TampaBLAB

WW: My Favorite

Dr. Mommy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:06:59 +0000

New Iron Man 2 Movie Trailer Is Like The 1st, But With More Awesome

Rob Heath — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:02:55 +0000

Derm it! Just when I thought it was safe to take a week off to do some back end work on the site, two new awesome movie trailers come out that demand posting. One of which is the latest trailer for...

MovieCrematorium.com | Movie Trailers, First Look, News, Reviews, Forums, and Podcast.

A look at the manual bottling process is at Cigar City Brewing

MyTampaLife — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:59:00 +0000

It seems like I’m always talking up Redner’s operation over at Cigar City Brewing. Maybe I am! I’ve admired these guys from afar as they continue to experiment with new tastes, pumping out batch after batch of homegrown beer. Sometimes, it’s amazingly good. Other times, I wonder if their next invention will be tuna-casserole-lime-aid beer. It’s [...] Related posts:

Update On Stolen 29er In Tampa

SWFBUD — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:40:00 +0000

Bicycle Stories interrupts continuous Bike Summit coverage with this news from my bicycle friend Anna Vasquez, who you might recall recently talked about a bike stolen from her boyfriend, Alan.

Here's Anna's update:

RedLine Monocog SingleSpeed 29er Mountain Bike
Brown with Shimano SPD clipless pedals (29" wheels)

Spotted near Columbus and Florida Ave around 11:30 Tuesday 3.9.10

Bike may be seen in the areas of Tampa Heights, Seminole Heights and West Tampa

Bike stolen in West Tampa @ Spruce and Armenia on 2-28-10.

Police report # 10-121507

Serial # of Bike HR 0201190

Tampa schedules visit with Eagles’ safety Sean Jones

LeeCaz — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:15:53 +0000

More photos » Nick Wass - AP 4 months ago: Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis is sto...

Bryant signs with Bengals

Buc Wild — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:30:44 +0000

Bryant signs with Bengals I can't confirm this from a second source, but it appears Antonio Bryant has signed with the Bengals. Playing opposite of Ocho Cinco, this could be a tough offense to stop. Apparently the contract is worth $28MM over 4 ...

5 Ways to Handle a Disgruntled Facebook Fan.

Matthew Eaton — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:44:43 +0000

If you’ve ever worked in the restaurant, retail or consumer service industries, then you know about bitchy customers. You know, the ones that are never satisfied, no matter how much you try and work with them. Facebook can be a lot like working at one of these places. Many times you just get customers that want to complain for the hell of it and are basically “un-helpable.” If your business’s Facebook page has had this happen there are 5 ways to handle it. 1. Attempt to handle the complaint. If it is a legitimate then you should do everything you...

More Bike Summit Coverage This Afternoon

SWFBUD — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:34:00 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- I had a chat with Bill Nesper, who works on the bicycle-friendly communities program for the League of American Bicyclists.

Tampa is a city that blows off bike lanes. Had a bicyclist cited for biking in the road. Told bicyclists to not pedal in a new waterfront park.

So, how did Tampa get an "Honorable Mention" nod from the League a few years ago?

Bill's wife is from Tampa, so he knows Tampa does not have a city government that implements bike-friendly road construction or facilities.

But he hoped the "Honorable Mention" would motivate the city of Tampa government to pursue the next level -- a Bronze award. Bill told me, however, that it will take a while for Tampa to win a Bronze nod based on some of non-support of building bike-friendly roads.

In contrast, the city of St. Petersburg has won a bronze from the League and needs to work on getting people to bike to work.

*

Wonderful luncheon with IMBA executive director Mike Van Able telling a packed room of 700 bike advocates that it's been a great move to combine the forces of his mountain-biking members with the League of American Bicyclists at the summit. After all, we all ride bicycles.

Mike officially signed a 5-year agreement with the federal parks to renew IMBA's partnership with the federal government to continue building trails on federal park lands.

