Roll That Ball, Check What Shines
Recently, someone near and dear mentioned that anytime I point out a story in the paper, it's always something grim or violent. I think the word aimed at me was "morbid," so I thought today I would lighten the mood with a rousing commentary on the intersection of public policy and private donations. Specifically, I'm talking about the Tampa Museum of Art and plans for making it bigger and better.
Howard Troxler cautions against plowing into an ambitious overhaul, because he thinks that the city might do better to consider the growth patterns downtown and the major leap the Museum is going to have to make to get its collections on par with the cost of the project. I disagree.
Everybody's always yammering on about downtown being dead, about how boring-ass suburban-style entertainment complexes and specially designated recreation districts suck the life out of any attempt at a conglomeration of independent, economically successful nightlife ventures in a mixed-use area. So, yes, when Troxler gently reminds us that downtown doesn't have the right kind of traffic to justify sinking $43 million in private funds into a public project, he'd be right.
He's putting the cart before the horse, though. Tampa could use a little bit of publicly supported oomph to get things rolling. We've got a sh*tload of money here, too, so why can't we make a fuss? Shake things up on Ashley Drive? Get people downtown?!
I think there's a lot of great things downtown. Spain makes killer mojitos and has incredibly chic decor. The Hub will either turn your frown upside down or positively reinforce it with double shot vodkas for five bucks and a ladies room full of man-hating, lipstick-scrawled banter. Club XS plays an enormous variety of quality hip-hop acts that you wouldn't normally expect to visit the Bay area. Club 112 has a line around the corner every Friday and Saturday night. Underground just launched a breakbeats night two weeks ago. Chambers will re-open with an R&B focus halfway through the month. Hattricks has pool tables and features most major sports events. Gilligans has a decent weekday happy hour. Jerk Hut has an awesome Friday night calypso garage band. What the h*ll else could you want?
How about some public support? How about a Downtown Partnership that actually makes people feel comfortable? How about a mayor that recognizes that $43 million is a lot of f*cking money to raise, so maybe people actually want to see this accomplished?
I'd even settle for a halfway plan - maybe scratch the "urban canopy" idea, or allocate a certain amount of the cash for some pet genre of museum artifacts. I don't even care how it all plays out as long as something happens, because it is just ridiculous to have a wide array of nightspots, a burgeoning "creative class," a community investment in urban living, and then let $43 million dollars go to waste because, in the words of Petey Pablo and Pit Bull, "You actin' like a punk, you scared, you scared."
And speaking of something happening, the weekend was full of vibrant misadventures: Skye, HPC, International, Hyde Park Village, an art show (where the 'Belt wore a navy schoolboy sweater that showed off his blueberry eyes), HPC again, and the International Diamond Center. We capped it all off by getting my cherry topping an ice cream sundae before bed, but not until he had the opportunity to mention that my perfume smells like camphor and he thought my skirt was pleather, as if I would ever wear pleather. For Christ's sake, baby, check a diamond by its light, hmm?
Howard Troxler cautions against plowing into an ambitious overhaul, because he thinks that the city might do better to consider the growth patterns downtown and the major leap the Museum is going to have to make to get its collections on par with the cost of the project. I disagree.
Everybody's always yammering on about downtown being dead, about how boring-ass suburban-style entertainment complexes and specially designated recreation districts suck the life out of any attempt at a conglomeration of independent, economically successful nightlife ventures in a mixed-use area. So, yes, when Troxler gently reminds us that downtown doesn't have the right kind of traffic to justify sinking $43 million in private funds into a public project, he'd be right.
He's putting the cart before the horse, though. Tampa could use a little bit of publicly supported oomph to get things rolling. We've got a sh*tload of money here, too, so why can't we make a fuss? Shake things up on Ashley Drive? Get people downtown?!
I think there's a lot of great things downtown. Spain makes killer mojitos and has incredibly chic decor. The Hub will either turn your frown upside down or positively reinforce it with double shot vodkas for five bucks and a ladies room full of man-hating, lipstick-scrawled banter. Club XS plays an enormous variety of quality hip-hop acts that you wouldn't normally expect to visit the Bay area. Club 112 has a line around the corner every Friday and Saturday night. Underground just launched a breakbeats night two weeks ago. Chambers will re-open with an R&B focus halfway through the month. Hattricks has pool tables and features most major sports events. Gilligans has a decent weekday happy hour. Jerk Hut has an awesome Friday night calypso garage band. What the h*ll else could you want?
How about some public support? How about a Downtown Partnership that actually makes people feel comfortable? How about a mayor that recognizes that $43 million is a lot of f*cking money to raise, so maybe people actually want to see this accomplished?
I'd even settle for a halfway plan - maybe scratch the "urban canopy" idea, or allocate a certain amount of the cash for some pet genre of museum artifacts. I don't even care how it all plays out as long as something happens, because it is just ridiculous to have a wide array of nightspots, a burgeoning "creative class," a community investment in urban living, and then let $43 million dollars go to waste because, in the words of Petey Pablo and Pit Bull, "You actin' like a punk, you scared, you scared."
And speaking of something happening, the weekend was full of vibrant misadventures: Skye, HPC, International, Hyde Park Village, an art show (where the 'Belt wore a navy schoolboy sweater that showed off his blueberry eyes), HPC again, and the International Diamond Center. We capped it all off by getting my cherry topping an ice cream sundae before bed, but not until he had the opportunity to mention that my perfume smells like camphor and he thought my skirt was pleather, as if I would ever wear pleather. For Christ's sake, baby, check a diamond by its light, hmm?
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