Hard Rock Sale Contested
I'm tempted to offer the horrible reverse analogy that the owners of the Hard Rock Cafe brand (The Rank Group Plc of London) sold out to the Florida Seminole tribe for what amounted to a handful of beads, but I won't, even in the wake of news that the developer of the two Florida Hard…
Morning Roundup
First of '07: The morning after at the jail, brilliantly done by Gangrey, keeping the story extremely tight and stripping away anything that didn't lend to the snapshot quality. Rudy Giuliani's playbook for the 2008 presidential campaign falls into enemy hands, and then into print. Older voters had more undervotes in the Jennings-Buchanan Sarasota mess…
Afternoon Roundup
When you awake, you will remember everything/You will be hanging on a string: And the Gasparilla media hype begins. Christine Jennings swings and misses, twice. She's standing at the plate 0-2 with two outs in the ninth. An obscene toddler and a picture of Mr. Happy, courtesy of CL's editorial assistant Dawn, who posts on…
John Edwards’ Reinvention
Sure, it's not too early to start thinking about the 2008 presidential election. And one of the most fascinating launches to a campaign has come from unsuccessful 2004 VP candidate John Edwards. The preternaturally cute trial lawyer ran as a centrist, but this time out, he's reinvented himself as a dyed-in-the-wool, wealth-redistributing liberal. Time magazine…
The Best of Florida, 2006
Several weird-news roundups are out so far (but since The F Stateonly kicked off in November, there won't be an "official" blessing of the state's weirdest news this year). Associated Press writer Brendan Farrington's is here [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]. The St. Petersburg Times's "Sour Orange Awards" by Craig Pittman and Tom Zucco is here. [St.…
Early Voting in Tampa, Part 2
After my previous post regarding a possible opponent for Mayor Pam Iorio, I was reminded by a friend of the biggest reason that former Mayor Dick Greco won't run: Federal Prisoner #41604-018
Mr. Media Returns
One of my fave writers in Tampa Bay, Bob Andelman, has resurrected his online Mr. Media column — as a blog this time. If it is like its predecessor, Mr. Media will be a funny, snarky take on national media and should be on your newsreader-of-choice. (Bob has freelanced articles for the Weekly Planet —…
St. Pete: Four More Years??
A neighborhood activist called me this morning to report getting a polling telephone call before Christmas that asked some curious questions — including how the public stands on lengthening term limits in St. Petersburg from eight years to 12. On its face, such a notion would seem to benefit Mayor Rick Baker, who has expressed…
Splitting the Bamboo
Name of Kama Sutra Position: Splitting the Bamboo Getting into the position: The man begins the position seated above the woman with his legs "split" around her waist. While the womanÕs body is held erect and still, the man guides his manhood into her yoni and proceeds to make love to her. On a scale…
Morning Roundup
Our long national nightmare is over: The most puzzling and impenetrable bureaucracy in the state, the Florida Department of Transportation, has taken an extensive poll in Tampa Bay and says we want higher sales taxes to pay for mass transit. Three new St. Pete blogs. The conservative case against gay couples being able to adopt…
Early Voting in Tampa
The Tampa Tribune's Ellen Gedalius has a good analysis this morning about Mayor Pam Iorio's decision to spend city money to provide early voting for the first in Tampa municipal elections. The upshot is that early voting benefits the most organized and best funded candidates, a description that will certainly apply to Iorio's re-election campaign.…
Writing a News-Based Blog on the Slowest News Week of the Year
Well, let's see. They closed down U.S. 1 for a while near Fort Lauderdale because of a swarm of bees. And the AP wire was hopping yesterday with the arrest of Jeannette Odom, 75, who came out of her trailer in Ocala and confiscated the new Christmas ball that a kid kept accidentally kicking into…
Morning Roundup
They come in threes, James Brown, President Ford and ???: I love this Gerald Ford anecdote, and not just because it includes references to martinis. It was more than a decade ago when I picked up my telephone in the Clearwater bureau of the St. Petersburg Times and heard the voice of restaurant critic Chris…
Baron Considering Switch
Randy Baron, the Old Seminole Heights neighborhood president who is filed to run for the Tampa City Council Dist. 1 seat against incumbent Gwen Miller, is giving serious thought to switching to a neighborhood district, No. 6, which is an open seat upon the retirement of Mary Alvarez. The Dist. 1 race is very crowded…
The Top 10 … no, 11 … make that 12
Snider’s top CDs of 2006 (plus one from 2003)
Our Top 10 letters
Did yours make the cut?
Social Intercourse
Smashed Gladys
Untold stories
Ten Urban Explorations I never got around to writing about
Peace with demons
Exercises in exorcisms
Feeling nostalgic for 2006?
Get ready for Top-10 style satisfaction
Revenge, operetta style
THEATER/CLASSICAL MUSIC
The year of living dangerously
The Top 10 things I learned writing The Blotter in 2006
Outsider art
Most — but not all — of this year’s best films were born outside the mainstream
CL‘s picks for the week’s best shows
The Wailers, Southern Culture on the Skids, Mojo Gurus
loudQUIETloud
The Pixies
Music to my ears
Ten just ain’t enough for Harrell’s weepy top spins of 2006
What the f*@&?
The Top 10 mystifying political moments of 2006
Perspectives
Sheila Kirsten Hughes Band
Farewell tour
The Top 10 to end all Top 10s (at least written by this guy)
Stage right
The productions that shone the brightest in 2006
Young man, old hand
MUSIC
The long and short of it
The 10 best of the ShortList 2006, and a sneak peek at the year ahead
Serial thrillers
Dexter, Hiro and other reasons we watched TV in 2006
Who is Flynt Leverett?
Your War Questions Answered
Concerts
Marcia Ball, Claire Lynch Band, Jack Jones
Eat like you mean it
A culinary wish list for the new year
Reviews from recently released movies
Flushed Away, Night at the Museum, Rocky Balboa
Spins
Isobel Campbell, Ours to Destroy
Looking good
Ten reasons to believe in the future of Tampa Bay’s art scene
Back to the (Ybor) stars
Jennifer O’Connor, Punk Rock Karaoke, Van Morrison
The dark side of light
ART/SPECIAL EVENT
CL‘s must-do list
Third annual Bead Fling, Donna The Buffalo, the circus
First Night 2007
14th annual event
Wine List
Events around the city
The best wines of 2006
A banner year for the vine
