Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Wal-Mart brings out the passion in a lot of people. Some folks degrade the conglomeration, and claim its effects on neighborhoods are devastating. Low wages and benefits, cookie-cutter store style, and an ability to kill off mom ‘n’ pop stores are points opponents try to make in deriding Wal-Mart.

Other people say that the company is just maximizing smart business concepts to offer needed goods at a very low price, which is necessary for residents who cannot afford higher-priced goods. In addition, Wal-Mart creates additional jobs, which is just fantastic for the local economy.

I certainly see both sides of this issue, and your opinion depends on what you want. Tossing aside all economic arguments, I tend to side with those that are against Wal-Mart. I love the uniqueness of cities, and Wal-Mart (and Starbucks and McDonalds and Office Depot and on and on) makes cities all look similar. Independent business is what gives any particular area its character. But I certainly cannot fault Wal-Mart for following an extremely successful business philosophy.

The real difference-maker has to be you. If you believe Wal-Mart is fine, then you must support them with your money and buy your goods there. If you are in the camp that believes Wal-Mart is destroying our way of life, you must refuse to shop there. Always. Warning: pet peeve coming. Do not tell me how Wal-Mart is killing our communities while sipping a perfectly flavored Coca-Cola in a McDonald’s cup. If you write that Barnes and Noble is killing independent bookstores you shouldn’t be posting your blog from Starbucks. It’s like complaining about the President after voting for him over and over.

But… it’s difficult. And more expensive. And you are lazy and cheap. I mean, first you gotta know what stores sell the product you are looking for. And there aren’t many mom ‘n’ pops that carry everything you need, so that means several stops. And only some of these stores are on the main road, so you probably have to drive down a side street. And they charge more than Wal-Mart, ‘cause they can’t buy in bulk. And you gotta get there before six, or they will be closed. Plus at the edge of Wal-Mart’s parking lot is Burger King, so we can grab a bite too.

It is easy to see which side is winning, and why. Which brings us to this morning’s news. Are you ready for a Wal-Mart in Ybor City? Next time you take out your wallet, you will know the answer.

According to all the news media, the streetcar had its first fatality. It would be more accurate to say that alcohol cause another fatality. Witnesses say that DJ Keefe was drunk and obnoxious while riding the streetcar on Saturday night – celebrating the Knight Parade.. At some point along the ride, the conductor took his open container of alcohol. Keefe got off the line at the next stop, and proceeded to walk along (some say on) the tracks. Another streetcar came along and hit him, throwing him 10 or 12 feet, and sending him to the hospital. He died Wednesday.

Last night, NewsChannel 8 interviewed Keefe’s mother. Understandably upset, she blamed the streetcar system and the city for not adequately protecting people during large events. When asked about the streetcar’s responsibility, County Commissioner Ronda Storms agreed that the city should “protect people from themselves” during special events (I cannot find a link).

A 28 year old man makes his own decisions. When I go out and there’s a chance of getting hammered, I’ll enlist a friend to remain sober. In addition to driving us home, the sober person can keep alcohol-fueled stupidity under some control. Not walking on or near active train tracks is a personal responsibility. There is only one person to blame for this horrible tragedy, and it is not the city, the county, the streetcar, or The Knights of Sant Yago. My thoughts go out to DJ’s family.

Wifey is a big fan of the eighties hair bands. Her favorites are Poison and Motley Crüe. As you may know, the Crue is playing at the St. Pete Times Forum tonight. Wifey bought tickets to the show, back when they went on sale, and scored row 33. Of course, that is not nearly good enough, so when the radio stations started giving away tickets along with a chance for FRONT ROW SEATS, she was breaking nails to dial the phone. Well, the radio hizzore has done it again. She won. Twice. Now she has two chances to win the FRONT ROW SEATS, and the drawing is at noon. As of this morning, all six tickets are accounted for, but if she wins those front row seats, there may be an extra pair. If you are interested, check back here after noon – you never know what you’ll find. Have fun, honey.

