Scientists prove Big Bang theory?
No, not that terrible TV show that you all watch for some horrifying reason. No, not “God said Bang and there it was.” The actual Big Bang. The creation of life, the Universe and everything, as Douglas Adams would put it. Researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, using a telescope at the South Pole…
Protest McDonald’s Hamburglar-ing wages from employees
via In Wednesday’s edition of Happytown, you’ll be able to read all the details of the seven class-action lawsuits filed against McDonald’s in California, Michigan and New York. The lawsuits allege the company and several franchises are basically stealing their employees wages, via unpaid overtime, making employees work off the clock and removing time worked from time…
Old photos document the magical era of Sapphire Supper Club
Photo by Jim Leatherman Photo by Bill Wiatroski Typos aside, I could not love the Facebook event for Sapphire Supper Club’s 20-year reunion show coming up any more. It’s like an ongoing Tumblr of nostalgic photos from the bygone venue’s heydays, and it’s becoming this time capsule that I cannot stop lurking. There are old…
7 awesome songs we discovered at SXSW 2014
Yvette at SXSW 2014 Yvette “Pure Pleasure” It’s hard to believe that two dudes are capable of creating such a hard-hitting wall of noise and beauty. It’s also hard to believe two dudes made this music and still live normal lives. They probably don’t live normal lives. I don’t have too many cool things to…
Surprise! Orlando bars will be busy on St. Paddy’s Day!
via Just in from the obvious department, the Orlando Business Journal is reporting that local bars will be busier than normal on St. Patrick’s Day. No big surprise really, since, according to Time magazine, St. Patrick’s Day is the No. 2 drinking day of the year, right behind amateur night, er, New Year’s Eve. Despite the…
Experimental critical darling Ashley Paul performs free show at Gallery at Avalon Island
Among her biggest fans: Thurston Moore, Pitchfork, NPR’s All Songs Considered. You may not know Ashley Paul’s experimental lilt by name, but to have this talent perform a free show Friday, March 21 at Gallery at Avalon Island, you just had to know the Civic Minded 5 were at least somewhat involved, and it comes…
Will’s Pub starts serving liquor in April, plus Lil Indies becomes Daughters & Co
via Pub owner Will Walker calls it “booze,” but however you like to phrase it, one of Mills 50’s favorite venues is about to get a lot drunker starting (tentatively) on April 1 when Walker and his staff begin pouring liquor at Will’s Pub and sister bar Lil Indies. Walker attributes this move to a…
Council Watch: Liveblogging your rainy St. Patrick’s day City Council meeting
Because sometimes you just forget about dates and stuff, we somehow misjudged that there would NOT be a meeting of our favorite City Council this week, even though it’s St. Patrick’s day and raining and everyone is wet-drunk. To remedy our oversight, we’ve decided to – as we have on random occasions before – liveblog…
Orlando: Burmese python-free since 2009
Burmese python, crestfallen he is not cruising I-Drive. Are you concerned about the rise of invasive non-native animal and plant species here in Central Florida? Please allow us to refer you to EDDMapS, the database developed by the University of Georgia’s Center For Invasive Species & Ecosystem Health that will help you keep tabs on…
SXSW 2014 show reviews: More Roadkill Ghost Choir, Hundred Waters, plus predictions for Natural Child and Wet Nurse
Well, SXSW is over and your trusty correspondent is sick as a dog after exhausting all reserves of energy by enjoying more than 80 sets from 50-plus bands spread out across five days. If you’re willing to hit SXSW with everything you’ve got, the rewards are endless. Here’s what I enjoyed on Friday and Saturday:…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: enthusiasm gaps, transparency and the slow death of evil
