Do This: Church of Nintendo
If you’re looking for a fix of digital nostalgia, worship at the Church of Nintendo, hosted by St. Pete’s Euro-inspired bar The Amsterdam. Taking place every other Wednesday, this technological blast from the past will feature tables set up with several beloved gaming systems — including Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, GameCube and Atari 2600 —…
Do This: Being Ginger
A new documentary on the realities of being a ginger kid.
Review: Old Crow Medicine Show at Jannus Live, St. Pete
Bluegrass bad-boys inject St. Petersburg with their high-octane live show.
Drink More Wine: Acid test
Acidity is all-important in well-balanced wines.
Meet the Owner: Inkwood Books’ Stefani Beddingfield
The independent bookstore, housed in a 1923 mint green bungalow, is onto its next chapter. Stefani Beddingfield, 46, took ownership of Inkwood Books at 216 S Armenia Ave., Tampa, on April 1, 2013. Before becoming the new owner, Beddingfield was one of Inkwood’s treasured customers. Carla Jimenez, 59, and Leslie Reiner, 58, founded Inkwood more…
Code red — the redhead behind Being Ginger
Scott P. Harris, the director/star of Being Ginger, talks about the plight of the redheaded male.
TECO cutting down oak trees in Al Lopez Park to prevent major fines
Blame it on the feds. That's why officials with TECO say they're employing arborists this week to chop down oak trees that have graced the eastern side of Al Lopez Park alongside Himes Avenue in Tampa for years. Specifically, they say they are worried about incurring major fines coming from the North American Electric Reliability…
The Laugh Tract — who’s bringing the funny
Tone Bell leads the way for a variety of comedians in town this weekend.
Girls Night Out leaves guys off the bill
You ever notice that most comedy shows have one thing in common? Whether it's a ventriloquist or a hypnotist or a regular stand-up show, they're almost always men. Even when you find a lineup with a funny female, she's just one performer on a bill otherwise dominated by males. There are notable exceptions of course,…
Sweet Tees 2: Q&A’s with local t-shirt designers
What inspires them, who wears them, and why their tees are necessities.
Mitch Perry Report 5.29.14: Mourning Malcolm Glazer
The die was pretty much cast about Malcolm Glazer when I arrived in this neck of the woods back in 2000. The Tampa Bay Bucs were feeling their first waves of ascendancy, and the team was never more popular than in the first few years of the aughts, which of course climaxed in January of…
CASS gallery opens in South Tampa with risky work by Chris Valle
Valle’s paintings mesh baroque debauchery with today’s media culture.
Artist Michael Turchin talks about marrying Lance Bass, painting for The Voice, and his new show at South Tampa’s CASS gallery
Celebrity icons from Marilyn Monroe to the Kardashians figure into Turchin’s paintings.
Theater Review: American Stage’s Steel Magnolias
The all-black production is a winner even if the script doesn’t resonate until its final minutes.
Hillsborough County group on transit votes to reconfigure HART
Although all indications had been leading in this direction, there still appeared to be some surprise in the room when the members of the Hillsborough County Transportation Leadership today voted unanimously to reconfigure HART to make it the central transit agency for the county moving forward. But the execution is complicated, said Hillsborough County Administrator…
Apple acquires Beats Audio for $3 billion
Well, we finally know why Beats exists — to make Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine impossibly rich(er) by affiliating them with the world's #1 maker of stylish stuff that's actually better than the stuff it looks better than. The two companies have reportedly made a $3 billion deal — $2.6 billion in cash, $400 million in stock…
Trash Talk announce free Tampa show in June, release video for “The Hole”
Trash Talk are playing a FREE show in Tampa very soon…
Jolly camp not touching Beverly Young’s latest remarks
Beverly Young, the widow of late, longtime Pinellas County Congressman Bill Young, says she intends to run for her husband's former seat in 2016 — against the man she initially endorsed in the CD13 special election earlier this year, David Jolly. Mrs. Young made her comments to the Tampa Bay Times on Tuesday night (the same publication…
In fond remembrance of poet, visionary Dr. Maya Angelou
The author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has died at 86.
Culinary travel: Canadian accents
Dining in the dark and other adventures in Montreal and beyond.
It’s the bomba: Paella Mixta
Paella is an easy and exotic summer crowd-pleaser.
