Daily Loaf

“dream momma, i live in Tampa, read creative loafing, and follow your blog. i’ve been looking for a woman, a real woman for a long time. i had a dream that a woman brushed by me. i could smell her, it was terrific,  and i went to find her but couldn’t. suddenly she brushed by me again, even caressed my cheek. i ran after her again and she turned around and had no face. somehow it didn’t matter, i still wanted to know her, and when i reached out to touch her i woke up.” (sic)

Lucky you dreamer: you have just met your anima. According to Carl Jung, your anima (animus for women) is Read the rest of this entry »

“Hi Deam Momma, I’ve been checking out your blog. Read the dream about the guy whose suitcase was covered with jewels. That night I had the same dream except my suitcase was more like a briefcase. Hoped it meant I was going to get rich cuz I’m busting my ass trying to make a living in Tampa.” (sic)

Hmmm. Dream Momma thinks a lot of Tampa-St. Pete workers are busting their asses. Most of them are doing two jobs since their employers can’t pry any money loose from the paranoid banking community to hire more people. It’s tough.

Anyway, on to your dream. Briefcases usually do mean work but they can mean other things too. Read the rest of this entry »

The CL Online Holiday Auction raised more than $12,000 for The Children's Home.

When Brian Bailey and Dexter Fabian decided to bid on Item #03 in the CL Online Holiday Auction — “Buy the news: You decide the story, you pick the CL staffer to write it” — they figured the story they’d commission would be about, well, themselves. Or rather, about their popular website ILoveTheBurg.com and its companion Facebook page, Downtown St. Pete. A daily compendium of what’s happening around town, the page is so lively and well-maintained that it has attracted more than 14,000 fans. It’s partly a labor of love — these guys do in fact love the Burg — but it’s also meant to showcase the social networking expertise they offer clients of their PR/marketing/graphic design firm, Rearden Killion Communications.

“It’s no small feat that we created this following,” says Bailey, who was a senior vice president at the Manhattan advertising firm Rubenstein Associates before moving to the Burg in 2003. “Everybody does it wrong on Facebook. People go out there with a strictly promotional attitude — they don’t elicit the response. We just look for what people will be interested in hearing.”

[Full disclosure: Bailey and Fabian are neighbors of mine and have worked on projects with my partner, Larry Biddle. But I had no idea they were taking part in CL's auction till I heard from our online producer that they'd placed a winning bid.]

A few hours before the team won the auction, one of their Facebook fans, Michelle Greene Hurd, dropped them an e-mail: She’d just been laid off, she told them, and did they know of any jobs?

That’s when they decided they could use their CL page for a greater good. Read the rest of this entry »

“Dream Momma, I’m a senior at a college in Tampa. We check out your blog once in a while so I thought I would write. In my dream I was taking a really hard test but i showed up late. No one seemed to care. Just about everyone was finished and walking out of this very casual class room which reminded me more of a lounge then anything. I hadn’t even started this huge booklet which contained all the tests to all my classes. All of a sudden this unknown guy shows up and starts spitting out the answers which I didn’t want to get in trouble for listening to. Then it faded out…” (sic)

This dream symbolizes both your casual attitude and your confidence about your education. Dream Momma deduces that you are Read the rest of this entry »

“I’m from Tampa Bay area. I read your blog. For a couple of nights now I have been having a recurring dream. I keep seeing a line of cockroaches crawling on the floor and I kill them. What exactly does this means?” (sic)

If you think of the cockroach as a symbol you can begin to make some connections for yourself. Here’s one: I worked with a guy that dreamed of cockroaches all the time. He dreamed they were coming out of his pores. Well, when we began to look at connections he admitted to smoking pot.  For the unenlightened reader (and perhaps yourself) the very small end of a joint (marijuana cigarette) is called a roach. As we talked more about it he admitted he smoked a lot of pot. He smoked so much pot he had become a pothead. His dream was a warning get-a-clue dream.

Archetypally, a cockroach is a symbol of dirt and filth. It also represents the insect version of a rat and is tied to abandonment (i.e. rats leaving a sinking ship). It is believed that cockroaches and rats will inherit the earth; they are that indestructible as a species. Sometimes in dreams words need to be separated, so cockroach becomes cock and roach. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m a frequent reader of secret blog sites.  I love knowing what other people are hiding, the secrets dieing to be told, and professing my own secrets from time to time.  I came across a particular secret, or maybe better described as a desire on a site called cavecanum.  The author suggested that there should be a symbol for finding someone willing to engage in oral sex with a stranger, kind of like the handkerchief code for gay men. The writer of secret #80903 says Read the rest of this entry »

Like Clay Aiken, except, you know, cool.

Sex and American Idol may not be synonymous, but this year things are a little different.  Enigmatic performer Adam Lambert is very close to taking the crown.  But sadly it seems many people aren’t as focused on his talent as they are on whether he’ll wear it as king…or queen.

