Mar 3-9, 1999

Mar 3-9, 1999 / Vol. 15 / No. 9

Heroes and zeroes

It takes a geek to catch a geek, so I felt eminently qualified to comment on anything that transpired during last weekend’s MegaCon ’99 comic-book-and-science-fiction convention at Orlando Expo Centre. Some of my most vivid memories are of trips to similar events up and down the Eastern seaboard, which I learned early on are always…

Steve Schneider

Good deeds get the blame

An apartment owner’s lawsuit against the Daily Bread soup kitchen on west Central Boulevard was dismissed this week when the judge granted a motion for summary judgment. “We’re going to appeal it,” says the plaintiff, Kevin Gilliam, an accountant who has long argued that city policy unfairly impinges on his business. The suit is seen…

Ericson, Edward Jr.

Hoofinâ?? and woofinâ??

The New York Times reported in November on the recent but growing competitive sport of “musical canine freestyle” (dancing with dogs) in which costumed owners and their matching-collared pooches exhibit choreography to such tunes as “The Yellow Rose of Texas” and “Get Happy.” (Holding dogs’ paws, as in at-home dog dancing, is forbidden.) The World…

Chuck Shepherd

All work, no pay for laborers

They waited in line for hours, then they were subjected to “four parts entertainment and glitz to one part business,” as one observer puts it. It’s all par for the course for the vaunted “Disney experience.” The event was Disney’s annual shareholders’ meeting, held Tuesday, Feb. 23, at the Fifth Avenue Theater in Seattle. Disney…

Ericson, Edward Jr.

Arts advance on the agenda

The banners are up. Ditto the new street signs at most entrances into the city. There’s even the requisite Lynx bus, freshly painted with the new “Horizon 2000” banner stripped across a bright orange sunburst. After all, in image-conscious Orlando, nothing better illustrates your city government at work than a splashy promotional campaign. Last week…

Jeff Truesdell

Good deeds get the blame

An apartment owner’s lawsuit against the Daily Bread soup kitchen on west Central Boulevard was dismissed this week when the judge granted a motion for summary judgment. “We’re going to appeal it,” says the plaintiff, Kevin Gilliam, an accountant who has long argued that city policy unfairly impinges on his business. The suit is seen…

Ericson, Edward Jr.

Sweeping out The Club

The Orlando Police did not suggest that Jan Harrold, owner of The Club at Firestone, institute a “snitch rewards” program, in which patrons who provide information about drug activity on the premises are promised a cash reward. But the police condone it. “Do we think that will lead to a lot of people being turned…

Orlando Weekly Staff

TCE damages denied

“Poison pens?,” last week’s article on possible widespread dumping by Orlando Sentinel workers of the toxic chemical trichloroethylene, or TCE, reported on the lawsuit filed against the newspaper by downtown landowners alleging losses from environmental damage. Included was a reference to the landowners’ request to seek additional punitive damages above and beyond any actual damages.…

Orlando Weekly Staff

Hoofinâ?? and woofinâ??

The New York Times reported in November on the recent but growing competitive sport of “musical canine freestyle” (dancing with dogs) in which costumed owners and their matching-collared pooches exhibit choreography to such tunes as “The Yellow Rose of Texas” and “Get Happy.” (Holding dogs’ paws, as in at-home dog dancing, is forbidden.) The World…

Chuck Shepherd

Getting the dirt on hogs

Time for another “Hog Report,” and today I’m reporting on hoggishness in the hog industry itself. Corporations are moving into pork production on a huge scale, and — eieio! — what a mess they’re making. First is the environmental mess. Unlike independent family farmers, who produce only the number of hogs that are in balance…

Jim Hightower

Shared focus on womenâ??s art

The Women’s Caucus for Art has championed visual arts since the early ’70s with its annual exhibitions. But as the clock ticks toward 2000, a theme suggested itself for the current display of work by members of the Orlando chapter. The “Woman 2000” juried art show was organized with the intention of representing women as…

Matt Kelemen

Individual twang

Honky-tonk rebels looking for a new king could do worse than to crown Robbie Fulks. The Pennsylvania native and exponent of the Chicago alt-country sound has absorbed Hank Williams’ and Bob Wills’ lessons in narrative and heartache — and added his own unique quirks. Fueled by a reputation for eclectic live shows and two albums…

Randy Matin

Hardcore staying power

With more bark than brains, G.B.H. broke out of Britain in 1980 and reached the upper echelons of the post-Sex Pistols punk movement that would become known as hardcore. Now, 20 years later, the band is hitting the States in support of their last album, 1997’s “Punk Junkies,” and to stoke the fires of anticipation…

Randy Matin

Living Will

Will Eisner may never receive his just due as the man who made comic books grow up. After more than six decades of groundbreaking draftsmanship and storytelling, he’s still unlikely to ever earn the Pulitzer Prize that Art Spiegelman garnered for his Holocaust parable “Maus,” nor to win the mainstream accolades that greeted Frank Miller…

Steve Schneider

Toil and trouble

One day, the idea of television as a brain drain is going to be put out there on the garbage heap, right next to “doctors recommend smoking Chesterfields.” The fascinating things I’ve learned from TV make all those hours listening to dull civics teachers seem even more wasted now than they did then. A good…

Liz Langley

Metro fuels the city’s core

A trusty takeout joint is an integral part of any downtown neighborhood. And Metro Espresso Pasta, Pizza and Subs, tucked away on the ground floor of The Plaza apartments, fits the bill in Eola Heights. When the business switched hands last year, new owner Lisa Cibrian injected a taste of Italy into the menu, and…

Orlando Weekly Staff

Pop goes the sushi

Except for the music, we liked almost everything about Sushi House, which is so tiny it might as well be called Sushi Nook. Please, please, we silently begged through an otherwise fine dinner, make someone turn off the Japanese pop versions of Kylie Minogue and Devo tunes. But if you can stomach peppy music with…

Orlando Weekly Staff

Metro fuels the city’s core

A trusty takeout joint is an integral part of any downtown neighborhood. And Metro Espresso Pasta, Pizza and Subs, tucked away on the ground floor of The Plaza apartments fits the bill in Eola Heights. When the business switched hands last year, new owner Lisa Cibrian injected a taste of Italy into the menu, and…

Colleen Moore

Recent

See all

Gift this article