Leavin’ on a Midnight Train…
Actually, it’s a 22-foot diesel truck (weigh stations, here we come!). Yes, Blurbexians, I’m a-movin’ on up to Georgia to work in our Hotlanta office. The caravan that includes myself, Noel, our dogs and three dear and intrepid friends pulls outta Tampa early in the a.m. on Saturday, March 25. Sniff. Sob! It’s been eight…
‘Wanton Destruction’
City crews on Tuesday began clear-cutting Kiley Gardens in downtown Tampa – known officially as NCNB Plaza Park to international landscape architecture fans who recognize its creator, the late Dan Kiley, as its foremost practitioner in the last half of the 20th century – in a move that had preservationists hopping mad. The future of…
The 40-1 Crowd Weighs In
Over the past week, two candidates who feel aggrieved by the lack of attention from the Planet have written in to complain about being labeled as longshots or ignored entirely. Here are their e-mails (or portions of them):
Short List Contest
One of the more popular features in each Weekly Planet is the Short List, a random series of observations about our world today. Now, we'd like you to join in the fun and write your own Short List item. Post it below as a comment and we'll take the best entry worthy of publication and…
Seeing Red
Events editor Leilani Polk made her way to my desk this morning and handed me a red rectangle of paper, claiming it was American money. She still owed me some cash from our weekend at Langerado, and now it seemed she was trying to pay me back with counterfeit money. The nerve of that girl!…
CALL 911
DUBAI PORTS WORLD Now that we ran the Arabs out, we must return our ports to the only Americans who can operate them properly — the Mob. AYE CARRABBA'S! County Commissioner Brian Blair claims a fall at the Italian eatery ended his wrestling career. So what restaurant would end his political career? (Our treat.) THE…
The Nun’s the One
Hat Trick’s Durang feast is only one-fifth successful.
Outtakes
New Releases TRISTRAM SHANDY: A COCK AND BULL STORY (R) From the politically charged noir of Welcome to Sarajevo to the pop culture craziness of 24 Hour Party People to the pornographic mood swings of 9 Songs, director Michael Winterbottom is a prolific artist who never seems to be in the same place twice. His…
The Western Front
Is it time for West Tampa?
Music Menu
THURSDAY, MARCH 16 ELSBEARY HOBBS' DRIFTERS & CORNELL GUNTER'S COASTERS A couple of '50s R&B/vocal group favorites mount a three-night stand at Busch Gardens. The legendary Drifters were plagued by continuous lineup changes almost from the outfit's 1953 inception, but nonetheless managed to help define the vocal-group sound and score hits with timeless tunes like…
Medieval Times
Bay area lords and ladies: Prepare for a fine Ren-fest repast.
Spins
Never Trust A Hippy NOFX Fat Wreck Chords The guys in contemporary punk rock act NOFX have always enjoyed the best of both worlds — smart if you say so but dumb when they want (or need) to be; political except when they're not; resolutely anti-corporate but Warped Tour fixtures; all about the kids, but…
Bow Wow
FUNDRAISER
They Know Beans
The Franco-Philly-St. Pete coffee connection.
Green is the Word
Holiday / Fundraiser
Supersized
Big chain stores put the squeeze on independent wine retailers.
Upcoming Releases
The following releases will be in stores Tues., March 21: Animal Collective, Grass (Fat Cat) Anti-Flag, For Blood and Empire (RCA) The Appleseed Cast, Peregrine (Militia) Band of Horses, Everything All the Time (Sub Pop) Franco Battiato, Fetus (Water) Blight, Detroit (Touch & Go) Cannibal Corpse, Kill (Metal Blade) Chicago, Chicago XXX (Rhino/Wea) Graham Coxon,…
Park Life
Living it up at Langerado, South Florida’s premier alt music festival.
Backspin
The Madcap Laughs SYD BARRETT Capitol Barrett's first solo effort following his departure/ejection from Pink Floyd is one of a pair of albums he released before disappearing into total seclusion. The Madcap Laughs has a ragged, almost unfinished quality, but it's this same roughness that makes it so appealing. In songs like "Terrapin" and "Dark…
Going Postal
SCOTT HARRELL, YES… Couldn't agree more with your positive review of Rebel Pride's album, It Is What It Is (Music Feature, "The Good, The Bad, The Local," by Scott Harrell and Cooper Lane Baker, March 8-14). They are one of my favorite local bands. I'm not sure they get the respect they deserve in all…
Working Blue
Comedy
Child of War
Talk
The Wolf Pack
Half human, half wolf and all fantasy: live-action role-playing at USF.
Science fiction shindig
I'm a science fiction junkie. There's no hiding it; the last book I read was William Gibson's Pattern Recognition, a futuristic novel about modern consumer culture, a woman with an extreme sensitivity to brands, and a group of Internet obsessives trying to find meaning and patterns within a mysterious collection of video moments called "the…
Get Your Goat
Theater
The Blotter
SUPER-CRIMINALS: If you're planning to break the law, please try and think the crime out ahead of time. There is always a chance that you may encounter the police, and a little planning can go a long way toward avoiding lengthy prison stays. The men who attempted to shoplift from the Best Buy on Dale…
Up in Smoke?
Tampa once boasted 200 or so cigar factories, churning out the prized stogies in competition with New York City and Key West for the U.S. cigar capital. Today, only two dozen or so remain and most are in West Tampa. Preservationists and city officials are debating the best way to preserve those remaining examples. A…
Seeing Triple
Intimate landscapes, urban ghosts and oils larger than life.
Can You Canoe?
Maybe — but it wasn’t easy in this tricky little skiff.
Waiting To Explode
A fascist future with the Matrix touch and an icy directorial debut.
Tastings
WASHINGTON ON YOUR MIND? Washington state is producing phenomenal wines. Come try a few. $10; includes souvenir glass and hors d'oeuvres. 6:30-8:30 p.m. March 17. Uncorked, 2706 Fourth St. N., St. Petersburg (727-892-WINE). A BIT 'O IRISH GRUB AND BEER Taste Irish stout and stew with Irish beers and O'Reilly's on the rocks. $15 adv./$20…
