Lucinda Williams covers AC/DC on new album
Alt-country queen Lucinda Williams has finally regained her mojo on Little Honey, the singer/songwriter's sunniest and hardest rocking disc since her 1998 masterpiece Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Little Honey, which I blogged about here and here, came out today on Lost Highway and I just received my review copy via today's mail so…
Tampa’s Automatic Loveletter announces national tour
Big-voiced hottie Juliet Simms and her emo outfit Automatic Loveletter embark on a national tour Oct. 31 with a gig in Allentown, Pa. The band is touring in support of its 2007 Epic Ep Recover with a full-length due out on Epic in 2009. Automatic Loveletter is touring with Secondhand Serenade and Cute Is What…
‘Bailout Bill’ continues crucial solar energy tax credits
There's not much good to be said from the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 signed by President Bush last week. Taxpayers never liked it, politicians may regret liking it come election day and, as it turns out, the market didn't like it much either. But stuck in that ginormous bill was something that is…
Another chance for a beach trolley pub crawl
There are few things I remember as fondly as the Beach Trolley Pub Crawl of 2007. The sardine-packed vehicles, utter horror from bus drivers not accustomed to more than a few beachgoers, the bar owners chastising us for cursing — ah, the (fuzzy) memories! Even if my fellow co-workers thought it was a disaster, I…
Reel Projections — Tuesday, October 14
Cast Iron: Don Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard for Iron Man 2. Yep, he's too old for this shit: Mel Gibson turns down Lethal Weapon 5. Looking good: Here are a few production photos of Robert Downey Jr. as the intrepid detective in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. Love the Gekko! 20th Century Fox is making a…
Do It Today
1. The 2008 installment of Midtown Through Our Eyes — an exhibit of images taken by 44 student photojournalists from Melrose Elementary and John Hopkins Middle School who took part in a 12-day summer program — is on display at the Studio at 620 through Thursday. Tonight, the studio hosts a "Taste of Midtown" event that spotlights several Midtown…
The Short List — Tues., Oct. 14
It seems the S.S. McCain is headed full-steam ahead for the jagged rocks of electoral defeat. All hands: Abandon ship! Abandon ship! After yesterday's 900+ point increase on Wall Street, will the good times keep on rollin' today? Anybody want to buy a bank? Today's polls show Obama holding his lead. Lester gets molested by…
‘Drill Baby Drill!’ and destroy Florida’s economy further
From the Florida Oceans and Coastal Council's economy report: Florida’s coastal economy contributed over $562 billion in revenue in 2006, and Florida’s ocean economy contributed $25 billion in revenue that same year. Of Florida’s 20 major population centers, 15 are located in coastal counties around a bay, estuary or at the mouth of a river…
Rays make a strong statement in Boston
Keep playing like you don't know any better, Rays. You just put the finishing touches on an 8-1 win over the Boston Red Sox, who had returned to their home park and put their recently-unhittable ace John Lester on the mound. What do you do with a John Lester? You smack him around. The Rays…
“Kind of Blue” and the making of a jazz fan
I thought I had reached the point of no return with Kind of Blue. Having listened to the classic 1959 Miles Davis album so many times, having owned it in so many of its reissued iterations, I suspected, feared even, that I might never desire to hear it again. What was once my go-to platter…
Photos from CLIP/Surge After Party and CL in Concert
You people looked good this week! Here are some photos from the Surge after party at Czar (part of the CLIP film festival) and also
Photo of the Day: “Typical PSTA bus stop.”
"Typical PSTA bus stop." — Pinellas Park gadfly/mayoral candidate/business owner Randy Heine. Any PSTA or HART bus riders have similar experiences with our crappy transit system?
Britney Spears regains hottie status
She still can't sing. But that's not why we started lusting after her in the first place. And lust, naughty lust, has been the linchpin of Spears' success ever since she Lolita-d it up in that schoolgirl outfit. Like most hetro men, I've had a guilt-causing thing for Spears since Day 1. It went away…
How the economy has affected sports.
