Shop Local: The Todd
Couples are spicing up more than the eggnog this holiday season, trading the mistletoe for remote-control vibrators. And when it comes to finding the perfect stocking stuffer, there’s no better place than The Todd. Open since 1969, this veritable warehouse of sex toys and porn flicks near USF-Tampa is not only the biggest sex store…
Shop Local: Vintage Wine Cellars
This is the way a neighborhood wine shop should look: full of bottles of all types and price ranges but uncluttered, with a hint of dark-wood old-world charm. Three decades in South Florida have brought this indie a loyal following even in the face of the big-box wine purveyors that hit town in the past…
Shop Local: Bay To Bay Hardware
Where else can you buy an electric chair for rodents, tool kits, pool supplies — and rent a helicopter, all the while knowing that your money is staying in the community? Gift this: Not a creature was stirring, especially not a mouse if you gave the Rat Zapper Ultra (right) as a Christmas gift. The…
Free Dr Pepper for everyone! Or not. (updated 12/2/08)
With Sunday's release of the long-awaited (by some, not all) Guns N' Roses album, Chinese Democracy, Dr Pepper will make good on its promise of a free Dr Pepper for everyone in America. Starting at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday November 23rd, Dr Pepper, for 24 hours, will offer a coupon on its website for a…
Mojo Gurus ink multi-album deal
This just in from Brett Steele, manager of the Bay area's Mojo Gurus, about the band signing with the Canadian label True North: True North Records and The Mojo Gurus announce the signing of a multi-album deal. The first album, entitled "Let's Get Lit With…The Mojo Gurus," will be released in March, 2009 with tour…
Britney Spears bringing ’circus’ to Tampa
Britney Spears, who has totally regained her hottie status, is back, and playing the St. Pete Times Forum on March 8. Here's the info: (TAMPA, FL) – Britney Spears will bring her highly anticipated The Circus Starring Britney Spears 2009 Tour to the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL on Sunday, March 8. The…
post-thanksgiving pop
After several days of family togetherness and gorging on Thanksgiving leftovers, Saturday evening at New World Brewery was a welcome respite brought to us by THX Mgmt. The show featured a diverse group of Florida bands: Beardsley, Incredible Crisis, Zillionaire, and Sunbears! I got there a bit late after being distracted playing trucks with my friend's three year old so I missed Beardsley… but…
Billy Joel and Elton John slated for Forum
The twin pianos — one black, one white — stationed in the St. Pete Forum conference room should've offered a pretty solid clue. But the rumor at the news conference was that the Forum was unveiling a Britney Spears tour date. Instead, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Oren Koules stood at the podium just past 11…
Tampa — the next Vegas?
I like Las Vegas. The casinos, free drinks, bright flashy lights rivaling Times Square — it's like a playground for adults. Even if you visit on a reporter's budget, there's a wealth of fun and free things to do. On nice nights, just walking down the Strip, sipping on a flask of whiskey and watching…
Rick Bragg’s latest, Prince of Frogtown; and better well-read than dead
BRAGG-ING WRITES: Rick Bragg (at right) is a great storyteller and I’ve always had faith that people will continue to want stories. Ever since we sat around campfires in the days of the hairy and unhygienic cavemen, we’ve always wanted stories. I’ve always been a sucker for them (stories, not cavemen) – whether in newspapers, magazines or…
Shop Local: Gas Plant Antique Arcade
Ever wonder ’bout the big pink building on Central Avenue next to Ferg’s? Perhaps you were intimidated by its giant size or the Pepto-Bismol paint job, or perhaps you assumed that since you don’t collect antiques, Gas Plant Antique Arcade isn’t a practical place to shop. Whatever your preconceptions, we suggest a trip straightaway. Gas…
Sidebern’s Competes in International Sherry Competition
Little ‘ole Tampa hits the big time this Thursday, as SideBern's sommelier Kevin Pelley and Executive Chef Chad Johnson head to New York City to match wits and palates with four other restaurants from across the country. They head to semi-finals of Copa Jerez where restaurants compete by offering up their most innovative food paired…
