What I Learned in the Photography Module

It’s been suggested to me – by my professor, actually – that a journalist often discovers many new things about his subject when he starts making media.  I see what she means, after shooting 100 photographs at Ferg’s this week I have to say that place is a lot bigger than I realized!  All joking aside, I learned what gives Ferg’s its unique charm, I found out that I really enjoy photojournalism, and I rediscovered the joy and camaraderie that drew me to sports bars in the first place.

Ferg’s really is a big place: It has four big rooms, a bar, a patio, and an upstairs with a deck.  Ferg’s was built out of an old gas station, so all the extra rooms are additions.  This may explain why Ferg’s detractors say the place is a little dumpy; I DO NOT agree!  True, it may look like a small shanty town,  but personally I think the look has tons of character – I can feel the history in the building.  To me, the way the place is all stacked up makes it feel super cozy.

I learned that Ferg’s is adorned with more beer advertisements and sports memorabilia than you can shake a stick at.  The walls of every room – even the outside – are plastered with colorful signs and hand painted graphics.  There is a custom Ferg’s basketball hoop, a shot clock, trophies galore, sports-related folk art, and plenty of hats and t-shirts for sale.  The bar staff didn’t seem too weirded-out by me walking around snapping pictures of everything, and they were even encouraging once I told them what I was up to.  The tables are green and covered in local advertisements, and I learned that Ferg’s has 64 TV screens!  As for the patrons, I tried not to be too invasive with my photography, but for the most part everyone was having a good time and too involved in their football games to worry about my nosy camera.  That’s what I love about sports bars – you can yell out loud, celebrate and high-five your friends when your team makes a good play, a no one shushes you; they might even join in the celebration (if they’re rooting for the same team)!

It was a lot of fun to walk around with my camera and report on the action.  I like the idea that you can tell a story with pictures as well as words.  It’s been a while since I wrote a straight review of a bar for this blog, and I don’t want to spoil it now, but I promise that a full review of Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grille is coming soon.  I have instructions from my professor to follow for each post right now, but I'll work it in somehow!  :)

Photography Practice for the Web

This week in RTV3280 we're examining photography for the web.  Luckily for me I enjoy being behind the camera a lot more than being in front of one!  On Sunday I spent the afternoon at my favorite St. Petersburg sports bar, Ferg's, sharing a pitcher of beer and taking in all the football action.  I'll be posting more pictures here and on my Flickr account, but for now my assignment is to pick my best three shots and explain how I took them, what's going on in the picture, and which of the top 10 tips from Kodak my photos incorporate.  And so without further ado, here are the images:


I took this photo a couple of blocks away from Ferg's.  The bright blue sky and the warmth this shot conveys represent the feeling I get on Sunday afternoons.  I'm always excited to have a day of rest, beer and football; and so it's easier to notice the beauty and tranquility of my home city.  I took this shot through a hole in a fence using a vertical technique.  The Kodak tips I incorporated included using a flash outdoors and placing my subject, the covered mound, off-center in the frame.

That's my friend Nick on the left!  I took this photo inside Ferg's, at what must have been a crucial time in the Dolphin's game (going on over my shoulder).  I especially like how the other people in the shot are all watching different games.  In addition to locking the focus and moving my subject off-center, I followed Kodak's recommendation to stay within a flash range of 10 feet.

This beautiful young lady is looking very sporty!  That pose of hers -- a confident look of cockiness -- was once made famous by Rays' centerfielder BJ Upton in the 2010 Tampa Bay Rays pocket schedule (imagine a baseball bat in her right hand).  I used two of the Kodak tips on this shot:  I held the camera vertically and I became a picture director.

New Wal-Mart to Open Near Georgie's Alibi

Wal-Mart stores are celebrated by some as a bastion of low-priced goods and convenience.  Others revile Wal-Mart, arguing that the megastore steals the soul of the community by forcing quirky, funky local shops out-of-business.  There’s a brand new Wal-Mart under construction on 34^th Street in the historic Kenwood neighborhood of St. Petersburg, just a couple of blocks from local sports bar Georgie’s Alibi.  I thought I’d ask how Georgie’s and other businesses were reacting to the news.  Surprisingly, considering Wal-Mart’s ability to polarize, the answer to my question is with relative indifference.

