Holiday Auction 2011: All-access pass to New World Brewery concerts for a year
This is a can't-miss auction item for music fans who love New World Brewery, Ybor City's popular bar and concert venue. The fine folks at New World (in conjunction with promoters New Granada Presents, THX Mgmt and Brokenmold Entertainment) will grant the winner (and a plus-one) a spot on the guest list for every event…
Holiday Auction 2011: All-access pass to every Aestheticized Presents show in 2012
Get on the guest list for every single one of the hip-as-shit shows hosted by aestheticized presents >>> with an all-access year-long pass. The auction winner and one guest get free entry to all aes show presented in 2012, along with a poster to every show attended. So far, confirmed shows this year include Akron/Family…
Holiday Auction 2011: Be a music critic for a night
Click here for auction. Tracy May Everybody’s a critic, especially when it comes to concert reviews. If you or someone you love is dead certain he or she would be a much better concert reviewer than whatsisname, here’s the chance to prove it. With this package, the wannabe music critic will get to choose a…
Holiday Auction 2011: Interview your favorite band
They Might Be Giants Want to find out the story behind the Mountain Goats' 2011 13th album and the fictional tarot cards included with the liner notes? Curious about how They Might Be Giants keeps the humorous songs fresh almost 30 years into their career? Craving a few minutes with Gregg Allman so you can…
Concert review: Joe Bonamassa at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater
A wrap-up of the Friday night concert, with photos.
Bid for a custom rap tune from Big Cheese in CL’s Holiday Auction
Like a Weird Al with swagger, Big Cheese, aka Jakeem Johnson, is our local parody master and has been featured on Tosh.0 and G-4 TV. He went viral nationwide with his parody of Plies’ “Becky”: “Gimme Dat Bacon.” Now, he’s willing to rap for you. Let the Best of the Bay winner write a tribute,…
Magic of the night: the stupefying Masters of Illusion
Sultry, stunning and spellbinding are spot-on adjectives in describing Masters of Illusion: Impossible Magic, a show that captured audiences Nov. 28 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. Trickery seldom knocks the senses defenseless, but nothing trumps the experience of seeing a live show, complete with exotic animals, beautiful dancers, escapologists, comedy magic, quick change artists,…
Mitch Perry Report 11.30.11
Romney tardy, Gingrich gaining, immigration flip-flopping
Is this right? New poll shows Gingrich beating Romney in Florida by 24 points
Newt Gingrich's rise as the latest challenger to Mitt Romney in the battle for the GOP nomination is more than just hype, if you believe a series of polls conducted by the polling firm of InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research, although this comes with a caveat. This morning the Jacksonville Times-Union is reporting that in a poll…
This week in food and drink
Repeal Day Party, Walk the Line on Barley Wine Festival, holiday wine tastings and more.
Romney keeps Tampa crowd waiting for an hour — then speaks for 10 minutes
Romney was mobbed by supporters after his brief speech at the Port of Tampa GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is no doubt a busy man. And his local supporters? Apparently the Romney camp thinks they have time to burn, as the co-front runner for the GOP nomination for president appeared a full hour later than…
New Senate map of CD-11 goes against the public’s wishes
There's a lot to decipher in the FL Senate staff's newly drafted maps of state congressional and legislative districts. And that's before you figure in the impact of Amendments 5 & 6, which require the legislature to craft the districts in a compact and politically neutral fashion — as well as the federal Voting Rights…
Immigration reform advocates make their case, while Mel Martinez does the McCain flip-flop
Mel Martinez now backs Mitt Romney's stance on illegal immigration Mainstream political reporters immediately pounced upon Newt Gingrich's comments during the last GOP presidential debate regarding illegal immigration: "I do not see how the party who says it's the party of the family adopts an immigration policy which destroys families who have been here a…
New Music Tuesday! (November 29)
Live releases from Kylie Minogue, Yes and Adele plus new music by Trey Songz, Kid Sister, Jimmy Cliff & more (with video)
Fab CL Holiday Auction items for foodies
Chef’s dinners, pizza maker for a day, private wine tasting and more.
