TampaBLAB

We all know money is a little tight right now (trust us, we really know).

St. Armands Circle is a fun shopping destination on Lido Key just off the coast of Sarasota, Florida. There are some great restaurants on “The Circle” like Cha Cha Coconuts, The Columbia, Hemingways, Tommy Bahamas, ...

Michael Jackson and Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas had completed work on a new album of material shortly before the singer's death, the U.K.'s Mirror is reporting.

“It was going to be out of this world. It’s something Michael has never done before – a dance music album," Will.i.am told the Mirror in a story appearing online today. "I was very proud of it. But he was very protective and kept it under lock and key."

The Black Eyed Peas singer said he worked with Jackson for a year on the album, which was recorded in Ireland. In addition, Jackson had sent word that he wanted the Black Eyed Peas to open for him during his 50-date slate of concerts in London.

Via FourthPeriod.com: According to the Montreal Gazette, the Lightning had a deal in place to trade captain Vincent Lecavalier to the Montreal Canadiens this past weekend. The deal was in place, but was nixed at the last minute by owner Len Barrie. The article goes on to say that part of the reason the deal was vetoed was that the Lightning were able to draft defenseman Victor Hedman and had no need to acquire Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov.

It looks like Vinny is safe here in Tampa as long as Len Barrie has veto power…I think.

Stay tuned.

In other Lightning news, forward Ryan Malone was invited to the U.S. Olympic orientation camp to be held Aug. 17-19 outside of Chicago

One of the overlooked factors in any team's season is how the relative strength of their opponents can affect their records.  It stands to reason that if you are a mid-level team and play the bottom of the barrel teams, this should inflate your record, given that you are playing lesser teams.  Same holds true if you play only elite teams, your record would probably indicate you are worse than you truly are, given the level of competition.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rolled into last season with a strength of schedule (SOS) that fell somewhere in the middle of the league.  One major caveat to strength of schedule as it is viewed before the season starts; it's completely based on the prior year's results.  This doesn't account for surprise teams or any deviation from the previous year.  For example, in 2008, most of Miami's opponents, based on strength of schedule, saw an easier run during the year.  Miami had been a doormat in 2007, going 1-15.  So every team that faced them had a strength of schedule brought down by Miami's 2007 season.  Obviously, Miami did much better in 2008, giving their opponents a much more difficult challenge than their SOS would indicate.

See you on the other side of the jump

To clear up any discrepancies, SOS is calculated by taking all opponents wins and dividing by total games, thus giving you the win percentage of the respective team's opponents.  The Bucs SOS going into 2008 was .469.  The teams they were facing were collectively under .500 in 2007 which was good for the 19th hardest schedule. 

The schedule ended up being a bit more difficult by looking at 2008 results.  By calculating the win % based on a completed 2008 season the Buc's schedule had a win % or SOS of .480, slightly higher than projected.  What does this mean?  Truthfully, it shows the schedule was a bit more difficult than anticipated, but nothing egregious.  The Bucs were helped by playing the second worst division in football (the AFC West, second only to the NFC West).  I'll cover a more in-depth look at the schedule later, but want to come back to SOS and the 2009 season.

The Bucs have the 4th hardest schedule going into the year with a .580 SOS.  The NFC South actually has the toughest go of it this year, with each team in the NFC South falling in the top 8 with respect to SO (Carolina is 2nd with .592, Atlanta is 4th with .588 and New Orleans is 8th with .557).

How will the Bucs fare?  this obviously depends on too many factors to list.  For what its worth, Pittsburgh apparently had the toughest schedule last year (.598 pre-season, .519 after 2008 season) and still went to and won the Super Bowl, proving that SOS is not a predictive tool, more of a media tool to create conversation.

The SOS should be taken with a grain of salt.  It is based on the thought that each team will perform exactly similar to the year prior, which is very unlikely to happen.  It also doesn't figure home/road games and how teams perform historically in those venues.  We all know that the Bucs haven't fared well in cold weather, but there is no increase/decrease in our SOS to compensate for any late season cold weather games.  SOS is merely a representation of how a season would play out in a controlled environment, which doesn't exist in the football universe.

