Back to school
One of my all-time favorite sayings states that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It’s meant as a warning, but I never took it that way. If only a little knowledge could make me dangerous, wouldn’t a lot transform me into a veritable walking time bomb of useless factoids? With that in mind, I…
Running a one-man race
Movie: Election
Fun from the crypt
Movie: The Mummy
Talking heads
Movie: Hurlyburly
Moshing memories
Movie: SLC Punk!
The culture of victimhood
Movie: The Celebration
Running a one-man race
Movie: Election
Fun from the crypt
Movie: The Mummy
Talking heads
Movie: Hurlyburly
Moshing memories
Movie: SLC Punk!
The culture of victimhood
Movie: The Celebration
Numbers may never add up
As far back as 1989 newspapers reported that some Florida school principals systematically under-reported crime on their campuses. By last year the problem had festered long enough, said House Majority Leader James King (R-Jacksonville). He assigned staff members of the House Education Committee to study the problem and write a report, so he could introduce…
Halls of injustice?
Two Howard Middle School teachers buttonhole Principal Paul Flores in the hallway outside his office. Earlier this day a pocket knife dropped out of a student’s knapsack. A teacher confiscated it. “How delightful,” the 34-year-old principal says wearily. “Is he a Boy Scout?” He’s a good kid, the teachers say. Not a Boy Scout, but…
Lean to the left! Lean to the right!
When the Florida Legislature finished its annual lawmaking blitz last Friday, no one seemed more satisfied than Gov. Jeb Bush. Buoyed by a Republican-led Senate and House, he fulfilled his promise to create a voucher program that redirects tax dollars from public to private schools, all the while preserving the honeymoon status of his first…
DeVos vows vouchers
Orlando Magic owner and Amway kingpin Richard DeVos’s son, Dick, has started a school-voucher drive in his home state of Michigan. Gov. John Engler is said to be “intrigued” ; the proposal would repeal a 1972 voucher ban and allow vouchers to be applied to “at risk” school districts. Orlando Weekly is intrigued, too, but…
Muck meeting
As federal and state officials sift through data and dead birds to determine what poisons are still left around lake Apopka, a state health official admits that information about toxic effects on people is scarce. “The problem is,” says Andy Reich of the Florida Department of Health, “most doctors don’t know what pesticide poisoning looks…
Rained-out parade
Last spring’s flap about flying rainbow flags downtown for Gay Pride Month made headlines across the country. But for those very few who organize June’s Gay Pride Parade, the momentum couldn’t be sustained; with key activists burned out, no permits requested and no fund raising afoot, the 1999 parade appears all but canceled. “The only…
Clinton flies high with hemp
Bill Clinton did not inhale. We’re clear on that, right? But, recently, he did swallow. It was on a return trip to Washington from Mexico City, where the president had traveled to proclaim that his international drug war is a tremendous success. Bill has a tough time with Mexico on this issue, PR-wise, since every…
Looking out for No. 1
After marathon sessions in March, the Alabama Senate reached agreement to permit Lt. Gov. Steve Windom to retain his traditional presiding powers. During the debates, Windom was forced to remain continually at the officer’s podium, and things got so tense on March 28 that he had to urinate into a pitcher because opponents would have…
From Russia, with tunes
During the Red Scare of the ’50s, people were afraid that communist Russia was planning a secret attack on America. Some saw an infiltration of spies in the White House. Others feared total annihilation courtesy of the atomic bomb, while cynics, stabbing a little closer to the bone, suggested that Coke was Russia’s ingenious and…
Review – Songs From My Funeral
Artist: Snakefarm
Review – Northern Exposure 3 (Expeditions)
Artist: Sasha and John Digweed
Review – Seven More Minutes
Artist: The Rentals
Review – Northern Exposure 3 (Expeditions)
Artist: Sasha and John Digweed
Review – Seven More Minutes
Artist: The Rentals
Review – Jim Hall & Pat Metheny
Artist: Jim Hall and Pat Metheny
Review – Songs From My Funeral
Artist: Snakefarm
Review – Northern Exposure 3 (Expeditions)
Artist: Sasha and John Digweed
Review – Seven More Minutes
Artist: The Rentals
Review – Jim Hall & Pat Metheny
Artist: Jim Hall and Pat Metheny
Review – Seven More Minutes
Artist: The Rentals
Review – Songs From My Funeral
Artist: Snakefarm
Review – Jim Hall & Pat Metheny
Artist: Jim Hall and Pat Metheny
Review – Northern Exposure 3 (Expeditions)
Artist: Sasha and John Digweed
Art After Dark shines on humanity
The struggle is ancient to understand the relationships between humanity and humanity, humanity and nature, and humanity and the spirit world. And it’s those dynamics that surround the just-opened “Treasures of El Dorado: Colombian Gold and Ceramics in Antiquity” exhibit at Orlando Museum of Art. In part to celebrate, in part to expand the blockbuster…
Travel checks
A decade ago the Silos came through Florida on the heels of their “Tennessee Fire” EP, released in 1987 after the New York band notched raves for their first two albums. The group, led by singers/guitarists Walter Salas-Humara and Bob Rupe, did a top-notch rendition of their rootsy indie-rock thing — once described as a…
â??N Sync: Outta time?
In the beginning, there was the Backstreet Boys. Actually, that wasn’t even nearly the beginning, but the surprise breakthrough a few years back of that toothsome fivesome from Orlando recaptured the marketable power of teen pop libido. Here were five loveable and infinitely harmonious representations of masculine youth, set to musical accompaniment and allowed to…
Look crazy and play the guitar
When Smokin’ Joe Kubek describes his guitar-playing as “Freddie King with enchiladas,” he’s speaking of a style steeped in hardcore Chicago blues, turned out on Texas swing and seasoned with the spicy Tex-Mex of his native Dallas. Ring him at home and, likely as not, the machine answers with the vintage sounds of “There’s an…
The sky’s not the limit
This may come as a shock to you, but science has learned that the universe doesn’t end at the tip of your nose like you thought it did. In fact, they’ve just discovered another solar system outside our own. How much do you want to bet that next week they’ll discover a postmodern Publix there?…
Hole lotta love for Krispy Kreme
If you see “Hot doughnuts now” in red neon at the new Krispy Kreme, in Winter Park, there’s only one thing to do: Get out of traffic and into the drive-through lane as soon as possible, because a fresh batch of doughnuts is rolling off the assembly line. It would be hard to estimate how…
Double wok
There was nothing deliberate about Viet Garden’s decision to offer a half Vietnamese, half Thai menu when it opened in 1994. It was merely a reflection of a kitchen team skilled in both cuisines. But as Thai food has taken off in popularity, Viet Garden has added even more Thai items and specials. The restaurant…
Hole lotta love for Krispy Kreme
If you see “Hot doughnuts now” in red neon at the new Krispy Kreme, in Winter Park, there’s only one thing to do: Get out of traffic and into the drive-through lane as soon as possible, because a fresh batch of doughnuts is rolling off the assembly line. It would be hard to estimate how…