*

I spoke with Tom Miller, chief of staff for Portland Mayor Sam Adams who gave a great presentation on Portland's commitment to bike lanes and bike-friendly roads.

Miller said get Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio to see in person a city with a real commitment to biking.

"It's like going to a major-league baseball game. You can't appreciate Major League Baseball by going to T-ball games," Miller said.

GM Lawton Responds To Critics About The Johnson Hire

WB Philp — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:37:00 +0000

NHL.com interviewed Lightning GM Brian Lawton and asked him about the hiring of Jim Johnson as an assistant coach. His response: "There was a little bit of misinformation out there. Someone had said I didn't consult my head coach and that's absolutely false. I did speak to our coach (Rick Tocchet) about it. Unfortunately, you run into situations where you have friends and it's my job to make determinations that are in the best interest for the club and that's really what it did. I made a determination that I felt would make us better as a group and I believe wholeheartedly in that decision. The ramifications of these decisions are, you're not always going to please everyone, but that's part of the job and I understand that. This wasn't an overnight decision. A lot of thought went into this. A bit of the issue was I didn't get to talk in person with our head coach. To be frank, he wasn't available in the home city due to the (Olympic) break and schedule. He was on vacation. When he got back in town about 9:30 p.m. the night before we got back on the ice, I met with him and we had a nice discussion about it and that's the way I do business. You want to keep everyone informed of what you're doing as much as possible. Ultimately, and the way I do things, the buck stops with me. I take complete responsibility for that. I don't duck it or hide it from it." Read the rest of the interview here.

A team that shoots on glass together, stays together

John Fontana — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:01:20 +0000

One of the repeat stories of the season are Lightning players shattering panes of glass behind the net with missed shots. Kurtis Foster accomplished the feat for times so far this season. In what was only listed as a side-note story...

Could the next toy craze be…”Mad Men” Barbies?

Eric Deggans — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:44:29 +0000

I know that with a retail price of $74.95 these kinds of dolls are supposed to be for adult collectors. But isn't there something a little creepy about making barbie dolls out of the alcoholic, chain-smoking marriage-vow-breaking TV characters cavorting...

On The Dale Mabry Strip

fasanotampa — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:37:32 +0000

This is me on stand 23, which is on the Dale Mabry strip in Tampa Florida. The reason I am sitting here is because we are getting some action and I can pick up a Westshore hotel, a hospital, or...

Pet Peeve Wednesday – Peeve Potpourri

dave — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:17:20 +0000

I couldn’t think of a peeve this week so I asked my Facebook friends for some of their peeves.

JD doesn’t like it when people use too many question marks and misused apostrophes bother SB.

CP thinks that when you’re in a public bathroom you should have the decency to do a courtesy flush.

LR does not [...]

Editorial: Bring in the young Bucs

Paul Mueller — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:00:23 +0000

A cashier at Publix says they didn’t do enough in free agency. A bartender at Applebee’s waits for the draft. A guy at Panera Bread, who always talks to me about football ten minutes longer than I’d like him to, thinks trading away ...

Seminole Heights Sunday Market

dave — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:55:55 +0000

The Seminole Heights Sunday Market returns this Sunday, March 14 from 9am – 2pm.

“Centrally located and set on the front lawn of historic Hillsborough High School, you will find between 60 & 80 vendors selling a vast mixture of local, handmade and/or homemade products.”

A sample of what you will find this Sunday:

Conventional & Hydroponic Produce Florida [...]

Life At The Bike Summit

SWFBUD — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:55:00 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The North Little Rock mayor charmed a morning audience who were introduced to the Google Maps program.

He talked about his granddaughter learning to ride a bicycle without training wheels for the first time on Sunday at 2:58 PM. He talked lovingly about bicycling, noting there are bike trails named after his grandkids.

He said he would be happy to show people where the bike trails are in North Little Rock. But he noted he can’t always be there to show you – which is why he suggested you log onto Google Bike Maps to get the routes.

