Struggling restaurant here in Central Florida needing a little pick-me-up? (Man, I can think of a few!) You might want to listen up then, because this could be a big break for you.

The Food Network has a reality show called “Restaurant: Impossible” and they’re currently casting for the third season. And they’re opening up the casting to restaurants here in our very own Central Florida. Obviously it’s a television show so ya gotta have some personality, as well as some very specific qualifications to be considered. This includes:

• Full-service
• At least 50 seats
• No more than 250 seats

Full information on the casting can be found at RestaurantImpossible.com.

Special thanks to a post on Heather McPherson’s “The Dish” blog on OrlandoSentinel.com for bringing this to our attention.

Less than six months ago, Jayde Donovan of XL 106.7′s “Johnny & Jayde” show was chosen to guest co-host on “Live with Regis & Kelly” as part of their Women of Radio contest.

And now, Johnny’s made it to the top 10 for the Men of Radio!

Wanna support Johnny? Vote here. Voting closes January 16 at 6 pm!

Good Luck, Johnny Magic!

I love me some Brio Tuscan Grille. So when I saw this little e-mail come through my inbox, not only did I immediately respond, I knew I had to share it with our audience. Who wouldn’t want the Grand Prize of FREE lunch or dinner for an entire year?

The contest started yesterday and goes through November 7th. The only thing I request is that if you don’t end up winning the grand prize (which you won’t, because we will), but do win the 2nd Prize, you include Kim & I as two of your eight friends! Not a bad deal, eh?!

If you’ve never visited a Brio before then you’re really missing out…at least in my opinion. We have two locations in the Central Florida area: Mall at Millenia and Winter Park Village.

Win a VIP Package to See Usher and Jonas Brothers

OrlandoSentinel.com is currently running a contest to win tickets to see Usher, Jonas Brothers, and more at the upcoming American Music Festival in Daytona Beach on Labor Day Weekend. If you can believe-it-or-not, that’s in just two weeks! Not only does the Grand Prize winner receive show tickets, but other perks as well, like access to the VIP Lounge, VIP parking, and hotel accommodations.

In addition to these pop superstars the contest winner will also receive tickets to see the following:

• Huey Lewis and the News
• Buddy Guy and Taj Mahal
• Tony Bennett
• Blake Shelton

Talk about an eclectic group of performers!

To get more details and to enter this contest, and to check-out the other contests on OrlandoSentinel.com click here. If you’re not the lucky winner don’t fret: you can always purchase tickets, which range from $39-$69 for Jonas Brothers and $49-$79 for Usher. Info on tickets for the other artists can be found here.

Photo Credit: JohnnyandJayde.com

In case you haven’t already heard, Jayde Donovan from XL106.7‘s “Johnny & Jayde” made the Top 10 in “Live with Regis and Kelly’s” Women of Radio Co-host for a Day Search.

Voting ends at 9 p.m. Wednesday, August 11, so why not support local talent and vote for her?

Vote Here! Good Luck, Jayde!

Last night we randomly selected (using Random.org) the winner of a pair of tickets for the upcoming Spring Awakening show at Bob Carr. Please help us congratulate Annie, who was apparently majorly impacted by Led Zeppelin in her youth.

Dazed and Confused’ by Led Zeppelin for sure. I was definitely dazed and confused about just about everything in my life at that time! I had NO clue about anything!”

Annie: You’ll have two (2) tickets waiting for you at the Will Call window this Tuesday. Have fun, and enjoy the show!

Thanks to all who participated in this contest, and stay tuned for more.

“Pulse” is thrilled to announce that one of Broadway’s most talked about musicals is coming here to Central Florida, to Bob Carr Performing Arts Center. Spring Awakening has gotten fantastic reviews (The New York Times referred to it as “the most important musical of the decade”), and I know a couple of folks who’ve seen the show on Broadway and have had nothing but great things to say!

Spring Awakening is the story of a group of teenagers who are coming-of-age in oppressive 19th Century Germany…a story of the journey from youth to adulthood. Fun trivia: Lea Michele of Glee fame originated the role of Wendla.

You can get loads more information on the show by visiting SpringAwakening.com.

One of the things I’m most looking forward to is the music, penned by one of my favorite male artists (true story) Duncan Sheik! It was awarded a Grammy in 2008 for “Best Musical Show Album.”

We’ll be at the show on Tuesday the 18th, and we’re also giving away two (2) Premium Seat tickets to one lucky winner! All you have to do is leave a comment in this post, answering the following question:

“What song best sums up YOUR teen years?”

The contest ends at 12:00pm (EDT) on Friday, May 14th. Winner will be selected randomly and you may only enter once.

If you just…can’t…wait to find out if you’re the winner, you can always purchase tickets at www.orlandovenues.net*.

* this is not an affiliate link

Are you a fan of Cirque du Soleil? Are you on Twitter? If you said yes to both of these questions then you’re already in the game to win tickets to Saltimbanco, the oldest major touring show of Cirque du Soleil at the time of its last performance, having run from 1992-2006. If you’ve never been to a Cirque show then you’re definitely missing out on a memorable experience.

To enter for your chance to win simply ReTweet the following message with inclusion of the city you’d like to win at:

“Cirque du Soleil Saltimbanco is coming to [CITY]! RT this
message for a chance to win tix! Details: http://tinyurl.com/cpakxe”

To learn more check-out the image below or click here.

Thanks to fellow Central Florida blog Metro I-4 News for letting us know about this great promotion!

For years-and-years we here in Central Florida have had a couple of identities. We’ve passively let ourselves be referred to as “O-Town,” which I’ve personally always thought to be fairly unoriginal. That, plus there’s this:

And this is most certainly not the “city beautiful,” yet it’s what we seem to be most well-known for these days:

So I’m making it the mission of “Pulse of Central Florida” to come-up with Central Florida’s newest nickname. No more “O-Town.” No more “The City Beautiful.” Let’s think of something creative and catchy, that the rest of the world will catch-on to.

Any ideas? Share them with us by leaving a comment in this post.

…well, nobody! Can you believe not a single person submitted their tacky holiday sweater in our contest? I thought for certain we’d get a few. Oh well…that’s just an extra $25 in my pocket for holiday shopping!

Stay tuned to our “Contests” category for more fun promotions.