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Take a break from Florida's summer heat
By MIM ANNE HOUK For listings of events in August, consult these St. Petersburg Times features: The weekend magazine on Thursdays, Friday Floridian's weekend calendar and the daily entertainment page, 2B The only comforting thing about living in Florida in August is that it's just as hot or hotter in most of the rest of the country (with the exception of mountain tops and northern Alaska). Hot weather or not, this is definitely the time for a visit to the Henry Plant Museum housed in the 1891 Tampa Bay Hotel, a National Historic Landmark. The current exhibit is a wonderful show titled "Exotic Florida," which includes photographs by Audubon, Koehler, Higgins, Jackson and others; there are also illustrations, oil paintings and artifacts detailing the experiences of early Florida visitors. The exhibit continues through Oct. 31. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, and closed on Mondays. Call (813) 254-1891 for more information. * * * The Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota has "An American Anthem: 300 Years of Painting from the Butler Institute of American Art" -- through Sept. 8, as well as its excellent permanent collection. (Free admission on Mondays.) For information and tickets, call (941) 359-5700. * * * The Tampa Museum of Art, 600 N Ashley Drive is featuring "underRENT/overVIEW 6," an annual exhibition of local artists from the bay area. Call (813) 274-8130 for hours and ticket prices. * * * New on video and DVD: The Royal Tenenbaums starring Gene Hackman, Ben Stiller, Anjelica Houston, Gwyneth Paltrow and Danny Glover. With a knockout cast like this, this satirical comedy can't miss. For French-film lovers, there is Amelie. This charming and unusual love story easily rises above its subtitles to amuse and enchant. The blockbuster, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring is for anyone who loves storytelling, fantasy and great special effects -- great fun all the way. * * * For a special audio-book treat, try John Adams by David McCullough. Be sure you get the unabridged version. The Pinellas County public libraries have extensive collections of fiction and non-fiction audio books to choose from. Speaking of books, The Girl from the South by Joanna Trollope and The Weather in Berlin by Ward Just are two delightful reads. Trollope tells the story of the British photographer and the American art history researcher from Charleston, S.C., and the bumps in their path to a solid relationship. The clash of cultures, is certainly not extreme, but still interesting to anyone at familiar with southern traditions and British assumptions. Ward Just is one of those writers who deserves more attention than he gets. A correspondent for Newsweek and the Washington Post from 1959 to 1969, Just has also written 12 novels, three collections of short stories, and two works of non-fiction. From January to May of 1999, Just was an American Academy Fellow in Berlin. The Weather in Berlin (I think his best novel) recounts those experiences. Full of history -- both before and after the Berlin Wall was taken down -- the novel also resonates with the main character's personal and professional life as a filmmaker for whom Hollywood no longer has a place. Wonderful story. * * * On Aug. 19 and 26, PBS will present a two-part mystery The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: A Great Deliverance. Fans of Elizabeth George's series won't want to miss this. The aristocratic Scotland Yard inspector and his sergeant, Barbara Havers, make a great pair on the printed page and should transfer to film intact. * * * Web sites:
Stay cool -- if you can -- and TAKE NOTE.
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From the Times Seniority pages |
