Pornaoke at the Pegasus Lounge: A confusing, degenerate, enlightening institution
Mixing porn and pop helps us understand which one we really value (NSFW).
View this: ESPN and FiveThirtyEight’s The Man vs. The Machine Explores a Twisted Turn in Kasparov’s Match With Deep Blue
IBM’s pathbreaking chess computer may have benefited from a glitch.
Drink More Wine: What a pair
Choosing wines that complement or contrast your holiday feasts.
Mike Suarez wants (at least) four more years serving Tampa
Mike Suarez says he's having the time of his life as citywide member of the Tampa City Council, and is hoping local residents feel the same and grant him a second term in office next March. The West Tampa native and insurance professional defeated Curtis Stokes in the District 1 race in 2011, and is…
Mitch Perry Report 10.30.14: Dwight Dudley rages against Bill Young
We're entering the homestretch for next week's midterm elections, and while Clearwater Democrat Carl Zimmermann remains extremely vulnerable in his bid for re-election in his House District 65 seat against Chris Sprowls, another freshman Democrat, St. Petersburg's Dwight Dudley in House District 66, is still looking good in his bid to retain his seat against…
Not your parents’ slideshow: Carousel No. 4
Tampa Bay photographers celebrate a bygone tradition with a contemporary cultural perspective.
CL On Seventh Avenue: Tweets and ‘grams from Big Pre-Fest in Little Ybor
Pray for our livers.
Savage love: Inanimate objections
My son is 15 going on 16, and he’s been experimenting with masturbation. At the moment, I pretty much just think fine, whatever, he’s a teenager, there’s very little I can do about it. So long as he doesn’t get porn-obsessed and start letting his grades slip, it’s fine. The issue is that, a few…
Activists hold pitchforks to protest against Duke Energy in St. Petersburg
Frustrated by Duke Energy's opposition to promoting alternative energy — specifically solar power — a group of around 80 people gathered for a festive "Pitchfork Protest" in St. Petersburg's Williams Park today, directly across the street from Duke's corporate headquarters. Concerns about the intensity of the protest led the organizers of the event, the Southern Alliance…
Movie review: Nightcrawler scores on the strength of its complex leading man
Jake Gyllenhaal embodies the growing amorality of American ambition.
An Earful: First Aid Kit’s new video, Blood Orange on Kimmel, and Prince takes over SNL
Because watching music videos beats the cubicle
Drinks & denim: Blind Tiger announces Nov. 13 grand opening
Caffeine and Coppertail Brewing pours to be offered at The Blind Tiger Cafe’s official launch.
George Sheldon tries to capitalize on Bondi expose in NY Times
The latest major poll shows George Sheldon in rough waters in his battle to oust incumbent GOP Attorney General Pam Bondi, but the longtime Florida Democrat is hoping that some tough reporting about Bondi's cozy relationships with some lobbyists might turn the tide a bit more in his favor. This morning Sheldon fired off a…
WUSF presents Jazz Night in America
A new collab between WUSF, NPR and Jazz at Lincoln Center
Liquid assests: Cotherman Distilling Co.’s local spirits
A Tarpon Springs couple goes all in to make their Dunedin distilling dreams a reality.
Restaurant review: Welcome home to Green Springs Bistro
Green Springs’ Safety Harbor bungalow mixes Gulf Coast and Mediterranean flavors in a charming setting.
Album review: The Melvins, Hold it In
The Melvins’ latest keeps up their tradition of crushing bones with a wink and a nudge.
Do This: 3D art at USF and Jobsite’s Vampire Lesbians
Trippy colors by Jeremy Rivera and a super special preview premiere of Jobsite’s new Halloween-y comedy.
Dark & sinful: Campus unrest
The title of the film may be Dear White People, but this epistle is for all of us.
Tampa’s venerable Lauro Ristorante closes
The upscale Lauro Ristorante served northern Italian grub for 33 years before closing its doors.
Leaders talk about dealing with Tampa’s homeless situation
Antoinette Tripplett's immediate goal after taking the reins as CEO of the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative in August was to spend the first 90 days observing and speaking to the various players involved with the homeless community. But she says she was "coerced" into doing something quicker than that, which means that on Veterans Day, Operation: REVEILLE ,…
Don’t call me Cronut: Dunkin’s ‘Croissant Donut’ out Monday
Say hello to Dunkin’ Donuts’ glazed not-Cronut for a limited time starting next week.
