Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

If you live in Hillsborough or Pinellas counties, NakeDan the Handyman will do odd jobs for you in and around your house wearing nothing but a tool belt. I started a project for Wifey in a similar manner, but after the third trip to Home Depot for yet another necessary shelving bracket, they called the cops.

Anyway, this morning’s Tribune has a bunch of letters to the editor chastising the newspaper (Readers Owed Apology, Article `In Poor Taste’, `Whose Idea Was That?’, Canceling Subscription, `Very Distasteful’) for last Tuesday’s front page of Baylife article about Dan’s business.

My goodness, there are a bunch of prudes. If you know of anyone upset enough to cancel their subscription, let them know that they shouldn’t get the Sarasota Herald Tribune, either. Also, they may not want to watch ABC News Channel 28, which showed video of live s-e-x.

Listen, everybody. People shun clothes. Every day. I know it’s tired, but “we are born that way.” But beyond that, sometimes nakedness is news. In fact, you live only minutes away from many very successful clothing optional resorts. NakeDan wisely issued a press release last month, and it took off from there. There was nothing lewd or crude about the article or the accompanying photos. Save your venom for things that matter. In the meantime, give Dan a call, and have him hammer something for you.

Good morning! I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. I enjoyed a great week with my family.

The 20,000th visitor to this Tampa weblog came yesterday afternoon, perhaps checking around for any leftover Easter eggs. After doing this for a little over 13 months, Sticks is averaging 1500 visitors a month, and it’s increasing all the time. It’s hard to fathom. Once again I want to thank all of you who read my thoughts here.

Previous milestones:
visitors 1999 & 2000
visitor 10,000
visitor 15,000

By the way, I know that many folks in Tampa Bay are from other places. If any of you have questions about Tampa, please don’t be afraid to ask. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll certainly enjoy learning about it.

The key to a successful ménage a trois is trust. If you can trust both your partners, a great time can be had by all. There is a down side, though. Take death, for instance. I hate when that happens.

That is posts, not dollars.

The forecast calls for light to zero blogging for the next week while I enjoy Spring Break with my family.

The Blues Image was originally a trio from Tampa. Lead guitarist Mike Pinera, and Manuel Bertematti (percussion) were both born in Tampa. Drummer Joe Lala was born in Ybor City. They created The Blues Image in 1966, and their most popular song, Ride Captain Ride reached the top ten in 1970.

Mike Pinera attended Jefferson and Tampa Catholic High Schools. Along with starting Blues Image, Pinera also played with Iron Butterfly and Alice Cooper. Pinera is currently involved in the Real Rock TV network and a founding member of the Classic Rock All-Stars band. He now lives in Los Angeles.

Joe Lala graduated from Jefferson in 1965. After Blues Image split, Lala became a session drummer, and played with the likes of Chicago, CSN&Y (and without Y), The Bee-Gees, Rod Stewart, Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr, The Eagles, Jackson Browne, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Barbara Streisand, John Couger Mellenkamp, Eric Clapton, Dr John, Herbie Hancock and on and on. Unfortunately, tendonitis set in – not good for a percussionist, and so Lala remade himself into an actor, even playing the role of fellow Ybor citizen (and Jefferson graduate) Ferdie Pacheco in a TV movie about Muhammad Ali. Lala has returned home and still lives in the Tampa Bay area.

Spring Training is upon us. To get the latest news on the hometown Tampa Bay Devil Rays, you may want to look at a few blogs I’ve found that cover the hometown team. You know blogging is popular when a half-dozen followers chronicle one of the worst teams in any sport. Please visit DRays Bay, Home-Plate, RaysTalk, Z Rays, Rocc Says, and YaGottaBelieve. Tell ‘em tommy sent you. And if you know of any others, leave the details in the comments below. The title above was directly ripped off from the Rocc.

Avi of Alternate Merge watches American Idol. Like most Tampans, he’s rooting for Jessica Sierra. Wifey loves the show, so it’s on in my house every week, and I will usually watch when it’s Jessica’s turn. She was in the bottom three this past week, so she needs your vote.

But what I am looking for is one of those t-shirts. The red t-shirt is worn by all of her friends and family. You can see plenty of examples when Fox 13’s Charley Belcher broadcasts live shots from the Press Box. Lee Elementary has a photo of someone wearing it (see the “alice” spot). Anyway, I’d like to wear one of those shirts while on stage this weekend or next, so if you know Jessica, or someone who knows Jessica, please send them this way.