MORE POST MORTEMS ON SINK BEING SUNK: DEMOCRATIC ENTHUSIASM DEFICIT, SAYS PLOUFFE: “A former top political adviser to President Barack Obama called the Democratic loss in Florida’s special congressional race “a screaming siren,” warning that the party needs to do more to motivate supporters in November’s nationwide elections. David Plouffe, a onetime White House senior…
Oh, the humanity! Newman death a big fat hoax
There is a rather elaborate hoax going around this morning that actor Wayne Knight, who played Newman on Seinfeld as well as Dennis “Butterfingers” Nedry in Jurassic Park, died in a collision with a tractor-trailer near the Upstate NY/Northern Pennsylvania border. It’s been on all of the big websites and image boards, and even has…
How to bake like a Wes Anderson character
It’s about time to get into that Wes Anderson mood again. Tonight is Stardust’s Wes Anderson costume party (Ashley has some suggestions if you can’t make up your mind or can’t fit into your tube sock) and the new film The Grand Budapest Hotel opens on Friday in Orlando. is now playing in select cities. The…
Proposed law could stifle local brewers
Orlando Brewing As you know if you read our Beer Issue (March 12), we’re super-excited about all of the great local beer news lately. Orange Blossom Pilsner is opening up a brewpub on Virginia Drive (Tip jar, Feb. 12). Ron Raike is making crazy good beers like a watermelon gose and the upcoming Five Points…
Police Beat: Ambitious booze burglars (and a lazy lush) strike in Orlando
via Due to some larcenous crimes in the past nine days, there’s a good chance that there are some drunk-ass burglars hanging around town. The most recent incident unfolded at Glitz Ultra Lounge on Universal Boulevard last Saturday, when operations manager Arvind Stefan Kalipersaud came in around 5 p.m. to prep for a show by reggaeton…
Can you ‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’?
Downtown Orlando was overrun (overwalked, rather) with people–men, women and children–parading through the streets with their signs held high extolling, “Real Men Walk the Walk,” to raise funds for Harbor House’s “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” campaign against sexual assault, Wednesday, March 13. Harbor House collected $20,000 this year, a significant amount more than…
Location Matters: The House From ‘My Girl’
The cinematic pride of Bartow, FL. Photo by Izzy Sanchez. Location Matters is a series that reflects upon pieces of Orlando Central Florida immortalized in popular film. Drive an hour southwest of our mighty Jamlando and you just might find yourself within the snug confines of Bartow, birthplace of footballer Marcus Floyd and Korean War…
**UPDATE** One of our own on Jeopardy tonight!
Thaddeus McCollum, copyeditor for Orlando Weekly, will be on Jeopardy tonight at 7 p.m. (EST) on Channel 9. Tune in to watch him womp the competition with his vast knowledge of all things trivial and universally important. To prepare for the veritable brain bowl of the nation, he said he spent studied every day for…
Thank You, Internet: Voluntary vomit, Obama ‘Between Two Ferns’
It’s Friday and that means you’re probably itching to get out of the office and get your St. Patrick’s Day weekend started. These links should help you slog through these last few hours: via 1. Barack Obama was on Zach Galifinakis’ Funny or Die series, Between Two Ferns, this week. A long time fan of this series, I…
SXSW 2014 show reviews: Roadkill Ghost Choir, Hundred Waters, Wet Nurse, Fucked Up and more
Thursday was a weird one at SXSW. The sun did shine chamber-of-commerce beautifully again, but the dark cloud of Wednesday night’s hit-and-run accident that killed two – a local Austin woman riding a moped with her husband and a Dutch music journalist – injured 23 and shook up the hundreds who witnessed it or were…
Vinyl garage sale returns to College Park this Saturday
If you live in College Park or drive around there on the weekends, you’ve likely noticed garage-sale signs advertising a record sale in the neighborhood. This used to happen frequently, and I have benefited a buncha times from this killer pop-up offering of quality vinyl, so much so that I signed up for the mailing…
Hey, USA Today! Get off our lawn!