 

Wal-Mart is building a smaller, scaled-down version of its store on the northeast corner or 34^th Street and First Avenue North, without a garden or automotive center.  This is not a gesture of mercy towards area business, the 107,000-square-foot facility complies with local zoning regulations, and so the retailer does not require any special permission to begin construction.  According to City Council member Jeff Danner, they’ve adjusted their strategy so they don’t have to go to public hearings.  But Danner isn’t angry at Wal-Mart for dodging the hearing.  In fact, Danner said he suggested Wal-Mart build on this site years ago.  A Wal-Mart spokesperson told the St. Petersburg Times that the company wants to work with Kenwood, as well as the nearby Central Oak Park neighborhood, to be sure the store blends in.  Jim Longstreth, president of the Historic Kenwood Neighborhood Association, described the plans for the new store as resembling a bungalow – a 107,000-square-foot bungalow.  That seems to me like a pretty optimistic way for the president of a neighborhood association to characterize an encroaching Wal-Mart.

Georgie’s Alibi has been located on 31st street in Kenwood for over a decade.  The popular sports bar has grown to encompass nearly a whole shopping plaza; it features 31 HD televisions; hosts games and contests, such as bingo on Monday nights; and offers generous happy-hour specials.  I asked Frank, the manager, what he thought about the new Wal-Mart being built three blocks away from his bar, which is situated just across the street from some of the oldest homes in St. Petersburg.  Frank told me he didn’t have a strong opinion either way.  He said if the new store brings more people to the area, then it’s probably a good thing for Georgie’s.

To be fair, sports bars are not typically the type of business a store like Wal-Mart damages the most.  Independent retailers and grocers in the area are probably more up-in-arms over the issue.  I would have expected the people of Kenwood to be more upset, and perhaps some of them are, but they will not have a voice.  The site used to be home to a Diamond Furniture Gallery and a Super Parts auto store – I doubt either will be missed.  Wal-Mart does bring new jobs, but they are not typically the type of jobs that can revitalize an area.  However, given the present hard economic times and the overall condition of 34th Street, maybe some new jobs are better than no new jobs.  Perhaps no one is quite sure what will happen as a result of the Wal-Mart moving in, I guess we’ll all have to wait and see.

Rules I Live By Online

1. I will not plagiarize words or pictures.
2. I will avoid conflicts of interest.
3. I will explain and identify my sources when possible.
4. I will not publish information that is unnecessarily harmful.
5. I will find reliable sources of information.
6. I will be clear and open regarding my own motivation.
7. I will always check my facts.
8. I will always give my subject a chance to respond.
9. I will not distort the facts to increase interest.
10. I will remain honest and always report with integrity.
11. I will not be guilty of libel or slander.
12. I will only report on newsworthy topics.
13. I will understand and obey copyright laws.
14. I will avoid the publication of private facts.
15. I will respect the rights of private and public individuals.
16. I will always be willing to retract or correct my mistakes.
17. I will seek out truth and report it accurately.
18. I will distinguish between real news and advertising.
19. I will avoid imposing my cultural values on others.
20. I will be vigilant about holding those with power accountable.

Additional Resources

• A directory of drinking games--they make watching TV more fun!
• The development of beer through history: Brought to you by Fordham University.
• Brew Your Own is an online magazine with blogs and other accounts from amateur beer-makers.
• Things-to-do in Tampa Bay is the place to find fun local events; this month is Oktoberfest!!
• The sports bar that started it all in St. Petersburg: Ferg's

The Deep Web

For this assignment I had to scan the “deep web” for an obscure site on my topic, and evaluate it using the criteria set forth in the article Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask by the Berkeley librarians. The site I examined is called the East Lansing / Lansing Area Bar Review, and it’s written by Paul and Mike Hernacki, formerly of Michigan State University.  Paul and Mike are two gentlemen who feel that good beer is an experience, “I believe beer is wonderful. It's what Zeus drank when he got thirsty, I'm sure of it. And I'm not talking about Budweiser or Busch Light. I mean Beer.”

I used Google, and my search looked like this: user review “sports bar” site:.edu.  The East Lansing / Lansing Area Bar Review is the number one result.

