Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Clark Brooks is working on a documentary film that highlights ten Tampa Bay women who currently head governmental institutions in positions traditionally held by men. The women will be asked to share the paths they traveled, the risks they took, the decisions they made, and who helped them along the way as they climbed their respective ladders of success. The work hopes to serve as a mentoring tool for young girls who may not realize that they too can aspire to such echelons of public service.

Ten at the Top In Tampa Bay sounds like a winner. PLUS he has a great blog with some interesting stories in and about Tampa. Check his take on getting a haircut in a West Tampa Barbershop. Anyway, let’s meet the blogger:

Clark Brooks
Ridiculously Inconsistent Trickle of Consciousness
http://clarkjbrooks.blogspot.com/

Describe how you came to live in Tampa Bay? I’m originally from Benton Harbor, Michigan, an area of the country that has been economically depressed since the 1960’s, and emotionally depressed since at least then. My parents moved here in 1986 when my dad got transferred here. I got out of the military at the same time and given the choice of going it alone in Michigan or living under the folks’ roof here in Tampa for a while until I figured out what I wanted to do in life, I actually made a smart decision for once. Even though I’m still not sure what I want to do in life, I don’t live with mom and dad anymore but I still live here.

Why did you stay? I was the classic northern transplant snob when I first got here, convinced that the locals were stupid and that everything up north was better in every way. Once I got my head out of my rear end, I met some great people, found opportunities to develop professionally that I wouldn’t have had elsewhere and learned to love the Buccaneers, Cuban sandwiches and minor league baseball. Now that I’ve spent more of my life here than where I was born, I consider this home in all the ways that matter. Does that qualify me for retro-native status?

What’s the best & worst thing about Tampa Bay? Best: We’re still a (relatively) small town with many big city perks (ie: major league sports, entertainment, restaurants). Worst: The thin skin and hurt feelings we show sometimes when we’re criticized by the media in other cities. Hey, we have a lot of strip clubs and Tropicana Field isn’t Fenway Park. So what?

What’s the best & worst thing in your neighborhood? I think I’m actually on the dividing line itself between Carrollwood and West Tampa. Best: It’s close to everything I want to be close to. Worst: It’s close to things that other people want to be close to too, so the traffic can be a challenge.

What is your blog about? Random observations of daily life; things that happen to me or people I meet, things that amuse and/or anger me. Also, a little short fiction mixed in now and then.

Why did you start your blog? As a writing exercise, like glorified journalling.

Is it successful? I hope to entertain people. And that in turn they will love me unconditionally forever and ever and give me money, let me sleep at their homes and fix me breakfast some time.

What is the most important part of maintaining your blog? Keeping the content flowing. I try to warn people in the title of the blog that I’m not as good at that as I’d like to be. My schedule is so crazy that I just don’t get as many opportunities to sit down at my computer as I would like.

Anything else? I’m currently working with my best friends on producing a documentary film: www.tenatthetop.com

What’s the coolest thing you have ever done? I was (Devil Rays mascot) Raymond’s bodyguard for two years, got into game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals by hiding in a bathroom stall at the Forum for a few hours and once shared a limo ride through Manhattan with Lee Ann Tweeden. I’m sorry, that’s actually three unrelated cool things. I wish that was one thing.

Just before the turn of the century, I was hanging out in Ybor City all the time. The band was playing at either Castillo’s (now the BoneYard) or the old Blue Shark (now a clothing store) every weekend. Oftentimes, a bunch of swingers would come in and dance a bit. Not THOSE kind of swingers, but those that were doing the jitterbug and lindy hop over at the Sugar Palm Club (now part of HCC?) at the corner of 15th and Palm. At least one of those great dancers now has a blog, and dug up some old photos of the Sugar Palm Club.

Those photos and flyers brought back memories for me, too. So Lanie is the subject of this week’s Meet the Blogger:

NAME: Lainey
BLOG NAME: Random_Speak
URL: http://randomspeak.blogspot.com

Describe how did you come to live in Tampa Bay? My father’s family has been in St. Petersburg for several generations, and there is rampant speculation that our murky background is actually quite sordid and scandalous. However, references to Al Capone, fistfights in front of the Vinoy, and terribly wild parties in the 1920s are probably best left out of a family-oriented site. My mother barely escaped from New Jersey and also tortures herself by maintaining a local blog (http://rhodent.blogspot.com)

Why did you stay here? Well, I tried to leave, but I couldn’t get my car to start.

What’s the best & worst thing about Tampa Bay? There isn’t really one best thing about the Tampa Bay area, but some of my favorites include: drinking beer with the local Ultimate Frisbee players, making out in the Tampa Theater, admiring the enormous cheeses at Mazzaro’s Italian Market, wearing obnoxious clothing at the Dali Museum and running amok on the beaches.

The worst thing about the Tampa Bay area is the painfully slow and protracted death of the local art scene (sob). Many of us are in mourning.

