Welcome back to another edition of 3 Guys and Glee. This week’s episode is entitled “Ballads,” not to be confused with mallards, and was appropriately named due to the number of songs sung in the episode. So, let’s get into the songs, the drama, the ultrasounds and, of course, the Glee.
By Catherine Durkin Robinson
PoHo contributor
Catherine Durkin Robinson is a handful creating quite a scene over at Out in Left Field.
A local show, True Talk on WMNF 88.5, is hosted by Ahmed Bedier (one of my Facebook friends. Represent!) and Samar Jarrah. I’ve been a huge fan of WMNF since its Radical Noise show back in the early 1980s when I was little punk-wanna-be in 8th grade. Its programs, True Talk included, have a certain Wayne’s World feel to them.
Minus the laughs or dick jokes.
On last week’s show, Ahmed called in to talk to Samar remotely. Classic ‘MNF moment — she lost the connection twice. When he finally got on, Ahmed spoke for a few moments before he had to take another call. Then he tried to conference in with someone old enough to remember when dinosaurs roamed the earth.
But that vibe, that “we’re broadcasting from someone’s garage in between bong hits” feel adds to the station’s indy cred and, let’s face it, is part of WMNF’s charm.
Jessica Rothert is a charming and exceedingly talented actress, and Bad Dates is a charming and exceedingly insignificant play. As it escorts us through the dating jungle, Theresa Rebeck’s one-woman show has nothing new or important to say about love, sex, men, women, shoes, blouses or any of the other subjects that come up over its 90 minutes. Still, there’s Rothert’s performance to enchant us and keep us from glancing too often at our watches. Here she is trying on clothes, brushing her teeth, crying, laughing and eating a pretzel as she regales us with stories of men who repeatedly turn out not to be keepers. And, wonderful to recount, she never once strikes a wrong note. In fact, Rothert’s character, the Texan-turned-New Yorker Haley Walker, is so completely believable, you’ll want her for a buddy with whom to drink late into the night while recounting your relationship woes. As for dramatic urgency….Who said the theater had to be special, anyway? Read more “Theater Review: Bad Dates covers old ground with charm” »
It’s a big week for me, with the premiere of New Moon and the season finale of Project Runway, so despite my sudden fever and inability to breathe through my nose, I am excited and ready for some recapping!
To catch you all up, we are in New York and it’s just a couple days before the show at Bryant Park and poor Carol Hannah is blorching in the bathroom at the hotel. Before we even begin, I, for the record, am on Team Carol Hannah for the win. I love the evening looks, the dresses, the classic style, the drama, the frufiness, I love it all. One of my BFFs, Amanda W, is on Team Althea. We have a bet, loser buys the other one a Starbucks drink. If Irina wins, we all lose, as a human race, for allowing such a crazy be-otch to hold the title of Project Runway Winner. That is my stance on that.
From what I can tell, the workroom was basically just a mess of chaos, alterations, annoyance and tears for two days. I can understand though, I want to cry for Carol Hannah, she is beyond sick, I cannot imagine working under that kind of pressure while being that ill, ugh! At least she has Logan to comfort her, someone Wikipedia that and tell me they ended up married … I really want that happy ending. In non-loving news, Althea and Irina seem to be sharing brain waves yet again with the makeup look, bringing Althea to tears, the third workroom-cry within the first 10 minutes of the show … I’m no expert but that might be a record.
When they finally got to the tents, the chaos went from yikes to redonkulous. I have never seen Tim Gunn as upset as he got backstage at the runway show. No one was ready and he was not the least bit pleased. He ALMOST YELLED!!!! I cannot believe it, but seriously, these girls are a mess, models aren’t dressed, hair isn’t done. Big. Huge. Mess.
After the jump find out who wins, who loses and who has to buy Starbucks, or if we just lose as a planet.
This weekend is college football’s calm before the storm, so if you need to get some yard work done, this is the weekend to do it. Unless of course, you’re a Michigan or Ohio State fan. The three kings, Florida, Alabama and Texas, all have two regular season games, then a conference championship to determine who will play for the BCS title. This week, those three are such huge favorites against Florida International, Kansas and UT-Chattanooga that Las Vegas doesn’t even have a point spread in the ‘Bama-UTC game. Perhaps the Mocs are hoping Terrell Owens will once again suit up for his alma mater. The Buffalo Bills might secretly be hoping the same thing. In the NFL, Super Bowl contenders are starting to separate themselves from the early draftees, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a few choice matchups to watch. One includes an undefeated team as a road underdog and two other conference games that could determine who gets into the playoffs and who stays out.