Fast fact: General Motors has spent $77.1 million on Super Bowl advertising in the last 15 years. The corporation announced in September that it will not purchase any commercial time during the 2009 game. This and lots of other nuggets can be found in the Oct. 13 issue of Sports Illustrated in a story titled…
Instant Intellectual — Monday, October 13
Word of the day: gadabout (noun) — one who roams or roves about, as in search of amusement or social activity. Dude, you're such a gadabout. Quote of the day: "It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend." — William Blake This day in history: The United States Navy is established…
The weekend in sports.
It was a wild weekend in the world of sports. I'll go so far as to say it was a wild and woolly weekend in the world of sports. • In all my decades of watching NFL football, I don't recall another Sunday with so many crazy finishes and unlikely endings. In recent years, my…
The Cranky Copy Editor — Monday, October 13
It's an all-sports edition of crankiness, so here's what's pissing me off today: Ken Whisenhunt, head coach of the St. Louis Arizona Cardinals. With Dallas trailing by three and less than 25 seconds left in the game, Cowboys QB Tony Romo completed a long pass to the Cardinals' 40 yard line. As the offense hurried…
Do It Today
1. Tampa Theatre presents a limited, two-night presentation of Up the Yangtze, filmmaker Yung Chang's 2007 documentary that examines the impact of the Three Gorges Dam hydroelectric project on China’s longest river, the Yangtze. 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13-14, $9 adults/$8 students with ID/$7 seniors and military. Pictured below: Tourists in the Lesser Three Gorges on…
The Short List — Mon., Oct. 13
Rough weekend for Sarah Palin. First, the Troopergate report concluded Palin abused her power as governor. Then the VILF was greeted by a wave of boos in Philly while dropping the puck at Saturday's game against the Rangers. The lunatics still love her, though. Busy week ahead for McCain: Preps a can of whoop-ass for…
Week 6 NFL Picks
Here we go with another round of hastily compiled football picks. Our guest handicapper this week is office menace Euchre Bot 5000, a contraption we foolishly spent half our editorial budget on last week — because we could never seem to rustle up four human participants whenever the urge to waste precious time playing trick-based…
Instant Intellectual — Saturday, October 11
Word of the day: effulgent (adjective) — shining forth brilliantly; radiant. Senorita, I love you madly. Your beauty is effulgent, like the sun. Quote of the day: "A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin." — H.L. Mencken This day in history: Daughters of the American Revolution is…
David Byrne to play Tampa Theatre
Former Talking Head David Byrne is touring in support of his mostly critically acclaimed new disc Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, which he recorded with old pal Brian Eno. Click here for more info on the album. Byrne performs at Tampa Theatre on Fri., Dec. 12. Here's the info: Live Nation presents An Evening…
Do the Holla Pena with Carlos Pena
The Fans voted on a name for the dance — they went for "The Holla Pena" — and the shirt goes on sale this week with a portion of the proceeds going to the Children's Cancer Center in Tampa. The shirt will be available at Authentic Team Sports, BUCS N Stuff , FERGS and www.championshipshirts.com.
Rays vs. Red Sox: Of Homerism and Glorious Villainy
Last July, I typed for ages about a profound personal crisis: I was losing my identity as a sports fan. My beloved Boston Red Sox had become winners, and their pink-hat-wearing clan had become cocky. This made me uncomfortable, as I had known only pain as a fan before the Red Sox won the World…
Chinese Democracy has 2008 release date
Could this possibly be true? Or is Axl being a cock-tease, yet again? We'll see. We'll see. Considering the Chinese Democracy track "Shackler's Revenge" will debut in the video game Rock Band 2 and a snippet of "If the World" plays over the end credits of the film Body of Lies, it does seem more…
Former critic makes a plea for Tampa’s gay filmfest
The former programming director of the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, now known as CLIP, was critical of the 2007 lineup. Now Joseph Cook is coming out strong in favor of this year's festival, which is up against tough competition (including the financial crisis and the lure of Rays baseball). Here's the letter…
The Cranky Copy Editor — Friday, October 10
Maybe it's the beautiful weather. Or that, even in these trying times, I'm inclined to see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. Whatever it is, I just can't bring myself to be cranky today. Sarah Palin could walk in the office right now and I'd probably give her a wink and a hug and…
Instant Intellectual — Friday, October 10
Ever wish you had a daily crib sheet of miscellanea that would surely enable you to achieve impressive levels of pretense while out at the bar with friends? No? Well, here it is anyway: Word of the day: eldritch (adjective) — strange; eerie; unearthly; weird; spooky. That's an eldritch motherfucker, right there. Quote of the…
The Short List — Fri., Oct. 10
I swear that I am looking for good news out there folks. Unfortunately, other than the Rays it's all pretty grim. Here's a clip from NBC News, a "sign of our times" as Brian Williams puts it. The stock market plays dead really well. Ok, you can get up now. Hello? Checking in with the…
Five Things to Do This Weekend
1. A collection of works by such luminaries as Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, William Wegman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Chuck Close, among many others, are auctioned off at the Graphicstudio Benefit Sale. Pictured below: "Coleman Pond II, 2007," an original, limited edition Japanese woodblock print by Alex Katz that will be given away during an 8 p.m. prize drawing…
Photos from the last CL in Concert
The next one is this Friday at The State Theatre in St. Petersburg and will feature Rachel Goodrich, Auto!Automatic!!, The Basiqs and Dynasty. Send MIXTAPE to 50618 to receive text updates and your chance to win tickets!