via You guys, I think USA Today is stalking Orlando. Within the past week, they have put out eight, count ’em, eight different guides for people living in Orlando. Of course, the ones that interest us the most are the ’10 best foodie spots in Orlando’ , which includes local favorites Cask & Larder and Hawkers and their…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: Rick Scott is blindly rich, the rest of us are zombies
via philly.com BECAUSE HE WOULDN’T WANT IT TO APPEAR THAT THERE’S A CONFLICT OF INTEREST ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK: Over the last 15 months, Gov. Rick Scott and his wife, Ann, through various entities, made more than $17 million selling hundreds of thousands of shares of Argan Inc., a publicly-traded company whose subsidiary,…
Universal Orlando unveils new Hogwarts Express information
King’s Cross station, future home the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Express (photo by Seth Kubersky) Universal Orlando’s upcoming Diagon Alley addition to their successful Wizarding World of Harry Potter is sure to draw crowds when it opens this summer. Some of the longest lines are bound to be for the new Hogwarts…
SXSW 2014 show reviews: Florida bands You Blew It!, Against Me!, Sunbears! Plus Perfect Pussy, Coachwhips and more
Rule No. 1 of SXSW: keep your phone charged. I learned this one the hard way when my phone died just as the sun set on the second day of SXSW Music. Not only was I not able to photograph the phenomenal nighttime showcases I attended, but my wife was worried sick waiting for me…
New beer pays tribute to fallen Senator
In 2012 the lovely Miss Sara Barnes, a 26-year-old meth addict, torched the Senator – a 3,400-year-old cypress tree and a testament to life on earth. Why? Was she trying to stay warm? Nope, just bored. SO, the creative minds over at Orlando Brewing have decided to memorialize what was once the oldest cypress tree on…
Suggestions for the new Kong attraction at Universal Florida
Key moment from the original Kongfrontation! Last week Universal Studios filed an application for a demolition/”utility improvement” permit with Orlando officials, leading to speculation about what exact changes the amusement giant is planning to make. According to the folks at ThemeParkInsider.com, it can be confirmed that said permit pertains to one of two projects Universal is…
Orlando just misses the top 10 cities to save money
via According to a study conducted by GoBankingRate.com, Orlando is the No. 11 city in the U.S. for saving money. The study took into account things like the average savings account rate, annual income, unemployment rate and median home values. While Orlando’s median annual income ($47,965) falls below the nation’s median income, which, according to the…
Florida Film Festival announces 2014 lineup
Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip to Italy — the sequel to The Trip, starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon — will open the 2014 Florida Film Festival, it was announced yesterday evening by Enzian Theater, which hosts the festival. The English comedy spearheads a slate of more than 170 feature length and short films from 26 countries over the…
Shadows of the Waifs extends through March 24 at The Venue and Hammered Lamb
Following in the footsteps of their first collaboration, last June's Hammers and Lambs, artist Patrick Fatica and choreographer Blue Star have reteamed for a new multi-venue multimedia experience, Shadows of the Waifs, which has been extended through March 24. Like their last production, the evening begins with an art exhibition accompanied by live music at…
10 accurate Orlando stereotypes from Movoto (plus two from us!)
via Movoto, an Internet-based company that provides information to prospective home buyers, has come out with a list of ’10 Orlando Stereotypes That Are Completely Accurate.’ The list is actually pretty damn accurate, covering everything from Orlandoans’ love of pho (which totally doesn’t rhyme with “sho'”, btw) to our really, really crappy traffic and drivers.…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: Warren’s Buffet, gone Askew, South by South Mess
via associated press THAT THING WHERE ELIZABETH WARREN MAKES CONSERVATIVES CRAZY BY TALKING SENSE AGAIN: “Senator Elizabeth Warren laid out a new plan last week that would tax millionaires and use that money to help debt-saddled students refinance their loans. ‘Do we invest in students or millionaires?’ she asked at the Center for American Progress,…
Police Beat: Accidental shooting of 12-year-old girl adds to a dismaying trend
image via hunter-ed.com If last week’s news of a man shooting a 12-year-old girl and then himself in error feels like deja vu, that’s because it is. Four negligent discharges of firearms were reported by the Orlando Police Department since the year began, and in only one of those shootings did a bullet avoid…
Re-imagined Disney posters from the ‘Nothing’s Impossible’ exhibit at SXSW
