Crouching Blockbuster, Hidden Art Film
The New Year's barely begun and what may very well turn out to be the biggest, boldest and most purely entertaining guilty pleasure of 2002 is already here. Imagine a vintage '60s Hammer horror flick starring Peter Cushing — albeit a buffed-up, ass-kicking Cushing — trading moves with Bruce Lee or even Jet Li, and…
The List
Festivals/Events Beerfest 2002 The Florida Brewers Guild hosts Beerfest 2002, a day of peace, love and killer beer. So plan your day accordingly — designated driver, etc. There are hundreds of brews to sample from a variety of regional brewers, How To clinics on different brewing stages and a panel of experts judging Best Micro…
Culinary Events
Where food lovers can learn and have fun
Muy Cool
One big reason the boho crowd likes Viva La Frida is that the place envelopes you in bright paintings, prints, collages and quirky objets d'art. If you tire of the conversation, you can take a spin around the room and look at the artwork, which includes reproductions of pieces done by the restaurant's namesake, the…
Public Life
Civic events, support groups and volunteer opportunities
A Nice Day for a Demonstration
About 350 people showed up at Gadson Park in Tampa on Saturday, Jan. 19, to show their preference for peace over war. The Florida Alliance for Peace and Social Justice sponsored the rally, which featured speakers, puppet shows and that happy, peaceful vibe that emanates from events centered on loving one another. The primary focus…
Spins
Dismemberment Plan Change Dismemberment Plan's eccentric hybrid of new wave sonic textures, emotive punk, prog-rock complexities and soulful rhythms have alienated some but insinuated under the skin of many. With Change, the group has evolved from a rowdy emo outfit into a formidable rock act with layered intricacies that recall Talking Heads and The Police.…
Web Site of the Week
You know, in today's fast-paced world of meetings, deadlines and all the other bits of day-to-day drudgery, who has the time or energy for a good old-fashioned stalk? Countless hours in front of someone's home, learning their schedule, deducing which dryer they use so you can steal undergarments (or just sniff them) … man, it's…
Outtakes
Short reviews of films showing throughout the Bay,
No Land’s Man
Part of it is what he says. Since he was a teenager, Sami Al-Arian has spoken publicly about his religious beliefs, his political views and his feelings about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. What he says can be tough to swallow. He talks about the oppression his people endure under the Israeli occupation and he calls for…
Emotional Rescue
So what, exactly, is Shannon Wright singing about? You're intrigued by the unusual, unsettling beauty of her music; you're floored by the sheer catharsis in her voice. But still, you can't really put your finger on what she's trying to say. Wright's songs rarely fail to stir your own sense-memory, evoking certain personal situations rich…
Leave Your Corner
This is how my first week on the job ended: I was heading out the door when I was handed three paragraphs that would be inserted into the profile on Sami Al-Arian, the University of South Florida professor who was fired because he allegedly became a security risk after going on national television and speaking…
The Wine List
A Bacchanalian Bonanza Bacchus, 720 S. Howard Ave., Tampa, hosts a wine tasting and happy hour every Fri. 6-9 p.m. Features live R&B music and complimentary appetizers. Call 813-254-0004. Einstein on Wine BEAM, Be Enthusiastic About MOSI, presents its seventh annual event Sat., Jan. 26, 6-9 p.m. Features more than 80 vintners offering whites, reds,…
Current Affair
Have you ever stopped to think about what would happen to local arts if all our best artists moved to more culturally active locales, like, say, New York, Chicago or even Miami? Logically, we'd be left with only second-rate (or worse) actors, singers, writers and musicians. All the quality would be in the imports, the…
Planet Picks
THURSDAY, 1.24 Colonial Revival Instrumentalist Dean Shostak performs a concert of traditional American music and original compositions on the glass armonica, hurdy-gurdy and violin, with a bit of anecdotal 18th century history and humor thrown in. The glass armonica, invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761, consists of glass bowls tuned by size, one inside another.…
Music Menu
Yonder Mountain String Band This quartet of young pickers has quickly becoming a favorite on the bluegrass festival circuit. Their particular take on the genre is being hailed as jamgrass. This could be because the group is injecting an eclectic H.O.R.D.E.-esque sensibility into the age-old traditional bluegrass sound. Then again, it could be because they're…
Soundboard
A listing of live music shows for the upcoming week
Books
Cooper Cruz reviews Fair Warning by Robert Olen Butler. Expanded from an award-winning short story commissioned for Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope magazine, Fair Warning is part love story, part meditation on the possibility of love. Set in the fast-moving, polished world of Manhattan auction houses, a world where everyone must own or be owned, the…
Tarpon Springs Eternal
The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art (LRMA) opens this week on St. Petersburg College's Tarpon Springs campus. Touring the facility left me genuinely excited, not just because of the technological innovations and potential for education, but mostly because of something quite simple. I found myself turned on to Abraham Rattner's paintings in a way I hadn't…
CORKSCREW / Back to Basics
Organic Wine
