BEST OF ORLANDO® NOMINATION BALLOT IS OPEN THROUGH MAY 6!

Jun 7-13, 2000

Jun 7-13, 2000 / Vol. 16 / No. 23

Reels like the first time

When the ninth annual Florida Film Festival commenced last Friday night at Maitland’s Enzian Theater, the writing was on the wall that this year’s 10-day event would evoke strong emotions. “Pete’s Brewing Co. supports Love and Sex,” read a banner that hung in the outdoor courtyard. Passersby chuckled at the understatement: Beer “supports” love and…

Steve Schneider

Dealing with the end of the meal

Cashiers need to embrace my two-word lesson on customer service: Coins First. That simply means when returning change to a customer, first hand over the coins and then hand over the bills. Today’s computerized cash register has eliminated the need for back-counting (change returned starting with pennies, bringing it to a dollar with additional coins,…

Richard J. Grula

Onward, Christian grapplers

Sunday-school teacher Rob Vaughn unveiled his Christian Wrestling Federation in May in Mesquite, Texas, drawing about 400 fans to watch 12 grapplers engage in a sport that’s intended to resemble mainstream pro wrestling, but without the profanity and sexual content. (One bout pitted “Apocalypse” vs. “Jesus Freak.”) Other departures from the norm, the Dallas Morning…

Chuck Shepherd

Not your usual schoolboy crush

Some words evoke an automatic sense of sweetness. Words like “sugar,” “yes” and “complimentary” make one feel better for having heard them. I always thought “crush” was one of those words. So few people in this world are even palatable that having a crush on someone, thinking they’re the best thing since cake, is a…

Liz Langley

Credit check

On May 10, Vic Kruppenbacher resigned as the city of Orlando’s assistant bureau chief for recreation after an audit found he failed to report a $560 personal charge to a city-issued credit card. His supervisors had decided that no criminal charges needed to be filed; instead, they were going to send Kruppenbacher to ethics and…

Orlando Weekly Staff

Olympic runaround

A primary element of Florida’s 2012 effort to bring the Summer Olympics to Tampa and Orlando will be the Olympic stadium — the construction, location and finances of which eventually could affect the area’s reaction to the effort in general. Potential controversy centers on whether taxpayers will have to foot the bill: Hillsborough County commissioners…

Orlando Weekly Staff

A missionary for equality

A decade ago, the Southern Baptist Convention would have welcomed Rev. Mel White with open arms. He’d been around the evangelical church his whole life, first as a preacher’s kid and later as a pastor and seminary professor himself. He held a doctorate in theology, and had been honored for Christian filmmaking and book writing.…

Jeffrey C. Billman

Unemployment opportunity

For the last few months I’ve been looking for a job. It hasn’t been fun. If running for public office, which I’ve done, is one of life’s most humbling experiences, then looking for work has to be one of its most humiliating. As a losing candidate, you only get turned down on one particular day.…

Al Krulick

The short route

Cinemaphiles across the country are learning a secret that patrons of the Florida Film Festival have known all along: A movie’s merit isn’t always defined by its length. Keeping tabs on short subjects is becoming a national pastime, both for viewers in search of a quick artistic fix and studios on the lookout for promising…

Steve Schneider

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