Do It This Weekend: a 12-hour dance party with DJ duo Soul Clap, Harvey Milk tribute, Avengers Day for comic lovers, tick, tick … BOOM!, a screening of inGREEDients and much more
This weekend, it's time to dust off your dancing shoes and grab the shiny spandex and leg warmers. Wait, it’s 2010 and people don’t dance in shiny spandex and leg warmers anymore? Okay. Then grab your preferred dance gear because Red Diamond Productions & Hallucination Recordings presents Soul Food, an event that combines music, food,…
On the Radar: Stand Up Florida’s National Harvey Milk Day of Action tribute dinner and candlelight vigil
Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview upcoming events to mark your calendars for. Though he served in office for less than a full year, Harvey Milk has been a gay rights icon for over three decades now. Considered the first openly gay elected public official (though that’s in some dispute), Milk’s legacy has…
Do It Today: Mary Poppins at the Straz, Disney on Ice at the Forum, show-and-tell with the Moving Current dancers and much more
Not getting enough wholesome family fare in your diet? Hope you’ve worked up an appetite, because this week you get to feast on two servings of Disney-approved entertainment. The supercalifragilistic Broadway musical Mary Poppins lands on the stage at the Straz’s Morsani Hall. A Tony award winner for Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Mary…
On the Radar: Soul Food, a 12-hour art, fashion and dance party feat. Boston DJ duo Soul Clap
Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview upcoming events to mark your calendars for. This weekend, it's time to dust off your dancing shoes and grab the shiny spandex and leg warmers. Wait, it’s 2010 and people don’t dance in shiny spandex and leg warmers anymore? Okay. Then grab your preferred dance gear because…
Concert review: Hopscotching from one stage to the next at WMNF’s 29th annual Tropical Heatwave (with lots of pics)
Autopsy IV and I spent this past Saturday, May 15, moseying up and down the streets of Ybor City, and taking in the sights and sounds of the 29th annual Tropical Heatwave. The following is a record of our separate Heatwave adventures paired with our Tweets and a slew of fab photos by Phil Bardi…
Rush Limbaugh: The Sierra Club should foot the bill for the oil spill (audio)
Apparently Rush Limbaugh is blaming envionmental groups like the Sierra Club for this current mess in the Gulf of Mexico. Yesterday on his radio show he asked, "When do we ask the Sierra Club to pick up the tab for this leak?" The "greeniacs", he claims, have been driving the oil producers "way, way, way…
3 Guys & Chuck — The Podcast: A double-shot of “Chuck vs. The Tooth” and “Chuck vs. The Living Dead”
This week's episode of 3 Guys & Chuck is a big one. We discuss last week's episode, "Chuck vs. the Tooth," and the latest episode, "Chuck vs. the Living Dead." Join us as we dig into the plot, the characters and where this show is heading. We were really excited after Monday's Chuck, as Chuck's…
ABC makes their presentation about Tampa Bay Rays stadium future to Hillsborough County Commissioners
This afternoon in Tampa, the ABC group (A Baseball Coalition) formed by former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker in 2008 to study potential sites for a future home for the Tampa Bay Rays, gave what organizers say will be their last formal presentation for awhile, speaking before the Hillsborough County Commission. The group has given…
J.J. Abrams Super 8 is a super mystery (with trailer video)
With the release of Iron Man 2 last weekend came a surprise no one saw coming: a trailer for a J.J. Abrams- (Lost, Fringe, Cloverfield, Star Trek) directed movie — being produced by Steven Spielberg, no less — and featuring a train wreck with something breaking its way out of a storage compartment. If that…
Dreaming of violence on a family bus
“Dream Momma, I’m a teenager living in Tampa. In my dream I'm sitting on a bus. Sitting in the middle on the right handside. There's a two passengers sitting in front of me. The very first is an elderly lady. A few rows behind me is a lady. On the left side behind me is…
The U.S. Senate candidate who likes to dine at Hooters
And other interesting observations from the campaign trail By Chris Ingram The state that gave the world the hanging-chad has built a reputation for interesting politics, and the Sunshine State will certainly please political watchers again this year. From the dissaray in the Democrat Party’s candidates for governor and the U.S. Senate to the Republican’s…
Wednesday-music.com indie music profile: Freelance Whales
Freelance Whales live the American dream, or at least my dream. In early 2009, Judah Dadone, Kevin Read, Doris Cellar, Jake Hyman, and Chuck Criss started playing their neo-folk pop in the streets, abandoned buildings and subways of New York City. A few months and thirteen new songs later, they began recording their self-released debut…
The Battle of Upham Beach: Groins – not just a pain in the Pass
This begins a multipart series about the Upham Beach, an area of St. Pete Beach, of the T-Groin Project and the role of the Suncoast Chapter Surfrider Foundation. The groins reside on and around the Starlight Tower (7000 Beach Plaza) on St. Pete Beach. According to documentation "The History of Blind Pass": In the 1800's,…
Did Rose Ferlita tip her hand about running for mayor of Tampa last week?
