Man About Town blog Archives 1
The website that hosted the ÒMan About TownÓ blog has long since gone
Ò404Ó, but I have saved the posts (minus graphics) and present them here. I
have left the posts exactly as they originally appeared, including any inadvertently
misspelled words or grammatical errors, mostly to remind me that I have made
some progress since these first professional efforts. Links also remain, though
some of those may have fallen victim to the Ò404Ó monster as well.
These posts represent a good cross section of the kinds of writing I was
doing for Tribune Media Services. There are reviews of restaurants, movies,
local stage events and businesses in Orlando, as well as articles dealing with
(then) current events and local topics of interest.
April 24, 2005
Welcome! It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the first post of
the official Find Local Blog for the city of Orlando. While you're using the
fantastic new search capabilities of Find Local to locate the best
entertainment, restaurants and businesses in Orlando, I'll be posting here
about my personal experience with some of them as well. I'll also be posting
about local topics and current events that are on everyone's mind here in
Orlando such as traffic, politics, sports, education; basically anything that
happens here in O-town and Central Florida is likely to appear at some point in
this blog. Blogs are, by their very nature, personal creations that reflect the
views, attitudes and experiences of the person posting to them. In that regard
this blog will be no different; I'll be writing about topics, events,
entertainment, restaurants, etc. from my point of view. But, I also want to
engage you, the citizens of Orlando and surrounding areas, in this blog as
well. Agree? Disagree? Have a better idea or an opposing point of view? Want to
share an experience that was different than mine? Have a place you'd like to
recommend? Whatever category you fall into, I want to hear from you. As to the
"style" of writing for this blog, well that usually depends on the
subject matter. Sometimes it will be deadly serious, sometimes it will be
humorous, sometimes it will be irreverent, sometimes it will be sarcastic.
Mostly I plan for it to be fun, for me and for you. I thought I'd kick off this
first blog by telling you a little about myself. Not a lot, because I'd like to
think that I could be anybody you know...well anybody of the male gender
persuasion, that is. To paraphrase what callers like to say on radio talk
shows, "I'm a long time resident, first time blogger", though that
last part isn't entirely true. I've been blogging for the past five years or so
with postings to two personal blogs and one group blog. But, since most of you
won't be familiar with any of those, it's like I'm a first-timer. My background
is varied, my political leanings are muddled, my education is a combination of
higher academics and life experience, and my hygiene is impeccable. I tend
toward activities that are more mental in nature than physical, but a good fist
fight is always an unforgettable experience, win or lose. Sometimes my
positions on things are mercurial, depending on how I feel that particular day.
Being taught to debate both sides of an issue might have contributed to that
condition. I think I've learned to never say "Never", though
sometimes I forget what I've learned. If I like you, then I like you until I
don't like you. I try to forgive, but I don't always succeed and I never, ever
forget. My musical tastes are pretty eclectic, as are my literary preferences.
I'm partial to action/adventure movies, enjoy a good play (I did some stage
acting once; my second-grade teacher thought I was fabulous) and still think
professional wrestling is real. I know enough about computers and technology to
be considered "geeky", but I don't think anyone's ever actually
called me a geek. Because I wanted to be just about anybody you might know, I
decided to adopt an online "persona" for this blog. I e-mailed family
and friends (both of them) asking for suggestions of a "non de plume"
I might adopt. My friend and attorney of record, Caroline, smartly suggested
"Norm de Plume", but I passed on that one. However, I do want to
sincerely thank everyone who sent their suggestions to me. There were many,
many good ones and it was difficult to choose from such a multitude of
excellent offerings. After a great deal of consideration, I finally decided on
another one that my friend and attorney of record, Caroline, suggested. You've
already seen it on the logo graphic at the top of this post, "Man About Town".
It embodies what I hope this blog will be, the writings of a man about this
town. Thanks, Caroline. So, I hope if you're reading this that you will leave a
comment, I want to hear from you. And I hope that you will pass this site on to
other people you know. I'll be posting here at least four times a week, but you
can visit and leave comments as often as you like. Hope to see you next time,
Man About Town
April 26, 2005
Burgeoning Growth
Like any expanding metropolitan area, we here in O-town and the
surrounding region face the ever-present fact of growth, it's management (or
lack of) and the attendant factors related to that growth; transportation,
housing, education, employment and the environment. If you've lived in Orlando
or the nearby area for more than a few years, you've seen how quickly Central
Florida has spread out geographically as well as the increase in population
density. The 1990 U.S. Census Bureau reported that Orange County's population
was 677,491. Ten years later, in the 2000 census, that number had increased to
896,344, a 32.3 percent increase. In those 10 years the county's population
grew by almost a quarter of a million people. We're 5 years out from the 2000
census, so if we assume that same rate of growth then we have added 125,000
more people since the last count, taking the county today over the 1 million
mark. That's in an approximately 800 square mile area, after the almost 100 square
miles of water area are subtracted. The City of Orlando experienced similar
growth. In 1990, the U.S. Census Bureau counted 164,693 people in the city
limits. The 2000 census saw that increase by 21,258 to 185,951, an increase of
almost 13 percent. And that was with the city increasing it's area by 38.9
percent (from 67.3 square miles to 93.5 square miles) through annexation of
land and communities.
And of course, those population figures do not include the millions of
tourists who swell our ranks throughout most of the year. Not that we begrudge
them, not at all since they account for almost 20 percent of our directly
related jobs and filter down into almost all the remaining 80 percent. We are a
tourism-based economy and if we ever had any doubt about how true that was, we
discovered the veracity of that fact after September 11th. My travels in the
area take me through the city, the county and the surrounding areas on a
weekly, if not daily basis. Most of the people who live and work in this region
do the same. I have yet, in the last 5 years, to make one trip on a city,
county or state road in the area without dealing with road construction. Not
one. But I also have yet, in those same 5 years, to ride on a city or county
road that was not in need of improvement. If I'm not slowing down for and
dodging construction workers and/or barriers, then I'm slowing down for and
dodging potholes, crumbling roads and poorly planned routes. It's an on-going
mess most of the time. Schools and local education are another area of concern
due to growth. It seems that almost every new school built is bursting at the
seams as soon as it opens and most of the public schools have a multitude of
portables serving as classrooms. Down the street from my neighborhood a new elementary
school is under construction. It looks like it will be big enough to handle the
area's children, but I can't help but wonder, "For how long?" I have
some family members who are teachers in the local school system and, like most
teachers, they do their absolute best to educate our children. But we all
wonder how effective is the education when so many classes are filled to
overflow? Well, I haven't even touched on housing or the environment, but I
think I've laid the issue out enough. What do you think? Are we heading for
even more problems, or are we doing fine? Do you think growth is progressing in
an orderly fashion, or are we simply reacting to every developer who comes
along? Is there a way to find a balance? Do you have faith in our elected leaders
to manage the continued growth we will no doubt experience? And if you're new
to Orlando and the surrounding area, I'd be interested in hearing what your
reaction has been. Are we in better or worse shape than the area you came from?
Do you have any experiential suggestions you could offer? Despite all the
concerns above and more, most of us who are residents must like living here.
After all, we're still her, aren't we? Hope to see you next time, Man About
Town
April 27, 2005
The Buckinghams
Headed out to the 12th Annual EPCOT International Flower & Garden
Festival tonight, but not to look at any flowers or plants. I was going to
listen to 60's rock group "The Buckinghams", who are part of the
Flower Power Concert Series held every year in conjunction with the Festival. I
met up with some friends of mine, Kirk, Laura, Russell and Royda, under
Spaceship Earth and we were off to find a place to eat before the concert. Our
first choice was the food court over at The Land pavilion, but it is still
closed for renovations, though it looked fine. So, it was on to the Electric
Umbrella, a quick service sit-down restaurant just outside the Innoventions
pavilion serving cheeseburgers, deli sandwiches, salads, chicken tenders and
desserts. I grabbed a $6.59 turkey and cheese deli sandwich with orange
mayonnaise and a side of pineapple cole slaw. I've never had pineapple cole
slaw before, and I still don't think I've had pineapple cole slaw. The cole
slaw, like the deli sandwich, was tasty, but I never once detected pineapple.
Then again, I didn't taste any orange in the mayo either. My companions had
some of the other dishes and everyone seemed to enjoy their meal, except for
Russell who was picking raisins out of his salad, lol. Our meal gave us a
chance to catch up on our lives, as we hadn't seen each other in a couple of
months or more. It's always fun to spend time with friends and I was glad they
had agreed to meet me for a bite to eat and the concert. Then we were off to
the open-air America Gardens Theater, which is on the other side of the lake,
where the concert would be held. We had the brainstorm of taking the ferry
across the lake, but as we walked up to board a female cast member rudely
barked at Laura that the ferry wasn't sailing for the remainder of the night.
Things sure have changed at the Disney Parks over the past several years. We
walked around and arrived about 20 minutes before the concert was set to begin.
We were able to get good seats, about 6 rows back and off to the left just a
little bit. I was happy because it meant I could probably get some decent
pictures.
The group hit the stage at 8:15 and opened their playlist with
"Back in Love Again" and "Don't You Care" with lead singer
Carl Giammarese, one of the 2 remaining original and founding members of The
Buckinghams, belting out the vocals as if time had been turned back 40 years.
At 58, Carl still retains his boyish good looks and, judging by the reaction of
women of all ages in the audience, still knows how to use it to his advantage.
They continued on with one of the bands earliest hits, "I'll Go
Crazy" with lead guitarist Bob Abrams picking up the vocals, then moved on
to a nice extended cover of "Domino" with bass guitarist Nick Fortuna
(the other remaining original member) handling the vocals very admirably.
During that song, lead guitarist Abrams was playing so hard that he broke one
of his strings in the middle of the song, but just kept right on playing with
the string dangling off the neck. Giammarese gave him his guitar and they moved
on to several songs with Giammarese singing lead including, "The
Letter", "When A Man Loves A Woman" and one of their biggest
hits, "Susan". These concerts only last about 30 minutes, so it's
hard to fit all the songs in, but I was disappointed that they didn't play some
of their other greatest hits like "Hey Baby, They're Playing Our
Song", "Kind of a Drag", "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" and
"I Knew You When". Although the entire band puts on a great show full
of energy and excitement, there's no doubt that drummer Tom Scheckel is having
more fun than anyone on the stage and possibly in the audience. This man is a
show all by himself as he beats on the drums and cymbals while jumping and
gyrating around to the beat of each song. My friend Kirk is a drummer and at
the conclusion of the concert he declared, "He's a great drummer!",
which is good enough for musically challenged me.
There are several more Flower Power Concerts scheduled over the next
month with artists such as The Turtles, The Grass Roots, B.J. Thomas, The
Nelsons, Rare Earth and more. Click here to get the entire schedule and make
your plans to hear some rock 'n roll from the 60's and 70's this summer.
April 30, 2005
Cafe Tu Tu Tango
I know this blog is supposed to be about Orlando, but Friday night, I
decided to take a trip to Barcelona, Spain for dinner and some entertainment. I
mean, the Man About Town CAN become the Man About World, right? Ok...not
really. But once you step inside the doors of Cafe Tu Tu Tango, you may find
yourself feeling like you've been transported to the actual artist's loft in
Barcelona that Cafe Tu Tu Tango (hereafter referred to as "Tu Tu") is
modeled upon. No matter where you look, your eyes will behold artwork in a
multitude of mediums; whether it be oil, acrylic, tempera or watercolor
paintings of various sizes and subject matter, pencil or pen and ink drawings,
charcoal sketches, sculptures, metal works and an endless variety of types,
studies and mediums. If you can imagine it, you'll most likely find it on the
walls, ceiling, columns and tables. And ALL the artwork is by local artists and
is for sale. If a certain piece of artwork catches your eye while you're
dining, you can purchase it right off the wall or any other surface to which it
may be affixed and take it out the door with you. I was tempted by several
pieces. My friend Zee would love this place. In fact, now that I think about
it, she should submit some of her fabulous work to the interior decor of Tu Tu.
Music is always playing in the background. Sometimes it's light jazz, sometimes
disco, sometimes it's the blues, sometimes rock, sometimes it's show tunes and
I think I even heard a country song one time over the din of people talking,
laughing and partying throughout the restaurant. But I'm getting ahead of
myself...
When I and my two dining companions, Maryellen and Cindy, arrived it was
7:20 and we were told it would be approximately 45 minutes before we could be
seated. I was expecting that because Tu Tu does not accept reservations, except
for group events. There were several of those going on inside the 220 seat
restaurant. While we waited outside with our little "buzzer device"
(stop thinking naughty) we watched a group of 30 something women exit after
apparently celebrating the birthday of one of their number and climb into a
white limo to head to their next stop and a group of friends celebrating...well
I wasn't sure exactly WHAT they were celebrating but they were doing a great
job of it! I love to people-watch, and our time spent waiting by the entrance
afforded an excellent opportunity to observe the kind of clientele that are
drawn to Tu Tu. Customers ranged in age from late teens to senior citizens,
locals to tourists, couples to groups (I didn't observe any single people and I
don't think the dinner hour would really be attractive to a single individual;
perhaps lunch, when it is somewhat quieter and more subdued, would be), and
people dressed in everything from ragged jeans and ripped T-shirts to suits,
ties and cocktail dresses. Like the art and music, the crowd that enjoys Tu Tu
is eclectic. Our wait turned out to be more like 55 minutes, but we enjoyed
ourselves listening to the music that is piped outside while we chatted and
watched the parade of people entering and exiting. One of several very
attractive young ladies escorted us to our seats and as soon as she walked away
our server Jason appeared. Jason looked very much like actor Michael Rosenbaum,
who portrays Lex Luthor on the TV series "Smallville". He explained
the concept behind Tu Tu's look and atmosphere, as I've already elaborated on
above, the artwork on display and the fact that various artists set up their
easels, drawing boards, etc on different nights to allow patrons to watch them
as they work creating art. On this night a painter of oil landscapes and
another painter/illustrator were on hand, working on pieces as patrons looked
over their shoulders. A face-painter and balloon artist were also in
attendance. And for our dancing entertainment, a belly-dancer and two Flamenco
dancers were with us, moving about the restaurant and around tables exhibiting
their abilities. Roaming musicians are also part of the available
entertainment, but we did not see any that night. And we were told a Tarot Card
reader was also there to predict our future, if we should so choose. He then
gave us a quick primer on the tapas menu offerings; a varied, all-appetizer
sized multi-ethnic choice of cuisines (Thai, Cajun and Mexican, to name a few)
that are best ordered in varieties and shared among those in your party. The
food is truly a global experience and the enjoyment of it is meant to be a
shared experience. After consulting the menu at length, the three of us ordered
the following dishes to share among ourselves: Mediterranean Spinach
Dip-Blended with Feta Cheese and toasted walnuts; served cold with roasted red
peppers and parmesan pita crisps. Pizza Palette-A thin crust vegetable pizza
served (at out request) sans cheese and presented on an artist's palette.
Oriental Marinated Steak Skewers-served with Ginger-Soy Aioli. Sesame Grilled
Chicken Salad-Bok Choy, Napa Cabbage, Romaine, Water Chestnuts, Cashews and
fresh orange segments tossed with a Tamari-Ginger vinaigrette. Dijon Chicken
Skewers-served over chilled Sesame Noodles. Maryellen and I each enjoyed a nice
Spanish red wine, while Cindy chose a Pinot Grigio that she found to be
excellent. Soon after our plates of food began arriving at different intervals
and we all dove in, sharing the various items ("Oh, you HAVE to try some
of this!"), talking, laughing, enjoying the dancers and clapping as two of
the ladies at the table next to us were wished a "Happy Birthday" by
all the patrons in our area at the urging of their server, who was standing on
a chair to obtain everyone's attention. Soon we had cleaned every plate and
were contemplating dessert. As a true gentleman, I urged the ladies to choose
our desserts. Maryellen chose the Banana Pizza while Cindy honed in on the
Molten Chocolate. Banana Pizza-Cinnamon flat bread topped with streusel and fresh
bananas, banana ice cream and caramel sauce. Molten Chocolate-Petite chocolate
souffle with a bittersweet Belgian Chocolate center and served with a scoop of
vanilla ice cream. I must admit, I'm not a big banana fan and I seriously
questioned the choice of eating such a fruit in pizza form, but one bite
quickly changed my mind! This dessert dish was fabulously tasty in an
unexpected way. We were enjoying our food and conversation in the very
stimulating atmosphere so much that I was surprised to note, when I checked my
cell phone at the conclusion of our repast, that it was already 10pm! It seemed
like it had only been a few minutes since we sat down to begin our total
sensory experience of a meal. As we slowly made our way to the exit, Maryellen
stopped at an artists table and bought a small print of a painting she admired
that had been hanging on a wall near us. The Tarot Card Reader happened to be
someone that Cindy knew, so she and I chipped in to get a reading for
Maryellen. I don't know what the reader told her, but she seemed happy with it.
If you ever are in the mood for a lunch or dinner of total entertainment
and enjoyment, you would be hard pressed to make a better choice than Cafe Tu
Tu Tango. The restaurant is located at 8625 International Drive in Orlando,
phone number 407.248.2222, and the hours of operation are Sunday through
Thursday 11:30 am until 11:00 pm, Friday and Saturday 11:30 am until 2:00 am.
They accept Cash, Traveler's Checks (US only), American Express, MasterCard,
and Visa. You can click here for a map. They also have locations in Miami,
Atlanta and California. Hope to see you next time, Man About Town
May 1, 2005
Orange County Library System Delivery Service
A few days ago, local ABC affiliate WFTV ran a news segment about a service
that patrons of the Orange County Library System enjoy; the delivery of books
to their home or business address. According to WFTV, no other library in the
country provides such a service and the cost of that service to Orange County
taxpayers is $800,000 for delivery and $350,000 in salaries, for a combined
$1,150,000 per year. The segment goes on to state that the library system could
build and staff a new branch each year for that amount of money. I live a half
mile from an excellent branch of the library system, but my schedule and the
branch's schedule very seldom agree. Believe me when I tell you that I LOVE the
experience of being in a library. To be able to walk up and down the aisles
between bookshelves and explore such a vast array of subject matter is a
privilege that a great majority of the world's population never gets to enjoy.
