FRIDAY 14
Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike turns Wilson's Sports Lounge in St. Pete into male strip club for one night only. Bewildered karaoke regulars can't understand why uncharacteristically gorgeous female audience keeps yelling, "Take it off!"
SUNDAY 16
Indy racer (and St. Pete resident) Dan Wheldon is killed in a massive, 15-car accident at the IndyCar World Championships in Las Vegas. The city mourns a champion and a neighbor.
MONDAY 17
New poll says 50 percent of Americans support the legalization of marijuana. If only 50 percent of Americans voted …
TUESDAY 18
It's a Republican smackdown as the 700 remaining GOP presidential candidates take turns disemboweling each other at "the Western debate," which was clearly named over breakfast at Denny's.
WEDNESDAY 19
Wildlife runs amok in an Ohio town after the owner of an animal preserve unlocks all the cages. News media try unsuccessfully to avoid the headline, "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my."
This article appears in Oct 20-26, 2011.