MetaFilter posts tagged with florida

Amish Snowbirds: Pinecraft, Florida

keli — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:50:26 -0800

The season now approaches for snowbirds to make their way to warmer climes for the season. Among them will be members of Amish and Menonnite orders. In the 1920s, farmers were persuaded to come to Sarasota, Florida and begin using the land for agricultural purposes. Among the items surmised best to grow in the soil was celery, produce already commonplace in Amish farms in the northern bands of the US. And so, some made the trip to begin farming, only to later learn it was a scam, but the weather and surroundings enticed them to stay or visit on a regular basis. Pinecraft, Florida is the winter home for many of these people. As far as the scam went, there was celery farming that could be done, but it was very limited. "Miss Pascal: What type of soil is it in Sarasota? Mr. Haney: That's a muck. You see that was a drained lake. All of the celery farming in Sarasota County was in an old drained lake." Pinecraft is a very small community of about 500 homes in a planned grid. The streets are narrow and most travel by way of bicycle. Few live there year round, and many of the homes are rented to others within the order. Their most favorite pastime is shuffleboard, though volleyball and horseshoes also have popularity among the residents. Recently, winter preparations were made for the soon visiting travelers. The Deacon for the local Amish congregation waited for a Pioneer Trails bus to come and deliver coffins.

In Sickness and in Health

digaman — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:29:25 -0800

Sassy lesbian couple in Florida celebrates 70 years together after having to keep their relationship secret for decades. You go, girls!

It's about quality, not quantity

mudpuppie — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:52:28 -0800

For generations, anglers have performed worm grunting (a.k.a. charming, fiddling, snoring, rubbing, or calling) to entice worms out of the ground. Worm grunting even has its very own annual festival. After accompanying Grunting King Gary Revell Vanderbilt neurobiologist Kenneth Catania has explained why scraping a "stob" or twanging a pitchfork brings the worms a-callin'. His scientific, peer-reviewed findings, published in 2008, confirmed what 74-year-old Arkansas fisherman Hansell Hill done coulda told ya back in 2007. And Darwin, before him.

Jesus registered my hotrod

dersins — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:22:17 -0800

"Jesus is to be mass-produced, imprinted on metal, given a reflective coat and sold for money." The Florida Senate is considering a bill to put Jesus Christ on a license plate. Governor Charlie ("No H.") Crist has come out in support of the bill (or at least in support of not vetoing it). [video]

84 Up, 84 Down. (Excluding Walks and Errors)

SpiffyRob — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:44:17 -0800

A little over two weeks into the season, Major League Baseball has already seen four near no-hitters. Meanwhile, Mitchell High School senior Patrick Schuster has thrown four in a row.

"If one of your kids were kept in such circumstances, you'd be up there with rifles."

grabbingsand — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:34:14 -0800

For Their Own Good. "They were screwed-up kids, sent to the reform school in Marianna for smoking, fighting, stealing cars or worse. The Florida School for Boys -- that'd straighten them out." A well-written and heartbreaking feature from the St Pete Times. Includes an extensive list of supporting news links (going back to 1932) and a gallery of portraits by Edmund D. Fountain.

MugTube?

joe vrrr — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:23:43 -0800

Real-time mugshots from Tampa Bay. In the tradition of The Smoking Gun's Arresting Images, The St. Petersburg Times is now publishing mugshots gathered from county sheriff's web sites in the Tampa Bay area. Sort by gender, age, height, weight or eye color. From the newspaper's disclaimer: Those appearing here have not been convicted of the arrest charge and are presumed innocent. Do not rely on this site to determine any person's actual criminal record.

The Burt Reynolds & Friends Museum

Joe Beese — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:00:49 -0800

The mission of The Burt Reynolds & Friends Museum is to preserve the history of the cultural contributions of Burt Reynolds. (previously) We are at 100 North US Highway 1, on the Northwest corner of US1 and Indiantown Road across from Chili's. (previously)

Foreclosures by Bruce Gilden.

chunking express — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:49:48 -0800

Foreclosures. A photo essay by Magnum photographer Bruce Gilden. The essay has audio, as does the you tube video of Gilden street shooting in New York. You need to watch the video of him working on the street, just to be impressed at how he doesn't get punched.