There have been many times that I have just walked in and picked a book at
random and the majority of those times I have learned something new or opened
my mind to something I may not have otherwise imagined. However, these days it
is a rare occasion when I can indulge in a physical visit to the main library
or even the branch that is within a 10 minute walk of my home. The news segment
also intimated that the delivery service is of no use to seniors who can't make
it to the library because the service is delivery only and does not provide a
subsequent pickup service. That is, of course, true and a pickup service would
be very helpful, especially to homebound patrons. I would imagine that, if
someone is truly homebound and they use the library's online catalog to choose
a book or books they would like to read and employ the delivery service, they
have a friend or caregiver who can return the books. This has to be much easier
than sending someone with a list of books to the library, having them find them
and check them out, bring them to the homebound person on their next visit and
then, after all that, still have to return them. For the rest of us, with no
time to walk into the library or branch during operating hours to pick out a
book, the convenience of ordering from the online catalog and requesting
delivery allows us to still enjoy the library's materials. And, while we cannot
check out books from a closed library, we can still return materials after
hours. So, while pickup service would be nice, it is not absolutely necessary.
I suppose it is possible to build a branch and staff it each year for
the amount of money that is spent on delivering the books, but again having a
multitude of branches within easy walking or driving distance of the population
is no guarantee that it would be used, due to the same scheduling problems I
pointed out above. Additionally, each new branch will have to be stocked with
materials. I'm fairly certain that, even with the discounts libraries enjoy in
their purchasing, the materials cost would far exceed the savings of
eliminating this program in order to build more branches. Here's what I feel is
an obvious point, but one which WFTV did not make. If this program is costing
so much money, then it must be a program that is being used by a large number
of the library patrons in Orange County. In fact, math-challenged as I am, it
look like almost a half-million deliveries were made last year, in order to
reach a figure of $800,000. The one point I would agree with them on is that it
would be nice to devise a way that multiple book orders could be delivered at
once for one charge, rather than a charge for each, Finally, Library Director
Mary Anne Hodel has posted her response on the OCLS website and points out that
the home delivery service is the one service that taxpayers feel good about
spending tax dollars on. I can echo that feeling. I've never taken advantage of
the library's service to check out artwork to hang in my home; I've never used
the computer services at the library; I very seldom am able to enjoy the
programs that the library offers on a multitude of subjects and venues...but I
don't begrudge my tax dollars supporting those services, whether I use them or
not. I am extremely happy to use the delivery service and am delighted that my
taxes can help provide one of the best services I receive from ANY part of
Orange County government. So what do YOU think? Do you use the service? If so,
do you like it? If you don't use it, is there a reason why you don't. DO you
think WFTV is right, or do you feel the library program is a useful service? I
hope you'll leave your comments below. Hope to see you next time, Man About
Town
May 3, 2005
Orange County Regional History Center/Norman Rockwell
I headed out this evening to the Orange County Regional History Center,
not because I'm a huge history buff, but because of a limited engagement
exhibition on display during extended hours for tonight only until 9pm. The
exhibit was a small collection of paintings that the late Norman Rockwell had
created for Boy's Life Magazine and The Boy Scouts of America Calendar. I have
always enjoyed the work of Norman Rockwell, as he seemed to capture with his paints
and brushes the spirit of "Americana" in our culture from the 30's
through the 60's. In addition to his realistic style he almost always included
some small element of humor in his paintings or illustrations that would bring
anywhere from a slight smile to laugh out loud guffaws from his viewers. After
spending some time just admiring and appreciating the talent on display in the
canvasses of his work, I decided that since I had never even stepped foot in
the Historical Center before, it might be a good time to get my money's worth
from the admission fee. The guidebook suggests you start your tour of the 4
floor center in their "Orientation theater". For about 18 minutes
you're taken on a journey of the history of Central Florida; from the beginnings
of Native American Indians up through the space shuttle launches of today. For
what is obviously a shoestring budget (donations are accepted) the production
was quite good. Then it is time to take a chronological trip through the
history of Orange County as you also make your way through the 4 floors of
historical exhibits. First is a display of Native American life before the
European arrival with a wealth of artifacts that have been excavated over the
years and a description of everyday life for these early inhabitants. Then it
is on to a walk-through of the natural environment followed by the First
Contact with European explorers and an exploration of the hard life of the
first pioneers who drove cattle and planted citrus, complete with a life-sized
mock-up of a Cypress Tree shack.
From there we move through time (and the building) to the 1920's to find
that, even then, we were a tourist haven as the railroad cut though the state
and the area was a magnet to what were called "Tin Can Tourists"
because of their habit of bringing their own cans of food to eat in their
little campers, rather than spend money on expensive meals in area hotels and
restaurants. Soon after the aviation boom with the building of the Orlando Air
Base, followed by Cape Canaveral Air Station (now Kennedy Space Center) would
bring its influence to the area. There is also a restored 1927 courtroom and a
good sized display of the area's African American Heritage, including the
racial difficulties and deaths in nearby Ocoee. And of course, there is a large
display chronicling the high points of the arrival of Disney World and it's
opening in 1971. After strolling through all the displays and floors I decided
to return to the Norman Rockwell exhibit one more time and just soak in the
quality and character of his work. At a time when illustrations were the
primary visual tools of manufacturers, advertisers and magazines, Norman
Rockwell was the benchmark of all other illustrators and painters. He possessed
the unique ability to capture the spirit that made up this country at the time,
in a way that few others could. Even now, as you look back at his works, you
can see the history of this country unfolding through his art. The History
Center is open Monday through Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday from Noon to 5pm
and admission is $7.00 for adults, $3.50 for children ages 3-12 and $6.50 for
students and seniors over 60. The Center is located in the heart of downtown
Orlando at 65 E. Central Boulevard and their phone number is 407.836.8500 or
toll free 800.965.2030. Want to know the history of this town? Then the Orange
County Regional History Center is a great place to find it! Hope to see you
next time, Man About Town
May 5, 2005
SunPass, Freedom Calls and The State Fruit
SunPass is the Florida Department of Transportation's method of using a
privately assigned transponder to debit charges on most of Florida's toll roads
from your prepaid account. You can purchase the actual transponder from DOT
locations or from CVS Drug Stores and Publix Supermarkets, then either submit a
written application by mail or in person or register online. Tolls are
automatically deducted from your balance and funds can be replenished as needed.
When approaching toll plazas, you need only go through lanes that are
designated for SunPass Only and you simply slow down to 35 miles per hour as
you pass through and the toll is electronically paid. The increased usage of
SunPass has helped reduce the backup at toll plazas as vehicles with
transponders no longer have to stop for the exact change or change given lanes.
But lately, I've had friends who use SunPass complaining that there are now so
many vehicles using the transponders that the SunPass Only lanes are beginning
to back up with vehicles, even though they do not have to fully stop. The sheer
volume is causing the lines.
For instance, on the 508 (Beeline Expressway) westbound there is one
SunPass Only lane at the toll plaza between the airport and I-4. During peak
traffic times that SunPass Only lane is backed up with vehicles. A couple of
weeks ago at the same toll plaza they added a second SunPass Only lane in the
eastbound direction and people I know who use SunPass are very happy about the
additional lane as it keeps them moving briskly through the plaza. So maybe
it's time for a second SunPass Only lane to open in the westbound direction so
that drivers going that direction can enjoy the same convenience as their
eastbound counterparts. This Sunday is Mother's Day and one of our local luxury
hotels is teaming up with Freedom Calls to make it possible for Central Florida
families with relatives and loved ones in the U.S. military serving in Iraq to
have a chance to see and speak to their family members on this special day. The
Peabody Hotel on International Drive is providing facilities to allow free live
video hookups between the hotel and soldiers at Camp Fallujah, Al Asad or Camp
Taji for up to 30 minutes per family. Call the Peabody at 407.345.4521 or
Freedom Calls Foundation at 718.797.9154 for more information.
After 160 years of statehood Florida now has an official State Fruit.
Before Wednesday we had a State Flower, State Bird and even a State Beverage so
it seems that it is just about time we had a State Fruit and the legislature
agreed by declaring the Orange to be our lawful State Fruit. After all, our
state is the world's second-highest orange producer, we have pictures of it on
our state license tags and our very own city is located in a county named
Orange. It just seems fitting. However, the Key Lime was also in the running to
become State Fruit. When backers saw that effort failing they pushed for the
creation of a State Pie, which would be, of course, the Key Lime Pie. Alas, that
failed as well. SO, what do you think? More SUnPass Only lanes? Should the
Orange indeed be the State Fruit? And would you have supported an official
State Pie if it was Key Lime? Let Orlando know! Leave a comment and tell us
what YOU have on your mind. Hope to see you next time, Man About Town
May 7, 2005
Free Comic Book Day
Today comic book shops all across the country celebrated the Fourth
Annual Free Comic Book Day. This is the first time the event has not been held
in conjunction with the release of a superhero related theatrical movie. The
first FCBD was timed to the premiere of Spider-Man in 2002, the second to the
opening of X2 in 2003 and last years to the release of Spider-Man 2. Comic Book
shops in Orlando that were participating in this year's giveaway included:
Coliseum of Comics Fashion Square 3201 E. Colonial Drive Orlando 407.228.1210
College Park Video 3001 Edgewater Drive Orlando 407.422.9989 Coliseum of Comics
Orlando 4722 S. Orange Blossom Trail Orlando 407.240.7882 Sci-Fi City 6006 E.
Colonial Drive Orlando 407.282.2292
I headed out in the late morning to Sci-Fi City in East Orlando. I
haven't read comics books per se in several years (if I purchase and read any
now it is in the form of hardback compilations of several issues or graphic
novels, rather than individual comic books), but back in the day I used to
frequent Sci-Fi City and it's predecessor Enterprise 1701. Sci-Fi City sells
all of the above as well as model-making kits, statues, clothing, novels,
posters and a full range of science fiction material, as well as hosting gaming
gatherings and selling all the supplies needed for those activities. The store
has 10,000 square feet of space and they use every bit of it! The variety of
comics being given away covers almost the entire spectrum of genres; super
heroes with Batman, Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four, funny animals like
Disney's Uncle Scrooge, war books like GI Joe, and the likes of The Simpsons
and Betty & Veronica. Readers of all ages and fans of various interests
will find something they can enjoy reading. When I arrived the parking lot was
nearly full and the store was bristling with activity and customers. I could
not help but wonder how many were regular customers, how many were there only
for the free comics and how many might be like me, there to make the
acquaintance of an old friend or two. Stepping through the entrance doors I was
met with the welcome sight of two super heroic ladies; Wonder Woman and
Supergirl, as they manned the door prize sign-up table and posed for pictures
with customers in the store. I knew now that no matter how hectic it might get
during my visit, these two Maids of Might would keep the peace.
Those lucky kids! The free comics were stacked on tables in the aisle
and it was like a smorgasbord buffet for fans. I estimated there were some 2
dozen or so different titles, all supplied by the different publishing
companies to be given away to the public. No strings, no requirements; just
pick 1 copy of each title you were interested in and walk out the door. I, of
course, could not do that. I walked around and looked at the walls full of new
comic books (the ones for sale), thought about buying a super-hero themed
T-shirt, flipped though the various poster offerings (Star Wars, Lord of the
Rings, Buffy, Angel, and about a million different Manga characters), and
finally found a Classic Star Trek (Kirk, Spock and McCoy) U.S.S. Enterprise
Starship die-cast model of the ship for my desk at home.
Then I made my way back to the free comics tables and picked out three
comics I was interested in reading. I have to admit I was tempted to pick up
one of every title, and I would have read them all if I did, but it just didn't
feel right to do that when there might be someone who really wanted to read a
title that I may have only picked up to read in passing. I did see almost
everyone else grabbing one of each, but I just couldn't do that. I took my
Enterprise ship to the check-out counter, spent a few minutes chatting with the
salesperson about some Star Trek trivia, then took my purchase and my free
comics and exited the store. Wonder Woman and Supergirl called out to me to,
"Have a nice day" and I turned and smiled at them. It was already off
to a pretty good start! Do you like comic books or know someone who does? Did
you attend any of the Free Comic Book Days giveaways today? Or do you think
people who read comic books just haven't grown up and joined the real world? I
hope you'll let me know by leaving a comment. Hope to see you next time, Man
About Town
May 8, 2005
Le Cellier Steakhouse
I'm the type of person who occasionally enjoys a good steak, but only if
it is quality beef that is properly prepared. That usually means that
"chain" restaurants are not on the list of places I will order a
steak from, but rather that dining at high-end specialty locations are called
for when it comes to making that critical dining choice. One place that I have
consistently enjoyed both lunch and dinner meals with steak as the entree is
the Le Cellier steakhouse at the Canada pavilion at EPCOT. Saturday evening
myself and my 3 dining companions arrived about 20 minutes early for our 6:10
reservation (recommended) and after only a 3 minute wait found ourselves being
ushered to our seats. The decor of Le Cellier is, appropriately enough, meant
to resemble a wine cellar. The arched brick support columns and dark wood beams
with gaslight lamps, as well as the wine bottles resting against the outer
walls, lend authenticity to the atmosphere of an underground eatery set within
a castle wine cellar.
Within moments our server, Priscilla, arrived to take our drink orders
while we perused the menu. There are some excellent wines available at Le
Cellier, but for this meal everyone in our party confined themselves to
nonalcoholic beverages. By the time Priscilla returned with our drinks, we had
been able to make our choices from the various excellent offerings available,
For Appetizers, one of the ladies chose: Beef and Barley Soup - rich beef broth
and fresh vegetables. The other lady chose: Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup -
smoked bacon and Moosehead beer. The gentleman chose: Seared Canadian Scallops
- King salmon mousseline and lemon tomato vinaigrette And I picked: Vine-Ripe
Tomato Stack - shiitake mushrooms, wilted spinach, balsamic reduction. Both of
the ladies declared their soups to be excellent (whether the beer in the
Cheddar Cheese soup influenced the one lady, I cannot say) while the gentleman
indulged his love of seafood by consuming each of his scallops with gusto. My
tomato stack consisted of 3 thickly cut slices covered in thinly sliced
mushrooms and a generous amount of spinach, topped by a tasty balsamic
dressing. The portions sizes of all of the above were sufficient enough that a
meal could have been made of just the appetizers, but there was much more to
come. For main entree dishes both ladies chose the: 7 oz. Filet Mignon - glazed
with maple barbeque sauce and accompanied by cream cheese mashed potatoes. The
gentleman chose the: Herb Crusted Prime Rib - roasted garlic, roasted Yukon
potatoes, season's first spring onions, finished with a veal demi glace. And I
indulged myself in my favorite: Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon - wild
mushroom risotto, white truffle and herb beurre blanc, topped with fried
parsnips. Everyone in the party concurred that the beef in each entree was
tender, flavorful and, as is usual in an upper-scale eatery with experienced
chefs, cooked exactly as ordered. For a piece of meat such as a filet mignon,
this is not always easily achieved in some dining establishments. The ladies
found the addition of maple syrup to the barbeque sauce glaze gave the meat a
unique flavor with contrasts they found very enjoyable. The gentleman at first
expressed concern that he could not see any evidence of herbs in his herb-crusted
prime rib, but soon discovered that was the fault of his eyes in the dimly lit
room and not the dish itself. My filet mignon was covered in delicious
mushrooms, a palette-pleasing sauce and crisply fried parsnips. Despite all
that "window-dressing", the filet itself is what stood out both in
flavor, texture and tenderness. For dessert (as full and sated as we all found
ourselves) one lady ordered: Maple Creme Brulee - caramelized maple sugar and
housemade cookie. The other lady and the gentleman ordered: Fresh Strawberries
with Vanilla Ice Cream. And I ordered the: Canadian Club Cake - chocolate cake
brushed with whiskey, layered with chocolate mousse, finished with pineapple
marmalade. The portion size of the Maple Creme Brulee seemed a tad small to my
eyes, but the lady insisted that it was just right. The strawberries were
fresh, sweet and firm in a portion size I thought was extremely large. My cake
was a fair sized portion, very chocolate tasting and was only slightly spoiled
by the addition of the pineapple marmalade. Fortunately that was a very small
part of the dessert and was not overpowering. If you ever find yourself craving
a delicious piece of well-cooked steak, you should consider the Canadian beef
dishes of Le Cellier, located in the Canadian pavilion at EPCOT in Disney
World. Hours correspond to World Showcase operating hours, which are usually
11am to 9pm, but can be confirmed when you make your recommended reservation.
