R.I.P. Defame: Orlando, we hardly knew ye …
A little while back, it was brought to our attention here at OW World Headquarters that there was a little blog called Defame: Orlando (http://defameorlando.blogspot.com/). And it was hilarious. I had the RSS feed in my reader so I wouldn’t miss a post. The author, who has chosen to remain anonymous, removed the blog, and…
WOLF IS THE NEW BLACK
Wolf Parade’s new album shoots higher, but misses the mark.
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
ARIES (March 21-April 19) We’re halfway through 2008. It’s time to take inventory of how well you’re capitalizing on this year’s unique opportunities. So let me ask you: Are you working your ass off in order to stoke the fire in your belly? In other words, are you doing everything you can think of to…
A MINGLED METROPOLIS
São Paulo will never be Rio de Janeiro. Forever ingrained in the world’s collective consciousness as an epicenter for some of the most influential music of all time, Rio gave the world samba and bossa nova, jovem guarda, the Black Rio movement and, more recently, gained notoriety abroad for its racy favela-funk scene. The marvelous…
THE FAT LADY SINGS?
Ever since the city unveiled its plans to build the Dr. P. Phillips Performing Arts Center – a triumph of acoustics, architecture and accessibility designed to secure a vision of Orlando as a “world-class city” – critics have wondered exactly how the city would pay for the $450 million structure. This is Orlando, after all;…
JUNGLE EATS
If there’s one thing downtown suits need more than a cutthroat attitude to sustain them in the dog-eat-dog world of corporate America, it’s a quick and delicious noontime meal to sustain their hungry aspirations. And a trio of urban eateries I recently visited – Cool Blue Burrito, Bento Café and O’Naturals – allow ravenous workers…
MY NIGHT IN GITMO
First thing in the morning, a man stopped at my door, leaned in, looked me square in the eye, called me “a piece of shit” and spat on my floor. I was in a prison cell and wearing a day-glo–orange inmate’s jumpsuit, sitting on a thin mat, where I had sat and slept intermittently –…
EASY DOES IT
It hit me somewhere around the fiery end of the second chapter, when I was busily twirling my lunar staff like a maniac and trying to knock Genshin on his smug, Spider-clan ass. Hey, I haven’t died yet. Not even once. Whoa. Now if this were the original Ninja Gaiden – the ball-breakingly difficult Xbox…
THE POINT OF ORDER
There’s a song on the new three-track Sugar Oaks single called “Very Sparrow.” It is, like most of the other songs by the Sugar Oaks, a combination of crystalline clarity and muted, soulful pop melancholy. Its gently delivered melodies float above spacious instrumentation. It sounds like the quirky, laid-back pop for which the group is…
HAPPYTOWN
Hey, Orlando Sentinel readers: Your new newspaper is almost here. And it looks a lot like USA Today did 20 years ago! A really wonderful blog called Tell Zell (www.tellzell.com), devoted to the big suck going on at all Tribune Co. papers courtesy of new owner/grim reaper Sam Zell, recently put up a sneak peek…
THIS LITTLE UNDERGROUND
I’m the kind of man who doesn’t blush, tweeze or drink from straws. But I may sprout boobs from the sky-high estrogen count of this week’s shows. The ladies know I love ’em, but somebody … (gulp) … help. The Beat Shoulda known it with the way the week began. On June 8, downtown was…
FIRST SHOT
When words like “legacy” start worming their way into your everyday vocabulary, it’s usually a sign you should start taking Metamucil, voting for McCain and giving every show on CBS a TiVo Season Pass. Yet we found ourselves dwelling on that other “L” word after a June 1 fire erupted at Universal Studios California, eradicating…
LIVE ACTIVE CULTURES
In last week’s column, I railed about the railroading given to Rebecca Morgan and bemoaned the loss of WMFE’s Arts Connection radio show. How now, I gnashed, will artists reach their Central Florida audiences? For balance, this week I want to share positive arts community news, courtesy of people who – I am ashamed to…
POLICE BEAT
June 7 (2008-248056) 1:45 a.m.: The week in crime got off to a typically boneheaded start. Some cops pulled over a Monte Carlo on East Pine Street early this morning, and the guy in the front passenger seat decided to open the door and run. Because, you know, the cops will never catch you on…
MAIL SACK
Biteboy Bites I always thought Lou `Pearlman` was a tool, but his scheming is out of control this time `“Lou talks!,” June 12`. Biteboy played at a local venue’s open-mic night tonight (I won’t say which), and they do indeed fucking bite. It was Rick Jr. and the blond chick playing. Holy crap. First off…
BLISTER
I don’t know whether it’s the end times or if indeed I’ve just tripped over a red sequin and fallen into The Wizard of Oz, but somebody has flipped the switch to black-and-white and knocked the entire city of Orlando – which should be used to this summer thing by now – into a frenzy…
