Catch free acoustic music every Wednesday at the Imperial
Jackson and Forest Rodgers at Orlando Brewing A couple weekends ago, the Imperial in Sanford won us over for putting fire in our cheeks after a feast at Willow Tree and some record-digging at Rabbitfoot Records, but this week, it’s the original location’s turn. The Imperial at Washburn Imports on Orange Avenue is hosting free…
4 ways to celebrate Earth Day in the Orlando area
27 lively photos from Central Florida Earth Day at Lake Eola April 22 is officially Earth Day. Many Orlandans spent Saturday celebrating the upcoming holiday at Lake Eola’s Central Florida Earth Fest with a pet parade, nature walks, food and more. Around this time of year, people tend to get on the recycling train, putting their cans,…
Was Disney’s dream for Celebration too creepy to succeed?
via Yesterday, Gizmodo posted an intriguing think piece on the forced utopia that Disney created in Orlando outlying community, Celebration. For those who have never thought twice about the planned community (or have intentionally avoided thinking about it ever), it’s an excellent summary of what Disney hoped the community could be: A throwback to idyllic…
Stream Golden Pelicans live on WFMU
via It should surprise exactly no one that if DIY-focused Total Punk dude Rich Evans decides to go on the radio with his Orlando band Golden Pelicans, it’s gonna be on WFMU-FM, the country’s oldest freeform radio station (no commercials, listener-supported/loved). That’s what happened on a couple weeks ago when the band performed live on…
Awake? Attend a private Tycho session for Off the Avenue
via Dreamy producer Tycho released a new record this year, Awake, and we’ll post a review in this week’s issue so you know what to expect at his show on Friday at the Beacham. But for Tycho super-fans, here’s the real heads up. Tycho will record a session for Off the Avenue at North Avenue Studios…
Praise be to Treesus
The Orlando Sentinel is withholding the name and address of “Kim,” the “not particularly religious” woman who discovered this tree stump on her Central Florida property last week that bears the image of Jesus Christ. Kim doesn’t want her yard to turn into some kind of mecca, but come on. If Treesus calls to us,…
We have a date for the Trader Joe’s opening
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Well, some of us anyway. I know some people don’t see what the fuss is all about, and frankly, I’m not going to try and talk anyone into it — parking is bad enough at Trader Joe’s, so every person who’s all “shrug, who cares” is one…
Theatre Review: Jersey Boys at Bob Carr
The cast of Jersey Boys, currently at Orlando’s Bob Carr through April 27 (photo courtesy Broadway Across America) The following review contains excerpts from my upcoming Live Active Cultures column in the 4/23/2014 issue of Orlando Weekly, and my 5/14/2009 review of a prior production. The newly-released trailer for director Clint Eastwood’s cinematic take on…
Minnie Mouse is buff as hell in new Mickey short, “Cable Car” (plus bonus Donald Duck short)
There really isn’t a bad time to have a good cartoon binge, but any excuse is a good excuse to actually do it. These follow no theme, they’re just a random mish-mash of cartoons new and old. Some of them, like the Bugs Bunny Falling Hare, I remember from when I was a kid. In…
Sean Hannity did not give me a wedgie, reveals liberal stooge
Did you hear it? The bar just got lowered again. Kohn: If you don’t have anything nice to say, send her an Easter card. This week, progressive commentator Sally Kohn wrote an op-ed for The Christian Science Monitor in which she sought to dispel alleged liberal stereotypes about the FOX News crowd. In the essay,…
VIDEO: Creative Mornings with Billy Manes, journalism rebel
via Earlier this year, Billy Manes, our senior staff writer, was the featured speaker at Creative Mornings Orlando. (Fortunately, he wasn’t asked to do this month’s topic: SEX!) If you were still rubbing sleep out of your eyes when Billy was giving his stellar presentation on being a journalism rebel, don’t worry! You can see…
Jolly Ninjas dance/walking into our hearts
The Jolly Ninjas, a “collection of like-minded people commited to changing the world through random attacks of kindness” are back at it with the second installment of their Dance/Walk series. Check out this video to get a taste of what will be happening 1-2:30 p.m. around Lake Eola Sunday, April 27th. So it’s basically…
Police Beat: Series of thefts result in well-armed burglars
via wookmark.com When Orlando police found 42-year-old Jose Casiocollado’s stolen car in East Orlando on Thursday, it was probably welcome news – except for the fact that his Jimenez Arms J.A. .380-caliber pistol was missing from its spot underneath the driver’s seat. Just over a mile away on Lockwood Avenue, Valerie Joy Jenkins, 37,…
Police Beat: Ballsy burglar hits apartment while residents sleep
It takes a lot of balls burglarizing a home while residents are still inside, but it appears that’s what happened in West Orlando Thursday morning. Erin McCord, 26, returned with several pals to her apartment on Westgate Drive after a Magic game and a night on the town. They didn’t get back until 4 a.m.,…
