Mail Barcode in the Key of B-flat
OK, it’s time to shake the eggnog and stray tinsel out of your ears and start using that brain again – Florida Atlantic art professor Tammy Knipp’s work requires a firmly screwed-on thinking cap. She “investigates the parallels between psychophysiology and interactive three-dimensional electronic media works that provoke both virtual and real experiences.” Gulp. In…
The Falcon Bar hosts a Nicolas Cage movie marathon
The second annual celebration of the birth of Nicolas Cage is now a thing. Last year’s Cagemas was such an undeniable hit for local watering hole/creative hub the Falcon Bar that they have now embraced the glory that is Cage and brought it back for Round Two. Tonight features screenings of our favorite Cage movies,…
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl rings in the New Year
The annual college football game is back, which means it’s already been a whole year since we wrote about it. Now one of the premier bowls of the season, the event has been through a number of name changes – Tangerine Bowl, Florida Citrus Bowl, Capital One Bowl – but has always managed to grow…
Propagandhi and War on Women deliver righteous punk at the Social
If you’ve had enough of meaningless pop-punk psychobabble manufactured by Warped Tour-streamlined hype machines, this is the show for you. In addition to punk messiahs Propagandhi, whose legacy in political punk dates back to the early ’90s, hardcore feminist punks War on Women join up, pairing with Propagandhi this year to tour in a massive,…
Aahz Decade II comes to the Beacham
On many an occasion, when this particular writer was in his mid-to-late 20s (memories fade), there were blipping and bleeping moments of reckless narcotic abandon at certain nightclubs in Orlando, some of them involving buckets of blue liquor and a lot of ridiculously flared jeans. Sit right down on the stoop and I’ll tell you…
Backbooth embraces the trash this New Year’s Eve
Why go to yet another NYE party where you have to show up with a stuffy collar and tie or fancy dress only to wind up with said tie around your head and said dress hiked up over your knees – for dancing? Ditch the pomp and embrace the circumstance with Norsekorea’s White Trash New…
“The Book of Mormon” says “Hello again!” to Orlando
If you often – or ever? – feel the desire to dance down the street singing, “Orlandooooo, I love yoooouuu!” then this is obviously your favorite Broadway show (but please don’t sing along in your seat). The Latter Day-tastic musical by the creators of South Park was oh-so-timely when it opened, what with ol’ Mittens…
Billy Joel wants to tell you about it
If you’ve got an Uptown Girl who loves the BJ then you better Tell Her About It, because he’s playing the Amway tonight. In a complete flip from some of the other New Year’s events happening just up the street (see: White Trash Bash) there will be a little less binge and a lot more…
Enzian says it’s willing to screen The Interview … if Sony will let it
Today, the Enzian joined a petition created by independent movie theaters around the country, indicating that they’d be willing to take the risk of screening Seth Rogen’s The Interview, if Sony will let them. The petition, which the Enzian share in its Facebook page, reads: We, the independent art house community, specifically the theaters below, express…
SATANIC TEMPLE’S CAPITOL DISPLAY DAMAGED
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, December 23, 2014………. A woman was charged with criminal mischief Tuesday after the Satanic Temple’s holiday diorama in the Florida Capitol was damaged. Susan Hemeryck, 54, of Tallahassee, entered the Capitol at 11:23 a.m. and told an on-duty police officer that “she was sorry and had to take the Satanic display,” according…
Paranoia: Dropbox scandal forces county into invoking North Korean fears that don’t make much sense
If you are a regular viewer of the local evening news on major network affiliates, you might want to brace yourself for what appears to be the grandest overstatement via press conference we’ve witnessed in awhile as all the crashes and burglaries clear out of the transom tonight. We’ve just returned from the Orange County…
Letters to a Satanist: Do you have a statement about the destruction of your holiday display at the Florida Capitol?