Tampa Bay music: mark your calendars
Electronica duo Walter Meego kicks off the weekend with what should be a fun-intensive gig tonight at Crowbar. Read about Meego, the next installment of the Creative Loafing Concert Series featuring Rachel Goodrich (see link to feature below), The Spam Allstars and more in Music Week (see link below). Also included is the Matt Butcher/Will…
Rapper takes on the sub-prime crisis!
Cadence Weapon, the Canadian rapper (well, "rapper" doesn't fully explain what he does; it's more like some form of outsider electro-pop coupled with hip-hop) has dropped a new video from this year's Afterparty Babies. The track is called "Real Estate"; which was a nice little piece of social commentary when it was released, and makes…
Wayne Coyne is cool
I'm not the biggest Flaming Lips fan in the world. Or even here at Creative Loafing, where my coworkes Joe Bardi, Leilani Polk and Eric Snider all outrank me in the affection for the fun loving space rockers category. But frontman Wayne Coyne has always struck me as a cool dude. And after reading this…
Reel Projections — Thursday, October 9
A hard Hobbit to break: Guillermo del Toro talks The Hobbit If it ain't broke… M. Night Shyamalan is considering a sequel to Unbreakable. Will Gosling go Green? Ryan Gosling tapped to play Green Lantern. Variety reviews Oliver Stone's W. Foxx-y casting: Jamie Foxx close to signing on for Frank Darabont’s Law Abiding Citizen. Dark…
Joe Maddon gets some love from Sports Illustrated
I’ve met Joe Maddon twice, briefly, and found him amiable, giving and an overall groovy dude. There’s a cool story on the Rays manager in the Oct. 6 issue of Sports Illustrated. Every Rays fan should read it, even if you’ve checked out all the local press on Joe. Written by Stephen Cannella, it’s a…
The Short List — Thurs., Oct. 9
I have an incredible weakness for Triumph The Insult Comic Dog. Here, Triumph visits David Blaine's latest stunt, where the "magician" hung upside-down for 60 hours (give or take). Enjoy. Obama talks with Charlie Gibson, seems to goad McCain into going negative in final last debate. "A team of bigots." Illegal vote-blocking continues in six…
Five Things To Do Today
1. Chicago experi-pop duo Walter Meego (pictured below) temporarily parts from its tour with Ra Ra Riot to headline a show in Tampa; The Morning Brothers and Mouse Fire provide support. 9 p.m., Crowbar, $9. 2. Oldsmar Tap House stages an Extreme Beer Tasting to raise funds for breast cancer research. Among the selection of…
The Eagles to play Tampa
I've always felt the same way about The Eagles as The Dude. Too slick, too souless, too predictable. Other than Joe Walsh, I pretty much despise all of 'em, especially that blowhard Don Henley. However, I realize there are a couple people on the planet, and in Tampa Bay, who absolutely fucking love the Eagles…
Does Tampa care about the Rays?