List of high-ranking officials call on Obama to broaden outreach to Cuba
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue and other major U.S. businessmen are in Cuba this week meeting up with government officials, in another slow but steady push to create the conditions to loosen the U.S. embargo on the communist island. “Since I was last in Cuba 15 years ago, a reform program has reportedly…
Mitch Perry Report 5.28.14: SCOTUS admonishes Florida slightly on the death penalty
Over the course of the past 12 years, the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings on the death penalty have limited its scope along the margins, and that's how you should interpret the high court's 5-4 ruling on Tuesday that Florida’s I.Q. score cutoff was too rigid to decide which mentally disabled individuals must be spared the…
ACLU says Scott administration has spent nearly 400K pushing for drug tests
Rick Scott hasn't been that successful in getting the courts to go along with his desires to drug test welfare recipients or state workers, and his efforts have cost the state over $380,000 in the process. Last month the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal regarding his 2011 executive offer that would have required…
Rowdies to bus fans to Orlando for Lamar Hunt soccer tourney
With the World Cup right around the corner, what better way to get ready for the action than the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the ultimate knockout soccer tournament in the United States. Considered the oldest ongoing soccer competitive event in the country's history, the Cup is open to all United States Soccer Federation affiliated…
Seminole Veteran says Bay Pines took nearly 6 weeks to begin treating him for cancer
A retired Tampa Bay area Coast Guard veteran told local reporters today that doctors at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center at Bay Pines took over five weeks to begin treating him for inoperable pancreatic cancer, a form of cancer which will likely take his life within the next year. Edward Rubertas, 57, has…
David Jolly calls on VA Sec. Shinseki to “clear the wait list now”
Although Congress is (once again) on a break, the delay in handling claims and treating patients at VA hospitals remains a dominant issue across the country. Records of wait times were allegedly falsified at the Phoenix VA, and the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs is investigating whether long wait times contributed to the deaths of 40…
From Manhattan to the Moon: Mad Men‘s mid-season finale and its mixed bag
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD … Mad Men's demi-finale Waterloo has offered some brilliant and touching moments — and a few signs of serial senioritis. To offer a mid-term report, I consulted my cohorts in the Mad Men Round Table Facebook Group — some of whom have jobs that veer into the same territories of an advertising agency — to weigh in…
New Music Tuesday! (May 27): Neil Young, Mariah Carey, Hundred Waters, They Might Be Giants & more
New music out this week; audio & video included.
New poll says Democrats overwhelmingly want Charlie Crist to debate Nan Rich
He's being called "the People's Governor" — so will he listen to his now-fellow Democrats when it comes to their wish that he debate Nan Rich? So far the answer from Team Crist has been a resounding "no," but a new Public Policy Polling survey just released indicates that when it comes to the base,…
Tampa Bay’s weekly literary happenings
Words and Writers presents a Build a Mailing List workshop at ITT Tech in Sarasota Tuesday, May 27, 3-5 p.m. One of the most important, overlooked things an author needs to do is to build a list of potential readers. This can be done by having opt-in forms in various places on your website. This seminar…
Creative Clay facilitates a great Transition
There’s nothing more disheartening than pursuing something with so many obstacles that it almost feels unattainable. We've all been there. But imagine having someone there to kickstart the process, and at the very least, help you get on the right track. That is essentially what local organization Creative Clay does for artists using an array of programs.…
What to look forward to at this Sunday’s Summer Art Market
What’s in store at Southern Brewing’s event this weekend.
Mitch Perry Report 5.27.14: Squaring U.S. history
Over the weekend there was a report that Donald Sterling has authorized his wife Shelly to sell the Los Angeles Clippers, which would avoid a full-on legal fight and allow the NBA to avoid a lot of legal unpleasantness. But it may still come down to that, because reportedly the Sterlings' plan would allow Mrs. Sterling…
Do This: The Weekend’s Top 10
Burgatory, the Bloom Grand Opening, headliners galore and the new Summer Art Market offer eclectic good times.
Top LGBT weekend happenings
The Cheaters perform at Salty's in Gulfport Saturday, May 24. Looking for something fabulous to do this holiday weekend? Here are our top LGBT events taking place in the Tampa Bay area this weekend. If you like Halcyon and Someday Souvenir, check out The Cheaters at Salty’s in Gulfport Saturday, May 24, 4 p.m. You…
Charlie Crist says ending economic sanctions on Cuba would be great for Florida’s economy
A day after the Republican Party of Florida accused him of trying to "cash in on" the escalating crises at the Department of Veteran Affairs, Charlie Crist turned the tables on the state party on Friday night, calling it "unconscionable" that the GOP-led state Legislature had failed to expand Medicaid, leaving 41,000 military veterans without…
Chelsea Handler, Uganda be nicer
Chelsea Handler needs to handle herself better.
Bill’s Memorial Day Binge: Booze, boos and weiners (specifically Manziel’s)
Tampa Bay Rays "closer" Grant Balfour blew a save Thursday afternoon against Oakland in what turned out to be an 11-inning victory for our beloved bunch. Balfour was booed when he was pulled from the mound. And he had a problem with that, apparently. Punctuating with delightful Aussie-flavored expletives, he explained that it doesn't help…
What’s cookin’ in Sarasota County
Members of the area’s thriving culinary scene promote Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week in Tampa.
Pharrell starts all of his songs the same way
Learn about Pharrell’s stupidly simple approach to writing song intros.
