Category Archives: Entertainment

Graves Mountain Festival still the best music value around

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While the recession has put a crimp on some activities, the [Graves Mountain Festival of Music](http://www.gravesmountain.com/bluegrass.htm “Graves Mountain Festival of Music Site”), taking place this year May 28-30, remains a bargain and a great venue to settle in and listen to some bluegrass at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains mountains.

This is the 17th season, and the lineup this year again features a wide array of styles of the genre and offers something for everyone’s tastes. The lineup features one of the very hottest bands in bluegrass, the Steel Drivers, as well as perennial Graves Mountain favorites such as the Seldom Scene, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, Cherryholmes and the Lonesome River Band.

[Read](http://www.newsleader.com/article/20090521/ENTERTAINMENT04/905210313/-1/rss01 “Read the Article”) (Staunton News Leader)

Snow On Wintergreen On Presidents Day

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Wintergreen Resorts has been preparing for warm spells since November when temperatures first dipped into freezing. They’re making their own snow, pumping millions of gallons of water onto the slopes.

President’s Day weekend combined with Valentine’s Day are popular winter sports holidays, and Wintergreen doesn’t want the warm weather of the past week to get in the way.

They’re making as much snow as they can when it’s cold so they can survive a thaw.

Snowboarders say they were surprised to see so much snow on the mountain, since it’s been warm lately. There’s actually around 30 to 50 inches of snow on most slopes, and some snowboarders say it’s the best winter they’ve ever seen up here.

[Read](http://www.charlottesvillenewsplex.tv/home/headlines/39625117.html “Read the Article”) (CBS-19)

Mill Mountain Theatre closes, cancels rest of season

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[Mill Mountain Theatre](http://www.millmountain.org/ “Mill Mountain Theatre”), once the flagship of Roanoke’s thriving arts and cultural community, is shutting its doors.

The theater, which has large and apparently mounting debts, has cancelled at least the rest of this season. 10 years of debt and declining revenues, most likely attributable to the current economy, made it impossible to continue.

Assuming the theater can meet production costs, the last play will be “Driving Miss Daisy,” which runs through Feb. 8 on the Waldron Stage. The play is scheduled to open tonight.

[Read](http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/191841 “Read the Article”) (Roanoke Times)
[Read](http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/191973 “Read the Article”) (A 2nd article from the Roanoke Times)

Apple’s iPhone Faces Off With PSP and Nintendo DS

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Apple’s iPhone has shaken up the cellphone business. Its next targets are Nintendo and Sony.

The iPhone and the iPod touch, which feature big screens and powerful graphics, are emerging as serious competitors to Nintendo’s DS handheld and Sony’s PlayStation Portable.

Game publishers such as Sega Corp. and Id Software Inc. are devoting more resources to Apple’s devices while start-ups dedicated to making iPhone games have sprung up. Already, there are nearly 2,000 iPhone games available.

[Read](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122644912858819085.html “Read the Article”) (Wall Street Journal)

The Beatles are Coming to the Rock Band Video Game

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MTV Games, creator of the hit game Rock Band, and Apple Corps, which owns the rights to The Beatles’ music catalogue, announced Thursday that they plan to create a title that will feature only music from the Fab Four. The deal marks the first time that The Beatles’ music will play on video games.

[Read](http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/music/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=211800325&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_ALL “Read the Article”) (Information Week)

My Top TV Shows this Summer

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My top TV shows this summer:

* [Generation Kill](http://www.hbo.com/generationkill/ “Generation Kill”)
* [Burn Notice](http://www.usanetwork.com/series/burnnotice “Burn Notice”)
* [Flashpoint](http://www.cbs.com/primetime/flashpoint/ “Flashpoint”)
* [The Closer](http://www.tnt.tv/closer “The Closer”)
* [The Factory](http://www.spike.com/show/27283 “The Factory”)
* [Weeds](http://www.sho.com/site/weeds/ “Weeds”)
* [Secret Diary of a Call Girl](http://www.sho.com/site/secretdiary/ “Secret Diary of a Call Girl”)
* [Deadliest Catch](http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/deadliestcatch/deadliestcatch.html “Deadliest Catch”)
* [Ice Road Truckers](http://www.history.com/iceroadtruckers “Ice Road Truckers”)
* Reruns of [Simon & Simon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081930/ “IMDB’s Simon and Simon Page”)

Another Netflix Not-in-Stock E-mail

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2 out of the last 4 discs have not been in stock at the Roanoke facility. I’d be slightly less irritated if Netflix would ship from the remote facility the same day instead of waiting until the next business day.

