Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

When journalists start working on their multi-media stuff, sometimes they expose the work to an adoring public before it is actually published.

Case in point - rhythmnation2004, a contributor at SkyScraper City, found this very interesting collage of the History of the Floridan building created by TBO online producer Kathy Moore.  Kathy had previously done the fancy looking Mission: Orange multimedia report earlier this year, too.

For those of you who have not kept up with it, a developer is refurbishing the old building and plans to re-open the place as a fancy hotel.

I would guess that a printed article in the newspaper about the history of the Floridan will be coming soon - perhaps this Sunday.  But for those of you who dig the history stuff (and like sneak peeks) check out the multimedia report on Kathy’s VUVOX website:  The cool collage of the history of the Floridan building.

By the way, for those of you who have video and image and want to create such a thing, VUVOX looks like a pretty cool tool.

Tampa on TV:

Warren Sapp is on Dancing With The Stars starting tonight.  So much for the former QB Killa.

Matt Lauer and the Today Show is live from UT in the morning.

In 2003, the City of Tampa along with the Mayor’s Beautification Program (MBP) and the F.E. Lykes Foundation launched a “greenprinting initiative.”  The plan was to upgrade 10 parks in 10 years.

The Seminole Heights blog first took notice of delays back in 2006.  Fast forward to 2008 - five years into the program - and we are still working on the first upgrade (along with two others).

In that article, Debra Evenson says they will finish those three parks and take on no more.  The executive director of the MBP also says “we’ve done a lot more than we expected to do.”  But we agree with the SH blog who asks if the expectation was 10 parks in 10 years, and we’re still waiting on the first, how in the world can that be “more than we expected”?

Stay tuned for when they actually finish those three parks, and tout the program as “a success.”

Introducing a new feature here at the Sticks, rankings of all the Division 1-A (or Bowl Championship Division as the NCAA now calls it) college football teams for Florida. Have a disagreement with the rankings? Throw ‘em in the comments.

1. Florida (2-0)
For three quarters Miami came close to knocking off the Gators but one quarter of work is enough to keep Percy Harvin and Company on top.

2. Miami (1-1)
The Canes are drawing rave reviews for their young defense and could be the favorites to win a weak ACC.

3. South Florida (2-0)
Not much of a difference between Bulls and Canes but I was more impressed with Miami in a loss than with USF in a narrow win.

4. Central Florida (1-1)
For all the trash talk coming from Bulls QB Matt Groethe the game was much closer than the Bulls could have been comfortable with. Credit the Golden Knights for taking the Bulls to overtime.

5. Florida State (1-0)
FSU stays down here until they play, and beat, a decent team.

6. Florida Atlantic (1-1)
After an ugly loss against Texas the Owls bounce back with a win against UAB.

7. Florida International (0-2)
Total points scored by the Golden Panthers this season: 10. FIU has a bye next week but plays USF the week after that and will be lucky to score ten more points against the Bulls.

OK, I admit it - I don’t get out much anymore.  Three kids under seven at home will do that to a couple.  But sometimes you just need to get out of the house.

I am a long time karaoke junkie. I’ve been haunting the best (and worst) karaoke bars in the Bay Area for 12 years. When I heard about Rock Star Fridays at Stump’s Supper Club at Channelside, I just had to check it out.

102.5 The Bone has been pushing this heavily the past few weeks and had folks from the Cowhead Show on hand as well.

The cover was very reasonable, only $5.  They offered $1 Bud drafts all night, plus well prices are reasonable. If you have never been to Stump’s, it’s very nice. We sat at the bar towards the back, which has an indoor portion and an outdoor area on the water. My wife smokes, so this is where we ended up. We still had a good view of the stage and could hear everything, despite being outside.

The Jimmy James Experience, led by Tommy Tutone bass guitarist Jimmy James, is the house band for Stump’s. They’ve been there seven years now. They are an awesome band, but for karaoke night they played without their normal sax player and female lead vocalist. But the sound was really tight.

I was nervous, I had never sung before such a large crowd. There were probably 100 people on the dance area in front of the stage and the place was filled to capacity with patrons. Add to that the excitement of being on stage with a real band, and I was in need of some liquid encouragement.

The only drawback is that they do not have lyrics on a monitor like a standard karaoke show. No “bouncing ball.” So I would recommend that you pick a song you know well. I chose one of my 80′ s standards, Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me.” I did alright, I know I was a bit tipsy and flubbed a little, but the crowd did not seem to notice, they really got into it.

OK, and now for the icing on the cake. They put your video on YouTube. From the looks of it they get to it midweek, so Tuesday or Wednesday the videos from the previous Friday are posted. Just add famousleo to your subscriptions and you’ll get the new ones as they are posted.

I highly recommend Rockstar Fridays. I will definitely be back for it.

But not for the great state of Florida!

Gotta love those Tribune editorial stances.