Photo review: Gwar at Stadium Green Iguana, Tampa
Blood, guts, arms, and skin. What else can you ask for? All slaves of Gwar know exactly what to expect each year, as do photographers. Out of the nine or 10 of us who had the balls to shoot Wednesday night's concert, only one showed up in a poncho. Still not sure if that's smart,…
Deck the halls with ‘spirited’ gifts and festive cocktails
Gift ideas and festive cocktails to make your season bright (and a bit more bearable).
Mitch Perry Report 11.29.11
We're back in the groove after shaking off the cobwebs yesterday of the four-day national holiday. Tampa is the epicenter of the race for the Republican nomination for president, and not just because it will host the party's four day convention late next summer. As the western edge of the crucial I-4 corridor, the Bay…
The Gaily News: Gay porn company shoots film at Occupy Oakland
In a move that likely won't bring much legitimacy to the cause, adult film company, Dirty Boy Video, found a new setting for its latest gay porn: the tents of Occupy Oakland. The movie, Occupy My Throat, was inspired by stories of people having sex in Occupy Wall Street's original Zuccotti Park encampment. The tagline…
Figure on Romney in Tampa today to bash Obama, not Gingrich
Willard "Mitt" Romney returns to Tampa today, the home of his Florida headquarters for the GOP nomination for President. The former Massachusetts governor will speak before a private audience at 5:30 p.m. at the Tampa Museum of Art, which is just a couple of football fields away from the site of Occupy Tampa. The OWS…
Fox News to commandeer Tampa Bay History Center for GOP Convention?
Tampa Bay History Center is sure to host a broadcast outlet for the Republican National Convention Among the 40,000 or so folks who we're told we'll be descending upon Tampa Bay for the four day Republican National Convention next August will be 10,000-15,000 reporters. From the broadcast and cable news side, those folks are going…
Godspeed, Georgie: George Michael battling severe pneumonia in Vienna hospital
News of George Michael battling a severe bout of pneumonia in a Vienna hospital zipped through the tendrils of social networking sites late Monday, early Tuesday morning, with comments reflecting sadness and shock. In their comments, fans dreaded the possible demise of another '80s pop icon (though no official statements stated that the star was…
USF-St Pete group protests tuition hikes
Activists said there will be more demonstrations on the St. Petersburg campus.
MacDinton’s makes its way to Downtown St. Pete this December
Bringing Irish spirit(s), pub fare and revelry to the Jannus Live entertainment complex.
Men’s Health declares St. Pete to be America’s “Saddest City”
Tampa fans, don’t despair. Your city was ranked 4th saddest in the nation.
‘Green’ walls: Utilizing plants to create vertical vegetable “gardens”
They filter air and water, soak up carbon dioxide and help lessen the “heat island” effect of urban areas.
Edible and drinkable homemade holiday gift ideas
Candies and cookie mixes to infused booze and cocktail mixers that won’t break the bank and can also be mailed.
Update: Barney Frank’s defense of Bill Clinton was his finest moment
(Updated: Tuesday 8:45 a.m.)After 30 years in the House of Representatives, Congressman Barney Frank announced his departure from Congress Monday afternoon. At his news conference, Frank said that the redistricting of his Congressional district would have made a run for re-election tougher next year, adding that "I don’t like raising money.” The 71-year-old Frank may…
I want my LGBTV: OWN debuts Being Chaz and I am Jazz (video)
OWN, Oprah's TV network, premiered two new transgender-friendly documentary specials yesterday: Being Chaz and I Am Jazz: A Family in Transition. Being Chaz is the follow-up to last year's documentary about Chaz Bono, Becoming Chaz, focusing less on Bono's transition and more on his life as a trans man. I Am Jazz focuses on the…
Mitch Perry Report 11.28.11
Welcome back everyone. I hope you had a fine time over the past four days – now let's get back to work. Later today in CL we'll have another dispatch of college students in Florida protesting tuition rate hikes. Today's local event takes place at the USF-St. Pete campus, one of what organizers say will…
Mitt Romney still a shoo-in in New Hampshire?
