From the Street … with Alfie (Gasparilla and Contain It!)
I knew I had created something special when women kept approaching me at Gasparilla to touch the bulge popping out of my size 3 (girls) gold pants; I had artfully enhanced my pants with what looked like a squirrel nesting on my leg.  I was inspired to cram together my artistic package the night before at…
Sundance Finale
We wound up closing out Sundance by seeing 6 films in 2 days.  Friday morning, we wait-listed for "Bottle Shock," a film that is based on a true story about California wines winning a French wine tasting contest in 1976.  It was a very enjoyable film to watch. Although it had some Hollywood elements, which…
Surviving Gasparilla
Here's my account of Saturday's Gasparilla Parade of Pirates. It will run as as a Bar Tab column in the Creative Loafing that hits newsstands Wednesday. Pictures taken at the event by a co-worker should appear here tomorrow. Pictured left to right: Me, Lola and Lyndsay. Just another day of debauchery. There are few things…
Surviving Gasparilla
Here's my account of Saturday's Gasparilla Parade of Pirates. It will run as as a Bar Tab column in the Creative Loafing that hits newsstands Wednesday. Pictures taken at the event by a co-worker should appear here tomorrow. Pictured left to right: Me, Lola and Lyndsay. Just another day of debauchery. There are few things…
Interviewing Ani DiFranco, upcoming concerts
I'm scheduled to interview Ani DiFranco (pictured in front of the Capitol during the 2004 March for Women's Lives rally) on Friday to advance her March 11 date at Tampa Theatre. She's touring in support of her excellent two-disc retrospective Canon (scroll down for my review). Post a comment if you have a question I…
The Reverse Spoon
The Reverse spoon is a simple variation of the old stand-by spoon that involves taking one partner and spinning them around, so instead of lying head to head and toe to toe, you are both facing each others lower extremities. This position offers both deep penetration and the obvious easy grab of your partners “oh,…
Credentials!
Wednesday finally saw the beginning of our ticket package, which will provide us tickets to 10 films and access to other festival venues. We may not be industry, but we can look the part. Our first film of the day, "The Wackness,"Â was a flashback to 1994 New York. Luke (played by Josh Peck) is…
Top 10: Songs for Gasparilla
Considering that south and downtown Tampa will be transformed into a sprawling, outdoor saloon on Saturday in honor of that ol' swashbuckler Jose Gasparilla, I'll be there doing some intensive reporting for my upcoming Bar Tab column. I live in South Tampa so the revelry will be taking place all around me, with the festivities…
New Orleans Jazz Fest announces lineup
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has unveiled another fierce lineup, making me already wish I could spend the entire 10-days there rather than choosing between weekends (April 25-27 or May 1-4). The big news is the return of the Neville Brothers to their traditional closing slot on Sunday, May 4. The biggest "get"…
Did St. Pete police blackball a crime watch leader?
Matthew Culp, left, and his partner Wade Burghardt stand in front of a renovated home in St. Petersburg's Palmetto Park neighborhood In many ways, St. Petersburg resident Matthew Culp could be considered a model citizen. Three years ago, he bought and rehabilitated a home in Palmetto Park, one of St. Pete’s rougher neighborhoods. He’s heavily…
Perfect for skiing
The weather Tuesday morning was fabulous. Clear skies and lots of fresh powder from the day before. However, this is not a skiing blog, this is a film festival blog! We decided to take a rare opportunity to sleep in today. After another meal at my new home away from home, Squatters brew pub, we headed…
SMAsh Radio: the place to hear local music
A link to the locally-produced Southeast Music Alliance's SMAsh Radio is now posted at Creative Loafing's website in the section titled Blogs & Podcasts. The latest episode "features Barely Pink, History, Summer Birds In The Cellar, Mouse Fire, Acho Brother, The Clarks, Flexxehawk, a track from the vault, news, shows and more!" No other program…
The Week So Far
I usually avoid these list-of-links entries, but dammit, a lot's happened in the world of food this week. Here're some of the highlights: NYC Board of Health finally votes to include calorie counts on all chain restaurant menus. Top Chef has just announced the line-up for Season 4 in Chicago. One contestant is listed as…
Is Da Hood DVD Too Wild?
A screenshot from Da Hood Gone Wild Vol. 2 Remember that Clearwater street fighting DVD that made headlines in October? Well, the crew behind the controversial Da Hood Gone Wild is releasing a sequel. In this week’s Urban Explorer, I go behind the scenes to watch some of the newest footage and also receive a…
Newest anti-homeless ordinances; letters from concerned citizens
It’s starting to look like St. Petersburg might succeed in sweeping the homeless out of downtown. At tomorrow’s St. Pete City Council meeting, councilmembers are expected to pass two more ordinances targeting the city’s homeless that would ban all storage of property in the right-of-way, and prohibit sleeping or “reclining†in the downtown area during…
Tuna — A Deadly Killer
The NYT had one of their seemingly annual food analysis projects hit the paper today. This time they tested sushi-grade tuna from NY-area restaurants and markets for mercury levels. Turns out even raw fish'll kill you. Tuna at five of the twenty places they tested had mercury levels so high the FDA could actually pull…
FROM THE STREET … WITH ALFIE (Beer Club at Fly)
There I was, stone sober and faced with a moral crisis. How can I be expected to host a Beer Club meeting, accurately cover the event, or even do a suitable job of representing the drunks employed by Creative Loafing if I don’t partake in sampling this month’s beers? I don’t want to be a…
From the streets… with Alfie: Beer Club at Fly
I was stone sober and faced with a moral crisis. How can I be expected to host a Beer Club meeting, accurately cover the event, or even do a suitable job of representing the drunks employed by Creative Loafing if I don't partake in sampling this month's beers? I don't want to be a charlatan…
Game On, Florida!
