TampaBLAB

Dance MF’ers!

something French: YouTube - Time lapse of a baby playing with his toys

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty criticized then President-elect Barack Obama's stimulus package. Pawlenty was asked if he would turn down federal aid to maintain his small government principles. Pawlenty balked.

"I'm not a big-government fan," said Charlie Crist. "But there are times when government needs to help." Crist hopes to use stimulus money for schools. There is a snag. Crist and the Florida legislature cut education funding below 2004-05 levels. Florida may not qualify for education stimulus money.

But the state is below that threshold. In fact, school funding coming directly from the state is now lower than it was in the 2004-05 school year. With Florida's budget shortfall for next year ballooning toward $4 billion, it's not clear it could meet that requirement.

That would mean it could not get the $3.5 billion in estimated stabilization funds, though it would still be eligible for about $2.3 billion earmarked to help poor kids and to renovate schools, among other items.

Crist wanted small government. The result was an underfunded education system.

All This Happened Before

Jeb Bush cut Kidcare to the bone. The cuts made Kidcare ineligible for $20 million in federal funds. The result were children placed on a 700,000 waiting list. Crist is right. There are times when government needs to help.

As Jackie Gleason said in one of the Smokey And The Bandit movies, you're here at a monumental moment.

I'm going to try something new. This is kind of an extension of the 25 things about me that I did Wednesday that's floating around the Internet. Every Friday, I'll give out five different takes. It could be about the same topic, or different topics. Today, I'm going to tackle (pun intended) the Super Bowl.

1. There's a different atmosphere revolving around this Super Bowl here in Tampa. Maybe it's because it's the fourth Super Bowl we've hosted, or the thirteenth Super Bowl Florida has had. But it's probably the poor economy more than anything else.

2. People have asked me who I think the best Super Bowl team of all-time is. My personal opinion: the '78 Pittsburgh Steelers who won Super Bowl XIII. Good offense, good defense, could win a high scoring game and a low scoring game.  The '07 New England Patriots came the closest to the Steelers, but they lost the Super Bowl last year to the Giants...got to close the deal to be considered an all-time great.

3. The worst team ever?  The 1976 Tampa Bay Bucs still hold that mantle.  They had more players on their injured list then the number of TDs they scored in the entire year.

4. The first Super Bowl I remember was Super Bowl XII in 1978.  My dad was a huge Dallas Cowboys fan, and that was the year they beat Denver to win it all.  Recently, I found a file of that game on the 'Net and converted it to DVD.

5. I hope I'm around to see the first Super Bowl that needs an overtime to decide.  That would be a lot of fun to watch.

I’m too lazy to even type, so I’m just uploading the posters. Tonight at NWB = 9pm, $7. Redletter1 = new space, pretty awesome. Yes. Have fun!

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The City of St. Petersburg is an asshole. They just sent me this:

Tonight, the city will flip the switch on hundreds of tiny LED lights that adorn 29 trees in Williams Park. The tree lighting is another initiative launched by a consortium of interested organizations working to improve the vitality of the city’s urban square, Williams Park.

Am I the only one that thinks money could be better spent on helping the current inhabitants of Williams Park instead of buying a bunch of goddamn lights to somehow make it prettier for those of us lucky enough to have a place to sleep? That just doesn’t feel right.

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"I don’t know why he would do that. Mr. Limbaugh is a voice of a significant portion of our conservative movement in America. He has a very wide viewing audience. He is entitled to his views, and he has a lot of people who listen very carefully to him. I don’t know why that the President would take him on. He’s part of the political landscape, and he plays a role."

John McCain

Note to McCain: Limbaugh hates you.

The Obama administration heavily courted McCain. The Maverick used the moment for photo-ops. Now the Obama people will feel screwed. Republicans have felt that way about McCain for years.

McCain is brilliant at keeping himself in the news cycle. His lack of policy knowledge or ability to manage a campaign proves no interest in learning the job. McCain wants is attention. Let's not give in to the Maverick's desires.