The first step in evaluating a web page is to examine the URL.  The URL can tell you if you’re looking at someone’s personal page, an educational page or a commercially owned website.  I searched for .edu because I wanted to avoid promotional materials and advertisements. I ended up with a personal page from an educational institution, and even though there is no publisher vouching for the information, I believe the authors' opinion is unbiased. However, one problem with this website is that it's outdated; the page has not been regularly maintained since the proprietors left MSU in 2000. This site is not a reliable guide today, but it still has practical value as a reference. I don’t live in East Lansing or plan to visit soon, so the site has not lost any particular relevance for me. I just enjoy reading other people's thoughts about what defines a great sports bar, and the fact that Paul and Mike let me know their site is out-of-date with a disclaimer tells me they care, and suggests that their opinions are still reliable. Plus college students know bars, and purporting to be lovers of real beer is the only credential these Hernackis need in my book.

I am very impressed with the quality of this website.  The reviews are brief, concise and visual, and I absolutely love the ratings scale!  Sports bars receive a score from one to five beer mugs: one beer mug means send your friends from the University of Michigan, three means it’s worth skipping a lecture, and five means you’re in the bar of Zeus!  This site is extremely scanable; I saw the special note under the Beggar’s Banquet review that says bottles of wine are half-price on Wednesday and I salivated a little. The information is all first hand, which I appreciate because it keeps things consistent. There are great links to other resources on the topic, including beer-of-the-month clubs and places to buy your own home-brew equipment.  There isn't much data available regarding the type of traffic the page generates, but a search for Paul and Mike Hernacki on Google yielded lots of results!  Paul graduated from Michigan State in 1998, he is now the Chief Technology Officer for a company called Definition 6.  Paul has a Google Profile which he updates frequently.  Mike is Paul's younger brother.  He remained at MSU until 2000, and is now an IT manager in Atlanta; he got his MBA from Georgia Tech.  I think I’ve stumbled upon some excellent role models upon whom to build my own critical beer voice. The East Lansing / Lansing Area Bar Review offers reliable opinions and intuitive design from folks who really know their stuff!

Pincher's Tiki Bar Review Fort Myers (Tiki Feud)

Every Monday at 6 p.m. it's time to play the feud!  Pincher's Crab Shack Tiki Bar, located on Ft. Myers Beach, hosts a sports bar version of the famous game show Family Feud; just in time for Monday Night Football.  Individual players or teams compete by trying to guess the most popular answers to survey questions.  The answers are all provided by drunk people bar patrons, so they can get a little strange.  But try not to embarrass yourself like this woman did, because the winners receive some seriously fabulous prizes.  The players with the highest point totals after four rounds come together to play fast money, a lightning round where getting the high score nets a $50 gift certificate.  It's a lot of fun, and very well organized by bar game standards.  The host has personality, and he keeps the proceedings moving briskly.  One thing I really like about the game is that it's impossible to cheat.  Any sneaky snake with a smart phone can look up trivia questions, but there's no way to google what Bob from Ohio thinks is the best age to get married.  We finished in third place last week--good for a free cocktail or dessert--and we'll definitely come back to give it another shot.  Tiki Feud is a fantastic bar game.  The survey says: It's a winner!   

Food

The bar menu looks promising, and since they are affiliated with the adjacent Pincher's restaurant the menu has lots of variety.  However, this is a two-edged sword; the prices are just too expensive for my taste.  I'm trying to eat, drink, and be merry on a budget!  Seafood is the rub: There's coconut shrimp, stone crab, and fried grouper aplenty.  Luckily chicken wings are only $5 during happy hour (4 p.m. - 6 p.m.), and they are tasty!  The wings aren't healthy, mind you, as they float in a sea of butter sauce, but I don't recall healthfulness being one of my criteria!   Food - 3/5

Beer

What's this, they only have Bud and Bud Light on tap?  That stings like a soccer ball to the face!  Sure they have fruity drinks, like frozen rum runners and margaritas, but the Sports Bar Junkie is interested mainly in beer (and the occasional vodka tonic).  Bud and Bud Light bore me to tears.  Everything is two-for-one during the aforementioned happy hour, but, despite specifically telling me over the phone that Pincher's Tiki Bar was a great place to watch Monday Night Football, they don't seem to be encouraging me or my "rowdy friends" to hang around and throw back a few pitchers.  Beer - 1.5/5

Service
The main bartender, John, was great!  I arrived 10 minutes or so before happy hour ended, and not only did he get my drink order before the deadline, he asked me if I wanted him to put in another round before 6.  Knowing that I had a two-for-one in the queue was a nice feeling!  The staff was attentive to my needs and I was never kept waiting.
Service - 5/5

Atmosphere
It's an outdoor tiki bar on the beach, so the lighting and ambiance can't be beat!  The bar chairs are comfy, the tables are clean and the weather delightful!  There's a very long walk to the bathroom, but that gives me time to reflect on how much I like hanging out at this bar!

