Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

I’d heard rumors that a restaurant was going to occupy the abandon gas station at the corner of Platt and S Boulevard. Then, while attending a City Council hearing, I heard of a new restaurant going by the name Smoke. I thought it was very clever, the name, Smoke. The lawyer, representing the owner’s of Smoke, declared it would be a barbeque restaurant unlike anything Tampa had seen. I made a mental note and filed it away, “try Smoke.”

Running errands, I found myself at this very corner today and remembered the buzz. Suddenly, I had time for lunch.

From all corners of Platt and S. Boulevard, one can see the red circle Smoke sign hanging from a chain. It reads: Smoke Barbeque and Grill

I rolled into the gravel parking lot and saw a few men sitting outside at the patio tables. It was just quarter past 11 A.M. They were sitting at a table, lined and ready for a large party. The patio was very nice, well kept. It felt kind of sheik, but this is BBQ isn’t it?

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So the Gov’nah changed his philosophy on oil drilling off the coast of Florida, and so have other already-elected officials in a huge flip-flop while gas prices are huge (with thanks to speculation in commodities trading).

So riddle us this — do you approve of oil drilling off the coast of Florida?

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Wifey’s first advice of the trip:

don’t drink a twelve pack the night plus two whiskey & diet cokes before you are flying first thing in the morning.

Oh boy!

Funny women salvage surrogate comedy

Kate Holbrook is a successful Philadelphia business executive. At age 37, she has it all — including a ticking biological clock. She’d like to have a baby (husband optional), but that doesn’t seem medically likely. Besides, she’s too busy and spoiled to go through the actual pains of pregnancy and birth.

So she finds an agency that will set her up with a surrogate. That’s the premise for “Baby Mama,” a modest comedy with two superb leads and not a whole lot else going for it.

Tina Fey, our current favorite female funny person, stars as Kate, and although Fey’s always a charmer (we loved her Weekend Updates on “Saturday Night Live”), she’s only half the reason to see the movie. The other half would be Amy Poehler (the current SNL Update anchor), who plays Angie Ostrowiski, a South Philly lowlife with neither scruples nor a sense of propriety. They’re an odd couple supreme, and whatever value this timid comedy offers comes through their interplay. Fortunately, there’s a lot of it.

Unfortunately, there are wasted distractions that don’t work quite as well. Sigourney Weaver, as the head of the agency that hooks them up, is a cold caricature, while Steve Martin, as a pony-tailed New Age phony, seems better suited to a skit than a full-length film.

Greg Kinnear plays a nice-guy part that offers him no challenge, and the script seems to wander off into we-ran-out-of-jokes territory before it should.

Still, Fey and Poehler are worth catching — but their goofy exchanges should work just as well on video.

PG-13; 96 minutes. C+

BobRossMovies.com

I’ve been a Sticks lurker for quite a while but just started commenting recently, and now I get to join the party. So I guess I should be polite and introduce myself.

First, I should confess that Lara Diamond’s not my real name. It’s my pen name for a novel (Man Overboard) I wrote that takes place in 1920s land boom Tampa. A few people have asked me why a pen name and why such a fake-sounding one at that. Truth is, I’d rather use my real name but my day job required me to use a pen name for this book. Since the book takes place in the 1920s and is written in the noir style popular at the time, I wanted something that was a little bit Guy Noir, a little bit Sam Spade–something that made a smoky sax solo play in your head. The main character’s last name is Heart, and Club is a crummy last name, so Diamond it was.

If you want to know more about the book, you can visit my website at www.manoverboard.us (There’s some info in there about the fabulous Burgert Brothers historical photograph collection and some other stuff about Tampa, including a couple of tours.)

I’m sarcastic and opinionated, which apparently makes me perfect for this newfangled thang called blogging. In my real life, I spent many years as a social worker and public servant before becoming a writer, editor and journalist. I adore Florida’s exuberant eccentricity and have spent more than two decades digging up odd bits of it for various projects. My fascination began in the mid-1980s, when I worked on a five-part documentary on eccentric Florida architecture. The doc won a bunch of awards including an Emmy, and I was hooked for life on the area’s peculiar charm and amazing history.

Spurlock’s search finds that people are people. Everywhere.

Remember Morgan Spurlock? He’s the plucky, plainspoken guy who earned comic-documentary cred with “Super Size Me,” in which he stuffed himself with McDonald’s junk for a whole month while his health and love life slid down the tubes.

After an unimpressive stint as a TV documentarian, Spurlock returns to big screens with “Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?” As the whimsical title suggests, it’s a tongue-in-cheek, self-indulgent quest for brotherhood and justice, based on the notion that the world isn’t safe until the famous t errorist can be located and captured.

Of course, Morgan Spurlock isn’t going to catch that guy. He doesn’t really try. But because his girlfriend is about to have their child, he announces that he’ll be leaving her in New York while he gallivants on a fact-finding fun tour of Afghanistan, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. In each land, the viewer-friendly filmmaker — neither as incisive nor insightful as his role model Michael Moore — asks local folks how they feel about the United States, the war on t errorism and, of course, the notorious Bin Laden.

At first, we were appalled by the silliness of it all. We wondered why his lady didn’t punch him out for abandoning her during her third trimester. And Spurlock’s foreign-policy expertise is so lowbrow that we wondered what he really hoped to discover.