*

I’m attending a breakout on cities building bike infrastructure. It began with a Portland official showing a dizzying array of photos depicting bike lanes, bike corrals and experimental bike lane locations. Talk about bike lane envy.

Remember the 3 E’s – Engineering, Enforcement and Education.

The San Francisco speaker talked about a bicycle planning program that was launched – only to be undermined by car lovers who sued to stop it, arguing there was not enough impact analysis. A court injunction stopped the bike program.

Then, a judge allowed about 10 bike projects last November. The speaker made a good point -- it's not about bicycling vs. other modes of transportation. It's about bicycling being part of a bundle of transportation outside of the single-occupant car.

Sunday Streets is a program where bicyclists take over the roads in areas six times a year in SF. Irv Lee, a city of Tampa transportation official, has talked about having a closed-street program called Ciclovia that's rotated around the city but, as usual in the city of Tampa government, it's been all talk and no action.

I wish Pam Iorio was here at this breakout session. She built a new art museum. You would think a mayor who likes public art would like public bike space.

Regrettably, she’s out of touch about bicycling because a New York official is now presenting data about the emergence of bike-friendly cities across the country. The goal is to create more capacity on roads for green mobility of bikes and buses instead of just cars.

Transforming Broadway and making Times Square making more ped-friendly are two of the top high-profile NYC projects.

Portland, San Francisco, New York. Wow, I'm dreaming bike lanes. Tampa is way behind folks. I’ve seen a slew of photos showing bike lanes and even signalized bike lanes. In Brooklyn, there’s an even two-way bike lane along the water.

*

There's even a breakout on distracted drivers, which, as a bicyclist on the road for 12,000 miles a year, I see all the time in the Tampa Bay region.

And another breakout involved bike shops getting involved in advocacy -- a topic very close to my heart (SWFBUD). One bike shop in Washington, DC, joined forces with a local neighborhood marketing agency to give cost breaks to folks who live in the neighborhood and who want to bike.

Better

Dawn Elliott — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:05:00 +0000

Atul Gawande is my favorite overachiever. He's a surgeon and writer for The New Yorker, but those aren't the reasons I admire him. I like him because of this statement: "Betterment is a perpetual labor." No matter how good one might be, he asks us to ask ourselves, "How can you be better?" His 2007 book "Better" chronicled part of his journey towards becoming a doctor, and it gave a lot of advice

Rubio would still beat Crist and Meek in three-way race, poll shows

Peter Schorsch — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:33:00 +0000

From PPP: An independent Charlie Crist bid for the US Senate would work to Marco Rubio's advantage, because Crist would win more Democratic votes than Republican ones. In a hypothetical three way contest Rubio leads with 34% to 27% for Crist and 25% for Kendrick Meek.

Crist gets 32% of the Democratic vote but only 18% of Republicans running as an independent. He also leads among independents with 35% to 24% for Rubio and 22% for Crist.

Crist's overall approval rating now is a 35/51 spread. He's most popular with Democrats at a 45% approval rating followed by independents at 29% and Republicans at 28%.

The general election scenario that would give Democrats the best chance at winning the seat is a straight on contest between Rubio and Meek. The Republican leads 44-39 in that match up, and because there are a lot more undecided Democrats (20%) than Republicans (12%) the race is realistically probably even closer than 5 points. Rubio benefits from a more unified party with 77% of Republicans already committed to voting for him compared to 67% of Democrats who say they'll vote for Meek. But Meek leads 41-34 with independents, a very rare outcome in this political climate when independents are usually leaning strongly toward the GOP.

A Crist-Meek general election contest, which had looked like the most likely match up for so long, would give Republicans their easiest shot at holding onto the seat. Crist leads Meek 46-33. He's a stronger general election candidate because he gets 29% of the Democratic vote, compared to just 13% for Rubio, and because he wins independent voters by 10 points where Rubio loses them by 7. But given Crist's standing for the primary at this point these numbers seem almost elementary.