Gov. Rick Scott does a Facebook Q&A, speaks only in campaign soundbites
Yesterday, Gov. Rick Scott announced that he’d be partaking in a Very Special Facebook Q&A with his constituents – starting at 6 p.m. on April 17, his campaign announced, he’d be taking questions live via Facebook from some empty-looking room in Jacksonville. I don’t always take questions on the Internet. But when I do, I…
Location Matters: the gym from ‘Sydney White’
The Bynes Shrine at 4000 Central Florida Blvd, UCF. Image swiped from Wikipedia. Location Matters is a series that reflects upon pieces of Orlando immortalized in popular film. Pop quiz, hot shot: when a friend calls you up and says, “Hey, they’re filming an Amanda Bynes movie down the street, we can make $75 a piece…
Thank you Internet: shitty food porn and magical snails
It’s Good Friday and you’re itching to get out of the office, but you’ve still got a little bit longer ’til the end of the day. We hope these links will make the last few hours a little easier for you: via 1. Did you know that snails lived in a magical world? Ukrainian photographer Vyacheslav Mishchenko…
Five Easter treats to make and eat
Aside from being the very best candy holiday of the year (jellybeans!), Easter’s also ripe for getting some good Pinterest time in. And since Easter falls on 4/20 this year, there’s a good chance you might come down with a case of the munchies. Here are five Easter treats you can munch on, with just…
April showers bring a May residency for Kaleigh Baker at Lil Indies
RSVP Sweet mother of local soul, one of Orlando’s most commanding voices will be dominating Lil Indies every Tuesday in May. Blues singer Kaleigh Baker was on tour during February and March, and it seems she spent the month of April trying to come up with a way to make it up to us for…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: Republican cats, air inequality, another gay loss
via desktopnexus.com SCOTT MAXWELL’S CAT HAS A PROBLEM WITH MIRRORS. LOCAL REPUBLICAN LEADER LEW OLIVER HAS A PROBLEM WITH PUERTO RICANS. SAME DIFF: “I have a cat who finds mirrors totally baffling. She’s not a particularly smart cat. In fact, we only ended up with Leona because my wife and kids once went to…
Get hopping to these Orlando 4/20 Easter weekend events
via Easter’s sneaking up on us like a silent, stealthy bunny. If you’re into the Easter thing – church, candy, egg hunts – you’ve probably got your day all scheduled. But for those for whom Easter is really just the day before the Peeps go on clearance at CVS, figuring out how (or whether) to…
After crack binge, Florida woman gives birth in hotel bathtub
via Oh, classy Florida women. The lovely specimen above gave birth to an estimated two-month-premature baby in a bathtub. In a hotel. In Ocala. After a 24-hour crack binge. Those aren’t even the worst parts. This is: she bit off the umbilical cord. Last week, Crystal Hassel checked into an Ocala hotel room with her boyfriend…
Added Pleasure: Adventurers Club and Mannequins will be back for one night only
Parties of the past: 20 old photos from Pleasure Island This November, you’ll have chance to take a trip in the Pleasure Island wayback machine. At Disney’s Contemporary Resort Nov. 22-23, Disney will be hosting an event called Destination D: Attraction Rewind. Basically, the event gives retro Disney fans the opportunity to revisit some of…
19 questions with an Orlando resident: Tony Bolante
Welcome to 19 Questions, a feature where we ask longtime Orlando residents 19 questions that are mostly related to living in the City Beautiful. Freelance writer, video specialist and theater maker Tony Bolante (onomatopoeia, on the nOse) claims native Orlando status, save one stint “out of state” a decade ago. Tony refused to provide further…
10 songs inspired by snakes + a gallery of Florida snakes
via Florida’s combination of swamps and sugar sands makes it ideal for native snakes (as well as some invasive ones that, which we all likely know by now are rumored to be cross-breeding into SyFy monsters), and if you’ve lived here long enough, you’ve likely come across your share of indigo or corn snakes or…
Order from Amazon now, because Floridians will soon be charged sales tax
via On May 1, Amazon will start charging sales tax on all purchases made by Floridians. On the surface, this is seems like a big bummer. I mean, we’ve been ordering stuff tax-free on Amazon for what seems like forever. Now, every time we want to buy a juicer or other kitchen gadget on a diet…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: FSU woes, Nelson’s big plan, Party Monster reborn
THE TALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT RUINED A WOMAN’S LIFE IN ORDER TO SAVE AN FSU NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. THIS IS TERRIBLE ALL AROUND: “Early on the morning of Dec. 7, 2012, a freshman at Florida State University reported that she had been raped by a stranger somewhere off campus after a night of drinking at a popular…
Please can we stop name-dropping Lou Pearlman?
