Find non-famous people with the same name. I’m not making this up.
The Harrisonburg paper, Daily News Record reports:
Charlottesville has John Grisham, Sissy Spacek and Dave Matthews. But did you know that Bruce Willis, John Tesh and Heather Mills all live in Harrisonburg?
Yeah, it’s true.
They do have a Tom Sawyer, too. 
Popularity: 6% [?]
Tagged as: Humor, Virginia
TODAY’s Tom Sawyer?
Well, Byo… You know what they say about picking a town to live in - if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
I’m banned from nissan pavilion because of that show. Sometimes you just gotta pee in a beer can so you don’t miss YYZ during an encore.
You’re a new world man, B’Yo.
Well, what you say about his company and all that…
And cbob, are you the love child of Lao Tzu and Yoda?
/joshing you, i am.
seeing John Grisham uncomfortably seated at Mellow on Sunday between two tables of drunk kick/dodgeballers was awesome.
Hey! I was at Mellow on Sunday with my folks. John Grisham was there? What time?
He got there around 7:30ish, maybe 8.
Ah, okay. Missed him then. I guess dodgeball folks were there all day. We ate at around 2:30pm, and the place was replete with dodgers.
Yeah, I got there around 6ish, and there were still a good 50-75 players there. good times, good times.
i used to work with the bruce willis from h’burg. he actually looked somewhat similar to the real thing too.
Grisham goes to my parents Church near Mellow Mushroom, University Baptist. Speaking of which, a local pastor recently blogged about Grisham’s attendance at a moderate Baptist convention where he spoke with Hillary, and seems to criticism him other participants for not being Baptist enough. (Apparently, in the opinion of the Southern Baptist Convention, they are they only real Baptists, and everyone knows that real baptists are Republican…)
Personally, I’ve always thought it was cool that Charlottesville doesn’t make too big of a deal of it’s famous people. A while back I was eating at Sloans and Muhammad Ali was sitting at the table next to us. I’ve also seen Sissy Spacek in Buns and Noodle browsing books. I bet alot of these people live here precisely because they know they won’t be harrassed and can live a fairly “normal” life.
Wait…. Baptists are real?
Good point.
I agree with Lonnie. I think it is best to treat the celebs as if they were just regular folks. They come here to live in peace, if they wanted celebrity treatment they’d go to LA.
That said if they pull celeb attitude they should be put in there place with vengeance.
Anyone witness a celeb (local or not) acting better than thou, snobby, rude, bitchy or whatever in our fair town???
Name names and give us the dirt.
15: One of the local coffee dudes has a funny story about serving Messr. Matthews and not realizing he’s serving The One True Matthews and commenting about how all the recent DMB albums lack soul or somesuch. DM took it in stride apparently. Story cracked me up.
I didn’t see anyone even talk to Grisham, and I agree — it’s good that they can have their privacy and eat in (relative) peace. It’s just fun to talk about it afterwards.
Used to work at Bizou and they took no reservations. One day some years ago, this lady calls asking if we would hold a table for Michael J. Fox? Nope, sorry.
“But this is Michael J. Foxxxxx!” she insists.
I check with a senior waiter and he says,
“No. Screw Michael J. Fox. His wife is a beetch and his keeds make a beeg mess. He will have to take hees chances like everybody elsse…”
Heard later he ended up at OXO.
Lonnie
I was kidding. I know they are real… In fact , turns out I am one! Here is the church I have been attending lately.
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/9186/blueballchurchps4.jpg
Le Sigh.
How did I miss Grisham at Mellow? Must have been too drunk. Why would he even go there? Not that there’s anything wrong Mellow, I just always pictured him eating lavish meals off of 24K gold plates while being served by naked supermodels.
David and Sissy are solid citizens. Very humble and kind. Dave takes requests for autographs in stride. Sissy is VERY shy and probably dies a quiet death whenever approached by strangers.
I was tending bar at a fundraiser a couple of year’s ago. My habit was serve drinks as quickly as possible so I only asked what type of gin or vodka the guests wanted when time allowed. DM and friend came to bar. Friend ordered and I quickly made drink. DM ordered and … well he was the last one in line so … I asked what brand of booze he wanted. His friend got a bit pissed, “Why didn’t you ask me what kind of gin I wanted?!?” I was taken aback and offended that she thought I was giving him special treatment. So I looked her straight in the eye and calmly explained, “uhhh”
His “friend” is in denial about being in his “entourage,” aka a “groupie.”
I’ve served John Grisham a few times. My secret crush is not a secret at all if you’ve been reading the site since April.
Served Grisham many times and he is the best. customer. ever.
Dave stories? Only got one. Was in front of him in (the long) line at that little toy store on the mall couple of christmases ago. He was with what I guess were his daughters. They wanted stickers, a pack each. He was trying to convince them to buy one pack and split it. Was tempted to turn round bend down and tell the girls. “Hold out! Your dad could buy this whole store *and* the factory that makes the stickers! You could be sticking stickers until you are stuck in college!”