Your primary votes may count after all. It’s time to sweat the details.
Talk show
Artistic ego vs. fascist threats in A Picasso.
Evelyn Hale: “They want something fresh”
Who? Hale is one of a new generation of Hispanics in Tampa, a native of Colombia who is leading efforts to raise awareness of the richness and diversity of the modern Hispanic community. Sphere of Influence: Hale, 28, owns her own public affairs consulting firm, Transnational Relations, and previously served as a congressional assistant to…
Dance: Bodies, Rest & Motion
Friday, January 25
Use Gingerly
A little bit of this gnarly herb will transform your dishes.
The best things in life
Hustling through the bustle at Green Iguana
Ahoy Maties!
A guide to this year’s Gasparilla Piratefest
Don’t Panic
How did a relatively stable country like Kenya come to the brink of civil war seemingly overnight? Relative to, say, Sweden, Kenya has had a pretty lousy time of it during the last few centuries. Sweden's got Volvos, Ikea, lingonberries, Dancing Queen, Knowing Me Knowing You, Take a Chance on Me, The Winner Takes It…
Dylan comes “Knockin'”
In this pre-MTV clip.
Die, Monster, Die!
Godzilla meets Blair Witch in Cloverfield.
The Tax Reform Sham
Amendment 1 is like handing a starving child a piece of waxed fruit
Hard transition
Farewell to Petal
Steroids and Cyberpsychos
What’s at movie theaters this week
Surreal Imaginings
This week in St. Petersburg, the Gulf Coast Artists' Alliance debuted a new limited-run exhibit, Cirque du Surreal, which includes a wide array of phantasmagoric imaginings — water media, metal sculpture, mixed-media photographs, paintings and plenty else — by Bruce Norris, Boo Ehrsam, Bettina Schott, Jude Bagatti, Marie Cummings, Treza Bettencourt, Judy Vienneau and several…
Oh Suzanne
Eli, Shrek and Mitt
Lecture: Jerry of All Trades
Thursday, January 24
.com-ments
Mark Leib's review of Hat Trick Theatre's The Underpants — an adaptation by Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin) of a 1910 play by Carl Sternheim — drew a thoughtful response from someone close to the production: the director, C. David Frankel. Brian Ries' review of Michael Pollan's new book, In Defense of Food, prompted…
Wu’s Next
Plus One Republic and Tampa Blues Festival
No. 1 on the shopping list
How to navigate wine at the grocery store
The Hold Steady party in Ybor
While George Strait croons at the Forum
Ween, Yonder Mountain String Band
Plus Michael Buble
Special Events: Gasparilla Pirate Fest ’08
Saturday, January 26
Talk: Keep On Dreaming
Wednesday, January 30
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: RED, RED WINE Enjoy 15 wines and 10 beers at Got Wine & Cigars in Dunedin, all while being serenaded by Jerry Chase and Neil Diamond impersonator "Roc."…
Art: Night Lights
Monday, January 28
DVD Gone Wild
The infamous Clearwater street-fighting video gets a sequel.
Theater: Garden State Satire
Sunday, January 27
Evolving or Devolving?
"Some Brevard residents think including the word in the state science curriculum is needed to prove that Florida, home of the space industry, is at the forefront of scientific thought."—Megan Downs' article on FloridaToday.com concerning the state Board of Education's Feb. 19 vote on proposed revisions that would use the word "evolution" instead of "biological…
Music: Different Kind of Republican
Tuesday, January 29
Catch a Buzz
Suffering from seasonal allergies? Honey might be the answer. Honey contains small amounts of the plant pollen that bees collect which, when eaten on a regular basis, can reduce sensitivity in people who are allergic to that pollen. Problem is, the honey has to be local to have the right pollens. A little hair of…
Soul Survivor
Atwater’s may look a little plain, but the food is truly soulful.
Jackson Browne Went Deep
And came up with a winning debut
Kicking Ash
Fire failed to destroy Dunedin’s creative spirit.
Pink Floyd Gets Boxed In
Plus The Helio Sequence and Richard Boulger
Days of the new, Spontaneous Habit
Plus Pine Box Boys
Like a virgin
Atlanta indie-rockers deliver a tour de force debut.
Gulfport on the Cutting Edge
Gulfport has a well-earned reputation as a magnet for creative types who value funky surroundings, a diverse community and the (paradoxical) feeling of living tucked away in a corner of old Florida while enjoying a growing restaurant row of trendy cafés along Beach Boulevard S. near the waterfront. Now, plans are afoot to raise Gulfport's…
The truth about this Lie
The band’s name says it all.
I am a camera
An editor communicates with a blink of the eye.
