CL caught up with Amy Snider, who hosts of WMNF-88.5FM's "It's the Music/Thursday Nooner!," a consistently worthwhile singer-songwriter night, every Thursday at Tre Amici at the Bunker, Ybor City.

The showcase of live original music by three artists takes place tonight from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

"Tonight I have Joel Tatangelo, playing as a duo [with Dan Dickson], and Simply Abigail," Snider tells us. "Amazing, great vocals and Joel the mando player is phenomenal, and Mike Donahue is a great singer/songwriter, too. He has an old fave called, "Cynthia the Cannibal Cabbage Patch Doll" that he's playing in honor of the holidays. So, three artist ... free, with free parking in front and back, plus there's beer, wine, Cuban Sandwiches, desserts (for sale) ..."

What's the cover charge?

"Never a cover song, never a cover charge (maybe I'll relax the rule for a Neutral Milk cover by Simply abigail because they kill it)."

Wait, that's not all.

"Also, next week I have just confirmed Under the Willow from Chicago, plus Fly, Magpie (new project with locals Meredith Marsh and Jonny Genaro), and Shane Meade."

Like the Bunker Singer-Songwriter Night on Facebook to find out more.

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This week you'll have a chance to see stand-up comedy, improvisational comedy, musical parodies and nationally-touring comedians. Some of these shows are even free, so no matter your budget there are laughs to be had this weekend.

Here are the best bets for this week:

Comedy Clubs:

Greg Behrendt at Tampa Improv. Behrendt is a story-teller (and best-selling author) who successfully mixes a confident demeanor with a touch of self-deprecating material. Expect unsolicited — but funny— advice on topics such as parenting, relationships and getting older.
Showtimes are Thursday at 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. 1600 E. Eighth Ave., Ybor City. Info: improvtampa.com or 813-864-4000.

Gary Valentine at Side Splitters. Valentine's long-term stint on The King Of Queens introduced him to audiences, where he played a relative of his real-life brother Kevin James. There's definitely a family resemblance, but it's his casual demeanor and straight-talk style that keeps crowds coming back. Sunday's show is the annual "Bad Santa" event with Pretty Paul Parsons, a septuagenarian with a dirty mind and the kind of stand-up comedy that would get him kicked out of any senior center.
Showtimes are Thursday at 8:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m., Saturday at 6 p.m., 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m., and Sunday at 7 p.m. 12938 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa. Info: sidesplitterscomedy.com or 813-960-1197.

Darryl Lenox at Coconuts St. Pete Beach. Visual impairment isn't normally considered a source of comedy-rich material, but Lenox has made it a staple of his live performances and acclaimed CD, Blind Ambition. Not one for self-pity, Lenox's personal experiences quickly become funny premises and a launching pad for witty observations.
Showtimes are Thursday-Saturday at 9:30 p.m. 6200 Gulf Blvd. at the Beachcomber Resort. Info: coconutscomedyclubs.com or 727-360-5653.

Traci Kanaan at Snappers Grill & Comedy Club. The "Princess of Parodies" gives audiences a one-two punch of stand-up comedy and humorous takes on well-known songs. Armed with a keyboard and sharp punch lines, Kanaan draws audience laughs with parodies of stars such as Elton John, Tracy Chapman and even Ozzy Osbourne.
Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. 36657 U.S. 19 N., Palm Harbor. Info: snappersgrill.com or 727-938-2027.

Kevin Deady at Jack's Joint. Local comedian Deady (he's actually a New York native) brings his act to Jack's for one night only. Hosting the event is longtime stage veteran Larry Greenbaum.
Showtime is Saturday at 8:30 p.m. 2950 Gulf To Bay Blvd., Clearwater. Info: tampabaycomedy.com or 727-741-8014.

One-nighters and Independent Shows

Johnny B at Niagara Tap (free show). Winner of the 2013 "Tampa Bay's Got Talent" contest, Johnny B earned himself a radio show on 102.5 The Bone by being unapologetically incorrect — both politically and socially. The poker dealer/youth football coach/stand-up comedian isn't afraid to make fun of himself while delivering personal observations with a fair amount of adult language.
Showtime is Friday at 7 p.m. 11950 Seminole Blvd., Largo. Info: theniagaratap.com or 727-581-5331.

Toys For Tats at Billy Jack's Burger Shack (free show). Local comedians Kyle Rule, John J, Bill Zapf, Jonas Presendieu and others perform adult-oriented comedy. Donate an unwrapped toy worth at least $5 and get a $20 gift card for Atomic Tattoos at Tyrone Square Mall.
Showtime is Saturday at 9:30 p.m. 1479 Belcher Road S., Largo. Info: 727-530-1011.

Post Dinner Conversation at Tampa Pitcher Show. The USF-based improvisation troupe runs through sketches and improv games with the help of audience suggestions and participation.
Showtime is Saturday at 7 p.m. 14416 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa. Info: tampapitchershow.net or 813-963-0578.

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Based on the comments from lawmakers from both political stripes in Tallahassee today, Floridians will be receiving a financial break when they renew their car or truck tag fees next year - the question is simply by how much.

Governor Rick Scott announced in Tampa his proposal — a $401 million dollar tax cut on vehicle registration fees — which he said would bring the level below what Floridians paid in 2009, when the state legislature raised the fees.

"An average Floridian family will see a reduction in registration fees from $71 to $46 next September. That’s an average decrease of $25," Scott said while speaking in a cramped room jammed with supporters and reporters at the Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore.

Although it's clear that the Legislature will cut the registration fees, they may not do so at the levels that Scott is requesting.

Joe Negron (R-Palm City) will sponsor such a bill in the Senate. When asked by CL how big a cut he planned, he said it was too early in the process to give out hard dollar figures. "We will have time to determine the size and the scope of reduction in fees, but what I can promise people is the reduction will be substantial and families will feel it."

His bill (SB 156) as is would cut only half the amount, or $12 per individual, that Scott is proposing.

House Democratic Democratic Leader Perry Thurston (D-Fort Lauderdale) said today that "The governor’s election-season turnaround on this matter is heartening, and I hope that he also finds the courage to adequately fund education, support health coverage expansion, and meet other priorities of working families and small businesses that have been neglected under Florida’s current Republican leadership.”

Scott is pushing the $401 million tax cut as part of an overall $500 million tax cut plan that he was boasting about on Thursday, and something that he no doubt will be crowing about on the campaign trail over the course of 2014.

In fact he seemed to already be in campaign mode, bragging about how Florida had one of the lowest tax rates in the country. "Every dime that we get back in a family's pocket is a greater chance for them to live the American dream," he said, adding that it allows them to buy a house or car, though admittedly, it won't come from this specific tax cut.

The Legislature originally raised these same fees back in 2009 at the apex of the recession. The Governor at that time was Charlie Crist, now running as a Democrat against Scott. But the Legislature was just as Republican in sheer numbers as it is today. Scott refused to say today whether he thought it was an appropriate vote by lawmakers at the time, though he was asked about that several times.

