I want to learn what makes the area special and to find a way to show that to the rest of the world.

So send me a message if you have some time to show me around….  You can see the beginnings at Tampa Bay 365

I’ve still yet to visit:

• Bradenton
  Brandon
  Largo
  Lakeland
  Palm Harbor
  Sarasota
  Spring Hill
  Town ‘n’ Country
  Auburndale
  Bartow
  Bayonet Point
  Bayshore Gardens
  Bloomingdale
  Citrus Park
  Dunedin
  Egypt Lake-Leto
  East Lake
  Elfers
  Englewood
  Fruitville
  Greater Carrollwood
  Gulf Gate Estates
  Gulfport
  Haines City
  Holiday
  Homosassa Springs
  Hudson
  Jasmine Estates
  Keystone
  Lake Magdalene
  Land O’ Lakes
  Lealman
  Lake Wales
  Lakeland Highlands
  Lakewood Ranch
  Lutz
  New Port Richey
  North Port
  Greater Northdale
  Oldsmar
  Palm River-Clair Mel
  Palmetto
  Pinellas Park
  Plant City
  Poinciana
  Riverview
  Safety Harbor
  Seminole
  South Bradenton
  South Venice
  Greater Sun Center
  Tarpon Springs
  Temple Terrace
  University
  Westchase
  Winter Haven
  Venice
  Zephyrhills
• Bradenton
• Brandon
• Largo
• Lakeland
• Palm Harbor
• Sarasota
• Spring Hill
• Town ‘n’ Country
• Auburndale
• Bartow
• Bayonet Point
• Bayshore Gardens
• Bloomingdale
• Citrus Park
• Dunedin
• Egypt Lake-Leto
• East Lake
• Elfers
• Englewood
• Fruitville
• Greater Carrollwood
• Gulf Gate Estates
• Gulfport
• Haines City
• Holiday
• Homosassa Springs
• Hudson
• Jasmine Estates
• Keystone
• Lake Magdalene
• Land O’ Lakes
• Lealman
• Lake Wales
• Lakeland Highlands
• Lakewood Ranch
• Lutz
• New Port Richey
• North Port
• Greater Northdale
• Oldsmar
• Palm River-Clair Mel
• Palmetto
• Pinellas Park
• Plant City
• Poinciana
• Riverview
• Safety Harbor
• Seminole
• South Bradenton
• South Venice
• Greater Sun Center
• Tarpon Springs
• Temple Terrace
• University
• Westchase
• Winter Haven
• Venice
• Zephyrhills

You can get tickets ($15) online here: http://fla.vor.us/wafform.aspx?_act=eventview&_pky=62715

I’ve been following deadmau5 since I first heard him play in 2007 when he opened for DJ Raydeus at Mighty in San Francisco. deadmau5 has a great stage presence and one of the top acts at this years 2009 Ultra Music Festival in Miami.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the show!!!

Each show has seating for about 850 people and all you need do is call ahead to make reservations. Well not even that. Show up at the door and say you have reservations and you’ll get seated. (This is for the non-dinner show only) I highly recommend getting the champagne with the show. Tickets are 85€ a person 92€ with champagne. No cameras or video equipment area permitted inside and they are firm and polite but not overly invasive in that request.

Féerie was a crazy amazing spectacle of light, sound, and movement. The costumes were amazing! The performers made the show specifically the four ‘interim’ acts – Juggling, Magic, Giant Aquarium, and Contortionist (kinda) team. My favorite was the last act the Contortionist/strength act performed by a couple. Just Wow!

Across the street from the Moulin Rouge is the Blanche Metro station. One of the unique aspects of this station is the air vent that continually streams high volumes of air up in to the Parisian night. It was much fun to watch people climbing up for photographs by friends and strangers.

If you’ve ever seen Baz Luhrmanns film…there area some similarities in the performance but well you really should go and see it for yourself.

I did catch a few of the performers coming out after the show. I was amazed that the exiting and exuberant crowd seemed not see them at all.

It was a great time at the Moulin Rouge and I would definitely go back for another show.

In 2004 I decided that it would be important to see the show live and give a small attempt to make it on stage.  It was an all day process to get into the taping and there is no guarantee until you walk in the door.  The Price is Right reserves the right to bump individuals should a large group/tour of folks come to the show.

When I first arrived at the studios in Burbank it was stand in line to get a number. Then wait till your group number was called.  There was a short group interview/pre-screening with some of the producers then back to waiting. Eventually you line back up and wait to enter the studio.  If my memory hasn’t failed you are seated in the order you enter… and the studio is waaaay smaller than you may think from seeing it on TV. Also it was extremely low-tech with stage hands being the magic that opens & closes the doors.

