SFDB Saturday Night Turndown Service

One of my all time favorites...if you're still reading, D., well, you know...



Double, The Captain Of Her Heart


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Your Evening Sift

Hey, if you take a look over in the right sidebar you'll see that there is now a separate blogroll for Miami Foodie blogs. Ask and you shall receive. Most times. :) Here's your evening Sift...

A- Breaking! Michelle Malkin has sat on a keffiyeh, via Miami & Beyond.

B- Justice Building Blog must be a joy to go out to dinner with...

I don’t care what the waiter’s favourite dish is. I am assuming if it is on the menu, it is because they think it is good. And most importantly, there is a special place in hell, with no tips, reserved for waiters who linger and wait until you take a bite of food before rushing over to engage you in conversation about the meal. I don’t wish to share my dinning experience with the wait staff. I really don’t wish to speak with them at all beyond the order. And while we’re talking about the staff, I really don’t care for their snide looks when I turn down a $30.00 bottle of water. I know the water scam and I’m not about to fall for it. I don’t mind paying a small fortune for a lobster, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to spend a hundred bucks on something that runs from the taps for free.

C- Coconut Grove Grapevine shows us what sad shape the Grove post office is in.

D- All Purpose Dark is underwhelmed by Surfside's Adriana but still has a few good words for the place.

Thus our experience at Adriana: not very expensive, but not inexpensive; pleasant food but not surprising.

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The Penthouse @ Ten Museum Park

$1.9 million.



More picts and info at Exotic Excess.

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The Healthy Blogger

It looks like blogging could actually be good for you...

Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.

I don't know about the physiological effects, but I can tell you that my spelling and writing has improved greatly since I started blogging years ago. Not enough for some of my readers, I'm sure, but for that reason alone it makes all the time I put into it seem more worthwhile.

So I guess we should consider blogging therapeutic. Of course, as is with everything else, moderation is the key.

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The Cooler

Here's a few of the mainstream media stories for you to start off with this morning...

A- South Florida Business Journal: SoFla is #3 out of 10 major American cities when it comes to "driving difficulties."

The survey found that Miami-Fort Lauderdale commuters have the shortest commute among the 10 cities, at 14.7 miles/30 minutes on average. The longest average commute is in Atlanta, at 19 miles/35 minutes.

However, the area's relatively short commutes do not soften other aspects of commuter pain. The survey found that half of Miami and Fort Lauderdale drivers surveyed reported increased driving-related stress, exceeding the nationwide average of 45 percent and equaling Dallas and Los Angeles. Sixty percent said driving has gotten worse over the past three years.

Thirty-three percent of drivers in the area reported roadway traffic so bad within the last three years that they turned around and went home -- more than any other city surveyed. Los Angeles was next, at 32 percent.

My emphasis on the turning around and going home part. Jeez, I wish I had that option, don't you?

B- Herald: WWII ammo being dredged up in the Miami River.

C- Herald: Morin.

D- Palm Beach Post: 81-year-old Genie Barton has her Camaro stolen. Yes, I said Camaro.

"I was born in Detroit and I love jazzy cars," Barton said.

E- NBC6: Coconut Creek teacher's aide throws chair at autistic student.



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Your Morning Sift

Getting the weekend started obscenely early this morning...too early. Here is your still groggy and thankfully short morning Sift...

A- Miami & Beyond doesn't like HBO's Recount.

The saga of how Jim Baker and the Republicans outmaneuvered Gore in Florida deserves to be told better than in Recount, the HBO movie. It doesn't need the cheap tricks: an absurdly caricaturesque Katherine Harris, the obsessive to the point of being obtrusive makeup of every actor to resemble the real life person (but curiosly, not Kevin Spacey as Ron Klain), the maniqueism (all Republicans bad, all Democrats good), the veering-onto-blatant-partisanism script.

B- Tilefortlauderdale drops Henry off at the Briny Pub along the New River.

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Your Evening Sift

Hard to totally enjoy your Friday night when you have a 5 AM wake up call to play golf the next morning. Oh well, here's your evening Sift...

A- Incertus informs us of the nine constitutional amendments that will be on the ballot in November and adds some other comments.

Recently, the jackasses voted themselves a tax cut. It saved homeowners an average of $200, and everyone else got zilcho. As a result, our local police is in upheaval, our schools are in upheaval, and everything is rapidly beginning to suck.

B- Miamism has another homemade video, this one of the weekend scene at Beer Can Island.