In the end, SOS can give you a glimpse into a season, but hardly tells the whole story.  The true story can come from looking back after the season and seeing how your team fared based on that respective season.  We know going into 2009 that the road appears tough (.580), but we won't know how difficult (or easy) our schedule is until the season is completed. 

The latest rumor sweeping Hollywood and the Internet is that Johnny Depp will play the role of the late Michael Jackson in a new bio-pic being rushing into production.

Depp reportedly said in 2008 that he wanted to play the role of Jackson, according to one blog. His remark came in reaction to rumors that he based his portrayal of Willy Wonka on Jackson.

“A few people have mentioned it, and it kind of took me by surprise. I really didn’t expect that, Michael Jackson was not a sort of ingredient or inspiration for the character at all,” Depp said at the time. But he suggested he'd still like to tackle that role, saying, "There is still time to play him.”

However, Sky News in Britain reports today that Depp has now said he doesn't want the role. In London to promote his new Public Enemies movies, "the Hollywood star said he did not think Jacko 'would want him to' don the famous white glove and military jacket."

Tom Hagerty picked up a camera long ago. Starting Saturday, the best of Tom’s black and white photographs will appear at MetroI4News.com.

CANCELED: In an unrelated note, please stop by tonight’s Lakeland Flying Tiger’s game to get together with others interested in social media. You can get a special price by telling them you’re coming to Polk Netizens Meetup

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

Post from: Lakeland Local

Originally Published as New Orleans – Feb 29, 1981

With little or no fanfare, this handout photo has been released reportedly showing Michael Jackson rehearsing at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 23, 2009. That's just two days before his death.

The photo was provided by AEG to the Associated Press and Getty Images.

In addition, the Associated Press reports that Jackson had just wrapped up production on a  new video -- called "The Dome Project" -- just two weeks before his death.

The AP says it was "a five-week project filmed at Culver Studios, which 70 years ago was the set for the classic film Gone With the Wind. Four sets were constructed for Jackson's production, including a cemetery recalling his 1983 Thriller video."

It's an eerie sight: reruns of Billy Mays commercials playing on in the wake of his death on Sunday.

But one company that hired him to turn their product into a serious moneymaker, Mighty Putty owner Media Enterprises, says it will declare a one-week moratorium on Mays' commercials for the putty, and Mighty Mendit, as a tribute to the fallen pitchman, resuming airings on Monday.

Another company, Wisconsin-based Impact Gel, is reconsidering plans to implement a national marketing campaign built around Mays.

Impact Gel was featured in the first episode of Mays' Discovery Channel show Pitchmen and is one of the salesman's best-known new products (Mays took the product on talk shows, wrapping his hand with the material and banging it with a hammer.

"After 10 years as Billy's business associates and personal friends there is no doubt that Billy would expect the show to go on," said Bill McAlister, President of Media Enterprises. "A brief moment of advertising silence seems to be fitting tribute to the world's greatest infomercial voice.  He will be missed."

Some might ask whether taste might indicate holding off running his commercials for much longer. Few infomercial hosts are as well know as Mays; it's tough to gauge the impact for consumers who will see products pitched by a pitchman they know is deceased.

Look below to see what you'll be missing this week. Click below to see the release from Media Enterprises on their decision.

*

This morning, the companies responsible for the Mighty(TM) brand product line, Mighty Putty and Mighty Mendit, announced that television advertisements featuring Billy Mays will not run for a period of one week in recognition of the pitchman's death.

In agreement with the wishes of the Mays family, Mighty Putty and Mighty Mendit commercials will air again beginning Monday, July 6 after Billy's funeral.

Moving forward, royalties from Billy Mays' commercials for Mighty products will continue to be made to his family.

And no, not those kinds. We’ve been battling the pipes in our master bathroom since we moved in. It started with a slow draining sink. This was eventually resolved, not without Magoo trying to take apart the sink himself. This did not got well. At all. Thereafter we suffered what would become a recurring issue, the toilet [...]