In the most unlikely scenario- a full fledged Crist move to the Democratic Party- he trails Rubio 43-34. Although Crist does lead with independents he would take very few (13%) Republican voters with him across party lines and would be viewed with skepticism by a lot of Democrats, getting only 54% of their vote.

Taken as a whole the numbers suggest that Crist's most winnable path to the US Senate now is as an independent, given his huge deficit with Republican primary voters. But even that's a long shot- among all Florida voters 24% want Crist as Governor a year from now, 15% want him in the Senate, and 47% would like to see him out of elected office. Crist finds himself now in a very difficult position.

Meanwhile the decline of Crist presents an opportunity to Democrats. Republicans are certainly still favored to keep this seat, but Marco Rubio as the nominee gives Dems a much better chance than Crist and this may yet be one of the most competitive races in the country this fall. Full results here. Update: Kendrick Meek's campaign is already touting results of this poll:

Must-read story: Signature gathering may have run afoul of federal election laws

Peter Schorsch — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:17:00 +0000

Two young men popped out of a van, and sidled up to people waiting outside the polling place at the Gull Aire Village clubhouse Tuesday morning in Oldsmar.

We're students from the Pinellas vocational center. Would you mind signing a petition to put Beverley Billiris on the ballot this year?

Matter of fact, Chris Latvala said he would mind. His stepmother is Pinellas County Commissioner Susan Latvala, the fellow Republican who Billiris is running to unseat this year.

Undeterred, the students succeeded in rounding up other signatures for Billiris, currently the mayor of Tarpon Springs. It was part of a "civics lesson," said Robyn Poppick, who organized the students' activity.

But it's a lesson that may have violated federal law. Continue reading here.

Lori Edwards, but not Charlie Justice, make DCCC’s “Red to Blue” program

Peter Schorsch — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:10:00 +0000

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee today announced 13 candidates who have earned a spot in the DCCC's highly competitive Red to Blue program. Florida's Lori Edwards made the list, but not Charlie Justice. From the press release:

These candidates earned a spot in the program by surpassing demanding fundraising goals and skillfully demonstrating to voters that they will work to create jobs and stand up for the middle class.

"These candidates have come out of the gate strong and the Red to Blue Program will give them the financial and structural edge to be even more competitive in November," said Chairman Chris Van Hollen, Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "These candidates are generating excitement back home and are making the case to voters that their commitment to creating jobs and standing up for the middle class is far better than turning back the clock to the failed Bush policies of the past."

Chairman Van Hollen joined DCCC Vice Chair Bruce Braley (IA) and Red to Blue co-chairs Allyson Schwartz (PA), Patrick Murphy (PA), and Donna Edwards (MD) to announce the first 13 candidates who qualified for the Red to Blue:

Ami Bera (CA-03)
Paula Brooks (OH-12)
John Callahan (PA-15)
John Carney (DE-AL)
Suzan DelBene (WA-08)
Lori Edwards (FL-12)
Raj Goyle (KS-04)
Roy Herron (TN-08)
Bryan Lentz (PA-07)
Rob Miller (SC-02)
Steve Pougnet (CA-45)
Dan Seals (IL-10)
Tom White (NE-02)

The Red to Blue program highlights top Democratic campaigns across the country, and offers them financial, communications, grassroots, and strategic support. The program will introduce Democratic supporters to new, competitive candidates in order to help expand the fundraising base for these campaigns. The very successful fundraising effort helped raise more than $26 million for Red to Blue candidates last cycle.

hillsborough county neighborhood conference

tommy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:02:19 +0000

Would you like to become more involved in your neighborhood? Hillsborough County can help. Hillsborough County’s Office of Neighborhood Relations is gearing up for the 7th Annual Hillsborough... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my w...