Jon Huntsman The latest polls out of New Hampshire, the site of the first GOP presidential primary on January 10 (Iowa votes a week earlier, but that's a caucus) show Mitt Romney still in very good shape six weeks out. But the political world got excited Sunday when the state's leading newspaper, the Manchester Union-Leader,…
Mars Rover on its way to roam planet
Photos and first-hand accounts of the launch
Cyber Monday: Find a deal, place a bid
Online shopping tips — including some from CL’s Holiday Auction.
Two leading Republicans not really interested in extending unemployment benefits or payroll tax break
After their failure to come to a Congressionally mandated deadline to find a way to reduce deficit spending by $1.2 trillion, D.C. lawmakers will return to the nation's capital to discuss extending a payroll tax cut and reauthorizing extended unemployment benefits that allow up to 99 weeks of benefits for the longterm jobless. Without that…
Cynical and Southern: Since I’m ‘privileged,’ am I allowed to have an opinion?
It has occurred to me before that everything I think about the world might be wrong. I can accept that. I consider myself somewhat of a free thinker and I’ll freely admit there’s a chance all my ideas are off the mark. Once I began writing this column, however, something happened that never occurred to…
Outside the Box: #OccupyBlackFriday
CL’s Dave Russell braved the crowds and lived to tell about it on video.
Lucid Absinthe’s Ted Breaux single-handedly revived this once-celebrated and since-demonized spirit
Grasping the Green Fairy
Getting it on in Getting Off, A Novel of Sex and Violence
It’s amazing the amount of sin that the Original Sin begat. Murder, rape, sexual abuse, and the lesser evils such as theft. Katherine Anne Tolliver, the heroine in Getting Off, Lawrence Block's new novel (writing as Jill Emerson, Titan Books, $25.99), suffered all of those except for murder, and she has become practiced in some…
Green Community Calendar weekend events
Gulfport’s Green Alternative Market, workshops and more.
Braised red cabbage with apples is a simple and versatile addition to any meal
Better red when fed
Is OWS a GLBT issue?
One of the biggest news stories of the second part of 2011 has been the Occupy Wall Street movement . I am a huge supporter of their goals and bristle when people say that although it’s nice, they "really don’t stand for anything." The OWS movement may lack unified leadership, but their primary message is…
Find great green holiday gifts from nonprofit organizations
Find a wide range of gifts from green and environmental nonprofits that use the proceeds to fund important work and from green companies online.
5 things I am thankful for today …
I am grateful that my eternally optimistic nature enables me to make lemonade out of stinky pee, for allowing me to revel in the potentially positive outcomes of Jon Corzine providing the Occupy Movement the most apt and cliche of a poster boy/punching bag.
Going Wilde: An Ideal Husband at American Stage
Splendid performances in an early play by Oscar Wilde.
Black Friday: The nightmare before Christmas
A retail veteran’s tips, including “go back to bed.”
Black Friday alternatives from Shanna Gillette
Localist, sustainability enthusiast, and CL contributing photog Shanna Gillette blogs about the impeding "Black Friday" madness and the counter to that, "Shop Small Saturday".
Tips for shoppers from a Black Friday pro
Plan to wait, but try not to panic.
Craft brews to pair with your holiday feast.
A sudsy affair
Pew study indicates 1 reason why Mitt Romney can’t break 28% among primary voters
For the past couple of months, political commentators have been scratching their heads in wonderment as they ask the musical question "Why can't Mitt Romney break 25-28-30 percent?" in the polls in the race for the GOP nomination for president. But some of those same polls show Romney extremely competitive in a general election showdown…
Reel Projections: The Muppets are back. YAAAAAY!
The Reel Projections guys offer their thoughts on The Muppets.