When they complain about federal spending that is distributed across the nation, it’s pork.

When those bills bring the bacon to Florida, it’s “right.”

When that spending ends up in Tampa, it’s necessary earmarks.

Labor Day weekend is passing us by and that means the traditional end of summer has been marked. Oh, sure, we have a few more weeks until the fall equinox, but to many - summer is over.

And with the end of summer here, it’s go time in Tampa Bay sports. The Buccaneers kicks off their season this Sunday, the USF Bulls football squad has already started their 12th season of play, the Tampa Bay Lightning begins training camp in a matter of days.

Oh, yeah… That team in St. Pete? I hear the Tampa Bay Rays have a chance to continue playing games after the regular season ends September 28th.

So lets pose the question to all you Tampa Bay sports fans: Which team is going to have the best fall? The Buccaneers? The Lightning? How about the Rays? Or will it be the Bulls?

 Loading ...

Each year since 2003, the City of Tampa has chosen a photographer to chronicle the city for The Big Picture Photographer Laureate Program.

The purpose of the project was to commission an artist to photograph and respond to life in the City of Tampa. The Photographer Laureate Program is inspired by historic photographic projects including the Farm Workers Administration, the National Endowment for the Arts, and regional Photographic Archives. The program’s long-range vision is to build a public collection comprised of images that are representative of the life and times in Tampa, by regional, national and international photographers.

Over the course of the multi-year project, an artist will be commissioned to “add a volume” for one year. The volume must be built upon a theme/topic selected by the artist/photographer and approved by the committee. Over the course of time, the city hopes to accumulate and display a full and varied representation of the multiple and diverse perspectives of artists on Tampa.

The artist chosen for 2007 was Marion Belanger (www.marionbelanger.com) from Connecticut, and the Big Picture Photographer Laureate, Volume V is now finished, and Marion’s work is open to the public.

Check out Real Estate/Spaces in Transition on view at the American Institute of Architects Gallery in downtown Tampa at 200 N. Tampa Street, Suite 100.  Find it on the west side of Tampa St. just south of Jackson.

You may want to check out the online work of previous Tampa Photographer Laureates, including 2003 Photographer Laureate Beth Reynolds, 2004’s Suzanne Camp Crosby, pinhole photographer Rebecca Sexton Larson in 2005, and 2006’s Steven S. Gregory.

The 2008 photographer, Jeremy Chandler, is busy taking photos now.  Look for his exhibit in about a year.

Channelside Bay Plaza (formerly known as the “Shoppes at Channelside,” which was formerly known as “Channelside at Garrison Seaport”) is seven years old. The St. Pete Times says Channelside businesses are struggling, mainly because locals don’t frequent the place.

Nope - locals don’t go. But that is not the only thing - Channelside Bay Plaza has all sorts of problems.

First of all, Channelside businesses don’t really get along.

Remember, Hooters paid for a trolley to get downtown workers over to Channelside during weekday lunchtime. But after four years, and with trolley visitors spending money at several Channelside stores, none of the other businesses wanted to help with the cost, and so the trolley no longer runs.

Guy Revelle has an ownership stake in Stump’s, Howl at the Moon, Splitsville, and Tinatapas - four places that serve alcohol. When other drinking-only establishments attempted to open, Revelle, who never misses an opportunity to be quoted, whined about Channelside becoming a mini Ybor City.

Next on the list is Channelside’s terrible marketing. I only hear about Channelside around major events, and they seem to want to capture only downtown visitors (not locals). In fact, we don’t hear much of anything since Channelside marketing director Susan Martin over two years ago (found in a July 2006 tbt* column spelling out Channelside’s marketing problems).

But even worse than just limited advertising, are the individual businesses failure to provide any consistency. Unless there is something big going on nearby, many of the businesses don’t bother keeping their places open. Back to the Times article:

Business people walk over from their hotels only to find the complex half-closed.

“We get a lot of tourists who are in their hotels looking for something to do. They come down here during the day and say, ‘This is it?’” - Tinatapas bartender Jason Lewis

Area residents have all been there at least once. But not many are going back. Besides the fact that parking is expensive AND a pain in the ass, Channelside Bay Plaza is so visitor-oriented that it comes off as some lame-ass tourist trap:

“There’s nothing down there to draw you. It’s over-rated.” - Channel District resident Denise Becknell

“I really don’t go over there.” “It’s so young. It’s all clubs.” “I don’t think it’s high quality.” “It’s kind of cheesy.” - 36 year old Victory Lofts resdident Jill Lifsey

“It’s pretty plastic.” - Channel District dance studio owner Luisa Meshekoff

Yeah - Channelside residential buildings are full of empty space.  But if the shopping center wants to thrive, they are still going to need local support.  Tampa Bay residents need a good reason to go though the hassles of parking, and Channelside simply doesn’t offer much to fight that perception.