Do It Today
The Salvador Dalí Museum's latest exhibition, Wilfredo Lam in North America, includes a selection of paintings by the 20th-century Cuban-born artist, who's known for incorporating Cubism, Surrealism, "primitivism," Négritude (Black Identity), Afro-Cuban history and the African-derived Santería religion into his art. A related Avant-Garde Lecture Series presentation, "Lam and Contemporary Art & Letters in Cuba,"…
The Short List: Obama’s Superfriends to save the world
If you haven't already, I highly recommend checking out Talking Points Memo's "The Day in 100 Seconds." It's amazing how many video clips can be crammed into a minute-forty. Obama unveils team of Superfriends to fight crime around the globe. First up for the Superfriends … Politico: Alex Sink won't run against Sen. Martinez. …but…
Win Tickets to see Of Montreal / Les Savy Fav
We interrupt your normally scheduled programming for a brief message from Creative Loafing's Promotions Department. Don't forget to visit CL's Fun and Free Stuff page. This (and next) week, we're giving away tickets to see Of Montreal, Les Savy Fav, Wanted DVDs and more! You can also join our music text message group "The Mixtape" for…
Cranky Copy Editor vs. Rick Reilly
Rick Reilly is lucky I'm not his editor. Fo' real. Because if he had turned in Exhibit A: If you look at Collins' face this week, you'll see a big cut on his nose. He was deer hunting, saw a six-pointer loping by, didn't have time to get a good rifle rest on his shoulder,…
Auto-Tune: Pop music’s latest scourge
Pretty much any time a music critic of my, um, seasoning takes a stand against something trendy, he (she) runs the risk of being labeled an old fart. But I don’t think I’m succumbing to old-fartism when I say that the rampant use of Auto-Tune in today’s pop music is a scourge that I hope…
Start a band then define your goals
After getting your band together, coming up with a name and writing a few songs, the first thing you need to do is make sure everyone is on the same page by defining your goals as a band. There are two main types of goals: Overall Band Goals and Tactical Goals.
Floating down Central Ave.
I've been thinking about gravity. I guess that's to be expected when the person you love more than anything, the heart beat you've tied all of your tomorrows to, gets her private pilot's license as my partner did this past week. Maybe I have the mind of a medieval peasant, but flying has always seemed vaguely blasphemous to…
My desert island movies
I had a dream the other night that I was on a transatlantic flight on its way to Africa. I was sitting next to a man in a brown jacket, clown pants and Jesus sandals who kept repeating, “Down we go.” That should have given me a clue to the unfortunate end to my dream,…
Vacation songs
Thanksgiving Weekend just didn't provide enough do-nothing time for me so I decided to take this entire week off and have me a stay-cation. I'm going to re-alphabetize my CD collection, dust my apartment, finish a couple books, write haikus and whatever else I feel like doing. Which will surely include some light blogging. Here…
Lowry Park CEO Lex Salisbury’s newest problem? Environmental violations.
Lowry Park Zoo CEO Lex Salisbury is in hot water again. Seems his for-profit side project, Safari Wild, has violated numerous water regulations and Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFMUD) officials may fine him tens of thousands of dollars. From the Times: Robyn Felix, spokeswoman for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, says Salisbury and…
Best Budget Bubbly
Over the past several weeks, I've poured 40 or so sparkling wines and Champagnes down my gullet (and I'm not done yet), attempting to uncover the best deals for the holiday season. Although that may sound like nirvana, I can say that, like the jitters commencing after that third cup of Jamaican Blue or the last gluttonous bite of…
Photos from Beer Club at Skipper’s
Photos from Beer Club at Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa. Alfie strips down to his speedo before the Legendary JCs bring the house down.
