Upstaging the upfronts: Lucky there’s a pantsless guy
After days of boring dispatches from the network upfronts, there’s finally news I can in some way cheer: Seth McFarlane is remaking The Flintstones! I know, it sounds bizarre. But not so much when you really think about it. The ‘Stones were actually a pretty subversive bunch in their earliest days, before Hanna-Barbera hopelessly diluted…
Copwatch’s John Kurtz emerges from exile for legal battle against OPD
Remember John Kurtz? He’s the 27 year-old activist (and real estate broker, apparently) who exhumed police watchdog group Copwatch from the grave last October under a libertarian banner. Well, here’s a story we didn’t get to: a couple of hours into the new year, Kurtz was downtown on Church Street, filming an officer making an…
Selection Reminder: Mac Miller tonight at the Beacham!
Monday, May 16 – Mac Miller, Rapsody If the career of the last preppy-styled, pro-weed, white rapper from Pennsylvania, Asher Roth, is anything to go by, then Mac Miller faces a tough time escaping the difficulties involved in promoting non-threatening, suburban-friendly rap: After creating a little interest with a DJ Drama-hosted mixtape, Roth’s “humorous” tweet…
Sunday Film News Roundup — May 15th, 2011
It’s that time of the year again. The special time of the year when we hear about all of these amazing films starring amazing actors, directed by wonderful directors the world over that we have to wait twelve to eighteen months to see. That’s right, the big news of the week was the beginning of…
Sneak Preview: Disney’s New Star Tours Begins Soft Opening
A long time ago (1987, to be precise) in a theme park far, far away (Disneyland), the Star Tours ride introduced flight simulator technology to the amusement industry, taking millions on a hyperspace journey to George Lucas’ Star Wars universe. Last year, after over two decades of operation, the popular ride was powered down at…
Will’s Pub website: You can finally call it a website!
Not that we’re one to talk – ahem – but hey, Will’s Pub finally has a real-deal website and it’s not half bad! For a couple of years now, the closest the place has come to a functioning, updated website is their MySpace page. Of course, if you went there, you were immediately bombarded with…
Student environmental group IDEAS continues to rake in national awards
The student group Intellectual Decisions on Environmental Awareness Solutions (IDEAS), which we profiled in our April 28 issue, continues to garner attention for its format-busting work at the University of Central Florida. Today Hewlett Packard and the non-profit dosomething.org announced that the University of Central Florida was one of five winners of the nationwide “Green…
Sea World and Disney and putt-putt!
Attention: Amazon.com has started taking pre-orders for the original cast recording of South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s smash musical, The Book of Mormon. It will be released June 7. Of course, the CD will include the best name-dropping of Orlando in a song since, well, ever. If actually purchasing a musical’s soundtrack…
Selection Reminder: Those Darlins tonight at Back Booth!
Friday, May 13 – Those Darlins, Hot Hands, Lagues With their dramatically retooled sound, these Tennesseans are quickly gathering a head of steam this year. And rightfully so. While their transition from rowdy country stylings to Southern punk jumps them onto the current underground train, the sharp, inspired simplicity of their pop songwriting is what…
Tonight: Dead Band Walking
So you wanna go out for Thirsty Thursday but can’t afford that Mills-Stock weekend pass until tomorrow’s payday, eh? Tonight, Stardust Video & Coffee boasts a killer line-up of slop-punk rawness guaranteed to get you all messy. The Vein Cranes headline along with local sweethearts The Boyfriends and New Orleans’ grime-slosh band Dead People. Listen to…
Al Pacino a Mobster Again? Is it too Late?
I was excited for a few seconds when I read the headline “Al Pacino Back in the Mob: Joins Cast of ‘Gotti'” at The Wrap. HBO projects Angels in America and You Don’t Know Jack aside, Pacino has had a rough time of it in the last decade, not really having a great “Pacino” role…
Gainesville’s Common Grounds closing in June
From the WTF Is Goin’ On Desk: By the end of June, longtime rock club and Gainesville scene institution Common Grounds is goin’ bye-bye. For good. Damn. The official announcement: *************** Having celebrated over 15 years in business in two locations Common Grounds will be closing our doors for good by the end of June…
Selection Reminder: Bowie tribute tonight at Will’s Pub!
