Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Wussup everybody, it’s Jenna, somewhat of a newbie blogger but trying to bring you the news about life in Tampa and particularly from on the USF campus. If you don’t know what school this refers to, maybe you should check again to see if you live in Tampa. This school has been one of the hottest stories in town, all thanks to the USF football team who is now ranked #6 in the AP poll, and 4-0 in their season record. For more info, please see another blog because I’m not much of a sports writer…

What I do like to bring is info about campus life as seen from a newcomer’s point of view. I am a 2nd year transfer student and have only lived in Tampa for about 2 months. I still have a lot to learn, but so far I know to never take a free stress test in Ybor, I know that there is a song about the Andros Dining Hall that can be found on Youtube, and I know that if you want to go to the next USF football game, you better get your ticket early! Last game sold out to capacity and I’ve heard friends say that they were waiting in line for their student ticket approximately 2 hrs.

I like sports of all types (thanks to my brother who is a very athletic, SI-subscribing dude) and I have played tennis myself for about 5 years. I also like to shoot pool and play videogames but can’t do either because lately I’ve had to study a lot for school. Yes, I’m all about school and I realize that it comes first before the aforementioned stuff. Anyone else who’s a Biomedical Major, send me a shout; anyone who’s a Pre-Med major, please stop and chat because we’d probably have the most to talk about. Any paramedics out there? I’d love to pick your brain and hopefully get certified myself one of these days.

Anything else that I’ve left out??…oh yea, Go Bulls.

Film Fan Lisa has been out of action since going in for surgery. She’s doing fine, and updating all of her friends, family, and fans at her Caringbridge blogsite.

Oh, and it comes complete with surgery photos…

You’ve been warned.

Welcome to all of you who found Sticks of Fire from the mention in Steve Otto’s column this morning.

You can find Jadell Kerr’s complete unedited comments on a post about the county commission selling out our wetlands. There is also news of Jadell’s suspension because of those comments.

This website, “Sticks of Fire” hopes to include everything there is to know about Tampa, and all that is happening in and around the Tampa Bay area. Tampa’s best website highlights current news, local events, restaurant and bar reviews, and a variety of additional features. We include historical tidbits, gossip, and interviews of local residents from all walks of Tampa life.

We have recently added former Tribune columnist Judy Hill to our lineup here, as well as some movie reviews by Bob Ross.

I am the editor of Sticks of Fire. If you don’t like something, or want to suggest any improvements, it’s easy to contact us. All of our contributors are great people who live in the Tampa Bay area. They are curious folks who want to find out what makes this place tick.

If you love this part of Florida, and want to share your love with other interested people, let us know. We are always looking for more writers to add their thoughts to this mosaic. Maybe you have a story idea or just a question about the great city of Tampa. Whatever your reason, please feel free to let us know.

If you are a local business owner, feel free to leave a comment on any of our items, linking back to your webpage. Perhaps you would be interested in advertising on Sticks of Fire. Maybe you want to co-sponsor an event with us or promote your own.

I truly believe that we all love this part of the earth because all of you help to make Tampa Bay great.

Greetings sticks of fire readers. My name is Jerry Nixon and I am a malcontent.

I was raised in Connecticut and spent a great many of my formative years touring Mark Twain’s house and I must say I am equally disgusted with the things going on in the political and social realm of my time as he was in his.

I plan on writing about local and national politics and anything else that I find absurd - with an odd Jerry Nixon twist. Hopefully you will enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing.

sarahintampa knows her technology. Sarah has been blogging about technostuff for a while now, and she is considered the local queen of all that is good with the web.  I’ve asked her to share some of her vast knowledge here with all of us in the sticks, and she has agreed to keep us apprised of the latest goings-on around the internet.

I’m sure most of you are familiar with Sarah, but just in case, here’s a bit more about her:

Sarah Perez, a New Tampa resident, is a technology enthusiast who has been an active blogger since 2004. Her blog, sarahintampa.com, features the latest technology news without all the jargon.

After getting a B.A. in Geography (what??), Sarah moved to Florida in 1997 and spent three aimless but fabulous years in Key West before moving to the “real world” of Tampa Bay. Once reintegrated into society, she returned to school to get a degree in something she would actually use: an Associates in computer networking. Now an I.T. professional by day, Sarah channels her passion for technology into her blog.

Just a bit of that passion will now be channeled here on Sticks of Fire. Please join me in welcoming Sarah to Team Sticks!

My name is Judy Hill. Like film critic par excellence Bob Ross, I am a refugee from The Tampa Tribune. Bob and I sat next to each other. I was the BayLife columnist. We shared one of those ubiquitous Dilbert-esque “work stations” designed to squash creativity and turn brains to mush.

The separation from the Tribune came mid-April when our jobs were eliminated. After being marched down to Human Resources and given the bad news, we were allowed a couple of weeks at home, I guess so we could calm down and cool off.

Then we were called to the mountain to sign the “I won’t sue you” agreement and were then dispatched on the road to joblessness with many kind words.