Food Gift of the Day: Tastebook’s cheap and pretty home cookbooks
The text on the Tastebook site calls its own product "stunning and unique." For once, I'll have to agree with the PR flunkies. With just a little effort, you can create a recipe book of your own family favorites that's miles ahead of the old-fashioned box of handwritten note cards. The process is simple: just…
Shop Local: Emerald City Comics
Emerald City Comics has been in business almost 20 years, so the shop has weathered its share of economic storms (like the big comic bust of the mid-'90s). Now it's bigger and more colorful than ever, loaded with all the necessities for a properly geeked life: racks and racks of comic-book back-issues, loaded with everything…
The Short List: Wrestling for X-Box 360
Ah, the holidays: A time to reflect. A time to show one's love and affection for your fellow humans. A time to — Whoa! Are those discounted X-box 360s? Unhand that box or I will kill you!!!! India is getting more tense by the second. Is Microsoft finally buying Yahoo? Welcome home, Endeavour. Come on,…
Do It Today
Celtic Crossroads — a seven-member Irish roots group that fuses traditional Irish music and its lively percussive rhythms with bluegrass, gypsy and jazz — bring their songs and dances to Clearwater. 1 p.m., Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, $16. Pictured below: Johnny Berrill, Michael McClintock & David Neylon of Celtic Crossroads. The Henry B. Plant Museum…
Bucs find a way again
If ever there was a game that underscores the importance of turnovers, it was the Bucs' win over the Saints. The Saints offense outgained the Bucs 332-254. Saints QB Drew Brees looked imposing most of the game, going 25-47 for 296 yards and two touchdowns. But Brees three three interceptions, all of them at crucial…
Shop Local: Theater tickets
A subscription to a local theater is a great gift for the stagestruck, not to mention a superb way to ensure the stability of Tampa Bay’s often cash-strapped companies. But why give a subscription when the season’s half over? Good question, but many local troupes have an answer: the flexible pass, which allows subscribers to…
James McMurty offers truth in songwriting
James McMurtry and the Heartless Bastards w/Ronny Elliott Band, 8 p.m. Fri., Dec. 5, Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa, $17 advanced, $20 door. Photo Craig Seth. James McMurtry might not be a name on par with, say, fellow Texans Lyle Lovett or Steve Earle, but the singer/songwriter and bad-ass guitarist is still a revered act in the…
Fuck the Dream Police
Let's dispense with the gripping opening paragraph and cut to the chase, shall we? This is the text message that greeted me this otherwise lovely Saturday morning: "I had a dream about you." That's a good start. I like me them kind of text messages. "You were mean to me in it." Fuck. "You shouldn't…
Shop Local: Villa Rosa Distinctive Linens
In 1984, that had the funny-looking building on I-275 and Dale Mabry. A research analyst at the time, she was harboring an entrepreneur deep inside, along with a love for sewing, lace, embroidering and fine linens. So she bought Mark’s 66 gas station on a busy corner in South Tampa and opened Villa Rosa Distinctive…
Reel Projections Friday, November 28
I had a feeling today would be a slow movie news day the moment I got on the Howard Frankland and started blowing by everyone else in my '85 Merc. Usually, 80 mph isn't nearly enough to keep up with the other caffeinated leadfoots eager to send themselves (and the rest of us) to an…
Miles of Music: What went wrong?
Editor's note: This excellent, lengthy, informative, investigative, and, yes, controversial post arrives via our man Autopys IV (pictured) over at ninebullets.net. Like many other blogs and web sites on the internet, I wrote about the sudden closing of Miles of Music with a tone of sadness. As I said at the time, I always felt…
Get to know your local mutants: volume 1
Insecticide Lobotomy\\\<\/param\>\\<\/param\>\\<\/param\>\\<\/embed\>\<\/object\> Tampa Bay musician Insecticide Lobotomy (IL) performs and creates noise by manipulating and combining a series of effect pedals and processors. Turning knobs on and off while adjusting oscillation, frequency, pitch and rhythm of the different effects, musicians like IL create a soundscape of squeals, clicks, drones and caustic noise. Certainly not unique in technique or attitude,…
Have a drink on me
I expanded and altered this post for my latest Bar Tab, titled "Wild Turkey" in the print edition. Here's the opening: Holy shit. It's the holidays already. Which means most of us will be drinking even more than normal. Most likely in a fortified, well-stocked bedroom where those obnoxious relatives can't find us — or…
The Short List: Macy’s parade gets Rickrolled