Finally this reporter asked if he might use the tax cut as a cudgel against Charlie Crist when the campaign heats up next year. He again stayed on message. "My job and what I've done every day since I've become governor, is to say how do we make sure how families like mine growing up. I remember when my parents lost their job. I remember when my dad lost his car. I want to make sure those families get a job."

Although most Floridians will no doubt cheer the governor's statement today, a new poll released by St. Leo University shows that he's going to need to spread more good cheer to get his poll numbers up. The survey shows Scott trailing Crist 46-34 percent. And it showed the governor's personal approval ratings plummeting to the depths of where President Obama finds himself in some polls today - at 38 percent (The poll surveyed adults, not registered or even likely voters).

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Last week, before Art Basel Miami Beach, the art world’s annual, oversized art fair, St. Petersburg artist Donna Gordon packed up a rented U-Haul and took her sculptures and work by three other Florida artists to sell at Red Dot, one of the smaller satellite fairs that crops up around ABMB each year. What surprises about Gordon’s choice isn’t so much that she took the gamble, but that she’d never even been to the Miami confab as a spectator before, much less as a marketer of art.

“I didn’t just dip my toe in, I jumped,” Gordon says.

Returning home to St. Pete on Monday, Gordon was reasonably happy with her decision. On the upside, she had sold one of her own pieces — a figurative bronze sculpture for $35,000. On the downside, hopes of selling out the contents of her booth, which included paintings by Tallahassee artist Carrie Ann Baade and St. Pete-based Steven Kenny as well as photo collages by Jack Bond of Tampa, were dashed. The disappointments she chalked up to learning the ways of the fair circuit; the victories may propel her to fairs in Houston and Miami in 2014.

“We just realized we had to get out of town to have sales validation,” Gordon says. As artists trying to sell work above $5,000 in St. Pete, “we get lots of attaboys.”

Every December since 2002 Miami has served up a spectacle of the business of art. Two museum exhibitions and their attendant parties were the talk of the town: the re-opening of the Miami Art Museum as the Pérez Art Museum Miami in a new Herzon & de Meuron-designed building with an exhibition of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, and a Tracey Emin solo show at the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, devoted to the British artist’s neon signs. Both artists are deliciously notorious — Ai for repeatedly defying the Chinese government (after joining an effort to collect the names of child victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquakes, he was detained for 81 days and remains under pressure not to leave China) and Emin for her sexually and emotionally explicit confessionals (expressed as pithy neon statements, such as “You loved me like a distant star,” at MOCA NoMI).

Art Basel Miami Beach itself attracted 75,000 visitors to its assembly of 258 galleries from 31 countries inside the Miami Beach Convention Center. Along the beach, notable sights included artist Ry Rocklen’s design for the Absolut-sponsored art bar, with benches and game tables constructed from marble and kitschy sports trophies; artist Kate Gilmore’s choreography of gender-ambiguous performers banging metal cubes with sledgehammers outside the Bass Museum; and public appearances by a mobile vendor of blue-chip artist Olafur Eliasson’s “little sun” LED lamps, which were also sold inside the main fair, for $30. (Buying one helps fund their distribution in developing countries.)

Amid the hubbub, slower-paced, more thoughtful ventures could be found that served as a reminder that Miami is cultivating depth along with bling. The Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation debuted “Permission to Be Global,” a selection from its collection of Latin American art curated by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. And the Bass Museum offered a project with artist Hernan Bas —“A Queer and Curious Cabinet,” a pink wunderkammer filled with taxidermy, vintage photographs and other objects from the 35-year-old painter’s personal collections including a Ghostbusters soundtrack on cassette tape.

But most attention revolved around the temporary fairs that swelled with out-of-town dealers, artists, collectors and art-oglers along Miami Beach and in Wynwood, the city’s arts district.

Two former St. Pete gallery owners, Lori Johns and Mindy Solomon, took on booths at SCOPE and Art Miami. Earlier this year, Johns vacated her bricks-and-mortar space on Central Avenue to pursue a fairs and online-only existence for C. Emerson Fine Arts. For a seventh time she joined SCOPE, which was situated in an enormous tent atop the sands of South Beach, representing Tampa Bay artists Justin Nelson and Kim Radatz among others. Chatting inside her booth, Johns said she was satisfied with the changes to C. Emerson, even if the effort involved in selling art online had turned out to be more time consuming than she'd anticipated.

“I feel like I’m working 10 times harder,” Johns says.

Solomon, promoting sculptures by Tampa-based Dominique Labauvie at Art Miami, was also in an onwards-and-upwards frame of mind. During the fair, her seven-week-old gallery in the heart of Wynwood was also open; an exhibition that includes ceramic sculptures by John Byrd served as the backdrop for a brunch with collectors on a Miami Basel tour organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg. While her relocation to Miami hasn’t translated yet into increased traffic for the gallery, just being around other galleries already feels good, Solomon says.

“I’m happy to be in a more concentrated contemporary art community,” she says.

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For the year's remaining editions of The Well-Played List, music tastemakers participating in the ongoing listening series (the CL Music Team and select staffers along with local music promoters, record store and venue owners, music fans and scenesters, DJs, musicians, and a radio personality or two) will be reflecting on our favorite albums of the year — the Best of 2013. Since we're off on consecutive Wednesdays (for Christmas and New Year's), and make up such a large group with varying tastes, I'll be breaking our lists up into four parts, running two this week (Part 1 ran on Wednesday, the second today), and the last two will be posted next week. Hopefully, all four will give you something to fill your ears while you enjoy your holiday breaks... and as always, a Spotify Playlist will be included at the end of each post, for your listening pleasure.

Check out past editions of The Well-Played List here. And on that note, what are your favorite albums of 2013? Tell us in the comments…

SHAE K. | Local musician, Y Los Dos Pistoles, writer, poet

Bill Callahan, Dream River

Shannon Wright, In Film Sound

M.I.A., Matangi

Valerie June, Pushin' Against a Stone

Bob Dylan, The Bootleg Serives vol. 10: Another Self Portrait

Phosphorescent, Muchacho

Speedy Ortiz, Major Arcana

John Vanderslice, Dagger Beach

Scout Niblett, It's Up to Emma

Rykarda Parasol, Against the Sun

DEREK CLARK | Brasky.org

Bibio, Silver Wilkinson

Chrome Sparks, Sparks EP

Classixx, Hanging Gardens

Ducktails, The Flower Lane

Foxygen, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic

fthrsn, middle school swag

Gangplans, Alca

Jai Paul, Jai Paul

Machinedrum, Vapor City

Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Blue Record

SARAH GECAN | Daddy Kool Records and No Clubs Entertainment

Frank Turner, Tape Deck Heart

Restorations, LP 2

Bear's Den, Agape

Masked Intruder, Masked Intruder

Lorde, Pure Heroine

letlive., The Blackest Beautiful

Superchunk, I Hate Music

Daughter, If You Leave

Luxury Mane, Luxury Mane

AFI, Burials

MOJO BOOKS & RECORDS (PART 1)
-Mojo has a rotating group of Well-Played List participants - co-owners Melanie Cade and Danny Drummond along with several knowledgeable staffers. Thus, we are splitting up their entries into two parts; the second half will run on the next WPL...

