the 941

For a 180-degree turn from my prior Saturday viewing, Harold and Maude, I turned to a much grimmer subject: the often disgusting world of factory farming, as captured by documentarian Robert Kenner in Food Inc.

The film is difficult to watch, that’s for sure, full of shots of workers pulling out prematurely deceased chickens from a massive, shit-strewn poultry farm; squealing hogs being mechanically shoved to their deaths; gigantic sprawls of land with feces-covered cattle packed in side by side. So, not pretty. But damn necessary, I think, and a tremendously effective argument for a saner American food system, one that treats animals as actual living, breathing beings and not as products, and one in which soaking ground beef in an ammonia product to cleanse it would be insane, not common practice. I found this movie very powerful, a testament to how important journalism and documentary filmmaking can be.

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I’ve already caught five movies being shown as part of the Sarasota Film Festival, with many more on my to-do list in the coming days. As I see ‘em, I plan to offer my thoughts here, and hopefully you just might be able to catch a second screening sometime soon.

First up on my calendar was the Saturday afternoon screening of Hal Ashby’s 1971 classic, Harold and Maude. Part of the festival’s comprehensive retrospective of Ashby’s work, which culminates in this Saturday’s Filmmaker’s Tribute, Harold and Maude was the director’s second feature, and a film whose legacy still resonates big-time.

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Ed. note: This post comes from our friends at Tampa Calling.

A weekly bulletin on musical guests playing the five-nights-a-week late night talk shows (and SNL); set your TIVOs or DVRs.

The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS
Tuesday, March 31: Marianne Faithfull (pictured)
Wednesday, April 1: Ray LaMontagne
Thursday, April 2: The Fray
Friday, April 3: Diana Krall

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC
Tuesday, March 31: Fall Out Boy
Wednesday, April 1: Unwigged and Unplugged featuring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer
Thursday, April 2: Taylor Swift
Friday, April 3: Miley Cyrus

Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, CBS
Wednesday, April 1: Heidi Newfield

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, NBC
Tuesday, March 31: Gomez
Thursday, April 2: Dr. Dog
Friday, April 3: Cold War Kids

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Ed. note: This post comes from our friends at Tampa Calling.

Over 18 years and eight studio albums, Pearl Jam has proven itself to be far and away the most durable band to come from the original grunge movement. (Also the best, I would argue.) Nirvana trumps them on mystique and cultural impact, mostly because Kurt Cobain blew his brains out, but Pearl Jam had the courage to experiment, to risk failure, to grow up and shed the voice-of-a-generation pressure, to persevere.

And now for the just desserts: A sprawling reissue program that leads up to their 20th anniversary in 2011, kicked off by an expanded re-release of the band’s mega-hit debut.

Ten: Deluxe Edition includes the original album, plus another CD showcasing a remix by producer Brendan O’Brien that additionally includes previously unissued bonus tracks. Also part of the package is a DVD of PJ’s 1992 set on MTV Unplugged.

Pearl Jam has made plenty of terrific recorded music during its tenure, but no cluster is as perfect as the first six songs of their debut album, a visceral, revelatory sequence: “Once,” “Even Flow,” “Alive,” “Why Go,” “Black” and “Jeremy.” If Nirvana’s Nevermind told us that hair-band rock was on its last legs, the first half of Ten threw dirt on its grave. The album’s ensuing tracks are solid, but to these ears they represent a noticeable drop-off in songcraft.

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— Pretty amazing story: Sarasota police make an arrest in a murder case, three decades after the crime happened.

— That development gives a glimmer of hope to the family of a woman killed 10 years ago.

— Lakewood Ranch filmmaker Nick G. Miller talks to the Bradenton Herald about some of his upcoming projects. First up? The Unlikely’s, set to debut at Lakewood Ranch Cinemas some time in the next couple months.

— Hannah Wallace once again recaps her weekend, and once again it includes bruising. Also, in her lede, she seems to address some of the changes happening at Sarasota Magazine: “Well, it was a rough few days at work last week.”

— MC Coolidge is surprised to find out a friend illegally downloads music, and offers her thoughts on “petty thievery.” In the interest of clearing my conscience, I will admit to having stolen the following things in the past few weeks: music, tennis balls and time (from my overlords at Creative Loafing). I beg forgiveness.

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A Renewable Energy Portfolio (REP), also know as a Feed-In Tariff (FIT) is an incentive program set up for homeowners, farmers and businesses alike to become producers of renewable energy. In turn, the program will increase our overall production of renewable energy and decrease our consumption of fossil fuels. This program applies to the residential homeowner with a small solar system installed on the roof and the farmer with solar systems located on his or her buildings or fields, and the business owner who has a huge commercial warehouse mounted with thousands of solar panels.

There is also an economic stimulus: jobs that come from the renewable industry, including but not limited to high-skill positions in engineering, manufacturing, agriculture and electronics.

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In an email blast sent out this past Saturday, Sarasota Green Marketplace owner Mary Anne G. Bowie announced that she is putting the environmentally friendly construction and home repair store on the auction block. The announcement is another blow to local business and, even worse, another blow to efforts to further green our local construction industry.

Follow the jump to read Bowie’s announcement in full:

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Taco construction isn’t rocket science. Take a tortilla, slap on some meat, throw in a few condiments, serve and enjoy. But hidden within those folds is a complexity that defies the short ingredient list. Making a taco is child’s play; making a great taco is another thing entirely.

Four weeks ago, Creative Loafing challenged 16 of the Suncoast’s best taco joints to go taco-a-taco in a showdown of culinary combat. Some fell easily by the wayside, either due to inferior skills or simply because they faced a superior opponent. Some favorites dominated their matches, seemingly unstoppable juggernauts of the taco arts. Dark-horse competitors arose, local favorites lost ground, till just a Final Four remained.

Results of the finals after the break:

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Thanks to your votes, we’ve narrowed down the Tournament of Tacos Readers’ Poll to the Final Four: Maria’s (at the Red Barn), Mi Pueblo, Bianca’s Mexican Store, and Two Senoritas.

They all have their fans, but Two Senoritas has organized an effective get-out-the-vote campaign. So we’re encouraging all of you to keep them honest by heading out to try all of these worthy places and take the time to vote.

How do you vote? It’s easy! Just comment on this post with the name of your favorite. It’s that easy. If you have two favorites, put them both down. Vote as often as you’d like through Friday, when we’ll announce the winner.

We’ll post the current vote totals every day so you can see how your personal taco pick is doing, and encourage you to keep voting. (You can also check out our Critic’s Pick Champion.)

Address information for the Final Four (to plan your taco tasting tour) and an updated bracket after the break:

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— MC Coolidge reported on Friday that Sarasota Magazine and sister publication Biz941 are “restructuring,” which essentially means they are eliminating the position of executive publisher at the publications. The man who held that job, Jeff Lawenda, is out. “Sorry to see another individual in the business of putting ink on a page in our local community is out of a job,” writes Coolidge. Us too. (Full disclosure: I did some freelance work for Biz941 last summer.)

— As an example of the good stuff the folks at Sarasota Magazine are doing, look no further than Kim Cartlidge’s blog feature on the upcoming City Commission runoff election. She asks the remaining three candidates about one hot-button issue: what to do with the Van Wezel.

— How many Sarasota Film Festival movies have you seen so far? Get out and see this stuff before it’s gone! I’ll have more later today on the four I’ve already caught: Harold and Maude, Food Inc., The Burning Plain and Tony Manero.

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