But I didn’t. I ignored him. Never really was a fan, but he seems a nice enough guy. Besides, teaching tots to share is the right thing.
i’ve served DM a few times, and he’s super chill. once, after his 2nd or 3rd bookers on the rocks, he told me that we could make beautiful music together.
Our local celebs are all definitiely chill. They don’t make a big to-do, and they all seem to be quite involved in the community. Especially The Dave and company; I like that they don’t just keep mega-residences near by, but they donate money and start scholarships and patronize businesses.
Did anyone see Grisham’s graduation speech at UVA? It was terrible. For such a successful writer, he sure is bad at putting coherent thoughts together. Tom Wolfe, on the other hand: AWESOME.
I remember Dave back when he performed for our “Jam for Peace” at Western Albemarle. I gave the T-Shirt from that to my sister who promptly lost it. I should have kept it and sold it on E-bay.
Belmont yo, could you tell us a bit more about the “sacrements” of your church?
I’m not sure I see the contradiction there *cough* Jonah Goldberg *cough* Ayn Rand *cough* okay, I’ll stop now.
I almost ran Grisham down, once. He and a bunch of other folks were clearly walking back down one of the mall side streets, after a nice Sunday brunch. As they walked down the side street, I was doing my “damn, is it April again?” run, which ends going up Water Street. As he rounded the corner onto Water St., I ran smack into him. He was super nice and laughed about it.
That said, Grisham’s work sucks from a legally accurate perspective. He plays fast and loose with the law, for entertainment’s sake. Which is fine…if the reader doesn’t know better. I can’t read him, for that reason. Drives me insane. Like a surgeon watching E.R. on televison. Too much knowledge doesn’t enhance, with Grisham’s legal works. The best true attorney/author from a legal perspective, IMHO, is Scott Turow. The guy who wrote “Presumed Innocent,” among others. Probably helps that he still actually practices law.
john grisham went to shake my hand once and i left him hanging. not that i don’t think he’s a nice guy (& quite sexy), but my hands were really sticky because i’d just eaten a messy hors d’oeuvre. he was somewhat bewildered; i don’t think that happens to him often.
Glad you asked!
Im going around to these various church cervixes to check em out, because I believe I have found a big gaping hole in the human religious experience. (ok that was bad). But on the reals, here’s my church which I will be founding sooner or later:
It will be a church based on agnosticism BUT with the furvor and passion and theatrics of the pentacostals and seveth days. Its name?
The First Agnosticostal Church of Charlottesville
Basically we will whoop it up, get down with some funky glossalolia, and I will dramatically preach (with key word hand gestures!) that we don’t know, and in fact probably cant know, but that doesn’t really much matter anyway, you should probably try to be a good person anyway. Im still fine tuning the dogma and preparing the leaflets.
Testify! Can I get a ‘well maybe’? Hallelujah!
Ooo! Ooo! There needs to be a disco ball over the alter!
But of course! And we can toss rubber snakes and wear fancy hats. Shit’s gonna be rockin! I just think our little pea brains should be a cause for celebration, not consternation.
/is still looking for a sear sucker suit and a string bowtie…
Yo! That’s amazing. I’ve wanted to buy a church and rename it St. Agnostica for some time now. Will you turn water into wine, vodka, tequilla, and gin. And bread into the body of a stripper. Now that’s something I could bite into.
\God striking me down as a type *ouch* *thump* *early death*
Why do I feel the need to own some sort of school-type golf shirt or blazer with “St. Agnostica” on it? Seriously. The crest alone would be hilarious to design.
Sounds good, The tossing of rubber snakes and fancy hats sounds like a great sacrement. Are you familiar with the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or the Discordians?
I think there’s some old abandoned church-looking building in the East Belmont/Carlton neighborhood. I remember riding past it one day and drooling. WANT.
Sissy is very shy and private. I’ve seen her on occasion grocery shopping and how people bug her. She is polite but I get the impression she feels awkward about.
I see DM from time to time in Scottsville, usually jogging on the roads. First time I saw him I was like ”who is crazy enough to run on this road!” Then I realized it was DM, he gave a neighborly wave and carried on. If I was a star I would love the escape of this area.
Yes Yes Yes! We need a location. And we need a big sculpture, a kind of classsic Mary type figure, but posed shrugging her shoulders.
And yes, lonnie, I have been touched by his noodly appendage,
And no, On the Hill, this thread has been heavily jacked, get with the program… (I keed, I keed)
@22….oh lilith….silly girl.
B’Yo, would you settle for the image of Virgin Mary on a grilled cheese sandwich?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4034787.stm
Yeah, working off a PDA… I tend to be a little behind. Will try harder.
ThatGrrl@41
Yo does not settle. Behold:
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4985/agosticami9.jpg
B’Yo, that is perfect! Would make a wonderful backdrop, behind the church alter. Doesn’t hurt that it would kick ass on T-shirts, either.
Yo, less robe, more skin.
/going to hell
The rules, Silmo, the rules… were a family board now, ‘member?
