Arts & Entertainment
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Antique car show to hit Madeira Beach
Posted by Mina Abgoon on Wed, Jun 19, 2013 at 9:58 PM
Madeira Beach is the perfect place to cruise around in your archaic, vintage Hudson Hornet with the sleek turquoise paint job — if you’re lucky enough to own one of those gems, that is.
The reality of the matter is that most of us aren’t; however, Tampa Bay isn’t a stranger to the sight of these classic automobiles. With the overwhelming size of Tampa’s retired crowd, witnessing one of these beauties casually flying down I-4 isn’t a rarity, though always a head-turner.
WMNF's Talking Animals celebrates a decade on the air
Posted by Julie Garisto on Wed, Jun 19, 2013 at 10:03 AM
For the past 10 years, DJ Duncan Strauss has driven a long commute (all the way from Jupiter!) to work tirelessly and for free, championing the rights of animals and the tunes that they inspire on his beloved 88.5-FM radio show Talking Animals, which celebrates its decade anniversary this week.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Stuffing the beach bag for a summer full of reading
Posted by William McKeen on Sun, Jun 16, 2013 at 5:44 PM
Time to load up the beach bag for summer reading. Here’s what I have so far:
That’s Not Funny, That’s Sick by Ellin Stein (W.W. Norton, $27.95). This is a terrific narrative of the comic revolution at the dawn of the 1970s. The book focuses on the epicenter of this comedy, National Lampoon, and its stars, Doug Kenney, Michael O’Donoghue and P.J. O’Rouke. The Lampoon was wickedly funny then and this well-crafted saga ought to help you appreciate the breakthroughs. One complaint: no illustrations. What’s up with that?
Lee Marvin Point Blank by Dwayne Epstein (Schaffner Press, @27.95). It’s time to revisit this movie tough guy, who’s been gone now for a quarter century. Epstein covers Marvin’s early life, his war record, and his steady rise from tough-guy and heavy roles to brutal leading man. Seems that Marvin excelled in every role he attempted, even as a singer in “Paint Your Wagon.”
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Roads less taken: Glimpses of downtown St Pete's alley art
Posted by Chip Weiner on Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 5:20 PM
Have you seen the murals behind the shops and galleries of Central Avenue in St. Petersburg? They stand out amidst the old mattresses, broken beer bottles, and ugly dumpsters that traditionally go with back alleys. They are nice, bright, big public works of art created by different artists behind several businesses. According to some of the residents I spoke with, murals are popping up all over the city. These are between Central Avenue and First Avenue North, in the 600 block district.
I envy St. Petersburg. They have got some of the coolest art districts in the area and residents enthusiastic about art. Central Avenue is one, the Warehouse District is another, not to mention Beach Drive with its more formal Museum of Fine Arts and Dale Chihuly Exhibit among others. But, alas, I am a Tampa resident.
Don't get me wrong, we have good stuff like the Tampa Museum of Art and The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts.There are some other smatterings. Seminole Heights has places like The Tempus Project and Susan Gott's Pheonix Project. There are some great murals along Florida Ave. and the north end of Franklin street.
But it's not the same. The last three pieces of public art that I heard any noise about were the busts of people along Riverwalk who helped put Tampa on the map, the "Exploding Chicken" that has been re-erected in the Channelside District, and the new work produced under the artistic direction of muralist Michael Parker on Adamo Drive in Ybor City. Much of Tampa's art scene is too formal or too spread out. And, one may wonder if the majority of Tampa residents even care.
Tiki dreams, lipstick and leis: A look back at Hukilau
Posted by Carol Cortright on Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 5:08 PM
Hi. My name is Carol and I am a Tikiphile. Until recently, I didn’t know there was a name for this tropical obsession, let alone an entire technicolor subculture devoted to all things Tiki, inspired by the American pop culture phenomenon that lasted from the 1930s through the late 1960s.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Inside the photo booth: Art gallery owner Mindy Solomon
Posted by Kevin Tighe on Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 4:42 PM
- Kevin Tighe
- Mindy Solomon (click to enlarge)
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Mayor Buckhorn engages in a touching display at the Florida Aquarium
Posted by Nicole Abbett on Thu, Jun 6, 2013 at 4:15 PM
- Nicole Abbett
- Mayor Bob Buckhorn addresses the crowd atop the dock of the new Stingray Beach.
The new Stingray Beach at the Florida Aquarium held its official grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday night, recognizing the completion of the first phase of the Rising Tides Capital Campaign.
Mayor Bob Buckhorn joined Florida Aquarium President and CEO Thom Stork, The Echevarrias, and DeSoto Elementary School Principal Michele Keltner for this celebratory occasion.
"Let's stop talking and do some walking": the Prancercise revolution (with video)
Posted by Julie Garisto on Thu, Jun 6, 2013 at 2:33 PM
So, since I fell off my semi-religious routine of aerobics and outdoor exercise, I'm now 20 pounds mas, wondering what I've missed on the fitness frontier.
Sure, there's been a lot of god awful miserableness a la Insanity and CrossFit — boot-camp-style workouts that torture and bully you into shape with extreme calisthenics and PTSD. Not for me, thanks. I do not feel a masochistic urge for optional abuse, nor to partake of an activity that would plague me with flashbacks of screaming camo-short-shorts-clad SoHo women in headsets.
Delightful was what I was after, and I'm just prancing with glee that I found it in the form of Prancercise, a free-spirited walking/dancing routine you can engage in outdoors, conceived by fitness guru
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Last day for the Sandstorm and RIP to theme park favorites
Posted by Julie Garisto on Sun, Jun 2, 2013 at 12:01 PM
Located in the Timbuktu area of the park, the Sandstorm opened in December 1979. Following the Sandstorm’s departure, Busch Gardens Tampa will announce future plans for Timbuktu, a park spokesperson says.
Robert Niles of the Theme Park Insider described the Sandstorm as as "an attraction that has a rotating base with six arms attached to it, with three cars attached to the end of each arm. Each car can seat two people, making for a total of 36 passengers per ride. When the ride starts the base rises and stars to rotate. As the base rotates, each arm rotates its set of three cars at the same time. Also as the base is rising, the arms fan outwards so as the cars are spinning they are angled, so the riders are turning and going up and down, all at the same time. The ride itself lasts for about 2-3 minutes."
While we're at it, let's pay tribute to some other recreation/theme park favorites of the past — bygone treasures that made up in charm what they lacked in bells and whistles:
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Believe the hype! Straz dazzles with season preview
Tampa's ever-evolving performing arts mecca is poised for what may be its best run yet.
Posted by Julie Garisto on Sat, Jun 1, 2013 at 3:09 PM