But the film sneaks up on you. The movie’s title only hints at his agenda, which is to remind us that there are good folks and hopeless jerks everywhere you go. And because Spurlock is such a rank amateur at interviewing and analyzing, we can’t help but relate as he’s informed, argued with, ignored and even a ssaulted. (That last part was in Israel, where ultra-Orthodox Jews would rather beat him up than talk to him. Seems they don’t cotton to outsiders.)

Some themes come through regularly, particularly the idea that Middle Easterners don’t h ate America as much as they deplore American policies. Some interviewees are bright and thoughtful. Others are idiots, like the one who tells a Spurlock that the 9/11 attack was merely a cinematic effect, like Babe the talking pig. You’d laugh if it weren’t so disturbing.

And just when you think Spurlock’s world tour is a repetitive waste of effort, a cumulative effect kicks in. By the time the end credits roll — to the tune of Elvis Costello singing “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding” — we appreciate what the man is getting at. His baby isn’t being born into a perfect world, and it will take more than catching one t errorist to make it right.

The 93-minute film is rated PG. We give it a B-.

More Movie Madness at BobRossMovies.com

Pacino thriller is bloody nonsense

If someone tells you he intends to kill you in exactly 88 minutes, what would you do?

Personally, I’d dash to the nearest police station and hang around for an hour and a half or so.

But not Dr. Jack Gramm. This professor is a forensic psychologist with a lucrative, admirable sideline: He testifies against murderers so they are put away for good. In “88 Minutes,” one such criminal is about to be executed when a fresh victim turns up — trussed and bled the same way the convicted one killed his prey. Did Dr. Jack mess up? Or is there a copycat on the loose? And what’s with the threatening phone caller who promises to end Gramm’s life in, as we said, 88 minutes?

Red herrings and dopey twists fill this homicidal thriller, which apparently sat on a shelf for a while before being released in the U.S.

Al Pacino fans won’t care. In a rare excursion into genre flicks, the master thespian turns Gramm into an unflappable investigator who seems to ignore obvious threats while trusting all the wrong people.

Sloppy writing and incomprehensible exposition dull this macabre excursion. Messy murders punctuate the action, while we wonder who the real villain might be.

Suspects abound. Gramm’s gorgeous assistant (Alicia Witt) seems too good to be true, while one of his prize students (Leelee Sobieski) is too devoted for words. Could it be his secretary (Amy Brenneman), his university colleague (Debra Kara Unger) or maybe his pal on the police force (William Forsythe)?

And there’s the leering but possibly innocent man on death row (Neal McDonough), who never misses a chance to embarrass the man who helped put him away. How does he do it?

It’s fun to wonder, but the solution is such a letdown that you might be disappointed or even angered.

The film is rated R and runs a long 105 minutes.
We grade it a C.
Find more film fun at BobRossMovies.com

Hi - My middle name may as well be “addicted to writing”. But I was a late bloomer. It all started with an editorial submission to the St. Pete Times in 1997 that ended up winning a national writing award! With several more SPT editorials after that, I thank the editors for their encouragement to pursue writing as more than a hobby!

So this is my 11th year of freelance writing. I also enjoy ghostwriting (sorry- no school papers!). If you’re in a pinch for a writer, see my freelance website at http://www.writefromtheheart.net/.

I’ve lived in Tampa for over 20 years, but was born and raised in Chicago. Couldn’t stand the winters anymore, so I escaped! But still have family there and go back often when it’s warm. I miss the pizza.

I’m grateful and honored to join Sticks of Fire! Thanks for a great website, Tommy! Here, I will probably be writing mostly about things to do, eat and see in Tampa and area; you’d be surprised how many things us “locals” miss that tourists see! Maybe I’ll do some local politics and events, and will spotlight interesting people of Tampa Bay.

I was on the Tampa Tribune’s first “Board of Community Columnists”, (2005-2006), surprised to be selected as one of only 22 writers out of 800 applicants to write opinion editorials on topics of our choice as “fresh voices” for Tampa. Unlike fellow Sticks writers Bob and Judy, I never actually worked for the Tribune, but now write occasional freelance articles for them. Keep an eye out for links!

You may have previously seen my articles around town in 3 area-targeted Style Publications Magazines (Westchase, New Tampa, or North Pinellas Style) or the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Nationally, Light & Life Magazine has me doing a bi-monthly interview column. That’s fun - I interview “everyday” people all over the country who are faith-based “movers and shakers” in their communities.

My other writing interests include Politics & U.S. Government, Life & Family Issues, Jewish/Christian relations, Alternative Health vs. Traditional Medicine and more!

However, I am also a confessed addict of TV shows like “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars”, and love movies and music as well.

You can see my thoughts on many of these assorted issues at my page on AssociatedContent.com.

I have a great husband (24 years as of 2008), one fabulous stepdaughter, and a deep belief in God and Jesus with a sincere love and respect for all people.

Back in 2005, we were bitching about the price of gas reaching $3 per gallon. Fast forward, and we’re happy to find gas for under $3.50 per gallon.

It’s making a serious impact on households, and people are looking for all sorts of ways to save money in other areas, such as eating out. Lots of are people are buying hybrids. People are so freaked out, they are even starting to use HARTline’s meager offerings.

To help out our neighbors, we have gone over to GasBuddy.com to find Tampa Bay’s lowest gas prices. As of this morning, the Citgo at 6318 W Linebaugh Ave & Henderson Rd offers the cheapest gas around.

A link to Tampa Bay gas prices has been put in the “features” section of the sidebar, so you can get there in a single click! How awesome is that?