Easily the most disturbing moment of yesterday's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was the live Rickrolling of the audience. And is that a blue penis in the opening part? I thought this was a family show! Let the bargain hunting begin. Terror in India. But was it home grown? Meanwhile, in Thailand, expect long delays at…
Black Indie Friday
Lots of glossy flyers in the paper, an abundance of advertisements on TV, and websites like BlackFriday.Net, BlackFriday.Info, and Black Friday Ads to guide you on the big box retailers, here's a few local indies that are offering their own post-Turkey Day deals. Enjoy a free Black Friday drink with your purchases at Buffalo Gal…
Reel Projections Thanksgiving edition
Let's dispense with the news (save that for Friday) and just recap some of the things we have to be thankful for in the world of cinema this year: The career resurgence of Robert Downey Jr. (see Iron Man, Tropic Thunder and the currently filming Sherlock Holmes). What looks to be a major comeback by…
The Short List — a Madonna and A-Rod Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving! Keeping it short today, gotta run off and make some buttered toast and popcorn … It's a Madge and A-Rod Thanksgiving!! BayWalk in foreclosure. 27-year-old named chief speechwriter for Obama White House. Bush's and Obama's thoughts on Thanksgiving. (Bush has thoughts?!?) Macy's Parade on two networks. Coleman extends his lead over Al Franken.…
Shopping Local: The Army Navy Surplus Market
On those days when you’re shopping for a flight jacket, Dickies work pants, a 50-inch belt, a samurai sword and an ammo vest to hold your bullets and grenades, there is no better shopping alternative than the Army Navy Surplus Market just north of downtown Tampa. The store is a hodgepodge of stuffed-to-the-rafters wooden shelves…
The greatest drinking songs … aka Happy Holidays
I expanded and altered this post for my latest Bar Tab, titled "Wild Turkey" in the print edition. Here's the opening: Holy shit. It's the holidays already. Which means most of us will be drinking even more than normal. Most likely in a fortified, well-stocked bedroom where those obnoxious relatives can't find us — or…
Shopping Local: The Army Navy Surplus Market
On those days when you’re shopping for a flight jacket, Dickies work pants, a 50-inch belt, a samurai sword and an ammo vest to hold your bullets and grenades, there is no better shopping alternative than the Army Navy Surplus Market just north of downtown Tampa. The store is a hodgepodge of stuffed-to-the-rafters wooden shelves…
The Indie Holiday Shopping Spree
OK, maybe Wal-Mart is the only solvent mercantile operation in the country, but that doesn’t mean you have to do all your shopping in the big-box behemoths. Especially not this season, which is supposed to be about the joy of giving. Where’s the joy in giving the same-old, same-old, when the one-of-a-kind, never-thought-of-that gifts —…
Punching Your Clown Card
I've been called a lot of different names thus far in my life: jock, nerd, fat boy, lightweight, goofball, transplant, outsider, new guy, frat boy, weirdo, and cool kid. Those were all while I was in school. Nowadays, I pretty much just go by Infinite Skillz or Infinite for short. My mother just calls me…
The Jesus Lizard to reunite! Briefly…
This just in from Touch and Go Records:The Jesus Lizard will reunite for "a very limited series of live dates in 2009." The original line-up will first play the All Tomorrow's Parties fest in England in May 2009 and will then head back to the states for shows which have yet to be announced. If…
The Encyclopedia of Punk
The Encyclopedia of Punk ($19. 56 at Amazon) lives up to its name with A-Z coverage of approximately 500 bands, zines, clubs, labels, subgenres and scenesters. The text is peppered with hundreds of pages that capture the movement in all its sweaty, ripped denim and tattooed glory. With a cover the size of a vinyl…
Raw Deals: This week in supermarket sales
Turkey, turkey, turkey. If you have an extra freezer in the garage, go ahead and buy a few low-cost extra birds for the future. Otherwise, pickings are slim this week, as many stores are either holding off on weekly ads thanks to the holiday, or spending more effort on gift options. Still, here are your…
Do It Today
Crowbar teams up with Reax for a Pre-Turkey Day Throwdown with a solid bill of quality Florida bands — Deland's Dish (pictured), Tallahassee's Fantome, and Strangers Family Band of Orlando. 8 p.m., $6, ages 18 and up, Ybor City. Nervous Turkey and Poetry n' Lotion play a food and booze Thanksgiving Eve party at Stoney's…
St. Pete Times food section in five clicks
Laura Reiley gives props to the dining destinations found at Wesley Chapel's new Wiregrass shopping mall: Cosi and Cantina Laredo, as well as beer hall Brass Tap. Collete and John Bancroft offer up value-conscious Thanksgiving wine suggestions. Janet Keeler inspires us create something different with Thanksgiving leftovers: Turkey and Potato Casserole. Panicked in the kitchen? Get holiday meal…
