A LANDMARK ACHIEVEMENT
Longwood restaurant is “world-class”
COMEDY FILLS WAR
And Philip Seymour Hoffman steals the show
PLASTIC FANTASTIC
There are some hobbies that just invite clutter, the same way Britney Spears invites ridicule – and, in her case, unsolicited advice from every wannabe celebrity shrink in Hollywood. Think about all those scrapbookers, with their endless mountains of patterned paper, punchers and stamps. Or the ones who collect `insert object here`, with cans of…
A FEW THAT GOT AWAY
As a film buff living in Florida, I try to console myself with the mystifying fact that we’re a third-tier distribution market, which is to say that, it could be a lot worse if I lived in the heartland. But it never stops me from bemoaning the dozens upon dozens of notable films that open…
BLISTER
This is how it happens. A fat drunk man with a white beard swoops in at the end of December and takes a razor to the already thin surface of emotional stability, Alan and I tumble into a ridiculous fight, he leaves, and I’m left on the couch watching a Duran Duran DVD and dabbing…
SAVAGE LOVE
I’m 19, female, bisexual and have been with the same guy for a year and things are great. I came home for Christmas and he went to his parents’ house, and I’ll see him in a few weeks. For Christmas, my mom got me some typical “mom” gifts – socks and underwear – but the…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Do you know what an expansion joint is? No, it’s not slang for a marijuana cigarette you smoke in hopes of enlarging your worldview. Rather, it’s an architectural term referring to the flexible sections built into a bridge or brick wall. These ensure that the structure can safely adjust as its…
THIS LITTLE UNDERGROUND
My bleary New Year’s Eve stupor has completed its arc and I’m seeing as clearly as a hornet now. And just ’cos we’re peering into the promising rays of a new year, it doesn’t mean everything’s golden around here. You don’t look to this column for candy-coating and I’m not gonna start feeding it to…
HAPPYTOWN
Perhaps you think of this column as the voice of reason in the otherwise stagnant, mainstream media environment that permeates this city. Perhaps you think of this column as a snark fest that serves little purpose other than to make fun of people with good intentions. Perhaps, gasp, you don’t think of this column at…
POLICE BEAT
DEC. 13, 3:40 P.M.: Our Police Beat Hero o’ the Week is a 36-year-old ice cream truck driver who wouldn’t take any guff from a trio of handgun-bearing thugs. Our hero was selling his frozen goodies in an apartment complex in the 5450 block of Raleigh Street when he was approached by two shirtless dudes…
MAIL SACK
Poets are people, too I’d like to thank you for your article “Cheers to the arts underground” [Dec. 27]. It’s refreshing to see someone acknowledge that Orlando has a thriving arts underground scene. However, I have a tremendous bone to pick with you. According to you, those who “live on the bleeding edge of Orlando’s very…
8 ALBUMS TO WATCH IN ’08
Christina Wagner TBA (April/May) J-Ville’s no-nonsense acoustic poet (and Best of Orlando grad) confirms she is heading to the studio for her debut proper. The album will feature “a lot” of regional guest artists, which is enticing in itself. “I’m working with Sam Rivers over at Born Recording Studios [in Jacksonville] in February,” says Wagner.…
PERSONAL SHOPPERS
Music and technology are forever intertwined, from the Player Piano to the gramophone and radio, through the eight-track and Walkman to compact discs and iPods. The medium changes and the musical tides may briefly ebb, but demand for recorded music never wanes. And competition remains heated to win the dollars that come from sound delivery.…
PEOPLE WHO DIED
They changed the world a little, even if you’ve never heard of them
BEARY VERSUS DEPUTIES, AGAIN
For years, critics have assailed the Orange County Sheriff’s Office as too top-heavy. Its many managers and desk cops gobble up revenue that could be used to put deputies on the street to combat the county’s recent rise in violent crime. Sheriff Kevin Beary, in fact, has lobbied county commissioners to fund those new deputies;…
