Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

If you’re a regular reader of weird news aggregator Fark.com — and you should be — you already know that the state of Florida is held in high regards at the site. Among the , , and stories one might find at Fark, stories originating in the Sunshine State have their own tag — and a majority of those wacky stories originate right here in Tampa Bay.

Fark proprietor Drew Curtis is particularly fond of the area (he has family here and visits often) and in his new book (available at a fine bookstore near you) Drew explains Florida’s the only state to have its own news category because,

For some reason Florida is messed up [...] Perhaps it’s the warm weather that makes people stupid. Perhaps it’s the Real World-like population demographic, where old people, Cuban immigrants, gobs of tourists, and rednecks all mix together in one huge melting pot of crap [...] It’s not a lifestyle choice, it’s who they are.

A quick perusal of Florida-tagged stories on Fark show plenty originating from here in Tampa, many of which slipped through our intrepid reporting here at Sticks, including:

Today’s prostitute mugshot thread brought to you by Tampa. Wouldn’t it be funny if you recognized one of… hey wait, Mom?

Tampa man, arrested for butchering alligator on his front lawn, explains to police he just wanted a new belt

Watching this video of Tampa cops and firefighters compete in a chicken-wing-eating contest will pretty much ensure that you will never eat chicken wings again

Not to be outdone by Boston’s War on LiteBrites, Tampa bomb squad declares a War on Homeless Guy Luggage

A good number of the stories come from our own Tampa Bay’s 10 (we hear web editor Theresa Moore is a big fan). While Sticks of Fire will continue to keep an eye on what’s happening around here, you might consider adding Fark to your daily reading as well.

Disclaimer: Drew Curtis has, on occasion, bought me a beer or six.