   Add another activity to the list of things not to call 911 over: an arrest.

   German Verra Tinoko, 18, of Immokalee called 911 from the back of a cruiser after he called the deputy a “racist Cracker cop,” according to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.

   He was arrested after a confrontation at a loud party the deputy had been called to investigate, according to naplesnews.com.

While I enjoyed the Supernova Sundays that NOVA535 was putting on each Sunday, attendance fizzled and costs ran high, leaving it a dead project after only a few weeks. That said, they've re-organized the show into a monthly, held on the first Thursday of each month, repackaged as THE BIG BANG SHOW.

Come join me this Thursday, July 2nd. $10 in advance/$15 at the door, 7PM to Midnight.
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producerevent/68995?prod_id=9766

There will be comedians, musicians and other performers as well as a full dinner menu for anyone who wants to try some St. Pete favorites. Their caterers have always been great in the past.

On Friday July 10th at NOVA 535,
local celebrity artists The Vitale Brothers will present their latest art show “Size
Matters”! In typical NOVA style, the show will be kicked off with an extravagant
party which will combine art, music and fashion.

The artists responsible for the content include Bask, Tes One, Andrew Spear,
Terribly Odd Frank, Strunk Ill, Davey Montooth, Chris Parks, Hydro 74, Sarah
Gail Hutcherson, John Hutcherson, Chad Mize, Phillip Clark, T.W. Curtis, Dolla
Bill, Melia White, Mark Michaels, Smilemaker Krystal Ralph, Hug Smugglers,
Ron Pieniak, Ever, Cody Meagham, Ricardo Hernandez Marquez, Heinz Hinrighs,
Andrea Pawlisz, Joey Vitale, Paul Vitale, and John Vitale.

$5 admission. Doors open at 9 PM. Music by Dj Mega and Una Slim and fashion
by Wear to the Tear.

Housed in a 1920 built five & dime; NOVA 535 is a lush, meticulously renovated
7,000 sqft. versatile event space with two full bars and plenty of convenient
parking.

NOVA 535 Unique Event Space and Modern Art Lounge
535 Dr. M.L. K. Jr. St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
www.NOVA535.com

Sorry I didn't do the latest of my "Sports Shorts" series over the weekend, as life has thrown me some curves as of late. However, I have time to do one today, so do one today I shall!

I'm telling you all now, watch the Tampa Bay Rays. They are about to make another playoff run. They beat Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 last night, as they quickly jumped out one of the best starting pitchers in the Major Leagues. That puts them eight games ahead of .500. If Scott Kazmir, their ace lefty starter from last season, can find his form in 2009, the Rays may be the team to beat.

The 29th of June was a historic day for those of you who follow tennis, Wimbledon's tournament, or both. The $150 million roof was used for the first time, and the lights on it prompted Andy Murray's match to go past 10:30pm their time, the first night match in their history. In a tournament that based itself on decades of protocol, some must have thought of yesterday's firsts as some kind of heresy. Personally, I thought it was rather cool.

Speaking of breakthroughs, the US Soccer team scored one of its biggest wins on the International stage in over half a century by defeating the top ranked squad from Spain 2-0 in the semis of the Confederations Cup. They also had a 2-0 lead on Brazil in the finals before the clock struck twelve on the Americans' Cinderella bid, with Brazil winning 3-2. Soccer will probably never be as big as our kind of football, baseball, or basketball, but I say: does it have to? The MLS has now reached its 14th season with several of its original franchises still in place, expansion has been slow and easy going, the rules are exactly the same as International ball, no overtimes, no silly shootouts to decide who wins every game. It looks like International soccer, feels like International soccer, and pretty soon, don't be shocked if the USA wins a World Cup or two. You heard it here first.

    Www.howtogetevenwithyourfavoriteperp.com features a photo of a woman aiming a semiautomatic weapon on its banner, but purports to offer helpful tips on “dealing with our perps in a healthy way or at least in a way that empowers us to move on” and stresses that it “is not a place to plan a crime” but to vent, according to floridatoday.com.