Baghdad artist Laith al-Amari needed a venue for his shoe statue. Tikrit is the howntown and place of Saam Hussein's capture. The Sunni residents have no love for George W. Bush.

The shoe statue was removed.

"We will not allow anyone to use the government facilities and buildings for political motives," said Abdullah Jabara. Aren't government buildings used everyday by people with political motives?

A bobcat and dog play.

Have you heard the news? Celebrities are adopting Twitter right and left these days. And no, I’m not talking about Britney, a Twitter account managed and maintained by a team of experts - I mean real, honest-to-goodness stars maintaining and updating Twitter on their very own.

Recently, the internet-savvy Ashton Kutcher introduced wife Demi Moore to Twitter. They then caused a ruckus when they tweeted about their annoying neighbor whose loud banging was disturbing their peace and quiet. Now it looks like Ashton is berating @perezhilton for not leaving his step-kids alone. Wow, this is better than TMZ!

Meanwhile, Demi Moore was busy roping gal pal Soleil Moon Frye (who I know only as “Punky Brewster”) into joining, too. Now she’s addicted.

To welcome the newcomers, Kevin Rose has been giving them shout-outs and Ev has been giving them advice…you know, advice like how to use the “@” sign to reply to people.

Ah, newbies.

What’s great about these particular Twitter accounts is that they appear to be true attempts at joining the community; they’re not PR-approved marketing vehicles tweeting only news about upcoming films or TV shows. And unlike some celebs, it’s the stars themselves who are doing the twittering. Not to mention posting photos like this one from Demi, snapping back at a paparazzi: “Say hello to your mother for me!” Or this one from Soleil of her kids. (Celeb mommy blogger?) 

Who’s next? Ah, it’s Dwight! Err, I mean Rainn Wilson, the actor who plays Dwight. Well, at least his tweet says it’s him. We’ll see.

Still, I never would have imagined: Stars. They’re just like us. 

Evil. Good. It’s really just as simple as that.

Ray Sansom has stepped down as Speaker of the House.

"Effective immediately, I have decided to recuse myself from the exercise of my duties as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Ongoing legal proceedings have temporarily created an inability for me to carry out my responsibilities as Speaker. Under the House rules, during this temporary inability, Speaker pro tempore Larry Cretul will exercise all the duties, powers and prerogatives of Speaker.

I know Larry will manage the House with distinction and it will be an honor for me to serve under him at this time, until any legal proceedings I face are resolved. The allegations and reports associated with these proceedings have caused my family grave pain and this has prompted my decision. I expect positive outcomes and am confident that when the facts are known, my honesty and integrity will be confirmed."

Journalists need to ask Republicans, that gave Sansom a standing ovation, if they will rise again for Sansom? Charlie Crist defended Sansom? Will Crist continue to defend his party's Speaker?

Republicans talk about values. Those values are now being tested, as their former Speaker faces a grand jury investigation. Florida Republicans defended Sansom. Turning their backs now would show hypocrisy.

Samsom told supporters he will use his faith in family and God to guide him.

I was really hoping it wouldn't get out of hand until game day, but the bullshit is already overpowering our fair city.

I let all the signage and advertising go. After all, the fact that the Superbowl is here is some kind of big deal, or something. But I just witnessed three separate blatant stupid moments within a 10 minute period, and I'm not going to be dealing with this anymore.

1. I went to the bank to deposit my paycheck and pay rent. When I pulled into the parking lot, a guy with a "parking - $10" sign was waving me in. This is the BANK parking lot, sandwiched between K-Mart and Miami Subs. As I pull in, he tries to point me to the front of the parking lot, but I keep driving back to get to the bank. He screams out, "YOU CAN'T PARK THERE!" I return, "GOING TO MY BANK!" and continue to drive away. Then, I go to where I always park and I park my car and proceed to get out. He runs up to me and this conversation begins:

Him: It'll be $10.
Me: For what? This is my bank. I'm going in to make a deposit.
Him: No, you're going to pay me $10. This is our parking lot this weekend.
Me: No, it's not. It's not the weekend. This isn't your parking lot.
Him: K-Mart gave us permission to use it, so we're charging for parking, now pay up.
Me: Listen, kid, it's not the weekend, this isn't your parking lot and I'm going into the bank.
Him: I'll have your car towed.
Me: You put a fucking hand on my fucking car and I'll break every bone in your body. Go bother someone else, you fucking flea. Fuck off.
Him: Sir! You have to...