Did Rose Ferlita sort of announce her candidacy last week for mayor last week, but reporters were simply too weary to notice? The comments in question came late last Thursday night, after more than 100 people spoke in front of the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners in a three hour and forty minute discussion on…
There’s plenty of “Pride & Passion” at the new Tampa Museum of Art
The long-suffering Tampa Museum of Art has enjoyed many “firsts” over these last few years. They welcomed a new Director, Todd Smith, in 2008; opened the doors of a brand new, state-of-the-art facility on the banks of the Hillsborough River this past February; and this Friday will host their fifth annual Pride & Passion event…
Green Building Expo 2010: A truly green, free online expo (May 19-20)
As eco-friendly as many 'green' expos try to be, the one downside to them are their huge carbon footprints. People drive and fly from all over to attend these showcases of green products and trends, but that also means tons of carbon output due to travel and resources used. The Green Building Expo 2010, hosted…
Bill McCollum joins Alex Sink in bashing surprise gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott, ominous news regarding the BP oil spill, and absolutely no cliches used in discussing last night’s primary elections:Mitch Perry Report 5.19.10
Nationally, the huge news in politics were the primary elections held in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Arkansas, Oregon and Arizona. We're deliberately not writing a separate blog post about them today – however, we will spew out the cliches and discuss the results on our podcast, which you can access below here. We will say one thing…
McCollum joins Sink in bashing Rick Scott
Yesterday we had a couple of blog posts about Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Florida CFO Alex Sink. One was about her plan to streamline government if elected Governor, where she claimed she could save the state $700 million annually. The other was her campaign's first published comments on insurgent GOP candidate Rick Scott, the former…
Do It Today: Music galore, from Michael Franti & Spearhead’s world rocking reggae vibe, to Renee Fleming as Armida at the opera, and Lemuria’s indie rock
Barefoot-inclined San Francisco-based singer-songwriter Michael Franti has been spreading his message of peace and acceptance for as long as he’s been making music. Franti jumped from industrial punk to political hip-hop and eventually settled on a world rock and hip-hop sound with Spearhead in 1994. The sextet’s sixth album, All Rebel Rockers, was recorded in…
On the Radar: New comics for Stark and Co. spawn the first-ever Avengers Day
Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview upcoming events to mark your calendars for. You may have seen Iron Man 2, but you don’t know Stark about the Avengers until you’ve answered their call to arms. In honor of the Heroic Age and the launching of a half-dozen new Avengers titles, Marvel Comics has…
Moody’s Investor Services: Oil spill could potentially wound Florida’s economy
An analyst with Moody's Investor Services said today that Florida could see its credit ratings cut because of the giant oil spill if tourism falls and property values drop. Edith Behr with Moody's said: “Cities, towns, school districts, and counties will likely experience a decline in property tax values, which will necessitate a reduction in…
Let’s transform our economy to a Triple Bottom Line to support humans, the environment and business
Thomas Friedman’s May 14th Op-Ed article referred to Lydia, a Greek child who had left a note outside a recently bombed bank in Athens, Greece. Killing three innocent bank employees, that bombing can be connected to the economic collapse in Greece as well as the Too Big to Fail banking mess that started on Wall…
CL Feature: Givers, an Afro-pop, synth-rock five-piece from Lafayette, Louisiana that stops at New World Brewery on Saturday (with video)
On a cool Thursday night this past February, Lafayette, La.’s Givers made musical magic for a small but attentive crowd at New World Brewery. The youthfully exuberant five-piece used their own positive energy to get the momentum going, weaving a bright and shining wave of thrilling sonics that surged across the crowd and prompted an…
Tampa Bay food, wine and beer events
Tuesday, May 18 – Saturday, May 22: Dunedin Brewery American Craft Beer Week. What better place to celebrate than at one of our very own craft breweries, recently reviewed by CL food critic Brian Ries, who applauds the DB for "cooking up plenty of that liquid gold since it first combined barley and hops almost…
BP releases video of oil spill after Senator Bill Nelson requests
May 8 May 10 May 15 May 17
Photo review: Angels & Airwaves and Say Anything at The Ritz Ybor
Some shots from the show last Thursday, May 13, featuring alt-prog rock heavyweights Angels & Airwaves with indie rock support act Say Anything at The Ritz Ybor. Tom DeLonge of Angels & Airwaves (and Blink-182)
Alex Sink unveils her plan for reform that she says could save $700 million a year
Florida CFO and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink announced details of her Government Accountability and Reform plan today which she says could save state taxpayers as much as $700 million annually. There are lots of specifics in her lists of proposals, such as: Routinely assessing "Return on Taxpayer Investments" (RTI) and providing periodic reports to…
The Rabid Interview with Florida filmmaker Todd Thompson on the benefits of filming in the Sunshine State and how to get involved
Like many of The INFECTED, The Rabid One is enamored by the majestic world of film. With it becoming easier and cheaper to produce movies yourself, I reached out to a successful filmmaker to learn about his experience filming in the Sunshine State. "Todd Thompson is one of those rare people you meet in life. He…
Previous GOP unknown in Florida’s governor’s race ties Democrat Alex Sink in new poll
Former health care executive Rick Scott's mass ad campaign via television and the Internet continues to pay dividends – as well as demonstrate how many Floridians have not focused that extensively in non U.S. Senate races in Florida this year – by actually leading Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Alex Sink in a new Rasmussen poll released…
New music releases out this Tuesday, May 18: Band of Horses, The Black Keys, LCD Soundsystem, Damian Marley & Nas, Reggie Watts, and more (with video)
This week's new music releases. To check last week's breakdown of releases, click here; and for releases out May 4, click here. Band of Horses, Infinite Arms (Columbia/Fat Possum) Check out Deborah's review of the recent Band of Horses show in Orlando here. The Black Keys, Brothers (Nonesuch) Danger Mouse returns to co-produce the blues…