Earlier this week, I edited Wade Tatangelo’s Bar Tab column — which I do every week, and try not to when I’m hung over — where he told the story of ending up at a sports bar in Seminole Heights at 4 p.m. last Sunday. That’s when, you may remember, the Tampa Bay Rays were…
Mastodon goes melodic
Is Mastodon, which I witnessed rock the State Theatre last year, fixing to pull a Metallica circa 1991? That's what Rolling Stone is reporting, sorta, in the new issue. The Atlanta metal band's new album is being produced by Brendan O'Brien (Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam). "We wanted to make something a little broader,” says drummer…
The Cranky Copy Editor — Wednesday, October 8
I didn't think I'd have anything to be angry about today, what with last night's live blogging of the presidential debate being such a resounding triumph, with over 600 comments. But, yet again, I underestimated the depths of my bile and vitriol. So here's what I'm pissed off about today: That some asshole with a…
Revival at the Orpheum
A unique collaborative event transpired at the Orpheum to ring out September in style – an honest to goodness full on revival awakening the masses to the not so secret Americana wave. The Revival Tour featuring Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Ben Nichols (Lucero) and Tim Barry (Avail) along with friends Todd Beene (Glossary), Jon…
Mastodon goes melodic?
Is Mastodon, which I witnessed destroy the State Theatre last year, fixing to pull a Metallica circa 1991? That's what Rolling Stone is reporting, sorta, in the current issue. The Atlanta metal band's new album will be produced by Brendan O'Brien (Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam) and, quite frankly, sounds like something I'm very interested in…
Notes from Wine Country
I've been exploring eastern Washington State wine country since Sunday, but there's so much more to this arid desert than vineyards. I checked out apple orchards and a goat cheese dairy. My photojournal follows over the next few days. Col Solare is an alliance between Italy's Antinori family (in business since 1385) and Washington's Ste.…
Five Things to Do Today
1. I did it. CL Publisher Sharry Smith did it, too, and I got to watch. See other local ladies of renown perform readings in American Stage's current production of The Vagina Monologues, which pairs a cast of four core actresses with one to three guest readers every show; tonight's guests are Tampa Bay Beaches…
The Short List — Wed., Oct. 8
It says a lot about the snooze factor of last night's debate when the most interesting clips are McCain referring to Obama as "that one," and the awkward ending where McCain seemed to void shaking Obama's Hand. Is McCain the Bill Belichick of debaters? Debate reaction here, here, here, here and on our own CL…
Theater: The Wizard of Oz at TBPAC – Tuesday, October 14
When a tornado of epic proportions launches Dorothy Gale's Kansas farmhouse over a rainbow into the land of Oz and onto the Wicked Witch of the East, young Dorothy discovers that she's liberated the population of Munchkinland from an oppressive tyranny while making a bitter enemy of the Wicked Witch of the West. With mysteriously…
Lecture: Dr. Drew Pinsky – Wednesday, October 8
Before shady Dr. Phil McGraw was spouting his Oprah-approved psychology, there was Dr. Drew Pinsky, a board-certified practitioner of internal medicine and addiction medicine specialist. The good doctor earned his celeb status when his syndicated medical and relationship advice talk show, Loveline, added Adam Carolla's comic relief and was picked up by MTV. Pinsky brings…
Rachel Goodrich brings her Tinker Toys to State Theatre
Miami has been producing music designed for maximum club action since the 1970s, when KC and the Sunshine Band implored coked-up disco dancers to shake, shake, shake their booties. In the '80s, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine taught folks how to do the conga. Then 2 Live Crew enlightened club kids on the…
Mary J. Blige and Robin Thicke perfom at Ford Amphitheatre
R&B diva Mary Jane Blige attained superstardom in the early 1990s by howling the blues for the hip-hop generation and giving soul music renewed relevance. MJB's lyrics are often pedestrian and her vocal histrionics are at times grating, but it's difficult to refute the emotional wallop she brings — or her ability to connect with…