Children are welcome and a Child Menu is available. If you've ever been to Le
Cellier I'd love to hear your experience which you can share by leaving a
comment. Hope to see you next time, Man About Town
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/dining/diningDetail?id=LeCellierSteakhouseDiningPage
May 10, 2005
Jury Duty
A couple of weeks ago a woman I work with was called up for jury duty in
Orange County. She could have probably arranged to be excused because her
daughter was graduating from flight attendant school in Texas, but since she
had not planned on attending the ceremony anyway she didn't try to get out of
serving. But she didn't really want to serve in the first place. It turned out
that after lunch she and the other pool members were dismissed. Tomorrow
another woman I work with is scheduled to report for jury duty in Osceola
County. She does not want to serve either, but isn't going to make up some kind
of excuse to get out of it. She was hoping though, when she called after 5pm
today to see if she was still supposed to report, that the recording would tell
her she did not have to be there. Their feelings, it turns out, mirror those of
a majority of prospective jurors. Coincidentally, today's Orlando Sentinel
carried an article (free registration may be required) on the difficulties counties
in Florida are having in providing jury pools for trials. Statistically, three
fifths of the people who are summoned for jury duty either fail to show up or
don't reply at all to the summons card. The threat of a fine of up to $100 has
turned out to be just that...nothing more than a threat. Most counties do not
pursue any disciplinary action against those who do not respond. Back in 1998
the state changed the juror pulling system from one that relied on the voter
registration rolls exclusively to one that drew from all licensed drivers in
the state. The reasoning was that voter registration rolls were shrinking and
with them the number of jurors who could be called. I knew some prospective
jurors who were being called up every year or two. By expanding the prospective
pool, it was thought, they would also increase the number of jurors who could
serve. But that thinking has almost backfired. There has been a slight increase
in the number who report for duty, but not as many as there should be when you widen
the pool to include all the drivers in the state. That's because people who
registered to vote also, by their registration, indicated that they had an
interest in the civic affairs of citizenship. By expanding the pool they simply
increased the numbers of people who had no intention or interest in serving on
a jury and would either make any excuse possible to get out of it or simply not
respond at all to a summons. Even worse, as far as the justice system is
concerned, is that those who do not want to serve but do anyway are detached
from the proceedings of the trial and do not help to render valid decisions
within the context of the trial. I have only been summoned twice. Once I
reported and was dismissed when I was not needed that day and the second time
when I called the night before I was told not to report. But I would love to
serve on a jury and am one of those people who is humbled to be asked to
perform my civic duty in order to provide someone a fair and impartial trial
with a jury of their peers. So, what do you think the answer might be to the
low response rate of prospective jurors? Should we return to a system where
they are pulled only from voter registration rolls? Should we begin publicly
punishing those who do not even bother to respond? Do we need to do more in the
area of educating citizens as to what some of the benefits/responsibilities of
citizenship are? And how about yourself? Have you ever been called or served on
a jury? How did you feel about it? Did you try and get out of it or did you
serve? Let Orlando know how you feel by leaving your comments below. Hope to
see you next time, Man About Town
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/southwest/orl-asecjurors10051005may10,1,5134986.story?page=1&coll=orl-news-headlines-swest
May 13, 2005
archy & mehitabel
What do you get when you combine a love-sick, intellectual cockroach who
taps out daily columns for a great metropolitan newspaper by jumping onto
typewriter keys, with an alley cat who has all the morals of...well an alley
cat? You get the story of archy & mehitabel, the brainchild of newspaper
columnist Don Marquis who, in 1916, introduced his readers to the two title
characters and the other denizens of Shinbone Alley. You also get the latest
musical play presented by Orlando's own Mad Cow Theatre, which my friend Zee
and I attended this past Thursday night. In 1954 lyricist Joe Darion (Man of La
Mancha) and composer George Kleinsinger fashioned a "back alley
opera" based on Marquis' writings. In 1957 they collaborated with a young
new comic by the name of Mel Brooks (Blazing Saddles) and reworked the
production into a full blown Broadway musical which saw a rather limited run of
49 performances before drawing the curtain. The play, though, in various
incarnations has survived and been performed by local theater productions
across the country in the almost 50 years since. archy was an everyday
cockroach with the not-so everyday soul of a poet, which he was in a previous
life. At night he would climb to the typewriter, in which Marquis would have
graciously left a sheet of paper, and would "write" by jumping off
the carriage onto a key, off the carriage onto a key, off the carriage onto a
key until he would complete whatever philosophical observation or commentary on
existence was in his little cockroach mind and soul, with a healthy does of
humor and sarcasm. Because he could not simultaneously hold down the shift key
and whatever letter key he was using, all of archy's writings were in lower
case and without benefit of punctuation. mehitabel was a run of the mill alley
cat (though she claimed she was Cleopatra in a previous life) who roamed the
garbage cans and ledges of Shinbone Alley, a rundown area of the city inhabited
by the poorer and baser non-human creatures of the sprawling metropolis. She
was content to "spend time" with any tom, dick or harry cat who could
be "generous" and she was, to archy's constant torment, the love of
his little cockroach life. Now, I have to admit, when I was first considering
attending this live musical stage production I had my doubts regarding how much
I would enjoy such an offbeat story, especially when the main characters were
an insect and a cat being performed by people. I wondered if that juxtaposition
would be too jarring to my senses for my mind to accept. Not to mention, who
ever heard of a love story between a roach and a cat? That SING!!!??? Michael
Andrew, singer, bandleader, producer and actor (but perhaps best known locally
as the Michael Andrew in "Michael Andrew and Swingerhead") plays the
romantically challenged archy. A few years back some friends of mine and I saw
Michael Andrew and Swingerhead perform in a local club and I was blown away by
Andrew's vocals. The songs that archy sings do not give Andrew the opportunity
to exercise his wide range, but he evokes the small yet outspoken cockroach so
well that even without the oversized glasses and bowler hat with antennae that
he wears you would be able to picture the diminutive insect. And I swear he was
channeling Jimmy Durante, he did such an excellent impression of the late
singer during one of the songs. His portrayal of a drunken cockroach
("Flit with a DDT chaser") was absolutely dead-on and hilarious, as
was his interaction with front-row audience members. His love song about
mehitabel had me in stitches when he sang, "Her left ear is ragged; there
are lumps on her hide, and she limps on her hind leg on the starboard
side." Sara Jones plays the bawdy yet lovable mehitabel. Jones graduates
next month from UCF's theater program, but she has already appeared in numerous
local stage productions. She seemed equally capable of both belting out the
strong songs and softly singing the ballad-type ones. Her duet "Flotsam
and Jetsam" with Andrew was choreographed and performed delightfully.
Stephan Jones plays dual roles as Big Bill the tomcat and the smooth talking
con man actor/producer Tyrone Tattersall. Jones is a veteran actor who has
performed around the world and locally has appeared with The Orlando
Shakespeare Festival and at The Icehouse Theatre. Without a doubt, Jones is the
most charismatic presence on the stage during this production. His portrayal of
Big Bill in the style reminiscent of a tough guy from "Guys and
Dolls" and his slick role as the well-spoken producer who promises to make
mehitabel a star were both the highlights of the entire play for me. Jones
seemed to have SO much fun while on stage that it was contagious. These
principals are solidly supported by Kimberly Gray, Samantha Kelly and Jenny
Weaver who fill roles as diverse as the three alley cat friends of mehitabel's,
a lightning bug, a moth, and various other roles, singing and speaking. I'm
certainly no expert on the theater, but it seemed to me that these three young
ladies had spent a great deal of time rehearsing as they sang and danced in
almost perfect choreographed harmony. Part of what made the experience an
enjoyable one was both the lighting and the set designs, Remember how I wrote
above that I wondered if I would be able to "accept" the story in my
mind? Well, 10 minutes into the production I was fully transported to Shinbone
Alley thanks to the effects of the lighting and sets, which were handled by
Erin Miner and Michael Noles, respectively. Musical Director Robin Jensen and
the live band kept the pace going while Costume Designer Denise Warner did an
excellent job of outfitting each actor in costumes that would clearly identify
their role without being overpowering (except for the lightning bug, but that
may have been just the beauty of Samantha Kelly "shining"
through).Narrator Reagan Smith's wonderfully deep voice tied the scenes
together beautifully and helped to keep the story flowing. It has been a while
since I've been to a live stage theater production, but seeing archy & mehitabel
has sparked a desire to remedy that situation by making sure I make it to other
plays in the area in the near future. Mad Cow Theatre and it's performers have
staged a delightfully funny and thoroughly entertaining production that had me
right in the alley with the cats and in the darkened news office with a talking
cockroach. Great performances by all involved that provided an evening of
wonderful entertainment and amusement. archy & mehitabel runs through June
5, 2005 on various days and at various times. Ticket prices range from $14 to
$24, so call for exact times and prices for the show you want to see. Mad Cow
Theatre is located at 105 South Magnolia Avenue at the corner of Pine and
Magnolia in Downtown Orlando. The phone number is 407.297.8788. If you've been
to see archy & mehitabel I'd love to read your thoughts on the play, or if
you think you'd like to see it after reading this review, that would be cool to
know. Or maybe you'd never attend a live theater production unless you were
bound and gagged. Please let me know by leaving a comment below. After all,
Orlando wants to know what you think and so do I! Hope to see you next time,
Man About Town http://www.donmarquis.com/ http://www.madcowtheatre.com/
http://innerzinc.com/inneroutings/ http://www.mtishows.com/bio.asp?bID=3361
--darion http://www.answers.com/topic/mel-brooks http://www.michaelandrew.com/
http://www.swingerhead.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_music
http://www.shakespearefest.org/ http://www.icehousetheatre.com/
May 14, 2005
Hurricane Season Approaches
First, a special "Thank You" to fellow Orlando bloggers
"Blog of a Mother" and "Inneroutings" for linking to my
blog, and even using my graphic (above) on their blogs for the link. I
appreciate the space! :) If you've linked to this blog I'd love to hear about
it, and if you'd like to use the "Man About Town" graphic for your
link, please feel free to do so. On June 1st, just a little more than 2 weeks
away, hurricane season will officially begin. Until last year I felt fairly safe
living right in the middle of the state, thinking that any hurricane that made
it this far inland from either coast would be severely weakened by the time it
got to us. Charley, Frances and Jeanne proved that theory completely wrong last
August and September.
Last year, Dr William Gray accurately predicted a total of 14 tropical
storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic, forecast 8 hurricanes (there were 9) and
3 major hurricanes (there were 6). This year predictions call for 13 named
storms and 7 hurricanes, with a 73 percent chance that at least 1 major
hurricane will make landfall in the United States and a 53 percent chance that
it will be on the U.S. East Coast, including the Florida Peninsula. The average
for the last century is 52 percent and 31 percent respectively. In other words
we stand a very good chance of repeating last season's destruction at least 1
time, and fairly decent odds of it happening more than once yet again. I don't
know about you, but once is enough for me. Soon I will be out purchasing batteries,
water, some canned goods (I was without power for only 18 hours last year, but
friends less than 2 miles away were without electricity for 10 days), and
making sure my first aid kit is stocked. I may even go ahead and buy plywood
for my windows and perhaps a generator. I'm also planning to trim some branches
from the trees around my house, one of them still has dead branches from last
year's hurricanes hanging in it. Here's a basic Hurricane Survival List of
things each home should have to weather a hurricane and it's aftermath: A
supply of water (one gallon per person per day). Store water in sealed,
unbreakable containers. A supply of non-perishable packaged or canned food and
a manual can opener. A change of clothing, rain gear, and sturdy shoes. Blankets
or sleeping bags. Towels, toilet paper and bathroom items. A first aid kit and
prescription medications (enough to last 2 weeks). Two large coolers (one to
keep food; one to go get ice). A battery-powered radio or TV, flashlight, spare
bulbs, and plenty of extra batteries. Several boxes of candles and matches
sealed in plastic bags. An ample supply of cash since ATM's or credit card
terminals may not be working. An extra set of car keys. A list of current
family physicians and current prescription medications. Special items for
infants, elderly, or disabled family members. Also, if you have multiple
members in your household, it's a good idea to have a rendezvous plan and place
to meet afterward should you be separated before or during the storm.
Orlando didn't fare very well at all last hurricane season. I think
despite all the warnings most of us had grown pretty complacent about preparing
for 100mph winds and the tornadoes that were spawned from the fierce weather
systems as they approached and passed over us. It was quite chilling to walk
around in the morning light after Charley and see huge trees uprooted and
blocking entire streets or worse, crushing some nearby home or automobile. This
year, with those memories fresh in our minds, we can all exercise better
preparedness in anticipation of a repeat of last August and September's
destruction. Are you planning on preparing better and earlier this year than
you did last year? Do you have any additional items you would suggest for a
Hurricane Survival List? Or do you think that last year's hurricane season was
so bad that the odds are in our favor this year to slide by without much in the
way of landfall storms? If so, I hope you'll leave your comment below and let
Orlando know what you think. Hope to see you next time, Man About Town
http://everfloyd.com/annmarie/blog/ http://innerzinc.com/inneroutings/
http://tropical.atmos.colostate.edu/forecasts/ dr.gray
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HURRICANE_CONFERENCE?SITE=APWEB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
May 15, 2005
Bits and Pieces
If you've been to downtown Orlando, you know that parking, especially on
the street, is at a premium. While the downtown area is booming with the
building of businesses and residential housing, it's getting harder and harder to
find available street parking. The answer now seems to be an abundance of
parking garages. Sometimes that's convenient, but a lot of times it isn't.
What's your experience been? And do you think the parking garages are better or
worse than street parking? Theme parks across the nation are gearing up for
their biggest summer yet since the terrorist attacks of 2001, in spite of the
rising cost of gasoline. We have 3 of the biggest (Disney, Universal and Sea
World) right in our "backyard" and others (Busch Gardens, Cypress
Gardens) within an easy drive. As a resident, do you attend the local theme
parks very often? Or do you only go when family or friends are in town
visiting? There's been a lot of debate about Orange County and/or the City of
Orlando paying for or helping to pay for multi-million dollar improvements to
the TD Waterhouse Centre in order to keep an NBA team (Orlando Magic) in our
town. Some argue that we can never be a world-class city without a professional
sports team bearing our name. Do you think that's true? Should taxpayer money
be used to renovate the former O-rena, or should team owner Rich DeVos be
funding any improvements? UCF has plans to build a brand new stadium and would
like to add a college of medicine to it's campus. Do you think the new UCF
stadium will signal the end of Citrus Bowl Stadium just west of downtown
Orlando, since the UCF Knights will no longer be playing their games in it? Do
you think that annual bowl games will then decide to play in the newer UCF
stadium, since it will be state of the art, compared to the Citrus Bowl Stadium
which was last renovated 15 years ago? Will a college of medicine help bring
more technology-based businesses and industry into East Orlando? Or will it be
a monumental waste of money and effort? The Orlando Police Department and the
Office of the Mayor of Orlando have been at odds for quite a while over the
amount of a pay raise for police officers. Is the Police Department being
greedy? Or is the City being stingy? And while we're on the subject of law
enforcement and money; Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary has told the County
Commission that he wants an additional $16 million next year for his
department, even if it means raising taxes. Are you willing to pay more in
taxes in order to provide the Sheriff with the additional money? Or do you
think Orange County will respond as it has in the last few years when asked for
a tax hike to fund local education and just say no? I hope you'll leave your
comments below and let Orlando know what you think. Hope to see you next time,
Man About Town
May 17, 2005
Orlando International Fringe Festival
Here's a big "Thank You" to Dawn and Michelle for adding
"Man About Town" links to their blogs here in Orlando. Ladies, you
are lovely! The Orlando International Fringe Festival (referred to simply as
"The Fringe" by locals) kicks off its 14th annual celebration this
Thursday night, May 19th, and continues for 10 days and nights until its close
on May 29th. Situated in the 45 acre Loch Haven Park will be more than 50
artists and performing groups putting on almost 400 shows that will range from
comedic and dramatic theater productions to music, dance, performance art,
drumming, poetry reading, juggling and more. Some performances are solo and
some involve troupes of players. The Fringe owes it's existence to a historical
event that spawned many such festivals around the world. In 1947 in Edinburgh,
Scotland the very first Edinburgh International Festival was held in the hopes
of uniting post-World War II Europe through a celebration of culture.
Performers from throughout Europe were invited to come and display their
talent. Knowing there would be huge crowds gathering each day, six Scottish
companies and two English companies decided to turn up uninvited. With no place
for them to perform they were turned away from the main festival. Not to be
denied, they set up makeshift stages and performing venues on the outer
"fringes" of the official Festival and made their mark on history,
thus instituting the very first "Fringe Festival".
To attend you need only show up and purchase first an official Orlando
International Fringe Festival button for $6. The proceeds from the button sales
help to support the Festival. Then, consult the program and decide which
shows/performances you would like to see. You purchase separate tickets for
each show and 100 percent of that ticket price goes to the performers, none of
it goes to the Festival. Ticket prices for the individual shows/performances
range from $3 to $10 per person, depending on the show. There are concession
stands, vendor stands and a beer garden which features an outdoor stage hosting
various performances and this year there will be an Internet Cafe set up for
the geeks. :) To introduce children to the joy of theater and the arts (and
because some of the regular shows are mature in nature and include adult
language and/or semi-nudity) there is The Kid's Fringe held Saturday May 21st,
Sunday May 22nd, Saturday May 28th and Sunday May 29th between the hours of 1
and 4 pm. Kid's Fringe is held on the lobby stage of The Orlando Repertory
Theatre at 1001 E. Princeton Street and is aimed at children in kindergarten
through the 8th grade. Activities include plays, raffles, comedy improv, clowns
and sing-a-longs. The Kid's Fringe is FREE, but if you buy a button you help
support the Festival. Visual Fringe is a fairly new portion of the Fringe,
making pieces of artowrk available for sale throughout the Festival. The Fringe
has partnered with OVAL in making various artists work available. The pieces
will be on display inside the Shakespeare Center and the Orlando Repertory
Theatre. All proceeds from the sale of artwork goes directly to the artist.