Movie Review: George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead (with trailer)
and zombies go together like blood and guts. The director is the grandfather of the zombie movie, with his Night of the Living Dead having essentially created the genre. Romero's latest work, new-era zombie flick Survival of the Dead, has been released on X-Box Live and Playstation Network, with a theatrical release soon to follow.…
Florida Democratic head Karen Thurman to McCollum: you owe the taxpayers for George Rekers testimony
Over the past week, the scandal involving Christian Right leader George Rekers, has reached a deafening level. Rekers has been at the forefront of "reparative therapy" to "cure" homosexuals, and was employed by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum in a 2008 trial to testify on behalf of Florida's ban on gay adoption, a law so…
Restaurant Review: Dunedin Brewery
Dunedin Brewery 2.5 stars 937 Douglas Ave., Dunedin, 727-736-0606 or dunedinbrewery.com There’s something intoxicating about sitting down to live music and tasty food in the heart of one of the Bay area’s best local breweries. I think it’s the beer. Dunedin Brewery has cooked up plenty of that liquid gold since it first combined barley…
New study links ADHD in children to pesticides
Recent examination of U.S. health data in the journal Pediatrics is linking attention-deficit disorder in children to exposure to pesticides on produce. The findings were based on one-time urine samples taken from 1,139 children, ages 8 to 15, in a government health survey in 2000-2004 and dealt with organophosphates — one type of commonly used…
USF Scientists say oil spill could hit Key West by the end of the weekend, Channel 10 questions city of Tampa re Church of Scientology purchasing Ybor Square, and Jonathan Alter on President Obama: Mitch Perry Report 5.18.10
A new report by two USF College of Marine Science professors say that the massive oil spill in the Gulf could hit Key West this weekend, and Miami by the end of next week; The Church of Scientology seems poised to purchase the Ybor Square building in Ybor, and become the new landlord of CL. …
Channel 10 report questions why city of Tampa is allowing Church of Scientology to purchase Ybor Square building
Although initially it appeared to be a done deal, there are more people questioning the city of Tampa's Zoning Dept. allowing the Church of Scientology to purchase the Ybor Square building in Ybor City. Cl broke the story earlier this month that the controversial church was is in negotiations to purchase the historic building in…
Product review: The Screaming O Vibrating Ring
The Screaming O transforms any penis into the Ironman of cocks; using one of these soft gel vibrators is like strapping a jet pack onto your Johnson.
USF Marine Scientist says oil spill could hit Florida Keys by this weekend, Miami by May 28
According to Dr. Yonggang Liu with the USF College of Marine Science Department, after studying the various models on the oil spill trajectory based on wind forecasts, he believes a rough estimate of the arrival time of the oil spill into the Florida Keys will happen on either May 23 or 24, and into Miami…
It Happened This Week-ish: Spencer bans Heidi from being human, Twitter gets amnesia, Joaquin Phoenix is still doing that thing with the beard, Winnie Cooper is in her undies and more…
Former supermodel Claudia Schiffer is on her third child. Which makes sense now that she is Amish (If you didn't LOL, look at the photo to the right. I'll wait…. You LOL yet? I thought so). Spencer Pratt Bans Heidi From Watching TV, Using Internet… having thoughts, emotions and being a human with original placement…
Laser guitars, handbells, Les Mis and confetti by the pound: A concert review of OK Go and Earl Greyhound at Crowbar, Ybor City (with lots of pics + setlist)
I love it when a show lives up to my expectations, especially when those expectations are high. It's even better when those expectations are not only met, but taken to that unexpected level where live entertainment, visual bedazzlement, audio quality, and ample dancing opportunities all collide to make a perfect storm of a show. [All…
On the Radar: Jobsite’s tick, tick … BOOM!, by RENT producer Jonathan Larson
Everyone and their mother has seen the Broadway smash hit RENT, so seeing Jobsite's production of the musical tick, tick … BOOM! should be a no-brainer for theater lovers. This autobiographical story, penned by Jonathan Larson (the late playwright/composer behind RENT), takes us inside the life and mind of a struggling New York actor with…
Do It Today: Tribute to military heroes with Clint Black in theaters, Chris Thomas King at Skipper’s, the second-to-last episode of Lost ever and more
If (like me) you always tear up during Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, be sure to bring an entire box of tissues for tonight's live broadcast of Sons of the Fallen: A Live Tribute to Our Military Heroes. Created by Extreme Makeover executive producer Conrad Ricketts, it follows a group of 25 young men, who gather…
USF Marine Scientist: We don’t see in the near future any possibilities of oil spill reaching the beaches of Florida
On a conference call with reporters this afternoon, South Florida College of Marine Science Dean William Hogarth confirmed that the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has now entered the Loop Current. He said he knows this to be the case based on looking at satellite images, wind currents and modeling projections. But…
Darth Vader digs the new climate bill (video)
The Rainforest Action Network dedicated its "Greenwash of the Week" to the American Power Act climate and energy legislation bill that was recently put forward by Sens. Kerry and Lieberman. RAN claims that we need real climate legislation and that the bill is "a giant giveaway to dirty energy companies." Well, it looks like Darth…
Dreaming of breaking up
"I dreamed I was in some kind of apt house or dormitory and a lot of my friends from high school were there. I was looking everywhere for my girlfriends to ask them what they thought of me breaking up with my husband. I kept meeting up with John R (he's from my work) and…
Liz Cheney joins Marco Rubio’s advisory team as he soars in new poll
Fresh off a new Rasmussen poll that shows him back ahead of Charlie Crist in the race for U.S. Senate in Florida, Marco Rubio has announced a coterie of Washington and Tallahassee stars to be part of his Policy Advisory Committee. Heading the list is former State Department official Liz Cheney, who has become ubiquitous…
Kevin’s Korner: Movie news wrap-up, including Iron Man 3, Robin Hood, Avatar 2 and more!