Atmosphere - 4/5

Sports
Sports are the reason I started coming to bars in the first place.  There were several large high-def televisions strategically placed around the main bar.  I had a great view at two of them, and I don't think anyone had a problem following the game.  However, with only a handful of sets, this is not the best place to follow all the games on Sunday.  Sports fandom here is at a bare minimum: Salty sea dogs are at a maximum.

Sports - 2.5/5

Fun

Tiki Feud plus the beach and the beautiful sunset = nuff said!

Fun - 5/5

OVERALL = 21/30 

GRADE = C+

Google Sites

Inside The Swamp, one of Gainesville's most famous sports bars, hangs an alligator with a rose in its mouth.  It seemed silly to me at first, but now I sense the deeper meaning.  Someone is telling us that no matter how scaly our exterior, no matter how thick our skin and sharp our teeth, we are all protecting a softer side.  Today's sports bar is still a place for men to be men, but it's not uncommon anymore to overhear a discussion on fashion, the arts or politics.  The same idea applies to the internet: The web can be a big and scary place, but it holds many beautiful roses.  Websites like Blogger allow anyone be an author; and Google lets you build a website, create a photo album and hold virtual conferences with ease.  Here is a website I made for my sports bar blog using Google Sites.  In my class at the University of Florida, RTV3280, we learn just how accessible the web can be.  I am excited to be involved in a media revolution in which anything is possible!

A Short Introduction for Sports Bar Junkie Followers

Hello, and welcome to my blog!  Here I'll share my sports bar experiences with you, and tell you which ones are my favorites.  I'm going to focus mainly on Southwest Florida, from St. Petersburg to Ft. Myers Beach and everywhere in between.  I'll clue you in on all the details, so if you don't live nearby, you can still compare the sports bars I visit to your local haunts.

My name is David Anderson, and here are my qualifications--ones they told me not to list on my resume--that make me an expert on the subject of sports bars.  Firstly, I am the two-time defending champion of a highly competitive fantasy football league.  In fact I've finished first or second every year since '05.  Needless to say I have not accomplished this feat by accident.  I consider myself a true student of the game, and to maintain my unprecedented level of success I sometimes need to watch two or three football games at once!  What better place to hone my craft than at a sports bar?  In the process of socializing, drinking beer and eating chicken nachos, I discovered that sports bars are super fun.  Sports bars are bright, colorful and friendly; they often have cute waitresses; and they always have great food and drink.  My friends and I started meeting every Thursday evening at Ferg's Sports Bar, which is across the street from Tropicana Field, to play team trivia.  On trivia night you can win a bar tab or other great prizes just for answering questions.  We've played at Ferg's almost every week for two years!  I've been to other bar's trivia nights that just don't measure up, and I'll explain why not in my upcoming posts.  Other popular sports bar events include: bingo, golden tee, and darts.  I've even driven past a bar on Ft. Myers Beach that advertises a "Tiki Feud" on Monday nights; I have no idea what that could mean, but stay tuned and I promise we'll both know very soon.

Blogger has limited the official description of my blog to 500 characters.  To fully prepare yourself, here is the complete description of my blog and the criteria upon which I will judge the sports bars I visit:


"The sports bar has long been a favorite destination of man, but few are aware of how quickly these cathedrals of leisure are evolving and expanding.  The sports bar experience has changed.  Once just a haunt for the loud, obnoxious and drunken among us, the modern sports bar concept has grown to include fine dining, social events and family fun!  The advent of the NFL Sunday Ticket television package has helped to make sports bars a Sunday destination as ubiquitous as church.  Join me as I travel to these establishments, taste the many offerings of food and drink, sample the culture of team trivia, expose the atmosphere and service to the critical eye of judgment, and tell you, the reader, where to find the most joyful sports bar experiences Southwest Florida has to offer."


I will draw conclusions based on the following criteria:

• Food - (Quality, Variety, Value, Extras)
• Beer - (Quality, Variety, Value, Extras)
• Service - (Quick, Responsive, Friendly)
• Atmosphere - (Lights, Decorations, Music, Staff)
• Sports - (Televisions, Energy, Memorabilia, Experience)
• Fun - (Special Events, Overall Experience) 

Check back here often for reviews, tips, and all the food, fun and friends you can handle!


Sincerely,
David