Parking is available at Loch Haven Park in two surface lots and at the Orlando
Science Center garage. Parking at the Science Center garage costs $3.50 before
5 pm and $2 after 5 pm. The Fringe runs Thursday night May 19th through Sunday,
May 29th during various hours. Consult the online schedule for performance
times. If you've been to The Fringe before I'd love to hear of your experience
and what you thought of it. Or if you're thinking you might attend The Fringe
for the first time this year that would be great to know. I hope you'll leave
your comments below and let Orlando know what you think. Hope to see you next
time, Man About Town http://itsdawnedonme.com/ http://www.zengrrl.com/index.php
http://orlandofringe.org/CMS/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
http://www.cityoforlando.net/public_works/parks/cityparks/lochhaven/LochHaven.htm
http://www.edfringe.com/area.html?id=35
http://www.tixtoday.com/cgi-bin/tixtoday/search.cgi program
http://orlandofringe.org/CMS/content/view/9/32/ $3 http://www.ovalorlando.org/
May 20, 2005
Arthur Frommer in O-Town
If there is one single name that stands out in the world of travel
guides, it is the name "Frommer". Tonight the man behind the name,
Arthur Frommer, was the keynote speaker at a special presentation conducted by
the Institute for Travel Writing & Photography at the Orlando Public
Library in downtown Orlando. This was the opening session of the Institute's
10th annual 3-day gathering and was free to the public, though reservations
were required. My companion for the evening, Cindy, and I arrived at
approximately 6:15 to find the seating area rapidly filling for the 7:00pm
start time.
Frommer published his first guide, "Europe on $5 a Day", in
1956 and there are now more than 300 titles which bear his name as guides to practically
every region, country and continent on the earth. He writes a travel column
that appears in more than 60 U.S. newspapers and travel articles written by him
have appeared in magazines such as Reader's Digest, Parade Magazine and
Consumers' Digest. As the opening guest speaker, Frommer, who described Orlando
as "One of the 3 most rapidly expanding cities in the United States",
spent about 30 minutes reviewing today's world of travel. He suggested the
following: 1. Substitute The People's Republic of China for any trips to
western Europe, due to the severely imbalanced exchange rate between the dollar
and the Euro. A trip to China is much more economical, more value for the money
and, "comparable to Europe in the 1950's". 2. Consider trips to
Vietnam, which is currently experiencing a "mini-boomlet" of tourism
and can be a great value for the economical-minded traveler. 3. Travel to Bali,
where an all-inclusive 1 week trip from the west coast of the U.S. can be had
for $829. 4. An African Safari which includes 5 days in game reserve parks and
2 days in cities such as Kenya or Tanzania for $1,800. 5. Summer rates to Rio
de Janeiro or Buenos Aires for $699. 6. For domestic travel, consider the
excellent value of trips to one of the four National Parks; Yosemite,
Yellowstone, Grand Canyon or the Great Smoky Mountains, where a carload can
enter for $20 and accommodations at rustic lodges average $60 per night. For
people who may wish to spend their vacation or travel time expanding their
minds, Frommer pointed out that a great many of the world's universities, such
as St. John's College in New Mexico and Oxford in England have summer programs
available for auditing and you can stay in the dorms that the students live in
during the school year and eat in the same cafeteria the students do during the
school year, while learning about specialized topics over a one or two week
period. These kinds of travel Frommer hailed as "A vacation that returns
you to your home a more learned person". As his time was running out, he
quickly pointed out learning cruises such as Swan Hellenic, the benefits of
Elder Hostels for travelers over the age of 55, enjoyable paddleboat tours up
the Mississippi River, the value of travels to Costa Rica and urged us to
consider travels to central European countries such as Poland, Croatia, and
Hungary where the currency is not in such a state of fluctuation as it is in
western Europe. The program then moved into a panel discussion and Q & A
session with Mr. Frommer and 5 faculty members of the Institute for Travel
Writing & Photography that was moderated by the editor of the e-mail
newsletter and website SunScribbles, Ms. Darlyn Finch. The faculty members on
the panel joining Mr. Frommer were, from left to right: John W. Byram - - Editor-in-chief,
University Press of Florida. Lee Foster - - e-travel journalist. Bruce
Whipperman - - Travel guide writer. Dr. Timothy O'Keefe - - Former head of
journalism at UCF and travel guide writer. Tom Brosnahan - - e-travel
journalist.
For approximately an hour the audience was able to ask questions of the
panel members on subjects ranging from how to become a travel writer or
photographer to worries about terrorism while traveling to what "out of
the way" locales might be recommended. Afterward, a small reception was
held with refreshments and the opportunity for all to mingle and discuss as
many different aspects of travel as you can imagine. It was a very enjoyable
evening of learning and obtaining useful information for those who enjoy
traveling the country and the world. Mr. Frommer and the other members of the
panel, were charming, cordial and very knowledgeable. As an extra added bonus,
we got to make "new" friends tonight when we met ZenGrrl and her
friend Rhon. I've known ZenGrrl though her blog and she mine, but we've never
met in person. However when we both found out we would be attending tonight's
event, we made plans to be sure and meet and introduce ourselves in person, We
had a wonderful conversation with both ladies and have made plans to keep in
touch in the future. ZenGrll is a published travel writer (along with a whole
laundry list of talents and accomplishments) and it was a pleasure to finally
meet her and Rhon in person. Do you like to travel? If so, what has been your
favorite vacation or trip? Do you have recommendations or tips for travelers
that you'd like to share? Or are you a homebody who prefers staying close to
where you are? I hope you'll leave your comments below and let Orlando know
what you think. Hope to see you next time, Man About Town
http://www.frommers.com/ http://www.satw.org/satw/print.asp?SId=571
http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/asp/home.aspx http://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/
http://cruisemates.com/articles/reviews/swan-hellenic/index.cfm
http://www.elderhostel.org/welcome/home.asp http://sunscribbles.com/
http://www.zengrrl.com/index.php
May 22, 2005
Downtown Orlando Lifestyle Expo
Today was the First Annual Downtown Orlando Lifestyle Expo, a free event
held at the western side of Lake Eola that featured exhibits from downtown
Orlando businesses, realtors, condominium projects, churches, arts groups and
vendors, as well as several free concerts by jazz musicians at the Lake Eola
Disney Amphitheater. I made it to Lake Eola at about 4pm, 2 hours after the
official kick off time of 2pm, and found the area to be quite crowded. It took
a while to find on-street parking and I was just about to head for the downtown
parking garage when I lucked out and found a spot almost directly across from
the south entrance to Lake Eola. As I approached the part of the park where the
exhibitor's tents were, I could see that there was quite a large gathering of
people on the sidewalk and in the grassy areas around the tents. I hope that
translated into good sales for the vendors. There were artists selling
paintings, woodwork, handmade dolls, jewelry, scarves and candles. Businesses
were represented by such names as Cingular, The Orlando Magic, radio station
WLOQ, downtown churches and several others. But by far the biggest tent and the
biggest push came from the downtown realtors who are working to entice people
to move into the downtown area condominium developments. After spending 2 hours
yesterday doing work in my yard, I could easily be persuaded to move into a
condo where there is no grass to mow or edge, no weeds to pull and no prickly,
thorny bushes to attack me while working. It was a tempting offer, but I guess
I'm too firmly ensconced in the suburbs.
By the time I arrived at the Disney Amphitheater, The Legendary J.C.'s
had already finished performing and left the stage and Paul Howards was in the
process of setting up. Though a little disappointed that I had missed the
J.C.'s, I was excited to see Paul Howards perform live and apparently I wasn't
the only one. The amphitheater was about half full when I arrived, but by the
time Howards and his group hit the stage it was easily three quarters full and
people were still arriving. Howards, who played for years at the Jazz Company
at Walt Disney World's Pleasure Island, is a master saxophonist. The way he
belts out the sound it amazes me that he doesn't pass out from lack of oxygen.
Howards is accompanied by a keyboardist, drummer, bass guitarist and
lead guitarist and they all meshed beautifully during every piece. The
"competition" between Howards and his lead guitarist on a few numbers
lead to some brilliant performances, as each of them took their playing to
another level, and it was the audience that won every time.
During his performance, it was almost impossible not to tap your foot,
bob your head, sway your shoulders or tap with your hands to the beat of the
music. It was infectious; so much so that this woman could not keep from
standing up and dancing with her little girl as the music swept over the
audience. Soon, it was time to depart, unfortunately before Chuck Loeb and Kim
Waters were scheduled to perform. But I'm sure there will be a SECOND annual
Downtown Orlando Lifestyle Expo next year since this one looked so successful,
so maybe I'll get a chance to hear them then if they return. Finally, I have to
share with you this picture of a concert-goer trying to even out his tan while
waiting for the show to begin. He was making good use of the sunshine that
appeared in between the occasional clouds. I hope he was successful! LOL!
Did you attend the Expo today? If so I'd love to read your impressions
of the event. Or did this sound like an event you would attend in the future? I
hope you'll leave your comments below and let Orlando know what you think. Hope
to see you next time, Man About Town
http://www.downtownorlandoproperties.com/dtolifestyleexpo.htm
http://www.thejointchiefs.com/indexnew.html
http://www.jazzinorlando.com/homehow.htm paul howards http://chuckloeb.com/
http://www.kimwaters.net/
May 24, 2005
The Orlando Magic Bring Back Brian Hill
I am a nominal sports fan. I do have my favorite teams in the different
major sports, but I usually don't watch or listen to many games until the
playoffs, and then usually only if one of my favorite or second-favorite teams
is playing. I have been to a couple of the Orlando Magic Games and enjoyed them
very much, but I'm also the type who usually prefers to sit in the comfort of
my home if I'm going to watch a game, again unless it's some kind of playoff
game.
But back during the '94-'95 and '95-'96 seasons, I watched quite a few
Orlando Magic games, especially when they went into their first (and only) NBA
Finals games in '95-'96. They were playing, they were playing well and they
were winning a majority of their games with a good combination of coaching and
talent. It was fun to watch them win more than they lost and they looked like
they were having more fun doing the same. I remember sitting with some buddies
watching a game and remarking that it looked like The Magic may have finally
begun to come into their own as an NBA franchise. How little did we know that
our optimism (and that of many Magic Fans) would be destroyed by actions we
could not understand. The Head Coach position was held by Brian Hill. He made
the players work, on both their strengths and their weaknesses, and he got
results that showed on the court. He coached with his own obvious talent, and
that showed on the court as well as The Magic outplayed other teams and made
their way to the NBA Finals. The future looked bright for the Magic's next
season, even with Shaq going to L.A., until Penny Hardaway threw his temper
tantrum and convinced other players and management that he was more important
than Brian Hill, resulting in Hill's firing in 1997. According to published
reports, some of those players indicated in later years that they had effectively
"quit" on Coach Hill during games. I haven't watched an Orlando Magic
game since. I lost respect for players and management and had no desire to
support them, even in the smallest way, by watching their games. I'm only one
potential viewer, but it seemed like a lot of people in Orlando felt the same.
What was done and how it was done never felt right.
So, it was with no small amount of glee that I read Internet News
reports this morning that indicated Brian Hill would be offered the Orlando
Magic Head Coaching job before the day was out. I'd like to think that
management is indicating, in their own way, that they made a mistake in firing
Hill 8 years ago. I certainly hope they have apologized to him, profusely. And
I hope that they realize that no man is a miracle worker and that they will
need to allow Hill the time to rebuild as needed in order to coach The Magic to
winning seasons again. And he CAN do it. Hill was the Orlando Magic's
winningest coach, with a 191-104 record as Head Coach. If the current talent,
and whoever we pick up in the draft lottery tonight, stays healthy and will
work with Hill, we stand a better than even chance of making the finals again
next season. But as I said at the top of this blog, I'm a nominal sports fan.
There may be (and probably are) aspects of this whole tableau that I have
missed and if you've got a more informed point of view (or even your own point
of view, well-informed or not) I'd love to hear it and so would Orlando. I hope
you'll leave your comments below and let Orlando know what you think. Hope to
see you next time, Man About Town.
May 25, 2005
Urban Think Bookstore
Wednesday after work I headed downtown so I could attend a book signing
that was being held at Urban Think Bookstore, located at 625 E. Central
Boulevard. I arrived downtown about 45 minutes before the signing was to begin,
so I thought I would try one of the area eateries. I walked across and down the
street a short distance from where I had parked my car and came upon Metro
Expresso Pizza Cafe at 417 E. Central Boulevard. Their menu consisted of pizza,
of course, as well as salads, sandwiches and some pasta dishes. I ordered a
turkey and provolone sub with everything but onions, and a glass of iced tea. I
was amused when I made the faux pas of asking what kinds of bread they offered
for the subs and the gentleman behind the counter looked up at me from his
order-taking and in a very heavily accented voice said "All our bread is
Italian bread...sir." Of course, I should have known. He gave me my glass
of tea at the counter and I made my way to an inside street window table so I
could watch people walking by the small outdoor seating area in front of the
restaurant while my sandwich was being prepared and toasted. I love to
people-watch. After about 5 minutes my sandwich was delivered to my table and
it looked delicious.
The Italian sub roll was 8 inches in length, cut in half with melted
provolone on the roll, thinly sliced turkey breast piled high, fresh lettuce
and sliced tomato with a side of Italian dressing. I ate half the sub without
the dressing and half with it, and both were very tasty. I felt that the amount
of food and drink I received for my $7.00 was more than worth it. If you're in
the downtown area, you might want to stop in and try Metro Expresso and let me
know what you think of it.
The book signing was for a book by Bob Mervine entitled Orlando
Chow-Restaurants for the Rest of Us. It seemed like a perfect book for the Man
About Town to own, lol. Mr. Mervine spent more than 20 years in the Media
Relations Department of Walt Disney World, was part of the opening team for
Tokyo Disneyland, has worked as a broadcast journalist and is currently a staff
writer for the Orlando Business Journal covering Tourism, Marketing & Media
and Dining & Restaurants, as well as being a freelance writer. With his
varied background and his many years as a resident of Central Florida, he is
eminently qualified to serve as a guide to the Orlando area's best places to
eat.
Orlando Chow-Restaurants for the Rest of Us, as I would discover upon
purchasing a copy, is chock full of information while retaining an easy to read
and simplistic format. The restaurants appear in an alphabetical order and each
one is allotted 2 pages to describe the cuisine(s) offered; the address and
hours of service; the price range; forms of payment accepted; whether
reservations are suggested or necessary; a description of house specialties;
ambiance; dress code (if any); seating availabilities; handicapped
accessibility; parking and general directions from different points in the
city; followed by an enlightening description of the restaurant and it's
epicurean offerings. There are no "rankings" per se because, as Mr.
Mervine states in his introduction, "The reader can assume if it is in the
book, I recommend it." There are also handy indexes in the back that list
the restaurants by cuisine, by location and by price range, for easy selection
of a restaurant that will fill (pun intended) your needs, and the 217 page
book's size is excellent for travel and for keeping in your glove compartment.
Unfortunately, when I arrived a few minutes prior to the scheduled
5:30pm signing, I discovered that the event had been canceled and while
disappointed, it gave me a chance to meander through Urban Think's bookshelves,
reading areas and beer and wine bar. There can be no mistaking the difference
between Urban Think and the "big box" bookstores. When you walk in
the front door the staff, if they're not assisting customers, can be found
sitting on one of the comfortable chairs or couches throughout the store
enjoying their favorite reading material. Since it was early in the evening, I
was the only patron and the two employees I saw allowed me to walk around the
entire store looking over the different books without bothering me once. I like
that. If I want help, I'll ask, but otherwise I prefer to not be accosted by
"sales" people. Urban Think is not a huge store, but it is large
enough and offers a great variety of books, magazines, newspapers and CD's in
many genres. The atmosphere is casual and is reminiscent of what bookstores
were before Barnes & Noble or Books-a-Million (and don't get me wrong, I
frequent those bookstores too) in that you feel...comfortable. Overall, I would
say that the phrase "thought provoking" is an apt description of most
of Urban Think's literary offerings, but there is something for everyone there.
Art, by local artists and for sale as well, adorns the walls, counters and
bookshelves.
While most bookstores have a coffee bar or cafe, Urban Think has a very
nice beer and wine bar (they DO offer water, sodas and coffee as well) where
you can pick up a bottle of beer or a glass of wine and sip it while you wander
through the bookstore. I didn't, since I was driving. After buying Orlando
Chow-Restaurants for the Rest of Us (and a few other items as well), I reluctantly
walked out of Urban Think toward my car. But I'll definitely be back. Have you
been to Urban Think before? If so, I'd love to read your impressions of this
unique bookstore. Or if my experience has piqued your interest and you plan to
visit it for the first time, I'd love to read that as well! I hope you'll leave
your comments below and let Orlando know what you think. Hope to see you next
time, Man About Town http://www.urbanthinkorlando.com/
May 28, 2005
Lightning Capital of The U.S.
As summer weather begins to take hold here in Central Florida (Summer
doesn't officially begin until June 21, but we all know it's here already!) we
will experience the usual high-humidity, high-temperature stifling heat that
makes us thankful for air-conditioning. We will experience the familiar pattern
of afternoon thunderstorms, and with those afternoon thunderstorms we will be
reminded many, many times that we live in the "Lightning Capital of the
United States"
Four days ago a line of thunderstorms blew through Volusia and north
Seminole counties (north and northeast of Orlando) between 3 and 4 p.m. causing
extensive property damage and sending a 29 year old soil scientist to the
hospital after he was struck by lightning while surveying land in a wooded area
with 4 other survey group members. The group was in the process of leaving the
area because they saw the storm approaching. According to a National Weather
Service meteorologist, that lightning strike was one of an estimated 5,670
lightning strikes that day that hit between 1 and 5 p.m. in an area that covers
the Ocala National Forest, parts of the Atlantic Ocean, and portions of Lake,
Seminole, Volusia and Brevard counties.
Three days ago afternoon thunderstorms and their accompanying lightning
strikes caused dozens of small brush fires over in the city of Palm Bay in
Brevard County, east of Orlando on the coast. Fire departments across the area
are gearing up to try and respond to the typical summer occurrence of these
kinds of brush fires that are caused by lightning strikes. And it really makes
me rethink any plans to go camping, since my tent has metal tubing for framing
and support. Here's a map produced by NASA showing the distribution of
lightning on a worldwide scale.
