Cuba, Offshore Drilling and Tampa Politics
Well, there's three non-controversial topics. Democratic congressional candidate Al Fox has released a statement on oil and Cuba in the wake of a St. Petersburg Times story on the subject. Fox has made more than 50 trips to the communist nation, and he has infuriated some in the Cuban community in Tampa by doing so.…
Seeking Heatwave Memories
Dear Readers, Do you have any fond, weird, horrifying, comic or other sorts of memories from Tropical Heatwave? We're putting together a compendium of anecdotes and remembrances for next week's issue. It's the 25th anniversary Heatwave, after all. If you'd like to weigh in, don't post here. Instead, e-mail eric.snider@weeklyplanet.com or call 813.739.4853. Also, we're…
La muerta de la MSM
The latest newspaper circ figures are out, and Drudge has a list of the top 20. Only five saw their circulation increase; the St. Petersburg Times is among the losers, with its weekday circulation down 4.4 percent. No wonder the big push to establish tbt*. E&P's assessment of the mess here. The Newspaper Association of America's…
Deborah Couldn’t Cope
Most of the big political news this week is coming out of the Hillsborough County Commission’s District 1 race, a fight between one big name and some lesser-known but well-positioned candidates. They all want to replace Kathy Castor as that dysfunctional board’s whipping boy. Democrat Deborah Cope, the first in the race on the D…
Tedd Goes Independent
Tampa Bay’s most archconservative radio host has turned his back on both political parties. I saw Tedd Webb, co-host of the politically influential morning drive talk show on WFLA 970 AM, in West Tampa this morning and he said he has gone Independent, registering his voter preference outside of either of the major parties. He…
Specious Watch
I wrote this week about an e-mail tiff between a gay PR man in Tampa and County Commissioner Ronda Storms, with an interesting intervention from Bay News 9's Al Ruechel. The story is here. As an offshoot of that story, I looked into Storms' question about liberals using the term "specious." She asked if this…
Wall Papers
Literature
Raise the Bar
Gypsy Productions continues to pair each good show with a bad one.
In Ronda’s Defense
A Bay News 9 anchor answers a criticism of Ronda Storms.
The Big Blues Tent
The 2006 Tampa Bay Blues Festival goes beyond the 12-bar genre.
Blues On The Top Floor
Robben Ford’s penthouse-style of blues.
Backspin
Adventures in the Land of the Good Groove NILE RODGERS Coming in between Chic and the Power Station, Good Groove lives up to its title with a sound that's both funkier and leaner than either of those two. Regular mates Tony Thompson and Bernard Edwards are on hand to fatten the beat up, but in…
Tampa Bay Blues Festival
Fri.-Sun. May 5-7 Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg Three-day pass, $50; Fri. & Sun., $20; Sat., $25 www.tampabaybluesfest.com
The Return of the Native
A Tampa Bay expatriate comes back — as the Planet’s new staff writer.
Welcome to the Planet
New arrivals and recent moves.
Spins
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Columbia When it gets right down to cases, you've got to really dig this kinda shit — unfiltered traditional American folk music played hoe-down style. If you generally don't, as I generally don't, then Springsteen's spirited take on the folk tradition of Pete Seeger et al will…
DISC MEN
A roundup of DVDs from Chuck Berry, Marvin Gaye, the Buzzocks and more.
Tough Choices
What does your wine say about you?
The Blotter
QUITE AN INVENTORY: Tampa police officers witnessed a vehicle blocking the right of way of Willow Avenue (just north of Kennedy Boulevard). As the cops approached, the vehicle sped off from the scene, accelerating through the intersection, against the right of way and cutting off another driver. The police gave chase, catching up to the…
Upcoming Releases
The following releases will be in stores Tues., May 9: David Aldo, Times (215) Astral Doors, Astralism (Locomotive Music) Beyond Fear, Beyond Fear (Steamhammer/SPV) The Black Heart Procession, Spell (Touch & Go) The Church, Uninvited, Like the Clouds (True North) Clear Static, Clear Static (Maverick) David Costa, Dream and a Plan (Skeleton Crew) Cut The…
A Beloved Local Remembered
ART/MEMORIAL
Bella vista
Aqua Bella shows potential but it still has to work out some kinks.
Studio Fest
FILM
Twisted Sisters
FUNDRAISER
Hill Country Blues
Duwayne Burnside keeps the tradition alive.
Dance to the Music
Sometimes you just need a dose of the old-school soul-funk. But where are you gonna get it? When James Brown's not in jail, he's dreaming up freaky new ways to get back there. You've seen George Clinton about a thousand times, and his sets these days aren't exactly precision bolts of groovy songcraft. And most…
Looking Into The Abyss
Joel Meyerowitz’s Ground Zero photos show 9/11’s aftermath in amazing detail.
Morally Uplifting
Issues/Learning
A Charitable Pair
Charles Fazzino is arguably one of most popular 3-D artists in the country, a detail-oriented storyteller who creates fine art silkscreen serigraphs via a process in which each image is meticulously cut, glued, glittered and then re-assembled, all by hand. Fazzino is a huge supporter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and after meeting Nuance Galleries…
Music Menu
THURSDAY, MAY 04 KITTIE/THE AGONY SCENE/ON BROKEN WINGS Young Canadian all-girl act Kittie was a novelty nu-metal hit around the turn of the millennium, but lineup changes, label woes and the fact that the band wasn't very good saw it slip out of the limelight shortly thereafter. Word has it a revamped version of the…
Bird of Paradise
An enjoyable kid flick, Hoot is sweet without being saccharine.
Rating the Fridge
What can an icebox say about your personality?
May-December
RUSH TO JUDGMENT Limbaugh wins, wasn't doctor shopping. He was "physician choosing." SLAMMING SAMI Judge Moody tells Al-Arian: "Your only connection to widows and orphans was that you create them." ADVICE FOR TEENS Commit the crime, then brag about it on myspace.com. Not the other way around. SUPREMES SIDE WITH ANNA NICOLE She has a…
Outtakes
NEW RELEASES MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III (PG-13) Summer's officially here with this latest addition to yet another massively popular action franchise based on yet another vintage TV series. Tom Cruise returns, fresh from his baby-making marketing tie-in with Katie Holmes, and Oscar-winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) gets to collect a big paycheck while chewing the scenery…
Promises, Promises
Chen Kaige, a veteran Chinese filmmaker primarily known for conventional and staid melodramas such as Farewell My Concubine, attempts to hop on the Crouching Tiger bandwagon with this lavishly mounted martial arts fantasy. The results are often stunning on a purely visual level, but you'd best soak up every available ounce of pleasure from those…
The Winelist
Got an upcoming or ongoing wine event? Send information to: The Wine List, 810 N. Howard Ave., Tampa, FL 33606, fax 813-739-4801 or e-mail winestuff@weeklyplanet.com. WINES FROM NOVUS Sample wines from Novus, a winery in Argentina that has a selection of affordable wines. $10; includes souvenir glass and hors d'oeuvres. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Fri., May 5.…