Kevin's Korner is a weekly-ish column that wraps the week in cinema into a nice, neat, snarky package for your viewing pleasure. This week is no different, as I look at some of the movies coming out and the effect those films has on Loafing movie critics. Plus, there's even more remakes to talk about,…
3 Guys & Glee – The Podcast: Ep. 18, “Laryngitis” (with episode video)
This week's episode of Glee had a serious amount of comedy and some great music, and then from out of nowhere, the producers snuck in some touching drama. It was so much to take, only two of the 3 Guys could even speak about it. Find out what we thought about all the goings on…
CL Party Pics: Czar’s Daft Punk Rock Prom (5-15-10)
Last weekend's Daft Punk Rock Prom at Czar nightclub in Ybor City brought new meaning to prom dresses, balloons, dirty dancing and oversized martinis. This certainly wasn't your typical prom. The Party: DJs Rig and Noi hosted the Daft Punk Rock Prom at Czar, 1420 E. 7th Ave., Ybor City. Costumes ranged from futuristic glow…
The 2010 Tampa Bay Wine and Food Festival: An indulgent weekend on St. Pete Beach
The two-day beach side event that is the Tampa Bay Wine and Food Festival made quite a splash this past weekend at the Don CeSar Resort on St Pete Beach. Actress and comedienne Marilu Henner, best known for her roles in the popular TV shows Taxi and Evening Shade, now author of multiple books on…
Hurricane season is fast approaching on the Horizon oil spill
Hurricane season officially opens in 2 weeks. I don’t know about you, but I can already feel the approach of hurricane winds in the air. Because of El Nino conditions forecasters are predicting above an average season. According to Mahalo, eight hurricanes are predicted this year with 15 storms in total. With the Horizon spill…
Group sex etiquette
While an orgy might seem like free-for-all sex, there are still some basic rules that need to be followed. I've been involved in a few orgies over the years and had many good experiences along with a few bad ones. Follow a few simple rules and a good time will be had by all. DO…
Batman XXX: The Capeless Crusader takes on the porn industry (trailer)
If you thought comic nerds didn't leave their mother's basements before, just wait until May 24th. Vivid Entertainment, the "leader in Adult Entertainment" (apparently it's not Google after all) and director Axel Braun (This Ain't Beverly Hills 90210 XXX, This Ain't Saved by the Bell XXX) have teamed up to penetrate the comics world with Batman XXX:…
Conservatives go heavy in criticizing Elena Kagan, Kendrick Meek faces new challenges, and Jonathan Alter on Barack Obama and the Generals on Afghanistan: Mitch Perry Report 5.17.10
The nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court by President Obama was top fodder on Sunday morning's public affairs programs. The record is thin, but what little is known about the would be justice is already leading to some conservatives to go over the top in their criticism; Kendrick Meek is facing a couple…
Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter tells CL how Barack Obama stood up to the generals
Newsweek magazine and NBC/MSNBC commentator Jonathan Alter's new book on Barack Obama's first year in office is available now in your favorite book store and on the Internet. The Promise: President Obama, Year One is an insider like look at the decision making processes that Obama has performed in his first year in office. Alter…
Kendrick Meek faces new challenges
Is it just us, or does it seem like Florida Democrats are ready to jump ship off the Kendrick Meek bandwagon pretty quickly? The Miami Congressman and heavy favorite to win the party's nomination for U.S. Senate received some rough news over the weekend, and even before that some local Dems announced that they were…
Newt Gingrich again goes too far when speaking about an Obama nominee to Supreme Court
There is a lot of legitimate concern amongst both Democrats and Republicans about what type of justice Solicitor General Elena Kagan might be on the U.S. Supreme Court, a week after she was named by President Obama to be his choice to succeed John Paul Stevens on the high court. On ABC's This Week on…
FEMA director Michael Brown: “Obama wanted the oil spill to happen”
Politics come into play for any national catastrophe — sad but true. The current conjecture is President Obama wanted the Oil Spill to Happen. From an excerpt of The Progress Report (www.americanprogressaction.org), "Yesterday, former Bush-appointed FEMA director Michael Brown — infamous for severely mismanaging the federal response to Hurricane Katrina — accused the Obama administration of playing…
Kite fight on Clearwater Beach an experiment in social media
"Do something random and absurd" was Chris Rish's way of describing his reasons for hosting a kite fight. In reality it was way more than that. Rish, a film professor at the International Academy of Design and Technology in Tampa, said the event was "an experiment in a new way of communicating. It's an attempt to…
