St. Pete Weakly
"We're in this for the long haul," Dean Capone wrote last October in a prototype edition of his new St. Pete Weekly. By Jan. 18, however, the inconsistently distributed newspaper was "outta ink," according to a message posted on the St. Pete Weekly's Web site. "St. Pete Weekly has suspended operations while we seek a…
A Textbook Example
The problem with historical plays is, in a word, suspense. If we know what's going to happen, and who it's going to happen to, what's to keep us from getting bored with the onstage action and impatient for the inevitable outcome? The best playwrights — Shakespeare is the obvious example — solve the problem in…
A Boon for the Boonies
RAFFINATO: Primadonna owners Cesare Tini, and his son, Stefano Tini, manage Primadonna Ristorante Trattoria in New Tampa. Scene: A couple from New Tampa have just won $84-million in the Lotto and are trying to pick a restaurant to spend the first of their fortune. The lights come up as Herb enters from right and says…
Public Life
Goodwill AmbassadorsVolleyball TourSports For Youth Foundation Inc. is accepting applications from boys and girls, ages 15-20 and accomplished volleyball players, to represent the U.S. on the 2002 Goodwill Ambassadors World Tour. This year's tour goes to Europe and visits London, Paris, Geneva, Venice and Rome. For further tour information, e-mail info@sportsforyouth.com, visit www.volleyballtours.com, or call…
Cult of Personality
Word to the wise: Don't get too attached to all those fancy bells and whistles that seem almost standard on many DVDs these days. In case you haven't heard, Hollywood's most high-profile Austrian bodybuilder-turned-neo-fascist-action-star recently demanded a $75,000 fee for recording an audio commentary for the new Special Edition DVD of Total Recall. Now $75,000…
Spins
Desaparecidos Read Music, Speak Spanish Wow. Conor Oberst's previous band, the dynamic, heart-gazing Bright Eyes, was pretty damn good, but the songwriter's new, rowdier five-piece is simply amazing. And Read Music, Speak Spanish — a wrenching look at the emptiness that may well hide behind the facade of consumer culture's American Dream — is easily…
The Wine List
Abilities Foundation Winemaker Dinner Bob Long of Long Vineyards, a vineyard of Napa Valley, is special guest at this progressive wine tasting and dinner. Tasting is free with dinner reservations that cost $65 and include tax with a portion of proceeds to benefit Abilities Foundation. Monday, Feb. 4. Evening begins at 5:30 p.m. at Pic…
Books
Basket Case By Carl Hiaasen Knopf/$25.95 Maybe I'm over Carl Hiaasen. Maybe he's lost his touch. Or maybe his legions of imitators have turned him into a cliche. Basket Case isn't a bad read. If some unknown had written it, I might have called it a promising first or even sophomore novel, even though it's…
Dining Guide
HILLSBOROUGH Brandon Bec's, 147 E. Bloomingdale Ave. (813-662-3000). Grab-n-go morning drivers will love the palmlettes, calzone-like breakfast sandwiches stuffed with delicious combos of eggs, meat, cheeses and veggies. For brunch, try baked egg souffles with a variety of meats, cheeses and veggies. Lox and bagel lovers will appreciate the generous Nova platter. For lunch, try…
Peeping Feds
Nicodemo "Nicky" Scarfo Jr. was the kind of mobster who sent snickers instead of shivers up a debtor's spine. More at home with a laptop than a gun, Nicky was a far cry from the thuggish brute so often depicted in the movies and was reportedly the inspiration for the young hothead mobster Christopher Moltasanti…
Web Site of the Week
Kill Pop Up Ads! http://technoerotica.net/mylog/optouts.html If you're an AOL user, do not read this. Go check out the music listing or something. Thanks. They all gone? Good, because anyone who uses AOL deserves all the annoyances the Web can throw at them. For the rest of us, I'm stepping out of my usual role of…
Letters
Love Him, Love Him Not Re: "No Land's Man" by Rochelle Renford (Jan. 24-30) Thank you for bringing the injustice of Al-Arian's situation to light! Keep up the great articles! Nadia Naviwala Via e-mail It is true that every form of printed or visual media is biased based on what it does and does not…
Teachers and Students Side by Side
Imagine being in Little League and getting to field ground balls next to Derek Jeter. Or be in Future Business Leaders of America and get to discuss stocks with a Wall Street trader. (You get the idea.) The Florida Orchestra's annual Side by Side concert allows young musicians from the Pinellas Youth Symphony and the…
Closer Than You Think
A friend once taught me how to handle those uncomfortable moments when your sketchy knowledge of world news is about to be exposed by someone who has been scouring the news. You're at a cocktail party and someone mentions Chechnya. Instead of saying, "Gee, I have no clue what's been going on there for the…
Culinary Events
Quick Casseroles are the topic for Chef Debby DeGraaff, who presents vegetarian cooking classes weekly. Nature's Harvest Market, 1021 N. MacDill Ave., Tampa. 813-873-7428. 7-8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30 and 10-11 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 31. Free. Floribbean Cooking Demonstration Chef John cooks with a flavorful Florida twist: Fried conch fritters with orange horseradish dipping sauce,…
Outtakes
Ali (R) Sitting through all two-and-a-half hours of director Michael Mann's Ali is a lot like being locked in a small room with a feisty 8-year-old with Attention Deficit Disorder. Between the jittery, distracted style-gymnastics and a story line that flits willy-nilly from one event to another, Ali gives us a scattershot picture, at best,…
The Defiant Ones
"These are the letters that are most complimentary — the ones that start off, "When I first heard your CD, I thought it sucked!'" Ben Weinman, founder of New Jersey metalcore merchants Dillinger Escape Plan, isn't kidding at all. "That's the first line," he says with a laugh. "And then it goes on to say…
Tainted Love: When Good Wine Goes Bad
Ever come across a bottle of wine that just doesn't smell right? I'm not talking about a Chardonnay that smells more like a Sauvignon Blanc; I'm talking about wine that has a moldy, musty odor with flavors to match. That's happened to me plenty of times, though early in my wine-drinking life I didn't know…