Mitch Perry Report 10.29.14: Will Mike Fasano’s independence hurt him in 2016?
Mike Fasano's outspoken support for his friend and political ally Charlie Crist in the gubernatorial contest is disturbing a few folks up in Pasco County. The longtime Republican state legislator left Tallahassee a little over a year ago. That's when he was appointed by Rick Scott to succeed the late Mike Olson as Pasco County…
Tonight in live music: Pre-Fest 2, Watsky
Concerts this Wed., Oct. 29
Calling all performers: GASP! The Gasparilla Fringe Festival is back
GASP! The Gasparilla Fringe Festival returns for a second year on March 27, 2015. Creative Loafing and Tampa Museum of Art are reuniting to present another unique sensory experience with pop-up shows galore from local actors, vocalists, dancers, musicians, video artists, and more, both inside and outside downtown Tampa's TMA. Sono Cafe and Mise en…
Florida ban on 64-ounce growlers now source of lawsuit
Florida is violating the U.S. Constitution by arbitrarily banning restaurants, taverns, and breweries from selling or filling the most popular portable growler for craft beers — the half-gallon (64-ounce) growler. So says the libertarian-oriented Pacific Legal Foundation, which filed in federal court today on behalf of the owners of The Crafted Keg, a craft beer…
Say what? Bill Young ad says Dwight Dudley “SIDES with Duke”
In what may be the most bald faced outrageous ad of the 2014 campaign season in Tampa Bay, Republican House District 68 challenger Bill Young is claiming in a new ad running in rotation right now that Democrat Dwight Dudley actually "sides with Duke Energy." Specifically, the ad states that Dudley, the St. Petersburg based…
City Bike Tampa expands, keeps paying tribute to “the power of bicycles”
Creative Loafing's Best Shop Dog is getting some new digs. "Macey's only complaints are that we barely let her in so far, but we feel pretty confident she will wear through the floor running circles around the new space." That's what owner/manager Kevin Craft told CL when we caught up with him to talk about City…
Steve Schale: GOP early voting lead not as strong as in 2010
According to Steve Schale, an advisor to the Charlie Crist campaign, Democrats are trailing Republicans in the absentee and early voting numbers by 141,000 votes — whereas in 2010 when Rick Scott beat Alex Sink by just 1.2 percent, they were down 275,000 in early voting totals. Schale spoke on a conference call organized by…
Disney gets eats by celeb chef Morimoto, The Boathouse
Two new waterfront eateries are slated to open at Orlando’s Disney Springs in spring 2015.
New Music Tuesday! (October 28): The Flaming Lips, Rancid, Yusuf, Run the Jewels & more
Releases out this week; audio & video included.
Moral Mondays Florida vote for a better tomorrow
With just a week left to vote in the midterm election, Moral Mondays Florida is encouraging people to vote. Their platform is nonpartisan,“Right versus wrong, not right versus left.” They encourage voters from all sides to communicate with one another. For them, communication is the key to educating Floridians, and a way to ensure that…
Mitch Perry Report 10.28.14 – Campaigning in the time of Ebola
Rick Scott is ordering twice daily monitoring for anyone returning from places the CDC designates as affected by Ebola. The Governor on Saturday signed an order giving the Florida Health Dept. authority to monitor individuals for 21 days. He also asked the CDC for specific information about the risk level for four people who have…
Tonight in live music: Mike Doughty at Crowbar
For a rather long time, Mike Doughty loathed the music he produced with his former post-jazz/alt hip hop rock band Soul Coughing. Then, in what I imagine was an attempt to shed some of that self-hate while reclaiming the songs he helped write, he re-recorded several Soul Coughing tracks as he initially imagined them and…
Tampa Tribune fires conservative columnist Douglas MacKinnon
Douglas MacKinnon, one of the most conservative and controversial columnists to grace the pages of a Tampa Bay daily newspaper in many a year, has been fired from the Tampa Tribune, sources tell CL. The Trib isn't saying anything officially. Metro Editor Dennis Joyce told CL that "It's a personnel matter," and refused to confirm…
Let the sunshine in: Solar power activists want specifics from both Scott and Crist
Dancing to the strains of “Let the Sunshine In” from Hair and the Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun,” a handful of solar power advocates did a little dance and then shone small mirrors toward Duke Energy's headquarters in downtown St. Petersburg this morning. But unlike so many other events held in Williams Park, this wasn't…
49th Street a business hub for Gulfport and St. Pete
In Gulfport on Saturday, Mayor Sam Henderson and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman joined over a hundred others for the 49th Street Cleanup, organized by Gulfport Neighbors, a community service organization. They were joined by the Childs Park Neighborhood Association and its president, Brother John, along with local residents, several elected officials and individuals currently…
Kriseman: Yes on Amendment 1, no comment on Amendment 2
The Tampa Bay Times editorial rejecting the premise of Amendment 2, the medical marijuana initiative, certainly has alienated the paper from a certain segment of its readership, if letters to the editor (and online comments) are any indication. The Times also upset environmentalists with its rejection of Amendment 1, which would dedicate a third of…
Free until close: Coffee from Kahwa on Henderson
Kahwa Coffee’s Henderson store is pouring free coffee for its anniversary.