Video: Real life doppelgangers Will Ferrell and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith face off on Fallon
The resemblance is beyond uncanny.
Mitch Perry Report 5.23.14: Al Austin’s political legacy
Al Austin's death yesterday at the age of 85 brought out voices of respect and admiration from politicians in Tampa Bay and beyond, as the developer and GOP fundraiser was such a prominent leader of the Republican Party in Tampa. His legacy was cemented when, after two previous attempts in the aughts went astray, he…
The Hip Hop ABCs: Letter O
The alphabetical rap battles continue… and was there ever any doubt about who’d win ‘O’?
Bluelucy Ybor to open in Tampa
Bluelucy Gallery, which has had a succesful following on the 600 Block of downtown St. Petersburg, posted the above mysterious, minimalistic and maximum-impact graphic on its Facebook page today. What's it all about? The gallery known for specializing in contemporary, multimedia art in St. Pete — which consistently has its finger on the pulse of…
New Tampa Bay Theatre Festival ushers in new performance tradition
A theater festival offering performance, workshops, and networking is scheduled to come to the Bay area Aug. 29-31. The 2014 Tampa Bay Theatre Festival (TBTF) is the brainchild of actor/director/producer Rory Lawrence and will be aimed at theater professionals as well as local spectators. Taking place at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Stageworks,…
Do This: Free movie at the Mermaid, Lynne Koplitz and Alice Ferrulo
A cool documentary and two no-holds-barred women highlight this evening’s offerings.
Rick Scott & Chris Christie skewer Charlie Crist at Port of Tampa stop
Even though his state is now facing a severe budget deficit, New Jersey governor Chris Christie told a group of Rick Scott supporters this afternoon that they ought to plan on seeing him back in Florida several more times before this November's election. As head of the Republican Governors Association, Christie's job is to campaign…
So long, and thanks to the Todds
American Stage’s Todd Olson and Tampa Museum of Art’s Todd D. Smith announce their departures during the same week.
A black woman asks: What’s up with white women wanting to get dark?
Aristotle said, “The body is at its best between the ages of 30 and 35.” I think my body was at its best at 26, but I’ll take it. The writer Edward Moore wrote, “’Tis now the summer of our youth.” Aww yeah. I’m all for that. So, at age 34, with the semester over…
Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: A truly amazing story from Times writer Ben Montgomery
The fascinating saga of the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail.
Joe Maddon Mr. Potato Head, you are mine
Back in the rosy days of early spring, baseball prognosticators saw not just a bright future for the Rays in 2014, but an American League East-winning future. Then the season happened. However, it’s still early. Pitchers will return from the disabled list. Ben Zobrist’s thumb will heal. Someone — please, anyone — will have a…
My musket-shooting summer
It was my last summer job, a break between junior and senior year of college. It was also the summer I turned 21. And the first, and last, time I ever shot a gun. I was working at Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts, a recreation of the Pilgrim settlers’ village circa 1627, where in thatch-roofed cottages…
Sweet tees: Local designers’ high-style T-shirts
Mink, Ides of March, Threadish, SLOH, and Bluelucy take the tee to a new high.
My (lame) first summer love
In the final few weeks of 7th grade at Ben Franklin Junior High School in Daly City, CA, I remember really getting along with a classmate named Jade. I seemed to make her laugh a bit and she was cute. I liked her. I talked to her during recess in the waning days of the…
At ASPEC, the learning never stops
It’s 1:30 p.m. on a recent Monday afternoon inside Lewis House, a building at the southern edge of the Eckerd campus in south St. Petersburg. A group of about 60 people, most of them of retirement age, have gathered for a weekly “interest group” organized by the Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College, better…
The Gaily News: Harvey Milk stamp, Florida marriage equality fight
• To celebrate Harvey Milk Day today, which is also Milk’s birthday, the White House will honor the California politician and LGBT activist — who became the first openly gay public official in the country in 1977 when he won a seat on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors — by unveiling a new forever stamp…
Tattoo redux: Re-assessing the “skindecisions” of our 20s.
By summer’s end, I’ll have a new and more meaningful piece of art on my belly.
Summer 2014 concert preview, from Phantogram to Katy Perry to Soundgarden
A breakdown of live music highlights, May 30-Sept. 5.
CL Summer Guide 2014: The 7 Ages of Summer
Summer fun for all ages, whether you’re 7, 27 or 77.
Family affairs: music, museums & more fun outings to enjoy with your kid this summer
From Sing-Along Mary Poppins to Marvel Universe Live!
A hole new world
Savage Love relationship columnist Dan Savage tells the hole truth.
Movie Review: X-Men: Days looks to Future of franchise potentially Past its prime
Original X-Director Bryan Singer attempts to right the aging Good Ship Xavier with a complex and noble effort to unify the scattered omnibus.
Movie Review: Chef brings the heat
Jon Favreau’s warm, witty film celebrates food, music and family — and himself.