(10) OSU at Michigan – (Saturday, 12:00 pm – ABC – OSU minus 12)
Let’s face it. A Rose Bowl berth doesn’t mean anything to Ohio State if they don’t beat they’re arch rival. Losses in this series get coaches fired. Just ask John Cooper. (I probably just lost three Buckeyes readers for merely mentioning Cooper’s name.) Speaking from personal experience, the only thing more enjoyable than watching college football’s most storied rivalry with a drunken Buckeye fan is hearing him or her explain in excruciating detail how this is college football’s most storied rivalry. So they have that going for them… which is nice. Whoops, just lost three more Buckeye readers. Michigan is 1-6 in the Big Ten this year and Jimmy T has never lost to Michigan, so the Buckeyes have nothing to worry about this year, right?
(11) Oregon at Arizona – (Saturday, 8:00 pm – ABC – ORE minus 6)
Read more “What NCAA and NFL games to watch this weekend (Nov 21-22)” »
In 15 years of dancing at strip clubs, I’ve seen some crazy shit. Now, the only thing that continues to surprise me are Pimps. How do these guys operate? What the hell do they say to get girls willingly to hand over their hard-earned money every night?!
I asked a few girls who had been in the lifestyle and also spoke to a couple of pimps. I got the answers I expected, even though they weren’t all true. I’ll let you guess who the fibbers were, but I bet you already know.
I asked the girls how they got into working for a pimp in the first place. Was it just because he was good-looking? Mind-blowing sex? Promises of nice things? Amazingly, the answer was all of the above. Read more “Pimps, get your lazy asses out of my club” »
Florida Family Association Executive Director David Caton
Yesterday’s 5-1 vote by the Tampa City Council to add transgender people to its human rights ordinance included plenty of drama – mostly in the form of the public comments made by those in support and against the resolution.
But that was nothing compared to what was going on behind closed doors, apparently.
David Caton, executive director of the Florida Family Association, writes on his web site that he met during the meeting with Commission Chairman Thomas Scott and the City Attorney (Chip Fletcher?) to know “what wording changes needed to be made to correct the situation.”
Caton writes that the wording by definition included transvestites and said they’d be permitted to use women’s restrooms.
He then writes:
Pastor Scott told me that he could not support language that protected transvestites. He thought it protected only those seeking sex change operations even though he had already heard two transvestites testify that morning that most transgenders do not have the money to have an operation therefore they are transvestites.
I informed him that transvestites make up the largest percentage of the transgender movement which is a major part of the homosexual agenda.
He said he could not support that.
I left the side room believing that Pastor and Council Chair Tom Scott would vote against the ordinance.
Tom Scott followed me out the door of the side room where he caught the eyes of Joseph Caetano. Joseph Caetano says Tom Scott’s smile and short words lead him to believe that somehow I agree to a change in wording of the ordinance.
If you were at the meeting or watching from home, you may have noticed that City Attorney Fletcher came before the Council before their final vote to discuss how the resolution was focusing on gender identity. He cited a phrase that the city of Gainsville had included in their legislation that he called helpful. That being “the inner sense of being a specific gender.”
Caton writes incredulously:
What could Pastor and Council Chair Tom Scott believe that adding the words “the inner sense of being a specific gender” to the existing definition would eliminate transvestites from the ordinance? Adding this language actually increased the protection for transvestites because it made it ever clearer that a “physical” sex change was unnecessary to prove the ordinance applied to transvestites.
In Scott’s closing remarks, which drew praise from various media organizations (including this one) he did say “this ordinance does not address transvestites. “
I bring this up because Caton obviously felt otherwise, and is aggrieved that what he thought was agreed upon behind closed doors was not what actually happened.
Caton also describes his conversation before the meeting with Councilman Joseph Caetano, who has been known to frequently vote in accordance with what Charlie Miranda does.
With Councilman Miranda making it clear that he was going to vote against the ordinance, Caton says he sidled up to Caetano before the vote and informed him of that. He also writes this :
Councilmember Joseph Caetano, the only Republican on the Tampa City Council, voted for it. Caetano blamed it on believing that Tom Scott cut a deal with me. By the way I do NOT cut political deals on moral issues. Additionally, Caetano told me that he did not want to be the only no vote so he voted yes.
According to Caton, Caetano didn’t know that Miranda would be voting no, thus would not be the lone no vote. But he’s also saying that because Scott and Caton had come out of the room seeming to agree, it was okay for him to vote FOR the measure.
Either way, the New Tampa representative doesn’t come out of Caton’s account looking too good. Of course, this is just David Caton’s take. CL has attempted to speak with Caetano, Caton, and City Attorney Chip Fletcher for comment. If and when we hear from them, we will certainly update this post.
So it’s a week out and you haven’t shopped, planned a menu or sent invitations. Good. There’s hope for you, unlike those annoying ’plan ahead’ types. Here’s your task list for a green, somewhat sustainable Thanksgiving Day.
1. Send email invitations – granted it’s too late for real paper ones sent snail mail, so your fail to plan has paid off.