Guavaween 2014 contained
In its latest iteration, the organizers of the "New and Official" Guavaween (this year called Voodoo Carnival) continued to refine the annual Halloween celebration by hosting it in the enclosed walls and courtyard of the Cuban Club. In the cool weather Saturday night, crowds of people jammed the club and were entertained by several bands,…
Mitch Perry Report 10.27.14: Replacing Maddon may not be the only move in Rays future
The Tampa Bay area was shaken up on Friday with the stunning announcement that Joe Maddon was exploiting an opt-out provision in his contract to bolt the Rays and take his chances on the free market. Though Rays team president Matt Silverman emphasized that management's financial offers for a new contract were generous, it's apparent…
The Laugh Tract — who’s bringing the funny
Big Jay Oakerson is at Tampa Improv this weekend. Halloween weekend provides plenty of treats for comedy fans, but there are a few tricks as well. Many clubs are altering their normal showtimes or eliminating some shows altogether. Make sure you check their websites or call the box office before you show up. Going to…
Recommended Halloween read: Jeff VanderMeer’s Acceptance
The Southern Reach Trilogy concludes, and no one gets the answers they expect.
Tonight in live music: TTNG with Emma Ruth Rundle and Mylets at Crowbar
The UK band formerly called This Town Needs Guns, and known by its shorter acronym since the release of 2013 sophomore album 13.0.0.0.0, plies math rock influenced by the likes of Owls and The Mars Volta. The intricate, propulsive instrumental passages are imbued with more melody than the former, and less ball-busting heaviness and experimentation…
Annette Taddeo is upbeat about the Democratic early vote
Getting black Democrats to the polls is crucial to Charlie Crist's chances of ousting Rick Scott in the governor's race, making this first "Souls to the Polls" Sunday of the Florida early vote a very big deal. To mark the occasion, Charlie Crist was visiting eight Miami-area churches, while his running mate, Annette Taddeo, was in…
Slews of brews: Seven spots for beer this weekend
7venth Sun’s three-day tapping, unlimited pours at Brewers’ Tasting Room and more.
Rays’ Matt Silverman “surprised and disappointed” by Joe Maddon’s exit
After Andrew Friedman announced last week that he was leaving the Tampa Bay Rays to bolt to the Los Angeles Dodgers, speculation immediately centered on whether manager Joe Maddon would join him. But the Rays' skipper said he wanted to stay a Ray, and talks began apace with Rays management to re-sign him to a…
Theater review: Two very different creators meet in Nureyev’s Eyes
David Rush’s revealing play runs through this Sunday at American Stage.
Hillsborough Commissioner Higginbotham refutes ethics violations
Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham is now trying to refute the ethics charges filed by Keel and Curley Winery owner Joe Keel. Keel says that Higginbotham and his wife, Devon, waged a secret campaign to shut down his Plant City winery because they opposed the winery's operation for personal reasons. The story got juicier when…
Mike Fasano & Janet Cruz want Legislature to investigate Rick Scott’s private gmail account
As expected, Gov. Rick Scott did not attend a deposition in Tallahassee this morning for a lawsuit he filed in California to block the release of information about Google email accounts used by him and his executive staff. And you can bet that, 11 days before the election, Democrats are making political hay about that.…
It’s a whole new ballgame: Joe Maddon leaving the Rays
UPDATE: Read Mitch Perry's recap of the conference call with the Rays' president of baseball operations, Matt Silverman, who says he was "surprised and disappointed" by Maddon's decision to leave. Say it ain't so, Joe! Tampa Bay Rays Manager Joe Maddon has opted out of his contract and will not manage the Rays in 2015.…
Tonight in live music: MarchFourth Marching Band, American Authors & more
Concerts this Fri., Oct. 24
A Local Earful: Florida music’s tinseltown connections, plus another music festival in the new Water Works Park
The Sunshine State is going Hollywood and Tampa’s newest park is getting a work out.
