FBI Interrogator: Torture Doesn’t Help
I just received a YouTube link from a friend who read my article on waterboarding. In the video below, former FBI special agent Jack Cloonan, who interrogated al Qaeda terrorists during the 90s, explains torture not only doesn't produce the results intended, but could worsen our terrorist threat. (The other part of the video, describing…
I Need A Napkin, the musical
NYC-based guerrilla performance artists Improv Everywhere staged an impromptu musical recently at a food court in and LA mall. Well, impromptu is actually a misnomer, since this musical spectacle obviously took a lot of rehearsal, as well as the cooperation of the mall administrators so they could get their wireless mics running through the PA…
Old 97’s inspire ’Top 10 dance songs’
The Old 97's (pictured) first studio album in nearly four years, Blame It on Gravity, doesn't come out until May 13 but an advance copy reached my desk today. If you're a fan of the band's smart, catchy, emotive twang-pop, rest assured, it's another compelling disc from one of the most consistently satisfying alt-country acts…
FROM THE STREET (Dancers, Models, Stylists and F-listers)
Czar was flooded with intoxicating art, people and drinks Saturday for the Heart Show. A DJ spun in every room. Hair models mixed with the crowd, smearing body paint on all they touched. Roman centurions and Greek goddesses styled by Tribeca Salon struggled to stay secured in their togas. A few Derby Darlins skated around…
Baptist leaders change global warming stance
The New York Times reports that key leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, representing the second-largest religious affiliation behind Roman Catholicism, are pushing for the group to change its myopic stance on climate change: 44 Southern Baptist leaders have decided to back a declaration calling for more action on climate change, saying its previous position…
Kathleen Edwards revitalizes folk-rock
Since the last record review I posted was a complete and utter slam of Lenny Kravitz's latest, here's a glowing write-up of the new Kathleen Edwards, one of my favorite releases to come out so far this year. Asking for Flowers KATHLEEN EDWARDS Zoë/Rounder Three albums into her career, Canadian singer/songwriter Kathleen Edwards has reached…
They Get You Coming and Going
Last weekend, while driving through Tierra Verde, an older gentleman knocked on my window. Expecting him to pull out a squeegee and start cleaning my window, I didn't respond. But then I saw the brochures in his hand. Those brochures outline a Florida Department of Transportation proposal to raise the tolls on the Pinellas Bayway…
From the Street with Alfie: Dancers, Models, Stylists and F-listers
Czar was flooded with intoxicating art, people and drinks Saturday for the Heart Show. A DJ spun in every room. Hair models mixed with the crowd, smearing body paint on all they touched. Roman centurions and Greek goddesses styled by Tribeca Salon struggled to stay secured in their togas. A few Derby Darlins skated around…
Pickles and porn, race and space, commodity and tragedy — it’s the Monday Media Wrap-up
"The bizarre tasting pickle craze from TEXAS you can't get enough of." "…always going to have to worry about how the gratuity they leave will affect an entire race's reputation?" "Has anyone else been traumatized by what Lewis memorably calls “cheese rapeâ€?" "It always left me a little unfulfilled, since you never actually got to…
500 bicycle lobbyists descend on D.C. (one from Tampa)
Remember Alan Snel? He's the bicycle enthusiast I profiled last August. Snel, a former Tampa Tribune reporter, is the director of the South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers (SWFBUD!). This week, Snel was one of 500 bicycle activists attending the 2008 National Bike Summit in Washington D.C. to lobby Congress for pro-bicycle legislation. 500 bicycle…
It’s official: we suck not only at creating jobs, we suck at keeping them
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater lost more jobs from January 2007 to January 2008 than anywhere else in the state of Florida, according to stats released today by the state's Agency for Workforce Innovation. 11, 700 jobs went bye-bye from greater Tampa Bay over the 12-month period. (Waiting a few seconds for that to sink in.) Hot on…
Lenny Kravitz: rock’s worst lyricist?
It Is Time for a Love Revolution Lenny Kravitz Virgin/EMI Lenny Kravitz’s shameless lifting of classic-rock riffs dates back to his 1989 debut album, Let Love Rule. He does the same robbery routine on It’s Time for a Love Revolution (and again incorporates “love†into the title). It wouldn’t be so annoying if the retro…
Tampa — one step forward, two steps back; but not this time.