2. Make your shopping list on the back of one of those useless return address envelopes you get with bills you pay online anyway. Now would be a good time to make sure you change your billing preference to paperless. Do it Today! points for you here. Oh and you Super Geeks who have eliminated paper billing, use the iPhone iHost app for Thanksgiving.
3. Know the people you invite to dinner. That will eliminate 99.9% of your Facebook friends, but this allows you to avoid serving food that won’t get eaten. So what if creamed pearl onions have been on the table since the Buccaneers’ throwback uniforms were worn by Lee Roy Selmon, bag it and go with another tradition like….
4. Serve locally grown veggies. If you’re lucky enough to be a Sweetwater Organic Community Farm member, skip to number 5. If not, the market is open this Sunday from 12 to 4pm. (Or check out one of these other farmers’ markets around Tampa Bay.)
5. Shop with a reusable bag. It doesn’t have to be one of those bought for that purpose, use the old beach bag (it’ll love you for the change of scenery).
Read more “Greening Thanksgiving” »
All proceeds benefit The Children’s Home. New items will be added for bidding on The Daily Loaf throughout the auction, which concludes Dec. 16. For more info, return to the Holiday Auction page.
In just a few months every culture vulture in Tampa Bay will be descending on the new Stanley Saitowitz-designed home of the Tampa Museum of Art and its inaugural exhibition, A Celebration of Henri Matisse: Master of Line and Light. But as the winner of this item, you and a friend will get to escape the crowds and go on a private tour of the Matisse show and the museum with its highly personable new director Todd Smith and CL art critic Megan Voeller. Then you’ll top off your tour with lunch at Sono Cafe, which isn’t just any museum cafeteria; it’s being run by Mise en Place.
Estimated value: $150. Suggested opening bid: $25
You only need $100 and a Mac to develop apps for the iPhone. If it’s Twitter, games, email, GPS navigation or Facebook, “there’s an app for that” on the iTunes App Store. The iPhone’s success is largely owed to the developers, ranging from big name studios to a few guys in a garage (a la Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak) who have made the device the Swiss army knife of phones.
Since its launch in July of 2008, the iTunes App Store has reached over 2 billion downloads and now has more than 100,000 unique applications available. What has made the rapid growth and success of the App Store possible are the more than 125,000 developers in Apple’s iPhone Developer Program.
What’s it like developing for the iPhone? Why are developers gravitating towards it? Where do developers see mobile gaming going? The Daily Loaf sat down with a few iPhone developers last week to answer these, and other, questions. Read more “How game developers drive iPhone’s app store growth” »
If Radiohead and the Beatles had a lovechild that grew up to kick your ass and take your girlfriend, it would be Harry Dash.
Everyone can remember one moment that he/she felt alive, where that one spark fueled a true passion. My personal catalyst was an oddly-named band called Harry Dash.
Harry Dash is a local New Port Richey band that means “flash” or “cool” in British cockney slang. I had heard of the band quite a bit growing up, since they’ve been on the local Tampa band scene since the mid ’90s. Their amazing covers of songs such as Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell” and “Muscle Museum” by Muse, and the high energy sound of original songs like “Spies.” Not to forget the soulful, powerhouse vocals behind lullaby ballads and inspirational “get off your butt and do something” anthems such as “Tank.”
I was 16 and like many teenagers, trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with my life.
Tomorrow night at 8 p.m. comes round two in the great Saturday night votes on health care reform. Unlike Nancy Pelosi’s effort, even if Harry Reid wins tomorrow, it still ain’t over.
Florida’s Department of Community Affairs Secretary is sounding mighty upset about the controversial growth management bill S.B. 360 that passed the legislature and was signed by Governor Crist earlier this year.
And the Tampa City Council comes up big in voting solidly to give protections to transgender individuals in their human rights ordinance yesterday. And we have an update on this story here.
Sport has its array of thrilling moments. Major League Baseball has its game-saving catches and walk-off home runs. The NFL has its big hits and its hail maries. But there’s something about an NBA slam dunk that lifts fans out of their seats.
Right now, the Association boasts a number of athletes that can jump clear out of the gym. So for those of you who don’t have the good fortune of watching basketball highlights with Sportschump-like regularity, I’d like to present three dunkalicious reasons to love this game.
Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby give you Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and 5’11” Ty Lawson rudely introducing themselves to Paul Milsap, Anderson Varejao and DJ Mbenga: Read more “Sportschump.net presents Dunk you, very much! starring Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Ty Lawson (video)” »
All proceeds benefit The Children’s Home. New items will be added for bidding on The Daily Loaf throughout the auction, which concludes Dec. 16. For more info, return to the Holiday Auction page.