Do you have a statement regarding the intentional destruction of your holiday display at the Florida Capitol Rotunda? Earlier today, I received a phone call from a friend and member of The Satanic Temple in Tallahassee who informed me that he had only just been informed that our holiday display in the Florida Capitol Rotunda…
Space Florida to upgrade launch pads at Cape Canaveral in hope of bringing new space programs to Titusville
Space Florida is trying to land a couple of private companies, including one that could service human flights, by promising to upgrade two launch pads at Cape Canaveral. Board members of Space Florida, the state’s aerospace arm, have agreed to put up a combined $6.4 million as part of two matches with the state Department…
(UPDATE: ASHTON CAVES!) Intervention: Congressman Alan Grayson and Osceola commissioner step in on gay marriage
UPDATE: THIS AFTERNOON, STATE ATTORNEY JEFF ASHTON RELEASED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT: “State Attorney Jeffrey L. Ashton informed the Clerks of Courts in Orange and Osceola counties today that his office will not prosecute them for issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples when the ban is lifted on January 6th.” VICTORY!!!! Maybe it’s the holiday…
The story behind the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
You’ve probably heard about the Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ annual Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights display – it’s a massive display of millions of lights that flicker and dance, choreographed to music. The soundtrack includes songs from Elvis Presley, Trans Siberian Orchestra and Barbra Streisand. Check out our gallery at the link below to get…
Satanic Temple’s holiday display joins others in Capitol
The Satanic Temple, a New York-based group that doesn’t really worship the devil, put up a crudely made diorama in the entry rotunda of Florida’s Capitol on Monday. The only dispute involved a brief dustup with a state official over the exact spot on the floor to place the display. The falling-angel diorama, which a…
Ball of Confusion: Miami-Dade clerk of courts files Motion for Clarification on gay marriage in Florida
image via ABC News Following Friday’s shocking decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to deny Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s attempt to put a stay on same-sex marriage licenses being issued in Florida after Jan. 5, nobody was quite certain exactly what to think or where to go or how exactly to prepare for…
Grab your jerseys, Orlando Magic faces off with the Cleveland Cavaliers
In terms of entertaining basket- ball, this week’s face-off between the Cavs and the Magic could be one of the most sensational games hosted at Amway yet, in a season when the Magic have proven their scrappy confidence can quiet even the loudest talents in the league – at least in bursts of momentum. Of…
Twist things up on Tuesday with Afrobeat band Bengali 600
Every Tuesday, Red Lion Pub hosts live music followed by a whimsical showcase that’s like an open mic meets America’s Got Talent with juggling, fire-arts and other unexpected antics on a night they dub Twisted Tuesday. This week, Orlando Afrobeat band Bengali 600 – whose Facebook says they’ve got new material and whose recent uptick…
House Party returns at Stardust with Emoticon, Dromes and Godsnack
With its hand-me-down aesthetic and strong family-style pours, Stardust Video and Coffee is an ideal setting for a “house party,” and for years, a much- loved DJ night dubbed itself so, attracting wild crowds on a night when anything goes. Now it’s been resurrected, featuring Toronto DJ Emoticon, who used to run the party before…
SunRail’s extended night service starts today!
SunRail starts its extended nighttime service today! Tonight, the train will offer limited evening service until 11:23 p.m. For now, the night service is only a test to help the Department of Transportation decide whether there’s enough demand to expand its schedule. So ride the #nighttrain (which appears to be the hashtag the city is…
Breaking: Pam Bondi’s volley for a stay on marriage has been denied by the Supreme Court
HOORAY! Ladies and ladies and gentlemen and gentlemen, we have something of (another) Christmas miracle here. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court has denied a stay filed by Attorney General Pam Bondi when she just couldn’t get her way. You’ll likely recall that Bondi filed a motion for the stay even after the U.S. Supreme Court…
Florida state news roundup: questions about jobs, Jeb and same-sex marriage in Florida
One of Gov. Rick Scott’s first and most heavily debated promises was back in the headlines Friday, as the governor claimed he had reached his goal of creating 700,000 jobs – and critics quickly noted that the original pledge was a bit more robust than that. It was a fitting end to a week full…
Tin Roof opening its doors for New Year’s Eve
If you’re a fiend for live music, the news that Nashville’s Tin Roof was coming to International Drive likely got you more than a little jazzed, with its promise to book the best local and national acts. If you’ve been lurking their Facebook, waiting for them to announce an open date, they haven’t exactly done…
This Little Underground: The Black Keys at Amway Center
This Little Underground is Orlando Weekly’s music column providing perspective, live reviews and news on the city’s music scene. Read the latest column here. I’ve been asking how the Black Keys ever got so big ever since they began playing larger venues like House of Blues, where I last saw them back in 2010. Now…
Worldwide Day of In C: Christmas just came early for Terry Riley fans
If you needed any more proof of Orlando’s fast-growing audience for modern music, here it is: An Orlando ensemble will participate in the Worldwide Day of In C being streamed live Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014. Musicians all over the world will take turns performing the classic Terry Riley composition, and UCF professor and badass percussionist Thad Anderson…
Letters to a Satanist: Why are you placing a holiday display at the Michigan State Capitol?