Some interesting facts; a typical lightning strike is hotter than the
surface of the sun! The temperature of the surface of the sun has been recorded
at 11,000 degrees (pretty hot, if you ask me) but lightning strikes hit the
50,000 degree mark! Also, lightning typically avoids striking oceans, but as
the picture to the.... shows it DOES happen sometimes. And when lightning
strikes a sandy area, hollowed out glass tube-like structures know as
fulgurites are formed beneath the ground, sometimes boring down and branching
out for several feet.
So, what can you do to avoid being struck by lightning? Here are some
tips if you see a storm approaching:
1.
Stay indoors and try not to go out a half hour before and after the
storm. Lightning can precede the actual clouds and rain of a storm and linger
after it has passed.
2.
Avoid open spaces, fields, and ballparks (the location of 28% of deaths
and 29% of lightning injuries), but if you find yourself in one of those
locations with no time to leave, fall flat on the ground to minimize being
struck.
3.
Conversely, you also want to avoid standing under trees (18% of deaths
and 13% of injuries).
4.
If you are boating, fishing, or enjoying other water-related activities
(13% of deaths and 6% of injuries), get off the water as soon as you see a
storm approaching.
5.
The safest place to be is in a building, preferably one with a lightning
rod, or a car with the windows rolled up and your body not touching any metal
parts. The metal of the lightning rod and/or the car will direct the lightning
current into the ground.
My electrical engineering friends like to remind me that it's the amps
that kill and not the voltage...but I think 1 billion volts might not feel too
good either, so I'd like to avoid both of them altogether. And I'd like for you
to avoid them as well. Please be extra careful this summer and stay away from
places and situations where lightning might strike. You'll be glad you did, and
so will your family and friends. If you've had any experience with lightning
strikes or have any other advice to offer, I hope you'll leave a comment below
and let Orlando know what you think. Hope to see you next time, Man About Town.
May 30, 2005
Fringe Festival I: "Theme Park Diva"
The Fringe has gone (sniff, sniff); here's my "sort of review"
of one of the shows I saw. Some things are much funnier when you get the
"inside" part of the joke, or song or whatever it may be. And though
I've never worked at a theme park, I've known plenty of people who have. Enough
to make me laugh almost uncontrollably with recognition throughout the entire
hour-long production of "Theme Park Diva" that was presented at this
year's Orlando International Fringe Festival. Trust me when I tell you my
companion for the show was very embarrassed to be sitting next to me (and it
wasn't even the usual reason that women are embarrassed to sit next to me) and
the only thing that kept her from leaving was that she found it to be humorous
as well. Just not as much as me. But anyone who lives in Central Florida and
has attended more than 2 theme parks in a year will recognize the scenes that
are played out with an almost gleefully savage style in this musical
performance that has tunes in it that you just can't get out of your head. Sort
of like that "It's A Small World" song....oops! Sorry.
We arrived at the Fringe around 12:15pm for the 1pm show. By the time we
got parked (we got VERY lucky and found a spot in the front near the entrance),
bought our Fringe buttons and our tickets for the show and got in line (there
were already at least 75 people in front of us) it was 12:30. They opened the
doors to the Margeson Theatre in Lowndes Shakespeare Center at 10 minutes to 1
and we got good seats (they're all good seats; no one is more than 30 feet from
the stage) on the 3rd row, stage right on the inside end. That way no one was
trying to step past us to get to another seat.
Soon the lights dimmed and we were transported backstage to Galaxy World
USA, the theme park that won the prestigious CPIA (Cleanest Park in America)
award and where we find fresh-faced, innocent and naive Suzi Ditty, a local
girl who just got hired to sing and dance with The Galaxy World Singers. It's
been Suzi's dream since she was a little girl to be a part of the show and
maybe, just maybe, be the star of the show like Amber Crystal, the reigning
Theme Park Diva who is waiting for HER big break...to work a cruise ship run by
the theme park. Through skits and musical pieces we watch the story unfold.
Theme Park Entertainment Director Ms. Terry Richards (played in drag oh
so well by David Houde) creates her masterpiece "Music, Music, Music,
Music and More" for the annual theme park competition. We get to watch as
the Galaxy World Singers reveal that they play "pass the penny"
during musical numbers to keep from getting bored, that they like to play
practical jokes on each other while on stage and that the last show of the day
is "the fast show" because they want to get finished and go party. We
hear the girls complain that all the guys are gay, and the guys complain about
their female stalkers in the audience. Oh, and the song "It's a Family
Park" will leave you in stitches. In the end, Amber gets her cruise line
gig (while her boyfriend in food service gets a job on the cruise ship snack
bar), Ms. Richards' musical production wins the coveted award and Suzi becomes
the newest "Theme Park Diva".
I cannot urge you strongly enough to see this show when it appears. This
was the troupe's second appearance at Fringe and I sure hope they will be back
next year. It will be the first show I see. Did you go see "Theme Park
Diva", or any of the Fringe offerings? If so, I hope you'll leave a
comment below and let Orlando know what you think. Hope to see you next time,
Man About Town.
May 31, 2005
Fringe Festival II: "The Extraordinary Fila"
The Fringe has gone (sniff, sniff); here's my "sort of review"
of one of the shows I saw. If you ask me if I want to see men beating drums, my
answer would be, "Ummm no, no thank you" but if you ask me if I want
to see women belly dancing my response would be an enthusiastic
"Yes!". That is how I came to be in the audience this past Sunday
afternoon when The SHREDD! Percussion Ensemble performed it's presentation of
"The Extraordinary Fila". I went with CK, who has a passing
acquaintance with some of the performers, so she wanted to see their event and
besides that many of her friends had recommended seeing the show. She probably
went for the men drumming, I definitely went for the women belly dancing!
An opening act of Flamenco dancers, Jenny and Ernesto Caballero, from
Bolivia started off the show. It was an excellent performance, if you enjoy
that sort of thing. It's just not my cup of tea. But I tip my hat to their
talent and skill. Then the lights dim and the drummers make their entrance.
First up is a short, stocky man wearing a "Billy Jack" hat with a
wolf head and skin on top of it and short silver chimes hanging off the edge of
the brim around the hat. He has a short, leather, poncho-like item over his
shoulders and chest and carrying a long drum. His name is Martin
"Greywolf" Murphy and he will be the narrator and African drum
player. Next is a tall, slender man wearing a leopard spotted shirt, wooden
rattles on his wrists, a feathery headdress and a necklace of animal (I hope)
bones around his neck and carrying 2 short drums which are attached to him by
straps. His name is Mfuka Thobos Lubamba and he is from Africa. Bringing up the
rear, but taking the middle spot on stage behind two tall conga drums, is
Carlos "C-Los" Hernandez, wearing a dazzling white shirt and pair of
pants and wearing a stylish "Panama Jack" hat...for now.
Greywolf steps to the microphone and says, "On an ordinary day, an
ordinary man is walking down an ordinary road..." and so begins the tale
of "The Extraordinary Fila", a story told through the percussion of
the drums (with translation by Greywolf) and the interpretive movements of the
belly dancers. It is the story of 2 men who have been like brothers all their
lives (portrayed by Murphy and Lubamba), living on opposite sides of a road;
their respective wives (portrayed by Rebecca "Bhrigha" Murphy,
real-life wife of Martin, and Sandra "Selket" Mistretta) and a man
who walks down their road with his extraordinary fila, portrayed by Hernandez.
It is a story of love, passion, anger, violence and, in the end,
reconciliation.
While the men remain on stage through the hour-long show, the women exit
after each of their dance performances to change costumes and accessories.
Accessories such as scimitars, daggers, canes, snakes and what can only be
described as a lighted candelabra, balanced on Bhrigha's head during her dance.
Surprisingly, I did find myself being entertained by the totality of the show
and not just the wonderful talents of the belly dancers. The format of the show
is adapted from an African storytelling tradition, using the varying beats of
the drums to convey words and emotions (though thankfully Greywolf provided
narrative translation for those of us who are not fluent in "drum"),
with the added performance of the belly dancers used as interpretive actions.
And exactly what is "The Extraordinary Fila"? If you don't know, I
wouldn't want to spoil it for you in case you attend next year's performance.
Suffice it to say that it almost ruins a lifelong friendship, then brings it
back together again because the men discover that it all depends on your point
of view. Kudos to The SHREDD! Percussion Ensemble for broadening my mind and
cultural knowledge while doing so in an entertaining fashion! Now, bring the
belly dancers back out please, LOL. Did you go see "The Extraordinary
Fila", or any of the Fringe offerings? If so, I hope you'll leave a
comment below and let Orlando know what you think. Hope to see you next time, Man
About Town.
June 2, 2005
Toojay's
Met up with Cindy, Ed and Pam tonight and we decided to have dinner at
Toojay's on East Colonial and I am STILL full. For those who don't know,
Toojay's is an excellent deli...no wait it's a full service restaurant...no
wait it's a fantastic sandwich shop, wait...it's a bakery. Actually it's all of
those rolled into one, and a favorite place for those who want to enjoy some
authentic Jewish deli fare or American cuisine. It wasn't all that busy when we
arrived around 7:15, yet our server managed to leave me thinking she was
somewhat distracted. As she took our drink order I asked for iced tea,
unsweetened. She asked me if I would like lemon with it and I answered
"No, thank you" yet when she returned my our drinks my tea had a nice
big wedge of lemon in it. Now the truth is it really doesn't matter to me if a
lemon wedge is in my tea or not, though my preference is not to have one in it,
but if it is...no big deal. I just found it odd that she asked me and still got
it wrong. Other than that little quirk, service was excellent.
Cindy ordered the TooJay's Chopped Salad: Turkey, ham, boiled egg, crisp
greens and fresh garden vegetables chopped and tossed with your choice of
dressing, topped with Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled bacon and artichoke hearts.
"Without the artichoke hearts, please." Pam ordered the T.J.'s Trio:
Generous scoops of our popular dill chicken, tuna and Dijon chicken salads
served on a bed of lettuce garnished with fresh vegetables. Ed chose the
TooJay's Shepherd's Pie: Our version of this favorite. Tender ground beef and
vegetables baked in an individual casserole dish and topped with mashed
potatoes and melted Muenster cheese. And I went with the Turkey Sandwich ( All
sandwiches served with cole slaw, dill pickle & dressings) on wheat bread:
Fresh roasted, sliced thin and piled high and a basket of Beer Battered Onion
Rings: Dipped in beer batter and fried to a golden brown. Served with a
Remoulade sauce. Before our food arrived, we were served a plate of various
breads (Rye, Whole Wheat, Deli Roll, and Challah) with butter pats, but I
passed on trying any of them since I was having a sandwich. Even though it
wasn't that busy, it seemed to take a longer time than I would have thought to
prepare our orders. Again, it wasn't that big of a deal as we were talking and
enjoying ourselves and I don't think any of us were exceptionally hungry, but
it was something I took notice of in a peripheral sort of way.
When our food arrived it looked delicious, except that Cindy's salad contained
black olives, an item that wasn't listed as part of the ingredients on the
menu. Cindy hates black olives, though I can't for the life of me figure out
why. They are, after all, delicious. But our server was more than happy to
remove the dish and have the kitchen re-make a salad with no black olives and
the replacement arrived back in fairly quick time. My Turkey Sandwich was
indeed piled high, so much that I could barely fit my big mouth around it to
take a bite. The bread was fresh, soft and tasteful, but I didn't realize that
if you don't ask for dressing, they don't put it on. For some reason I assumed
it would have mayonnaise on it, but that wasn't the case. Still I decided to
try eating it "dry" just to taste the flavor of the turkey and bread.
It WAS tasty, but it was also dry and required many sips of tea to help it on
it's way. The cole slaw was very good, not too wet and had a pleasant flavor.
I'm sure Ed enjoyed his Shepherd's Pie as he polished it off in short fashion,
even though we were all still talking while we were eating. Pam seemed to like
her choice and Cindy enjoyed her salad, but could not eat it all and ended up
taking it home in a to go box.
For dessert Cindy and I shared Coconut Mounds: Rich chocolate cake
layered with cool and creamy coconut filling, while Ed and Pam shared a piece
of Carrot Cake: Rich in carrots and layers of delectable cream cheese icing. By
the time we left at 9:10, the restaurant had closed and we were all completely
filled with good food and good conversation. Toojay's is located at 2400 E.
Colonial Drive in Orlando (behind Barnes & Noble Bookstore) and is open
Sunday-Thursday 8 am to 9 pm; Friday and Saturday 8 am to 10 pm and serves
breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have take out available, a delicious smelling
bakery, serve a nice variety of beer and wine and they cater! Have you ever
eaten at Toojay's? If so I'd love to hear how you felt about your food or
dining experience. Or, if reading about Toojay's has made you think you might
like to try them out sometime, I'd love to hear that too. Please leave a
comment below and let Orlando know what you think. Hope to see you next time,
Man About Town.
June 5, 2005
Orlando International Airport To Offer Fliers A "Clear" Choice
Would you be willing to pay $80 a year in order to be guaranteed access
to an exclusive, possibly faster security checkpoint line and the promise that
you would never have to endure a random secondary pat-down (as long as nothing
on your person or carryon triggers the metal detector)? If that sounds good to
you, Orlando International Airport will be the first airport in the nation to
offer such a plan through a pilot program called Private Sector Known Traveler
Program (PSKT) with a private company named "Verified Identity Pass
Inc." beginning June 21, 2005. On that date, program hopefuls will be able
to submit an application that will require them to provide biometric data such
as fingerprints and iris scans for identity verification, as well as undergoing
a background check through state, federal and intelligence agencies that are
under the Department of Homeland Security. The program also includes the
creative branding concept of the word "Clear" to be used in
promotional statements such as, "Orlando Airport Clears the Way" and
"The Orlando Airport is Now Clear." Clear is presented as the theme
for their media advertising campaign and includes signage and kiosk design
throughout the airport terminal. That same branding may possibly be used at
other airports who contract with Verified Identity Pass in the future.
The Federal government's Transportation Security Administration has been
testing it's own "Registered Traveler" program, which is free,
through selected airlines at selected airports across the country (Boston, Los
Angeles, Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Washington-Reagan) but they have
announced they will cap their usage at 10,000 participants and clearance cards
obtained at one airport don't work at others. TSA and DHS are supportive of
broadening the scope of the program through private sector companies such as
Verified Identity Pass. I myself have not flown out of OIA in several years,
but people that I know who have are not generally unhappy with the security
wait time and that is even with the news a month ago that OIA was suffering
from a shortage of screeners. Though down to 1,000 from a high of 1,500 shortly
after September 11, 2001, wait times at the airport are seldom more than 15 to
20 minutes unless there is an equipment malfunction.
So, is this program necessary at an airport that does not have any
serious security wait-time issues? Or will this become a situation that is
similar to our E-pass program, which by opening more E-pass lanes reduced the
number of change lanes, thus lengthening the lines at the change lanes into
miles long lines of vehicles? Will regular security lines be reduced as these
"Clear" lines are opened, causing longer waits for those who do not
have the "Clear" card? Or will a traveling populace that is used to
"Fast Pass" privileges at local theme parks flock to the new
"Clear" convenience that OIA is providing? And there are still some
people who have real concerns about data, their data, being in the databases of
private companies that, these days especially, can't seem to keep it private.
Banks, credit card companies, and private businesses have all shown their
vulnerability to information thieves in the past few years. If social security
numbers and credit card numbers cannot be safely stored by private companies,
why would anyone believe that it would be any different for their fingerprints
or iris scans?
And finally, though it does indeed sound like the plot for a thriller
novel (but then, so did flying planeloads of people into buildings full of
people), what about the possibility of "sleeper" agents, people with
spotless records that can obtain the lessened security checks that this program
provides? Are we opening ourselves up to an exploitation of the program's
inherent weakness; that while you can know a person's record you cannot know
what they think? Will this be a false panacea that turns around and bites us in
the ass someday? What do you think? Is this a great program, or is it a waste
of time and money? Would you use it when it becomes available? Do you fly out
of OIA quite a bit and can offer more insight into the situation? It would be
great if you would leave a comment below and let Orlando know what you think.
Hope to see you next time, Man About Town.
June 8, 2005
Wine Down Wednesdays
Wednesday
is that day of the week known as "Hump Day" to most people who work a
Monday through Friday job. If we can just get over the hump of that middle day,
we can coast downhill into the weekend. Every Wednesday in the month of June,
Whole Foods Market in Winter Park is holding a special event in their store
called Wine Down Wednesday and for those who enjoy the fruit of the vine it's
an excellent opportunity to sample some new varieties or reacquaint yourself
with some old favorites. The play on words is just thrown in for some extra
fun. If you live in the Orlando area and you've never been to Whole Foods
Market, you really should make some time to check it out. Ostensibly thought of
as a health food store, Whole Foods is more of an organic and natural food
outlet with other healthful products thrown in for convenience.. They typically
carry over 80 varieties of fresh organically grown produce, a seafood and meat
counter, a bakery featuring items baked with unbleached flour and all
gluten-free, a deli that is full of healthy ready-to-eat products prepared
fresh daily as well as a full salad bar, vitamins and health care products,
fresh ground coffees and teas and tucked away in the back corner is a
surprisingly varied and well-stocked wine and cheese selection.
That
is the corner that CK and I were heading for in order to enjoy tonight's
special theme for Wine Down Wednesday; Italian Wine Tasting. But first, we
meandered through the store which, for a Wednesday evening, seemed to be pretty
crowded. It was interesting to see the different kinds of people who make up
the store's customer base. There were aging flower children of the 60's who you
could almost imagine had walked in from the commune to pick up something
natural to eat or drink; there were those who looked as if they might be trying
to stave off the advancement of age by consuming every healthy product they
could locate; there were those "beautiful people" who intended to
stay that way by consuming every healthy product they could locate and there
those people like CK and I who just wanted some free booze, LOL.
