Register for St. Petersburg History Seminar

Will Michaels, retired executive director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History, sent the notice below about the St. Petersburg history seminar that begins in February.

The next seminar on Turning Points in St. Petersburg History will run February 15-April 5th, each Thursday, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at the St. Petersburg College Downtown Campus (near BayWalk).

Guest speakers will include:

• Phyllis Kolianos, archaeologist at the Weedon Island Preserve Culture and Natural History Center
  
• Scott Hartzell, author of Remembering St. Petersburg
  
• Gary Mormino, co-director of the Florida Studies Program at the University of South Florida and author
  
• Jon Wilson and Rosalie Peck, co-authors of St. Petersburg’s Historic 22nd Street South
• James Anthony Schnur, special collections and archives librarian at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, University of South Florida, and local historian
  
• Bob Jeffrey, St. Petersburg Historic Preservation Planner
  
• And others.

The seminar is open to the public. You may register by calling 341-3184. Cost is $45, including parking. The seminar will be led by Dr. Will Michaels, retired executive director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History and current museum trustee. Will may be reached at (727) 420-9195.

See the authors on video

Susan J. Fernandez and Robert P. Ingalls, authors of Sunshine in the Dark: Florida in the Movies, are featured on the Olde Florida Network.

In recently posted videos, the authors discuss their new book, how the project got started and some of what they discovered after viewing about 300 movies concerning the Sunshine State.

They talk about their favorite movies and their favorite directors, and they discuss the recurring characters and themes that show up in Florida movies.

Florida in the Movies: Meet the authors

We're looking forward to a great time with Susan Fernandez and Robert Ingalls on Saturday. They're the authors of a new book, Sunshine in the Dark: Florida in the Movies

They'll be in the store Saturday afterrnoon (September 23) to sign books and talk about Florida's cinema legacy. Come see them 1 to 4 p.m. at the store in Old Northeast in St. Petersburg.

If you love the movies and you love Florida, you've got to see this book. It's full of great stills from movies all the way back to the silent films, and it is a film buff's dream. Susan and Robert put together a great resource. It is more than a mere listing of the many films that have been made about Florida. It is a scholarly analysis of the themes in Florida movies and the recurring characters and plotlines.

Sunshine in the Dark "is a surprisingly vast reminder of Floridian impressions on film," said Steve Persall, film critic of the St. Petersburg Times. You can read his complete review.

The book is the first complete study of how the movie industry has immortalized Florida’s extraordinary scenery, characters, and history on celluloid.

Susan and Robert have identified more than 300 films about Florida — many of them shot on location in the state. They analyze how filmmakers from the Marx Brothers and John Huston to Oliver Stone and Francis Ford Coppola have portrayed the state and its people. That's a still from the noir classic Key Largo (1948) with Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson. Lauren Bacall plays the daughter of a feisty old man played by Lionel Barrymore.

Before the 1960s, cinematic trips to Florida usually brought happy endings in movies like Moon Over Miami (1942), but since the 1970s, films like Scarface (1982) have emphasized menacing characteristics of the state.

In the authors' analysis of the films, which examines location settings, plotlines, and characters, they find a bevy of Florida stereotypes among the leading characters — from the struggling crackers in The Yearling (1946) to the drug-addicted con man in Adaptation (2002).

Mark your calendar for Saturday, September 23, to come meet the authors.

Check this site again soon for another still from a classic Florida movie.

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Directions for The Storm Gourmet

Here's how to get to the Tampa Bay area appearances of Daphne Nikolopoulos, author of The Storm Gourmet.

St. Petersburg: 11 a.m. The Pier Aquarium. Second Floor, The Pier, Downtown St. Petersburg. The Pier is at the end of Second Avenue N.

Tarpon Springs: 2 p.m. St. Nicholas Cathedral Center. 348 N. Pinellas Avenue. That's Alt. U.S. 19. Go north beyond the Cathedral. It's on the right. It's huge! You can't miss it.

Ernesto and the Storm Gourmet

At this writing, Tropical Storm Ernesto is aiming for South Florida and Floridians all over the state are keeping an eye on the weather reports and making sure their hurricane supplies are adequate.

We've seen worse but in a state that has been hit so many times recently, it's doubtful anyone is taking an approaching storm lightly. Most Floridians know by now that if authorities say evacuate they need to go. They know storm surge can be far more devastating than wind.

For those not directly in the path, there are still concerns, especially when it comes to creature comforts. Days of power outages are to be expected. Water may not be available, so it would be wise to stock up on bottled water and fill milk jugs and the bathtub for non-drinking water.

Enduring no air conditioning for a few days may be uncomfortable but, hey, it has got to be better than getting a direct hit like New Orleans, right? Plus, if you've prepared as Daphne Nikolopoulos suggests, a storm power outage might be close to entertaining.

Daphne is the author of The Storm Gourmet, a timely and useful book designed to make enduring the effects of a storm bearable. We've invited Daphne to St. Petersburg on Saturday, Sept. 9, to demonstrate her recipes for eating well without power. Daphne will present her demonstation at 11 a.m. at The Pier Aquarium in downtown St. Petersburg and at 2 p.m. at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Community Center in Tarpon Springs.

We're partnering with our friends at The Pier Aquarium for the 11 a.m. event. Daphne's demonstration will be part of The Pier Aquarium's Book Nook By the Bay event. Earlier, at 10 a.m., a hurricane expert will offer advice on preparing your family for the storm.

Call us at (727) 894-1565 if you have any questions.

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