Palin vs. Biden in the vice presidential debate
"Biden looks bemused — but not obviously so. It's the look I give a not-so-smart student when she finally comes up with something valuable to say in class." —Poster "minou," during gawker.com's live blogging of the 10/2 vice presidential debate "Palin's energy plan: Burning polar bears." —JacquesPaysan ""Hungry Markets" is an Eric Carmen song." —Aaron…
Festival: Second Annual SPIFFS Asian Pacific Rim Festival – Sunday, October 12
St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society and its Asian Pacific Rim member groups stage the Asian Pacific Rim Festival. Among the offerings are exotic foods, arts and crafts, drumming, an Asian beer garden, demos of tai chi, gigon and exercise, Indian bangra music, and performances by a Samoan fire eater, Fijian warrior dancers, Bollywood-style and…
Earth Charter Sustainable Business Awards and Community Summit – Fri.-Sat., Oct. 10-11
The Earth and its most committed local champions take center stage at University of Tampa this weekend. During the Earth Charter Sustainable Business Awards of Tampa Bay luncheon on Friday, 16 Bay area businesses of all sizes are honored for demonstrating dedication to social, economic and environmental responsibility. Among the award-winners are Kaleisia Tea Lounge,…
Opening this week: Body of Lies, The Duchess and The Express
Opening This Week BODY OF LIES (R) A disillusioned CIA operative (Leonardo DiCaprio) risks life and limb in Iraq and Jordan; meanwhile his pudgy, cynical boss back in the States (Russell Crowe) checks in with him on a telephone headset, coldly moving human chess pieces around as he ferries his kids to school and soccer…
Music: Mike Relm – Wednesday, October 15
San Francisco-based DJ/turntablist Mike Relm has been creating his brand of hip-hop informed jams since the late '90s and he's collaborated with anyone from Dan the Automator and Lyrics Born to Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Mike Patton. His solo shows fuse audio mash-ups with video that's manipulated in real-time with a digital turntable. Relm…
Art: Deconstruction at Gallery Live – Friday, October 10
Before historic Ybor City morphed into a magnet for bars and nightclubs, it was a haven for local artists. Now some say the winds of change are reversing — and that the area's recent influx of gay-owned businesses and a nascent resurgence in art exhibitions and studio spaces confirm that trend. Gallery Live, a new…
This week’s wine and food events
10-8 through 10-14 THURSDAY: CHEF FABRIZIO AUTUMN FOODPelagia Trattoria chef Fabrizio Schenardi will cook some of his favorite Mediterranean foods that fit the Autumn season, with wine to match. $55. 6:30 p.m., Oct. 9, Rolling Pin Brandon, 2080 Badlands Dr., Brandon (813-653-2418 or rollingpinonline.com) FRIDAY: CHARLIE’S FINAL TASTINGCharlie’s Wine Cellar is closing down this weekend,…
AC/DC rides the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train” on new single
"Rock 'n' Roll Train"AC/DC(acdc.com) AC/DC's new single, "Rock 'n' Roll Train," is the hard-rock titan's best stuff in more than a decade. It's heavy, swinging blooze with a charmingly simple lyric about the joys of R&R decadence. A potent Angus Young guitar solo kicks in right around the 2:30 mark, giving the cut a rough…
Music: Statesmen of Jazz at the Palladium – Saturday, October 11
The stately Palladium changed hands last year, part of a grand swap of properties designed to create a downtown arts district in St. Petersburg. This week sees its formal rebirth as the Palladium Theater at St. Petersburg College, helmed by former journalist, piano player and arts advocate Paul Wilborn with a mission to broaden its…
OJ convicted, Palin in Clearwater, stock market takes a dive
Market dips below 10,000The Jimmy Carter era is looking better every day. Jim Cramer: Get out of stocksThis from the Mad Money man who only a few weeks ago advised Wachovia investors to sit tight. OJ convicted on 12 countsIn this case, the glove fit. Palin in ClearwaterThe Pinellas County city is now officially moose-free.…
Blues Traveler, Martina McBride and David Allan Coe perfom
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9 WALTER MEEGO w/THE MORNING BROTHERS/STAVROS Chicago electronica duo Walter Meego works the Daft Punk angle in crafting agreeable dance pop for the fun-loving indie set. It's the same fat beats and glossy synths you've heard countless times, with vocoder-ized vocals that reinforce the robotic nature of the endeavor and repeat lines like…