(Video and
intrigue after the jump)

Read the rest of this entry »

So, one day young New York wage slave Julie Powell decides that she’s going to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s classic tome Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1. In one year. And, of course, she’s going to blog the whole thing.

Soon enough, national attention for the Julia & Julia Project came knocking at her door. After newspaper, magazine and television appearances, publishers starting throwing book deals her way, the holy grail of all food bloggers.

But a movie? Is there any cooking blogger out there who harbors even the remotest dreams that the kitchen lives that they portray on the interweb could be turned into a movie?

Julie & Julia’s release date is scheduled for August 7. Scripted and directed by Nora Ephron. Starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Sheesh, now thousands of food bloggers will have even loftier dreams to be shattered.

New trailer for Julia & Julia after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not enough that Ron Jeremy’s penis is nearly twice as large as mine, makes more money in a year than I’ll earn in a lifetime, has replica’s made in its image, is a movie star, or has sex with more beautiful women than I’ll ever masturbate to, now his penis has started blogging and tweeting, gaining a larger readership in a few weeks than I’ve amassed in a few years.

Jeremy’s penis has started sending regular updates to the popular social network Twitter at Twitter.com/RonsMonster, offering an interesting perspective into the notorious performer’s life:

“Ron is still sleeping but I’ve been up for hours. He must be dreaming about buffets again.”

This raises the important question, does his penis have its own cell phone, or does it simply poke the buttons through his pants pocket?

Jeremy’s penis also hosts its own blog RonJeremysDick.blogspot.com, where it rants on its desire to distinguish itself from Jeremy. Read the rest of this entry »

Bill O’Reilly: Don’t mess with Jessica Alba. From the actress’ MySpace blog:

I want to clear some things up that have been bothering me lately. I find it depressing that in the midst of perhaps the most salient time in our country’s history, individuals are taking it upon themselves to encourage negativity and stupidity. Last week, Mr. Bill O’Reilly and some really classy sites (i.e.TMZ) insinuated I was dumb by claiming Sweden was a neutral country. I appreciate the fact that he is a news anchor and that gossip sites are inundated with intelligent reporting, but seriously people…it’s so sad to me that you think the only neutral country during WWII was Switzerland. Check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_during_World_War_II if you want to see what I was referring to. I appreciate the name calling and the accurate reporting. Keep it up!!

Sooner Holley:  Here we are.  As I am beginning this first blog of what will be many this evening, I am filled with an anticipation that is both exhilarating and terrifying.  I have been watching the ESPN Game Day boys, and while I’m appalled at the way they seem to have written Oklahoma off already, I’m also encouraged. Oklahoma was the favorite against Boise St.  Oklahoma was the favorite against West Virginia.  Oklahoma knows what it means to be upset, and they know the power of a motivation that comes from having no one believe in you.  Florida is a tough and scary opponent – that is true without question.  But, I think this game may look a little different than many expect.  

At least I hope so.  Gator fans, I fully respect the power of your defense and the sheer mass of your quarterback, but you may not want to turn your nose up at the Oklahoma defense, nor should you believe that you will easily stop the Sooner offense.  

At last announcement, Vegas likes the Gators by 5.  That news is like putting on warm fuzzy slippers like I just did a few minutes ago.  (did I mention I have a mini-plague which I believe to be the flu?)  That lack of faith is actually comforting.  

Both Lou Holtz and Mark Mays just picked Florida because of Tim Tebow, and Mark Mays just spouted some ridiculous garbage about Bob Stoops being an inadequate coach in bowl situations.

Keep talking boys….

8:04 pm Sooner Holley:  We’re now minutes from kick-off, and so far, I’ve seen one media member pick Oklahoma, and it was Barry Switzer.  I suppose we’ll just see what happens.  This game is going to be decided on the gridiron, not in the press box, and that’s the way it should be.

I’m looking for score predictions.  Gimme whatever you got, even if you’re predicting a Gator blow-out.  I’m curious.

8:27 Sooner Holley:  Okay, one drive down, and the blitz backed the Sooners up and out of scoring range.  It should be noted, however, that the two plays previous, the blitz was blocked effectively, and I’m pretty sure there was a pass interference call that was missed.  Blatantly.

However, the Sooners will persevere.  Let’s see now what happens with the Gators offense.  Is Tim Tebow all he’s been made out to be?  

8:48 Sooner Holley:  Well, it’s as I predicted.  Oklahoma is keeping it in the air, and doing well with it.  Too bad they are making petty mistakes, and also being jobbed by ACC refs.  Even Florida fans can relate to the misery of ACC refs.  I can remember a UF/FSU game just a few years back when the game’s outcome came down to some pretty terrible calls.  Throwing a flag for nothing with no explanation is nothing if not a maneuver to break the momentum of a driving team.

