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Friday, August 24, 2007
Naked Went The Strangers
Posted by David Warner on Fri, Aug 24, 2007 at 3:35 PM
Our two intrepid Must-Doers, Brian Reed and Ted Scheinman, have completed their internship and returned to Yale, leaving behind their blog, a Creative Loafing cover story and a certain amount of controversy.
Here are my two favorite comments so far re their nearly-nude cover pose.
First, the manager of a sports bar told us it was "inappropriate for a paper featuring naked boys on the cover to appear at a family establishment."
Second, an insurance agent wrote to tell us that "the women in my office love the front page picture... It has caused a work stoppage in our department."
Sports bars: Models of propriety. Insurance firms: Women going wild. Go figure.
We're now soliciting readers' suggestions for more Must-Do's -- or more stories about your adventures with the present list. Want to continue in the tradition established by Brian and Ted (public nudity not required) and post your own Must-Do adventures in the blog? Start by adding comments here, or sending suggestions to me at david.warner@creativeloafing.com.
Friday, August 10, 2007
"Parking" at the Drive-In
Posted by Brian Reed on Fri, Aug 10, 2007 at 4:48 PM
What: Catch a flick.
Where: Fun-Lan Drive-In, 2302 Hillsborough Ave, Tampa
Must-Do? Says Who? People who grew up in the 50s.
Casualties: $6 a person.
Keyword: Sketchy.
Fun-Lan is a funny place, at least on a rainy Tuesday evening. We went to catch the 8:45 Simpsons Movie, which didn't actually begin until approximately 9:04. This meant that there was a 19 minute window during which we sat in our car, parked askew in a dark, nearly deserted flea market lot, listening to silence on 89.3 FM, staring at a blank movie screen. A thunderstorm stirred, brewed, and then dumped copious amounts of rain on us. We wondered if it was worth staying for the movie, and if it would be possible to convince the ticket-taker to return our $12. I considered driving up to him and feigning a disconcerting hissy fit until he refunded the moneys, but then the movie came on.
We watched the first bit of the movie through our windshield wipers, with bolts of litghtning cracking all around the screen. That was cool, although it might have been more appropriate were we watching a thriller rather than a cartoon. But eventually the rain abated, as it always seems to do, and we enjoyed the rest of the film under a relatively clear night sky.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
To Have and to Haslam
Posted by Ted Scheinman on Thu, Aug 9, 2007 at 9:28 PM
What: Buyin' boox
Where: Haslam's Bookstore
Must-Do? Says Who? First Must-Do list; and, we must shamefully admit, a bit of bibliophilia
Casualties: $21 and change for the new Harry Potter; Brian is a hater and can bite me
Harry Potter Spoiler: The whole thing's actually a prequel to the Star Wars franchise. Whooda thunk?
Haslam's is a bookstore. It looks like a warehouse on the outside, but the inside is full of books. I bought one book. It was called the seventh Harry Potter book. I think it is quite popular. I like Harry Potter, I think he is a good role model for kids like me. The nice man inside said it was the best price, even better than Wal Mart. So I bought it.
Brian looked at lots of nice books too but he didn't buy any. One of the books that Brian looked at was about mosaics in a place called Pompeii. There were lots and lots of books on the ancient world, which is very unique because it happened so long ago. Brian spent most of his time looking at books about sex in ancient Rome. It had lots of pictures. Some of the pictures were dirty.
They also had many books on religion. I didn't read them though because the words were big, like 'ecumenical.'
Also the other kids were angry and rude because I got the last Harry Potter book. They whined and said rude things like "you're too big for that book" which is not a very nice thing to say.
Haslam's is great!
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Goth Pop!
Posted by Ted Scheinman on Wed, Aug 8, 2007 at 10:34 PM
What: Becoming one with the inner Goth
Where: The Castle in Ybor
Must-Do? Says Who? The Senator and his loving constituents
Casualties: $21 for ‘red-headed sluts’ (a specialty shot, that is); some other amount for something else, I can’t quite think what
Notable Quotable: “What do you do for a living?â€
We paused after the Cajun Café extravaganza to digest a bit and hop in the pool--we'd been up since 8 and knew our night was only beginning, and a half-hour of R&R was crucial. Arriving in Ybor, we met Melanie (the birthday girl), Lyndsay, London and Misha outside the Castle and headed to the Tampa Bay Brewing Co. to fortify ourselves on pints of Old Elephant Foot IPA, Iron Rat Stout, One Night Stand Pale Ale,
The Castle, a parade of pleather & super glue coiffures, a zombie dance hall that bounces every night to the tunes of Megadump and Sister Machine Gun, home to such cultural milestones as the "Vamps & Vixens Ball," purveyors of the infamous "Communion Shot"--well, we just didn't know what we were getting ourselves into.
