Letters to the Editor
Missing Sugg Re: "Raw Deal" by Joseph Hayes (Dec. 6-12) Get out your Ginzu IIs and let's start hacking away at tuna logs. Wow, a feature article about 30-year-old news and right next to the Food column! "Raw Deal" is neither cutting edge nor is it particularly interesting. Ever since John Sugg left, the paper…
Public Life
Holiday Collection Center Through Dec. 20 9 a.m.-5 p.m. State Rep. Sara Romeo opens her office as a convenient holiday collection station. Donations of food, toys and more can be dropped off and will be distributed by the First United Church of Tampa. Romeo's office is at 4211 E. Busch Blvd., Suite C, Tampa. Call…
Freedom From Misinformation
The government claims that withholding information in times of war is for the protection of the public. That may or may not be true. One consequence of providing too little information is that the sensational becomes perfectly plausible. "Absent of any reliable information, any information will do," said Al Tompkins, a professor at Poynter Institute,…
The Wine List
The Grand Finale The Tampa Wine Institute says goodbye to 2001 and invites you to taste their best picks of the year. $50. Friday, Dec. 28. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Located at Wines by Morrell, 2009 N. 22nd St., Ybor City. Reservations requested. 813-241-8587. Work Week Wine Down Grand Cru Wine Cellar holds wine tastings with snacks…
In the Company of Misfortune500
After about six questions, Misfortune500 bassist Martin Rice abruptly takes mock offense at the direction in which the interrogation seems to be heading. "This is an "old guy' article, isn't it?" he demands to know. ""These guys are all past their prime, and they got together because no one wants to play with 'em anymore.'"…
Champagne Wishes
Sparkling wine is one of life's simple pleasures. There's nothing like watching tiny bubbles flood a tall, fluted glass and feeling the intense anticipation before you sip. If you haven't experienced the sensation, it's difficult to describe fizz overtaking your tongue. "Sensual" is close. So why wouldn't everyone want to experience this any day and…
The Thrill of Defeat
Made out your holiday greeting card list yet? If you're a Florida taxpayer, don't forget the members of the U.S. Olympic Committee. Thank them profusely for eliminating Tampa after the trial heat of American cities preening to host the 2012 Summer Games. Florida 2012's finish in October was rather pathetic. But look on the bright…
Outtakes
13 Ghosts (PG-13) 21st century remake of the old William Castle spookfest about a family trapped in the haunted house they've just inherited. Stars F. Murray Abraham, Tony Shalhoub and Shannon Elizabeth. (Not Reviewed) Amazing Journeys (PG) IMAX films are about scale, size — from the unfathomably huge (the oceans, the cosmos themselves) to the…
This Cartoon Movie Sucks
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Music Menu
E3/Sage/Fang Shooey Sarasota quartet E3 have caused quite a stir around the Bay area over the past couple of years; they'll gig anywhere, regardless of scene, sound or style, and are rumored to be nurturing the big-time industry hook-up. The band's sound rides the line between jagged grooves, heavy alternative and straight-up melodic rock. They've…
Latin Liaison
Tio Pepe, Clearwater
DVD Pick
Come and See
Planet Picks
Thursday 12.13 Two Great Tastes The latest in The Florida Orchestra's series of Coffee Concerts combines the stately dissonance and elaborate ornamentation of baroque music with the sugary doughnuts and aromatic coffee of Krispy Kreme. The concert, cleverly titled Coffee Goes for Baroque, features soloist James Connors on the violoncello. Thomas Wilkins conducts the program,…
Confessions of an Ex-Jewel Thief
I used to steal jewelry. Not once or twice but over and over again for more than 10 years. A small fortune's worth. I walked into high-rise, luxury condominiums with nothing but a smile, nice clothes and a couple of lock-picking tools and walked out with diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, gold and other special items.…
Dining Guide
HILLSBOROUGH Brandon La Septima Cafe, 140 N. Parsons Ave., Brandon (813-684-1948). You'll find a taste of the original Latin flavors of old Ybor in this quaint little Brandon cafe. Look for large portions and excellent Cuban sandwiches, succulent roast pork and saffron-kissed chicken and rice. $ Tampa Carrollwood/ Northwest Tampa 3 Palms Grille & Gallery,…
Culinary Events
Bring on the Bread Learn how to bake pesto bread, cinnamon raisin bread, brioche, sun-dried tomato dinner rolls and German sour cream twists. $39.50; includes a light meal. 6:30-9 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 20. La Maison Gourmet, 471 Main St., Dunedin. 727-733-8915. Vacation Fun Kids 8-14 years old might want to cook during the holidays as…
Freestyle Ceramist
The Art of Betty Woodman
Aubrey, The Showman
Aubrey Hampton knows (tranquilly) what he wants to do, and has every intention (quietly) of doing it. And damn (without a lot of fanfare) the torpedoes. The Gorilla Theatre co-founder, whose play 'Tis the Season to Do Folly opens this weekend, can seem deceptively mild when you first meet him. With his long gray-white hair…
Wasted Energy
The opponents of campaign finance reform keep trying to convince us that it's a non-issue: a matter of inside-the-Beltway baseball that no one cares about except a few money-hating policy wonks. Rep. Dick Armey derided it as "the lowest thing on the American radar screen" while Sen. Mitch "Money Is Free Speech" McConnell took time…
Books
Glue By Irvine Welsh W.W. Norton & Co./$14.95 Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting, Ecstasy, Acid House and Filth, again shocks his cult following with his most recent release, Glue. In this novel, Welsh seems to have matured as a writer in that he doesn't solely rely on shock value through the "drugs-leading-to-disaster" motif common in…
Spins
David Axelrod David Axelrod This disc has as good a backstory as any of 2001. A down-on-his-luck cult hero of the '60s/'70s — a 60-something, gray-haired white dude with a lifetime passion for black music — catches the ear of such sample-happy artists as DJ Shadow, Dr. Dre and others. They're enthralled with his exotic…
The List
Holiday Happenings20th Annual Victorian Christmas StrollExperience the charm of a 19th century holiday at the old Tampa Bay Hotel during the Victorian Christmas Stroll at the Henry B. Plant Museum. Antique toys lie scattered about the museum, and a lavishly decorated tree stands in every room. Complimentary cookies and cider are served on the veranda…
Web Site of the Week
Farkhttp://www.fark.com Fark. When I first heard the name I thought it was a Bad Swedish Chef impression. You know, the cook from the Muppets? The only Muppet to have real human hands? Sigh … never mind. Anyway, once I got tired of explaining who the chef was, I altered my statement to "sounds like a…
Soundboard
<font Thursday, Dec. 13 Events The Kids (Tpa) Christiansen/Red Tide New World Brewery Bite Size/Hangtown/Big Kitty Orpheum Liars Academy/Cocktail Honeys Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center A Welsh Christmas w/Robin Huw Bowen/Sue Jones Davies USF Sun Dome Slipknot/40 Below Summer/In Flames Bars/Small Stages Alley Cat's Cafe Jamie Perlow Beach Place (Whitey's) Average Joe Billy G'Z (Clw.)…
Tiny bubbles
The season sparkles, so should your wine