C- Ever wonder what a party at the Versace Mansion is like? Miami Beach 411 has a detailed inside look.

D- Tilefortlauderdale leaves Fred in a newspaper box in front of Southland shopping center in the 900 block of State Road 84.

E- Mayor Manny posts the fairly impressive speech he gave yesterday to some new U.S. citizens in Miami Beach.

Being mayor, I get asked to speak at a lot of events, to a great number of audiences. Each is special and unique in their own way – but today is very special for me. I will never forget the day when I sat where you are, receiving my citizenship. How excited and proud I felt. And so, today it is a real honor for me to address you on this occasion, on your day.

F- Weston Daily Photo has your only-in-Florida moment of the day.

G- Miami Beach Police need to move their vehicles out of the bicycle lanes, according to Transit Miami.

H- They're stabilizing the canal banks in Coral Gables and Not Exactly Coral Gables was there to see the politicians kick off the project.

I- Critical Miami is still twittering or tweeting or whatever it's called from somewhere around Titusville as he continues to bike his way home from South Carolina.

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Friday Flashback

The Cranberries, Zombie

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"We Do Not Negotiate With Terrorists"

Excuse me, did someone say something?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior U.S. and Libyan officials are meeting in London this week to try to reach a deal on compensation cases from the Lockerbie air disaster and other 1980s incidents, a Bush administration official said on Thursday.

If you recall, the "air disaster" and "the other 1980's incidents" that the Bush administration official is referring to are these things called "acts of terrorism."

At a meeting in London two months ago Libya presented what a U.S. official called a "comprehensive" deal to resolve a string of compensation cases which have soured relations between the former foes.

They include cases arising from the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, which killed 270 people, including 189 Americans and the 1986 bombing of a West Berlin disco in which two U.S. servicemen were killed.

Trying to work out a package deal, I guess. Lump all the dead Americans into one settlement. Easier to work out a "deal."

Of course, the outrage from the conservative right is forthcoming, I'm sure. Just as soon as they get done celebrating their victory over the Islamofascist French Cruller distributors at Dunkin Donuts.

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The Cooler

Here's a few selected stories from your South Florida mainstream media outlets...

A- Sun-Sentinel: I know you folks want commentary but...I mean, really, what else is there to say...

A Palm Beach Gardens man and his mother, a middle school science teacher, are permanently barred from owning or possessing animals, a judge ruled Thursday after watching a short film of the man having sex in his bedroom with a German shepherd.

Palm Beach County Judge Frank Castor also ordered that the county be given custody of the woman's pets — two German shepherds and two cats — and ruled that she and her son, 18, jointly pay the county $1,848 in boarding costs and other fees.

B- Herald: Two Miami officers arrested by FBI.

C- Herald: Miami Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones pays $500 fine for $46,000 ethics violation. Now that's smart investing!

D- Herald: Downtown Miami's clean up with photo montages of last year and this year. While the headline is positive, the reality is decidedly mixed.

E- Herald: SoFla is the greenest area of the state.

The highways of Miami and Fort Lauderdale may be jammed with gas-guzzling SUVs, but when it comes to global-warming emissions, South Florida is still greener than the state's other big metropolitan areas.

Nationally, the report says, SoFla is ranked #26.

F- Herald: Morin.

G- South Florida Business Journal: Great price on gas? Better check how much you're getting.

......

I wanted to address several issues that came up recently in the Cowbell posts.

SFDB readers can still use the "sfdb, sfdbsfdb" username/password combination when viewing the online Miami Herald.

I am unable to have my hyperlinks open in a new window like someone requested. I checked with Blogger and the settings don't allow me the option, as far as I can tell.

While I do plan on doing a Friday post on weekend events, it's not going to appear for a few weeks due to a real hectic travel schedule I have coming up.


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Your Morning Sift

Happy Friday, folks! I've already had my excitement for the day, but let's see if I can't get you started off on the right foot with this morning's Sift...

A- The (covert) overt reviews Key West's Pisces restaurant and finds it superb...and expensive.

i literally tried a bite of everyone's and it was all sooo delish. so as far as the appetizers... the beef carpaccio with arugala, truffle oil and shaved parmesan was quite possibly the best beef carpaccio i've ever had. the 'pisces aphrodite' was possibly one of the best things i've eaten in a really long time. lobster, shrimp, and sea scallops baked in puff pastry with lemon tarragon butter will always sound good to me, but the presentation and complexity of flavors made it to die for.