Reel Projections — Wednesday, November 26
Which movie posters do you find most memorable? Which ones do you consider among the best? Film critic TC Candler tries to answer those questions with his list of the 100 greatest movie posters of all time. He's included a lot of great, iconic posters, including those for Chinatown, Pulp Fiction and Casablanca. While reading…
The Short List: Rick Baker in Macy’s Parade
Ralph Nader ran for president again this year. Ralph Nader barely registered at the polls again this year. I blame Triumph The Insult Comic Dog. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Mayor Rick Baker set to march in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Hillary's people made up Obama's initial offer of Secretary…
Jimmy Scott: Holding Back the Years
BACKSPIN 1998 Holding Back the YearsJIMMY SCOTTArtists OnlyJimmy Scott, the diminutive jazz vocalist with an effete, quavering voice, will not suit everyone’s taste. But for those who get it, his vulnerability, and the way he means and feels every lyric, is about as soul baring as music gets. Holding Back the Years, cut when Scott…
Environmental group Project 3.0 greens Ybor City
The former home of the Tampa Bay Brewing Company in Ybor City seems to be the antithesis of an environmentally sound building. For one, the 2-story brick structure at 1812 N. 15th St. is old — 103 years old. Two, the high ceilings make heating and cooling the building a massive energy drain. The tar…
Guns N’ Roses: Chinese Democracy
The most anticipated record in rock history begins with a big noise — but it’s ultimately more of a whimper than a bang. The opening title track amounts to a Pro Tools mess of guitar processing that pours out of the speakers loud and hard but never rocks, never swings, never grabs you the way,…
Of Montreal: Skeletal Lamping
In 2007’s masterful Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer, of Montreal frontman/visionary/songwriter Kevin Barnes got up close and personal, expressing his fears, frustrations and failures against rainbow-hued synth-pop with a funky, disco-fied swagger. Skeletal Lamping finds Barnes in much better spirits and back to mining his psyche for material, the album playing much like you’d…
Holizaar and Florida Craftsmen offer handmade crafts as gifts
Now that Thanksgiving is upon us, there's no stopping the juggernaut of holiday-themed arts offerings that will overrun the calendar between now and 2009. Even self-respecting artists will turn to making Christmas tree ornaments, and cookies with sprinkles may suddenly appear at exhibition openings (not necessarily a bad thing). Thank goodness for the Holizaar, a…
Fundraiser/Comedy: USF LGBT Alumni Scholarship Fundraiser
Comic Vickie Shaw – who came out as a lesbian right around the time she started doing stand-up – is the special guest performer at the USF LGBT Alumni Scholarship Fundraiser, which supports of scholarships for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students at USF. Guests enjoy a reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres followed by…
Special Events/Fundraiser: 11th annual Historic Old Northeast Candlelight Tour of Homes
See a mid-20th Century-style penthouse condo, a 1926 arts-and-craft bungalow, a historically significant 1913 “work in progress” and several other St. Petersburg home styles during the 11th annual Historic Old Northeast Candlelight Tour of Homes. Pick up tickets and enjoy hospitality stops at Westminster Presbyterian Church (126 11th Ave NE) and Westminster Palms Colonnade Guest…
The Political Whore, aka Wayne Garcia, finds reasons to give thanks
It's time to give thanks. Enough with the things we hate: the recession and mindless campaign commercials and cash-strapped schools and unceasing cries to blindly cut taxes and congressional sex scandals. (Actually, I'm very grateful for congressional sex scandals.) As we prepare for the holiday season, I feel grateful. I'm grateful to have a job…
DVD Holiday Gift Guide: Colbert to Robot Chicken
The economic downturn threatens to make 2008 one of the tightest Christmases ever. With a goal of making spirits bright, lighthearted DVD gifts may be bona fide necessities rather than luxuries. The following suggested comedies — some hip, some heartwarming — span seven decades with the hopes of offering something to amuse everyone on your…
Theater: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang began as a 1964 children’s book by Ian Fleming about an inventor who buys an old, smashed up race car from a junk yard and fixes it up for his family, who soon discover the car has a mind of its own and fantastic capabilities — the ability to sprout wings…
Round 2: When does human life begin?