Roughly 4:40 left in the 1st quarter, and we’re still scoreless.  Both teams.

9:07 Sooner Holley: 7-0 Gators, and the commentary color guy would give the trophy to the Gators right now if he could.  Second quarter.  13:34 to the half.  Drive, OU, drive!

9:12 Sooner Holley:  Sorry color commentary guy…can’t give that trophy away just yet.  This is the speed of football that Oklahoma plays well.  Quick to the line, quick execution.  The Gators executed their scoring drive in true Gator style as well – do what it takes to make it happen.  Pound the rock.  Both teams are now playing their own styles of football.  This game starts now.

9:47 Sooner Holley:  It’s half time, and I don’t think ANYONE could have predicted this game.  Oklahoma’s total offense as compared to the score is going to look ridiculous at the end of this game.  We’ve had an interception leading to a 4th and goal gamble and a good old fashioned drive foiled by a receiver who clearly doesn’t know that if you can’t catch it KNOCK IT DOWN!  The Gators have played strange defense, but clearly it’s been effective.  Oklahoma’s offense looks stellar.  Florida did what they needed to in order to put points on the board.  It was messy, but a touchdown is a touchdown.  

I’m not sure what either locker room conversation will be like.  I have no idea what either coach will say to his players.  Personally, I’m a little dumbfounded, but I will say this.  I don’t want to hear anyone say anything again about Oklahoma having an inferior defense.  I think their defense has actually looked better than Florida’s so far, except as it pertains to the goal line, I guess.

All that said, I’m now going to go and have a spot of tea to soothe my throat whose terrible pain has been exacerbated by the frequency of my verbal outbursts.  I’m not sure what Gator Matty is up to right now, but I bet he is as baffled as I am.

10:20 Sooner Holley:  These are the two best teams in the country.  It’s pretty clear now, isn’t it?  There are so many penalties in this game, and so many of them seem unjustified.  I could yell, but my throat says, “please don’t!”  A drive a piece down and nothing really happening.

You know, now that I’m on the other side of the stadium, those “Gator Bait” signs are pretty darn annoying. I’ll admit, I’ve chanted that on behalf of my husband’s team plenty of times, but now I’m kind of sorry.  Plus, it’s just two nouns strung together with no verb.  It’s not “You are Gator Bait” or “We want to eat some Gator Bait” or “Run you stupid Gator Bait”.  It’s just “Gator Bait”…period.  Plus, if you don’t know what’s being said, and you hear it you could totally mistake that chant for any number of similar sounding words.  ”Gator Wait”…”Gator Hate”…”Wait, my mate!”  Granted, those are pretty ridiculous too, but…well…you get the idea.  

Gators are driving.  Ugh.

10:59 Sooner Holley: 4th quarter, Sooners driving, 14-7 Gators.  It occurred to me that if it weren’t for certain bad calls (or lack there of) and some dumb mistakes, the Sooners would be leading by 14 by now, even with the most recent Gator touchdown.  

11:15 Sooner Holley:  Gators up now 17-14 in the 4th.  Percy Harvin appeared to have been injured but was back in the game a play later, so it looks like he’s okay.  Sooners will get the ball now.  

11:33 Sooner Holley: 2:09 left in the game, 24-14 Gators  My faith is starting to waiver.  I don’t think my Sooners can pull out a win.  I believe in them, but I am afraid their confidence might be down.  I will say this, thanks to the overt bias of the commentary team in this game, I will, regardless of any agreements made between the Sinns, never ever declare Tim Tebow the best quarterback in the country.  Never.  It’s not his fault – the fault belongs to the people who have elevated him to god-like status.  He’s a kid like any other who has been afforded some incredible opportunities to be able to travel to other countries with his missionary family.  He has done some really wonderful things, but it isn’t fair to turn a blind eye to the life accomplishments of other more understated players simply because they are not as outspoken.  This game may well be over, and I hope you will all forgive me if I retire from this blog a little early.  I’m afraid, with my adrenaline spent, my flu has really started to overtake me, much like the Gators have overtaken my Sooners to this point.  

This game was personal for me, but tomorrow, I’ll have to get out of bed and remind myself of one very important fact:  it’s just a game.

Goodnight, and might I say once more:  ”I’m Sooner born, and Sooner bred, and when I die, I’ll be Sooner dead.  Rah Oklahoma, Rah Oklahoma, Rah Oklahoma…O-K-U!” 

Gator Matty and Sooner Holley

Yep, new CL contributor and recipe maven Leslie Green — the Hungry Housewife — has been picked as one of nine Bay area folks to watch this year by the St. Pete Times. Check out her photo (it’s number three in the series) and click on “caption” to read her story. Or you can read it here in the pages of CL.

Check out all of Leslie’s recipes, at least at CL, or head to her blog.