Just
kidding.
After
CK picked up some sugar free chocolate and raspberry cookies she found (right
above Paul Newman's healthy cookies that cost as much as your health insurance
premium for a 12 ounce package) and about 20 different varieties of tea that
she wanted to try, we headed over to the wine tasting. They were offering cubes
of Asiago Cheese, a Fennel Salad, chunks of roasted pork loin and strips of
beef with peppers as snacks to those tasting the wines. I chose to stick with
the cheese while CK tried the Fennel Salad. If I hadn't had other plans for the
night that would keep me away from any refrigeration for a few hours, I would
have bought some of the cheese to have at home. CK initially liked the taste of
the salad, but then felt like the dressing may have been too spicy for her.
But, not to fear, wine samples are here!
The
distinguished looking wine expert had 4 different wines he was offering as
samples; a chardonnay, a merlot, a combination (60 percent chardonnay, 25
percent cabernet and 15 percent merlot) and a cabernet. Red wines don't appeal
to CK so she tried the chardonnay first and found it to be very light and
tasty. I chose the merlot and enjoyed the strong yet surprisingly mild flavor.
I also sipped a little of CK's chardonnay and agreed it was very good. Then I
tried the cabernet and, oh my, it was so, so very delicious. Full of flavor but
very smooth. Even my red wine reluctant companion declared the cabernet to be
an excellent libation. She ended up buying a bottle of the chardonnay she
enjoyed, while I picked up a bottle of the cabernet. I'm waiting for an
appropriate meal or perhaps just a quiet night with a book to uncork it and
enjoy. There are still 2 more Wednesday Wine Downs left in the month, both
taking place from 6:00 to 8:00pm. Next week will be the Top 10 Summer Wines and
the week after features Crisp Whites and Cool Lights. If you have any interest
in wines at all, you should plan to go to one of these and see what's new or
what's recommended. Whole Foods Market is located at the Winter Park Corners,
1989 Aloma Avenue in Winter Park and their phone number is 407.673.8788. They
are open 7 days a week from 8:00am to 10:00pm. Hope to see you here next time,
Man About Town.
June
11, 2005
Club
Swank-Kid Dutch and his Blusicians
I
was feeling a little "retro" the other night so I rang up a dame I
know named Cindy and told her we were going clubbing. One of the newsboys on
the street corner told me about a new place in town called Club Swank that was
supposed to be jumpin' with a really hip to the jive jazz and swing band.
We
rolled up in my flivver around 9pm and went in the joint just as it opened,
paying the choice bit of calico at the door our $4 cover charge. We walked
through the main table area where the band plays, then ankle'd over to the
barkeep in the next room and I ordered two glasses of our favorite giggle
water. I tipped him a few clams because he poured us the good hooch. Dollface
and I made our way to an out of the way table and sat down as the band was
finishing setting up. Though the joint looks small from the road, it is much
larger inside than it appears and has a nice open feel to it. There is an area
with a large rectangular bar in the middle allowing access from any side in the
room, the area where we sat had some tables and a straight ahead view of the
band, then a room off to the right rear of that had couches and plush chairs
and a bigger room to the right and front of that area had a large dance floor
and tables and chairs around the outer edges. Finally, though we didn't go and
peek at it, there is an outdoor tiki bar and patio complete with torches and a
large open mouthed idol. All tastefully furnished and with a decor that recalls
the classy clubs of the 1930's and 40's. The staff dresses in appropriate
period attire as, we discovered later in the evening, do some of the patrons.
As
we sipped our drinks in the low-lighted atmosphere of the room, we watched a
baby vamp walk through the door and sit at a table across from us. The three of
us sat watching the band get ready to play and then Kid Dutch himself walked
over to our table and welcomed us, which my Jane thought was the cat's meow,
and as he walked back to the band area he spoke to the bird as well. Then it
was time for the headline band to hit the stage; Kid Dutch and his Blusicians!
The 6 member band is comprised of 2 saxophonists, a bass guitarist, a drummer,
an acoustic bassist and of course, Kid Dutch himself on brasses (trombone,
trumpet, etc) and lead vocals. They began their first song and as they played
through their first set, we watched more and more people come through the door,
some wearing their glad rags, some looking like rag-a-muffins but all there to
either listen to the band or to swing dance to the music the Kid and his
Blusicians were laying down. Speaking of which, I think my two favorite songs
out of the first set were "St. Louis Blues" and "Daytona-Rooni".
Although
the music was Jake and the club was the bee's knees, we both had early-morning
calls so we left after the first set was completed, but not before we got to
see a couple hit the dance floor and show us some copacetic swing dance steps.
The male part of the couple was a real Oliver Twist, not a heeler like yours
truly. I'll be returning to Club Swank soon and on a night when I can stay
later to really soak up the atmosphere, as well as the hooch. Have you'se been
to Club Swank or enjoyed the tunes of Kid Dutch and his Blusicians? If so, I'd
be interested in knowing if you'se would give them an attaboy or a bushwa. Or
if Club Swank sounds like the kind of juice joint you'se would like to lay a
few simoleans down in, that would be great to know too. Please leave you'se
comment below and let Orlando know what you'se think. P.S. all italicized words
or phrases are from the '30's and their meanings can be found here. Hope to see
you here next time, Man About Town.
June
12, 2005
Anthony's
Pizzeria
Friday
night I went to Urban Think Bookstore in the Thornton Park area of downtown
Orlando to meet some friends of mine; Lester, his wife and Vanessa for a little
book browsing before we had dinner. I arrived slightly early for our planned
7pm meeting so I parked a few blocks away on the street and walked to the
bookstore in the drizzly rain that has been a constant part of our weather
scene the past couple of weeks. My compact umbrella was in my backpack, but it
really wasn't raining hard enough to get it out.
It
has become more and more enjoyable to go downtown over the last few years. The
businesses and the residential housing that have sprung up has helped to draw
young and middle-aged adults as well as families back into the area. As I
walked down East Central Boulevard I saw people sitting in the park chatting
with each other under the cover of huge trees, children playing, young women
walking their dogs, businessmen and businesswomen walking home from work,
joggers, skateboarders and people like me, visiting the area and en route to a
business or retail shop. I passed a couple of outdoor cafes with groups of
people eating and drinking under the protection of awnings or large table
umbrellas. Everyone was talking, laughing, eating and drinking while they
enjoyed the company of one friend or many. Downtown O-Town has turned into a
cool place to be, whether it's living there or visiting from time to time.
So,
we all met up at UT and spent about an hour browsing through the shelves and
lounging on the chairs and couches and chatting before we made whatever
purchases we wanted (I picked up two books, one for me and one for a close
friend) and left in search of food. Lester said he had heard of a great Italian
place around the corner so we trekked the quarter block to Summerlin then one
block south to a place called Anthony's Pizzeria.
Anthony's
Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant sits on the corner of East Washington and
North Summerlin. The building has covered outdoor dining area, indoor dining
room and a small bar with an even smaller dining area and holds approximately
80 people total. When we arrived at approximately 8pm there were about 72
people eating, at least that's what I'm estimating since there were only two
four person tables that were empty. The waitress/hostess asked if we wanted to
eat inside and since all the tables outside were full we indicated that we
would indeed like to eat inside. The four of us were looking at a nice four
person table in the main dining room, but the hostess took us past that table
and through to the bar area instead and seated us at one of three small tables
in the crowded bar's tiny dining area.
We
looked over our menus and decided we would split a large pizza and after a poll
was taken among us we chose the Margherita Pizza. No, not that kind of
Margarita! The ingredients were mozzarella cheese, chopped plum tomatoes, fresh
basil and garlic, a combination said to have been created by Raffaele Esposito
in 1889, with the toppings in the colors of the tricolor flag of Italy, and
named for the wife of King Umberto I of Italy, Queen Margherita of Savoy. I
hope you got that because there will be a test later.
The
service was unbelievably slow. Our waitress arrived about five minutes after we
had been seated and took our drink orders and we were ready to place out food
order but she dashed away so quickly we didn't even have time to say we'd like
to place our food order. Another five minutes passed and she returned with our
drinks and took our order. We spent the next twenty five minutes talking about
TV shows, movies, books and baseball before she finally returned with our
pizza. I'm not sure if they were short-staffed that night or not, though it
didn't seem that way since we saw our waitress talking and laughing with a bartender,
rather than checking on us I have to say...the pizza was worth the wait. An
excellently baked and flavorful crust with lots of tasty chopped plum tomatoes,
a delicious sauce, plenty of mozzarella cheese, lots of basil and even more (it
seemed) fresh garlic. Vanessa even found a whole garlic clove on one of her
slices of pizza and I was still tasting garlic the next day. Didn't have to
worry about vampires. We were all pretty hungry so that sucker didn't last
long. Lester and his wife each ordered a cannoli for dessert and by that time
the place had begun to thin out some in terms of diners so they didn't have to
wait all that long for them to be served.
We
paid our bill (and left a more than deserved tip) and stepped back out into the
night around 9:10. We walked about one block to the entrance of the Thornton
Park Parking Garage that the three of them had parked in and said our goodbyes
for the night, then I took a leisurely stroll back to my car a few blocks away,
passing the quickly filling bars and nightspots along the way. If I were rating
Anthony's I'd give them an "A" for food and a "D" for
service. I'd like to try Anthony's again during a less busy time to see if the
service improves when they are not packed with diners AND to enjoy another delicious
pizza. Anthony's Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant is located at 100 N.
Summerlin Avenue in Orlando and their hours of operation are Monday through
Thursday 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM, Friday and Saturday 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM and
Sunday 12:00 PM - 10:00 PM. serving lunch and dinner and you can get take-out
or they can deliver. They serve beer and wine, both with meals and at the
stand-alone bar, dress is casual, reservations are not necessary but are
accepted and they accept most major credit cards. Prices would be categorized
in the inexpensive range. Have you eaten at Anthony's before? If so I'd love to
read your thoughts and experiences. Please feel free to leave a comment below
and let Orlando know what you think. Hope to see you here next time, Man About
Town.
June
15, 2005
Orlando
Improv-Comedy with Alex Ortiz
Laughter,
they say, is the best medicine. If that's true then I should be healthy for a
good long time because I spent a solid 2 1/2 hours laughing this past Tuesday
night at the Orlando Improv Apollo Night featuring Alex Ortiz. At the end of
the night when I was driving home and remembering some the funnier
performances, my face was so sore from all the laughing that it hurt just to
smile. My companions for the evening's festivities, Kathy and Carol, and I were
seated at a table to the left of the stage, one "row" back and we
arrived at about 7:45, so we had 15 minutes to spare before the scheduled 8pm
curtain time (though there is NO curtain). The ladies ordered white wine and I
enjoyed an ice cold Heineken. Even the worst comedian can get a few laughs if
people have enough alcohol in them. I'm glad to say that only 3 of the
performers this night would need the extra help. The majority of them could
have had a convention hall full of sober politicians rolling in the aisles with
laughter. Well, maybe not Katherine Harris.
Improv
has specialty nights for their shows. Wednesday night is "College
Night", and if you show your college ID you get in for free, Sunday is
"Hospitality Night" and if you show your paycheck from any
Service/Hospitality employer you get in for free. Tuesday night, the night we
went, is Apollo Night and features black comedians, though strangely enough
offers no free admission incentive as they do on other nights. Maybe black customers
don't need to be coaxed out with free tickets to see the shows, which may say
something about those other markets. Orlando Improv is located in one of the
old Church Street Station bars and some of the old decor remains amid the newly
walled off sections of what used to be a much larger venue. Still I estimated
that the seating capacity was approximately 200-225 in the performance area.
There is also a 25 seat bar area in the lobby for those who arrive early and
want to get a head start on the night of laughter.
The
place was packed (I think they may have even brought in a few extra chairs for
some latecomers) and out of those approximately 225 customers, there were
perhaps 10 white people, of which Kathy, Carol and I were 3. We were also the
closest white people to the stage so we made easy targets for some of the
jokes; you know, how white people dance, how we talk, etc. All in good natured
fun. In fact the host decided he had poked a little too much fun at us and gave
us a free CD for being such good sports. The 3 of us were laughing along with
the jokes and weren't ever offended, but who's going to turn down a free CD? I
gave it to the girls because that's the kind of guy I am.
The
opening acts were 10-12 (I lost count) young men and 1 young lady who were
amateurs and up and coming comedians that were each given 5-6 minutes of stage
time. Some were very, very funny (like the Jamaican young man with the
dreadlocks and the young Puerto Rican who must have had a case of Red Bull
before hitting the stage) and others were not as funny as I'm sure they will be
someday. The audience was kind to laugh and clap for all of them, but the
funnier ones obviously garnered a heartier round of laughs and applause. The
onstage host was a very funny man who filled in between acts with jokes and
introduced each of the performers. He was easily as funny as the main act, but
then I guess you have to be if you're going to carry the show through good and
mediocre acts. I know that I would not want to be up on that stage knowing I
needed to make people like me laugh, so I salute their courage. My one real
complaint was that the sound system's volume was turned up so loud that
sometimes what was said was unintelligible (at least where we were sitting) and
I never was able to catch the names of the opening acts or the host.
At
9:45 the headliner comic, Alex Ortiz, took to the stage and for the next 45
minutes he would entertain us and keep us laughing almost non-stop. A
self-described "half-black half-Puerto Rican former member of the U.S.
armed forces and firefighter", Mr. Ortiz has appeared on BET's Comic View,
Showtime at the Apollo, two Miller Genuine Draft Beer commercials (among
others), and will be appearing this summer on an HBO Special. He told us
stories of his childhood, did some excellent imitations of cartoon character's
voices like Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, and Daffy Duck as well as Sesame Street
characters, and did a hilarious song about his favorite President titled
"The Arkansas Clintons" sung to the tune of "The Beverly
Hillbillies" theme song that detailed Bill's sexual exploits from Little
Rock to Washington, DC. It would be prudent to point out that the majority of
every performer's act during this show (and I would imagine most others on
Apollo Night) dealt with jokes and humor about sex, drugs and race. Some very
graphic and all containing very adult language. If those subjects are not ones
that you find funny, it would be best to steer clear of this particular night
when looking for comedy. The "cleanest" joke I heard Tuesday night
was this; "Who is the busiest person in Arkansas? The Tooth Fairy!"
The rest of them would turn your ears blue, if those things affect you that
way.
Orlando
Improv is located at 129 W. Church Street (on the corner of Church Street and
Garland Avenue) in downtown Orlando. Hours and shows are Tuesday-Thursday 8
p.m.; Friday and Saturday 8 and 10:30 p.m. and Sunday 7 p.m. with the doors
opening an hour before show time, but you should always check their website or
call them in case they change the hours for a special show. The phone number is
321-281-8000 and they offer beer and wine as well as a full dinner menu and a
snack menu. Have you been to Orlando Improv, either on Apollo Night or for any
other performances? If so I'd love to read your comments and impressions. Or if
you plan on giving Orlando Improv a try for the first time after reading this
entry, it would be cool if you let Orlando know by leaving a comment below.
Hope to see you here next time, Man About Town.
June
17, 2005
Orlando
Sweathogs
Summer
officially begins next Tuesday, June 21st. Already, in these waning days of
Spring, we have had daily temperatures in the low 90's with high humidity and
heat indexes that make it feel like you're walking through water and it's in
the high 100's. In Orlando that means if you step outside the confines of an
air-conditioned building or vehicle for more than 30 seconds, you're going to
sweat!
Earlier
this week, Old Spice named the top 100 sweatiest cities and they ranked O-Town
as the 9th sweatiest city in the United States. 9th! That's pathetic!! When I
look at the top 8, I can hardly believe that any of them beat us out by being
sweatier than we are. I've seen the wet oval circles in the underarms of shirts
and blouses of men and women throughout the city. It's not a pretty sight.
Foreheads full of beads of sweat popping out make you want to run for the
nearest air-conditioned refuge you can find in order to escape the gross
vision. Shaking hands with someone whose hands are wet with perspiration leaves
you trying to inconspicuously wipe your hand on your pants legs. I've worked
outdoors in Orlando and I've worked indoors in Orlando; I'll take indoors any
day of the week.
Here
are the top 10:
1. Phoenix, AZ
2. Las Vegas, NV
3. Tucson, AZ
4. Miami, FL
5. Corpus Christi, TX
6. West Palm Beach, FL
7. Houston, TX
8. Tampa, FL
9. Orlando, FL
10.
Fort Myers, FL
Now I've been in Miami, West Palm Beach, Tampa and
Fort Myers; they all enjoy high temperatures and humidity, like Orlando does,
but they have the benefit of cooling ocean or gulf breezes that we lack here in
land-locked O-Town. I would venture to guess that Corpus Christi has that same
saving grace since they sit right on the Gulf of Mexico in Texas. The only time
I've been in Houston is for a connecting flight and I never left the airport,
so I can't comment on that city. I've never been to Phoenix, Las Vegas, or
Tucson but you always hear that doctors send people to those places for the
benefit of their "dry heat" meaning they have no humidity to speak
of, unlike our fair city. Old Spice tells us, "The Sweatiest Cities
ranking is based on the average U.S. male/female height/weight, and the average
high temperature for 2004 in each of the cities during June, July and August.