Why is The Satanic Temple placing a holiday display at the Michigan State Capitol even though there will not be a Nativity scene on the Capitol grounds? The Satanic Temple’s request (to place a holiday display at the Capitol) in Michigan came in response to reports that a Nativity Scene was already scheduled for public…
End-of-the-year splurge: 5 New Year’s Eve parties at Orlando’s theme parks
Not sure what to do this New Year’s Eve? For those who don’t want to think too hard but still want 2014 to go out with a bang, take advantage of living in a tourist town. Here are five exciting excuses to check out the theme parks to start 2015 with a splurge. Pyrotechnics around…
Three places in Orlando where you can literally escape
Just in case you weren’t painfully aware, there are exactly seven days left before Christmas, a day full of gift-giving, eating, being told what a disappointment you turned out to be, trying to remember what your cousin’s wife’s name is and – happy birthday, Jesus! – hard-earned hard drinking. If that description leaves you in…
“The Millenia Takeover” protest against police brutality is tonight
Eight days ago, we witnessed an amazing sight downtown when nearly 300 people staged a die-in outside of the Amway Center. The cause, rather obviously, was the wave of police brutality cases that have inspired the hashtag “#blacklivesmatter.” Well, tonight, some of the same groups involved in that protest will be staging something similar at…
Sony Pictures Entertainment cancels theatrical release of The Interview
Allied Integrated Marketing has just announced that it’s canceling its Orlando screenings of the The Interview, the Seth Rogan directed comedy starring James Franco about two tabloid journalists who are recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (played by Randall Park). The very premise of the film infuriated internet mystery…
Guess what state puts up the most obnoxious Christmas lights
Christmastime in Florida can be, well, a little un-Christmas-y. Want to go on a sleigh ride? Fat chance. Dreaming of a white Christmas? Tough titty. But there is one holiday tradition that Floridians get to take part in, and that’s decking the halls (and eaves and garages and lawns and palm trees) with tons of…
You guys, there’s a Backstreet Boys movie coming out and we just lost our Scrunchie
(image via thecoast.ca) So, we’re not afraid to admit that “I Want It That Way” was quite the tune, or that we feel like we’re somehow woven into Backstreet Boys history (yeah, that’s right, we used to hang out with BSB and NSync in the day, because, uh, ballers in Orlando – also, not sure…
This Little Underground: Oneida’s Kid Millions brings his Man Forever drum project to Will’s Pub
This Little Underground is Orlando Weekly’s music column providing perspective, live reviews and news on the city’s music scene. Read the latest column here. Recently, the erudite Accidental Music Festival made the shift toward a concert series format à la the Civic Minded 5. The latest installment (Dec. 15, Will’s Pub) was headlined by Man…
This Little Underground: Nikki Lane and Trampled by Turtles at HOB
This Little Underground is Orlando Weekly’s music column providing perspective, live reviews and news on the city’s music scene. Read the latest column here. As you may know from our 2014 highlights, the current album by Nikki Lane, All or Nothin’ (New West Records), made my personal Top 10 for this year. After spending weeks…
CBC warns of future Floridian ‘climate refugees’ fleeing from rising sea levels
Here in Orlando, we love our Canadian snowbirds — mostly. Getting stuck behind one in traffic may cause you to tear your hair out, but they make up for it by pumping thousands of their loonies (and toonies!) into the local economy. This week, though, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation published this article, warning of potential…
Movies opening in Orlando this week
Annie Back when Jamie Foxx was cast as Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, I wrote a lengthy diatribe against folks who rail instinctively against the re-imagining of white comic-strip characters as black. That would appear to put me in the uncomfortable position of having to defend Hollywood’s latest stab at Annie, which is so…
Five controversial development proposals that raised hackles in 2014
1. Tinker Field When Orlando city officials revealed that their plans to renovate the janky old Citrus Bowl would mean curtains for Tinker Field – the historic but dilapidated baseball field where Martin Luther King Jr. made his only appearance in Orlando in 1964 – there was a small but vocal uproar. Mayor Buddy Dyer…
Savage Love
We just did a live taping of the Savage Lovecast at Seattle’s Neptune Theatre. Audience members submitted more questions – anonymously, on index cards – than we could possibly answer during the Q&A segment of the show. So I’m answering some of the questions we didn’t get to in this week’s column. Here we go: My…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19) “Too much happiness can make you unhappy,” reported journalist Marta Zaraska in the Washington Post. Citing research by psychologists, she concluded that being super-extra cheerful can make you selfish, gullible and more prone to stereotyped thinking. On the other hand, she said, maintaining merely moderate levels of happiness is pretty damn…
A look back at the best cultural experiences of 2014
Toward the end of every year, there are plenty of cultural nudges to reflect on the preceding 11 months or so. At Thanksgiving, we focus on gratitude; at New Year’s, we think about what went wrong, what went well and what we want to do better in the following 365 days. It’s no different in…
Cameron Meier’s favorite films of 2014 (so far)