Bleu Acier and Bustillo y Diaz Cigar Factory: Artists Handwriting and 2008 FloCas
Around this time each year, fall arts season kicks into full gear, and the sheer number of visual arts exhibitions can be difficult to keep up with. For your perusing pleasure, here are a couple of shows currently on view or opening this week that are worth making time for. • Tampa Heights print atelier…
Why Rays baseball strikes out in Tampa
I thought baseball finally had a chance of inspiring the same mania as football in Tampa. Last Sunday, the Tampa Bay Rays were scheduled to face off with the Chicago White Sox for their third playoff game ever — with a chance to sweep the five-game series — while the Bucs were playing their fifth…
Oasis restaurant, a refreshing Middle Eastern outpost in SoHo
The hookas are stacked in a corner, a cook leans — arms folded — against a counter in the open kitchen and a server stacks silverware behind the bar. It's 6 p.m., a lazy time at SoHo Oasis Café, the staff counting down the hours until this stretch of Howard Avenue shakes off the dust…
Hollis Gillespie lets go
Since I had sex with George Clooney it's occurred to me that I'm better than everyone else. I'm aware that some of you think that just because George Clooney kissed me twice — THAT'S RIGHT GEORGE CLOONEY KISSED ME TWICE THAT'S PRACTICALLY MAKING OUT WHICH IN THE BIBLE BELT MEANS WE HAD SEX YES I…
Music: The Florida Orchestra Free Pops in the Park – Friday, October 10
There's little that rivals sitting al fresco and listening to a full symphony orchestra. The Florida Orchestra, at the start of its new fall season, obliges with four outdoor Pops in the Park concerts. The guest conductor is Garrett Keast; please bring a canned good to donate to Tampa Bay Harvest. Fri., Oct. 10, 7…
Art/Fundraiser: Graphicstudio Benefit Sale – Friday, October 10
Expand your fine art collection during the annual Graphicstudio Benefit Sale, which features discounts of 10 to 60 percent off the regular list price for fine art prints and sculpture multiples by major modern artists like Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Alex Katz, William Wegman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ed Ruscha and Chuck Close, among many others. All…
Review: Chaim Potok’s play The Chosen at Stageworks
The stage for The Chosen is small, almost claustrophobic, and yet it contains two worlds, four years and two generations, as well as traditions, expectations, developments, pains and joys thousands of years old. Presented in two acts, each an hour or so long, the drama is based on the Chaim Potok novel The Chosen (adapted…
An American Carol and Slacker Uprising: A mock Michael Moore movie, plus Moore’s latest doc
As a cinematic pugilist, documentarian Michael Moore knows how to take a punch and how to land one. Moore has been mixing it up ever since his documentary Roger and Me became an indie hit. The first time I ever saw Moore's unglamorous mug, it was covered with tread marks on the cover of a…
Randy Poe’s Skydog: A first-rate bio on rocker Duane Allman
Skydog: The Duane Allman StoryRANDY POE(Backbeat Books) Scott Freeman's Midnight Riders: The Story of the Allman Brothers Band (1996) focused so much on the musicians' notorious drug use and infighting that you never got a sense of the greatness of slide guitar virtuoso/band leader Duane Allman, who died at age 24 in a motorcycle crash.…
Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals perform at Clearwater’s Coachman Park
Although I was weaned on the British Invasion, I had my other faves in the '60s, and way up on that list was The Rascals. I found out later that the New York group was a pioneer in the realm of blue-eyed soul. All I knew at the time was I dug the band —…
Art: New Collected Works of Erik Jones – Monday, October 13
Florida illustrator and Ringling School of Art and Design graduate Erik Jones is bidding adieu to the Sunshine State to pursue an art career in NYC. A traveling farewell exhibit, New Collected Works of Erik Jones, is being presented throughout Central Florida. The Bay area show is on display for a limited time at Pale…
Has the Bush Administration done enough to protect us from nuclear weapons?
