Blurbex

As of Wednesday, Aug. 20, the Blurbex blog will be folded into our new blog, The Daily Loaf.

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Rays centerfielder B.J. Upton got booed last night — in his home park. That can’t feel good. After being benched twice in the last few weeks by manager Joe Maddon for lack of hustle, Upton made a baserunning error that looked really, really bad:

He hit a sharp shot to right, then hung around the batter’s box admiring the flight of the ball, thinking it was a homerun. Then he ambled down the first base line when he realized it would stay in the park. An easy double. He jogged around first and coasted toward second base. The Angels first baseman followed behind him, took the throw from the outfield and tagged Upton just before he touched second.

Upton looked shocked. He’d been tricked. Worse, it was not a good time to appear lazy on the baseball diamond. He hung his head. All this scrutiny, he had to be thinking, I just don’t need this.

Thing is, I don’t see Upton as lazy. At least not in this case. 99 times out of a hundred, that hit turns into an easy double. The first baseman doesn’t shadow you down the line and tag you.

(more…)

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As I was driving out of my cul de sac in St. Pete, ready to brave Tropical Storm Fay and — fuck it — drive across the bridge to the CL office in Tampa, I had to make a hard right turn to avoid a downed palm branch! Phew. A few blocks later, another downed palm frond. I made it to the office and am hunkered down here for the duration. Where’s ABC Action News and Don Germaise? I want my on-camera!

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From the two school systems:

Hillsborough Schools Closed Tuesday

Tampa, Fla. – (August 18, 2008) – Due to the threat of Tropical Storm Fay and the need to open shelters, Hillsborough County Public Schools will be closed on Tuesday, Aug. 19. The School Board meeting scheduled for Tuesday has also been canceled.

The latest information available shows that the Tropical Storm is expected to bring heavy rains and strong winds to the Tampa Bay area on Tuesday.
School officials will be in constant contact with Emergency Operations Center officials monitoring the path and intensity of the storm.  A decision will be made tomorrow (Tuesday) regarding the possibility of reopening schools on Wednesday, and we will use all our communications tools and rely on local media to help get out the word.

and:

Schools, Offices Closed Due to Tropical Storm Fay

All Pinellas County public schools and district offices will be closed Tuesday, Aug. 19, due to Tropical Storm Fay. Julie M. Janssen, Ed.D., interim superintendent, made the decision Monday afternoon based on information from the Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center.

All planned activities at schools today (Monday, Aug. 18) will go on as scheduled, including back-to-school activities for parents.

Parents are urged to stay tuned for communication updates that will be available on the district website, www.pcsb.org; the district’s recorded emergency phone line, (727) 588-6424; Pinellas County Schools’ television, WDPS-TV14 (which may be found on Bright House Networks Ch. 614, Knology Ch. 14 and Verizon Ch. 46), and in media reports. There also will be Connect-ED phone messages from the district to parents with the latest information.
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The Michael Phelps story was impressive, of course — his body of work in this Olympics is mind-boggling — but for my money the most extraordinary individual achievement of these Games thus far has been Usain Bolt’s win in the 100 meters. He blew away the field, celebrated the last 10 or 15 meters and still broke the world record with a 9.69.

At 6-feet-4, 198 pounds — gargantuan for a sprinter — Bolt runs with a kind of joyful lope. In the 100-meter final, he came out of he blocks a bit behind, and at the halfway point started to put everyone in his dust. The last part of his run was pure euphoria.

If you haven’t seen the highlight, you should. I couldn’t get it on YouTube — just still shots set to music, mostly — but it is available through NBC (although you must have the right browser). I got blocked from posting it here, but this is the link.

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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 St. Petersburg — I won’t say which job because I don’t want the competition — and was delighted when I got a call a couple days ago to schedule an interview with someone I thought was the City of St. Petersburg. How could I have been mistaken, you ask? See the exchange below:

Stephanie: “I’m calling about a position we have available. Are you still looking for a position?”

Ben: “Weellllll, yyyess …” I said non-commitally. (At this point she hasn’t told me where she is calling from. I get a lot of job offers to sell pest control services, cars and, ironically, insurance, and I suspected it was that type of call).

Stephanie: “You don’t sound too sure about that.”

Ben: “Well I am looking, but I just graduated from college on Saturday so I haven’t really done a big search yet. Plus, I don’t even know where you are calling from.” (Here was the point at which a person with less underhanded leanings would have given me a company name, etc. Keep reading to see where the confusion lies.)

Stephanie: “I’m calling from St. Petersburg.”

Ben: “You mean the City of St. Petersburg?”

Stephanie: “Yes

I realize that Stephanie had no way of knowing I had applied for a job with the City of St. Petersburg. She just got lucky that I was actually hoping to hear from someone who was calling from St. Petersburg — not the City, but the city — you know what I mean. So you can understand my confusion today when I couldn’t find the place she sent me to — I was, after all, looking for an office of — that’s right — St. Petersburg. After driving up and down Seminole Blvd. (within city limits according to Mapquest, but still: why would St. Petersburg have an office way out there? Not a giveaway, but certainly a red flag that was on my mind ever since Stephanie, if that is her real name, gave me the address), I finally found the place and … Damn! It belongs to United American Insurance Company (see above sentence regarding irony).

