Art & Culture – Hampton Roads Weekly

Aug162025 by Web PublisherNo Comments

Book Review: Bridging Myths and Machines: Why Gerry White’s New Book Should Be on Every Desk

As an educator who’s spent two decades helping students and professionals adapt to technology’s ever-accelerating pace, I can say this without hesitation: The Evolution of Artificial Intelligence: Our Journey from Myth to Machine is the book I didn’t know I was waiting for. What Gerry White has done here is rare. He’s taken a topic that too often gets trapped in extremes, either techno-hype or dystopian dread, and given us something clear, grounded, and even hopeful. This isn’t a textbook, but it’s deeply informed. It’s not science fiction, but it honors the dreams and warnings of that genre. And it’s certainly not tech-bro evangelism. White writes with the calm authority of someone who’s worked in the trenches of AI integration in classrooms, college curricula, and educationa...

Jul312025 by Web PublisherNo Comments

A Thoughtful, Inspiring Ride Through the Mind of Machines, Just for Kids

Art & Culture, Headlines, Technology

The Story of AI: How Machines Learned to Think and How Kids Can Journey Through It is that rare kind of nonfiction book, equal parts educational, imaginative, and empowering. Written for kids but respectful of their intelligence, this book doesn’t just explain artificial intelligence; it invites young readers to step into the story themselves. From ancient legends of talking statues to modern tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, the book takes us on a journey across centuries of human curiosity. Each chapter is anchored by illustrations in a Gustav Doré–inspired style, lending the book an almost timeless quality, as if you’re flipping through a modern classic. What really sets this book apart is its tone. It’s not just telling kids what AI is; it’s showing them how these technologies work ...

May152025 by Web PublisherNo Comments

Humanities

Art & Culture

Chrysler Museum just wrapped up an outstanding exhibit on traveling Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm. Article Courtesy of Chrysler.org Captured by Paul McCartney using his own Pentax Camera, Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm features more than 250 photographs taken between November 1963 and February 1964, illuminating the period in which The Beatles became international superstars. The photographs were rediscovered in McCartney’s personal archive in 2020. “Looking at these photos now, decades after they were taken, I find there’s a sort of innocence about them,” said Paul McCartney. “Everything was new to us at this point. But I like to think I wouldn’t take them any differently today. They now bring back so many stories, a flood o...

Apr152025 by Web PublisherNo Comments

HRW Book Club

Art & Culture

"New biography captures the life and remarkable football coaching career of the incredible George Allen" By Mike Richman Author, GEORGE ALLEN: A FOOTBALL LIFE Someone needed to write the definitive biography of George Allen, one of the greatest coaches in NFL history and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I knew it was incumbent upon me to do just that. As the author of The Redskins Encyclopedia, the Washington Redskins Football Vault and Joe Gibbs: An Enduring Legacy, and someone who grew up in the D.C. area with the George Allen-coached Redskins in the 1970s, I became hungry to add one more accomplishment to my literary career. I thus authored George Allen: A Football Life. George Allen deserved for someone to uphold his legacy. He’s the third-winningest coach ...

Apr142025 by Web PublisherNo Comments

Entertaining Matters

Art & Culture, Entertainment, Food

With Dr. Kara Coe Party With a Purpose: A Charitable Reason this Fall Season As the summer heat dissipates in Coastal Virginia, late August ushers in our annual Fall customs. For many of us, the frenzy of school supplies, anticipation of cool crisp weather, and pumpkin-flavored everything, will also bring a sense of togetherness. Kids return from camp, fathers get out their football jerseys, and mothers start making plans for Thanksgiving and holiday travel. In Hampton Roads, we are blessed with the good fortune of warm Autumn evenings well into October, as well as, brilliant foliage and harvested crops; the perfect conditions for both indoor and outdoor entertaining at home. Do I ever need an excuse to host an event? No! I just need friends, food, and plentiful cockta...

Oct22023 by Web PublisherNo Comments

Voices From The Garden

Art & Culture

The Virginia Women’s Monument is Dedicated on October 14 Seven bronze statues of women were unveiled at nation’s first monument honoring the full scope of women’s contributions & achievements. Historic Virginia women in bronze assembled on Capitol Square in Richmond to share their stories and have their voices be heard across four centuries of Virginia history. Voices from the Garden: The Virginia Women’s Monument was dedicated on Monday, October 14. Following the National Anthem by members of the Richmond Symphony Chorus led by Lisa Fusco of VCU and an invocation by Rev. Emily Edmondson of Christ Episcopal Church in Marion, Va., the dedication ceremony featured remarks from Governor Ralph S. Northam and First Lady Pamela Northam; The Honorable Mary Margaret Whipple, ...

Jun62023 by Web PublisherNo Comments

Voices From The Garden: Monument to Women in Virginia

Art & Culture

Historic Women Leaders from Yesterday Martha “Pattie” Hicks Buford, (14 March 1836–17 January 1901) Photo cite: Episcopal Women’s History Project The Virginia Women’s Monument, named Voices from the Garden, is the nation’s first monument designed to celebrate the remarkable women who made significant, but often unrecognized contributions and accomplishments in a variety of fields and endeavors over the 400-year history of Virginia. This new monument in Richmond, the first on capitol grounds in the U.S.A, includes bronze statues and 230 names of Virginia Women inscribed on the monument’s glass. Each issue, Hampton Roads Weekly will feature the story of one of these amazing historical women and pair her with the story of one of our dynamic, contemporary women leaders in ...

Feb252023 by Web PublisherNo Comments

A Lens On Black History

Art & Culture

A Tribute to Black History Month By Geoph Beard Black History Month has a very rich tradition. It is celebrated in America, the United Kingdom, Canada, and unofficially in Ireland. But here in the United States we have a unique tradition that stands out from other nations. In order to properly understand the true value of purposefully taking the time to celebrate, and how the “why” has evolved over the century, it’s important to first look at its roots. Black History month was created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, an American Historian, author and journalist. February was chosen, not because it’s the shortest month of the year, but because both Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas were born in February. These two men were widely credited with leadi...

Mar252022 by Web PublisherNo Comments

St. Matthews and the Catholic Schools System Making Their Mark in Hampton Roads

Art & Culture

By Krissy Weinhardt The Catholic Schools system here in Hampton Roads is quite unified in their mission, to “empower leaders one faith-filled day at a time”. Since 1963 schools like St. Matthews' in Virginia Beach have provided a rigorous academic curriculum for its students in addition to discipline, tradition and strong Christian values to prepare children for their academic future and as citizens in our community. Their philosophy is based on the belief that the purpose of their schools is to provide a Christ-centered environment, in unison with both family and community. They believe this encourages a life-long pursuit of learning through spiritual, academic, and physical education. No one better embodies these philosophies as does Development Directo...

Feb122020 by Web PublisherNo Comments

Come Back to Beauty… Come Back to the Arts

Art & Culture

Chrysler Museum Received Grants The Chrysler Museum of Art has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation and has been approved for a $65,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Both will support the upcoming exhibition Alma W. Thomas: A Creative Life. Scheduled to open in July 2021, the traveling show is co-organized by the Chrysler Museum of Art and The Columbus Museum in Georgia and includes stops at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. and The Frist Art Museum in Nashville, Tenn. before closing at The Columbus Museum in 2022. The exhibition will provide a comprehensive overview of Thomas’ long life (1891–1978) with approximately 100 works, including her rarely seen theatrical designs and beloved abstract paintings. It will ...