MELANIE CADE

The National, Trouble Will Find Me

Kanye West, Yeezus

Jeremy Denk, J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations

Deerhunter, Monomania

Bill Callahan, Dream River

Kronos Quartet / Bryce Dessner, Aheym

Oneohtrix Point Never, R Plus Seven

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Push the Sky Away

Parquet Courts, Light Up Gold

San Fermin, San Fermin

ROBBY MCDONALD

Kurt Vile, Wakin on a Pretty Daze

Darkside, Psychic

Oneohtrix Point Never, R Plus Seven

Thee Oh Sees, Singles Vol. 3

Cosmic Machine, A Voyage Across French Cosmic and Electronic Avant Garde (1970-1980)

William Onyeabor, Who is...

Grails, Black Tar Prophecies 4,5,6

Serpentina Satellite, Mecanica Celeste

Chrome, Half Machine from the Sun

Annapurna Illusion, Life Is an Illusion

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CL's having its office holiday party tonight at an undisclosed location (let's just say I hope they're still serving those beer cocktails). But if I were looking for an alternative, I could think of no better choice than Holiday Party of One at New Stage Theatre in Largo.

When the show premiered last year at Stageworks, CL Theater Critic Mark E. Leib rightly praised its delightful cast (almost intact this year, with Heather Krueger, Alison Burns and Ricky Cona joined by Gabe Saienni) and clever script (written by Burns). I'll chime in to say that it is smart, funny, perceptive, warm, very well-performed — and, unlike other holiday entertainments, won't send you into insulin shock, even when the cast starts a-caroling. (Especially since some of the carols have been, um, re-worked, e.g. "It's the most stressed-out I've been this whole year!") And unlike your office holiday party, this one poses no risk of a hangover.

Holiday Party of One, New Stage Theatre, 11650 131st Street N., Largo, inside Country Day World School, through Dec. 20. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 3 p.m. $25.88. 813-817-2585, newstagelargo.org.

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Many unfair stigmas about the porn industry persist, but at least one is comically true. LA's x-rated "silicone valley" produces an orgy of absurdly perverse titles each year. In honor of Friday the 13th, below is a celebration of 13 of the most amusing porno titles of 2013. The descriptions of these films are also included to give you a taste of porn writing and its insistence on using exclamation points to end each sentence, like punctuation money-shots to cap each raunchy description!

Cirque du Hole-A: "Witness the amazing pogo-dick trick! You're the class clown if you miss this one! Anal acrobatics! Ferocious pussies tamed! Sphinctacular stunts!" Cast: Riley Evans, Criss Strokes, Joslyn James, Christian, Jada Stevens, Cece Stone, Prince Yahshua, Mari Possa, Jayda Diamonde, Phoenix Marie.

Just In Beaver Fever: "Justin has been waiting to fuck Selena forever, but she's a lesbian! She tells him he can only watch! So he storms out, jumps in his sports car and leaves Selena to bang her girlfriend uninterrupted! Upset about Selena, Justin gets pulled over for driving like a douche. Luckily the female cop is a big fan and they end up negotiating a deal to keep Justin out of jail. Relieved he's not in jail, Justin goes to Usher's house who is entertaining Amanda. As soon as Usher leaves the room, Justin makes his move. Usher catches them and gets pissed, but Amanda begs them both to fuck her... they agree. Justin finally comes home to find his hot little neighbor who's always flirting with him. But her boyfriend is a huge football player. Again, as soon as he leaves, Justin bounces around the corner, into her house and into her tight, shaved pussy!" Cast: Alexis Ford, Vanessa Veracruz , Presley Hart, Jessa Rhodes, Alexa Aimes, Jon Jon, Seth Gamble.

Trustfund Trannies: "What do you get when a Tranny has lots of daddy's money? TROUBLE! Follow these Trustfund Trannies as they use their position and power to get their Transsexual desires satisfied. Shot on location in the AMAZING villas of Spain and the Luscious Mansions of Hollywood Hills. Featuring the HOT new comer Holly Harlow brings new meaning to the words SPOILED SLUT." Cast: Danielle Foxxx, Holly Harlow, Liberty Harkness, Morgan Bailey, Natalia, Natassia Dreams, Ryder Monroe.

Cray Cray Vajayjay: "Just thinking about what is under those panties is making me crazy. I think I'm Cray Cray for that Vajayjay!" Cast: Brooke Taylor, Codi Bryant, Destiny Lane, Nivea.

Gag Gift: "It's the gift that keeps on cumming!" Cast: Binky Bangs, Danica Dillon, Jasmine Delatori, Jessa Rhodes, Kodi Gamble, Mia Gold, Nilah Summers.

Slumber Party Cupcake Sluts: "Hot friends make delicious treats! If you love wet pussy, big tits, and girly sex, this movie is for you! All of my best girlfriends and I give a lot of love to our tight little holes. We fuck and suck and cum super hard just for you. Get ready for juicy pussy licking action with a cast that knows how to do it best. Enjoy!" Cast: Tasha Reign, Raven Bay, Maddy O'Reilly, Rikki Six, Sarah Vandella, Lexi Swallow.

Sailor Poon: "This Cosplay Porn Experience Allows You To Choose: Which Sexy Superhero You Want: Lexi Belle, Asa Akira, Or Heather Starlet! Sex Positions! Camera Angels! When To Pop! How The Story Unfolds! Cast: Asa Akira, Lexi Belle, Heather Starlet.

Cream Filled Japanese Fur Burgers: "A Fur Burger Ain't Nothing Without Cream! Hair Lined Japanese Burgers Are So Much Tastier And Tender When Cream Filled! Have Your Choice Of 4 All New Fresh Varieties. Medium-Rare And Extra Sauce Please!" Cast: Hinata Hyuga, Kurumi, Miyu Ninomiya, Rikako Yokoyama.

My Hairy Sugar Walls: "Enjoy these 13 hairy girls in 12 scenes of hairball inducing goodness!" Cast: Alice, Angie, Bella Bends, Felix Weatherwood, Jak Hana, Kate, Lera, Roxane, Shrima, Taya, Vasilia, Wildrossy.

Pump’r in the Dumper: "These horny hotties know the painful pleasure of taking a cock straight up their tight asses! Watch as these girls get their sphincters stretched to the breaking point... They won't walk straight for a while after we're done with them!" Cast: Alexa Benson, Lena Cova, Niki Sweet, Riley Evans.

Cougars vs. Kittens: "Whether you like them young and tight or seasoned and sex-sational, Adult's finest feline forms come together to see who possesses the greatest sex prowess." Cast: Phoenix Marie, Rayveness, Devon Lee, Presley Hart, Dillion Harper, Ash Hollywood, Kris Slater, Logan Pierce, Diana Prince, Kendall Karson, Tyler Nixon, Ryan McLane.