North Tampa’s longtime outdoor venue and restaurant Skipper’s Smokehouse always promises a good time. This fabulous package includes dinner for two ($30 value) and two tickets to virtually any show of your choice that takes place at Skipper’s between November 19, 2009 and November 19, 2010. (Offer excludes New Year’s Eve.) Among worthy upcoming shows are roots purveyors the Eilen Jewell Band and Sara Borges & the Broken Singles (November 20), the bluegrass flavor of Dr. Ralph Stanley & His Clinch Mountain Boys (December 6), the Afro-beat rock of Toubab Krewe (December 13), and the NOLA funk of Trombone Shorty (January 9). None of those shows appeal to you? There are plenty of others TBA.
Estimated value: $100
All proceeds benefit The Children’s Home. New items will be added for bidding on The Daily Loaf throughout the auction, which concludes Dec. 16. For more info, return to the Holiday Auction page.
Datz Deli, the hot new spot on MacDill, won Best Wines-By-The-Glass in CL’s Best of the Bay 2009. Now’s your chance to see what all the buzz is about with a wine, cheese and charcuterie tasting for 8. How many times do you get to do a tasting with not just a sommelier but a fromager, too? (That’s French for cheese maven.)
Estimated value: $500. Suggested opening bid: $50
Reports surfaced yesterday that Florida’s trust fund for unemployment benefits is depleted, and employers will have to now pay much higher taxes to refill it.
As the Times reports:
The minimum annual rate — charged to an employer with a solid history of retaining employees — will jump almost twelvefold, from $8.40 per employee to $100.30, revenue officials said Wednesday. The maximum rate, currently $378 per employee, would rise to $459.
A serious situation no doubt, and it’s allowing state Democrats to chide state Republicans “I told you so.”
Told them what?
You’ll remember when the stimulus bill passed in February? Several GOP Governors (many coincidentally considered to harbor possible Presidential ambitions, such as South Carolina’s Rick Sanford, Alaska’s Sarah Palin and Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal ) publicly discussed rejecting some of those funds, because of various reasons (such as Republicans simply didn’t like the bill). Read more “Florida Legislature’s refusal to take $444 million in stimulus money for unemployment benefits looking worse” »
All proceeds benefit The Children’s Home. New items will be added for bidding on The Daily Loaf throughout the auction, which concludes Dec. 16. For more info, return to the Holiday Auction page.
Everyone loves Creative Loafing’s Eats and Bites half-price gift certificates, the ones that allow you to enjoy many of the area’s best restaurants at a discount. Well, this is your chance to stockpile a whole bunch of ‘em — 10 $50 gift certificates to participating restaurants. Get ‘em before they sell out.
Estimated value: $500.
Photo left: Citizen opposition / Photo right: Rainmen Horner & Marchetti
By George Niemann
PoHo contributor, R-LAND, UCAN & Amendment 4 activist
Views expressed are my own & might not be shared by the organizations of which I am a member
A rezoning request from a developer in Valrico that is moving quickly through the process begs the question above. If you want to understand why Hillsborough currently suffers from a plethora of overdevelopment with no supporting infrastructure, take a look at this local case to see what happens when a developer wants to build something the community is dead set against. It sheds light on how a local community struggles to achieve self determination in a system that, more often than not, overrides what the citizens want for what a developer needs.
On Monday November 16, 2009 a request for a change in zoning was officially presented to Steve Luce, Hillsborough County’s Zoning Hearing Master.
The parcel is 19.2 acres and until recently was a working citrus grove. The owner is Dr. Gregory Henderson, an internist that specializes in eye surgery, as well as, land development, land speculation, and helicopter pads. It’s currently zoned as 1 acre residential but, as we all know, there’s a lot more profit in building higher density and/or mixed-use commercial, so Dr. Henderson has decided that this strictly residential section of Valrico needs a strip mall. In anticipation of problems with community acceptance, he hires two land development experts to pull off the “sting” (please put on some Scott Joplin piano music while you read the next part of this story). They are skid-greasers Vin Marchetti and Mike Horner. Vin and Mike are the crème de la crème for approval of horrible projects, each in their own right, but team the two together and they are invincible. Marchetti is well connected with some members of the county commission and they bend over backwards to give him every accommodation, so the owner of this property joins a long list of developers that want to improve their odds of passage by bringing in these heavy hitters. Read more “A case study in east Hillsborough – can a community’s self-determination trump a developer’s connections?” »
Vegan desserts are perhaps the most daunting undertaking of any new- or non-vegan, inspiring such questions as…
What should I use to replace eggs/milk/butter?
Can I bake for the same amount of time?
How do I make cookies that don’t taste like cardboard?
How do I know if my sugar is vegan?
I hear that some flour has bone in it. Truth or fiction?
Well, dearies, I don’t presume to have all the answers, but as both the maker and eater of countless vegan treats, I do know that there are ways to get around many of these questions. Read more “The Vegan Thanksgiving, Part 2: But what about dessert?” »
During this year’s legislative session there were many concerns expressed before and after the passage of Senate Bill 360, the growth management bill sponsored in the state senate by Bradenton’s Mike Bennett.