In my disbelief I actually parked and went in. A quick visual scan of the place confirmed that I definitely was not interviewing for the job I thought I was interviewing for. It was a small room with eight to 10 cubicles filed with a few young dudes in suits. One guy was asking another guy, who was obviously his superior, about a problem with a customer’s policy (there may be problems for more than just one customer, as it turns out). I caught an unpleasant-smelling breeze from what I think was most likely a revolving door.

I asked and the woman at the desk by the front door said she was Stephanie. After getting my name she said she had some paperwork for me to fill out. I asked if it is for an insurance sales job and she confirmed that, yes, it is to sell insurance.

“Then don’t bother, I’m not interested.”

She asked me if I wanted Stephanie to take my name off the list (she lacks a firm grasp on the obvious, that one). I started to say “Aren’t you Stephanie?” but then decided I just wanted to get out of there so I gave her a disgusted “Yes, please do” and walked out.

I could have said it much nicer over the phone a few days ago, had I been given the chance.

Back to the drawing board. Or the Monster job boards, anyway.

(Ben Fry just graduated from USF-St. Pete and completed an internship at Creative Loafing.)

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Isaac Hayes, that pimpin’ progenitor of symphonic soul, died yesterday at 65; relatives found him by a still-running treadmill in his home in Memphis.

Hayes, aka Black Moses, contributed to the soundtrack of my high school years.

His biggest hit, “Theme From Shaft,” starts with a long instrumental section built around swirling strings and wah-wah-drenched rhythm guitar. Then the songs glides into Hayes’s buttery baritone.

The lyrics include the iconic line, “They say this cat Shaft is a bad muthah” [then the girl vocalists drown him out] “Shut your mouth!”

Here’s a fun clip of Hayes on stage performing “Shaft” with his mammoth ensemble. A ’fro-wearing, dashiki’ed Jesse Jackson introduces him.

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I’m sure you’ve read the sad accounts of Whaley’s Market closing in South Tampa. (Our own CL music critic Wade Tatangelo even devoted a Top 10 to them). But one neighborhood is not content to wallow in pity over the independent grocery store’s demise.

Residents of Seminole Heights are begging Whaley’s to relocate to their side of town. Seminole Heights doesn’t have a neighborhood market — it’s something they’ve wanted for years. So, the Official Unofficial Seminole Heights blog bought Whalley’s website address and is promising free advertising on its website. They’ve also put a call out to other residents and blogs to spread the word.

Check out the call to action here.

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We’ve finally found something that President George W. Bush is good at:  

Cheerleader. 

Jock prez Bush has been all over the Beijing Olympics, sitting in the stands, kibitzing with the athletes, riding the mountain bike course. After beach volleyballer Misty May-Treanor invited him to slap her on the ass – a customary gesture of encouragement – Bush obliged with a little tap on her lower back. C’mon Dubya, get into the spirit, man. She offered. And she has a pretty nice ass.

I don’t blame Bush for living it up at the Olympics. He’s the ultimate lame duck who’s just cashing in on his VIP status, milking all the swag he can get. 

It’s a bit of a sad commentary, of course: Bush waving to the athletes from the stands, winking, smiling his fratboy smile. He’s a good fan, a true believer, a total U.S. Olympic team booster. He seems so much in his element.  

Which just underscores how bad he is at everything else. At the Olympics, he is excelling as a figurehead. If only we could’ve kept him in that role for the last eight years.

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Uh oh, I’m now doing what I warned the Rays against: watching the standings. It started two nights ago when the Rays beat the Blue Jays while the Red Sox and Yankees lost. I thought, “Hmmm, they gained a game. Good.”

I peeked this morning and saw that that Sox lost again, and the Yanks won. Not too bad. Rays have a three-game lead in the AL East.

But like I said a few days ago: There are more than 50 games left to play (55 to be exact). I think it’s counterproductive for Rays players to start a daily vigil on how the Sox and Yanks are doing.

I know it’s impossible to ignore those scores — the news is everywhere — but the St. Petersburg team has to do its best to downplay the day-to-day importance.

For fans, on the other hand, it just adds to the excitement.

The Rays fared pretty well on their road trip, going 4-3 and taking two out of three (close games) from division foe Toronto (although, collectively, the offense has yet to kick into gear).

The Rays play their next six games at home, three each against the increasingly dangerous Detroit Tigers (6-4 in their last 10) and then the Indians.

I like that Kazmir opens the series on Friday, not so much that the increasingly shaky Andy Sonnanstine pitches against crusty veteran Kenny Rogers on Saturday. Then again, L.L. Cool J performs after that game, and the Rays haven’t lost on concert Saturday nights.

I’m wondering if my bud Sean Daley of the St. Pete Times has started watching the standings? I’m also wondering if he’s excited about watching L.L. shirtless.