Reimagining by: Tom Whalen (L), Classic poster (R) At SXSW this week, Oh My Disney teamed up with Austin’s Mondo Gallery for Nothing’s Impossible, a collection of Disney movie posters reimagined by artists from around the world, including Tom Whalen, Olly Moss and more. The show was highly anticipated, with people waiting in line outside the gallery 48 hours before the show…
Trying not to fail on National Plant a Flower Day
via That big mysterious national day machine has deemed today “National Plant a Flower Day.” If you’re anything like me, you need all the help you can get in the gardening department. Look, I kill plants. Plants that people say, “You absolutely cannot kill this.” Cactii, mint. I kill all of it. But, I like…
19 questions with an Orlando resident: Theresa Lemonier
Welcome to 19 Questions, a feature where we ask longtime Orlando residents 19 questions that are mostly related to living in the City Beautiful. Theresa Lemonier is another native, born and raised here in Jamlando. She’s spent 20 years working for CenturyLink and currently lives with her husband and daughter in Apopka. 1. Who’s your…
Universal Orlando Mardi Gras extends with Robin Thicke on June 7
Last month, a last-minute cancellation due to a “lost voice” scuttled the planned Orlando appearance of R&B superstar Robin Thicke, who was originally scheduled to headline the “media night” concert at Universal Orlando's Mardi Gras on February 22. (Media reports shortly after revealed that Thicke had spilt with his wife, and he was photographed with…
SXSW 2014 show reviews: Casket Girls, Speedy Ortiz, Future Islands, Iron Reagan and more
If Tuesday was the “slow” day between the end of SXSW Film and Interactive and the beginning of SXSW Music, I can’t imagine how crazy things are going to get the rest of the week. Half-mile long lines for tickets to see Kanye West and Jay-Z, corporate-sponsored perks shielded behind arcane one-in, one-out policies, cashed-out…
New beer data: Americans really, really love Blue Moon … and Pabst
This infographic tracks American beer drinking habits for the past few years, with a few surprising results. Most notable: Consumption of Coors product Blue Moon has doubled since 2008, whereas Michelob Light is suffering with 51 percent fewer fans. Craft beers are doing pretty well, with Fat Tire and Magic Hat actually making strong gains,…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: on tanning bed charms, Sinking ships and getting Brummed out
SOMEBODY LOVES BEING A POLITICIAN WHILE SAYING HE DOESN’T! ANYWAY, INTERESTING PROFILE ON OL’ TANNING MACHINE FROM THE ATLANTIC. LOVE TO LOVE IT: “It did not take Crist long to begin refashioning a political identity. Rubio and the rest of his Republican foes had long accused him of being too liberal, too friendly to the…
St. Vincent travels to more creative and abstract heights
Album review: St. Vincent’s self-titled
Pairing beer with food
Find the style of beer that will go best with your plate
‘Tim’s Vermeer’ captures an inventor’s strange artistic obsession
Movie about San Antonio inventor Tim Jenison explores inventor’s fascination with Johannes Vermeer’s technique
A brief history of beer
A timeline that illustrates our obsession with the beverage
Thomas Thorspecken finds beauty in the mundane
Urban sketcher known locally as Thor adds a book and a gallery show to his achievements
The winners of our Orlando beer survey
We asked Orlandoans to tell us what they like to drink. Find out what they had to say
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19) “There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one.” So says a character in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel The Unconsoled. At this juncture in your life story, it might be healing for you to make a similar declaration. Now is an excellent moment to say a…
ALEC resurfaces with local angle
New city and county focus by bill mill raises more questions about corporate influence in Orange County government
Sushi Lola’s struts its stuff
New expanded space gives chefs room to move
Shantell’s Cafe serves comfort food deluxe
Stylish Sanford soul-food joint will knock your socks off
A preview of four Florida craft beers we can’t wait to taste
Spoiler: Redlight Redlight is going to brew its own beer!
Shon Law explains his lifescaping philosophy; a reader responds to our story about Spencer Beckstead and Arnold Palmer Hospital
Justice for Spencer I would like to commend Orlando Weekly for having the courage to write and publish this article (“Lawsuit accuses Arnold Palmer Hospital of boy’s death,” Feb. 26). I have a feeling the Sentinel may fear losing advertising revenue for publishing a negative article about Arnold Palmer Hospital. Reading through the comments written…
Don’t hate cheap American beer – love it for what it is
Five good reasons why it’s perfectly acceptable to drink plain old yellow lager
Cheerleader’s self-titled EP is not afraid to make you swoon
Album review: Cheerleader’s self-titled
Orlando beer fests and events
A preview of what’s in store for 2014
Wild Beasts’ ‘Present Tense’ focuses synths on unfulfilled yearnings
Album review: Wild Beasts’ ‘Present Tense’
Six stages of being an Orlando music fan
See which stage you most identify with as an active member in the local music scene
C2G: Ready or not, here Fringe comes!