The bill exempts many areas from a requirement that says builders must pay for road improvements if traffic generated by their projects exceeds the local capacity, other wise known as transportation concurrency.
Florida DCA Secretary Thomas Pelham
Several municipalities around the state opposed it, as did Hillsborough County, who through Commissioner Mark Sharpe sent a letter to Governor Charlie Crist after the session to please veto it.
Supporters like Senator Bennett said it would streamline the permitting process in Florida – which even some environmentalists like Denise Layne agreed needed some tweaking – and that it would aid development and construction jobs, which the state hasn’t had a lot of due to recession the past couple of years.
But Layne and others said at the end was that the legislation went far awry from what was needed to address current growth management problems.
Layne said what the Legislature and governor have done is thrown away a flawed system, and put very little in its place.
Florida’s Department of Community Affairs Secretary Thomas Pelham had various things to say about the bill when it was being debated, but he’s extremely critical of it now, based on his comments at the University of Florida last night.
The Gainsville Sun reports Pelham as saying, “I don’t think it speaks very well of us that we can’t deal with issues of this magnitude in a more rational manner than we have been doing.”
The paper also reports that DCA must submit a plan by next month to legislators for a new mobility fee to replace concurrency requirements, but:
He expressed skepticism that the fee would be embraced in the next legislative session, which comes during an election year, and suggested such a plan should have been crafted before scrapping the concurrency requirement.
“It was ‘let’s throw the baby out first and come up with a replacement later,’ ” he said.
If you’ll recall, Governor Crist was heavily pressured to veto the bill. And because of his (at the time) rather strong environmental credentials, it was thought that he might do so. But this was also the period in which the guv began backing away from that green reputation, as he realized it wasn’t playing well with the base as a man named Marco Rubio began snipping at him.
Whether it’s chancing luck or not, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tomorrow night will attempt to replicate what his equal in the House, Nancy Pelosi was able to do two Saturday nights ago : That is, get the minimum number of members of Congress to shut off the first Republican efforts to block action on their health care bill that was unveiled late Wednesday night.
It should be emphasized that tomorrow’s vote is not on whether to approve the Senate’s $848 billion plan spread out over 10 years – it’s to begin debate.
But whether that will be enough for some centrist Democrats, such as Arkansas’s Blanche Lincoln, Nebraska’s Ben Nelson, and Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu is still unclear at this point. Though one can’t accuse Reid of doing whatever it takes to acquire their votes.
As the NY Times reports:
the measure that emerged from Mr. Reid’s office contained a special $100 million in Medicaid money for “certain states recovering from a major disaster,” a designation that analysts said clearly applied to Louisiana and perhaps only Louisiana.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that business groups, some of whom were “encouraged” by the bill that the Senate Finance Committee (Remember the Baucus bill and the near daily speculation about what would Olympia Snowe do?) passed in October and hoped that it would form the basis of the final legislation. But apparently they’re now bent out of shape because Reid has included a public option in the bill that was completed this week.
We’ve already heard from Joe Lieberman and the Republicans about how horrific a public option would be. But it makes one wonder if they’ve read the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the Senate bill, which says that because they believe at least one third of the states (and there is a proposed constitutional amendment to include Florida in this) would ‘opt out’ of a public option, that it would only cover 3 to 4 million people. From the CBO:
“CBO’s analysis took into account the probability that some states would opt not to allow the public plan to be offered to their residents. Rather than trying to judge which states might opt out, CBO applied a probability recognizing that public opinion is divided regarding the desirability of a public plan and that some states might have difficulty enacting legislation to opt out. Overall, CBO’s assessment was that about two-thirds of the population would be expected to have a public plan available in their state.”
Makes you wonder what all the fuss was about, doesn’t it?
Read more “Showdown on Senate health care bill scheduled for Saturday night” »
If AC/DC has fired its last cannon in Florida, the fans at Amway Arena in Orlando enjoyed a raucous final salute on November 19.
The 35-year rock veterans with Hall of Fame credentials put on a fast-paced two-hour set — no room for ballads at an AC/DC show — featuring classics (four songs from 1977’s Let There Be Rock and four from 1980’s Back In Black) and newer songs (four from last year’s Black Ice). And although they’ve been on tour for more than a year, the band seemed no worse for wear: Guitarist Angus Young was a blur as he ran from the stage to the catwalk and back again, legs pumping to the rhythm provided by the near-motionless Malcolm Young on rhythm guitar, Cliff Williams on bass and Phil Rudd on drums. If not for their occasional strolls forward to sing some background vocals before retreating back into the shadows, you’d think AC/DC was a two-man operation.
