Remembering Through Art
In its current location for four years now, St. Petersburg's Florida Holocaust Museum continues its mission of Holocaust remembrance through education and exhibitions. Answering those who deny history, artifacts and eyewitness accounts have been the constant defense. That, however, is now complicated by the ease of digitally altered imagery. Even Hitler's Holocaust has had its…
Spins
Townes Van Zandt Texas Rain: The Texas Hill Country Recordings Townes Van Zandt's reputation as the finest singer/songwriter to hail from the musically rich state of Texas is well deserved. He was able to explore the dark recesses of human experience with a poet's touch that borrowed equally from Hank Williams and Bob Dylan —…
Books
In Falling Angels, author Tracy Chevalier uses two women and their families to illustrate the changing of times from the Victorian to the Edwardian Era. The novel centers on Kitty Coleman, a suffragette who loses touch with her loved ones and those around her, and Gertrude Waterhouse, a subscriber to the rigid Victorian zeitgeist of…
So-So Pretty
Just before sunset, the Maseratis and BMWs and 'Vettes start lining up outside the Salt Rock Grill. Valets quickly zip the pricey cars away as their owners pile into the restaurant, overflow into its classy bars and occupy the patios overlooking the water. The restaurant is probably prettiest once the sun has actually set, its…
Personal Foul
On the afternoon of Feb. 28, 2001, University of South Florida President Judy L. Genshaft was meeting with Paul Griffin, the university's athletic director at the time, and Lee Roy Selmon, a former professional football star who would soon replace Griffin. A USF attorney interrupted. Accounts vary of what was uttered next. But there can…
A Matter of Public Record
Way back when I was a nerdy high school student working part time at The Bradenton Herald, a reporter told me something about public records. They are juicy. They aren't that hard to get. And, they are mine. Not because I am a journalist, but because I am the public — just like you. Armed…
Elie Wiesel Speaks About Sept. 11
Whenever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion or political views, that place must — at that moment — become the center of the universe. —Elie Wiesel, 1986 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Human rights advocate and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel knows something about persecution. Born in 1928 in Sighet, Transylvania (now a…
Letters
Panacek's Vision Re: "Not Child's Pay" by Francis X. Gilpin (Feb. 6-12) The negative slant begins with the title and its subtext: "Not Child's Pay, The head of Hillsborough County clearinghouse for funding youth programs gets a big raise amid cutbacks elsewhere and grumbling about her larger-than-local focus." Brushing over Dr. Luanne Panacek's accomplishments and…
Crucial ‘Crucible’
This one you've got to see. And that's for a number of reasons. First, The Crucible is, simply enough, a gripping drama about a terrible event in American history, the Salem Witchcraft Trials that resulted in the execution of 20 people (four others died in prison) and the arrest of more than a hundred. But…
Getting ‘Em Where it Hurts
For anybody who thinks that marching around a Taco Bell and demanding better wages for tomato pickers is a waste of time, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has news: You're wrong. Nearly 10 months after the Boycott the Bell campaign began, the company that says it doesn't get involved in the labor issues of its…
Out of the Mouth of Genshaft
USF president Judy Genshaft reveals more about her motivations for firing Sami Al-Arian in a Rotary Club speech than she has in formal statements to the press. By Rochelle Renford With an AAUP delegation coming to town and University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft keeping mum on the pending termination — or not —…
Culinary Events
Eating Healthfully Licensed Nutritionist/ Dietitian Kristin Hope shows how to modify gourmet recipes to reduce fat and calories, while maintaining superb taste. $39.50. 7-9 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 21. La Maison Gourmet, 471 Main St., Dunedin, 727-736-3070, www.lamaisongourmet.com. Little Chefs Kids 4-7 years old learn to make a delicious lunch: pepperoni twists, cheese-stuffed mini-strombolis, marinara sauce…
The Big Deal About Bordeaux
My first experience with Bordeaux wines was not a pleasant one. It was 8 a.m., and the previous evening's drink-fest had ended only a few hours before. A Bordeaux barrel tasting loomed in my immediate future, though Lord knows I wanted to cancel. Let me tell you about tasting wine straight from the aging barrel:…
Web Site of the Week
Citizen’s Self-Arrest Form
Childen of the Damned
From 1981 to '87, the first Palestinian intifada (uprising) exploded across Israel and the occupied territories, threatening to drown the already volatile area in an unprecedented deluge of blood and tears. Beginning in 2001, shortly after Yassir Arafat rejected the peace plan laid out at Camp David, a second intifada was initiated, escalating the levels…
The Peter Pans of Pop Punk
I really used to have it in for Less Than Jake. Not because they sucked (I knew they didn't). Not because I was having a hipster's knee-jerk reaction to the ska-punk algae-bloom (though there probably was a little of that). I really used to have it in for Less Than Jake, for one reason only:…
Outtakes
Ali (R) Ali gives us a scattershot picture, at best, of this iconic figure. Will Smith is passable as Ali, but fails to bring the considerable grandeur, gravity and, frankly, raw charisma that this role demands. Amelie (NR) Plucky, quintessentially quirky Amelie (saucer-eyed Audrey Tautou) spends her time choreographing good deeds and love connections for…
The Jazz Juggler
Charlie Hunter's guitar has eight strings. He's still learning how to play it. "It's pretty damn difficult," he says with a laugh, and then attempts to explain in layman's language his technique on the hybrid guitar/bass instrument: "On the right hand is all the rhythmic counterpoint, the thumb taking care of the bass, fingers taking…