Tongue in Cheek: "Director Kevin Moore brings state-of-the-art camerawork and a passion for freaky fetish to his very first all-girl release. 'Tongue In Cheek' emphasizes deep, devoted rim jobs and ass play in four scalding scenes of intimate lesbian desire. The director loves exposing his deep-seated kinks to the mainstream porn market, and very few movies have been dedicated to the girl-girl ass-licking niche. So Kevin assembled a killer cast of insatiable butt sluts, beautiful babes with zero inhibition when it comes to Sapphic salad tossing." Cast: Monique Alexander, Maddy O'Reilly, Juelz Ventura, Kendra Lust, Karlie Montana, Romi Rain, Aleksa Nicole, Sandy.

Slut Bottom Chris Meets the Prostate Assassins: "Slut Bottom Chris is a pegging freak of nature! Watch beautiful dommes ram his ass with the biggest dildos you've ever seen! Tons of fun with a heeldo and strap-ons!" Cast: Aiden Star, Kiki D'aire, Slut Bottom Chris.

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I know it seems like ancient history to remind Americans about the 16-day government shutdown back in October, but how about this statistic: According to an initial analysis from Standard & Poor's, that shutdown took a $24 billion chunk out of the U.S. economy. That's something that House Speaker John Boehner and others in House Republican leadership certainly haven't forgotten. Nor have they forgotten the horrific public polling that blamed them for what is now generally considered a debacle that should never have occurred.

It seems like that was such a long time ago because the political fortunes of the Democrats and Republicans have flipped upside down over the past two months, due to the disastrous rollout of HealthCare.gov. But October's mess was obviously the last straw for Boehner, which is he was fully committed to what Paul Ryan negotiated with Patty Ryan in getting a budget deal earlier this week. Boehner is finally telling Tea Party acolytes like Cato, Heritage Action and the Club for Growth to essentially shove it with their complaints about that legislation, passed by the House yesterday that was designed to avoid another such shutdown next month.

And the Tea Party doesn't like it. Jenny Martin, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, tells the Wall Street Journal today that "the trust is so deeply shattered right now between the establishment within the House Republican conference and the people who stand for the values of tea party movement that it makes it very difficult to believe anything they say."

Somehow I get the feeling that Boehner isn't really that concerned with Martin's complaints this morning.

Meanwhile, while Rick Scott ignores the problems with the state's unemployment website, he kept up his mantra that Florida is the greatest state in the nation for jobs yesterday in Tampa. That's when he officially announced his plan to cut vehicle registration fees by an average of $25 for every Floridian next year, though the final numbers might be smaller after the Legislature votes on it next spring.

A coalition of progressive groups went to Senator Bill Nelson's Tampa office yesterday to thank him for not compromising too much in the most recent budget negotiations on their pet issues (like Social Security and Medicare. But they also wanted to gently press him to consider supporting more liberal legislation when it comes to taxing the rich and closing corporate loopholes.

St. Petersburg Mayor-Elect Rick Kriseman named two new hires yesterday...

And if you haven't had a chance yet, please check out piece in this week's CL on the GOP race for the Congressional District 13 race that takes place next month in Pinellas County.

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Ned Averill-Snell is one of the best reasons to go to the theater in the Bay area. Only a few weeks ago, he managed, along with Emilia Sargent, to rescue I Do! I Do! from terminal mustiness, and now he’s making Herb Gardner’s otherwise mediocre A Thousand Clowns a show well worth seeing. Actually, it’s the actor who’s worth seeing. He plays the part of unemployed television writer Murray Burns with wonderful sincerity, finding in this self-centered, ornery character so many lovable quirks and laughable foibles, you’ve got to excuse him for being a cantankerous quitter. Averill-Snell’s Murray is charming and manic and self-tortured and fun, a hero to his 12-year-old niece and a savior to the social worker who comes to indict him but then stays the night. In another actor’s hands, this part might collapse under the weight of Murray’s neuroses; but with Averill-Snell in charge, Murray is bigger than mere sanity, too incisive for conformity, too original for a nine-to-five. Would you want to depend on him? Not for a moment. But to watch him at play — and he’s always at play — is delightful.

Clowns is the sort of comedy that used to dominate 1960s Broadway: “sophisticated,” slightly risqué (you couldn’t see such on television), and ultimately meaningless. It’s just like Neil Simon’s early successes: asking questions of no real importance, and providing answers guaranteed to push no one toward a new thought. Murray Burns, we learn, is an out-of-work humorist whose heart of gold has him looking after his abandoned niece Nicki. Then two functionaries from New York’s Department of Child Services descend upon his apartment, and inform him that they’re planning to take Nicki away. Murray, it seems, hasn’t adopted the child, hasn’t registered as her legal guardian, hasn’t even shown through continued employment that he’s capable of supporting her. Nicki, of course, loves her eccentric Uncle Murray, and wants to stay put. But even when psychologist Sandra Markowitz defects from her state agency and shares Murray’s bed, her colleague Albert Amundson presses on with his mission. Only if Murray can immediately find good employment — perhaps with Chuckles the Chipmunk, the kids’ favorite for whom he used to write — will he stand a chance of keeping Nicki. Can Murray overcome his contempt for ordinary wage-earning (and for contemptible Chuckles) long enough to win custody? And can an egotist like Murray retain the heart of sensible Sandra?

The honest answer is: What difference does it make? Sure, we want a happy ending, but, looking beyond such a reflex, there’s next to nothing — morally, philosophically — really at stake here.

Still, there are performances to enjoy in this Hat Trick Theatre production — not only Averill-Snell’s but Peter Konowicz’s as Amundson, Michael C. McGreevy’s as Murray’s brother Arnold, Dana Kovar’s as Sandra Markowitz, and Hannah Anton’s as little Nicki. McGreevy particularly is effective: he’s also Murray’s long-suffering agent, a decent man trying to represent an indecent talent.

This is the first time I’ve been totally convinced by one of McGreevy’s performances; somehow director Jack Holloway has found the inner light, the genuine pathos in this outsize, imposing figure. Konowicz as case worker Amundson is also impressive: constantly refusing to be seen as a villain, he manages to persuade us that he’s at least as well-intentioned as the man he threatens. Dana Kovar continues to develop as a performer: she’s ingratiating as Markowitz, with a smile so warm, she could win anyone over. And Anton as 12-year-old Nicki, dressed by costumer Gi Young Sung in one dissonantly loud outfit after another, is cute as a plaid button on a checkered blouse. Only Ian Beck as Leo Herman, the man behind Chuckles the Clown, fails to entertain: he’s so extreme and intense, he seems to belong to a different universe. Clowns fits nicely on Kaylin Gess’ fine, bright set of Murray’s Manhattan apartment.

But this show really belongs to Averill-Snell: watch how he gives himself completely to his character. This is inspired work by a top-notch talent — and a performance you’ll remember long after you’ve forgotten the second-rate play in which it appears.

Deck All Halls. I loved Holiday Party of One when it was produced at Stageworks last year, so do your best to catch it — with hilariously nasal Ricky Cona — now that it’s appearing at New Stage Theatre in Largo. Written by local talent Alison Burns, this multicultural, multi-racial crowd-pleaser recognizes Christmas and Hanukkah and that fugitive thing, human solidarity, all while serving up a big portion of holiday cheer. Through Dec. 20. $25.88. Thurs.-Sat. at 8, Sun. at 3. Go to newstagelargo.org for tickets.