   But the woman who runs the Web site did more than “vent” when she got even, Brevard County deputies believe.

   Malabar massage therapist Dianne Parker, 55, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder and mutilation of a dead human body after police said horseback riders in February found 62-year-old Robert Cadigan’s headless, limbless torso, just off a dirt road in a wooded area west of Holopaw. Investigators say he owed her money.

   Valarie Jean Lillard, 42, of Fountain was too drunk to drive, according to Bay County deputies. So she forced her juvenile daughter (age not released) drive instead, newsherald.com of Panama City reports.

   Friends of the woman’s daughter had called authorities and the said the girl’s mother was intoxicated and had struck a tree on her way to pick the girl up at a skating rink, according to the sheriff’s office. And a friend who had ridden with them part of the way to the rink asked Lillard to drop him off at another friend’s house because she was already drunk and reportedly drove off the road several times, the report said.

   The girl said her mother “gets really drunk every weekend” and becomes physically abusive when intoxicated, the report said.

   When two guys found wandering down a Deltona street at 4 in the morning asked a deputy for a ride home, he said sure, as long as he could search them for weapons and contraband first, news-journaloneline.com reports.

   The two agreed, and the deputy found an odd assortment of items, including cell phones and chargers, Global Positioning Systems, jewelry and even a package of strawberry Pop Tarts. None of that was a weapon or contraband, but they did match items that had been stolen from car in the neighborhood.

   So the deputy booked them into the Volusia County Jail instead of taking them home.

Lillies are commonly associated with funerals in the United States - they are said to represent purity, but offer the practical aspect of being strongly scented. In the case of Lillie Martin's marker, the use of lillies may have been in reference to her name, rather than a symbolic gesture. Not only is the marker topped with a large bouquet of stone lillies, but the verse etched on the tombstone refers to the flower:


















Lillie M. Kennard devoted wife of B. P. Martin, Sept. 26, 1875 - Oct. 6, 1900 / The angels gather such lillies for God.

Flowers also appear on H.N. Pettit's marker, which has evening primrose etched around the base. According to Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography, by Douglas Keister (New York: MJF Books, 2004), the evening primrose represents "eternal love, memory, youth, hope, and sadness."


















H.N. Pettit, born at Kaskaskia, Ill. Aug. 29, 1822 died July 13, 1893

Pettit's tombstone also features a hand pointing to the clouds and the bible verse "In my father's house are many mansions," which continues in the King James version: "if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." Again according to Stories in Stone, "a hand pointing up is usually an indication that the soul has risen to the heavens."

Urns were popular graveyard symbols in the nineteenth century, even though cremations were out of vogue. The urn symbolizes ashes, and is a classical decorative element.


















Thomas M. Cauthen May 4, 1838 - Dec. 6, 1923

Grave markers in the shape of tree stumps are found across the United States, due largely to the Woodmen of the World. Woodmen of the World is a fraternal organization that provided burial insurance and pledged that no Woodman's grave would be left unmarked.


















W.V. Paschall Jr. July 26, 1881 - Nov. 16, 1918 Gone But Not Forgotten

It's a question that has haunted film fans and director Spike Lee since June 30, 1989, when Do The Right Thing was released.

"White people still ask me why Mookie threw the can through the window," Lee said in an interview with the Associated Press. "Twenty years later, they're still asking me that. No black person ever, in 20 years, no person of color has ever asked me why."

And 20 years later, there is no answer from Lee about the climactic scene outside the Brooklyn pizza shop in the film that made him a household name. Lee wrote and directed the movie, but also played the part of Mookie.

"People were fearful of the backlash," Rosie Perez tries to explain, in her AP interview. (Perez played Mookie's Puerto Rican girlfriend, Tina, and dances to Fight The Power during the opening credits.) "A lot of things happening in the movie were happening in real life. People were afraid when the truth, although a little exaggerated, was put up on the screen for everyone to see."