Man saves dog from shark attack

pxe2000 — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:38:33 -0800

Time for some good news, for a change: Man saves dog from shark attack. Really.

What Art Students Are Up To

netbros — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:25:32 -0800

Student artwork from the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL. Departments include computer animation, photography and digital imaging, interior design, and others. The flash interface is a bit kludgy at first, but you eventually get the hang of it. Some of the animations are quite endearing.

The Great Schlep

tristeza — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:34:58 -0800

The Great Schlep. Sarah Silverman explains why you should get your fat Jewish ass on a plane to Florida to convince your grandparents to vote for Obama.

Give me your coded, your rfid tagged, your addressed masses

cashman — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:44:52 -0800

As simple as a typo. Your vote in the 2008 U.S. election won't [2:00-9:00] count if voter caging parties can help it. Vote caging works basically like this - (1) Send do-not-forward mail to the address listed on your registration. (2) If it comes back return to sender, your registration is challenged and can be thrown out without notice. "A challenged voter will likely cast a provisional ballot....Nearly a third of all 1.6 million provisional ballots cast in 2004 were thrown out." Previously (somewhat). The BBC's Greg Palast and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are working on a documentary to publicize voter caging. Their site: stealbackyourvote.org. They hope to produce a 14-page voting guide in the next week. The advancement project is also threatening to sue to ensure voter's rights.

RIGHT BY MILES

tomierna — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:04:04 -0800

In 2002, Miles White died in a car crash. The car was being driven by his friend Adam Jacoby, and the accident occurred after they were chased by Deputy Scott Lawson of the Polk County, Florida Sheriff’s Office. The St. Pete Times now claims that “sexual pervert” Lawson hit them, causing the accident. The normally staid St. Pete Times, owned by the beacon of journalistic integrity, The Poynter Institute, has a somewhat sordid and salacious multimedia presentation of this story. Further pieces of investigative reporting detail the vagaries of when the Polk County Sheriff’s office knew about Lawson’s unusual sexual proclivities, questions about the propriety of the Sheriff’s Office ability to police themselves, and an odd quote from the Polk County Times which directly indicts Lawson. Miles’ family and Adam Jacoby have been in the courts several times in attempt to more directly[PDF] implicate Lawson. Adam Jacoby seemed to get special treatment when he was finally sentenced. Since he’s still on probation, he wouldn’t speak to the Times.

I'm living the Florida 70s nightlife life!

Astro Zombie — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:05:02 -0800

Who can forget when Harmony and Grits played at Nero's Nook? This is a big stack of pics that I scanned as a single collection. Most are 8"x10", but a few are snapshots. They represent something of a snapshot of the bar and entertainment scene in the Gulf Coast resort town of Fort Walton Bch, FL, circa 1970s. Most are of bands, entertainers and a few strippers. If you are from this area, you may well recognize some of the faces. They are in no order. (Via.)

"an expression of truckliness"

mrducts — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:47:48 -0800

Senate lawmakers in Florida move to ban fake testicles on vehicles. NSFW(?)

A Shot of Bleach Ought to Dew It!

ericb — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:34:39 -0800

"Some Florida teens believe drinking Mountain Dew or smoking marijuana will prevent pregnancy and that swallowing a capful of bleach will prevent HIV/AIDS."^* As a result, lawmakers are pushing "for an overhaul of sex education in the state. State lawmakers said the myths are spreading because of Florida's abstinence-only sex education"^* "On Tuesday, a bill that would 'require a more comprehensive approach' to sex education narrowly won approval from a state Senate committee."^*

30 day sex (or no sex) challenge

ThePinkSuperhero — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:59:20 -0800

A church in Tampa, FL has issued a 30-day sex challenge: If you're married, have sex every day (PDF of daily workbook). If you're not married, don't have sex at all (PDF of daily workbook). There's a blog, there's a billboard, there's a lot of press. Wirth told CBS News he believes most people go into marriage "without really knowing each other emotionally, without knowing their partner's emotional needs, and this (the challenge) is a way for people to discover their greatest needs -- both married and non-married couples."

Hezbollah in South Florida?

skjønn — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:19:50 -0800

The coddled "terrorists" of South Florida. Examining our governments double standard with regard to providing a safe haven for terrorists. Alpha 66 continues to carry out attacks.