A wrap-up of last week’s Fab Fringe Fundraiser plus upcoming shows opening soon
Drinking, Nightlife and Parties
Where to drink and party in Orlando this week
Tip Jar: St. Paddy’s Day treats and a new local beer
Plus upcoming food, wine and beer parties
Drink around the world at Epcot
A guide to help you navigate the theme-park drinking adventure
This Little Underground: Mojave Wilde’s secret release show
Deaf 2 the Industry, Everymen, Iron Chic, Benjamin Booker
Savage Love
I have a slowly terminal disease, and don’t have more than five or six years left. I haven’t told my wife, which brings me to my problem. We had lived together for seven years when she cheated on me the first time. We worked things out, we got back together, but we continued to live…
Schoolboy Q’s major-label debut is worth its weight in gold teeth
Album review: Schoolboy Q’s ‘Oxymoron’
Where can I get craft beer in Orlando?
The better question is where can’t you get it? A listing of some of our favorite craft-beer haunts
Seven inspiring statements made at this year’s Entertainment Designers Forum
Live Active Cultures: Fifth annual Entertainment Designers Forum
Opening in Orlando: ‘Need for Speed’
Movies playing on screens in town this week
Txokos Basque Kitchen now officially open!
It’s official! As of tonight, Audubon Park’s newest and perhaps most hotly anticipated restaurant, Txokos Basque Kitchen, is open for business. James Beard Award semifinalist chef Henry Salgado describes the concept behind Txokos, his second restaurant, in this video, but basically, it’s a bit different from his very well-established New Smyrna Beach flagship, Spanish River…
Oscar Mayer Wienermobile in Orlando this week
via Hot dog! The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile will be making a few stops in Orlando this week! Apparently, the only place suitable for a Wienermobile event in Orlando is Walmart. I guess the Wienermobile’s not all natural and organic? (Or maybe Walmarts have the only parking lots big enough to hold the humongous sausage-shaped vehicle?)…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: stand your Pop-Tart ground, Rubio’s middle ground, Obamacare gaining ground
EVERYTHING YOU ALREADY KNEW ABOUT STAND YOUR GROUND BEING HORRIBLE IS TRUE. ALSO, AL SHARPTON MEDIA BLITZ!: “More than 1,000 marchers joined the Rev. Al Sharpton, the parents of Jacksonville teen Jordan Davis and Miami Gardens teen Trayvon Martin and others Monday calling for changes to Florida’s hotly contested Stand Your Ground law. Marchers who…
Where to get the most delicious Guinness in Orlando
St. Patrick’s Day is almost upon us. For those of us who eschew green beer, that means we’ll more than likely be getting our Irish drink on with some Guinness, and any true Guinness aficionado knows that the pour really does matter. The cleanliness of the lines, the proper resting of the beer and, if…
SunRail mania curdles over no weekend service
May 1 is just around the corner, which means SunRail is just around the corner. Phase 1 of the Central Florida commuter rail is set to kick off on May Day, and the service has just released their tentative schedule for trains running between DeBary and Sand Lake Road. Looks like these babies will be…
Redlight Redlight is brewing their own beer?!
via Tomorrow, our annual Beer Issue debuts, and we asked Redlight Redlight bartender Teege Braune to write a Florida craft beer preview, so we could be on the look out for the best new regional beers coming to taps near us soon. And his preview piece includes some exciting suds, for sure, but what we…
UPDATED: EVERYTHING IS DEAD FOR NOW. Greetings from today’s county meeting: Even Teresa Jacobs doesn’t support the Brummer amendment (MEMO)
OK, so we decided to skip our morning coffee – oh, shuddup, we can’t even put caffeine atop this anthill of personal anxiety – and watch the public comment portion of today’s Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting discussing the horrible, bad, no-good Fred Brummer charter amendment proposal. OMG, that was a bad idea.…