The sweat level was analyzed based on the assumption that the individual was
walking for one hour." so it's a pretty sure bet they didn't send people
to each of the cities to actually experience the weather in person. I think
their results might be different if they did. To deal with the summer heat Old
Spice lists some things to help battle the effects: Water - Drink plenty of
fluids, at least eight to 10 glasses of water per day. Choose Cotton - Wear
clothing that breathes easier, such as cotton. Avoid materials that encourage
perspiration, such as polyester and nylon, as well as dark colors. Replace Salt
and Minerals - Sweating removes salt and minerals from the body. If
participating in a strenuous activity where you anticipate heavy perspiration,
drink fruit juices and sports beverages to replace the lost minerals. I would
add this advice from the Man About Town; stay indoors with the air-conditioning
set to a nice cool 72 degrees while you sip your favorite ice cold beverage.
How do you feel about Orlando being named 9th Sweatiest City in the United
States? Do we deserve a higher ranking, or have you been to sweatier cities? If
so, it would be great to have you leave a comment below and let Orlando know
what you think. Hope to see you here next time, Man About Town.
June
19, 2005
"Ladies
of Eola Heights"
There
is something inherently funny about men in drag. I don't mean "funny"
as in "odd" but "funny" as in "makes you laugh".
Especially when they are borderline "passable" but there's just
something that tips you off. Maybe it's the voice, maybe it's the body shape or
maybe it's the five o'clock shadow that makeup just won't hide. Maybe it's that
pesky Adam's apple.
The
theater and performance arts have a rich history of men playing the parts of
women. For example, actors in Shakespearean plays, and indeed in all
Elizabethan theater, tragedy as well as comedy, were all male and the female
parts were played by young men in drag. In Japan, the traditional theater known
as Kabuki has always featured drag performers. The original troupes were all
female and some would perform the male roles, in present day they are all male
and some will perform the female roles. In more modern film releases such as
"The Birdcage" or in TV shows like "Bosom Buddies" the
roles are made all the funnier because we, the audience, are in on the joke as
it were. So I expected some laughs this past Saturday night when Carsten, CK,
Rebecca, Zephyr and myself went to see "Ladies of Eola Heights" at
the Footlight Theater in the Parliament House hotel and nightclub complex on
Orange Blossom Trail, a production where all the female roles are performed by
males. My expectations were well met and exceeded by this excellently written
and performed production.
We
decided to arrive early and have dinner at the Rainbow Cafe inside the complex.
This is a small (occupancy 39) cozy restaurant with an intimate atmosphere and an
attentive staff. The decor was sort of European with dark colors, recessed
areas in the walls with plants in them and Cabaret style candles on the tables.
Frankly, I did not expect much in the way of quality dining fare, but I was
proved wrong as both myself and my company of fellow diners found our meals to
be delicious. Carsten ordered a Prime Rib cooked medium with a beer for his
beverage. He was more than satisfied with the quality of the meat and it was
cooked exactly as he had ordered. His only complaint (and I believe the only
one from the entire party) was that they brought his beer to the table in a
can. But our server seemed to quickly sense Carsten's unhappiness (could it
have been that low growl that began to emanate from his throat?) and hastily
asked if he would like a glass for his beer, then proceeded to expertly pour
and serve the glass to an assuaged Great Dane. Rebecca enjoyed her Crab Stuffed
Sole, CK and Zephyr each ordered the French Chicken (a new dish on the menu)
and were pleased with it, while I found the Chicken Parmesan to be very tasty;
the only drawback being a personal one in that I prefer the taste and texture
of Angel Hair Pasta and this dish was served with the traditional spaghetti
noodle. Rebecca and I each ordered wine, she a cabernet sauvignon and myself a
merlot. Though clearly house wines they were still more than acceptable. CK and
I were the gluttons of the night, splitting a piece of chocolate cake for
dessert while the others looked on in disbelief. Then it was time (past time
actually, as we learned) to make our way to the theater. We assumed that
getting to the theater by 7:30 or so for the 8 o'clock show would be
acceptable, since the doors did were not supposed to open until 7:30 anyway.
WRONG! The crowd waiting to get in had apparently swollen to such a large size
that they opened the doors early to reduce the number of people in the lobby
and the result was we ended up with seats on the back row of the theater, which
seats about 200. Even at that, by the time the doors were closed for the start
of the play some 15 or so people were standing in the back of the theater.
Needless to say, this showing, like many others before it, was completely sold
out! The fun began before the first performer hit the stage with the welcome by
an unseen voice who gave us the usual instructions regarding cell phones and
flash and/or video photography and then added, "And for those of you who
might be...concerned... about what others may think of you because you have
come to this...gay resort theater...please do not worry, as soon as you entered
our parking lot and got out of your vehicle...your reputation was shot to
hell!" We all laughed, but there were quite few obviously straight
couples, older couples and several of us who raised our hands to indicate that
this was our first time visiting the Footlight Theater. Also, there was a
sizable contingent from the Red Hat Society on hand to view the play.
"Ladies of Eola Heights" opens with younger sister Ruby arriving at
the family home in Orlando (after many years absence) where her older sister
Pearl and younger brother Jackson still live, in order to meet with their
oldest sister Opal, who also has been away for many years, to plan their
recently deceased father's funeral. Ruby walks in and finds the house filled
with boxes of merchandise from the Home Shopping Network and Pearl unexpectedly
in a Hoveround sucking down oxygen like it was air. As they talk Ruby asks
where Jackson is and Pearl explains that, due to an accident that occurred when
a model of the planet Pluto fell on Jackson's head while he was watching reruns
on the TVLand Network, Jackson is now "June" (as in June Cleaver) but
also assumes the persona of any number of female performers and lip synchs the
words to songs to get his message across rather than speaking. Throughout the
play, "June" appears in drag as different women in progressively more
complicated costumes and evening gowns, mouthing the words to showtunes and hit
songs which are piped throughout the "house" by an expensive CD sound
system that was purchased from, you guessed it, the Home Shopping Network. This
revelation sends Ruby, an avid drinker and what some would call a
"loose" woman, to the bar their daddy kept for a drink and it's not
long before she is feeling no pain as she and Pearl discuss what happened to
Jackson and the possibility that an old flame who was to escort Ruby to her
senior prom 30 years earlier may want to take her to the 30th reunion that is
being held that very night. Soon oldest Sister Opal arrives. She is the only
one to have married and become a good Christian woman with children and
grandchildren, yet, as we find out later, is still not able to overcome some
event in the past that has affected her life and marriage. When she finally
realizes what has happened to Jackson, after several side-splitting
misunderstandings, she is horrified. Soon all three sisters are drinking and
talking and in bits and pieces it becomes obvious that their dearly departed
father had molested each of them, as well as Jackson, when they were younger.
Through scenes that are funny and scenes that are sobering, they question why
none of them ever talked about it, why their mother never stopped it and the
effect it has had on their lives; such as Ruby being a "loose" woman,
Opal contemplating divorce form her husband who is much like her father in that
he beats her and Pearl who quietly remained to take care of the old man as his
health and mind left him, then turned the tables on him when he was helpless.
Pearl then reveals that she has already cremated their father's body and thrown
the ashes into a dumpster. When the other two sisters ask why she had them come
back home to plan a funeral that was clearly not necessary, she tells them it
is because she wanted to see them, that she had missed them after not seeing
them for so many years. When Ruby begins to joke about how there would be no
inheritance because their father never had a "pot to piss in" Pearl
suddenly stands up from her Hoveround, walks over to a drawer and pulls out
envelopes of money for each of them, It turns out their father had struck it
big in the stock market before he died. Pearl spent her share buying things
from, you guessed it, the Home Shopping Network, which explains the boxes of
merchandise (including the Hoveround) and when asked about the oxygen she was
constantly sucking on explains, "It was Nitrous!". As a final
"goodbye" to their abusive father, they gather all the pictures of
him in the house (and one Opal has in her purse, "for some unknown
reason") except for one that is Jackson's room, place them in a metal stew
pot, pour lighter fluid on them and set them afire. As the pictures burn, a
young man dressed in a suit and without a wig or makeup, enters the room with
the last remaining picture in his hand and adds it to the fire. Each, it seems,
has finally found some closure to the horrible chapters in their lives.
Writer/Producer/Actor Michael Wanzie (Pearl) has woven a tale of personal
horror and wrapped it in humor, because sometimes that is how we deal best with
the most painful aspects or experiences in life. As an audience, we were
alternately roaring with laughter at the truly funny lines, and reflectively
silent when the awful past was revealed in bits and pieces. I could go on and
on, but this post is already overly long. You may think I have related the
entire play, but I assure you I have not even scratched the surface of the
humor and the pathos of this production. If you have not already, you should
definitely go see this play. Saturday's show was to be the last (it has been
playing since January) but the continually sold out performances due to word of
mouth have caused the addition of three "final" (as of now, anyway)
shows which are scheduled for Saturday June 25th, Saturday July 2nd and
Saturday July 9th. Rumor is that the play may also return in the fall.
"Ladies of Eola Heights" is playing in the Footlight Theater inside
the Parliament House Resort Complex, located at 410 North Orange Blossom Trail
in Orlando. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at 407.540.0317 or in
person at the Theater Box Office and show time for each performance is 8pm.
Have you been to see "Ladies of Eola Heights"? If so, I'd love to
read your impressions of the play in the comments section below. Or if this
review has piqued your interest and you think you would like to see the
performance, I would love to see your comment on that as well. Hope to see you
here next time, Man About Town http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115685/ --the
birdcage http://members.ozemail.com.au/~peterv/bb/ --bosom buddies
http://www.wanzie.com/presents.html --ladies of eola heights
http://www.redhatsociety.com/ http://wanzie.com//boxoffice/
http://www.parliamenthouse.com/orlando/default.asp Parliament House Motor Inn -
(407) 425-7571 - 410 N Orange Blossom Trl, Orlando, FL 32805
June
20, 2005 Uncle Jones' Bar-B-Que I'm not a big fan of barbequed food, which is
odd considering that my dad was a master griller and bar-b-que'r, and the only
commercial barbeque restaurant I've been to is Sonny's. People that I know who
have been in the O-Town area for longer than I have told me Uncle Jones'
Bar-B-Que in Altamonte Springs (it's actually closer to Casselberry) was the
place to get some really good barbequed meats with all the "fixins".
So, late Sunday afternoon around 4:30 I grabbed Cindy, who loves barbeque, and
we drove up to Altamonte Springs to meet Jason, AnnMarie and Mikey for a
barbeque dinner. As we pulled into the driveway we were greeted by the Uncle
Jones' sign which reads, in big letters, "Nothin-Mo-Betta". Uncle
Jones' building is a rustic looking rectangle shaped business with brick walls
painted red and gray and a small open porch in the front with some bench
seating. We stepped inside and waited in the tiny foyer while the
cashier/hostess rang up some departing diners, all of whom looked very happy
and contented. The dining room seats about 40 and most of those are 4 person
booths or 2 person tables, but they put a couple of tables together for us so
we could all sit together. Uncle Jones' is a very "down home"
restaurant with the same kind of atmosphere, reminiscent of older roadside
diners across the country that were serving food before the advent of franchise
restaurants. Everything was clean, but well-worn, from the floor to the ceiling
and the furnishings in between. It wasn't fancy, classy or trendy, but we were
there for food, not trendy decor. Uncle Jones' offers a nice barbeque buffet
with loads of ribs, beef, chicken and pork as well as side dishes like corn on
the cob, fried okra, garlic bread, rice, yams, cornbread and Brunswick Stew.
Everyone in our party decided to order something off the menu instead. Jason
and Mikey got a cheeseburger with fries, AnnMarie ordered the barbeque chicken,
Cindy chose the beef dinner and I opted for a beef sandwich. Our server, an
elderly but spry lady, brought us all our drinks and set the table for us with
napkins and utensils while we sat and talked. From my vantage point I could
almost see into the kitchen area where workers were scrambling around preparing
orders for those of us in the dining room and for customers who were availing
themselves of the drive-thru service to take some dinner home. All of us could
hear the work being done in the kitchen; chopping, cutting, sizzling, etc. It's
a pretty good bet that if you're not hungry before you arrive, you will be
after sitting in the dining room for a few minutes and smelling the wonderful
aromas that make their way out of the kitchen and into the dining area. Much
faster than I expected, our food arrived and we all began to dig in. The beef
that Cindy got with her dinner and that I got on my sandwich was a pulled beef
than had been liberally spiced while cooking, giving it a wonderful flavor that
stood alone by itself without the need for either the mild or hot barbeque
sauce. I put some mild sauce on mine anyway, but the amount of meat on the
sandwich was such a huge portion that about a third of it was falling off onto
the plate anyway. All of us remarked at how large the portions were for what
seemed like a more than a fair price. Jason and Mikey enjoyed their
cheeseburgers and AnnMarie said her barbeque chicken was tender, juicy and
tasty. My one complaint was that the french fries seemed to be underdone, but I
like mine a little crispy anyway. Even for a non-barbeque connoisseur like
myself, I found that I enjoyed the food at Uncle Jones' very much and my dining
companions seemed to agree with that assessment. We all gave the food a thumbs
up. Uncle Jones' Bar-B-Que is located at 1370 E. Altamonte Drive (Highway 436)
in Altamonte Springs and the phone number is 407.260.2425. Hours of operation
are Sunday through Thursday 11am to 9pm and Friday and Saturday 11am to 10pm
serving lunch and dinner. The drive-thru is open the same days and hours. Dress
is casual and prices would be classified as inexpensive. Beer and wine are
available. Have you eaten at Uncle Jones' before? If you have it would be great
to read your impressions with the food and service. If this review has made
your mouth start watering for some home cooked barbeque that you don't have to
cook and Uncle Jones' sounds like the place you'd like to go, I'd love to hear
about that as well, so please feel free to leave a comment below. Hope to see
you here next time, Man About Town
June
21, 2005 "Tugger, the Jeep Who Wants to Fly" There was a time when
Orlando thought it was going to become "Hollywood East". Universal
Studios had real working sound stages, Disney World had a fully staffed
animation studio, would-be actors and actresses were all over the city trying
to break in to the business, and major studios indicated they'd like to make
feature films and TV movies here because of our lack of unionized restrictions
and lower costs. Some studios shot scenes here, some lower budget studios shot
entire movies here, a few TV series like "Superboy" and "Swamp
Thing" were produced here. Then the bottom fell out. Sound stages were
converted to make room for other attractions or used to broadcast professional
wrestling shows, Disney laid off the majority of their animators, studios went
back to filming in Hollywood, New York or Toronto and "Hollywood
East" became "Hollywood Ceased." But a former Disney animator
named Jeff Varab decided to stick it out in Orlando and in 2000 opened his
company, Genesis Orlando, in a little town that's actually just south of
Orlando named Celebration. Genesis Orlando is a computer animation company that
got its start by producing spots for TV ads and corporate presentations. But he
always wanted to put together a full-length animated feature and in 2003 he and
Genesis Orlando began working on "Tugger, the Jeep Who Wants to Fly"
a film based on a children's story by George Parsons. The culmination of that 2
1/2 years of work is being premiered on Saturday, July 2nd on three open-air
screens in downtown Celebration at 6:30 pm. "Tugger, the Jeep Who Wants to
Fly" is the story of a 1940's military jeep whose engine is damaged during
wartime duty in World War II. When the jeep's engine fan is destroyed and there
are no replacement parts available, the mechanics use a real airplane propeller
in its place and from then on Tugger is convinced that he will one day fly.
When he is sold as military surplus to an airport, he finds his new job is to
tow airplanes and he gets in trouble all the time with the tower chief because
he wants to fly. A short-wave radio named, aptly, "Shorty" is
Tugger's friend and sidekick. Genesis Orlando has ambitious plans for Tugger
and his friends, such as Mr. and Mrs. Pump, a happily married pair of gasoline
pumps, Lucy the Ladder truck, Bob the Bomber and numerous World War II-era
aircraft. Current plans are to release one feature film during 4th of July
celebrations for the next 7 years. Movie and TV series star Jim Belushi is the
voice of Tugger and local comedian Carrot Top gives voice to Shorty. Belushi
will be appearing at the screening and he and his group "The Sacred Hearts
Band" will be performing after the premiere. Orlando Magic player Grant
Hill will serve as emcee for the concert. During the celebration in
Celebration, which begins at 3pm, the Magic cheerleaders will be appearing,
various food booths will be open, there will be a veteran's parade, a flyover
by Air Force jets and fireworks. Through a special arrangement with the Air
Force, Genesis Orlando will broadcast the opening ceremonies and the concert by
Belushi's band around the world via satellite to almost a half million troops
and their families in a special "Salute To Our Armed Forces." In addition,
part of the event's proceeds will benefit Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children
& Women in Orlando. Tugger's big screen debut will take place on July 15th
at theaters across the country and parent studio Paramount plans to release the
Home DVD version in the late Fall of this year, just in time for Christmas
giving. If you're planning to attend, the streets of downtown Celebration will
be closed to traffic so people who are not residents of the area will need to
park at an off-site parking area and take a shuttle into downtown. The parking
fee is $5 and a large crowd is expected for this entire event, so make your
plans to get their early, enjoy the parade, the music, the fireworks and most
importantly, the premiere of "Tugger, the Jeep Who Wants to Fly."