I loved the experience of seeing Bob in the flesh and it was entertaining to see how such a famous show survived so well with out the latest flash whiz bangy gadgets that other game shows seem unable to be without.

She is the second owner of the vehicle, buying it for $3000 about forty years ago, when she was 18.  At twenty one she had driven her car in her first road rally and went on to participate in Monte Carlo Rally (the emblem on the back is the original from the race and what sparked the conversation) and also Le Mans 24 hr.  She indicated there were several years of rally racing but did not name any other races….

She has rebuilt the engine twice and repainted the car from its original white to the yellow of today.  Plan is to repaint again as soon as a color is chosen.

Hearing it run was a bit of a surprise. It sounded similar to the VW bug of yesteryear….but with a larger growl to it.  The Porsche has a 95 HP air cooled engine with some massive carburetors.

Car and owner made a great pair and it was obvious they had been together a long long time.  There was also a resident canine, Ozzie (I think) a long haired wooly character that had the back seat to himself.

A Porsche 356 in Gulfport, Florida…  for a small city you amaze me now and again.

If you do not get tickets for the NASA launch site then the best place is Space View Park in Titusville, FL – http://spacelaunchinfo.com/spaceview.html I met a guy named Ozzie a few months ago who runs the SpaceLaunchInfo.com site and he offers the best updates and information on launches I have found.

I’ll be going back as soon as possible to catch a launch before the shuttle program concludes next year. Hopefully this will be the last STS-127 Launch Scrub.

If you are coming into the area to watch a launch let me know I’m always up for another shot!

Today I found a gathering (more of a family reunion) at North Shore Park  that captured what I was hoping to do on a regular basis.  The sound system was sitting behind the grove of bushes/trees and is only barely seen peeking out from behind.   There is a beach right there and volleyball courts.  

I’ve been looking over the city permits and think that the city will even provide electricity if I pay the permit fee..   but it looks like $30/event… renegade event with a genny may be a better idea in the beginning.

Stay tuned

I learned a lot about how a film is put together and the varying responsibilities of all the parties involved.  It made a nice counterpoint to the series I had worked earlier in the summer, ClosingTime.  

The trailer is so-so lots of shouting and angry 20-something males.  Not a great depth to the characters (at least from what I recall during the shooting)  While it lacks the the inspiration of the scene by scene remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark, ya gotta start somewhere.  According to the website it is expected to be in theaters during 2009.

There were lots of adventures during shooting.  Several times the local police stopped past to check in with us, make sure we had all of the papers in order.  Two hurricanes skirted the area causing a slowdown in shooting.  The original video editor was fired 2 weeks into the project for being a total moron, lucky for him he had been advanced 1/2 his salary and declined to return it.

I met a few really good people.. but they have since moved out of the St. PEtersburg area, some to upstate New York and others to San Antonio, Texas.   I did get a nice introduction to some of the more popular places (think bars) in the area as we used them for several scenes in the film. Lastly, and to the best of my knowledge I have a cameo in Exit 727, all the crew took turns making “drug buys” during a time lapse sequence. mmm powdered sugar.

Would I do it again, yes.  I gained insight into another line of work.  Kinda makes me wanna turn my novel from the upcoming NaNoWriMo into a screenplay.  All I need is a great idea and a camera.

Wow!
Part 2 had two sub excursions… both started out in the direction of The Pier and the first went north and the latter found a more southerly direction….

Taste of Pinellas was wrapping up for the day. so we avoided too many entanglements with meandering pedestrians… staying along coffee pot bayou we headed west around 24th ave N and wound our way back to Chez Kitteh.

The southerly excursion Shelley decided to keep the bay on our left and we found the Sea Faire all aglow, and the fish fireworks and some agitated people who didn’t appreciate light being splashed about….

yeah then there was this very awesome sailboat…

I’m sure more will come to mind as the news reports come to light…..

Stay tuned…

My role on Closing Time was two-fold. Initially I arrived to be an extra for a scene or so.. I did end up on camera in episode 7, but no speaking lines. When not in front of the camera I worked on audio, generally holding mics or working with the audio monitors to verify good sound capture. The sensitivity of the mics would pick up the sound of the city bus passing our front and those of you with an iPhone may have noticed how they tend to broadcast to speakers/electronic equipment in the near vicinity.

I had a good time on set and enjoyed the differences between media and event production. I learned quite abit from the time I spent working with the cast and crew and can’t wait to get the word that season two begins shoot.

You can find the Season 1 trailer, pilot, and first episode online at http://closingtime.tv v