Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

The word from another Tampa blogger:

There are a lot of nice people in E.B.’s World. Of course, E.B.’s World is Tampa Bay, and we all know that Tampa is full of great people:

I went to the same Starbucks twice in the same day, 13 hours apart. The second time I was given a free cup of decaf. Not because I was a repeat customer, because how would they know, but because people are good. Really it may have been laziness or just ease. But her simple action, my belief that she meant good, was enough to make me smile. It was a long day (evidenced by the stop at the ‘bucs on Dale Mabry twice) and her easy gesture was a nice one. The idea that someone else’s off handed thoughtfulness could make me so happy, is an interesting one. A science of happiness. It does not even depend on her intent or desire to do good. Like I said it was probably that they were closing and she had shut the register. But it was that it meant a lot to me. Maybe I was in need of a boost, caffeine or otherwise, but it hit the spot and made me feel good about people. In the pop study of happiness psychology, reflecting on what makes you feel good at the end of each day is considered an important innervation. Doing so is supposed to be good for you. In the end, it makes you a happier, healthier person.

I got this “ticket” while dining at Acropolis the other night. A fun-spot Greek restaurant in Ybor. Could the people of Tampa be any nicer? A warning, that was so kind and unassuming. Smacks of good people. Again, a decision on the part of the government not to ticket those visiting or those who made a “mistake”. Mine was laziness; I just didn’t feel like putting money in the meter. It was dark, I was alone and running late. I would rather pay a ticket than stand and feed money into a machine, especially in a dimly lit lot at night. Seeing that the city was willing to forgive my transgression again made me smile. Very generous and unassuming. Made me feel good about people, myself, and this time specifically the city of Tampa. You don’t get this goodness in a bigger city. And isn’t that why we live here? An affirmation of good on a number of levels; especially that I chose to live in the right place and park in the right spot. A good decision. Oh and a crazy good meal - those Greek’s know how to have a good time.

The wonderful folks that live in Tampa are all over the place. I wanna hear about your run-ins with them.

It seems that Tampa Bay’s most controversial blogger has given it up. Right Wing Howler, the conservative bastion created by Vilmar, is no more. And Vilmar himself isn’t coming back to blogging, either.
It seems that the decision was in the works for a while, but was pretty much made final for him when his account was suspended by his hosting provider. Normally, Vilmar fights tooth and nail for his speech rights, but the fight apparently isn’t in him for this.

Personally, I always wondered how someone so completely angry as Vilmar (and he was angry) could keep up that kind of vitriol day after day - whether it was intentional or not. I would have died of an aneurysm long before. But day after day, he posted his opinions. And the man always had an opinion. Some loved him, some hated him. But no matter how you feel about the guy, he was never, ever milquetoast - and how many bloggers around here can say that?

This almost turned into a Gina Vivinetto/Rhonda Storms/Tampa Barbie special, but five days is a lifetime in the BLABosphere. Since that eliminates a good third of last week’s topics…we’ll hit some diamonds in the rough this week.

• Gax celebrates a milestone.
• Wendy offers up some good rules for your household.
• Steve Spears gives up an update on the whereabouts of America’s most famous pizza delivery boy.
• Jim remembers someone special.
• Personally, I’m a bit fonder of the fish, Daryl.
• Sing along with me: A warlock he may be
  His magick inspires
  Though he looks like he ought to be
  Slashing your tires

With over 2,500 views a day, TampaBLAB gets noticed - and you can get noticed, too! Join today!

So I missed a week. So? That just means we Double Your Pleasure. Stuff you read:

• TMI, Kathy. TMI.
• Addison knows how to make new friends.
• Next time, Joel, I’ll try the t-shirt and beaten jeans route instead.
• Laura posts a riveting family conversation.
• Tim is out to replace Tommy with a remarkable likeness.

And stuff you should have read:

• Thanks Jeff. Now I feel old, too.
• John mourns the end of the Lightning season. At least somebody did.
• It’s my sworn and solemn duty to link this video to every human being on the planet. You must know - you must all know
• It’s also my duty to link to anything that invokes H.P. Lovecraft in otherwise everyday occurences. I know, I shouldn’t give away my weaknesses like this.
• Gax discusses the NFL draft in depth. Love that TALB.

Finally - the Link Of The Interval: BEHOLD! This gem from Kate. Oh, how we’ll miss you and your over-the-counter medicated ways when you go.

Gratuitous plug here: Brought to you by TampaBLAB. Join today!

It’s your weekly dose of internet-based love - only this one is free and (mostly) for the whole family! On tap:

• Tim Fasano needs an assistant.
• Bitchlab gets lots of email about conscious dating. Dating the conscious never works out for me, for some reason.
• Decker chronicles his latest poker exploits.
• Jeff gets MySpace. And Frappr. One day…
• Robin discovers the secret of a religion’s popularity.

And here’s a quick look at what topics brought readers screaming to TampaBLAB’s door in the past few weeks:

• juliet huddy
• screened sphorb (um…)
• old navy summertime girlfriend (and many variations thereof)
• my name is earl (who doesn’t love Jason Lee? Huh?)
• how to make a homemade taser out of a camera (how the hell did I miss THAT story?)
• katherine harris breasts (I swear, I did not make that up)

Until next week…same blab time, same blog channel!

I shall not give up my puns until you pry them from my cold, dead hands. Now then - links!

• Tim Fasano reminds us of a simple Florida truth.
• Ben takes us to the front lines of the next great culture war.
• Joel sees a sea change in the practices of Florida politicians.
• Big Pauly goes all Miss Manners on you whippersnappers.
• Jeff regales us with the latest fashions from the far off intrawebs.

As always, this moment of hot blog action is brought to you by TampaBLAB, home of the shameless self-promotion. (Or is this the home of shameless self-promotion? I get confused.) Join today! Have a great weekend everybody!

It’s been another week, friends! And there’s bloggy goodness for all, just have a lookie:

• David Pinero strikes monorail gold.
• Sarah lets us in on Thinkgeek’s April Fool’s Day gag.
• Vilmar had you going for a second there, didn’t he?
• Tim Fasano is leaving on a jet plane.
• Ben is apparently missing his NCAA Tournament bracket list already.

And as promised last week - the first TampaBLAB Blog of the Interval! (I say “interval” because I’ll do this whenever I damn well please.) Today’s BotI is Side Salad, a lovely little diversion from distinguished hat wearer and food magnate Jeff Houck, who clearly does not need more time to himself. Funny in ways that multiple injury vehicle accidents aren’t, he’s always worth a read. No, I did not give him run because of his recent Gator coverage, and I’m insulted that you would think such a thing of me. Insulted, I tell you.

There you have it! See you next week, same BLAB time, same BLAB website!

Oh, and sign up for TampaBLAB. Free! Fun! Join! Today!

Another week, another list of blog highlights! Let’s dive in:

• thelogan engages in a housecleaning of Lovecraftian proportions.
• Tim Fasano leaves to slave away in the Arizona desert. Yeah, slave. Whatever you say, Tim.
• Addison has MySpace issues. (He can join the club.)
• Nick Starr shows us the real Firefox.
• Joel tells us about the fallout from a trip to Venice.

Next week: More bloggy goodness, and we’ll also begin a new segement: the probably-biased Blog of the Week!

This post sponsored by TampaBLAB - Tampa’s Blog Home Page. Have a blog about Tampa Bay? Blog and live in Tampa Bay? So sign up already!