Marco Rubio launches first TV ad of GOP primary – airing only on Fox News

Peter Schorsch — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:45:00 +0000

Featured Book: Once In A Blue Moon by Leanna Ellis

PatriciaW — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:42:00 +0000

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Once in a Blue Moon

B&H Books (March 1, 2010)

by

Leanna Ellis

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Leanna's sister recommended that she write, since she ‘wrote in her journal all the time.’ The idea took root and began to grow. So after five years of teaching, she quit and started writing, with no clue about the book business. Ignorance is bliss. If she’d known the odds against her, she might not have ever started writing.

For about three years, she wrote with a collaborator, but because she had so many ideas she began to write more stories on her own. She suffered numerous rejections. Deservedly so. But she was growing as a writer and learning. She went to as many conferences as she could manage. During that time, she met her future husband, fell in love and became engaged. She also began to final in contests and then actually began to win! The contests helped her get noticed by editors and agents. In March, the year Braveheart won the Best Picture Oscar, Victor/Victoria opened on Broadway, she sold her first book. It was her Cinderella year. She sold her book, got married and won RWA’s Golden Heart Award in Hawaii.

She wrote six books between her first baby’s birth and when the second baby turned one. Then she hit a wall. Not literally. But creatively. It’s not that she didn’t have any ideas, but her ideas didn’t fit the romance market. These new characters, random and weird as they were, began to take over the part of her brain that wasn’t domesticated. These stories were about all types of women, and so she began to let her writing grow in new and different ways.

Leanna Ellis sold more than 1.3 million romantic novels writing as Leanna Wilson, winning a Readers’ Choice award and the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart award for her work. Elvis Takes a Back Seat is the first book published under her married name, marking a new creative direction in her writing. Like Francine Rivers before her, Leanna has left behind a successful career as an author of secular romances to write novels of faith that glorify God. A former schoolteacher, Leanna is now a homeschool mom and lives with her husband and children in Keller, Texas.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Bryn Seymour was nine years old when her mother died under mysterious circumstances on the same day Apollo 11 made its historic lunar landing. Forty years later—divorced, working as an obituary writer, and duly cynical—she meets Howard, a conspiracy theorist who knew her mom and believes a small Texas town may hold clues to what really fueled her demise. Seeking closure, Bryn goes along for this men-in-black ride. But upon meeting Howard’s son Sam, an outspoken Christian, she can’t decide whose beliefs are more pie-in-the-sky.

The gravity of life has pulled Bryn down for decades. But a perfect love could be her first step to soaring. It only happens once in a blue moon.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Once in a Blue Moon, go HERE

Watch the book trailer:

Carpe diem! Aaron Copland, The Promise of Living

litbrit — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:24:00 +0000

Several weeks ago, reader Jacqueline sent me this gorgeous YouTube creation: it's Aaron Copland's haunting piece, The Promise of Living, set to a montage of old 8mm and 16mm films of human beings doing what we do best: living and loving. I wonder if you can make it all the way through without tearing up. I certainly couldn't.

I'd also like to share this gem, by tripsadelica, from the comment section beneath the video:

Snippets of light captured upon powdered silver, of a time long ago. Gone, but somehow not gone...preserved forever as if light was the essence of life itself. Most all of these people have left this earth but here they are, walking, dancing, playing...living. You know the expression, "they live on in our hearts"...they live on here in light; light captured with fine silver powder. Luminous argent.

Here in Florida, it's sparkling and sunny outside for the first time in a long while. Spring is almost here--hooray!--the boys will be on break next week, and I have visions of sugar cones and sandy shores dancing in my head. Carpe diem! I say, as I will say next Monday morning when I wake the boys and haul them off to Fort DeSoto for some much-needed vitamin D and fresh air. What will you be doing when it warms up?

Patty Larkin on NPR

TBPAC — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:05:00 +0000

If you are a fan of our Club Jaeb series, you've been listening and supporting "musician's musicians" for a while. The folk and Americana scene is full of highly respected artists who may not find themselves in the "mainstream" music industry.One of t...