Interest-free Checking
Hillsborough County officials continue to dither over who should pay how much in Raymond James Stadium property tax for Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer. As they do, interest charges pile up — at a monthly rate of $94,660. The only person sure of not being left with the tab is Glazer. The state Supreme…
When You Wish Upon a Star Child
Once upon a time, in the far-off future, there was a little boy constructed of metal and miles and miles of fiber, who dreamed of becoming a real boy, whatever that means. The little boy was tragically misunderstood at every turn and, eventually, was turned away from the bosom of his human family and pushed…
Spins
Radiohead Amnesiac Amnesiac is an intriguing, albeit occasionally bland, amalgam of loops, chords, snippets of melody and general sonic convergence. Amnesiac is not, however, a focused musical statement befitting the supposed visionary pop force known as Radiohead. Thom Yorke either forgot about the songs, or has such a new definition of the term that these…
Web Site of the Week
Darwin Awardshttp://www.darwinawards.com For those of you not in the know, the Darwin Awards are given out posthumously to individuals who manage to kill themselves in the most inordinately stupid ways, therefore strengthening the gene pool. Candidates for the Award this year include a guy in Scotland who electrocuted himself stealing wire; a shepherd shot to…
Soundboard
<font Thursday, June 28 Events Frankie's Patio Cowboy Mouth/Big Sky Bars/Small Stages Bourbon Street Mind Machine/DJ Leprechaun Brass Mug Mind Crank/Hollow Green Cadillac Jack's Ozona Carlie's Diamond Gray Club Hedo Gemini/Passthamic/Ryan McGary/Cory K Daiquiri Deck Soul System Dave's Bar & Grille Hazard Factor/The Gita/Voodoo Court Famous Cigars Jazz Lounge Jimmy Griswold Garden Nate Najar w/Joe…
Books
Close To Shore by Michael Capuzzo Broadway Books/$24.95 Pulitzer Prize nominee Michael Capuzzo wants to frighten you. In his first full-length book, Close To Shore, Capuzzo tells the true story of a man-eating shark off the Jersey shore during the summer of 1916. Aside from a rather slow beginning and a lack of pretty pictures…
Planet Picks
Thursday 6.28 The Curator Speaks William Jeffett, Curator of Special Exhibitions at the Salvador Dali Museum, presents a lecture, "Disarming Desire: Dali, Surrealism and the Venus de Milo" about his research for the current exhibit, A Disarming Beauty. Have some coffee and find out how a sculpture with no arms became an obscure object of…
Scary Local Guys
Scary Local Guys By John F. Sugg Who are the Scary White Guys (SWG) in the Tampa Bay area? Using the criteria of bullying and brute strength in the public arena in order to achieve personal power and wealth, here's our pick for the Top 13. 1. Ed Turanchik. Ed's a likable fellow who wants…
Roll Playing
No doubt about it, Centro Ybor has changed the face of Ybor, and to my mind, for the better. There's a new sense of vibrancy and safety as families, working couples and grandparents are attracted to streets where once only the pierced and peculiar roamed. By introducing movies, games and family-friendly dining to the area,…
The Art of the Deal
Rock 'n' roll history is jammed with near-mythic tales of discovery. In decades past, there seemed to be nearly as many legendary instances of serendipitous starmaking as there were unknown artists to trip over. The president of a record company wanders into a dive bar to use the phone after his car breaks down, just…
Letters to the Editor
Cultural Misrepresentation Re: "Book of Love" by David Jasper (June 7-13) Not only was the book unappealing, it was totally misrepresentative of Hopi culture. First, the flutist is a sacred symbol and, according to the Hopi, should never be seen outside a religious ceremony. Second, the Hopi live nowhere near New Mexico but are situated…
What Drought?
You know it and I know it, comrades, but I don't think it has yet dawned on our neighbors. We are having a drought that could kill a camel. Tampa City Council imposed water restrictions more than a year ago, in March of 2000, and we still haven't managed to Tiger our way out of…
Dining Guide
The following is Weekly Planet's reliable guide to restaurants throughout the Bay area. We hope this bite-size reference will serve as a quality source to aid in your dining pleasure. Because of the extensiveness of the listings, we run alternate lists each week. Our critic dines anonymously and all meals are paid for by Weekly…
Wanted: Students
The Tampa Bay area isn't much of a magnet for performing arts personalities. After all, we don't even have two first-class regional stages here to compete with the Asolo Theatre and the Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota; and we don't get half the national attention that the glitzier, more cosmopolitan Miami does. Without the theaters…
Public Life
Tai Chi Lecture Saturday, June 30 10-11 a.m. University Community Hospital offers a free presentation on the history and benefits of tai chi. The program is a broad introduction to the Chinese exercise and provides insights into the health advantages gained by performing tai chi. Attend the introductory class at the Health Source in University…
Freebie of the Week
he Weekly Planet would like to personally thank any Bay area resident who has conducted a ritual rain dance in the back yard over the last few weeks. Obviously it's working, judging by the fat, dewy drops falling from the sky lately. But your job is not done, amateur shamans. More rain is needed if…
The List
Independence Day 97X Free Concert Tampa Bay's Rock Alternative hosts a good old-fashioned, free Fourth of July rock concert, with live music from Rehab, Bliss 66 and Prime, starting at 3 p.m. at Jannus Landing, 19 Second St. N., St. Petersburg (727-896-1244). The all-ages show includes a barbecue. Cypress Gardens, 2641 S. Lake Summit Drive,…
Scary White Guys
The bully is back in American politics. Intimidation, dismissal of majority opinion, denial of scientific facts and aggressive scapegoating — these tactics have once again taken center stage. Blatant propaganda feeds fear and distrust, and the powerful and the privileged wallow in the spoils. Though it never quite disappeared, the mean guy persona took a…
Performance Feature
Waiting in the Wings Last week, despite a fast-approaching, scary summer storm, I headed for Hillsborough Community College's Ybor City Campus Fine Arts Faculty Exhibit. I wasn't disappointed. The exhibition, organized by Gallery Coordinator/artist Carolyn Kossar, included a broad range of media and subject matter, and offered a few surprising fresh twists from artists I…
Outtakes
Angel Eyes (R) Jennifer Lopez is a convincing presence as the tough but vulnerable Chicago cop who finds herself falling in love with a mysterious stranger who saves her life (Jim Caviezel). Angel Eyes doesn't resolve things in a particularly interesting way, but the film is watchable chiefly on the merits of its atmosphere and…
Hypocrisy 101
Our president got to the White House despite a blizzard of nasty cocaine jokes from late-night comics and other pundits who lampooned the hard-drinking past of George "D.W.I." Bush. College students should be identifying with Bush. Like the commander-in-chief, they project to certain segments of society the image of reforming party animals groping for respectable…
Music Menu
Cowboy Mouth w/Big Sky Former Dash Rip Rock drummer Fred LeBlanc and his New Orleans-reared crew continue their never-say-die assault on the Southeast. They've been hitless since the mid-'90s, and couldn't care less; their melodic, revved-up roots-rock has always been more suited to beer, sweat and volume than the radio, anyway. Expect a joyfully bleary…
