The Free-Speech Tower
Architect George Richards first envisioned a free-speech tower after the 9/11 attacks, when talk began of a competition to design a memorial on the site of the World Trade Center. Though he didn't end up entering that contest, the idea continued to haunt him as he saw debate stifled and rights eroded in the wake…
Brussels Spouts
Flemish fare and Belgian brew at Saint Sebastiaan
Planet Picks
THURSDAY 11.4 What Now? The election is finally over and if you're curious about its consequences, head to Eckerd College and check out one (or both) of the post-election talks. The first takes place at 7:30 p.m. tonight and features a media panel that consists of St. Petersburg Times columnist Lucy Morgan, WFLA-970 host Jack…
Ask the Advice Goddess
No Plane, No Gain I've been dating this wonderful guy for six months. He just got a promotion requiring him to travel three days a week for the foreseeable future. This means we'll miss huge chunks of each others' lives, and I'm afraid we'll grow apart. Is it possible to stay emotionally connected if you…
We Could Be Heroes
Two films about extraordinary demands made on apparently ordinary people
Mmmm … Breakfast
I kicked a nicotine habit 14 months ago and, without delay, picked up another dependency that seemed to stem from my newly restored taste buds and an inability to fully abandon my persistent oral fixation. Yes, folks, I'm addicted to food, all kinds, most qualities, and lately, I've been having severe breakfast cravings. To me,…
Red Scare
Making friends with the dark grape
The Day After Tomorrow
We don’t know who the hell won — but then again, maybe you don’t either
The Golden Slope
USF sophomore and visual artist Elena Vee imagined a unique, abstract-looking place where people could peaceably assemble. "I didn't want it to look like anything else," she says. "If it were to be built, people would be like, 'What is that?'" She'd want the structure to provide comfort and relaxation to people for extended periods…
Rock ‘n’ Role
For Robert Williams and Co., it’s all a big act
Music Events
THURSDAY, NOV. 4 Babalouie's Mark McGourley Bahama Breeze Mike Hastings/Denny Falzon Bahama Mama's Chris Murphy Barley Hoppers Stephanie Anderson (EVENING) Barnacle Bill's Jason Longoria Big J.R.'s The Johnny Charro Band Blackstone Grill Expressions Brandy's True Colors Band Cafe Dufrain Nick Baltic and Larry Camp Cafe Dufrain Joe Porter & LaRue Nicholson Jazz Duo CK's Revolving…
Music Venues
420 Park Place, 420 Park Place Blvd., Clearwater, 727-796-7867 42nd Street Bistro, 516 S. Howard Ave., Tampa, 813-253-0042 4th Street Cigars & Martini Bar, 2900 Fourth St. N., Suite A101, St. Petersburg, 727-898-1884 688 Skatepark, 6140 Ulmerton Road, Clearwater, 727-523-0785 Adam's Mark, 430 S. Gulfview Blvd., Clearwater, 727-443-5714 The Aging Still, 11561 Walsingham Road, Largo,…
Drive-Thru Democracy
Imagine this: You're whizzing down the Crosstown Expressway, cozy and isolated in your car, far above the mess of urban life below. Suddenly you see what looks like a huge gateway ahead — a series of canopies and billboards over and around the roadway, covered with moving images. On one surface, you see children playing…
DVD Pick
Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstasy Revered by many and reviled by many others, Jess Franco is one of the seminal figures of international cult cinema, a lifelong maverick responsible for hundreds of bizarre, mostly low-budget films made all over the European continent and under a variety of pseudonyms. Usually shot quickly but with…
Science Fair
After Frankenstein is well-acted, but it doesn’t shed any new light on the monster’s modern implications
The Virtual Global Congregation
It seems natural that a trio of Sarasota-based architects from Venezuela, Kenya and Germany would design a project that would allow for simultaneous communication around the globe. This team proposes a series of free wireless zones or "islands" around the world so that a rally in Tampa might connect simultaneously with people in, say, a…
Spins
Rubber FactoryTHE BLACK KEYSFat Possum/EpitaphMaybe there's hope for the blues after all. Maybe all it took was a few youngsters to come crawlin' out the garage, or, in the case of The Black Keys, a couple of white boys to blast out of Akron, Ohio, with a guitarist who likes his axe on 12 and…
Cine-City
If Cannes seems a tad too far, take a short trip south to Cine-World
Upcoming Concerts
NOVEMBER 11 Cradle of Filth/Arch Enemy/Himsa/Bleeding Through Masquerade 11 Redheaded Stepchild Skipper's Smokehouse 11 Bryan Bowers Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa 12 Billy Bacon & The Forbidden Pigs Skipper's Smokehouse 12 Murphy's Law/The Reason State Theatre 12 Asylum Street Spankers Bourbon Street 12 Jucifer w/Torche/TBA Orpheum 12 Rod MacDonald Octagon Arts Center 12-14 Down on…
Outtakes
Short reviews of movies playing throughout the Tampa Bay area
Don’t Panic
Your war questions answered
Music Menu
All entries by Scott Harrell except where otherwise noted. THE MERCURY PROGRAM/FIN FANG FOOM/RED ROOM CINEMA The Mercury Program hail from Gainesville. Indie types love 'em. The instrumentation includes a vibraphone, which is pretty cool in and of itself, but their post-rock has been and would be great even without such a righteous contraption. Also…
Wayne’s Worlds
The new Planet pundit comes clean
Gala Corina: What’s Happening When
Gala Corina's sixth exhibition, ser Libre, runs Nov. 5-20 in the old Badcock Furniture showroom at 1219 N. Franklin St. in downtown Tampa. It includes the following events, which are free and open to the public, with a suggested donation of $2 on opening night: Friday, Nov. 5, 4-11 p.m.: Opening Party Refreshments, bands, DJs,…
Upcoming Releases
The following releases will be in stores Tuesday, Nov. 9: Admit You're Shit, Someplace Special (Mortarhate) An Angle, And Take It With A Grain Of Salt (Sanctuary) Anorexia Nervosa, Redemption Process (The End) Bagman, Trax (Underground Inc) Black Oak Arkansas, Hot and Nasty (Collectables) Blatant Finger, Moving Forward (Pelado) Vanessa Carlton, Harmonium (A&M) Clover, Hearts…
Culinary Events
VEGETARIAN COOKING CLASS Chef Debby DeGraaff instructs participants on how to prepare "Autumnal Supper"; 7-8 p.m. Wed., Nov. 10, and 10-11 a.m. Thurs., Nov. 11. Free. Nature's Harvest Market, 1021 N. MacDill Ave., Tampa (813-873-7428). FREE COOKING CLASSES Regularly scheduled cooking demonstrations of vegetarian dishes. This week, Chef Debbie DeGraaff explores "Season of Thanksgiving." 11…
One Night Only … Or Sometimes Three
Anything’s possible with a change of costume
Letters
Dear Goddess…Re: “Grope Against Hope,” Advice Goddess, by Amy Alkon (Oct. 20-26) Could you consider getting a new Advice Goddess? She's the kind of columnist you'd expect in a lad mag. In her latest column, she rehashes clichés from sociobiology that cavemen wanted to ensure fidelity and cavewomen wanted to snag a meal ticket. There's…
Say Anything
Is “Free Speech Zone” an oxymoron? Not according to the architects taking part in this year’s Gala Corina