Sadly, Do The Right Thing came up short at the annual award shows, though at the Oscars Danny Aiello was nominated for best supporting actor and Lee was nominated for best original screenplay. Still, Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert was so moved at seeing the movie, the AP says, that he was left crying at its conclusion. (Read his full review here.)

TOP 5 MEMORABLE LINES FROM DO THE RIGHT THING:

5. "Trust you? The last time I trusted you, Mookie, I ended up with a son."

4. "You fool! You're thirty cents away from having a quarter!"

3. "One day you're gonna be nice to me. We may both be dead and buried, but you're gonna be nice."

2. "My people, my people, what can I say, say what I can. I saw it but didn't believe it, I didn't believe what I saw. Are we gonna live together, together are we gonna live?"

1. "Stay Black."

Wine Whore Review:



Get ready for some fun!

Gary has gladly accepted the challenge! It's going to be a blow out spectacular filled with intense excitement and most importantly, tons of great wine. Together we are going to make history. Together we will prove once and for all that accepting free wine samples does not alter the honesty/integrity of wine reviews. Together we will face the... Whore-Off Challenge!!!


- VS -
(right photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid)

With Hollywood production company 'Adventurer Entertainment' stepping up to produce the event, there are only a few minor details left to figure out:

• Have a watering hole or home away from home that would be conducive to a large group of wine lovers? Willing to let us pack it for a few hours while we make history? I'm looking for you!
  
  
• No Whore-Off is complete without a gracious host to mediate the match. Willing to showcase your skills while helping a great cause? I'm looking for you!
  
  
• Want to have your business, product, or name included in the event? Want to be a part of history? I'm looking for you!

Email me (thewinewhore@winewhoreblog.com) if you meet any of these criteria or know someone/somewhere that does.

Until then...I'll see you at the Whore-Off!!!

Are you in?



(Read more wine reviews and info at The Wine Whore)

I was going through my archives and I found this review that I wrote a long time ago. I submitted it to the New York Times but they didn't run it and didn't say why. I haven't been back to that place since. I wonder if it is still in business?



(June 30, 1989) I'm always on the lookout for charming little family-owned neighborhood restaurants. So I was delighted to come across Sal's Famous Pizzeria in Brooklyn's colorful Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
It was incredibly hot, probably the hottest day of the year, and I was happy to find any place that served cold drinks (apparently, I wasn't alone in my quest to quench my thirst; the grocer on the corner was completely out of Miller High Life) but I was also hungry so I couldn't wait to dig in.


FOOD: 3 stars (out of four) The slices, hot and fresh from the oven are large and tasty, although I prefer more cheese on mine. I overheard the man behind the counter telling a customer that extra cheese was two dollars, which is outrageous, as it's actually more than the cost of the pizza itself.

ATMOSPHERE: 2 stars (out of four) Sal's is a cozy little place. Nothing fancy, food is served on paper plates. Not much seating indoors but I observed many people getting carry out. It could have been cleaner. The sidewalk out in front in particular could have used a good sweeping. The only real decor inside is an ersatz "wall of fame" featuring celebrities, movie stars and athletes. I kind of doubt that they are actual customers of Sal's but I don't know what the significance of their inclusion would be otherwise. Maybe it's a work in progress as there seems to be room for more photos.

SERVICE: 1 star (out of four) Here's where Sal's really needs improvement. For such a small place that wasn't all that busy, the service is incredibly slow. While I was there, I overheard several complaints being called in about late deliveries. The employees have terrible attitudes and spend a great deal of time bickering amongst themselves and having remarkably inappropriate conversations within earshot of patrons trying to dine. Here's an example I caught on videotape:



OVERALL: 1.5 stars (out of four) I'm sorry to say that there are places you'd rather be on the hottest day of the year than at Sal's Famous Pizzeria. I especially would never go there after dark. I don't mean anything by that. I'm just, you know, just saying...

Can Twitter and Facebook save a tortilla business?

“Taco Tammy” Young is about to find out. Her bank, however, is far…