Public Life
Water Conservation Summit Thursday, April 5 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Southwest Florida Water Management District and their Water Conservation Task Force sponsor a Water Conservation Summit to raise awareness of the reasons for, and benefits of, water conservation. Representatives of agriculture, business, industry, environment, local government, public supply and recreation give presentations regarding a wide range…
Miracle Workin’ the Crowd
A A man in sweats leans on a cane and wobbles onto the already crowded stage of Thomas Jefferson High and speaks into a microphone held up to his face by someone else's hands. He wants what most in the auditorium seem to want: a miracle from Billy Burke, the senior pastor of the Miracle…
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. Our critic dines anonymously and all meals are paid for by Weekly Planet. The dollar sign rating in The Dining Guide is arrived at by…
Web Site of the Week
Steal It Backhttp://www.stealitback.com
Grillmarks, Largo’s Spot
Imagine a town so devoid of culinary cultivation that even the opening of a Red Lobster seems like a leap toward civilization. Yes, we're talking about Largo, where the words "fine" and "dining" have seldom been seen together. Exceptions do exist: two peapod-size palaces of continental cuisine, Cafe Largo and Six Tables. But who could…
Disappearing Acts
In Latin America they might have called them votantes desaparecidos, "disappeared voters." On Nov. 7, tens of thousands of eligible Florida voters were wrongly prevented from casting their ballots — some purged from the voter registries and others blocked from registering in the first instance. Nearly all were Democrats, nearly half of them African-American. The…
Books
Merrick By Anne Rice Knopf/$26.95 Rice readers have waited years for a new addition to the author's Vampire Chronicles. Unfortunately, Merrick is a shaky effort at best, and many fans will be none too pleased with the little it has to offer. Merrick begins with David Talbot, former Talamascan and Lestat's fledgling from Tale of…
Pork Chop Politics
I was saddened when I first heard the news. Yes, a boor had been brutally killed Feb. 27 in the Gandy Boulevard parking lot of WXTB-97.9 FM, a.k.a. 98Rock. Apparently it was an on-air publicity stunt to grab a few more of the semiliterates who suck the swill the station dispenses. I assumed that the…
Planet Picks
Thursday 3.22 Sweet Charity The Downtown Corps, which folded in the '90s, has regrouped, and its first event is in — Ybor City. Never mind the geographic inconsistency, A Red Carpet Affair is still a great time, with food, music and tons of fun at Barley Hopper's, Centro Ybor's newest eatery. The 5:30 to 8:30…
Spins
Tortoise Standards Chicago's linchpins of so-called post-rock, Tortoise unleashes their fourth full-length, misleading title and all. Don't expect "My Foolish Heart," or anything of the sort, on Standards (although Tortoise taking on a set of chestnuts is an intriguing idea). The new disc is in the same vein as its predecessors, less cut-and-paste than '98's…
Outtakes
15 Minutes (R) Robert De Niro and Ed Burns play the pistol-packing Good Guys on the trail of a pair of mad dog killers with a mania for videotaping their crimes. Tough, exciting and just off-kilter enough to keep us guessing, 15 Minutes is a thriller that manages to transcend the buddy movie genre and…
Giant Undertakings
John Flansburgh and John Linnell have tackled some squirmy subjects over the years. As They Might Be Giants, the duo has written and recorded songs about palindromes, purple toupees, people with delusions of minor-league grandeur ("She Thinks She's Edith Head") and something called a "Hide-away Folk Family." One of their modest hits was a track…
Culinary Events
FOOD The Last Sunday Brunch Globe Coffee Lounge serves brunch the last Sunday of each month. Join them from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday, March 25, for an a la carte menu of raspberry tiramisu, banana-blueberry waffles, sashimi tuna and more. Complimentary mimosas after 1 p.m. 532 First Ave. N., St. Petersburg. 727-898-5282. Get Egg-cited…
Opera Erratic
First, let's get this straight: There's nothing inherently boring about opera. As a form it's not passe, and as a medium of human thought and emotion, it's not condemned to take place in some inescapable 19th century of the spirit. Contemporary opera doesn't exist in spite of video, film and short attention spans; it exists…
Monochromatic Transmission
Although I speak from a devoted colorist position, I look forward to Artists Unlimited's current juried exhibition, their 11th annual Black & White Shades of Grey. Among its strengths are moments of quiet reflection in a world saturated by imagery and color. Stripped of seductive color, art has a way of revealing its skeletal framework…
Freebie of the Week
The Science Center of Pinellas County is always having some sort of special event. For instance, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 24, is reserved for the Science Center Celebration. These to-dos are always free to attend, which qualifies them for this little column, and events run the gamut. This weekend includes a free…
Con Air-Heads
Only a total stick in the mud would deny Sigourney Weaver the pleasure of occasionally indulging herself in fluff like her new movie Heartbreakers. Baring your soul in intense, emotionally draining projects like The Ice Storm or A Map of the World has got to be some of the most grueling, albeit richly rewarding, work…
Music Menu
Billy Bacon & The Forbidden Pigs This Tex-Mex swing/honky-tonk/rockabilly tourhorse puts on a fantastic show. Los Lobos' Cesar Rosas calls them "Los Puercos Fabulosos." The Thrusters open up the Skipper's show at 8 p.m.; tickets cost $7 in advance, $10 at the door. (March 23, Skipper's Smokehouse; March 26, New World Brewery) Elastik Records pre-WMC…