B- Bark Bark Woof Woof is one more victim of SoFla's real estate crisis.

C- I, like Blast Off!, grew up watching The Carol Burnett Show, so I can say I share his feelings.

D- Random Pixels shares with us the Sun-Sentinel's incredible hurricane hype.

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Another Day In The Neighborhood

So I'm sitting here working at the computer at, oh, say 6:30 AM this morning, when a huge explosion goes off somewhere in the neighborhood behind my house. I live on a lake so by the time I get to the window, there's smoke drifting across the water but absolutely no indication of where the source is.

And then I see this guy quietly crouched outside of my patio, with his friend, watching the houses that line the lake.



I get it. A neighbor is getting raided. Oh, joy.

Back to blogging.

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SFDB Late Night Politics

"Full Release"...hilarious.



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Your Evening Sift

Ah, Thursday night. Wake up tomorrow and it's Friday. You gotta love it. Here's what I was able to put together for your evening Sift...

A- Habla Mierda takes a stab at redesigning SFDB and the results are amazing.

B- Miami & Beyond thinks the City of Miami's banning of panhandlers is a bummer.

C- Miami Dish has a new feature called "Seen Eating" where they "provide a brief glimpse into the food habits of pillars of our community." Today, MD interviews writer Brian Antoni and asks him about his favorite places to eat in Miami.

Favorite places to eat in Miami: Garcia’s on the Miami River, Sobe Social, Pollo Tropical, the Café at Books & Books

Pollo Tropical? I'm glad to see I'm not the only one to admit it.

D- This is your president, via Incertus.

E- Hillary on the Supreme Court? People, including ReidBlog, are talking.

F- Daily Cocaine finds comfort in good, cheap Latin food at Latin Cafe 2000 at Biscayne and 25th.

G- Coral Gables Restaurant Week starts next Monday, so MenuPages Blog: South Florida does us a favor and points us to the most interesting and economical.

H- Tilefortlauderdale drops Ivy off at a phone booth outside Walgreen's on Andrews Avenue, just north of Oakland Park Boulevard.

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SFDB Not So Random Thought of The Day

How expensive do you think gas has to get before the genius in the clapped out Ford Explorer decides he doesn't want to be #9 in the drive-thru line at Wendy's?






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Thoughts on More Cowbell

Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts regarding SFDB and made suggestions as to how we can make it better. Here's what we're going to do as a result.

Time is going to be a major determinant in anything we do here because, quite frankly, I have so little of it. I'm hesitant to add anything to this already full plate I have in front of me so the chances of bringing back something like the "Reader's Favorites" are slim to none, no matter how much it would add to the blog. To give you an idea of what I'm working with, it took me a full 2 hours to complete this morning's Sift and Cooler. Granted, there was an unusually large amount of material to review, but still...and I still have this evening's Sift to do. That's a lot of time to devote to anything each day, let alone blogging.

I'm going to try to do a weekend preview type of thing on Fridays with links to the relevant sources of information, but considering Critical Miami sometimes doesn't post his until after noontime, I'm not quite sure when it will be posted. Keeping in mind, obviously, that in order for it to be helpful, it has to be time relevant.

I'm also going to take Tilefortlauderdale's suggestion and break out the foodie blogs from the rest of the herd. They'll have their own blogroll in the sidebar. I've thought about doing this in the past but never got around to it. Look for that to happen this weekend.

I have already started to add a little bit more to the Cooler stories and will try to keep that going per the several requests that were made. As far as any additional commentary goes, folks, I'm leaving that up to you. The stats tell me that the traffic is here so if you all want a blog that is active with comments and opinion and discourse, start commenting. SFDB has a number of regulars that jump in, but I know there's a whole lot more readers out there. Don't be shy, chime in.

And with that, we continue on. Thanks so much for your continued support and your loyal readership.

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The Cooler

Lots of items here for you to read and discuss this morning....

A- Palm Beach Post: FAU study says that South Florida is fat, uninsured, and that many of us have AIDS or HIV On the plus side, we're good hosts to private companies and organizations. Makes me want to stick around another 25 years.

B- Palm Beach Post: At home with St. Lucie County's "Bikini Teacher."

The bikini teacher has a monkey. And a dog. She also has three young sons, and a college degree, and a painted wooden sign on her kitchen wall that says "Wishes won't wash dishes."