The Internet is a marvelous thing. It allows me to do half my research and writing of these columns on my couch in my underwear — and the other half nude at the desk in my spare bedroom. Unfortunately, the same technology that makes it possible for me to take business-casual to disturbing extremes also…
Traffic lawyer Rick Silverman tells you how to beat that ticket
Not long ago, Rick Silverman sat next to a woman on a plane. She asked him what he did for a living. "I'm a lawyer. I fight traffic violations," he told her. "You mean tickets," she said. "Don't you just pay those things?" The vast majority of people do. A cop stops you and writes…
Potentially gay younger brother needs to be more cautious online
Savage Love I think my 13-year-old brother is gay. I came home from school this past Christmas to visit my family. One night I turned on my MacBook to check e-mail and there was no battery left. I plugged it in and once it was on I was shocked. There were pages of gay porn…
Ready for another Florida voting scandal?
Why do I get the uneasy feeling that Florida is about to be at the center of a presidential voting scandal again this year? Haven't we made any progress since 2000? The unease is fed by some reports in Florida media over the past month making it clear that having a simple, clean election is…
How can I get rid of a tattoo?
Here's a quick way to lose a new friend: ask them if they think that tattoo that seemed like such a good idea at age 22 will appeal at age 45 or 60. Blows their minds and gets their backs up in one fell swoop. I poked around the Net, but couldn't find stats about…
McCain or Obama: Whose tax plan would save me the most money?
You mean other than Ron Paul and his support for the Flat Tax? (And we assume that you assume the Flat Tax would actually save you money, but that's another question for another column.) Both major party presidential candidates have a tax plan in their campaign platform. John McCain and Barack Obama are promising tax…
Wine tasting in the recession
I surveyed the room, sparsely filled with cosmopolites, edibles and alcohol, hoping this would be the night I would spot the elusive "good value wine." In this wretched economy, I find it crucial to provide my readers with a respite from high prices. This is perhaps the tenth formal wine-tasting fundraiser my husband and I…
Dream away the economic recession at Dunedin Fine Arts Center
These days, it's hardly an exaggeration to call the evening news the stuff of nightmares. Between the implosion of Wall Street and the prospect of the other guy winning the election, the current state of national affairs might be enough to have you waking up in a cold sweat. Floridians in particular — at the…
Thomas Wynn & The Believers, Brass Bed perform at New World Brewery
Fans of the Flaming Lips and My Morning Jacket take note: Last month, Louisiana quintet Brass Bed self-released Midnight Matinee, a fun, captivating, diverse album of mostly guitar-and-piano-driven melodies decorated with spot-on trappings ranging from trumpet to pedal steel to tape loops to tuba. The full-length is intelligent and warm, clever yet comforting — and,…
Pianist Sonny Clark’s Jazz Standards a Blue Note classic
StandardsSONNY CLARK(Blue Note) Sonny Clark was an underappreciated jazz pianist during his short lifetime — he died in 1963 at age 31 — but he was also a favorite of Blue Note owner Alfred Lion, who kept him in steady work. With his light touch, effortless swing and penchant for blues feeling, Clark makes Standards…
St. Pete City Council votes to ban all money collecting on road medians
St. Petersburg's unending war on the homeless may have claimed some (more) innocent victims: the 300 or so families in Pinellas County who depend on the Muscular Dystrophy Association for a little help. The St. Pete City Council, at the urging of Mayor Rick Baker, passed an ordinance last week outlawing people standing in the…
A Don Imus record?! … that I like?!
That's right, the shock jock will release The Imus Ranch Record through the venerable New West Records on Sept. 16. Confusion struck the moment I opened the package. At first glance, as in when I spotted the name "Imus" on the jewel case, I foresaw a field day slamming it. But then I read the…
Lucinda Williams to release new album
The Queen of Alt-Country will issue a new album, Little Honey, on Oct. 14 on Lost Highway Records, reports CMT.com. The disc features a duet with Elvis Costello ("Jailhouse Tears") and other guest appearances. I'm a fan of Lucinda but her last release, West, struck me as too dreary for its own good. Here's to…
The job hunt horrors have started…
My job searching isn't off to a good start. I was supposed to have my first post-college graduation interview today and it went … , well, it actually didn't go at all. I walked out completely disappointed and angry and feeling scammed. A few weeks ago I applied for a job with the City of…