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It’s been two weeks since the Red Bull Flugtag rolled up its runway and left the Tampa Convention Center and more than 100,000 (mostly) happy, (mostly) drunken spectators behind. Except for the folks at the sixth annual Metrocon, who recently e-mailed CL to complain about the Flugtaggers who wandered into their event.

Attendees at Metrocon — Florida’s largest anime convention held inside the convention center as people were attempting to fly unflyable homemade vehicles — were repeatedly harassed by crowds of rowdy flugtaggers who made catcalls at young girls and tried slipping cameras up their skirts. The Red Bull fans shouted “freak” and “fag”at participants, ruined artwork and spilled beer on costumes, said Allison Rexrode, who attended the event for the sixth year in a row.

The convention is normally a family-friendly celebration of Japanese culture where fans can come dressed in homemade costumes, participate in skits and contests and meet fellow anime-lovers.

“It was completely different (this year),” Allison said. “It was a constant hassle… a constant influx of people coming in and out, and there was no way to control it.”

The convention center double-booked the Red Bull and Metrocon events, assuming Flugtaggers would stay outside on the Riverwalk while Metrocon carried on inside. But security was unprepared for the number of people and the amount of drunken stupidity.

“I just think it was a really bad decision for the convention center to book both events at the same time,” Allison said, “especially a family-friendly event and [another] event where they were selling (alcohol).”

Her mother, Bonnie Rizzo, was equally disappointed with the double-booking. Bonnie, who has attended numerous anime conventions with Allison, said “It’s a really wholesome event that these kids look forward to every year. As far as the way the convention center and Red Bull handled it, I think it’s appaling that they would jeopardize people’s kids like this.”

Metrocon 2008’s Director of Operations Alex Craddock issued this apology on its website last week:

I have received countless emails detailing reasons that people were displeased with METROCON, or this weekend in any capacity, and I personally would like to address the big one: Red Bull Flugtag.

… It’s unfortunate that there wasn’t more we could do to prevent some of the incidents that occurred, but at this juncture, I feel my best course of action is to apologize. The staff of METROCON (and those of you that saw us on Saturday will more than agree) did everything short of miracle-working to stop the multitude of disrespectful and irritating things that many of you saw or unfortunately, were involved with. Please keep in mind that the METROCON staff places your interests and well being above all else, and are doing everything we can to make right every single act of injustice that we saw taking place this past weekend.

Do not misunderstand what happened this weekend, however. I have spoken with several individuals from the Red Bull Corporation, who had worked so well with us prior to the event, and they are just as unhappy with everything that happened the way it did as we are. They have asked that I pass on their apologies to our convention-goers as well, and to let it be known they are also currently pursuing a course of action that will prevent anything (and I do mean anything) like this from ever happening to our valued attendees ever again so long as we are in this venue. Please trust in the fact that we at METROCON did everything we could. We are continuing to do everything we can to right these wrongs, and to make sure that you know it will never happen again. METROCON will continue to be a safe, fun, exciting place for the die-hard fan or casual anime watcher, and for parent and child, alike

Christine Pena, who dressed in a Parasite Eve costume at this year’s Metrocon, detailed her experience in an e-mail:

The costume contest pre-judging was held in a room close to the riverwalk. After pre-judging, I was trying to make my way back when a group of about 5 guys passed me, bopping my wig … When I went to grab a snack in the food line, I felt my wig get tapped again. The guy who did it ran away, to which I heard, ‘GET A TAN!’ He looked familiar.

The third time it happened, I was standing relatively close to the information desk. The same group of guys were lined up to walk by. They each bopped one my wig’s horns. I was not about to walk onstage with a broken wig; after all, presentation is a big part of the costume contest and I had worked very hard. I yelled quite a few profanities at them as they walked away. I hated to be so nasty, but from that moment on, no one else bothered me the rest of the convention. Despite there being so many jerks, there were also a lot of (nicer) Flugtag people asking me for photos.

It was unfortunate that these events happened to so many other cosplayers and that TCC Security, from what I observed, did nothing to stop it.

John Moors, administrator for the convention center, said that “coinciding events happen all the time, and with the number of people in attendance (at Flugtag), it put pressure on all the downtown facilities.

“It was a great event,” he continued. “It was great to see people out and enjoying the day. Maybe some people enjoyed their day more than others, but there was 100,000 people there. There’s always going to be a few that stick out.”

(Photo credit: rcmaclean via flickr)

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Snapped a photo of this little piece of illegal art earlier today on Second Street North and Central Avenue. It’s allegedly a calling card left by the Southern California band OPM, who stopped by Jannus Landing last week on their tour with metalcore outfit Hed PE.

According to Ultimate-Guitar.com, this tag earned OPM frontman John Necro (aka John Charles Edney) an arrest by St. Petersburg Police. He spent a few hours in jail and was released on $1,000 bail (see mugshot here).

“I find it kind of ironic that Saint Petersburg, FL, home to the Salvador Dali museum, could be so insanely uptight about spray painting,” Necro says in the article. “In some areas Graffiti is regarded as a form of art worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions, but obviously the state of Florida feels differently.”

Yep, graffiti is against the law here. I thought that was half of the fun.