Books
Real Conversations 1: Interviews by V. Vale RE/Search Publications/$12.95 Just as the back cover promises, V. Vale's Real Conversations contains "tales, advice and dark humor from citizens of the eternal underground." These smart, topical and witty conversations with four counterculture thinkers — three punks and a beatnik — begin with the spewings of Henry Rollins,…
Music Menu
My Hotel Year/Pilots vs. Aeroplanes/ Closure Two of O-Town's finest (and most frequent visitors to the Bay area) join up with some Brandon veterans for an evening of melodic posthardcore. Beyond Records just recently released My Hotel Year's originally self-produced The Composition of Ending and Phrasing, an excellent disc that easily holds its own alongside…
Rock ‘n’ Roll Inn
"We wanna rock people's faces off, dude. We wanna be FIERCE!" Some 70-odd miles up the phone line in Orlando, roommates and My Hotel Year bandmates Ryan Fleming and Travis Adams crack each other up. They do that a lot; ironic big-rock hyperbole is often involved. But Fleming's pronunciation of "dude" is a bit too…
Outtakes
A.I. (PG-13) A film directed by Steven Spielberg based on a long-gestating idea by Stanley Kubrick, A.I. is an odd and intriguing hybrid of a movie, combining elements that smack of both filmmakers but not really fully in either's camp. The story tells us of a little robot boy (Haley Joel Osment) who has troubles…
Soundboard
<font Thursday, Aug. 9 Bars/Small Stages AJ's Ale House Diamond Gray Bahama Mama's Michael Hasting Beach Place (Whitey's) The Outpatients Big J.R.'s The Sevilles Bourbon Street 97X Night w/The Lemmings/Second Day Broadcast/Next Big Thing C.O.R.E. Abstura Cadillac Jack's Saturn 5 Carlie's Bobby Friss Band Centro Ybor Plaza Dutch Club Hedo Gemini/Passthamic/Ryan McGary/Cory K Copper Top…
Spins
GRADE Headfirst Straight to Hell Canadian quintet Grade's second proper full-length for hardcore designer-label Victory Records is an intense, eclectic, uncompromising affair. Perhaps it's some sort of reaction to the buff and shine that A Year in the Past, Forever in the Future, the only single from 1999's amazing Under The Radar, received in preparation…
Reviews: The Others/ Lakeboat
There are so many classic ghost stories and vintage fright films that work their way through the fabric of the new supernatural thriller The Others, it's almost impossible to list them all. Impossible and unnecessary, since The Others stands just fine on its own as a good old-fashioned spook story — creepy and quietly menacing…
Spinning His Deals
John McKay, the man who comes off in Tallahassee as deliberate, reserved — even statesmanlike — is a different character from the man his hometown of Bradenton has come to know. Those who follow the Senate president through the public-records trail of business partnerships and personal conflicts see a John McKay whose behavior is opportunistic…
Public Life
Arthritic Exercise Thursday, Aug. 9 11 a.m. The Arthritis Foundation's PACE (people with arthritis can exercise) program offers exercise classes every Tuesday and Thursday at Lifestyle Solutions Fitness and Yoga Studios in Palm Harbor. The class is open to anyone afflicted with arthritis, and fees vary. Lifestyle Solutions is located at 34010 U.S. 19 N.…
Some Stage Notes
It's time again for a look at what's going on in Bay area performing arts news: Mixed Notices: You may have been wondering what happened to Anton Coppola's opera Sacco & Vanzetti after it's brief premiere run at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in March. Have any other opera companies decided that they want…
Web Site of the Week
The Phobia Listhttp://www.phobialist.com "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." Franklin D. Roosevelt said that during his first inaugural address on March 4, 1933. While you gotta respect the man, old Frankie obviously didn't know what the hell…
Public Excess
For Hillsborough County television viewers bored with their options on a Friday night in April, a scene with a young woman being playfully whipped on the behind might have been an interesting alternative to Blind Date or the 10 p.m. news, but to one cable access watcher, what was on the screen that night was…
Letters to the Editor
The Leaning Tower of Journalism Re: "Fairly Unbalanced" by Seth Ackerman (Aug. 2-8) I'm highly amused that you have the nerve to complain about biased reporting as your newspaper is incredibly biased. Every time I read your news it is always extremely leftwing, in fact, it's almost communist propaganda. Ninety-nine percent of what I read…
Culinary Events
FOOD California Dreamin' Guest chef Michael Webb from California demonstrates how they do it in the surfin' state, with dishes like stone-ground pizza crust with gala apple, goat cheese, toasted macadamia nuts and applewood smoked bacon drizzled with truffle oil, and much, much more. $35. 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11. La Maison Gourmet, formerly…
Planet Picks
Thursday 8.9 DAG of all Trades Although David Alan Grier is perhaps best known for his characters on the acclaimed series In Living Color and comedic roles in such films as Boomerang, he's equally capable in dramatic roles. The graduate of the Yale School of Drama has received a Tony nomination for his portrayal of…
The List
Visual Arts Openings 531 Central Fine Arts, 531 Central Ave., St. Petersburg (727-822-2787). To celebrate the close of summer, 531 is highlighting the work of Vincent Magni. Beginning Aug. 11, this show offers Magni's popular sculptures and provocative oil paintings at a reduced price. Also featured is a selection of Barbini glass and works from…
Refuse Your Refund
You've probably gotten yours already. The white perforated envelope promising you your share of Bush's benevolent tax rebate. $300 if you're single, $600 if you're married: These notices let you know when your windfall is due and who to thank for it. And no sooner are Bush's self-congratulatory bribes in the mail than the corporate…
Freebie of the Week
An evening at the skateboard park is what summer is all about. With a resurgence in all things vert and street, skateboard parks are buzzing with guys and girls drunk on the sport. And right there to greet them are a generation of old-schoolers and savvy sponsors, willing to promote and cross-promote, excited at the…
Dining Guide
HILLSBOROUGH Tampa Carrollwood/ Northwest Tampa Kaisen Sushi, 12785 N. Dale Mabry, in Mission Bell Square (813-969-3848). This friendly, casual and tiny cafe offers exceptionally fresh, artfully prepared, delicious and value priced sushi. What more can you ask for? A must-try is the calamari, thick slices of succulent grilled squid served in a dark, smoky sauce.…
Yeast of Dunedin
Some teenagers put together garage bands. Michael Bryant put together a garage brewery. The owner of Dunedin's only microbrewery took his first steps toward becoming a brew master when he was just 13 years old. He'd stumbled on a small paperback book that contained simple recipes for homemade fruit wines and used his family's garage…