Concert review: Minus the Bear with Young the Giant and Everest at The Ritz Ybor (with pics)
If there’s anything Minus the Bear really excels at, it’s knowing exactly what their audience wants to hear. The packed house at the Ritz Ybor was treated to an evening of crowd-pleasing favorites and some tracks from the Seattle rockers’ new album, Omni. [All photos by Mike Wilson.] The evening opened with some California-style indie…
On the Radar: Moving Current Dance Collective’s NewGrounds
Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview upcoming events to mark your calendars for. This week, Moving Current dance collective celebrates the 10th anniversary of NewGrounds — a multifarious event created to support and present the talent of Florida’s upcoming and professional choreographers and dancers — with a showcase of contemporary dances. This year’s…
Do It Today: Tampa Bay theater companies are Fringe Bound, a Science Fiction Film Fest, and Jonatha Brooke at the Straz
is a fundraiser for Hawk & Wayne, freeFall Theatre Company, Bag of Beans Productions and Economic Stimulus Productions ("Live Theatre Fully-Funded by the United States Government. Thanks for the Cash, George!"). See 20-minute tidbits of three shows (The Dumb Show, an off-the-cuff, long-form improv show; Oddlie, Aleshea Harris' one-woman story of a nearly-mute girl who…
Rise of Saturn’s Eric Douthirt makes his acting debut on One Man Band (with video)
Two Bay area musicians are getting their acting chops cooking. Rise of Saturn guitarist Eric Douthirt makes his acting debut as Gerald (in the screenshot pictured at right) and Stick Martin plays himself in the new comedic Web series One Man Band. The show is the brainchild of Something Planet’s David the Day, who plays…
Jonathan Alter on how Barack Obama misinterpreted election victory as a “mandate for seriousness”
Jonathan Alter's new chronicle of Barack Obama's first year in office has just been published. The Promise: President Obama, Year One, is chock full of juicy revelations, as well as a compelling narrative of the various issues that Obama had to contend with, such as one of the worst recessions in recent times, and two…
Ybor City gets national TV time and Garboza/LaColla win $10,000 in HGTV’s Battle on the Block
"Beautiful historic Ybor City, Florida… this trendy Florida neighborhood is a hot spot for young chic couples!" So went the breathless opening voiceover on last night's episode of HGTV's Battle on the Block, which pitted three such Ybor couples against one another in an "epic battle for design supremacy" and a $10,000 prize. Host Genevieve…
Restaurant Update: Bowled in St. Pete hasn’t closed after all
As CL Food Editor Brian Ries reported yesterday, the owner of St. Pete's Bowled Restaurant, Michael Cecere, announced on the restaurant's Facebook page Saturday morning, "After one year, six months, three weeks and two days, Bowled is closed…" But today, after a stream of shocked, unhappy comments — typified by Brian Elis' "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! — Cecere…
St. Pete Reads!! A new reading series for the “City of Writers”
Wander around downtown St. Pete, and you’ll likely rub elbows with some of the best-kept secrets in the city: award-winning novelists, Pulitzer-prized journalists, beloved poets, publishers, editors and spoken-word artists. Over the past couple of years, St. Pete has given birth to at least three publishing houses from which the careers of artists and editors alike have been…
Restaurant News: Bowled in St. Pete has closed
After about six months of rumors about the restaurant's imminent demise, the well-reviewed Bowled in St. Petersburg has closed its doors for good. Here's what the restaurant's Facebook page says: After one year, six months, three weeks and two days, Bowled is closed. It's been a hard year and, unfortunately, too much to overcome. Thank…
Live coverage of the Pre-Heat (Heatwave) music panels (w/ video)
Tropical Heatwave, WMNF's annual music festival, has a new component this year: The Pre-Heat Music Industry panels. Held at CL Space (part of Creative Loafing's new offices at 1911 8th Ave. in Ybor City), the three-hour event is described as workshop where local musicians can "gain insight from key players in the Tampa Bay Music scene." First panel, 1…
Summer Guide 2010 Spotlight: Living the sweets life at Pinky’s Ice Cream and Candy Shop
[Editor's Note: For more on the beaches, check out our full Summer Guide 2010 coverage.] They certainly got the name right. Pinky's Ice Cream and Candy Shop, a small strip-mall storefront in Indian Rocks Beach, is a retro explosion of color and sweets — the type of place that lives as legend in the beach…
Possible solutions for the Gulf oil spill: Garbage, meditation, and nuclear weapons – Oh my!