The divorce was final Mother’s Day Sunday, our last official day on the Tribune payroll. The last “support” check showed up Friday. The lump-sum alimony - severance checks - are supposedly on their way.

So, we’re free. Poor, but free.

Free to do what we want, say what we want, write what we want on this wonderful medium that encourages huge numbers of people to engage each other online.

Bob is now a regular contributor to Sticks. He’s has already kicked off a website - www.bobrossmovies.com - where he’s doing what he does best: reviewing movies and writing about film.

I’m flattered that Tommy Duncan, a longtime friend, has given me the opportunity to join the Sticks family of contributors.

Among other things, I’m going to try to keep you up to date on what’s going on in the nonprofit arena - particularly small nonprofits without public relations machines. So if you are a volunteer or a staffer of such a group, send your press releases to judyhill@judyhillonline.com. They may not all get in, but many will.

This interest in people who reach out and help is a hangover from 30 years as a journalist. I’m in awe of folks who take action simply because a need is there. I’d like to feature some of them here.

I also have some new opportunities, as well. I’m consulting with some of these small nonprofits helping them navigate the complicated, confusing, chaotic world of the traditional and new media.

I’m freelancing, too, and will begin writing for a couple of local publications in the weeks ahead. My primitive web site is up - www.judyhillonline.com - and I’m doing a blog associated with that.

So please send ideas, names, places. People and things you want to read about - or share with the community at large.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Clark Brooks is originally from Benton Harbor, Michigan but has lived in the Tampa Bay area for over 20 years now. He is a fan of the Devil Rays, Lightning and Buccaneers because he is very much a supporter of his home teams. He enjoys music, fine dining, regular dining, eh-not-so-great dining and pretty much any and all dining related activities. He also enjoys writing about himself in the third person as it makes him feel unjustifiably self-important.

Clark has been employed professionally in sports and event promotion and has recently become involved with film production (Ten at the Top in Tampa Bay) and has amazingly never been sued or even punched in the face because of his involvement with any of these activities (he was slapped once, but that was kind of out of context and there was actually sort of an implied consent thing going on).

Clark often encounters situations that amuse/amaze, confuse/confound, frustrate/irritate him and he writes about them in a Ridiculously Inconsistent Trickle of Consciousness. He is very pleased to be given the opportunity to continue to do so here at Sticks Of Fire.

If you were to throw a dart at the wall-sized map of Florida hanging in my home you’d probably hit someplace I have hiked, kayaked, camped, bicycled, or backpacked. Although I’ve traveled the world, and experienced marvelous natural wonders all over the planet, my favorite places are in Florida—especially here in the Tampa Bay area.

Besides the magical cypress swamps and pine scrubs that are home to wildlife known only in Florida, I love our charming rural communities and historic urban neighborhoods, each rich in unique character, culture and heritage.

My mother’s family tree shares Ybor City’s Latin roots. A 5th generation Tampa native, I grew up on Tampa Bay near Westshore. I now live on Tampa Bay’s South Shore, in Ruskin, at the mouth of the Little Manatee River.

Because of my deep love for the Tampa Bay area, it breaks my heart to see all that is special around my home being threatened by over-development. Many people are concerned about this, but most feel helpless to save our county from those who would ruin it. Having worked as a community advocate for years, I’ve gotten a lot of help from the activists who got involved before me. I try to pay that forward and help others to learn how they can get involved, so that together we can protect our natural resources, our communities, and our quality of life from those politicians who seem hellbent on turning this whole county into one bland blob of cookie-cutter subdivisions and strip plazas, snarled with honking traffic jams.

In 2005 Mariella Smith received the Citizen Planning Advocate Award from the Sun Coast Section of the American Planning Association for her work in several planning efforts in which diverse groups of “stakeholders” (developers and residents) came to consensus on plans that have been adopted into the Hillsborough County Comprehensive Plan. She has also earned awards for environmental activism from both the Florida Chapter and the Tampa Bay Group of the Sierra Club. She serves on various civic and environmental boards & committees, has a Master’s degree in Philosophy, and has owned and operated InSight Graphic Design since 1988.

Florida - The Fishing Capital of the World.

Yes, we sometimes brag quite a bit about our great state and the water that surrounds us. Most of the time its because half the beaches on the top ten list are on our coasts. The other half is because there is so much fishing to be had that you can’t drive down the street and not find a Snook sticker on the back of a truck window.

My name is Trevor and I run a small local fishing web site, TampaBayFish.com that was built for me and my buddies to use as a central place to find important information like weather, regulations, fishing reports and more. So far it has been mostly fun and fun to do.

So with that in mind - I am not a writer by any means but I am a fisherman and I know where the fish are most of the year and can find what they are biting on during a typical season. If your interested in fishing and where to go in the Tampa Bay area. Check back here on Thursday or Friday early and you’ll find my reports on where to put in on Saturday morning when the sun is just waking up.

“Whoever invented work never knew about fishing.”

Tight Lines and Bent Rods.