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“creative people. interesting ideas. eye candy.”

That’s the catchphrase of Snapshot Tampa Bay, a website that illuminates zesty people in their home environments/studios. Bryan Hunt, the site’s initiator, uses interviews and photography to survey these innovative individuals. Their personal style grows from their explorations, not from store-purchased objects.

Hunt, a former board member of Creative Tampa Bay, decided to develop Snapshot as a form of community service by showcasing cool individuals in our area. By spending two to three hours with his subjects in their homes, he gets to know them intimately.

“If you ask, people will open up. Folks I’ve never even met before open their closets and share their passions. It’s a personal thing to let someone with a camera into your home.” A positive side effect of these in-depth interviews has been that often they became friends.

Bryan’s intention is to showcase a variety of people, not selected for the sumptuousness of their homes but for their authenticity and originality. He’s not a professional photographer, but rather a guy with a camera who happens to be an interior designer with his own firm, Aligned Workspace. Hunt observes, “I have an eye for the minutiae of someone’s life, which really tells their story. What are the objects on someone’s desk? Those photos reveal more than the text.”

What inspired Snapshot? Bryan and Julia Gorzka Freeman, both fans of Tampa’s creative economy, wanted to celebrate the clever individuals who are here, but perhaps below the radar screen. Julia had seen an article from 1960s Town and Country magazine about Tampa and found it absurdly pretentious.

“We wanted to present a new twist on the scene in Tampa Bay to attract new creatives and spread the word about what’s already happening here,” explained Julia. “And we didn’t have to look far.”

Launched in October 2012, Snapshot was initially produced twice a month, until April when Julia accepted her current job at the Tampa Museum of Art. Now Bryan publishes it monthly, a labor of love. He has profiled subjects ranging from Ryan Iacovacci, a fresh food advocate in Sulphur Springs, to master printer Erika Greenberg-Schneider and sculptor Dominique Labauvie, owners of Bleu Acier gallery in Tampa Heights.

There is no set template for these interviews. Hunt explores the physical surroundings of the home while probing the details — the refrigerator magnets, the books stacked in the corner — that shed light on what sparks the person’s work.

As opposed to spreads in glossy magazines that are air-brushed and art-directed beyond credibility, Hunt shares intimate glimpses into the texture of domestic settings. Heather Kendall, the shell artist, is viewed with her myriad boxes of material. The creators of Paper Street, Sean and Celesta Carter, share their unusual finds. Stan Storer describes his art-collecting and discovery of the local visual arts scene. My husband, Mark Sena, and I were among Snapshot’s earlier subjects; one of Bryan’s photos showed a bowl containing a NYC subway ticket, foreign money, and other revealing flotsam and jetsam of our lives.

Some of the entries are more specifically design-oriented, like that for Chip Vogel and Scott Schershel, interior and garden designers, who like most of the other folks profiled aren’t originally from this area. Their enhanced appreciation of the Bay area’s tree-lined neighborhoods and light is shared by many. An appreciation for cocktails and small dogs is another leitmotif.

Nancy Walker, the creator of Walker Brands; Larry and Charlie Schiller, owners of an architectural salvage company; Ken Rollins, former director of the Tampa Museum of Art; Francisco Arias, baker extraordinaire and founder of Le Mouton Noir; and Mitzi Gordon, Bluebird Books maven have all been celebrated in Snapshot. Theo Wujcik and Mishou Sanchez, visual artists, and Community Stepping Stones, a grass-roots art organization, are also showcased.

My sense in reading these blog entries at shapshot tampabay.com is always wonder. What visionary folks … I wish that I knew them … I want to try that restaurant … explore that neighborhood … visit that gallery.

Snapshot sparks curiosity, making us realize how many layers of creativity can be found in Tampa Bay if you’re willing to look.

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Tampa Bay’s newest craft brewery, 3 Daughters, opens Saturday, December 14. They held sneak preview for a few hundred friends and supporters Thursday night.

Located in a former municipal plumbing supply building at 222 22nd St. S in the emerging Warehouse Arts District, 3 Daughters Brewing is the brainchild of Bella Brava co-owner Mike Harting. It includes a 30-barrel brewhouse (twice the size of Cigar City Brewing’s when it opened nearly five years ago), a 2,000-square-foot tasting room and plenty of room to expand.

Thursday night’s celebration even drew some members of St. Pete city council, along with current St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster and Mayor-elect Rick Kriseman, with Kriseman pouring the ceremonial first beer and raising a glass to the crowd. Kriseman talked about the impact the brewery could have on the 22nd St. S., corridor and the importance of the growing craft beer industry to the city (four breweries and counting so far).

Also on hand to welcome the newcomer was a gaggle of representatives of the Tampa Bay craft beer brewing scene, including Cigar City, Green Bench, Rapp, Barley Mow, Big Storm, Pair O’ Dice and Coppertail.

Seven beers were on tap, including the signature, sessionable Beach Blonde Ale, the Summer Storm Oatmeal Stout, the Brown Pelican Dunkelweizen (a winner), a pale ale, an IPA (a solid example of the style), a porter and a Witbier. No barrel-aged beers on tap yet, but they are coming.

Three Daughters Brewing Grand Opening, $20 for tasting wristbands, 3-9 p.m., 222 22nd St. S., St. Petersburg, 727-495-6002, 3dbrewing.com. Brewery will maintain regular hours 2-8 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

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Sure, it wasn’t a global news maker or anything, but a new ownership group and an addition of leather seats for the Tampa Bay Rowdies players and fans at Al Lang Stadium will do.

St. Petersburg businessman and philanthropist Bill Edwards announced Thursday that he had purchased controlling interest in the Rowdies, becoming principal owner and team representative on the NASL Board of Governors. Edwards made the announcement in front of a throng of media members, fans and players at the Mahaffey Theater, which he coincidentally owns.

“I am excited about the opportunity to take an organization that has been successful and create the best team in American soccer and the best fan experience in American soccer,” Edwards said. “I am confident the fans will appreciate the additions we have implemented for next season.”

The most prominent effect will be the inclusion of premium midfield seating along the west sideline at Al Lang Stadium with a little more than 1,100 seats erected for each home contest. The premium stands will include approximately 212 premium Midfielder’s Club seats, which will be within 10 feet of the pitch and will wrap around integrated players’ benches.

The Midfielder’s Club membership will include a whole host of amenities, such as access to the exclusive lounge equipped with flat screen televisions, full service food and beverage, a player meet-and-greet at each game and two guest passes per year, per seat. For the full list of benefits, visit RowdiesSoccer.com.

Posters of the new set-up at Al Lang Stadium also included a new diamond-vision video screen and scoreboard, which would supposedly replace the scoreboard originally used for baseball games. While Edwards would not confirm if the new screen would be in place for the 2014 season, whispers from unnamed sources said it would most likely occur for the upcoming campaign.

The upgrades pleased the majority of fans in attendance at the announcement on Thursday. Most of those fans were members of the Ralph’s Mob, who were regularly mentioned by Edwards, St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster and other dignitaries throughout the ceremonies.

