So, what did you freak out over this weekend? A possibly approaching maybe storm that no one can predict anyway? The enforcement of a newly defined noise ordinance destroying South Howard nightlife? Public sex acts by homeless people? Early voting? I freaked out over, let's see — *spins wheel* — the comparative lack of Zika updates in the news, and how it's almost certainly an indicator of a cover-up of a pandemic grown out of control. But that's just me. So what else happened? (Actually, not much.)
FRIDAY, AUG. 26:
Speaking of freaking out, the folks of Ballast Point have stopped doing just that over the Tampa Yacht Club's new re-zoning permit applications since the club clarified it wouldn't be building a new residential parking garage or destroying local trees. On the one hand, this can be seen as a metaphor for the larger issue of class struggle, and the fear that power and influence will — hey, where did everybody go?
SUNDAY, AUG. 28:
Tampa firefighters rescued a 2-week-old kitten from a storm drain. Super cute! That this story appeared in every one of my many, many news feeds should tell you everything you need to know about local headlines in August.
And finally, the MTV Video Music Awards returned to reaffirm that 1) unconscious irony is the best kind, 2) it's still impossible to figure out whether Kanye is a narcissistic blowhard or the greatest performance artist in history, and 3) the only real losers in this contest are the ones who endured the entirety of the MTV Video Music Awards.
This article appears in Aug 25 – Sep 1, 2016.