I have been mildly inundated recently by emails from people name-dropping Lou Pearlman, like he’s some sort of music mainstay whose Orlando-area genius is time-honored. Active for 13 years in the biz, he was the guy behind the boy bands magazines told my friends to fawn over in the ’90s. He is also the guy…
In honor of the Solar Bears, tomorrow is purple day!
Orlando Solar Bears playoff tickets on sale now Just in case you missed it, the Orlando Solar Bears have made it to the ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs. Tomorrow, the Solar Bears play their first game against the Cincinnati Cyclones at the Amway Center. In support of our hometown hockey team, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has proclaimed…
Take classes at Hogwarts … for free!
via Ever since Harry Potter mania first swept the nation, fans have been dying to attend classes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In 2010, Universal Orlando opened the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure, which allowed Potterheads to go inside Hogwarts and explore some of the classrooms (while waiting in…
Bear death count up to seven in wake of Lake Mary attack
Florida wildlife officials put down their seventh bear yesterday in the wake of Sunday’s singular bear attack in Lake Mary that left Terri Frana shaken and wounded with multiple staples and stitches. These latest bears were captured “in the vicinity” of the Frana incident but apparently showed no signs of aggression; it remains unknown if…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: On abortion, political boredom, Islamophobes and the death of irony
SPEAK THE TRUTH, MR. RUTH. YOU’RE GREAT IN THE OVEN, BUT ON YOUR OWN AS A SANDWICH: “How inspiring and uplifting it is to know that those stout-hearted members of the Florida House treasure children, who represent our future and most certainly our yada, yada, yada and, of course, our blah, blah, blah. Touching, is…
Savage Love
I’m a 26-year-old girl, and my boyfriend is bi. I assumed he would be less jealous than the average man, but my BF is more jealous than average. He accuses me of having slept with my male friends in the past. He makes negative comments about how many people I’ve hooked up with. Whenever I…
Opening in Orlando: ’13 Sins,’ ‘Bears,’ ‘A Haunted House 2,’ ‘Heaven Is For Real’ and ‘Transcendence
Movies opening in local theaters this week
Miami-Dade elections office to close bathrooms on polling days
Instead of making restrooms disability-friendly, there will be no restrooms
Future Bear wants to save the world
Rollins professors Rachel Simmons and Julian Chambliss create an environmental superhero
Few moments worth relishing on Pup’s freshman album
Album review: Pup’s self-titled
Orlando burglar clogs toilet
Orlando robber takes a camera and leaves a flooded toilet
This Little Underground: A farewell salute to Orlandooom
Kadavar, Mothership, Bloodshot Bill, the Wildtones, J.D. Wilkes and the Dirt Daubers
Three Orlando illusionists may hold the key to the future of magic
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of observing many masters of magic, both world-famous (David Copperfield, Penn & Teller) and under-appreciated (Asi Wind, Jeff McBride), but I’ve usually had to leave Central Florida to do so. Orlando’s tourist industry is built around “magic,” but despite our area’s extensive population of wizards and fairies, there’s…
Tip Jar: Brian’s Restaurant gets new owner; Nora’s Wine & Cigars to close
Plus lunch tips, beer flings, foraged foods and new pizza joints
Drinking, Nightlife and Parties
Where to drink and party in Orlando this week
Orange County takes another shot at charter amendments
Commissioner Fred Brummer’s power grab is back, only now in separate pieces
Will Florida’s impending water crisis be addressed by state Legislature?