“My first impressions were this is a great shot in the arm for the club and pro soccer here in Tampa Bay, said Chris Dominguez, vice president of the Ralph’s Mob. “With Mr. Edwards on board, I believe he will take this club to levels we have never seen, including going back to the days of the Tampa Bay Mutiny. I’m impressed with the seating for the fans and the players because the players and coaches will be seating in areas which you see in professional leagues in Europe. So, it definitely is a boost for the club.”

As mentioned, the players’ benches will see an upgrade, going from standard metal benching to cushioned leather seats.

“That’s great news for our guys,” said Rowdies coach Ricky Hill, who flew in from England with his wife on Wednesday to be a part of the announcement. “Any positive addition is always a good thing. What Mr. Edwards seems to have in place for the club going forward is a boost for us as a team and definitely for our fans. I’m excited about what his influence might do in terms of signing players and competing with the level of recruitment of players that the (New York) Cosmos were able to do in their first year, considering the type of finances they had.”

The Rowdies also announced that Hill signed a one-year extension. Additionally, Hill later on hinted to reporters that he may sign a multi-year deal soon with details coming soon.

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Spaces figure prominently in Alexander Payne's latest movie, Nebraska. Those spaces are the literal kind and the figurative ones that exist between individuals and their memories, places and one another. As he did in About Schmidt, Payne lingers on the lonesome buildings and landmarks that are part of the Midwestern scenery his characters pass through, to the point that what stands out in relief is their banality. Payne doesn't do this to rub our faces in meaninglessness — the situations are too funny, too human. Payne relies on juxtaposition of conceits and reality to elicit a warm empathy that is the purpose behind his cold, austere settings. He underscores shared sadness in how the objects, particularly dreary cityscapes, separate us as they add a patina of gloom to our daily lives.

At a glance, it seems like these ramshackle, barren towns are dying if not already dead. Payne finds secluded areas and wide-open spaces that suggest desolation and abandonment rather than the frontiers of discovery they must have been to pioneers. And when his main characters encounter these spaces, they can feel the distance between their memories and what those places have become. With Nebraska, he focuses on the facial expressions of an aged character who realizes that the places he'd hoped to revisit are both present and gone, irreconcilable in the mind.

This meditation on memory and loss takes the form of a father-son road trip. Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) is convinced he's won a million-dollar sweepstakes. Despite assurances from his son David (Will Forte) that the award notice is a scam, Woody is determined to go to the sweepstakes office in person to collect his winnings (not trusting the mail with his money). David, realizing how much it means to his dad, decides to drive him, and so they hit the road from Billings, Montana, to Lincoln, Nebraska. Along the way, they stop in Woody's hometown of Hawthorne, where Nebraska's themes take root.

Dern's elderly Woody ambles along, his body contorted and ravaged by time and perhaps war injuries. His mind is rarely present in the moment, and he has to be spoken to repeatedly before responding. David, whose relationship with his dad is complicated and filtered through a history of alcohol abuse, expresses a mixture of sadness and controlled exasperation. Through Woody and David, Payne shows how difficult aging can be.

In Hawthorne, Payne trains an unsentimental eye on people, places and small talk. More than once, he fixes his camera before the faces of family members sitting expressionless as they watch television. Occasionally the silence is broken by a mundane exchange of question and answer. With his gentle jabs at human nature, Payne is reaching for easy humor so he can express something deeper. It's these moments of separateness that underscore the value of fleeting togetherness. In Nebraska's poignant, extended final scene, father and son make that wordless connection.

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Marco Rubio has been getting it from all sides this week about his aggressive stance against the budget deal passed by the House of Representatives yesterday.

Both Alex Leary in today's Tampa Bay Times documents and especially Michelle Cottle in the Daily Beast take note of how transparent Rubio's political ambitions appear to be with his full-throated dissent from the plan, which was crafted to avoid another government shutdown and reduce the effects of sequestration over the next two years.

But there's another author that surprisingly comes to Rubio's defense, at least when it comes to his announcement that he recently signed his family up for the Affordable Care Act. It's none other than the man who lost to him in the Senate race in 2010, former (and potentially future) governor Charlie Crist.

Crist has penned an op-ed that salutes Florida's junior Senator for signing up his family for "receiving federal subsidies," but gets to his main point when he writes that he hopes it will "Spur Governor Rick Scott to have courage when it comes to Florida’s uninsured."

That's a reference to the fact that Scott has been utterly missing in action when it comes to advocating that the Florida Legislature expand Medicaid coverage. Back in February Governor Scott stunned observers by saying that he supported the the federal government's offer to pay for the state expanding its Medicaid services for the next three years, and no less than 90 percent for its duration.

But unlike some other GOP governors who faced a reluctant state legislature, Scott hasn't done any arm-twisting of lawmakers from his own party, opening up to criticism from Democrats and Affordable Care Act supporters.

Crist writes:

The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. Instead of ignoring this reality, Governor Rick Scott should be trying to figure out how to make the law best work for the people. Instead, he’s directing the Republican Party to use the issue to scare people who are excited about affordable healthcare, like Marco Rubio and his family.

Washington, D.C. and Tallahassee should stop the political knife fight and figure out what’s actually best for the people. That’s what Marco Rubio did for his own family. That’s what Rick Scott should do for the people of Florida.

Thank you, Senator Rubio, for your endorsement of the new health care law.

Meanwhile the Daily Beast's Michelle Cottle eviscerates Rubio in a piece called "The Cruzification of Marco Rubio,", where she writes:

Even by the debased and debasing standards of modern politics, Rubio’s frenzied, shameless pandering to the GOP base is more than impressive; it’s genuinely breathtaking. Forget his current Cassandra act on the budget deal. Recall how brutally he threw his own immigration bill under the bus when it became clear that it was costing him support among conservatives. The Gang of 8 compromise passed the Senate in late June; by late October, Rubio was running around lecturing every reporter he saw about the need to ditch it in favor of the more “realistic” go-slow, piecemeal approach favored by House Republicans. As Rubio’s spokesman, Alex Conant, put it to TPM.com: “We should not allow an inability to do everything to keep us from doing something.” (The senator’s office declined to comment for this story.)

And regarding Rubio's getting Obamacare? "Senator Rubio spent time looking at all the options and decided to enroll through the D.C. exchange for coverage for him and his family," spokeswoman Brooke Sammon told the Times earlier this week.