With an estimated 200,000 gallons of oil still leaking into the Gulf every day — and no end in sight as of now — here are a few inventive ideas on putting a stop to the incessant flow and cleaning up the mess. Trash: BP has come up with their next plan of action to…
Top Chef: Washington D.C. premiering in June – New judge, new faces, same hot host
I am beyond excited to announce the newest installment of Top Chef, which takes place in our nation's capital this season and premieres June 16. Our favorite Top Chef faces will be returning to critique and judge this new batch of chef'testants: Tom Colicchio, who was recently given the 'Outstanding Chef' award from the James…
Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival, June 11-12
Join the Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society and the Suncoast Sierra Club when they host North America’s largest environmental film festival, June 11-12, 2010.
Reel Projections podcast: Robin Hood, Just Wright and more …
For more movie news and reviews, check out the CL index of movie posts. Click here to listen to Reel Projections — Episode 18: Robin Hood = Unisom We're back for another installment of the Reel Projections podcast, the only CL podcast detailing the week's biggest theatrical movie releases, DVD and Blu-ray offerings and any…
Homemade Soft Pretzels recipe
Beer and pretzels. A common saying for an historic food and drink partnership that gets a bum rap these days. For most folks, beer and pretzels means a bag of discounted Rold-Gold twists and a suitcase of cheap American macro-brew, often in front of a television that will anesthetize you to the bland flavor combination…
Light rail proposal on Hillsborough ballot; Bill Nelson says he can’t support new energy/climate bill, and after the RNC, could Tampa get another Super Bowl within weeks?Mitch Perry Report: 5.14.10
Last night over a hundred people spoke at the public hearing held by the Board of Hillsborough County Commissioners on whether they should support putting a one cent sales tax referendum for transit on the November ballot – to no surprise, they did; Florida Senator Bill Nelson has been quite prominent in speaking for Florida's…
An essay from UnspOiled: Writers Speak for Florida’s Coast
I just returned from working as a naturalist for a group traveling through the Caribbean. My specialty is blending nature awareness with Chi Gong movement. We explored Tobago, the Grenadines, St. Lucia, the exquisite Dominica and St. John. I cannot express how hard it was to focus on this natural beauty and my presentations in…
Previously on Lost: “Across the Sea”
[Editor's Note: For more on the final season of Lost, check out the CL Lost Podcast.] Uh … what? Lots to take in this week. Tuesday night's episode of Lost might have been the most controversial (Is that the right word? Maybe 'disappointing' is a better one?) hour of the entire series. I'd been worried…
This weekend’s best bets in Tampa Bay area music: Cage the Elephant, OK Go, Tropical Heatwave, Cannibal Corpse, Enter the Thunder Dome Bass Fest, and more
The following is a quick breakdown of shows this weekend’s worthiest live music offerings from Friday through Sunday. For a more comprehensive schedule, check out our Upcoming Concerts page FRIDAY, MAY 14 [pictured, photo by Danny Clinch] England-by-way-of-Kentucky soul rockers Cage the Elephant are making the rounds on a headlining tour in support of their…
Hundreds come out to speak on transit referendum in Hillsborough County, as commissioners vote to put the measure on the November ballot
Score one for the pro-rail, pro penny cent sales tax forces in Hillsborough County. No, not that the county commission voted 5-2 to officially put the one cent sales tax referendum on the November ballot last night for transit projects – that was pretty much a foregone conclusion- but that in the battle for public…
Top Chef Masters Podcast, Ep. 6: Scary surf n’ turf…in bed
This week on Top Chef Masters, we're down to seven talented and well-known chefs: Rick Moonen, Susan Feniger, Marcus Samuelsson, Jody Adams, Susur Lee, Jonathan Waxman, and Tony Mantuano. For the Quickfire, they cooked dishes inspired by characters from The Simpsons which were judged by the show's head writer, Matt Groenig, the head producer, and…
Summer Guide 2010 Food & Drink Spotlight: Lighthouse Donuts
[Editor's Note: For more on the beaches, check out our full Summer Guide 2010 coverage.] Lighthouse Donuts 215 Gulf Blvd., Indian Rocks Beach, 727-517-8722, facebook.com/lighthouse-donuts. CL food critic Brian Ries said it best: "The pillowy-soft texture is nigh perfect… the cake-style donuts are even better. They look, and taste, loved. You'll love 'em when you…
Dogs get skin cancer, too
As summer in Tampa Bay heats up, many people get their dogs shaved, thinking the dog will be cooler. Is giving your dog a buzz cut really the best choice? While regular grooming, especially for non-shedding breeds such as poodles, is a good idea for any dog, a close shave is not recommended. Some dogs…
While Tampa celebrates getting the RNC, could another Super Bowl be coming our way?
At around the same time that Tampa city leaders were celebrating the announcement that their burg will host the 2012 Republican National Convention, in New York City, the czars that run the National Football League were accepting the bids of three regions vying for the 2014 Super Bowl – New York City/New Jersey, Miami and…
The beach sign we never want to see
Funny… we're still arguing about whether we should drill close to the coast… when the BP fiasco is 600 miles away still threatening us, our tourism and our livelihood. WTF? As I read the reports of what could happen if sub-surface oil from the recent catastrophe comes our way, I start to wonder, as a photographer, what…
Nelson to Obama: I can’t support Kerry-Lieberman energy bill
Florida Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Nelson has written a letter to President Obama, just a day after Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman unveiled their long awaited energy/climate bill, to inform Obama that he cannot support the legislation as currently written. In the letter, Nelson cites (as he frequently has in the past), military concerns…
Rabid Movie Review: Just Wright, starring Queen Latifah, Common and no logic whatsoever (with trailer video)
If a watered down version of the Cinderella tale fell in love and had a whirlwind romance with Tommy Wiseau’s The Room, Just Wright would be its malformed love child. Queen Latifah stars in this romantic comedy ironically missing the essential ingredients to live up to its already blasé film genre.