Fifty car pileup closes 1-4 in Florida

misha — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:01:37 -0800

I watched man burn to death, heard others screaming in the fog. A massive, 50-car pileup, the result of three or more crashes on I-4, has led to at least 3 fatalities and 82 injuries in central Florida near Orlando. The smoke and fog were so bad that rescue efforts were hindered. Drivers with no visibility did not know whether to stay in their burning cars or risk running out onto the highway for help.

Four out of Five People Wash Their Hands.

grabbingsand — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:46:04 -0800

Four out of Five People Wash Their Hands. Don't be that Fifth Guy. While you're at it, cover your mouth when you cough and stay home when you're sick. Really, how many times do we have to tell you? Wash. Your. Hands. Seriously. Who's the Fifth Guy? "The Florida Department of Health set out to prepare people for the potential of a flu pandemic, but they faced a tough challenge: No pandemic on the horizon ... Then they built the campaign around what does matter to people: Fitting in."*

Shoot First, No Questions Asked?

grabbingsand — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:04:35 -0800

"I've got a shotgun. Do you want me to stop 'em?" On November 14, 61-year old Joe Horn saw two men breaking into his neighbor's home. He called 911, told the operator what he could see through his window. As Horn watched the men, he grew more and more agitated, saying he was going to go outside and shoot them. When the men left the neighbor's home, Horn went outside and did just that.

Now, Texas gets to argue over the hero or villain status of Joe Horn in the public square (a debate made more volatile by concerns that race was been a factor), while weighing the merits of that state's recent adoption of Castle Doctrine (aka "Stand Your Ground" Law). First adopted by Florida in 2005, Castle Doctrine is now law in 19 of 50 states. So what does this mean for Joe Horn? Public accusations of vigilantism aside, what Horn did is arguably legal under Texas law ... or, at least, it would be had he shot the two men after dark.

Key Lime Pie

seanmpuckett — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:22:48 -0800

With few cows, no ice, and lacking refrigeration the only dairy product reliably available to the Florida Keys in the late 18th century was condensed milk. Add a local plantation abundance of small, sour key limes (known to most as West Indian limes; not the more common Persian/Tahiti lime), and inevitably someone -- perhaps Aunt Sally -- put them together to create the quintessential Florida Keys confection known as key lime pie. Tart, sweet, and oh so smooth, it is the ideal dessert to nibble on while watching the sun go down on a steamy summer evening. While the Eagle Brand can recipe is canonical (thank you, Ms. Borden), a multitude of variations exist such as cheesecake, tarts, cookies and ... mustard? And note that no matter how you take your pie, there's something aficionados all agree upon: the true pie is pale yellow, never ever green.
Finally, note that this is not Key Lime Pie, although that, also, is very tasty.

Suddenly Last Summer

cowboy_sally — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 10:59:58 -0800

A gay Republican news story that you probably didn't read about in the paper: In late August, Ralph Gonzalez--Republican strategist, former Georgia GOP executive director, and "political powerhouse"--was murdered (along with his roommate, David Abrami, another Republican political consultant) by Gonzalez' "friend" and former Marine Jason Robert Drake. Characterized as the result of a "lovers' quarrel," it's a bizarre crime story that should've made at least a ripple in the national news, given some other recent incidents. But it never did. While Gonzalez wasn't a politician himself, he had some high-powered (and controversial) clients/associates. Like the spectacularly corrupt Florida Rep. Tom Feeney. Gonzalez was a long-time pal of Ralph Reed, of Christian Coalition/Jack Abramoff fame. He also orchestrated an "Adam and Steve" smear campaign for an Alabama State House election. Yet allegedly it wasn't even a secret Gonzalez was gay. And who was Jason Robert Drake? Ex-military, campaign volunteer for right-wing Virginia Rep. Patrick McHenry (who isn't a stranger to unsavory company himself), and purported rough trade. Sound familiar? [Via. ]

Another Great Compromise may be in order.

Avenger — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 20:45:54 -0800

Today the DNC voted "to strip Florida of all its presidential convention delegates, threatening to leave the state without a vote for the party's 2008 nominee unless it delays the date of its presidential primary election." [More Inside]