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The Atomic Holiday Bazaar is like a real-world Etsy, except it includes the satisfaction of physically browsing and holding unique pieces in hand. In its eighth season, the quirky, edgy indie-craft event is staying put at its home base — the SRQ Municipal Auditorium, rich in history dating back to 1938. Sarasota residents along with craft lovers from all over the state will flood in, but try to be among the first 100 in line to be rewarded with “handmade delightful irregularities”— that means a tote bag overflowing with “indie swag” and coupons for the event, courtesy of some of the show’s vendors (presented to you by SRQ’s own North River Rolling Renegades). Family-friendly, but expect some adult content. Sat., Dec. 14, and Sun., Dec. 15, noon—5 p.m. 801 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $5; 12 and under, free, atomicholidaybazaar.com.—MA

It's great weather to head to South Pinellas' little artsy-bohemian hamlet Gulfport for its 5th Annual Holiday Hoopla. Not only is it a vendor-iffic arts and crafts and foodie fair with seasonally inspired fun, but special interactive art can be enjoyed, too. For a nominal fee, attendees can visit the Gypsy Cat Creations booth and make their own wire and fabric sculptures or the Industrial Art Center of Gulfport’s (IACG) booth for additional make-your-own craft options. The IACG will also host a grand re-opening in the Alley of the Arts, with make-your-own glass ornaments and other vessels with special holiday pricing. Holiday-themed music, carolers, dance performances, and roving street performers add to the fun. Local school bands and choral groups, local musicians, and area performing arts groups will take part, too. During the Holiday Hoopla event, donations will be collected for Operation Santa (new toys/gift cards, etc.) and the Gulfport Senior Center Foundation (nonperishable food, toiletries and pet supplies). Collection boxes will be located at the Gulfport Casino stage at the intersection of Beach and Shore boulevards. —JG

The annual Snow on 7th Holiday Parade is a newer tradition, but it’s becoming one of Tampa’s biggest holiday events — and it’s only in its second year. Centro Ybor will be transformed for one night as “snow” gently falls onto Floridians as they chill out with Mayor Bob Buckhorn. Yep, the first family of Tampa will be there, and they’ll lead the array of floats, marching bands and various performers on Seventh Avenue. Snow Zone is East Seventh Avenue between 15th and 18th streets, and the parade route is East Seventh, starting at 20th Street and ending at 14th Street. In addition, a medley of horse-drawn carriages and Christmas carolers will entertain — until Santa finally arrives to steal the spotlight. You can catch him at the Centro Ybor Christmas tree and capture the night in a photo. Arrive early for close-up seating. Sat., Dec. 14, 6-9 p.m. Free. SnowOn7th.com. —MA

Also on Saturday evening, more than 100 one-of-a-kind hand-pulled letterpress prints by artist Amos Kennedy go on display during a one-night sale. Kennedy, who ditched a corporate career as a computer programmer to become a printer at age 40, has been making waves in the art world with colorful, text-based posters that address race, equality and life with humor and irreverence. In 2013, he moved from Alabama to Detroit after raising $35,000 on Indiegogo to open a print shop in the Motor City (a project that remains in progress). Check out Proceed and Be Bold, a documentary about Kennedy’s life, on YouTube and arrive early to Workspace — the exhibition is “cash and carry,” so latecomers may face blank walls. Sat., Dec. 14, 6-9 p.m., 4501 N. Florida Ave., Tampa, 813-274-7936.—MV

On Sunday, American Stage brings back Santaland Diaries, starring the acclaimed Brian Shea, who seems to have been born to play Crumpet the misanthropic elf in David Sedaris’ classic department store misadventure. His rendition of Billie Holiday's "Away in a Manger" is my favorite. Sun., Dec. 15, 8 p.m., $19, americanstage.org. —JG

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What are we waiting for, assembled in the public square?
The barbarians are to arrive today.
Why such inaction in the Senate?
Why do the Senators pass no laws?

A friend asked why I haven’t written about the Obamacare fiasco. “You mean the Affordable Care Act?” I said.

“Whatever,” he said, knowing he’s won that battle already. The Republicans are good at nasty nomenclature, like “nattering nabobs of negativism.” How about “neanderthal neocons of nitpicking”? (Fun, and we’re only using the “n-words,” which they’re fond of.)

This is a fiasco half caused by technical incompetence and half by sabotage. In a split country, 50 percent of those who should be helping to implement the law — governors, politicians, insurance execs — are trying to derail it. President Obama should have expected this, and appointed a lot better techies. Millions of people, including me, can hardly order a book on-line, not to mention a complicated insurance policy. In Republican-led states like Florida, applicants have to move around road blocks crouching in their way like defensive linebackers.

But here’s the thing. In the long run, this fiasco doesn’t matter: America needs universal health care. Period. We’ve been waiting, and we can wait some more while it gets fixed.

We’re the wealthiest country in the world — we have over 13 million millionaires (389,000 in New York City alone!) — and more are sprouting like dandelions. At the same time, the number of poor people is growing faster, too. Who would have thought?

Almost 49 million Americans live in poverty, with 47 million of them uninsured. Hunger’s serious in this country — and in this region: 3,890 homeless people live in Pinellas County alone. Large-hearted citizens in our own neighborhood are constantly collecting food for the hungry, but the single best thing we could do for these people is to get them insured under the Affordable Care Act.

To many Republicans, these people are lazy deadbeats living on our tax money (unlike subsidized millionaire farmers, and billionaires stacking their money overseas). Most of the poor are children or low-wage workers, and most of the others are sick; and thousands of the sick are veterans, who got sick while fighting for their country.

One of the most memorable moments of my activities as St. Pete’s Poet Laureate was when I led a poetry workshop for the homeless, in a windowless downtown room near St. Anthony’s Hospital. All of their poems were sad, but one poem, written by a haggard rail-thin black veteran, broke my heart because it was so patriotic, a long list of what he had loved and lost, including his country. I thought, We’ve ruined this man, and abandoned him.

The GOP has been working fanatically to wreck and derail the Affordable Care Act, and along with that, eliminate programs like food stamps that really help real people. (Paul Krugman calls this “economic self-mutilation.”) These people who are hurt are poor, uninsured and, if they had the energy to pull a lever, would probably vote Democratic, so it’s win/win for Governor Scott. But this is a technological glitch in a moral problem, and Obama needs to keep the techies focused until it works smoothly. It’s already succeeding in states as different as California and Kentucky, so this can be done. Ignore the Tea Party’s rantings, and keep those heads down.

The test is, does Uncle Sam still have a heart? Do we? Get out those stethoscopes. We’ve been waiting for decades.

Because the barbarians are to arrive today.
What further laws can the Senators pass?
When the barbarians come they will make the laws …
—Both quotes from “Expecting the Barbarians” by Cavafy (1863-1933), from The Complete Poems of Cavafy, Harcourt Brace & World, Inc.

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Each year the Bad Santa Bar Crawl gets a bit more bad, and adds an impressive number of Christmas bandits to St. Nick's naughty list. The St. Pete tradition started nine years ago when a bunch of friends decided to dress up in Santa suits and drink to excess in the name of charity. The traditional has not wandered far from its roots. Bad Santa is still just an excuse to drink to excess in an x-mas themed costume in the name of charity. Each year there is simply far more festive drinkers, and far more creative costume ideas: horny reindeer, slutty elves, S&M Santas...

You can purchase last minute wristbands today (Sat. Dec. 14) from 6:30 to 7:30 at the crawl's first stop: Mike's Tap & Tavern. Wristbands include a few commemorative items and specials at participating bars. However, if you truly want to be a bad Santa and snub the children's charity by not buying a wristband, or if it takes longer than anticipated to get into character, you can simply show up late and blend seamlessly into the crowds of drunk Santas that will be crowding every bar in DTSP.