DIY Beauty: Make your own organic shampoo and conditioner (video)
You know what's scary? All of the toxic chemicals in the majority of hair products out there. They're filled with so much fake crap and end up doing more harm than than good to your scalp and skin. Look up your favorite beauty product brands on the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep website, which lists…
Summer Guide 2010: Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores & Redington Shores
[Editor's Note: For more on the beaches, check out our full Summer Guide 2010 coverage.] The Indian Rocks/Belleair Beach/Redington area is a gently curving beach corridor that connects Clearwater Beach to the north with Treasure Island and St. Pete Beach to the south. Subdivided into several unique communities, there's more to this area than hotels…
Rubio burns Crist on video depicting the governor with Sarah Palin urging to “drill, baby, drill” (video)
Charlie Crist these days is fulminating against BP and the massive oil spill in the Gulf. Earlier this week he said he wants to heed the suggestion of Democrats Rick Kriseman, Dan Gelber and Keith Fitzgerald and hold a special legislative session on possibly creating a constitutional amendment banning offshore drilling in Florida waters. The…
The big American Idol puzzle: Why did St. Pete’s Michael Lynche get bumped?
So why did St. Pete's Michael "Big Mike" Lynche fail to make the top three in American Idol? (Video after the break.) For that matter, why did he almost get kicked off several times before last night's final defeat, landing at the bottom more than once and at one point surviving only because the judges…
Big public hearing on light rail in Tampa tonight, new state poll shows most Floridians aren’t paying any attention to Cabinet races, and new WSJ poll augurs poorly for Dems in Nov:Mitch Perry Report 5.13.10
After months( if not years in the making, a penny sales tax referendum for transportation in Hillsborough County should officially be put on the ballot this November by County Commissioners tonight, but only after they hear from the public in a 4-hour planned public hearing; A new state poll shows that when it comes to…
Hard to find postive signs for Democrats in latest WSJ/NBC News poll
Although even local Democrats are jazzed in Tampa that the 2012 Republican National Convention is coming to the St. Pete Times Forum, that might be the only thing they're excited about looking ahead to this November. In another post we have up today, we look at the various competitive Cabinet races in the state, which…
A Gay in the Life: Mothers, beaches and AIDS (Oh my!)
My mother recently came to visit from Ohio. She's a big fan of Florida — an ex-hippie, gimme-the beach-and-sun kinda gal. I love the beach. I'm sure I got her eyes or something, but I know I definitely got that from her. I love listening to the water, I'm pretty sure I was a mermaid…
Green Community Calendar weekend events: Dunedin Community Garden “Meet & Greet”, Victory Gardening class, markets and more!
Looking for something green-related to do this weekend? Look no further than our own Green Community Calendar. Tampa Downtown Market- Fridays (through May); 10 am-2 pm. The vision of the Tampa Downtown Market is to provide local residents and businesses of the community with the freshest, highest quality, most nutritious, and most reasonably priced food…
New poll shows most Floridians don’t have a clue about 2010 Cabinet races(with the exception of that Senate thang)
No story has focused the minds of most of Florida's brightest (and not so brightest) political reporters than the now three way race between Marco Rubio, Kendrick Meek and Charlie Crist for U.S. Senate. The fact that Rick Scott was able to garner such a substantial poll number in the past week after a blitzkrieg…
Summer Guide 2010: St. Pete Beach North: Corey Avenue/Blind Pass/Sunset Way
At the northern end of the loooong, looooong town of St. Pete Beach, classy bistros co-exist with fun dive bars; a classic movie theater ups the culture quotient; a not-so-classy (yet infamous) bikini bar entertains interested gentlemen; and best-in-class waterfront bars cluster along Sunset Way. And at the heart of it all, the small-town vibe…
Living on Sunset Beach, where the weekends are wild and the locals bemused
Every single weekday, I commute to Tampa from the beach. For many people in that sometimes-overwhelming population hub, the beach is a pretty, yet impossibly distant place. For others, it's a vapid playground utterly devoid of culture. I vehemently disagree. In the past year, my neighborhood, Sunset Beach, has gained a degree of notoriety, portrayed…
Summer Guide 2010: St. Pete Beach South/Pass-A-Grille
The 7.5 mile-long island formerly known as Long Key became the city of St. Pete Beach in 1957 when the towns of St. Petersburg Beach, Pass-a-Grille Beach, Don Ce Sar Place and Belle Vista Beach were consolidated into one after a hard-pitched political fight. Feistiness remain a constant among the citizenry (St. Pete Beach has…
Crab and community, simmered by the bay
Beginning in 1886, Tampa's cigar industry attracted immigrants from Cuba, Spain and Sicily, and they all brought their favorite foods. By the 1920s, Tampa's ethnic boundaries blurred as the smells of immigrant cooking mingled in the subtropical air, giving rise to "fusion cuisine" long before it was a trendy catch phrase in high-end restaurants. The…
Summer Guide 2010: Clearwater Beach
Head west down State Road 60 over the gigantic arches of the Clearwater Memorial Causeway and you'll know you're almost at Clearwater Beach by the traffic backed up to the top of the bridge. Like a ferris wheel, you may be stuck at that height longer than you'd like, but the view is spectacular. Like…
Summer Guide 2010: Beware incoming seagulls, and other tips for taking your family to the beach
How to enjoy a day at the beach with kids.
