Dave Barry Appearing in Our (And His) Insane City Sunday
“Rollicking adventure” is one of those ridiculous terms that no one actually says in normal conversation but which reviewers love to use (“madcap romp” and “laugh-out-loud hilarious” are some other favorites). I hate to use such a cliché when describing Dave Barry’s Insane City. However, that is the perfect way to describe the Pulitzer Prize-winning [...]
Hear Hums’ Mitch Myers Starts New Solo Project Peace Arrow
A delicately crafted hybrid of ethereal folk and airy drone, Gainesville-based trio Hear Hums can inspire a million magical daydreams with its entrancing soundscapes: samples of chanting, field recordings, antique instruments, and accompanying psychedelic visuals; it’s a haunting, layered combination that’s been done often, but not usually this well. Which is why we’re sad about [...]
Park and Reclamation: Florida-born Artist Kim Holleman Builds a Preserve From Spare Parts
Anywhere there’s a park with signage displaying park rules — “Don’t feed the bears,” et cetera — there is somebody at some point not observing the rules. So it goes even at the “park” built by New York artist Kim Holleman. Holleman’s “Trailer Park,” an old Coachman travel camper with a living jungle inside, was open to visitors late last September [...]
Danation: How the West Was Lost
Well, it’s over. Allen West has conceded. The election season has truly ended. Hilariously, the Politico report on Allen West’s concession mentioned his dismissing more than half of congressional Democrats as communists, only to follow that up with the line “West ran as a rare truth-teller in politics.” I do not believe his political career [...]
Gilbert King Talks Passion for History, Sheds Light on Research Process Behind “Devil in the Grove”; He Appears Sunday at Miami Book Fair
Last March, a week after the murder of Trayvon Martin, HarperCollins released Gilbert King’s Devil in the Grove. As we said in our review at the time, this tremendous, impeccably researched book, which tells the story of Thurgood Marshall’s defense of the Groveland Boys — four young black men who were accused of raping a white [...]
Dear Allen: Special Edition
Note from the editor: In the tradition of “Congressman’s Corner,” Salty Eggs has invited Rep. Allen West to field questions from his South Florida constituents. Until we get a response to our query, we will do our best to answer questions on his behalf, based on what we know of his temperament and politics. Dear [...]
Danation: Vote, Damn It!
Well, the day is finally here. The morning feels like Christmas, and the evening as the results come in and the tight races get closer and closer all the way down the line feels like the last final moments of a tied-up ball game with just seconds left on the clock. I know I’m not [...]
Danation: There Will Be 11 State Constitutional Amendments on the Ballot This November. You Should Vote No on All of Them.
Right, I’m going to just get right into this because we have a lot of ground to cover. In the decade or so I have been covering Florida politics, I cannot ever remember so many state constitutional amendments being on the ballot. So let’s just run through all of them and I’ll explain to you [...]
Report From the Republican National Convention: Is the GOP Committing Suicide?
Seventy-two hours before the Republican National Convention kicked off at the Tampa Bay Times Arena, I decided that I had to be there. Not because I wanted to go party for Mitt Romney, of course, but because it appeared that a movement of people, many anti-Republican, and others just anti-Romney, would be prepared to make [...]