Editor's Note: Spencer Kass is a new Fix It Now blogger, a neighborhood association president (Virginia Park in Tampa), and a fixture at Tampa City Hall meetings. We wrote about Spencer and his brother, Jarrett, in 2006 when they proposed a creative re-use of the aging Fort Homer Hesterly Armory: "Spencer and Jarrett Kass of…
Cigar City Brewing Hires Brewer
Joey Redner (no relation), local beer columnist for the St. Pete Times, just hired a head brewer for his new craft brewery. According to Beer Advocate, Wayne Wambles will be brewing Cigar City Brewing's first batches of beer, slated to be released in September of this year. Wambles recently worked for Foothill's Brewing in North…
UT faculty push president for same-sex benefits
The student-produced newspaper The Minaret is reporting a possible showdown looming between the University of Tampa faculty and UT President Ron Vaughn over domestic partner benefits: In the strongest statement to date, the faculty senate overwhelmingly passed a resolution Monday in support of domestic partner benefits, threatening to take their grievances to UT's board of…
What Feminism Looks Like
By Dawn Morgan Eckerd seniors Alex Bush and Galway Traynor said they would have come to the discussion even if it hadn't been required by their professor, Dr. Carolyn Johnston, for her Making History class. Traynor said he likes that the event is open to the community and students alike, and is interested to hear…
Red Light Cameras: We’ll probably get ’em, like it or not
In one hour, the Hillsborough County Commission will hold its public hearing and final vote on installing red light cameras at busy intersections. By the comments I've heard from Commissioner Ken Hagan, chief supporter of the cameras, the concept looks like a shoo-in. Which is unfortunate. Of course, nobody likes people who run red lights.…
Trimming the fat
By Dawn Morgan Last night, almost 1,200 students and community members filled Eckerd College's McArthur Gymnasium to celebrate Women's History Month with a discussion with uber-feminist Gloria Steinem and her friends Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Amy Richards and Jennifer Baumgardner. They spoke of consciousness-raising groups (hanging out and talking about everything from their abortions to their…
The Cross
The Cross could be said to be a variation of the Missionary position. The easiest way to achieve this position is through the missionary. The woman is instructed to lay on her back with her legs spread, while the man enters her in typical missionary fashion. Once in, the man then carefully spins his body…
tbo: Amtrak may try intercity rail
As we await the end of a 2-year planning process at TBARTA to see if we will get a rail plan for Tampa Bay, Amtrak may move ahead on its own, according to a tbo.com story: The rail agency hopes Florida will embrace intercity rail as roads become clogged and gas prices soar. Amtrak would…
Final thoughts on waterboarding
My excursion into the realm of torture ends this week with an Urban Explorer column that ruminates on my waterboarding experience. It’s been an interesting several days explaining to people what waterboarding is and why I decided to endure it. Just last night, The Bleepin’ Truth interviewed me on their weekly talk show (I’ll give…
1000 Friends of Florida tracking growth legislation
Here's the nice thing about effective and strong advocacy groups: they do the work so you don't have to. Case in point is 1000 Friends of Florida, a group committed to responsible growth and conservation. They just put up a new page that will track growth management legislation in the current legislative session. You can…
Spike Lee’s New World
Spike Lee was in town last night, but his speech at USF shied away from a discussion about film. For Lee, it was all about the politics. Lee, the independent film pioneer and unofficial political activist, spoke at the Sun Dome Corral as part of USF's lecture series. The immutable film nerd inside me jumped…
Ani DiFranco on cover of Creative Loafing
Grab the Creative Loafing that hits newsstands this afternoon (or tomorrow, depending on where you live) and check out my Ani DiFranco cover story (or just click here). A women's studies majoring girlfriend of mine in college played me DiFranco's Little Plastic Castle and I was hooked. Seeing the dynamic folk-punk singer perform live left…
Film: Peter Greenaway’s A Zed and Two Noughts
Resident film aficionados and aspiring auteurs will want to circle this Friday (March 7) on their calendars. The 2007 Best of the Bay-winning International Cinema Series is returning with a screening of Peter Greenaway's bizarre and painterly A Zed & Two Noughts (1985) starring Andrea Ferreol, Brian Deacon and Eric Deacon. My first experience with…
More green, more dense
InTown Homes' first big dream was to revive West Tampa to its glory days as a major urban destination. Now the developer is adding to that lofty goal the ability to cut its residents' carbon footprints. InTown, the brainchild of former Hillsborough County Commissioner Ed Turanchik and his business partner Teresa Caddick, is unveiling a…
Latest discussions
Not a linear thinker? Just like to browse the comments? "Latest discussions" is right up your alley; come here to read all the comments as they arrive to all our Fix It Now blog posts. Want the comments to come to you? You can subscribe to the comments feed with your favorite RSS reader.