If Young was all sweat, lead singer Brian Johnson was all smiles — shaking hands, pumping his fists and belting out classics with a sharper growl than he had at last year’s show in Tampa. There were no angry scowls on stage; the mood was more of a friendly gathering or a reunion of sorts. And by the looks of greybeards with dated concert gear mixed with younger fans wearing new purchases from the souvenir stands, it was clear that many in attendance had seen the band before. No doubt they had heard them many times, as nearly every song had the entire arena helping out with the chorus. Not so with openers Megaphone, a local band that performed a capable set and probably deserved a bit more recognition than they received from the crowd. Read more “Concert Review: AC/DC at Amway Arena in Orlando” »
Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. In the aftermath of last year’s presidential election, some cultural critics wondered if political humor might suffer in the Age of Obama. Regular viewers of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher know that hasn’t been an issue with this cable talk show host/comic (who visits Tampa next week) — but fans of Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, and other GOP icons should not think they’ll get off any easier.
Although Bill Maher once described himself as a Libertarian, in the Bush years he became an icon to many in the progressive movement. His 2003 appearance in Tampa, where he skewered Bush shortly after he had declared “mission accomplished” in Iraq, led some supporters of the former President to the exits. Read more “On the Radar: Bill Maher at TBPAC” »
Doug Stanhope is a balls-to-the-wall tact-free modern-day outlaw comic who says exactly what’s on his mind to great (if highly uncomfortable and nearly always offensive) comic effect. He recently admitted to being a “techno-retard” on his blog and to becoming “every hackneyed old comic who talks about these kids and their gadgets today. Take your apps and iPhones and leave me sitting here with my thumb stuck in my oldy-fashioned vibrating latex anus.” Expect some related techno-bashing at his Crowbar show. Sat., Nov. 21, 8 p.m., Crowbar, Ybor City, $20 (ages 21 and up), dougstanhope.com. –Leilani Polk
Tony Soprano and Groucho Marx would be in heaven: The 11th annual Cigar Heritage Festival includes an attempt to break the Guinness Book’s World’s Longest Cigar record by master cigar makers Wallace and Margarita Reyes, who try for a 180’ cigar. The nationally syndicated Cigar Dave Show is on site to report the festivities, a game zone offers big screen TVs, leather couches and casino tables (it doesn’t matter how many cigars there are, you still gotta catch the game), a beer and wine garden, a kid’s corner, access to the Saturday Market, myriad ethnic food vendors, and, of course, an enormous selection of the world’s finest cigars and accessories — all in the heart of Ybor. Sat., Nov. 21, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Centennial Park, Tampa, $5, free for children 12 and younger. Read more “Do It This Weekend: Doug Stanhope, Cigar Heritage Festival, Plant City Pig Jam, CraftArt, Chillounge and more” »
The woman begins on her back with her legs comfortably in front of her. The man kneels at her feet, raises her legs in the air, and pulls her all the way up until only her head and shoulders remain on the bed or floor. The woman may want to hook her feet around his shoulders while he enters her vagina.
On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate this position? This position gets an 8.5 on the ‘Dichter’ scale! Read more “Kama Sutra: the ostrich’s tail” »
All proceeds benefit The Children’s Home. New items will be added for bidding on The Daily Loaf throughout the auction, which concludes Dec. 16. For more info, return to the Holiday Auction page.
Ever dreamed of becoming a rock god but didn’t know how to go about it? Join Creative Loafing’s Rock School and be at once immortal! Curated by musicians Joran Oppelt and Stephen Hammill, Rock School is a three-hour cram session where you’ll learn some killer stage moves and techniques from some of the best Bay area musical talent. This is a great gift for the new musician young or old just starting on an instrument, or for the more experienced player looking for some help/advice on developing stage presence.
Estimated value: $150.
Going to see The Twilight Saga: New Moon? If you aren’t already jumping out of your chair kind of excited, you should be, because we thought it was pretty much amazing…we being me, Nice Amanda and my BFF Mean Amanda. I mean, sure, we might be in our 20s and maybe this isn’t the coolest thing ever for us to love, but we do love it and you should too.
We had the distinct pleasure of checking out the sneak preview last night so if you are into random conversations about werewolves, vampires, “Star Wars for girls” and vampire dildos you should probably listen to the podcast below where the Amandas will educate you on the Twilight saga, what we thought of New Moon and what to look out for, including Jacob’s miraculous back muscles, Edward’s weird nipple, some actual funny scenes and we didn’t even mention the bad wigs! (run-on sentence? Yep, that’s how thrilled I am about this, I have lost all ability type like an adult).
And you can check out the real Creative Loafing review here: The Twilight Saga: New Moon: one Twifan’s stream-of-consciousness review
All proceeds benefit The Children’s Home. New items will be added for bidding on The Daily Loaf throughout the auction, which concludes Dec. 16. For more info, return to the Holiday Auction page.
Join CL’s beer maven Bethany Sherwin at Best of the Bay-winning Cigar City Brewing, where Brewmaster Wayne Wambles will pour you and three friends through the entire Cigar City line, including some very rare and limited stuff Wayne will pull from the hidden vault. Afterwards, head home with your very own care package of Cigar City beers, including a refillable growler for each of your guests.