Bar Crawl Schedule:

6:30 — 8pm: Mike’s Tap & Tavern / SIP Social Lounge

8 — 10pm: All Participating Bars in the Central Ave District
Mastry’s
Cafe del Mar
Five Bucks
Crowley’s
Fortunato’s
Burrito Border

10pm — 12am: MacDinton’s

12 AM — ???
260 First
Club Lust

Get more info at BadSantaBarCrawl.com

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A year after the tragic massacre in Newtown, Connecticut that saw 26 people - including 20 school children - shot to death, the sentiment amongst gun control advocates today was one of frustration, but also hope.

In East Tampa early Saturday morning, a small group of people gathered outside the Grant Park Community Center to hear speeches made by local lawmakers. They asked the crowd to remember the victims, and to keep up the the fight for gun regulations in the wake of the epidemic of mass shootings that continue to take place every year (including one in Colorado on Friday).

"Very little has changed since Newtown, " said Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller, who derided the "makeup" of elected officials who he said find it difficult to withstand the pressure of the NRA and other Second Amendment lobbying groups.

Miler takes the issue personally. His son was shot while attending Florida A&M in 1997, an incident that the former state lawmaker and now Hillsborough County Commissioner often invokes when discussing the dangers of gun violence. He's not optimistic that state or federal lawmakers will become courageous anytime soon when it comes to voting for new regulations regarding handguns or assault rifles.

"I don’t think there’s going to be an effort of any kind by elected officials unless the public decides its time to do something, and right now the majority of the public believes any legislation is going to curtail their right to bear arms," he says.

Tampa City Councilman Frank Reddick agreed, saying "We have congressional leaders and state leaders who are in a position to make a change in the gun laws, to put stricter restrictions in there to try to curb some of the violence that we’re having, and it’s not being done, and it’s a shame."

Even though a state law prohibits local legislators like himself from crafting gun regulations, Miller pushed to ask the county's attorney earlier this year if the BOCC could create a county ban on assault rifles and large-capacity magazines. He could not, he was informed.

Though Miller says that Congress will only act when pushed by the public, in fact Americans said they were strongly in favor of universal background checks earlier this year when Capitol Hill took up the debate. And a bill sponsored by Senators Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) and Pat Toomay (R-Pennsylvania) that called for universal background checks for commercial sales, gun shows and all Internet sales actually did get a majority of vote in the Senate (56), but did not not capture the requisite 60 needed for passage.

Margaret Jabour with Moms Demand Action admitted to feeling frustrated that a year after Newton, no gun control laws has passed either in Congress or in Florida. She says that most Republicans in Tallahassee have no appetite for such legislation, and since they control both chambers in the Legislature, nothing is probably going to happen on the state law regarding guns for quite sometime.

Nevertheless, she refuses to back down.

"We are not stopping, and we will continue working and fighting for years to come if we need to to make change in this state, because we’re optimistic that we need to change the consciousness of the citizens in this state and the country as well. It’s a matter of changing every individual and their perspective on gun reform," Jabour says.

Second Amendment supporters say that even if a federal universal background check was in place a year ago, it would have done nothing to stop Adam Lanza from killing 26 people, because his guns were legally purchased by his mother and then stolen by Lanza.

Jabour acknowledges that, but says a limit on the size of gun magazines could have prevented Lanza
from doing as much damage as he did last year. "I guarantee you that if he had a magazine that had less than 10 rounds, like we’re trying to pass, there would be some of those kids living today."

Although such legislation failed in Congress, several states did adopt such restrictions.

But again, not in Florida. And hopes for curbing some of the excesses of the state's Stand Your Ground law (which remains extremely popular in the Sunshine State), also appear to be going nowhere in 2014. In fact, Fort Walton Beach Representative Matt Gaetz, who chaired a hearing on SYG earlier this year, made his feelings known about that possibility this summer by saying he wouldn't change "one damn comma" of the controversial state law.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller said such an attitude disgusts him. Gaetz has already announced he's running for the state Senate seat currently held by his father Don in 2016. Miller contends that Gaetz's tough position on SYG is based on politics.

"How can you campaign or put politics in front of the lives of people?" Miller asked on Saturday. "It never ceases to amaze me. I’m an elected official. But I never thought of utilizing someone’s welfare or someone’s life for my own political gain, but that’s what happens, and unfortunately the Legislature is not going to do anything about (SYG) it this session."

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Sure, Tampa Bay has had its fair share of reality TV stars, but tonight we find out if Monica Culpepper can trump them all by winning the long-running CBS series Survivor.

This season is subtitled "Blood vs. Water" and features returning contestants (this is Culpepper's second go-around) paired with a loved one — in Monica's case, her local-notable husband Brad, who played along side Warren Sapp during the Bucs late-90s heyday and now pitches alongside fellow lawyer Brett Kurland in those ubiquitous Culpepper Kurland TV ads.

Brad got ousted from the game weeks ago, but the buff-yet-motherly Monica has persevered by winning challenges (seriously, she's a beast!) and aligning with the games strongest players.

The Survivor finale airs tonight at 8 p.m. on WTSP-10 in Tampa Bay, and is followed by the "reunion show" at 10 p.m.

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Fresh off their success this past week in crafting a budget proposal that got through the House of Representatives, Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and his Democratic party partner, Senator Patty Ryan (D-Washington), took a victory lap of sorts on Sunday, appearing on NBC's Meet The Press with host David Gregory to talk about the wonders of bipartisanship and actually doing the people's business in Washington.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the bipartisanship brigade erupting in the contentious House: A number of Republican Senators, either up for re-election in 2014 or considering a White House run in 2016, say they'll oppose the measure.

Luckily for the rest of the country that doesn't want to deal with another government shutdown, the measure is still expected to get through the Senate this week. Democrats needs just four Republican votes for passage if all 53 Democrats and 2 independents back it as expected.

On CNN's State of the Union, Arizona's John McCain said he would be one of those apparently rare Republicans who will for the bill, telling Candy Crowley"I hope it will pass the Senate. We must not shut down the government again. We can't do that to the people of this country and my state."

Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and other Tea Party-alligned GOP Senators have expressed their unhappiness with the bill, but it's not just Tea Partiers who say they may not vote for it. Tennessee's Bob Corker and New Hampshire's Kelly Ayotte have also indicated that they're not happy with the measure breaking the spending caps that were part of the 2011 budget agreement.

Congressman Ryan has been hammered by Tea Party activists and some fellow congressional Republicans for negotiating the deal, unhappy that spending will now increase by about $45 billion more than what was already in place. There was no "grand bargain," meaning that nothing will happen in this deal with Social Security and Medicare.

Ryan has faced some criticism from the right that Republicans compromised too much, but "you don't get everything you want in a divided government," Ryan fired back on Sunday.

"Government has to function, and we saw the specter of two government shutdowns in 2014. ... I don't think that's good for anybody," he said.

Democrats certainly aren't pleased about everything in the deal. There is no extension to long-term unemployment benefits and no new taxes, for starters.

"What we're trying to here is bring some respect to the word compromise," Murray said. "If we just sit in the corners and yet at each other ... we'll never get to the big discussions."

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