Bringing Brit-Pop to Bear
The original Edward The Bear was a stuffed companion to Christopher Robin Milne, and one of his father's primary inspirations in creating Winnie the Pooh. Since then, Ed has served as subject fodder for various other children's books, and one song by The Damned during their forgettable post-Captain Sensible period. Allegations that he provided the…
The Mancunian Candidate: 24 Hour Party People
I'll go out on a limb here: 24 Hour Party People is one of the better rock 'n' roll movies of the last few decades. But then again, I'm biased. 24 Hour Party People is the definitive movie — make that the only movie — about the punk/post-punk explosion that shook up Manchester, England, during…
Sprawl Stars: 2 Brandon Eateries
To me, sitting in the drive-thru and inhaling auto exhaust does not qualify as a dining experience. It's just eating. There's a difference. That's what you're often stuck doing, driving down one of Brandon's many civic eyesores, its eight-lane main arteries, clogged with fast-food and chain restaurants. It makes you wonder what John Brandon envisioned…
‘A Jim Crow Election’
Two independent filmmakers and a crusading journalist tour the Bay area to fire up Floridians to save their democracy.
Bygone Errors
American Stage's production of Craig Wright's The Pavilion is a complicated effort and deserves a complicated response. So here goes: On the plus side, the play boasts sporadic bursts of beautiful writing, likable characters struggling through a genuinely dramatic dilemma, a couple of skillful performances and a philosophical position that's worthy of serious thought. On…
Web Site of the Week
http://www.oddtodd.com Odd ToddI'm definitely of the belief that losing your job might be the best thing that can happen to you. Lord knows, the day I left the Unnamed Managed Care Company from Hell was one of the happiest days of my life. Yes, I miss the money, the independence, the sense of self-respect ……
The Bond Is Broken
Victor Rudy DiMaio has accomplished the impossible. The Hillsborough County Industrial Development Authority member has made government bonds interesting.DiMaio is a 48-year-old public relations and election campaign consultant. He hails from an old Ybor City family drenched in local politics. Those are good credentials for getting appointed to public bodies in Tampa, like the industrial…
Letters
Best Complaint Re: "Best of the Bay" (Sept. 18-24) Labeling Sami Al-Arian as "Best Martyr" certainly qualifies you for an award of your own, "Most Galling Act of Chutzpah." As a Palestinian, Al-Arian shares Yasser Arafat's definition of "martyr," which coincides precisely with Arafat's definition of suicide bomber. Surely you are familiar with Arafat's call…
Spins
Reviews of new releases from The Who, No Knife, Jimmy Fallon, Duke Ellington and Eva Cassidy. The Who My Generation (Deluxe Edition) In 1965, The Who was a nascent band running more on youthful insouciance than clear-cut vision. Which is why this two-disc Deluxe Edition of the band's debut album is ultimately so rewarding. Part…
Juice Injunctions, Part II
This is the second in a series of columns on wine shipping laws in the Southeast. To read the first in the series, go to www.weeklyplanet.com. Who said a simple product like wine can't be juicily controversial? In our age of free trade and monopoly hunters, there's a quiet yet tantalizing consumer wine revolution on…
Orbitals
It's the Economics, Stupid Hillsborough County commissioners listened to community members beg for restoration of public access funding. They viewed a video laying out the legal case for it. But the county's illustrious leaders decided Sept. 19 to stick with their previous decision to eliminate $355,000 in public funding for the nonprofit that runs Hillsborough's…
Outtakes
Mini-reviews of movies playing throughout the Tampa Bay area. 24 Hour Party People (NR) See Film column. Austin Powers in Goldmember (PG-13) The least fabulous of all the Powers entries to date but still good, disposable fun. Goldmember is really just a loosely connected series of gags, routines and set pieces (not that the other…
Books
Justice Hall by Laurie King Bantam Books/$23.95 Crank up the A/C, put on a pot of tea and crack open the latest Laurie King mystery. Suddenly you're transported to early 20th century England. An anglophile who lives in California, King pays homage to the classic British mystery genre with her Mary Russell series. King's heroine…
Retired but Not Tired: CAM Faculty Show
Every three years, the University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum mounts the School of Art and Art History faculty exhibition. This show, with the last of the longtime painting faculty heading for retirement, is more than an exhibition; it marks a changing of the guard. Retirees include powerhouse painting professors Mernet Larsen, Bruce Marsh,…
