So I’m sitting here at the Filmmaker’s Lounge feeling a bit like, how should I say, a fish out of water? I attended the Red Carpet, opening night film, and opening night party. This is my first Sarasota Film Festival and my first, shall we say, “brush with fame.” It wasn’t at all like I expected. First of all, there was no Jon Hamm. Nowhere to be found. Naturally, I began the evening in a state of devastation and did my best to hold back tears. I was expecting to [...]

Well it’s been a crazy few months and it’s time to have another party. I know this Belle has kissed a frog or two lately and I know you have too because you live in Sarasota. It’s ok though, because a little tequila is going to make it all better. Half Shell Oyster House of Sarasota welcomes back Blonde out of Water and the Belles of the Shell, this time offering a Patron Tequila Tasting. Join us in the lounge on Wednesday, April 11th from 6-8 pm and learn about [...]

I didn’t watch ABC’s Lost. The word “watch” implies a detached, passive activity in which a person sits in front of a screen and interprets pretty lights and curious noises coming from a fancy box. Lost was not a television show. Over the years, I became so immersed in the world of Lost that I look back and wonder if my relationship with what I prefer to call the greatest work of fiction in Western history was emotionally healthy. I didn’t watch it right off the bat—I sat on the [...]

Okay, let me clear the air. I didn’t hear the rumor about Jon Hamm coming to the Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) from the SFF. I heard it from a contact I have inside the hospitality industry, and I don’t know if it’s true. The SFF will announce the official guest list on March 19, but as of now, they’ve stated that know nothing of the sort. They didn’t want me to get your hopes up, Sarasota. Actually, the SFF didn’t want an angry mob torching its office when you slept in the [...]

I was a late bloomer, and I thank my lucky stars every day that I was. I’m from a small town in Mississippi between New Orleans and Biloxi. We’re famous for meth, teenage pregnancy and spawning Brett Favre. I was a straight-A student and champion swimmer. When the other kids were going to dances and proms, I was swimming 300 laps a day and winning science fairs. I didn’t kiss a real boy until senior year. On Sundays, my only day off, I had an almost religious habit of going [...]

A few weeks ago I wrote a column about my complete frustration with the dating scene in Sarasota. I’m newer to Sarasota, four months out of the gate, single for the first time in 10 years. I’ve noticed a peculiar dynamic afoot that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s as if the men in this town have lost their ability to hunt. Are we women making it too easy for them? Since the breakup, my girlfriends have attempted three set-ups, all of whom had supposedly expressed interest in [...]