I walk away from him, not listening. Go in the bank, make my deposit. Tell them about the incident. Apparently, this has been happening all day. "We'll call Security." So, I go to leave and the guy is on me about it again. I snap at him, "YOU FUCKING SHIT. YOU'VE FUCKING HAD IT." I get right up in his face, slamming my chest against his as I force him back against my car. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FACE OR I WILL RUN YOU OVER." He proceeds to get on his walkie, screaming to the other attendants to come help him. I get in my car, slam it into reverse and pull out quickly, narrowly missing him. "I got your license plate! I'm calling the cops!"

Let him. Let him call the cops when I'm parking at my bank to make a deposit. I guarantee you Tampa's finest won't even think twice about telling that guy where to jam it.

2. Second incident, less than 2 minutes later. I'm at Columbus and Himes making a left into the 5th/3rd Parking Lot. There's a crowd of guys, probably in their late 20s, wearing Steelers jerseys crossing the street in front of me. I notice they are all drinking, in public, at 11:30AM! Blatant disrespect for the law, they are walking with beers, opened and chugging gleefully. I let this go.. after all, it's a celebration, right?

To add to the obnoxious screaming and throwing themselves at cars parked at the light, they top off their parade of terror by proceeding to throw a bag of food waste in front of my car on Columbus. Who does that? What complete lack of respect is bred into these fucktards that makes them think they can treat our city like this?

3. Lastly, was all of the obvious out-of-towners driving around, disrupting the flow of traffic. I know that any event that brings people in will bring traffic. I know this. But it shouldn't take over an hour to get from Columbus/Dale Mabry to Columbus/Nebraska. It just shouldn't. That's a 15 minute drive on most days. I've never had it be more than a 30 minute drive. It just took 1 hour, 7 minutes. That's way, way too long, even for lunch time during the Superbowl weekend.

So... what do I make of all of this? It's really simple for me, really. The next time a big event comes into town, I'm leaving. I'm going to sublet my place for the week/weekend and I'm going to get as far away from this as possible. Denis Out!

From The Smoking Gun:

JANUARY 28--Since it is Super Bowl week in Tampa, the local cops are cracking down on hookers working from area hotels, street corners, private residences, and massage parlors. As is customary in the days before football's championship game, police have been rounding up women on prostitution charges, lest they supposedly cash in on the influx of out-of-town pigskin fans. As seen on the following pages, 19 suspects-aged 19 to 53--have been nabbed since Monday, with each arrestee posing for a mug shot at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. (19 pages)

The link above takes you to all the mugshots. My personal favorite:



Is that... a HERPES SORE? Is that even a WOMAN!?

Wow, man. I know most sports fans aren't discriminating when it comes to the trim they pay for, but COME ON.

Here’s a link you love: (Hey, You! You know who you are!)

StumbleUpon: Personalized Recommendations to Help You Discover the Best of the Web: Sign in and see millions of other people’s favorite sites. Sounds great! (And just what I need for future Fridays!)

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You also sent this link to a NYTimes article on the Bacon Explosion: “Take Bacon. Add Sausage. Blog.” by Damon Darlin.

I feel queasy at the thought of SO MUCH bacon. If you’re hungry for more, you might like “Everything Tastes Better with Bacon: 70 FAbulous Recipes for Every Meal of the Day” by Sara Perry.

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Bubblicious on Vimeo by Rex the Dog (seen on CommonCraft)

Bubblicious from Rex The Dog on Vimeo.

How delightful!

Want to create your own animations?
Search SUNCAT for the subject “Animation—Cinematography.”

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Librarians Become Unofficial Job Counselors, a segment of a recent episode of NPR’s “Day to Day” about how libraries are being used during this recession.