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In Ybor, taken a few weeks ago while residual wildfire smoke still darkened the sky.

More From Ybor

Maxwell Tops Reddit

As of 7:15 a.m., the second installment of Bill Maxwell's "I Had A Dream" series, detailing Maxwell's experiences teaching at a black college, sits atop reddit.com. Is this a big deal? It's a well-earned spot, and the comments are mainly thoughtful and haven't degenerated into individual flame wars. Consider that sites like digg.com and reddit now have to guard against people who try to game the system on these community-news sites. A lot of people are dying to see themselves on the front page to drive traffic and online ad dollars, and the folks at the St. Petersburg Times got the top spot today.

The Dreamers, 01

(View from the balcony of the Cuban Club, Ybor City)

Note to Trib, re: Falwell front page yesterday: This kind of equivocating (see "1994-1995") before Conservative political figures (yes, political), is what landed you in the position of having to eat crow the last presidential election.

Beach Drive's Changing Skyline

Beach Drive in St. Petersburg is changing (note: link is from 2005 and likely outdated, although the interactive graphic is worth a look). We begin with the completed Parkshore Plaza (photo progression here)...

...on the 400 block of Beach Drive, a new condo building takes shape behind Grayl's Hotel...

...and, the beginnings of the planned two-story $16 million north wing at the Museum of Fine Arts.

Shorty's Raucous Cuban Club Courtyard

A clip from a Trombone Shorty concert in New Orleans, one of the acts scheduled at Saturday's Tropical Heatwave. From a trombone player, the unexpected:

My windshield's usually too dirty to take pictures through:
Yesterday's wildfire smoke on U.S. 19.

Mashing Up the Old Masters

A week or so ago, there was a photo tip from Photojojo that got immediately popular on the Internets, that used artistic masterpieces as color enhancers for your photos. I took some ordinary shots from the waterfront downtown near the Pier, and mashed them up. The first try, which immediately came to mind, was the Monet owned by the Museum of Fine Arts:

Monet's blues and purples were there, but it didn't look right without that spatter, so I added some of the effect from the filter gallery.

English majors may recognize the next sample, which served as the cover of the Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 2 for many years. The downtown waterfront and James McNeill Whistler's Nocturne: Blue and Gold - Old Battersea Bridge...

....gets the Battersea Bridge to St. Pete.

Derby Day at Derby Lane

Across-the-board betting sure saved my Kentucky Derby stake. I'm talking to you Hard Spun!

Godzilla vs. Rodan, Tampa: The Battle for Ashley Street