You want to know about big festivals and other events? They may be held at parks such as Coachman Park, Plant Park, Al Lopez Park, Curtis Hixon Park, Cotanchobee Park or a number of other public and private locations including the St. Pete Pier, the Florida State Fairgrounds (including Davis Special Events Center, Lykes Arena, Expo Hall, Equestrian pavilion and Entertainment Hall), Plant City Festival Grounds, Ybor City, Ybor Centennial Park, Safety Harbor, MacDill Air Force Base, Raymond James Stadium Parking Lot (no link), Tampa Convention Center, Centro Ybor, Vinoy Park, Zephyrhills Festival Park.

Many parties, fundraisers, and trade shows are held at A La Carte Pavilion, The Bob Martinez Sports Center (UT), and the Pinellas Expo Center. I cannot locate links to The Fort Homer Hesterly Armory or the West Tampa Convention Center.

Parades generally run through Ybor City, Downtown St. Pete, or Downtown Tampa.

Finally, theme parks and attractions sometimes have fun events too. Busch Gardens, Adventure Island, Lowry Park Zoo, The Florida Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, the Salvador Dali Museum, Fantasy of Flight, Florida International Museum, and the Tampa Museum of Art each have unique shows throughout the year.

Tampa Bay Concert Venues

There is no one place (that I could find, anyway) that has direct links to all the Tampa Bay venues for concerts, sports or other special events. So I tried to come up with a list of those that people (me mostly) may be interested in checking. If I have forgotten any, please leave a comment or send an email, and I’ll update this post.

Music venues for national acts include
The Mahaffey Theater (and St. Pete site), The Coliseum, Jannus’ Landing, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center (including Morsani Hall, Ferguson Hall, Shimberg Playhouse or Jaeb Theatre), Ruth Eckerd Hall, The Masquerade, State Theatre, Tampa Theater, USF Special Events Center, Ford Amphitheatre, The Orpheum, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa, Skipper’s Smokehouse, The Amphitheatre (Ybor), Times Bayfront Arena, and Headliners Entertainment Venue. Also check the Lakeland Civic Center.

Some concerts are big enough to go into the local sports venues, mainly the St. Pete Times Forum. For other places that have put on shows you will want to check Tropicana Field, Raymond James Stadium (Bucs site), Legends Field, Pepin-Rood Stadium, Plant City Stadium, Progress Energy Park/Al Lang Field, USF Sun Dome.

Other Tampa Bay Venues

OK… That’s all I could think of. If you know of any missing links, or venues I may have missed, let me know.

It looks like the Tampa Bay Lightning will be World Champions for two years straight. And we still haven’t raised the banner. As expected, the NHL cancelled the 2004-2005 hockey season. At this point, I don’t even care.

*r recently bragged on her old hometown of New Jersey, and requested a similar lineup for the great state of Florida. So, here ya go, sweetie:

