manilow's Gift Piano + More.

Posted on Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 3:15 PM

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+4 The Executive Mansion marks its 200th birthday with a public party over the weekend, which includes a flash-mob dance to the Black Eyed Peas song "I Gotta Feeling." Let's just hope historians will burn all recorded copies of Gov. Bob McDonnell doing the "Harlem Shake."

+5 Although the VCU Rams lose to Saint Louis, keeping them from the Atlantic 10 crown, they win a bid to play in the NCAA tournament. Sports commentator Dick Vitale still thinks they'll be knocked out early, causing superstitious Rams fans to rejoice.

+3 A 27-hour dance marathon at Deep Run High School raises $243,855 for charity, passing the $1 million mark for the event since its launch in 2007. Hundreds of sweaty, hormonal teens gyrating to hip music for 27 hours. It's like that time we got "Dirty Dancing" stuck in the break-room VCR.

+1 Barry Manilow, who's performing a show here next month, announces that he's donating a piano to the Richmond City Schools as part of an instrument drive. Now if he'll just dedicate a live rendition of "Can't Smile Without You" to the School Board.

+1 Richmond-based company Mobelux unveils an iPhone app that lets you use your phone to post, rate and share the drinks you order. It's called Elixr — or as we refer to it around here, Ginstagram.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

The Score

RVA This Week: Nature's mayhem, CAA tourney moves on, U of R mumps + more.

Posted on Tue, Mar 12, 2013 at 1:45 PM

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+1 It's nature's mayhem in Richmond, where residents are hit by a snow day, sunny weather and then shifting light, with daylight saving time moving clocks ahead by an hour. And finally it happens: Andrew Freiden single-handedly short-circuits Twitter.

-3 The Colonial Athletic Association thanks the city for 24 years of serving as host to its men's basketball championship — which moves to Baltimore next year. The Richmond Coliseum is now free to go after its long-sought target: the Mid-Atlantic Paper Airplane Competition.

-2 A health advisory warns that several cases of mumps have hit students at the University of Richmond. We should have seen the day coming when this heated VCU rivalry would escalate to germ warfare.

+1 CBS-6 reports that Richmond's infamous shock-rock band Gwar is behind those conspicuous new foam-rubber hats popping up on the heads of VCU Rams fans, featuring horns and snouts. Now it's only a matter of time before Shaka Smart is fed to the World Maggot on stage.

+5 Local watering holes prepare for an onslaught of St. Patrick's Day revelers, including tens of thousands of folks expected in Shockoe Bottom for Saturday's Shamrock the Block. Never have so many bar restrooms been "Closed Till Monday."

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