I was shocked by your highly ignorant column on "when life begins" [October 24]. You have a very conservative approach, and a misogynistic one at that. I appreciate your attempt at explaining brain waves. But what your article lacked was a woman's right to her body, and you had an even more disturbing view on…
Theater: Six Degrees of Separation
Gorilla Theatre opens John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation, a play inspired by the true account of con man David Hampton, who posed as Sidney Poitier’s son and embezzled thousands of dollars from wealthy Manhattanites. The drama has a similar concept, though it’s not the money that causes problems, but the ruthless way the young…
Green: Holiday Conservation Celebration
Two Bay area environmental crusaders, the St. Petersburg Audubon Society and the Florida Native Plant Society, present their annual "Holiday Conservation Celebration." This fundraiser and green awareness event features exhibits by local environmental groups and government agencies, refreshments, conservation awards, a silent auction of nature-themed books, crafts, plants and holiday gift items, door prizes and…
Barack, Beach Boys and Britney: Giving thanks in 2008
The economy is a rollercoaster of woe leaving many of us worrying about unemployment and the growing possibility of a crippling substance abuse problem or mental breakdown. But it's Thanksgiving, the day of gratitude. Rather than drown in self-pity, I've decided to focus on the positive. Because for all the shitty news this year has…
Theater/Dance: The Chocolate Nutcracker
Now celebrating its 11th year, Life Force Cultural Arts Academy’s production of The Chocolate Nutcracker has become a beloved community tradition that brings a freshness and cultural richness to a hackneyed classic while providing a few hundred community youths with the chance to get involved in the performing arts with help from professional actors and…
Culture/Charity: Virgin 2.0
Square One Creative — a local networking, event-planning group that counts itself among the current leaders of Ybor City’s cultural revival — stages its next multimedia party at The Ritz Ybor: Virgin 2.0, a fundraiser in support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Among the amusements are live classical and jazz music by Jamal Corrie,…
Music: Perpetual Groove
Athens, Ga. foursome Perpetual Groove has been making jam fans dance for several years with their energetic fusion of groove and trance-laden electronica with heavy-hitting rock ‘n’ roll, which jumps from assertive and distorted to quietly sublime. Plus, frontman Brock Butler’s fluid guitar notes and beseeching vocals bring a refreshing warmth to his already first-rate songwriting.…
Fundraiser: Jobsite’s Rockin’ 10th Birthday Party
This season, Jobsite Theater celebrates 10 years of bringing appealing plays to local audiences. But the company couldn’t do what it does best without support from its annual major fundraiser-cum-season wrap party “Jobsite Rocks,” renamed as a nod to the decade to “Jobsite’s Rockin’ 10th Birthday Party.” After the Jobby Awards, party goers enjoy live…
The $100 case of wine: Wine Warehouse
In a new, semi-regular feature, I'll be shopping for a $100 case of wine at Tampa Bay area retailers. First up, I browsed with Steve, Tim and Paul at Wine Warehouse at 3310 W Bay To Bay Blvd. in South Tampa, 813-839-5601: 1. Bodegas Ateca 2007 Garnacha del Fuego Catalayud, $6.99 – Taylor's review2. Fortitude…
Social networking company Ning brings Tampa Bay together on the Web
California-based Web company Ning must be having a pretty good year. In May, über-cool business magazine Fast Company spotlighted the oddly named startup and praised its business model, saying that Ning — which allows users to develop custom social networks around their communities and interests, e.g., macrobiotics or bowling — had hit on a recipe…
Anti-gay bigotry in the family; fundamentals of the hook-up
Savage Love I have a bigot in the family. My brother's mother-in-law is scared this country is "on its way" to legalizing same-sex marriage, which is "against what [her] Bible tells [her]." Debating the issue with her is no use, because it always comes back to her religious beliefs. She doesn't dislike gays, and she's…
Weather Channel layoffs, Hillary Clinton, Twilight of the Vampires
