Review: Winter Jam

When the 19,000 or so seats inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum filled up Saturday night at Winter Jam, the artists went outside after their time on stage and performed a mini concert for the 3,000 or so people who didn’t get inside.  •  Winter Jam 2013 broke records.  •  Artist after artist took the stage, and the words of renowned Christian speaker Nick Hall rang throughout the forum. “If you aren’t plugged into God, then you have no energy to give.” Based on the energy in that building, every person was plugged in, fully focused on resetting and recharging.  •  Just when you thought that the night couldn’t get any more electric, Matthew West shared the stories of people he wrote about, a drug-addict turned preacher and a mother who learned to forgive the drunken driver who killed her daughter.  •  Toby Mac’s upbeat songs drew more electricity from the crowd, whose clapping hands, dancing feet and adoring calls made sweat and hoarse voices impossible to avoid.  •  Winter Jam 2013 was jammin’ and not just because of the artists onstage. The focus was on God, as evidenced by Mac’s poignant, prayerful exhortation: “Steal my show.” -- ANGELINA DEVINCENZO, East Lake High

Attention, aspiring journalists

Are broadcasting, newspaper, magazine, photojournalism or online media your thing? If so, then don’t miss this outstanding FREE opportunity. This year’s Asian American Journalists Association’s J Camp, a training opportunity for high school students interested in all aspects of media, takes place in Washington, D.C,, June 21-26 at George Washington University. The AAJA accepts applications from any motivated student (you don’t have to be Asian). Application deadline is March 13. Visit aaja.org/2013-jcamp for more information. Did we say it’s ALL EXPENSES PAID?

Fey and Poehler make ‘Globes’ truly golden

The universe is afire with praise for the hosting performances of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler at the Golden Globes ceremony earlier this week. In case you live under a rock and missed much ado about something, check out The 16 Best Tina Fey And Amy Poehler Moments From The Golden Globes at buzzfeed.com for a hilarious video recap. Our favorite: No. 10, How Tina and Amy showed up after they both lost to Lena Dunham.

Watch the inauguration at Tampa Theatre

Sure, it would be cool to be in Washington, D.C., on Monday for President Obama’s inauguration, but if you can’t, here’s a pretty neat Plan B: The historic Tampa Theatre invites the public to a free screening of the 57th Presidential Inauguration public ceremony. Doors open at 10 a.m., with the broadcast expected to start around 10:30 a.m.  •  OKAY, we know you won’t even THINK of skipping school, and it’s unlikely your teacher can plan a last minute field trip, but maybe you can convince him or her to tune in on TV. Here are some highlights and fun facts:

The 2013 Inaugural Ceremony’s theme is “Faith in America’s Future,” meant to commemorate the United States’ perseverance and mark the 150th anniversary of the placement of the Statue of Freedom atop the U.S. Capitol dome. Beyoncé will perform the national anthem, James Taylor America the Beautiful and Kelly Clarkson My Country Tis of Thee.
Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers, will deliver the invocation. This year is the 50th anniversary of her husband’s murder and Evers-Williams will be the first woman and nonclergy member to deliver the invocation.
Richard Blanco will be the inaugural poet. The 44-year-old son of Cuban exiles, who lives in Maine and has published three poetry collections, is the youngest and the first Hispanic or LGBT person to serve as inaugural poet.
This is the second time that Martin Luther King Jr. Day has coincided with a presidential inauguration. The first was President Bill Clinton’s second inauguration on Monday, Jan. 20, 1997.
The 20th Amendment to the Constitution mandates that the beginning of a presidential term is Jan. 20, and the White House will likely arrange a private swearing in before noon on Sunday for Barack Obama. But following precedent that dates back to 1917, this will be the seventh time in presidential history that a public ceremony will be held at the U.S. Capitol on Monday. The most recent Monday ceremony was for President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985.

Information from the Tampa Theatre was used in this report