The place was hopping by the time we arrived. A $6 cover seemed steep, but we were a bit anesthetized at that point and we slid through without complaint. As we arrived on the second floor of the dungeon-themed club, our hearts leapt--it was the man himself--the Senator was there in all his glory.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest
Posted by Brian Reed on Tue, Aug 7, 2007 at 9:30 PM
What: Think Pink
Where: The Vinoy Park Hotel, St. Pete; The Don Cesar, St. Pete Beach
Must-Do? Says Who? The old Must-Do List
Casualties: $40 for 4 drinks--a Bourbon and a 7&7 at the Vinoy; a Pina Colada and a Tequila Sunrise at the Don Cesar.
Sometimes it's fun to play pretentious. The Vinoy and the Don Cesar hotels are the perfect stages for this kind of make-believe.
The Vinoy has a sophisticated feel--think royalty, or at the very least stuffy British (or, if you can swing it, Welsh) accents.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Release the Hounds!
Posted by Ted Scheinman on Mon, Aug 6, 2007 at 9:56 PM
What: Betting the quiniela at the dogtrack
Where: Derby Lanes
Must-Do? Says Who? The old list; mild curiosity
Casualties: $4 betting on USS Firestorm to place and Miss Tiff to win
Notable Quotable: "Those dogs seem awfully unhappy."
The dogs howled; the trainers unmuzzled 'em and jogged off; the mechanical rabbit came bounding 'round the track; the dogs howled some more; the gates flew open; the wretched dogs tore after the rabbit; the plump & sleepy humans watched from the bar, pausing between cigarette drags to spot their dog in the fray.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Battle of the Bulge
Posted by Brian Reed on Fri, Aug 3, 2007 at 8:47 PM
What: Conquer the Thrill Hill
Where: 3rd St. South, St. Pete (just south of USF)
Must-Do? Says Who? The old Must-Do list (which suggests 34 mph). Too many drunk USF students to count. (Don’t drink and drive).
Casualties: Coccyxsphyxiation
Notable Quotable: “Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!â€
At first the Thrill Hill was elusive. In a moment of late-night inspiration, we hopped into the car at midnight with a need for speed—but we scrutinized the map and drove around and couldn’t find the Thrill Hill anywhere. We returned home defeated and out of gas. I was in tears.
The next day we made use of the sunlight and a few tips from key sources. We found Jannus Landing and eventually USF. But then we were screwed up by the one-ways. And then we got our cardinal directions confused, despite having a compass in our car (I should start trusting that thing). The problem was that we didn’t even know what we were looking for—every time we went over a bump we wondered if that had been the Thrill Hill. What was this “Thrill Hill†anyway? We became paranoid. What if it was all a ruse and we were being had. What if the Thrill Hill was just like the “swimming pool†on the fifth floor of my high school—the one that every freshman learns about every year from the upperclassmen, until they realize (some of them only upon graduation) that the school only has four floors.
\
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Gettin' our Garcia on
Posted by Ted Scheinman on Wed, Aug 1, 2007 at 8:06 PM
What: Celebrate the birthday of Jerome Garcia (1942-1995)
Where: "Look out of any window, any morning, any evening, any day"
Must-Do? Says Who? circa 4 billion Deadheads; common decency
Casualties: few brain cells here & there; what they used to call "hang-ups"
Greatest Guitar Solo: take yer pick. I say the 18-minute 'Fire on the Mountain' from the Cornell concert, 5/8/77
Folks,
Pay your respects. Take a gander at our CL TOP TEN LIST, listen to Live/Dead at least thrice, and make sure to visit Skipper's tomorrow to meet some fellow believers and blissful burnouts.
Requiescat in Pacem
Blind Buddy Moody at Dave's Aqua Lounge
Posted by Ted Scheinman on Wed, Aug 1, 2007 at 7:50 PM
What: The Blind Buddy Moody concert
Where: Dave's Aqua Lounge
Must-Do? Says Who? Wade Tatangelo; the ghost of Jimmie Rodgers
Casualties: $12 for beers & whiskey sours
Notable Quotable: "I’d like to dedicate this song to anyone with drinking problems or problems enough to drink.â€
“I’ve played everything from churches to honky-tonks,†Buddy told me after the show, “and just about everything in between.â€
It’s difficult to pinpoint where Dave’s Aqua Lounge fits on the church-honky continuum. The outside has a Vegas-strip-in-the-seventies feel; the inside’s a double anachronism, like a disco-turned-juke joint.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
No lifeguard on duty...
Posted by Brian Reed on Tue, Jul 31, 2007 at 5:36 PM
What: Go for a midnight swim.
Where: The Gulf of Mexico
Must-Do? Says Who? Marine creatures.
Casualties: Some would say the possibility of attack by shark or stingray. I say that’s a small price to pay for Gulf glory.
Dress Code: Monogrammed bathrobe. But with somebody else’s initials. Meaning it’s not your bathrobe. Meaning you stole it.
Some people will probably make fun of us. Most twenty-somethings try to do something overtly social in the evenings and on weekends especially, often times catalyzed by alcohol: bars, clubs, restaurants, parties. Standard fare. Some people might call us weird, or even worse, Losers with a capital “L†and a thumb-and-forefinger symbol on the forehead.
I don’t care. Taking a midnight dip in the Gulf is arguably the most fun you can have with or without your clothes on.