R.I.P. Kind Soul
Musician, promoter, local music supporter, real estate entrepreneur and overall kind soul Ted Freed passed away last night after losing his third bout with lymphoma. He was 51. Ted was always looking for the next new band – new local bands to manage, new national bands to bring to town – and he provided great…
Lindsay Lohan, you got nothing on Musto
And Musto — that would be Michael Musto — has nothing on, either. In a brilliant, um, takeoff on the notorious Lohan-as-Monroe nudie shoot for New York magazine, the Village Voice columnist struck a similar pose for his publication, blonde wig, rosy pink butt and all. "The slinky Lindsay said she did 250 crunches the…
The afternoon roundup
Congratulations, Hillary, you're back in the game. Or maybe not. A new tabloid run on the cheap gets ready to hit the stands in Baltimore. Anybody laying odds on how long before this thing folds? Will Brett Favre's retirement decision come back to haunt him? Just what the overstuffed world of reality television needed: a…
FROM THE STREET (Xs and Ohs)
"We're rolling doublewide!" sang Southern Culture on the Skids, Wednesday at Skipper's. With western shirts and a beehive wig, the threesome blazed through tunes like "My House Has Wheels," and "Daddy Was a Preacher, Momma Was a Go-Go Dancer." Although the group pokes fun at down-home culture, they embrace the southern rockabilly style and add…
Gnarls Barkley ’run’ into trouble with new video
Featuring layered, highly danceable funk courtesy of Danger Mouse with a killer vocal and dark lyrics by Cee-Lo Green, Gnarls Barkley's soultastic new groove "Run" easily ranks as the best single to drop in '08. Now, if only they'd do something about the video, which made me feel woozy and might make you have an…
MSG, more and less notorious
The NY Times looked into MSG today, coming down heavily on the opposite side of folks who think the tasty additive causes health problems. It's hard to argue with people like Marion Nestle. Faithful readers will remember that I waxed about the hated seasoning last year and, if I do say so, my account is…
From the Street with Alfie: Xs and Ohs
"We're rolling doublewide!" sang Southern Culture on the Skids, Wednesday at Skipper's. With western shirts and a beehive wig, the threesome blazed through tunes like "My House Has Wheels," and "Daddy Was a Preacher, Momma Was a Go-Go Dancer." Although the group pokes fun at down-home culture, they embrace the southern rockabilly style and add…
Theater: Hamlet
Tuesday, March 11
Dance: Pilobolus
Thursday, March 6
Festival: 19th Annual Abilities Wine Festival
Saturday, March 8
A Bench in the Sun
Grumpy old men at Venue Ensemble Theater
Thrill to Roxy Music
DVD set documents art rockers
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Period piece tries too hard to charm.
New Rays stadium? POWW!
Hal Freedman is leading the fight
Beer Drinker’s Edition
Two of the Bay area’s best beer events arrive.
The Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival returns
International films explore the ties that bind.
Art: Drawing Beyond the Plane
Wednesday, March 12
Crime watch
For a culture founded on freedom, we sure produce a lot of prisoners.
Why we love Langerado
Warm weather and an eclectic lineup make the South Florida fest a must-do.
Geri X’s Anthems
Confessional indie-folker gets positive
Waterboarded
The torture debate gets personal.
Hamburger haiku, fixing Tampa Bay and waterboarding
Next week, CL food critic Brian Ries announces the 64 meatmeisters doing battle in our culinary version of March madness, "The Tournament of Burgers." In anticipation of the event, he asked readers of his blog to pay tribute to hamburgers in haiku form; some of the best efforts are reprinted below. (Read all 70 at…
CDs from Vampire Weekend, Ludo and Delta Moon
Vampire Weekend, You’re Awful, I Love You and Clear Blue Flame
Pho-shizzle
You may not be a star, but you can eat like one.
Wine List
Got an upcoming or ongoing wine event? Send information to: The Wine List, 810 N. Howard Ave., Tampa, FL 33606, fax 813-739-4801 or e-mail brian.ries@creativeloafing.com. BEST BET: ABILITIES FOUNDATION GRAND TASTING Here's another in the seemingly never-ending stream of wine events to benefit the Abilities Foundation. Great cause, great wine, but we're getting charity wine-tasting…
Langerado’s must-see bands
A guide to the shows you shouldn’t miss
Florida boy
Fish in and out of water.
Ronda Storms, creationism, Hell’s Angels
Plus, Hillary vs. Obama
Exhibit: Necklust and the Chocolatier
Friday, March 7
Theater: A Bench in the Sun
Thursday, March 6
Jellyfish’s Bellybutton
A lost power-pop gem
Activists smack down developers in Hillsborough
Rejecting an industrial park.
Concert/Fundraiser: African Children’s Choir
Sunday, March 9
Dr. BBQ lives high on the hog
The latest food celebrity hails from Lakeland.
They Might Be Giants, Pat Metheny Trio and Alejandro Escovedo
Concerts of the week
Gallery openings on both sides of the bay
Sketchbook
Special Event: Eighth Annual St. Petersburg Cajun Zydeco Crawfish Festival
Something Smells Crawfishy
A drink in detail
Playing the waiting game.
Langerado, Velveteen Pink
Plus Wild Splash
Green buildings, urban density
Affordable homes that lower your energy bills.
Theater: Funny Money
Sunday, March 9
Brit crime capers and more
Short reviews of this week’s movies
Florida gone wild
Mark Messersmith’s fierce creatures.
Last man standing
All my rowdy friends have settled down.
Tribal Style, George Thorogood
Plus Soulphonics
Ani’s big little label
A look at Righteous Babe.
Tackling Hamlet
Actor Gabriel Vaughan talks about theater’s most terrifying role.
Should Americans boycott Saudi Arabian oil?
Don’t panic… Your war questions answered
Film: The Rape of Europa
Monday, March 10
Ani DiFranco, feisty but happy
The folk-rock icon comes to Tampa Theatre.
