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Letter to the editor

Inspiration on screen, celebrity on court

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published July 27, 2004

One life can be a beacon of inspiration, and it's even more remarkable when the beacon continues to shine after that life ends.

Cedar Bennett Rosenfield died in October of 2001 just after her 20th birthday. Her brave struggle against hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has inspired family and friends to carry on her dream, in the form of the Cedar Bennett Project.

A grim prognosis in 1998 could not deter Cedar from reveling in her love for the arts. She continued to act in local theater and motion pictures by the independent Wild Heart Films. She also immersed herself in visual arts, dance and writing and illustrating children's books.

More than anything, Cedar, who lived in Clearwater, wanted to inspire other young people to rise above naysayers. In April, I wrote about the Cedar Bennett Project's inaugural young filmmakers award, presented during the Tambay Film Festival.

Now the foundation will premier Hi, I'm Cedar - The Story Of A Life Well-Lived, Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Channelside Cinemas. It's a documentary from Wild Heart producer and co-owner Mandy Wildman. It includes interviews with Cedar's friends and family, as well as footage of her performances.

For ticket information, call (727) 447-4220.

In a world where inspiration is seldom plentiful, this effort deserves some attention.

SO, NOT ONLY DID BILL BELLAMY play the Improv this weekend; he also played Hillsborough Community College.

Bellamy, a comedian and actor who originally came to fame on MTV, showed some of his Rock 'n Jock basketball skills during a Bay Pro-Am game at HCC Saturday. Former Indiana Pacers guard Haywoode Workman is the president/director of the top flight summer league, and a longtime friend of Bellamy.

"Bill has celebrity game," Workman said with a laugh. "He doesn't have basketball player game, but has game like you see at the Rock 'n Jock."

Workman said Bellamy scored four points and he didn't do anything to hurt the team.

"I think everyone playing with him and against him had fun," Workman said.

The league is composed primarily of professional and collegiate players looking to stay in shape for the summer. The caliber of play is impressive.

League organizers also hope to help teens get into college and find them jobs through athletics, both as players and support staff.

After a two-year hiatus, Workman said Bay Pro-Am now has a solid foundation.

Games are played on Friday evenings and Saturdays. The league wraps up on Aug. 15.

WHAT WE CALL THE STEEL DRUM is commonly referred to as the steelpan in Trinidad and Tobago. The world's best steelpan orchestras are commonly found there, in the Caribbean island nation where the steelpan was invented.

So it's worth noting that the champion Arima United Steel Drum Orchestra from Trinidad will be in Tampa for free performances this week.

They will showcase their abilities alongside the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Community Arts Ensemble to present Nail Down the Wind, Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Thursday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. in Ferguson Hall. For tickets, stop by the TBAPC box office. Call (813) 229-7827 for more information.

The group also will give a lunchtime performance at Franklin Street Mall Friday from noon to 1:30 p.m.

MY HEAD ALMOST EXPLODED Monday morning.

I could not get the Google site to run searches, and it was driving my crazy. At one point, my hands started shaking. Just the thought of not having my Google brings back a slight tremble. Sorry, other search engines just won't do.

A Bloomberg report said the problem may have been caused by something called the Mydoom computer virus. It was my doom, and I'm asking all hackers around the world: You can mess with all kinds of Web sites, but please don't toy with Google.

That's all I'm saying.

- Ernest Hooper can be reached at 813 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 27, 2004, 01:00:27]