As we approach the end of the year and struggle to pass early judgment on this annum’s cinematic achievements, it seems appropriate to quote the old clichés about hindsight being 20/20 and never being able to judge an event until it’s in the distant past. With that disclaimer out of the way, I’ll take an…
The year in theater and theme parks
It’s time to take a look back at 2014, with some of my most memorable moments – mostly positive – from the past year in Central Florida. Theme parks Just as in 2010, this was the year of Harry Potter, and just as Hogsmeade’s grand opening was, Diagon Alley’s debut was the highlight of my…
Patrick Cooper’s favorite films of 2014, in alphabetical order
Blue Ruin Revenge is a theme that pulses through a lot of cinema, but what if you’re not Schwarzenegger or Charles Bronson? What if you’re just a hard-luck vagrant living out of his car, seeking revenge on the cats that killed your folks? That’s the premise of Jeremy Saulnier’s stunning and expressive breakout film, Blue…
Architectural preservation in 2014 became the domain of those few locals who cared
The opening of vintage hardware store Hinge on North Orange Blossom Trail may have been a bellwether that in 2014, it became hip to be historic in Orlando. Unfortunately, Hinge’s salvation-savvy customer base is battling rampant bulldozerism. Architectural preservation is a boutique industry, with a lot of losses this year and demolition permit fees fattening…
Top tables of 2014: Our fave five restaurants that opened this year
This was the year our city’s restaurant scene really hit its stride and came into its own. It was a year when culinarians running our top restos made recessionary menus a thing of the past, while the restaurant-going public, after years of growing discontent at being merely content, demanded to be taken seriously. In 2014,…
Picks this week: Wolf-Face, XXYYXX and more
The Black Keys The Black Keys are America’s finest rock & roll band, despite what Jack White says when he’s not fellating himself. The Akron, Ohio-based duo has continued to widen the cast of their soulful blues rock during their eight-year, five-album run on hip Warner Bros. imprint Nonesuch Records, culminating with their first No.…
The Alpine opens in Ivanhoe Village, OLV is back, plus more in our weekly food roundup
The Alpine, a purveyor of fine coffee and epicurean sandwiches, has opened in Ivanhoe Village in the former Caffe Divina space. Owner Edward Varlamov promises that “world famous” macarons are in the works as well. If cake is more your thing, stop by the B350° Pastry Shop next to the Wine Barn. The bakery is…
A cocktail and a cookbook: Our favorite food and drink titles of 2014
Tasty Tomes Prune by Gabrielle Hamilton (576 pages, Random House) The notoriously prickly chef refuses to dumb it down. A spellbinding glimpse into the creation of perfection, though not so useful as a guide for home cooking. Brooks Headley’s Fancy Desserts: The Recipes of Del Posto’s James Beard Award-Winning Pastry Chef by Brooks Headley (288…
The Black Keys finally scale the mountain with ‘Turn Blue’
The Black Keys are America’s finest rock & roll band, despite what Jack White says when he’s not fellating himself. The Akron, Ohio-based duo has continued to widen the cast of their soulful blues rock during their eight-year, five-album run on hip Warner Bros. imprint Nonesuch Records, culminating with their first No. 1 album in…
Our picks for great debuts and necessary listens from 2014
AJ Davila y Terror Amor – Beibi (Burger Records) Ty Segall may dominate the garage-punk conversation, but AJ Davila is one of the game’s leading firestarters. Without all the hotshot guests on his breakout debut, the biggest revelation of the second rapid-fire album this year by the Davila 666 frontman is that he doesn’t need…
A look back on 2014 in the Orlando music scene
Orlando’s music scene got rocked this year by loss – Red Fox Lounge and the Peacock Room closed – and major change – Firestone morphed into Venue 578 and the Dr. Phillips Center finally opened. Along the way were small tremors from various venues – Will’s Pub knocked down some walls to improve stage sightlines…
This Little Underground: Eugene Snowden pours Ten Pints of Truth
Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of truth from Eugene Snowden, widely considered to be the area’s greatest soul dealer, whose wall in Orlando’s hall of fame is already guaranteed. Even amid a sprawling band like the most deluxe versions of the Legendary JC’s, the man is a blinding beacon of voice and presence.…
Latest #blacklivesmatter protest shuts down downtown
“The drunks up in Tallahassee are drinking whisky and making up laws. They don’t even seem to know that at one time whisky was illegal!” – Miguel Adams, Speak-Up-Florida: for the Movement to End the New Jim Crow co-founder While we’re not terribly fond of repeating ourselves in consecutive weeks in this winter wonderland called…
Power companies take control of Florida’s government
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1. Amendment 1 passes We may not have gotten everything we wanted out of election 2014 (seriously, you guys: Pam Bondi again? And no medical marijuana? Such a disappointment), but we did at least get this one measure passed. Amendment 1 makes sure that a portion of the tax from every real estate sale in…
Drinking, nightlife and parties
Wine Down with Bubbles and Cheese Taste a variety of affordable sparkling wines paired with the perfect cheeses. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday; East End Market, 3201 Corrine Drive; $30; 407-571-9947; eastendmkt.com 7 Stouts of Christmas Tasting Check out seven new stouts that are being tapped for one night only. 5 p.m. Thursday; Frank and Steins, 150…