Hope to see you here next time, Man About Town http://www.genesisorlando.com/
http://www.tuggerjeep.com/ http://www.tuggerjeep.com/tuggercast.html http://www.arnoldpalmerhospital.org/
June
23, 2005 Just How Clean Is Orlando? This month's Reader's Digest Magazine has
an article about the 50 cleanest cities in America. You may be surprised to
learn that Orlando is not only included in the list, but that our town (drum
roll, please) made it into the top 10 of the cleanest cities in America. I've
been to some other cities across our nation and comparatively speaking I've
always thought Orlando looked pretty good, especially as opposed to our nearest
large neighboring city, Tampa, which came in at number 31. But cleanest? Well,
let's just say in my travels around the city I've seen some pretty trashy
looking streets, lakes, waterways and neighborhoods. Of course, suffering the
effects of 3 hurricanes in a few weeks time can do that to a girl. We've still
got downed trees, torn up houses, fences in pieces, hundreds of broken signs
and windows, some places still boarded up...well you know we could go on and
on. But the folks at Reader's Digest weren't just looking at the cosmetic side
of cities they visited, compared data on and ranked. They looked at such
aspects as: 1. Air quality 2. Water quality 3. Industries dumping toxins into
the environment 4. Waste disposal And they didn't take just the city limits
into consideration, but added Metropolitan Statistical Areas, surrounding
suburbs, cities and counties, into the mix as well. That means we have clean
neighbors too. Of course I must say that the city and surrounding areas do try
to keep things clean. A couple of weeks ago I was driving down Conway Road
where it crosses Frontage Road just west of the airport. There is a small...I
guess you would call it a canal on the west side of Conway and I was stopped at
the traffic light. I looked over and it was full of floating trash; bottles,
paper, cans, boxes, and I even saw a shoe floating half-submerged in the water.
The next week, when I drove by I looked and all the garbage and trash had been
cleaned out and it looked so nice and clean, even for a retention canal.
Unfortunately this week I saw garbage in the water again, including a plastic
trash bag, a bunch of newspapers, some items of clothing and a Styrofoam
cooler, of all things. But the good news is that Orlando was ranked as the 9th
cleanest city in America, which is pretty darn good out of 50 other large
metropolitan areas. We should be proud of ourselves and out city in placing so
high in the rankings. Wait a minute...didn't I just post a few days ago that we
were also rated 9th in another ranking...the one that says we are the 9th
sweatiest city in America? Well it's good to know that, as sweaty as we might
be, we clean up pretty well. Hope to see you here next time, Man About Town http://www.rd.com/
June
26, 2005 The Blue Martini-Sisaundra Lewis Saturday night I bailed out early on
a friend's birthday party to make sure I arrived at The Blue Martini in time
for Sisaundra Lewis' performance. This would be her "CD Release
Party" concert and it was taking place in one of Orlando's upscale bars
that likes to bill itself as "The Best Bar in the Business", and they
may well just be. I arrived at 7:15 pm for the scheduled 8 o'clock performance
and even though the website for Blue Martini notes "Fashionable/Dress
Attire Required", the doorman/bouncer smiled and said, "Welcome to
The Blue Martini sir" and I breathed an inward sigh of relief as I entered
the doors because it would have been embarrassing to be denied entrance for not
being fashionably attired. Not wearing my cut-offs turned out to be a good
move. When you enter The Blue Martini you find yourself in the first of 3 bar
areas known as The Stage Room, to the left of that is The Outdoor Patio Bar and
straight ahead beyond The Stage Room is The VIP Room. The Stage Room is an
elongated semi-circle shape with the bar on the right and a raised stage
(hence, the name) behind it. If a performer or piece of band equipment fell off
the stage either one would fall onto the bartenders below, but the raised
height allows everyone in all 3 bars to see the performers. There is a small
dance floor and the rest of the area is filled with cocktail tables and chairs.
The Outdoor Patio Bar is a more casual setting on the covered deck that allows
you to enjoy the outside environment, rain or shine. The VIP Room is a smaller
bar and seating area that physically separates you from The Stage Room, but
allows you to still see the main bar area, dance floor and stage. Total
capacity for all 3 bars is approximately 1,000 people. After scoping out all
the bars I came back into The Stage Room because I knew I wanted to be as close
as possible to the music and Ms. Lewis to watch her perform. I was fortunate
enough to find a table almost dead center in front of the stage, with only the
bar and an empty (for now, but that would change) common walk-through area
separating me from the stage. The building was about 3/4 full at this point and
almost everyone I saw was young and beautiful...even the guys! Ok, truthfully
there were a lot of "beautiful" people but there were also quite few
everyday people like myself and even some older singles and couples. I took my
seat and soon one of the "Girls of Blue Martini" approached my table
to take my order. Let me tell you a little about the "girls". Without
exception, every single one of them looked like model material, their work
uniform consists of a light blue low cut halter top and tight black pants, both
of which are obviously designed to show off their "assets", and they
were all, at least the ones I observed, very friendly and very conscientious
about providing excellent service. And like most people in this line of
business, they work very, very hard. The more crowded the bar got as the night
wore on, the harder and faster these ladies worked to keep everyone happy and
their food and drink orders filled. My "Blue Martini Girl" was named
Jenna and she waited patiently while I looked over their drink menu at the
multitude of specialty martinis like The Almond Joy, the Red Apple, the Mango,
the Carmel and others. I decided to try their signature drink, even though I'm
not a martini drinker, shaken or stirred. The Blue Martini (the drink) is made
up of Finlandia Vodka, Cointreau, Blue Curacao, Sweet Ôn Sour Mix and Orange
Juice, served in an oversized Snifter. There is a neon blue arched straw in the
snifter for decoration and a regular straw in the drink, but since I only drink
milkshakes through a straw, I removed mine and drank my foo foo drink like a
man. I have to say it was quite delicious and the bartender didn't underpour
the alcohol amount. In addition to their specialty martinis, the bar offers
fine wines and quality domestic and import beers. I also ordered the Parmesan,
Spinach & Artichoke Dip served hot with toasted pita triangles, an
appetizer which was large enough to be a meal. By 10 minutes to 8pm every seat
in The Stage Room was filled and so were most of the seats in the other 2 bars.
I had given one of the chairs at my table to a couple who needed one at the bar
and then another couple had asked if they could sit at my table in the
remaining two chairs and of course that was no problem. We talked a little
about Ms. Lewis (they weren't familiar with her) and made small talk until the
music started. At precisely 8pm, Sisaundra Lewis and The Sounds of Soul hit the
stage. Her 5 man band consists of a rhythm guitarist, a bass guitarist,
drummer, keyboardist and synthesizer as well as a gentleman who provided
background vocals in addition to singing a few songs himself. Ms. Lewis
appeared wearing a very sophisticated tailored white pantsuit and during her
first set performed such hits as "Killing Me Softly", "Mercy,
Mercy Me", "(These Are The) Good Times" and "Boogie Oogie
Oogie" (with a great solo by the bass guitarist), among many other songs.
It was a good solid hour of music. At 9 pm the band took a break and Ms. Lewis
made her way to a cordoned off area of the bar where friends and family were
present for the CD Release Party, giving her and the band a chance to catch
their breaths, and me a chance to tell you a little more about Sisaundra Lewis.
I had first seen her a few years back when she was performing as the lead
singer in Cirque de Soleil's La Nouba production in Downtown Disney. During a
tour of Japan, she met Grammy and Oscar Award winner Peabo Bryson, who invited
her to tour the world with him as a backing vocalist and his new duet partner,
a young woman named Celine Dion, which led to a worldwide tour with the Grammy
and Oscar Award winning Dion. She spent several years working with Ms. Dion as
her backing vocalist, vocal director and choreographer, before returning to
Central Florida to handpick some of her favorite musicians and form The Sounds
of Soul. Sisaundra has made many television appearances including The Tonight
Show with both Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, The David Letterman Show, The
Arsenio Hall show, Oprah Winfrey, President Clinton's Inauguration party, The
Grammy Awards and many others. She has served as a producer/writer for such
artists as David Foster, Emilio Estefan, Andrew Lloyd, Marvin Hamlisch, Sting,
and Sean 'Puff Daddy' Combs, to name a few. But music is not her only talent,
as an actress she has appeared in many television commercials for companies
such as Sears, J.C.Penney, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, MCI, Pepperidge Farms, Certs,
Cinnamon Grahams, KFC, McDonalds, Sun Micro, GE, Dentyne, General Foods,
International Coffee, Arby's, Plain Dealer, Publix, Applebees, Shower to
Shower, Show Time, General Motors, Big Red, Belks, and Kelly Services. Whew! As
you can see, she is a very talented lady. By the time the second set began at
9:30 the bar was SRO, the first couple that had been sitting at my table had
left and been replaced by another couple, and the common walking area in
between our table and the bar was filled with people standing or dancing. About
halfway through the set Victoria, the female half of the couple at my table,
left to go to the "powder room" and it took her 15 minutes to make
her way there and back through the throng. The dance floor was filled, but
people were confined to dancing in place because there was no room to move. Ms.
Lewis had changed outfits and was now in a very sharp black pantsuit. For the
next hour we enjoyed songs like "Rock With You", "Chain Of
Fools", "Shout" (a very extended version from her CD),
"Don't Stop ('Till You Get It On)" and the female anthem of the disco
era, "I Will Survive" as well as many others. Another full hour of
music with a single Happy Birthday message interrupting the songs. When I left
at the end of the second set at 10:30pm, the bar was filled to it's capacity of
1,000 and as I exited I made my way past approximately 150 people standing in
line waiting to get in. A word to the wise; when a headliner like Sisaundra
Lewis is appearing at a venue that calls itself "The Best Bar in the
Business", it might be a good idea to get there early. The Blue Martini is
located at 4200 Conroy Road in the Mall at Millenia and is open Monday through
Friday 4pm to 2am and Saturday and Sunday 1pm to 2am with a variety of musical
talent appearing on various nights. Hope to see you here next time, Man About Town
http://www.bluemartinilounge.com/orlhome.htm
http://www.sisaundra.com/pages/1/index.htm http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/lanouba/intro/intro.htm
June
27, 2005 Fourth Of July Activities Here's a rundown of the bigger Independence
Day Celebrations and 4th of July activities around town this coming holiday
weekend. Fireworks at the Fountain This year's entertainment includes an
afternoon filled with family fun, games and plenty of tasty, festival foods,
and a mega-fun Kids Area. There will be three stages for live entertainment
featuring the renowned Orlando Concert Band playing patriotic music, and the
Colgate Country Showdown -- a competition showcasing talented amateur
performers competing for the big time. Food vendors will be serving up
delicious festival foods. Adults can quench their thirst by picking up a cold
beverage at either of the two Beer Gardens. At approximately 9:15pm there will
be a 20-minute-long fireworks display that will light up the sky around Lake
Eola. Date(s): July 4, 2005 Location: Downtown Orlando Venue: Lake Eola Park
and Fountain Time Info: 4:00pm - 10:00pm (Fireworks around 9:15) Price Info:
Free 4th of July at SeaWorld Orlando SeaWorld will have a spectacular fireworks
display when night falls then a fireworks finale, the perfect way to end your
day at the park. Date(s): July 4, 2005 Location: Orlando Venue: Waterfront at
SeaWorld Time Info: 9:00am - 11:00pm Price Info: Florida Residents: $59.75 +
tax (adults), $48.00 + tax (ages 3-9), Free (ages 2 and under) Avalon Park's
July 4th Celebration Celebrate with friends and neighbors at Avalon Park's Town
Square 4th of July Celebration! This free event features food and refreshments,
Magicians, Hot Dog Eating Contest, Apple Pie Bake Off, and much, much more. Date(s):
July 4, 2005 Location: East Orlando Venue: Avalon Park Town Square Time Info:
5:30pm - 9:30pm Price Info: Free All-American Celebration in Celebration
Celebrate this 4th of July just like they did in small town U.S.A. in days
past. In addition to a great fireworks display, there will be plenty of food,
fun and live music along the lakefront. The parade starts at 9:00am, so come on
out and have a great time! Date(s): July 4, 2005 Location: Celebration Venue:
Market Street at Celebration Time Info: 6:00pm - 10:00pm Price Info: Free
Kissimmee July 4th Celebration The Kissimmee July 4th Celebration is one of the
most popular annual events in Osceola County. This family event offers multiple
entertainment stages, karaoke, food, arts & crafts, strolling entertainment,
a water-ski show and, of course, a spectacular fireworks display at 9:00pm.
Date(s): July 4, 2005 Location: Kissimmee Venue: Kissimmee Lakefront Park Time
Info: Noon - 10:00pm (9:00pm Fireworks) Price Info: Free 4th of July Block
Party, Hot Rocket Fourth (Downtown Orlando) If you're going to be in downtown
Orlando this Independence Day, do your partying at Wall Street Plaza. Wall
Street features six bars and an outdoor main stage featuring live performances
by Grand Funk RailRoad at 8:45-9:45 and Big 10-4 at 10:45pm. Admission is FREE.
We'll keep the party going well after the Fireworks at the Fountain display
finishes at Lake Eola. All ages until 10pm, then it is 21 and up. Date(s): July
4, 2005 Location: Downtown Orlando Venue: Wall Street Plaza Time Info: 8:30pm -
2:00am Price Info: Free Red, White & Zoo Enjoy music, games, and food,
while celebrating the Central Florida Zoo's 30th birthday on July 2nd, 3rd and
4th. With more than 300 exotic species, including the new Australian exhibit,
featuring Kangaroos and Emus. Red, White & Zoo features live music on
Saturday, and face-painting and games like Pin the Tail on the Elephant, Animal
Bean Bag Toss, A Waterslide, a Mini train, and many animal demonstrations on
all three days, its sure to be a blast for the whole family! Date(s): July 2, 3
& 4, 2005 Location: Sanford Venue: Central Florida Zoo Contact Email:
information@centralfloridazoo.org Contact Phone: 407-323-4450 (ext. 149) Time
Info: 9:00am to 5:00pm Price Info: Adults $8.95, Children 3-12 $4.95, Seniors
$6.95, Zoo Members Free Sanford's 4th of July On The River Make plans to join
the Celebration on Monday, July 4th from 5:00pm until 10:00pm at Ft. Mellon
Park, along the Sanford RiverWalk, in the heart of Sanford. Live concert
performances by Cactus Jack & the Cadillacs and The RedEye Express, enjoy
great food and drinks. The kids will have a blast playing in the mega-fun
All-American Kids Zone. Just after sundown, the sky will come alive with a
spectacular 23-minute-long fireworks display, presented by the pyrotechnic
experts at Zambelli Internationale, over beautiful Lake Monroe. The display
will be simulcast on MAGIC 107.7FM. Date(s): July 4, 2005 Location: Sanford
Venue: Fort Mellon Park - Sanford Time Info: 5:00pm - Fireworks Show Approx. 9:00pm
Price Info: Free Universal Orlando's Fourth of July Spectacle Be prepared for a
Fourth of July Spectacle that really rocks as Florida's most anticipated
fireworks display returns to Universal Orlando. The destination-wide
celebration will light up the skies over Islands of Adventure, Universal
Studios and CityWalk. Beginning at 9:50pm, this year's explosive show is the
one July 4th tradition that cannot be missed! Date(s): July 4, 2005 Location:
Universal/CityWalk Venue: Universal Orlando Resort Contact Phone: 407-824-4321
Time Info: Fireworks at 9:50pm, CityWalk Closes at 2:30am Price Info: Free
(Preferred viewing area access $8.00) Sorcery in the Sky Guests at Disney-MGM
Studios on July 4th will be treated to a very special fireworks show this year.
Sorcery in the Sky is a dazzling fireworks show and symphonic serenade,
celebrating the magic of motion pictures at 9:00pm. This pyrotechnic
spectacular was the park's good-night kiss for years, following its premier in
1990 -- until the Disney entertainment wizards crafted Fantasmic!, which has
been captivating guests most nights since 1998. Date(s): July 4, 2005 Location:
Disney Area Venue: Disney MGM Studios Contact Phone: 407-824-4321 Time Info:
9:00am - 10:00pm Price Info: $59.75 (adults), $48.00 (ages 3-9) Fantasy in the
Sky Guests at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom on July 4th will be treated to
a pyrotechnic spectacle rarely seen. Fantasy in the Sky, familiar to
generations of Magic Kingdom visitors who oohed and ahhed its bursts of color
above Cinderella Castle for more than a quarter century beginning in 1975, will
be presented at 9:00pm in a special edition that includes extra dazzling
pyrotechnics. Wishes fireworks spectacular replaced Fantasy in the Sky in 2003.
Date(s): July 4, 2005 Location: Disney Area Venue: Magic Kingdom Contact Phone:
407-824-4321 Time Info: 9:00am - 12:30am Price Info: $59.75 (adults), $48.00
(ages 3-9) IllumiNations on Independence Day Guest visiting Epcot at Walt
Disney World Resort this 4th of July can celebrate their patriotism while
enjoying the always-thrilling IllumiNations. The popular nighttime spectacular
will be presented at 10:00pm, and features dancing flames, cascading fountains
and eye-popping fireworks synchronized to a dramatic musical score that lights the
skies and decorates the lagoon of Epcot World Showcase. Date(s): July 4, 2005
Location: Disney Area Venue: Epcot Contact Phone: 407-824-4321 Time Info:
9:00am - 10:00pm Price Info: $59.75 (adults), $48.00 (ages 3-9) Olde Fashioned
July 4th Celebration The Olde Fashioned July 4th Celebration takes place at
Central Park in downtown Winter Park and features live patriotic music, the
locally-famous 4th of July Bicycle Parade, a hot dog eating contest, horse
drawn wagon rides, face painting, and tons more family fun. Date(s): July 4,
2005 Location: Winter Park Venue: Central Park - Winter Park Time Info: Starts
at 9:00am Price Info: Free City of Winter Springs - Celebration of Freedom Join
the community and citizens of The City of Winter Springs for our Celebration of
Freedom Independence Day event. The good times get going at 5:00pm, Sunday,
July 3rd at Central Winds Park in Winter Springs. The family-friendly festival
features two stages of live entertainment, great foods, fun games and a
fantastic Fireworks Display at approximately 9:00pm. Date(s): July 3, 2005
Location: Winter Springs Venue: Central Winds Park - Winter Springs Contact
Phone: 407-327-6599 Time Info: 5:00pm - 10:00pm (Fireworks at approx 9:00pm)
Price Info: Free If you know of any other Fourth of July events, please feel
free to leave a comment below with the event information. Hope to see you here
next time, Man About Town