Services will definitely be NC17 though.
Black Cat Skate Shop will bust you out a shirt like that for 12 bucks, from that very file, just gank the image. No selling though.
There is a story about that brick building on the corner of Rives and Carlton. It used to be a YMCA (hence the Y) in the front - I’m not sure it was ever a church but I could be wrong. I assume this is the one you’re talking about?
47: I think that may be the one. Looked like it could’ve been a school even? Red brick? Windows boarded up? I didn’t notice a “Y” but I was on a bike. What’s the story about it, cbob?
Neither a Y nor a school but a molasses factory. Beautiful building. Went to a couple of parties there.
Owned by the owners of Under the Roof.
Last I heard they were trying to sell.
I went to some sort of hipster party there about a decade ago. They’d gutted the whole interior of the place and I’m not sure they had any intention/clue as to how to put it together again.. didn’t seem to keep them from enjoying it though.
I was one of those hipsters, Hipster.
44-That Girl: go threadless with it and you and B’Yo can be indie-famous!
I do love me a good Threadless T. I’m wearing one, now!
Wonder if there are any rights in that piece of art, though. Might not be worth the law suit if some museum is a’gonna sue the pants off us.
Im wearing threadless today as well! Space man w/ boom box. Like half my tshirts are made by them.
As far as rights go, I dunno. I made it out of a statuette of I guess mary, but the arms and hands are of this chinese doctor dude (you can still kinda see the lab coat - it was quick and dirty). Then I removed the original mary hands by cloning extra robe action, then bordered it and titled it. Its quite a franken critter. I wonder what it would look like if I ran it through vector magic… hmmmm… lets see.
Not bad. Little tweaking and this could be silk - screenable.
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/4964/agosticavyb9.jpg
I bought the other half of the Threadless T-shirts, B’Yo. I’m wearing “Procrastinator’s: The Leaders of Tomorrow.”
You should totally submit that puppy!
Duh. But without the apostrophe in “Procrastinators.” I’ll correct that. When I get around to it.
Now that we’ve threadjacked the threadjack, may as well go all the way…
Here’s a design I did two years ago and still dont have the cake to get even a small batch printed up. I think this one would sell to the neighborhood. Something the townies could sport cause UVa has sooo much swag…
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/7132/bu02converteddh9.jpg
I hand vectored the tower, by the way… still rather proud of that. The latin ribbon says “if you can read this, you are over-educated”, and the date reflects the day Belmont was first gridded into blocks from the original estate (did my research). I have spin off’s too (Be You at B.U.), was working on a mascot, etc… etc… but my constant brokeness and business never let the project get off the ground.
What do you think? Any benefactors out there wanna fund a project?
That coal tower is beautiful! Of course, I must say that I see that tower and immediately think “sniper.” I have too much C-ville institutional knowledge.
Although, if BU offers a degree in small town sniping…
I’d wear that T-shirt, b-yo. Very cool! What does the Latin say? You’d think I’d know, having studied Latin America in college…
Ironically, it reads “if you can read this, you are over-educatedâ€.
And I think I will submit Saint Agnostica to threadless… That ok with you Silmo? (who coined the name)
61: Man, I walked right into that set-up…
I’ll vote for it, if you submit it! And more times than I should, too.
Thats its beauty, it only offends those that can understand it.
I’d wear the Belmont U one, Belmont yo. How many orders do we need to print’em up?
Its been a while since I priced it out (at Fat Rabbit)… I think it was $300 to make it work at $15 a shirt, but that was when I was trying to turn a little profit to roll over into a new design. Now I’d just like to see it out there and not rot away in my computer like so many other of my “brilliant” schemes.
Its basically just a simple two color screen, with the color of the shirt acting as a third color (old cheap design trick). Looks badass in green too. Fat Rabbit will print any number from one to a brazillion, and they have this weird algorythm that adjusts the price per shirt in quantity, rather than having the prices break at specific quantity points like most places. Thats why I liked that shop.
So I suppose anything is possible. The less you order the more you pay. Then again, the advantage of “preordering” is that you can determine sizing, which is always a hassle when hustling shirts (how many babydolls? how many larges etc.)
Any ideas?
Ooops, there’s an actual Belmont University in Nashville? Don’t know if that would affect the viability of the shirt…
Fuck it! I’ll wear one. I’m judgment-proof anyway.
I know about the school in KY. But believe me, I think this would be strictly short run (under 100) and strictly local. Minimal chance of any problems. I don’t wanna put em in stores…
Hold on, I have hot topic on the other line…
Belmont is a university? It was a college, last I looked (roughly the same time stew was invented, so it hasn’t been recent). Known mainly for their music degrees. I grew up in Nashville. Hell, for all I know, Belmont is a big ol’ university, by now. It’s been ages since I thought about the place.
@ B Yo 62 - Go for it. What’s threadless???
http://threadless.com/
Kind of a peer reviewed t-shirt community thingy. Very cool. Very quality.
cool