Estimated value: $300. Suggested opening bid: $50
All proceeds benefit The Children’s Home. New items will be added for bidding on The Daily Loaf throughout the auction, which concludes Dec. 16. For more info, return to the Holiday Auction page.
Have you ever wanted to experience the glory of brewing your own batch of beer? Well, now you can! Join forces with Tampa Bay Brewing Company Head Brewer David Doble to become a brewing apprentice for a day. You will assist David as he brews one of the house beers (and he might even let you pick which one). After you are done, TBBC will give you a t-shirt so you won’t be covered in grain when you go home. Then you and 10 of your friends will be invited back about a month later to celebrate the tapping of the beer you helped brew. TBBC will provide the pizza and pitchers of beer for your party. And to really get the full experience of being a brewer — you are entitled to one free mug per day of the beer you helped brew for as long as it is on tap.
Estimated value: $350
We’ve packed so much good green stuff into this one item that you’ll have to get a barrel, not a basket, to carry it all. Luckily, that’s the first item on the list:
• Rain barrel: Is keeping your lawn lush and green taking a toll on your water bill? Quit wasting the city’s water supply and get this 55-gallon rain barrel (named Best of the Bay’s “Best Green 
Trend”) from Rising Force Construction. Comes complete with attachments and ready for setup so you can start collecting rain water runoff right away to keep your petunias perky. (Actual color will be black.)
• One-of-a-kind set of eco-friendly holiday greeting cards (created just for this auction): A set of 12 flat cards with envelopes, designed by Tweeprints especially for this auction. Tweeprints uses recycled eco paper, enclosed in 100 percent post-consumer recycled content envelopes and packaged using biodegradable clear bags manufactured from plants. This exclusive design won’t be sold anywhere else!
All proceeds benefit The Children’s Home. New items will be added for bidding on The Daily Loaf throughout the auction, which concludes Dec. 16. For more info, return to the Holiday Auction page.
• Recycled juice box sling bag: Keep those non-biodegradable juice pouches out of the landfill and wear them on your shoulder instead. The bag from GoGreenItems.com is primarily blue, 7”H x 7”L with a 19.5” strap.
• Green gift basket from Tampa Street Market: A green grab bag with such goodies as an Envirosax reusable, foldable shopping bag; a wirebound Papergeist journal made by a local artist group in Tampa from reused paper with a cover made from record album covers; a bottle opener repurposed 
from a bike chain; and a clean-burning soy candle.
• A Jimi Hendrix T-shirt that’s literally green: A made-in-Alabama organic cotton tee (adult XL) dyed in clay and emblazoned with an image of Jimi Hendrix as a tree, from It’s Our Nature.
Estimated value: $300.
On Thursday the Tampa City Council voted to expand anti-discrimination laws to include transgender individuals. The 5-1 vote came after two hours and more than 60 speakers spoke expressed their thoughts and feelings on the issue in what at times seemed to be a festival of hate and ignorance.
Before the meeting, the only drama in the room was who if any Council members would reverse their vote from two weeks prior, when they had voted unanimously to include gender identity and expression in the city’s human rights law, which would effectively prohibit workplace discrimination against people who change genders.
Councilman Charlie Miranda was the lone member who switched his vote and voted no. (Councilmember Linda Saul-Sena was absent). He seemed unsatisfied by the answers given by City Attorney Chip Fletcher about how the new law could avoid potential disruptions in the workplace before casting his dissenting vote.
But in perhaps his finest hour on the Council, Chairman Thomas Scott delivered a stirring speech before announcing that he would vote in support of the ordinance.
All proceeds benefit The Children’s Home. New items will be added for bidding on The Daily Loaf throughout the auction, which concludes Dec. 16. For more info, return to the Holiday Auction page.
Are you a film fanatic who’s always dreamed of writing your own review of a big Hollywood release? If so, we’ve got just the offer for you: The winning bidder will accompany Associate Editor Joe Bardi (left) to a special preview screening of a major upcoming release. (That’s “preview,” as in “see it before it opens and make your friends jealous.”) Love it? Hate it? Either way, you sort out your thoughts and write the CL movie review for the chosen film — to run in both the print and online editions of Creative Loafing. After you’ve completed the review, attract readers with your own media blitz, including an appearance on CL’s Reel Projections podcast and heavy promotion of your review through Twitter, Facebook and CLTampa.com. Soon, thousands of CL readers will look to you for guidance on what movie to see next. Feel the power!
Suggested opening bid: $50
This week’s episode of Top Chef Las Vegas had three very important elements: kicking off another schmo so we can get to the finale already, it was the last episode in Vegas, and (drumroll, please) Thomas Keller appeared as a guest adjudicator. It sure took for damn long enough to get him to do the show! What, 6 seasons?! I’m glad that Keller finally learned from his famous chef peers, sold out, and jumped on the gravy train that is Top Chef (because who knew who he was before this show, right?).