• In Florida, you cannot be more than 75 miles from the Gulf or Atlantic waters.
• St. Augustine was founded in 1565, forty-two years before the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia and fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, making it the oldest permanent European settlement in North America.
• Greater Miami is the only metropolitan area in the United States whose borders encompass two national parks. You can hike through pristine Everglades National Park or ride on glass-bottom boats across Biscayne National Park.
• Florida is the second largest producer of oranges in the worldfollowing Brazil.
• Florida is the number one citrus producer in the states, producing 70%of the US crop.
• Florida is the number-one endive-and escarole-producing state, followed by New Jersey and California.
• Florida also produces more tomatoes, green peppers, watermelons, sweet corn, and sugar than any other state.
• Florida is the number one producer of foliage in the United States.
• Florida is the number one agriculture state in the Southeast and the eighth largest agriculture state in the United States with sales of more that $6 billion.
• Ybor City was once known as the Cigar Capital of the World with making an estimated 700 million cigars a year at the industry’s peak.
• Nearly 80 percent of the states intake of sweet Atlantic white shrimp is harvested in Amelia Island waters. Two million pounds of shrimp are delivered to Fernandina docks annually.
• Florida is the number one state in mining phosphate.
• Florida is the number one trading partner of every nation in the Western Hemisphere except for Mexico.
• Orlando, Florida, is the number one US travel destination.
• Florida is the number one destination state for overseas visitors to the United States.
• Florida is the number one dive destination in the world with ten times the number of the second highest rated diving area, Australia.
• Florida is the number one fishing destination in the United States.
  Florida is the only state to designate two fish as state symbols–the largemouth bass and the sailfish (1975).
• Islamorada is billed as the Sports fishing Capital of the World.
• Florida is the only state that has 2 rivers both with the same name. There is a Withlacoochee in north central Florida (Madison County) and a Withlacoochee in central Florida. They have nothing in common except the name.
• The Saint John’s River is one of the few rivers that flows north instead of south.
  Florida has more than 30,000 lakes including Lake Okeechobee, the fourth largest natural lake in the US.
• DeFuniak Springs is home to one of the two naturally round lakes in the world.
• Florida has over 300 springs. Near the greatest concentration of these, North Central Florida is considered the cave diving capitol of the world.
• Pelican Island was America’s first National Wildlife Refuge (Roosevelt, 1903).
• The nation’s largest estuary preserve is in Apalachicola. It spans 250,000 acres, and contains the largest diversity of reptiles and amphibians in North America.
• The most rainfall ever recorded in the US happened at Yankeetown in 1935. More than 38.5 inches fell over 24 hours.
• More hurricanes have made landfall in Florida than anywhere else in the world.
• No state has more lightning than Florida.
• Key West has the highest average temperature in the United States.
• The world’s first scheduled passenger airline flight was between Tampa and St. Petersburg. Tony Jannus was the pilot.
• The world’s first scheduled international airline flight took off from Key West for Havana, Cuba on Oct. 28, 1927.
• Gatorade was invented at the University of Florida (hence the name).
• Dr. John Gorrie of Apalachicola invented mechanical refrigeration in 1851.
• Miami Beach pharmacist Benjamin Green invented the first suntan cream in 1944.
• Neil Smith and his brother of Montverde developed the first Snapper riding lawn mower.
• Plant City, the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, once held the Guinness record for the world’s largest strawberry shortcake. The 827 square-foot, 6,000 pound cake was made on Feb. 19, 1999 in McCall Park.
• The longest cable-stayed bridge in the United States is the Dame Point Bridge in Jacksonville, Fla., which has a span of 1,300 ft.
• The largest occupied wooden structure in the world is the Belleview Biltmore Resort, built in 1897 in Clearwater.
• The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens at Delray Beach is the only museum in the United States dedicated exclusively to the living culture of Japan.
• The Florida Museum of Hispanic and Latin American Art in Coral Gables, is the first and only museum in the United States dedicated to the preservation, diffusion, and promotion of Hispanic and Latin American Art.
• The Pinellas Trail, a 47 mile hiking/biking trail connecting St. Petersburg with Central and north Pinellas County, is the longest urban linear trail in the eastern United States.
• During the 1991 Gulf War the busiest military port in the country was Jacksonville. From this location the military moved more supplies and people than any other port in the country.
• The longest river sailboat race in the world is the Annual Mug Race. The event runs 42 miles from Palatka to Jacksonville along the St. Johns River.
• Bayshore Blvd. in Tampa is home to the world’s longest sidewalk.
• Cape Canaveral is America’s launch pad for space flights.

And as a double exclamation point,

• Florida is the number one population gainer in the states. And
• Florida is the number one state where most people would love to live.

By the way, Jersey resident Thomas Edison spent his winters in Fort Myers along with his good pal, Henry Ford.

The Naimoli Institute at University of Tampa offers a Strategic Analysis Program. In a nutshell, local businesses that want an economic analysis of their company pay a small fee for UT students to prepare a comprehensive analysis. It sounds like a great program: Students get to learn with real-life examples, and businesses get a report on their company for a reduced price. And yes, it’s named after that same Naimoli who owns a piece of the baseball team and whines about raccoons. Vince funded an endowment so the program could survive and prosper.

The author of Amazon’s number one selling guitar education book lives right here in Tampa Palms. Back in 1983, Bill Edwards completely rethought the process of learning to play guitar. I have no idea how helpful the book Fretboard Logic can be, but most of the reviews on Amazon are positively gushing. Aspiring guitar players should buy it at Inkwood Books.