Summer Guide 2010: Madeira Beach/John’s Pass
A two-mile stretch of Gulf Boulevard runs through the city of Madeira Beach, where the main attractions are pristine stretches of white sand and the tourist-friendly entertainment district of John's Pass Village and Boardwalk, named for the French pirate John LeVeque who buried (and lost) treasure in the vicinity. In addition to piratical motifs and…
Vile videotaping
Guy’s despicable actions might also be illegal
Foxy’s Cafe is the linchpin of Treasure Island’s dining scene
Although the American diner has a simple formula, there are a multitude of variations in style and form. There's the gleaming chrome and tile, padded red stools and molded booths of the retro-future '50s diner, an icon of movies and pop art for the past 50 years. There's the corner restaurant that aims for more…
Has the Deepwater Horizon disaster permanently altered the future of oil drilling off the coast of Florida?
As of this past Monday, the possibility of the giant plume of oil in the Gulf of Mexico moving onto the west coast of Florida remained uncertain. But the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig 50 miles from the Louisiana coast has already changed the equation for drilling near Florida's coast. A…
A night at Shephard’s, where the beach buzz never dies
11 p.m. on Clearwater Beach. Women in sundresses dampened by the bikinis underneath and men in Ed Hardy clothes bedazzled like figure-skating outfits wander in front of headlights, clutching solo cups and to-go containers. They mindlessly funnel down the streets, herded by the pulse of bass and drunken howls erupting from Shephard's. On Clearwater Beach,…
Summer Guide 2010: Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores & Redington Shores
The Indian Rocks/Belleair Beach/Redington area is a gently curving beach corridor that connects Clearwater Beach to the north with Treasure Island and St. Pete Beach to the south. Subdivided into several unique communities, there's more to this area than hotels and tourists — though the latter can be said to be the lifeblood of the…
How much flatulence would it take to become airborne?
I recently read in your online archive about the origin of "hoist with his own petard," in which you say that a petard was a small explosive whose name came from the French word for fart. That made me think: what kind of PSI are we talking about to lift oneself off the ground with…
Summer Guide 2010: Treasure Island & Sunset Beach
Nestled between Madeira Beach and St. Pete Beach is the small, laid-back community of Treasure Island, which coexists happily (well, most of the time) with the spring-break-all-the-time revelers who frequent Sunset Beach. The Island has a number of dining and drinking options where you can be served right on the water, as well as a…
Do It Today: GIFF screens Adrift at the Tampa Museum of Art, Music and Movies in North Straub Park, and meet Dog the Bounty Hunter of the seas
Gasparilla International Film Festival's latest selection in the Global Lens Film Series is Vietnamese director Bui Thac Chuyen's Adrift (pictured). As the name implies, it's about the human condition of feeling lost and alone in the everyday ebb and flow of life, as embodied by a young newlywed who finds herself caught in a love…
First underwater images of the BP oil spill: What BP doesn’t want you to see
Images and video from the camera on the main affected area of the BP oil leak in the Gulf have recently been released showing the gushing stream of oil. An investigation by ABC News and the Center for Public Integrity shows that BP may have been hiding from the public how severe this spill really…
Public’s turn to decide whether there should be a ballot measure for light rail in Hillsborough County
Despite months (if not years) of debate, the Hillsborough County Commissioners have one final vote to take on putting a referendum for a one-cent sales tax for transportation on the November ballot, and that should happen at the conclusion of Thursday night's public hearing on the matter. Commissioners have carved out four hours for debate,…
Concert review: The Album Leaf with Sea Wolf at The Social, Orlando (with setlist)
Instrumental post rock never strikes me as the sort of music that develops a huge fanbase. Typically, it’s the soundtrack to intimate moments spent alone, or more accurately, those moments when you’re "not so alone." If an around-the-block line of obsessive fans waiting to get into The Social on Friday night wasn’t enough to demonstrate…
Tonight’s Top Chef Masters preview: Taking on The Simpsons and some offal-looking food
For the second bout of the Champions Round on tonight's episode of Top Chef Masters, they're down to seven chef'testants and welcoming even more random "celebrities" as judges. For the Quickfire, the chefs are challenged with a Simpsons-themed battle, each having to cook a dish for a certain character from the show. (Where in the…
Green Community Calendar weekend events: Seminole Heights Sunday Market, intro to permaculture workshop, markets galore and more!
Looking for something green-related to do this weekend? Look no further than our own Green Community Calendar. Tampa Downtown Market- Fridays (through May); 10 am-2 pm. The vision of the Tampa Downtown Market is to provide local residents and businesses of the community with the freshest, highest quality, most nutritious, and most reasonably priced food…