Are you the next Arthur Miller or Lillian Hellman? Submit your script to the inaugural Next Great Play competition
I’ve been a theater geek since I was eight years old. Unfortunately, I spent my first semester in college as a discouraged theater performance major. Instead of memorizing scripts, my classmates and I were required to memorize the various types of tools, hardware, paint and wood we then used to build sets for the theater…
Getting it on in Getting Off, A Novel of Sex and Violence
Don’t let your girlfriend/wife read this. She may get ideas.
Bad Sex in Fiction award has stiff competition
If only Carrie Bradshaw could be nominated "In the shower, Ed stood with his hands at the back of his head, like someone just arrested, while she abused him with a bar of soap." This was just one of many fantastically painful sex scenes that earned David Guterson's novel, Ed King, a nomination for Literary…
Cynical and Southern: The penis pic that ended a friendship
Once upon a time there was a gay guy who liked to send out naked pictures of himself. That gay guy was me. I can count on two hands the number of people to whom I’ve actually sent racy photos. Ok I lied, but definitely my hands and my feet. Part of me fell in…
Mitch Perry Report 11.23.11
Have you noticed in recent years that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving for a lot of folks is an extra day they take off? Obviously it makes sense for those traveling for the national holiday. So we salute those of you who are punching the clock today, like most of us at CL. In case you…
NFL Thursday looking awesome
Some people hate the fact that televised sports (in some households) are going on during a national holiday like Thanksgiving. And of course, depending on where you'll spend your time with friends and/or family this Thursday, the television might never be turned on, such is the nature of the stimulating conversations you'll be participating in.…
GOP’s latest Debate- Huntsman & Gingrich stand out
Although the headlines indicate that Newt Gingrich's refreshingly non-hateful rap on the issue of illegal immigrants was the most news worthy part of last night's CNN GOP debate on foreign policy (Newt dared to use the "C" word – referring to comprehensive immigration reform), the best exchange of the night flew between Mitt Romney and…
Why Occupy?
Voices of protest from Tampa and St. Pete.
This week in food and drink
ThanksVegan feast, Florida Estates Winery’s Wine Festival, caviar tasting and more.
Am I a transphobe?
Plus: A fetish shutterbug in an awkward position.
Parrot Cafe fills a need in Grand Central
Simple food at a great price — and they’re open for breakfast.
Black Friday: Small businesses, big deals
Indie stores are doing discounts, too — sometimes with a shot of Wild Turkey.
Thank your teachers
And raise their starting salaries, too.
The high price of convenience
Our instant-gratification society ignores sizable hidden costs.
Ten-plus reasons my life doesn’t suck
Looking for reasons to give thanks? Try mine.
The Airborne Toxic Event wafts into Ybor City
Plus: Joe Bonamassa, Judas Priest and more of the week’s best upcoming concerts.
Jim Norman is now clear with the law. But how ’bout with the voters?
The U.S. Attorney for the Middle section of Florida, Robert O'Neill, announced Monday afternoon that after a year long investigation, his office would not pursue charges that state Senator Jim Norman violated criminal laws. Norman was under investigation after media reports surfaced in the summer of 2010 revealing that he never listed an Arkansas vacation…
DIY Green: Upcycled Thanksgiving tablescape (video)
Create a Thanksgiving tablescape using paper grocery bags and other found items.
Mike Fasano rips Florida PSC after agency grants Progress Energy’s request to bill ratepayers $140 million
Mike Fasano Progress Energy customers are about to take it in the shorts again. Today the Florida Public Service Commission granted the energy company's request to be able to hit ratepayers up for $140 million, money that Progress would use to purchase energy while its broken Crystal River nuclear plant sits offline. The average extra…
Tampa’s Left Coast Bar Guild’s ‘Repeal Day’ Shindig: Sun., Dec. 4
Retro drinks, food from local eateries, live music, burlesque performances and a swingin’ good time.
Interview: Judas Priest singer Rob Halford (with audio)
The “Metal God” explains why Judas Priest’s ‘farewell tour’ is not a goodbye, offers tales of alcohol abuse, and more.
Be your own barista with these post-holiday feast drink offerings
Tasty, coffeehouse style drinks for the holiday season.