In their Quickfire Challenge, the chefs were greeted by Gavin Kaysen who competed in the 2007 Bocuse d’Or – the equivalent of the Olympics in the culinary world. He challenged them to a ballotine (bah-lo-TEEN) challenge (not to be confused with the mispronunciation of “ballontine” used almost the entire episode), which is basically a “protein inside a protein inside a protein” – a protein explosion!
Redbeard (Kevin) called the V Brothers “not smart” for trying to do too much in such a short period of time, though they seemed to pull it off, and Redbeard’s dish was then put down as being “too simple”. Angry Bro (Mike) got whiny about not winning (claiming to not have understood the challenge), and Ceveech (Jen) took the win with her sushi-esque calamari/scallop/salmon roll. It’s nice to see this once sassy and confident woman finally get her groove back and get back in the saddle. (Though I definitely think she was on something, be it natural or prescription, this episode – she seemed so much calmer, with a touch of joie de vivre about her.)
The cheftestants had to become culinary Olympians for their Elimination Challenge, as they were to perform in a Bocuse d’Or style challenge. To put it in layman’s terms: They had to cook a kickass dish with extremely intricate “garnishes” in only a few hours for some of the biggest names in the culinary world- Thomas Keller (the giant pictured at right), Daniel Boulud, Jerome Bocuse, and Gavin Kaysen, among other renowned names in food.
I thought that the comments made by Hot Bro (Bryan) about not being sure if he’d finish on time and Kevin saying how he was attempting something he’d never done before was foreshadowing and spelled doom for them. Ceveech, despite some minor issues, seemed pretty comfortable with her dishes (plus, she’d received an extra 30 minutes to cook from her Quickfire win), and Angry Bro seemed overly confident (as per usual) and well prepared because of all the culinary competitions he’d performed in about 10-11 years prior (”Best Teen Chef”?).
During judging, they were all raked against the coals, mostly being chastized for having over- or undercooked dishes. Turns out Angry Bro’s took his artistry too far and overcomplicated his dish, missing the mark, and forgetting to season properly. Even though he didn’t exactly follow the guidelines like the other chefs did (listen to the podcast below to hear our reasoning), Redbeard ended up taking the win, which also included $30k and a spot on the American team for the next Bocuse d’Or. And Eli “Bonaduce” got sent packing (no surprise there).
Highlights: Hate mail, Jeff gives us the 411 on the Bocuse d’Or, comments on the fabulous makeovers as seen in the finale preview, and we surmise our picks for the top three finalists.
Bonus: Jeff gives information on an exciting culinary event taking place next month in Orlando where Angry Bro (Mike Voltaggio) will make an appearance, as well as many other big names in the food world. Listen to the podcast for more info.
Hear the hilarious podcast after the jump:
Read more “Top Chef Las Vegas Podcast, Ep. 12: Culinary Special Olympics” »
This weekend proved to me once again that I am getting too old to party like a rock star two nights in a row. [All photos by Nicole Kibert.]
The self-abuse began this past Friday night, when I set out to, and I quote myself here, “get Lucero drunk.” [Frontman Ben Nichols pictured at left.] I am happy to report that my mission was a complete success. The trade off, though, is that my recollection of the show is slightly hazy. A lot of the reviews I read leading up to Lucero’s Tampa show were about the crowd, that the frat boy concentration levels were reportedly getting dangerously high. I didn’t really notice it being a problem here, though my only complaint about the show was the crowd — a completely expected complaint all things considered. See, as a band’s popularity and attending crowds grow, the devotion level of the crowd begins to get diluted. While there was no shortage of people at Czar who where there to be seen rather than to see Lucero, they didn’t hurt the quality of what was happening on the stage, so let’s talk about that … and the horns. Read more “The Rock Report, Ybor City: Lucero at Czar and Have Gun, Will Travel at New World Brewery” »
All proceeds benefit The Children’s Home. New items will be added for bidding on The Daily Loaf throughout the auction, which concludes Dec. 16. For more info, return to the Holiday Auction page.
If your family (like the one in the photo) is suffering from a severe style deficit — more Beverly Hillbillies than Beverly Hills — then this is the auction item for you. The Whole Aveda Salon Spa in Oldsmar is offering to spruce up the entire clan (up to 4 people) with a Whole Family Makeover just in time for the holidays. Get the Star Treatment for mom (customized facial and makeup, eyezone wrap, shampoo and style), the Manly Man for dad (massage, back treatment, pedicure and haircut) and haircuts for the kids. You’ll shine brighter than the neighbors’ 15,000-bulb Light-O-Rama!
Estimated value: $350. Suggested opening bid: $50
(click button for feed)
(follow us on Facebook)
(follow us on Twitter)