In which neighborhood do you live? I currently rent in charming Old Northeast (St. Petersburg), but I plan to buy a tiny house in a crime-ridden, termite-infested, flood-prone neighborhood quite soon.

What’s the best & worst thing in your neighborhood? The best thing about my neighborhood is the fact that I can easily walk to all sorts of lovely places: I can buy exotic ales from Shep’s, browse very old books at Wilson’s, pretend to act all Euro-trashy at the Independant bar, play with kittens at the Beehives salon, and stuff myself silly at the Saturday morning St. Pete market.

The worst part about my neighborhood is either the fact that Johnny Depp doesn’t live next door or the fact that our city is still struggling with the issue of homelessness.

What is your blog about? My blog is occasionally about vintage pinups, brilliantly incisive social/political commentary and fart poetry. At times I discuss the charm of painting on black velvet, the latest scientific discoveries, very odd books and completely useless trivia. But usually it’s all about nothing.

Why did you start your blog? I wanted to torture myself.

Is it successful? Random_Speak is truly one of the great success stories of our time. As of late, however, there have been remarks that my blog does not contain enough sex and violence to retain market share among its target audience. Therefore, we are currently working on a new and exciting blogging strategy that will better align with our corporate mission statement, which is:
1. To improve customer satisfaction
2. To retain our high-value customers
3. To increase brand awareness
4. To eat, drink and be merry
5. And much, much more!
As soon as we figure out what this means, we will be sure to let you know.

What else about blogging? Caffeine is the single most important part of maintaining my blog, and I cannot live without it. To be perfectly honest, the most difficult part about maintaining my blog is the fact that sorting through all the love letters and marriage proposals is quite tiring. I’ve already sprained three fingers that way.

What’s the coolest thing you have ever done? Everything I do is amazingly cool, so I suppose I don’t understand the question.

What else? I am highly addicted to kung fu movies and must absolutely recommend Master of the Flying Guillotine, Duel to the Death, Drunken Master II, Iron Monkey and Rikie-Oh: the Story of Riki to all and sundry. Anyone who would like to trade film recommendations (of all sorts) may enquire on my blog. I am an equal opportunity offender.

So, that’s Lanie. Fart Poetry. Nice to have made your acquaintance.

Oh… a special “thank you” is owed to the initial subject of Meet the Bloggers, Robert LaFollette, who created the “Meet the Bloggers” logo/image you see above. Thanks Robert!

Meet the bloggers.

One of the first posts that Rick wrote on his Tampa I Am blog is titles “Why Tampa?”

So many ask…why Tampa, why do you stay? what is it about Tampa?

Well in short, the Water, the Weather, the Progress, the Activities, the History, the People.

He goes into further detail on all of those things. Like Rick, I think the people that live here are fantastic too. And that reminds me - Rick is one of those people, so let’s meet the blogger, ok?

I came from Long Island in 1987 to attend USF. After graduating, I got a good job here, and decided to stay. I am a work-from-home consultant for MetLife.

The best things about Tampa Bay are the Big City amenities in a small city setting. The worst thing is there is no worthwhile mass transit system. There is too much reliance on the car.

The best thing about Bayside West (South Tampa) is the Green Iguana Westshore and Westshore Pizza - the originals!

I started the blog as a journal to keep track of the things I do, and places I go here. I consider it a success, because I can look back and recommend specific places for friends and family to visit, and things to see in Tampa.

The important part of blogging is to ensure it is entertaining and timely, while maintaining the objective without straying.

Tampa I Am

Since we announced that we’re having a Tampa Bay Bloggers Meetup on Tuesday Feb 27th, I found a “Tampa/St. Pete Bloggers Meetup Group” over at Meetup.com.

They are having a get together as well, on Monday March 5th at the Panera Bread in Oldsmar (3181 Tampa Road) starting at 6:30pm. So the local blogging calendar has become quite busy… three events within six days:

• Tuesday, February 27th, 6:00pm - Blogger Meetup - Hawks Neighborhood Grill, South Tampa
• Saturday, March 3rd, 10:45am - Blog & Multimedia Seminar - Tampa Tribune Offices, Downtown Tampa
• Monday, March 5th, 6:30pm - Blogger Meetup - Panera Bread, Oldsmar

I am going to try to make all three events… Should be an interesting week.

Tampa Bay Blogger Meetup

Who: Bloggers and Podcasters, fans of them or even those who want to become one…
When: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 — 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Where: Hawks Neighborhood Grill — 3114 Bay to Bay Boulevard, South Tampa
Why: Putting names and faces to the local blogging community, to share a beverage, and say hello.

Everyone is invited to come out and participate. This is an Un-Meeting, with no agenda or specific purpose other than meeting and getting to know one-another “offline.” If you have any questions, or if you plan to attend, send me an email: jim [at] stateofsunshine [dot] com, and let me know — so we can get an estimated headcount for the restaurant.

We hope you can make it!!

This one is co-hosted by State of Sunshine, Sticks of Fire, Seminole Heights, Out in Left Field, and In Theory…

Robert La Follette is your neighbor. He recently reminded us of why you left Cleveland.