George McGovern will NOT be in Tampa next week
George McGovern Last week CL reported that former South Dakota U.S. Senator George McGovern would be giving a speech and signing copies of his latest book, What it Means to be a Democrat. However, Inkwood Books owner Carla Jimenez (whose store was sponsoring the appearance) tells CL that McGovern, who was recently hospitalized for exhaustion,…
The Gaily News: Pakistan cracks down on text messaging
Pakistan, a country that has blocked Facebook and banned YouTube over the past few years, is now cracking down on text messaging. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority compiled a list of approximately 1,600 words deemed pornographic or offensive to Islam. The list of banned words is heavy with LGBT-related terms, including gay, lesbian, fairy, anal sex…
Castor says she’s mad at Congress in wake of latest fail in D.C.
Kathy Castor To tell you how little confidence anybody in America has about anything about government these days, the failure of the Congressional supercommittee to come up with $1.2 trillion to reduce the deficit is shocking absolutely nobody. Somewhat predictably, Republicans are blaming Democrats (first and foremost, President Obama of course), while Democrats are blaming…
Mitch Perry Report 11.22.11
We're a bit weary this Tuesday morning, having hung out last in Palm Harbor to get a chance to speak with embattled Pinellas County Commissioner Norm Roche, who made his first public appearance since he became front-page news regarding anonymously posted comments – comments that criticized his colleagues on the board, as well as gays…
When Occupy met Chilllounge…
A silent protest during Saturday’s Chillounge event targeted local mogul Bill Edwards.
The Descendants: Clooney goes Hawaiian
Director Alexander Payne scores again.
Norm Roche says, “I am not a bigot. I am not a racist.”
Norm Roche before the town hall meeting in Palm Harbor Pinellas County Commissioner Norm Roche said Monday night that he was not a bigot or a racist, in his first comments to the media since the St. Petersburg Times outed him last week for making anonymous negative comments about gays and blacks on news stories…
Fantasies of Hillary Clinton challenging Obama apparently will never die
Pat Caddell Frankly, I thought they had all shot their wad. I'm talking about the centrist-conservatives in American politics (some who call themselves Democrats) who have yearned for Hillary Clinton to challenge Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for president in 2012. Such a fantasy has never been promoted by our Secretary of State, of…
Rock the holiday season with these tuneful tomes
It’s the holiday season, and that means it’s time for music-book giving. Luckily, we have a great bunch of just released books for our music-junkie friends. First, for the coffee table, comes Eagles: Taking it to the Limit (Running Press, $34.50). You’re probably thinking: Why would I want a picture book of hirsute wannabe cowboys…
I want my LGBTV: ‘A Very Gaga Thanksgiving’ (with video)
Brace yourself for "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving." The outlandish musician and gay rights ally will be serving up a meal inspired by her heritage Thursday night, after everyone has feasted on their holiday meals. The ABC special gives a behind-the-scenes look at Gaga's life, with an intimate performance in front of friends and family and…
Drunk Camera Guy invades the Tampa taping of Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me
Our beloved paparazzi-in-pursuit, Drunk Camera Guy, invaded the taping of Wait Wait … Don't Tell Me! at the Straz Thursday night. Here we share some pics of the show and the ensuing hobnobbery that took place during the VIP after-party. Click here to listen to the episode in Tampa from Nov. 17. Oh, and be…
UPDATE: George McGovern cancels Tampa appearance
George McGovern (UPDATE: George McGovern will not be speaking in Tampa on December 1. Read here for more details). George McGovern is coming to speak in Tampa early next month on behalf of his new book, What it Means to be a Democrat. The 89-year-old former U.S. Senator from South Dakota is best known of…
Holiday Auction 2011: Vinyl shopping spree with CL Music Editor Leilani Polk
Phil Bardi Click here for auction. The vinyl shopping spree with Music Editor Leilani Polk has become a super popular gift for record-collecting music enthusiasts. This year's winner will get to choose two records each from three indie shops: Daddy Kool and Bananas Music in St. Petersburg, and Mojo Books & Music in Tampa. That's…
