That National Geographic’s latest offering is a gorgeous photographic amble through our neck of the woods is no surprise. In current parlance, it’s what they do.

But even so, from its first 10 double pages of lush landscapes through chapters surveying the history (and wars) of Virginia, Maryland, and Mason-Dixon Pennyslvania, Journey through Hallowed Ground is enough to make a native’s heart swell with pride.

Author Andrew Cockburn, a native of Ireland but now happily living in the shadow of the Blue Ridge, teams up with photographer Kenneth Garrett to tour the ridges and valleys from Monticello to Gettysburg, from the early 18th century to the present.

The book’s motto seems to be preserve, preserve, preserve. Preserve the land, preserve history, and preserve legacy. The cover depicts the floating heads of influential historical figures– an art form usually reserved for advertisements of epic films. In the foreword, (more)

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While you were snoozing, cruising, or tubing last night, Charlottesville photographer Tom Daly was busily capturing the last total lunar eclipse for nearly three years.

Despite a light drizzle of rain yesterday afternoon across much of Albemarle County, the clouds thinned and parted in time for the eclipse to begin (when the moon entered the umbral shadow) at 8:43pm. Daly stuck with it and rendered some pretty pics, as you’ll see when you click on the photo here.

If you were busy watching Project Runway, you blew your last chance to see this amazing natural phenomenon until December 21, 2010 (or later, because it might be cloudy or snowy that night). The Hook staff was so moved by the sight that we named the eclipse Oliver.
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Local violinist Ann Marie Calhoun is two nights away from finding out if she’s going to emerge from the pack of three finalists to win YouTube’s “My Grammy Moment” vote and earn a featured slot performing a solo with the Foo Fighters on their hit “The Pretender.”

To hear Calhoun tell it from the backseat of a car headed to rehearsals at Los Angeles’ Staples Center, it seems she’s already won. “In a strange way, I’m jealous of myself, because it hasn’t sunken in that I’m doing all these fabulous rock star things,” she says. “I just left what they call a ‘gifting lounge’ where they let me pick out all these designer clothes to wear for the show right off the rack.”

Fortunately for Calhoun, she came ready with something to break the ice with former Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl. “We grew up in the same town in Burke, in Northern Virginia, and we even went to the same high school,” she says. “He heard that and gave me a big hug.”

Not only that, but Calhoun’s been hanging out in the company of rock royalty of an older generation. She and the other 14 semi-finalists that make up the Foo Fighters’ orchestra for Sunday night will be under the direction of (more)

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