Thursday, May 12 – Turn and Face the Strange: A Bowie Tribute Katie Ball, our favorite cheerleader of all things local and awesome, is apparently ready to see America. She left her gig as director of programming at Urban ReThink, sold a ton of her stuff and is finally ready to hit the road and,…
Sandwich Bar is a choice destination, any way you slice it
As diners curb spending, chefs get creative with sandwiches
Noah’s Red Hots is a Second City sausage fest
Noah’s Red Hots 7583 University Blvd.,Winter Park407-645-4687$ East Orlando’s fast-casual dining scene is growing fast, and new entry Noah’s Red Hots adds to the Chicago-style fare factor set by competitors Hot Dog Heaven and Italian Beefstro. If a quick trip to the Windy City isn’t in the agenda, get in line to file into Noah’s…
Going for broke in the open road
Hip-hop legend Pete Rock reminisces over absolutely nothing
McKay Jenkins talks about “Staying Healthy in a Toxic World”
Book advises paying more attention to the toxic chemicals pervading every inch of our lives
DVDs Nuts!
Lesser-seen OW approved titles
Council Watch
Billy Manes paying attention to local government so you don’t have to
The Girl’s Guide to Homelessness
Brianna Karp’s memoir charts a sadly unremarkable journey
This Little Underground
Bao Le-Huu takes on Company, Young Widows, My Disco, Rusko and locals Maximino, the Broken Inn and Kaleigh Baker
Live Active Cultures
Eight hours of vintage Star Wars at A Comic Shop
Culture 2 Go
Orlando’s art scene is always proving people wrong. No sooner do you think you have a handle on a given show – in this case, Snap Orlando’s slick four-day “celebration of photography,” which ended May 8 – than a hidden facet emerges to subvert your preconceptions. Snap’s “Homegrown,” for instance: The small locals-only show hanging…
Antiques Roadshow
Inside Hard Rock’s hidden closet
Savage Love
My life is not horrible
Everything Must Go
Will Ferrell’s dramatic muscle strengthens, but the film around him drags
Rotation: What local artists are listening to
This week: Hymn For Her
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19) The 16th-century English writer John Heywood was a prolific creator of epigrams. I know of at least 20 of his proverbs that are still invoked, including “Haste makes waste,” “Out of sight, out of mind,” “Look before you leap,” “Beggars shouldn’t be choosers,” “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and “Do…
Happytown
The hottest new laws in the 2011 legislative session (as a sketch!) and The Fountainhead comes to Winter Park to bust unions.
Liberal activists assess damage of legislative session at second “Awake the State” rally
Not to wallow in a post-session depression, activists hosted their second “Awake the State” rally yesterday afternoon at Senator Beth Johnson Park (right next to the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce), promising a “hot summer” for Florida legislators in the wake of a slew of controversial bills set to become law. “Good afternoon, pissed-off Floridians!”…
Winter Garden’s Garden Theatre announces micro-budget film festival.
Now here’s an interesting development: Winter Garden’s Garden Theatre, under the leadership of Enzian’s former GM Chris Blanc, has just announced their first annual “Micro-Budget Film Festival,” in which 12-20 feature-length films with a budget of $100k or less will be shown on Feb. 2-5, 2012. This is a terrific idea for many reasons, not…
Bruise Cruise announces the sequel.
In case you missed our infatuated coverage of the first Bruise Cruise, the loud, lewd and liquored-up rock ocean liner that sailed from Miami earlier this year, let’s just say it was a smash hit. Wasting no time, the organizers have announced next year’s sequel, again sailing out of Miami and headed to the Bahamas…
Solotown: Sean Moore & Alberto Hernandez
Just wanted to call your attention to the solo work of the masterminds behind Viernes, Orlando’s beloved weird-fi psychedelic craftsmen. Sean Moore & Alberto Hernandez have both been working hard on a new effort to be released on Brooklyn’s Kanine Records as well as biding their time with copious amounts of solo material. Moore, releasing…
Lazy Boyzzz Are Hard At Work
Contrary to their namesake, Lazy Boyzzz are busting their asses and sounding rad. They’ve come a long way since their first few live shows, complete with drummer Dick Jagger playing from the comfort of … you guessed it… a La-Z-Boy recliner. Their sound is classic rip-roarin’ 50’s doo-wop punk in the vein of No Bunny…
Selection Reminder: The Whigs tonight at Back Booth!
Tuesday, May 10 – The Whigs, Ponderosa Last week, we noted how disappointed we are that Cold War Kids’ stuff has become so disappointingly shallow since latching on to Kings of Leon. This week, we’re sad to say the same of the Whigs, an Athens, Ga., band that at one point in the last decade…