 
Your Account | Queue | Help
Shipping update
Dear Stephen,

IT WAS A WONDERFUL LIFE was not available today at your local shipping center. Instead, we will be shipping this DVD from Columbia, SC on the next business day. As usual, you will receive an email letting you know we shipped your DVD.

-The Netflix Team

NASCAR blames economy for not filling seats for Richmond race

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The large sign outside Richmond International Raceway off Laburnum on Friday said, “Tickets Available Now!”

This has been a common sight at tracks that host racing events this season, but it is alarming when it occurs at Richmond International. The track has sold out every Cup race, 32 in all, over the past 16 years. Most of the sellouts are announced a week before the event, the Thursday before at the latest.

When Richmond doesn’t put a body in all 112,209 seats, this sends up a red flag, one that already should have been flying when there were plenty of empty seats at Bristol despite what was announced as a sellout.

That tickets remain 24 hours before Saturday’s race reinforces what track presidents and NASCAR officials have said and feared for the past few months: rising gas prices and tough economic times are keeping fans away.

[Read](http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=3378459&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines “Read the Article”) (ESPN)

Another Netflix Not-in-Stock Email

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I received another e-mail from Netflix today stating that the local (Roanoke) distribution center doesn’t have a movie in stock.

 
Your Account | Queue | Help
Shipping update

Dear Stephen,

THE SHIELD: SEASON 5: DISC 1 was not available at your local shipping center. Instead, we will be shipping this movie from Cleveland, OH on the next business day. As usual, you will receive a movie shipped email confirming the shipment.

-The Netflix Team

 

…so, instead of receiving the movie tomorrow, I’ll be lucky to receive it by Saturday.

For a Pinball Survivor, the Game Isn’t Over

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Stern Pinball Inc. is the last of its kind in the world. A range of companies once mass produced pinball machines, especially in the Chicago area, the one-time capital of the business. Now there is only Stern. And even the dinging and flipping here has slowed: Stern, which used to crank out 27,000 pinball machines each year, is down to around 10,000.

In the United States, half of the company’s new machines, which cost about $5,000 and are bought through distributors, now go directly into people’s homes and not a corner arcade, and nearly 40 percent of the machines are exported.

[Read](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/25/us/25pinball.html?_r=1&ex=1366862400&en=1860884cf03a330c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin “Read the Article”) (New York Times)

Red Light Management to Develop and Manage New Roanoke Amphitheater

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Roanoke city officials announced late today that they have selected Charlottesville’s [Red Light Management](http://www.redlightmanagement.com “Red Light Management”) to develop and manage an amphitheater at the former Victory Stadium site on Reserve Avenue.

A press release issued just before 6 p.m. said the city’s selection committee thought that Red Light Management’s proposal was “the most responsive to the city’s needs” and **also in Roanoke’s “best interest**.”

[Read](http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/157931 “Read”) (Roanoke Times)

Roanoke City made the perfect choice. Let’s hope Red Light Management makes the new amphitheater just as successful as they’ve made the [Charlottesville Pavilion](http://www.charlottesvillepavilion.com “Charlottesville Pavilion”).

First, [Plan 9](http://www.plan9music.com “Plan 9”) and now, a new amphitheater managed by Red Light Management. Can we get [WNRN](http://www.wnrn.rlc.net/ “WNRN”), [Bodo’s Bagels](http://www.bodosbagels.com/ “Bodo’s Bagels”), and a local version of [C’ville Weekly](http://www.c-ville.com/ “C’ville Weekly”), too?