Meet the Blogger, episode one.

NAME: Robert La Follette
BLOG NAME: Robert La Follette | Photography
URL: http://blog.robertlafollette.com

The bold highlights are mine:

My wife and I moved to the Tampa Bay area in July 2005 to advance my career in Photography, and to escape the harsh winters of our hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, where I was born and raised (my wife was born in Long Beach, California, but was raised in Cleveland). We have been together for 18 years, and have a cat named Lucky Paws and a hamster named Tampa.

We took a second honeymoon to the Florida Keys in October of 2000 (our first ever trip to Florida, and my first time of ever seeing an ocean), and ever since then, we always talked about someday moving to Florida, for we were hooked. Five years later, I attended a photography workshop in Tampa, and fell in love with the area. Not soon after I returned home, my wife and I talked about moving, and three months later we sold our home and moved to the Tampa Bay area. This area, in our opinion, is one of the most beautiful areas we have ever visited, and of all the places we have visited, it felt like home. It has just about everything we could ask for, from the beaches, the ocean, large city, arts, baseball, hockey, small towns, nature, wildlife, and most importantly, a future.

We settled in Northern Pinellas County, right on the perimeter of Brooker Creek Preserve in Palm Harbor, and love it. It is such a beautiful area, and it is so awesome to walk out our door, and within five minutes be totally surrounded and immersed in nature.

The best thing about our neighborhood is the diverse and large amounts of nature that can be found. Everything from birds such as Herons, Opsrey, Ducks, Hawks, Ibis’, Turkeys, Vultures, to animals such as Alligators, Deer, Rabbits, Turtles. We also have areas that are still in pristine condition and really enjoy exploring the vast amounts of swamps and forests that we find, all right outside our front door. The worst thing about our neighborhood is the traffic, for can be a scary proposition sometimes to say the least.

The best thing about Tampa Bay without a doubt in my opinion is the nature and wildlife. There isn’t a day that goes by since we moved here that I am amazed at the vast numbers and beauty that this area has to offer, and from a photography standpoint, is a dream come true. Combine that with beautiful weather and temperatures all year your, this is a shooters paradise. The worst thing about Tampa Bay is the housing situation, which includes the much higher cost of living and insurance costs then where we came from, but honestly, the positives far outweigh the negatives 100-to-1.

I started my blog to share our experiences through my photos and stories of what we find when we moved to Florida with our friends and family back home in Cleveland, since at first, I would email everyone, but that quickly became too much of a chore. So I got the idea of starting a blog so they, and anyone else for that matter, can see what we experience on their own time and schedule.

“Is the blog a success?” That is hard to answer, for how one measures success is purely subjective. Is it the amount of traffic it gets? Is it that people email that they enjoy the photos and stories I post? I guess I consider it a success on some levels, for it has given myself an outlet of my photography that in the past would of gone unnoticed, so it has allowed me to share some of that work and stories that many would of maybe never of known. I know I have spoken to many people here in the Tampa Bay area who read my blog, and they are amazed at the amount of places we visit, but also never realized just how much beauty is around them, and because of my blog, they are sometimes discovering or re-discovering Tampa Bay.

I guess [the most important part of blogging is] presenting the information as correct as I can, especially when I post photos of birds, and I make sure I identify them correctly. It can be a real challenge to do so, and at first was extremely hard, since all of this was new to me. It has gotten easier over the months, but still is my number one priority.

The hardest part is resizing the photos, for I sometimes will add ten or more photos per entry, so that can be a chore. But when everything is done, it’s all worth it, for if just one person enjoys the photos I take, then I feel good about contributing to the community through my photography.

And my final question: What is the coolest thing you have ever done?

It’s kinda hard to say what was the coolest, for I have experienced many things in my life up to this point that has been exciting, from marrying the love of life, and all the beautiful times we have spent together over the past 18 years. But one event that we shared together that sticks out in my mind was on our vacation to the Florida Keys last July, we spent a day snorkeling in Bahia Honda State Park, we had the unique opportunity to swim in a huge bait ball just offshore of thousands of Silverside fish. It was the most heart-pounding experience we have had since moving to Florida, for during the entire time we both thought in the back of our mind was “I wonder if a Shark is just on the other side of this?!?!?”

Please visit your neighbor and enjoy his excellent photography:
Robert La Follette | Photography
http://blog.robertlafollette.com

We all know that any community is not roads, geography, and government. What makes community is the actual people in any given place. So I wanted to find a way to highlight some of the folks that make Tampa Bay so great.

I decided to start with bloggers, since they are some of the most outgoing people (and they are fairly easy to contact). But there are nearly 200 bloggers in Tampa Bay. How do I decide which one to contact? Well, my plan is to read TampaBLAB, and look for a post that (in my opinion, at least) captures the essence of Tampa Bay.

It is my hope to have a “meet the blogger” post each Sunday. I certainly won’t promise anything, though. Oh. Except for this next, first one.