Mitch Perry Report 10.24.14: The Big Dog to stump for Crist in East Tampa
Bill Clinton will be in East Tampa late Sunday afternoon to promote early voting in Hillsborough County, the third and final campaign event of the day in the Sunshine State for the 42nd president of these United States. Although the polls will be closed by the time the Clinton event ends on Sunday (it begins…
Annette Taddeo inaugurates early voting in Hillsborough County
As early voting in Hillsborough County began on Thursday. Annette Taddeo, Charlie Crist’s running mate and candidate for Lieutenant Governor, kicked off the occasion at the Temple Terrace Public Library. According to the Miami Herald, as of Thursday morning a million absentee ballots have already been returned, skewing towards the GOP. While Charlie Crist and…
Transforming Tampa Bay: Moving forward
It’s got to be the bleakest moment in the day of a Pinellas County commuter: getting stuck at a red light on a 10-lane wide stretch of US 19, surrounded by strip malls, tacky billboards and cement. The only thing worse: waiting 30 minutes on this godforsaken road in a bus shelter in the middle…
RIP Bud Mayhem — a true Tampa orginal
The Tampa icon died Tuesday due to complications from a chronic illness.
TACE Lounge debuts its NOLA-inflected fare Saturday
Tampa’s not-for-profit TACE Lounge is all about the food, but also something more.
Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation to invest in Sulphur Springs
The economically challenged Sulphur Springs district of Tampa got a boost today with the announcement that the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation is going to invest in the neighborhood, with the Baltimore-based nonprofit working with the city to build a million-dollar baseball/softball field at the Springhill Park Community Center. "This will be one more place that…
Agenda 20/20 plan for getting 200 at-risk youth hired in south St. Pete begins
There are many elements in the 2020 plan to tackle poverty in south St. Petersburg over the next five years. Several are extremely ambitious and others, such as a goal to add 200 jobs for at-risk youth in 2015, appear seemingly more modest in scope. The "200 in 2015" campaign formally kicked off this morning at…
Debbie Wasserman Schultz incorrectly says David Jolly “champions” Paul Ryan budget plan
House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan is in Longboat Key today, appearing at a $500 a head fundraiser for Sarasota Congressman Vern Buchanan, Pinellas County Representative David Jolly and North Florida Republican Jeff Miller. In anticipation of the visit, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz fired off a sharp broadside at the event, saying in…
Do This: Think Before You Pink and IV League at The Palladium
Last October — breast cancer awareness month — Business Insider published their report on the NFL’s less-than-scrupulous division of pink-profits. What they found was, of the league’s yearly breast cancer awareness initiative (a month in which NFL players, coaches and personal don bright-pink hats, gloves, cleats, towels and a slew of other items in hopes…
Tonight in live music: Capital Cities, Jorma Kaukonen, Ringo Starr & more
Concerts this Thurs., Oct. 23.
Attack of the festivals: Coral Skies, Fantasma, FolkFest & Pre-Fest
Horrors! How do you choose between four music fests in seven days?
Theater Review: Into the Woods
Venture Into the Woods with an enchanting cast and production.
Screams to stream: the 25 best horror movies on Netflix
There’s more to Netflix streaming than binge-able seasons of The Walking Dead, American Horror Story and Dexter. Here are my picks for the 25 best/most watchable All Hallows movies you can currently stream. 25. Grave Encounters (NR, 2011) This found-footage send-up of ghost-hunting reality shows isn’t great, but the premise is clever and it’s more…
Horror issue 2014: Yes, you should be scared about sea level rise
There’s a lot of scary stuff going on around the world: the Ebola virus, ISIS, Ukraine. But environmental activists warn that we shouldn’t forget about one of the scariest prospects of all: the deleterious effects of climate change. The scientists who gathered earlier this month at Eckerd College for a public discussion about the issue…
