Hollywood gospel says there’s no such thing as bad p.r. Unless it’s no p.r. Which is exactly what happened to Clearwater Wednesday night, as the A&E (originally named for arts and entertainment – how far we’ve fallen) cable channel beamed live footage of illusionist Criss Angel ‘s escape from a blown to smithereens beachfront hotel.

Except that the on-air program guide described the hotel as a condo. And the location as Miami. Be assured this was not what the city bargained for when they put up the security and such needed to accomodate a live feed and a crowd estimated at perhaps 50,000. I know this because I’m right down the road from an event that dominated the local papers. As Casey Stengel said, “You could look it up.”