* The Florida Strawberry Festival Soundstage is renowned for its acts that hearken to other eras. Which can mean a notably eclectic list of performers. For example, where else would you be hosting appearances by Engelbert Humperdinck, The Lettermen and Vanilla Ice?
* I’m still nobody’s go-to person when it comes to Oscar predictions–let alone movie critiques. Truth be told, I’ve never recovered from all the unfathomable praise lavished on “The Blair Witch Project.” And, yes, I still think it’s the biggest hoax since Piltdown Man.
Fast forward to the most recent case of cinematic cluelessness: The “Best Picture” Oscar awarded to “The Shape of Water.” I thought–and wrote a couple of months ago–that it should have been titled: “‘Dr. Strangelove’ Meets ‘The Creature From the Black Lagoon.'” It was overrated and over-hyped. That hasn’t changed. Maybe “The Shape of Water” should have won for “Best Bestiality Romance.”