Weather Channel lays off staffNow there's no money to be made in rain and tornadoes? Hillary as secretary of stateYeah, change, that's the ticket. Freddie, Fannie suspend foreclosures for holidaysHomeowners can use the reprieve time to die and decrease the surplus mortgage population. Attorney General Mukasey collapses onstage in D.C.The Bush administration collapses offstage in…
Debating the American automakers bailout
"We could always draft all the auto-workers. That would ease the burden on all our future wars." —Poster "JoeBlough" commenting on the Huffington Post's Nov. 16 story, "Top Republican Senators Oppose Automaker Bailout" "GOP is cheering for the UAW's demise." —manitoumackinac "After the failure, new automakers will come in with a clean balance sheet and…
The greatest drinking songs for coping with the holidays
Holy shit. It's the holidays already. Which means most of us will be drinking even more than normal. Most likely in a fortified, well-stocked bedroom where those obnoxious relatives can't find us — or a dingy neighborhood bar. Here are some tunes to help with the process. Cheers. Song: "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not…
The Indie Holiday Shopping Spree
OK, maybe Wal-Mart is the only solvent mercantile operation in the country, but that doesn’t mean you have to do all your shopping in the big-box behemoths. Especially not this season, which is supposed to be about the joy of giving. Where’s the joy in giving the same-old, same-old, when the one-of-a-kind, never-thought-of-that gifts —…
Abol Bunna joins Queen of Sheba as an Ethiopian restaurant destination
When Queen of Sheba opened last year, I thought Tampa had hit the jackpot. After a long drought, we finally had an Ethiopian restaurant to call our own. And it was good, too. Good enough for me to name it Best New Restaurant for 2008. Then, just about a month ago, I heard about Abol…
World AIDS Day Prayer Breakfast and A World AIDS Day Concert
Despite ongoing efforts by governments, organizations and charities worldwide to curb the spread of HIV and AIDS, an estimated 2.7 million people become infected each year, and an estimated 33 million are currently living with HIV/AIDS. The numbers are a bleak reminder that we still have a long way to go. No matter how well-versed…
Why are pirates thriving in Somalia?
With the print journalism biz heading down the crapper, many in my profession are pondering a career change. For a while I thought I might like to open a pub. I like chitchat. I like booze. The only down side is that I also like fresh air. I've also considered a career in dog-walking. I…
Barack, Beach Boys and Britney: Giving thanks in 2008
Check out my cover story. Yeah, we're milking Chinese Democracy — big time with the art — but, I promise, the actual article barely mentions the (over?) hyped Axl offering. Here's my lede: The economy is a rollercoaster of woe leaving many of us worrying about unemployment and the growing possibility of a crippling substance…
Tampa’s Will Quinlan on national Americana chart
Tampa singer/songwriter and CL Best of the Bay winner Will Quinlan's album Navasota is at No. 2 on The Americana Music Associations' Most Added chart. Here's the profile piece I did on Quinlan back in June, a week before the CD dropped. We are very proud of him! And so is WMNF:
Wine Rave ART XTC Rocked!
If you missed CL Wine Club's Wine Rave at the West Tampa Center for the Arts last Saturday, sucks for you. If you were smart enough to be there, we know you had fun See the pictures See the handout with all the wines listed 350 people strolled two packed floors of this historic cigar building, staring…
Ronny Elliott to play Woody Guthrie Fest, house concert
Internationally acclaimed Tampa singer/songwriter Ronny Elliott has again been selected to perform at The Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, July 9-13, Okemah, Oklahoma (Guthrie's birthplace). Judy Collins, Jimmy LaFave, Amy Speace, Ramsay Midwood, Butch HancockThe Flatlanders), Annie Guthrie and many more are also on the lineup. There will be a "Help send Ronny to Okemah" house…
Top 10: Saloon songs
In my latest Bar Tab column, "The ultimate bar (part one)", I list ingredients for the perfect watering hole. It's a Dr. Frankenstein approach where I imagine combining the best characteristics of my favorite local pubs, taverns and saloons to create the greatest drinking establishment known to mankind — or at least what I would…