As the 2014 session draws to a close, it looks less and less likely
Bar Exam: Barley and Vine Biergarten
Because beer plus patio equals fun
Water hogs
Top 10 commercial water users in the Orlando area
Defending your mental environment in the age of ads
Learning to view campaign ads critically rather than passively is the antidote to mass-media manipulation
Off! slogs along with their signature snarl on ‘Wasted Years’
Album review: Off!’s ‘Wasted Years’
Sonata Arctica’s latest is a rousing power metal triumph
Album review: Sonata Arctica’s ‘Pariah’s Child’
More on Florida’s refusal to expand Medicaid
Letters to the editor
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19) If you have suffered from injustice in the past, it’s an excellent time to go in quest of restitution. If you have been deprived of the beauty you need to thrive, now is the time to get filled up. Wherever your life has been out of balance, you have the power…
Bright, airy Kasa offers an ambitious sampling of small plates
Chefs Josh Lyons and Shawn Kaplan are the trendy boîte’s secret weapons
Cleveland indie rockers Cloud Nothings shoot straight sonically
Gloom never sounded so good as on ‘Here and Nowhere Else’
‘The Lunchbox’ is a touching tale of love and longing
Movie that makes Mumbai’s lunchbox-delivery system a central plot point is a cinematic meal worth savoring
Florida candidate for Attorney General says hemp is answer to state’s water problems
Tomorrow, our cover story deals with the impending water crisis facing the state of Florida – despite the fact that Florida is surrounded by water and that our state is dotted with lakes and crisscrossed by streams and rivers, we’re facing a potentially devastating water shortfall due to overuse of groundwater from the Floridan Aquifer.…
Best of Orlando new category bracket – Round Two!
Click to enlarge We made it through the first round of eliminations on reader-nominated new categories for this year’s Best of Orlando Readers Poll, and now we’re down to eight categories for you to carefully consider. Voting on this round ends 5 p.m. Friday, April 18. We figure, you know what’s best … Create your…
It’s never too early to Fringe
via International festival kicks off with preview Orlando has barely recovered from the 23rd annual Florida Film Festival, and it’s already time to dive into the other major arts festival celebrating its 23rd birthday. Yes, it’s almost Fringe time. Technically, the theatre, visual arts and food fest is still a month away, but that didn’t…
McDonald’s continues to be a black hole of insanity (not just in Florida but every state)
On this date in 1955, Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald’s hamburger franchise in Des Plaines, Ill., a bold step in what would become a global, clown-led, special sauce-laden McEmpire. To celebrate this auspicious occasion (and also to mark Tax Day), McDonald’s is offering a BOGOFAP deal with their Big Macs today; that’s buy one…
Yer a wizard, Ariel
These days, if you don’t spend your idle time wondering what would happen if two completely different fandoms crossed over to the other side, you’re the weirdo. Maybe the most obvious crossover that doesn’t involve “what if __ and __ kissed?” is, what if Disney characters went to Hogwarts? What houses would they be sorted into?…
It’s tax day. Lessen the sting with these free or cheap eats
via Last week, we told you Hard Rock Cafe Orlando would give you a free meal if you belt out a song in front of the whole restaurant. But they’re not the only ones getting in on the free Tax Day food. Here’s a rundown of some of the places offering Tax Day freebies or…
Orlando Story Club: And then everything changed!
Some people have the gift of blarney and some don’t. At this event, you have a chance to find out if you’re one of those people. The Orlando Story Club is back for it’s second installment of crowd-sourced story-goodness, with the theme “And then everything changed.” Potential Story Tellers scrawl their names onto a piece…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: bricked and mortared, taxed and spent, picked up by the BBC, bitches!
via justhappyquotes.com THE END OF THE BRICK AND MORTAR ERA HURTS MORE EVERY DAY: On his last day as a company man, Marty Singer braced himself for the final drive to the office. It was Friday morning. The clock was ticking. But he couldn’t bear to go. So he answered another phone call. He tapped…
More Orlando restaurant closings
via It’s time for another sad blog post. We’ve just been alerted that a few more locally owned restaurants have closed their doors. Ever hopeful, it’s our wish that something even more delicious will rise from the ashes of these Orlando restaurants. It is with a very sad stomach that we report that Tasty Thai served…