And she has a name: Tiffany Shepherd. The reductive title "bikini teacher" makes it easier to judge, to make black and white what in reality is unavoidably gray. But here she is: Tiffany, a 30-year-old with her feet propped on her coffee table, offering a green grape to a monkey and talking about her kids.

C- Herald: I think the AP is about 20 years late with this "headline," In Miami, Spanish is becoming the primary language.

D- Herald: 6,000 new Americans were created in Miami Beach yesterday.

E- Herald: Almost 7 years after 9/11 and this weekend a boatload of illegal Jamaicans sailed right up the Miami River before being noticed. Feeling safer? Heckuva job, W.

F- Herald: City of Miami Police Chief Timoney gets a finger wagged at him for Lexusgate.

G- Sunpost: 570 arrests on Miami Beach over Memorial Day Weekend, down 27%.

The official word from the police department is that this Urban Beach Week “was arguably the best and most successful … over the last eight-year stretch.”

H- Miami Today: Panhandling is now illegal in downtown Miami and MBV.

I- CBS4: Might be a good time to buy a house this weekend if it's a Coldwell Banker listing.

J- WPTV: Lake Worth house has a hella roach problem. If you're freaked by these things, I'm warning you about the video that accompanies this story.

K- WPTV: South Florida teachers now relying on handouts for educational needs. But we can afford new stadiums.

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Your Morning Sift

Good Morning! Sheesh, you guys were busy last night. I'm not used to having to work so hard on Thursday morning. Here's your extensive morning Sift...

A- Eye on Miami proposes a new paint scheme for the Arsht Center and, in a separate post, notes the Top 10 air polluters in Miami-Dade County.

B- Licorice Pizza has the info on a couple musical events taking place in Miami-Dade County over the weekend.

C- If you're looking for a decent Peruvian restaurant in Kendall, and who isn't, Foodtastic! has one.

D- Mango&Lime visits Chocolate Fashion in Coral Gables for brunch and takes a couple outrageous photos of their brioche French toast and eggs Benedict. Oh, and she's getting married.

E- Man or Maniac goes political and deconstructs conservative Michelle Malkin and her scarves. Some Cranky Guy joins in.

F- CBS4 news anchor Elliott Rodriguez is branching out into other genres of entertainment, according to Random Pixels.

G- Tropic of Mom has a not-so-gentle reminder of what starts on Sunday.

H- The (covert) overt offers us her thoughts on selected "best ofs" from the Miami News Times annual list.

Best Gnocchi- Perricone's Marketplace & Cafe

there not screwing around... these truly are the best. i suggest the quattro formaggi

I- All Purpose Dark posts her latest Plum TV interview. Good job, Sara!

J- babalu's Cigar Mike takes a respite from bashing half the U.S. population (i.e. Democrats) to post a nice photo of Nevada's Lake Mead.

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SFDB Late Night Politics

-Link to story

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Your Evening Sift

A busy day around SFDB HQ today. Nonetheless, we were still able to slap together this evening's Sift for you...

A- Obalesque downshifts and switches into summer posting mode.

B- Fratelli Lyon, a brand new Italian restaurant, opens its doors in Miami's Design District tonight. The (covert) overt has the info on why this place is so unique.

C- Miami Beach 411 has a preview into this weekend's happenings around town.

D- Is the Miami-Dade County Public Defender's Office about to quit accepting cases because of budget problems, asks Justice Building Blog.

E- Tilefortlauderdale drops Janie at "a recently abandoned CVS Pharmacy at the corner of Andrews Avenue and 17th Street, caddy-cornered from Broward General in Fort Lauderdale." Thinking out loud here, but wouldn't it be cool for Mary Tiler More to make a visit to South Beach one day?

F- MenuPages Blog: South Florida visits Abokado in Mary Brickell Village.

G- Interesting traffic photos taken on the roads of SoFla by Some Cranky Guy.

H- Miami-Dade Dems has photos from today's voter registration drive over on Miami Beach.

I- MiamiNights contributor Duran posts an annoying interview that Plum TV did of him before Memorial Day.


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More Cowbell?

Blogger tells me I've posted 507 times since February when SFDB started off down the road. I'm pretty satisfied with what we've been able to accomplish thus far but I'm wondering how SFDB readers are feeling.

Are you happy with your visits to SFDB? What would you like to see more of? Anything that you want to see less of? How can we do things better? What's working for you?

I really, honestly want your input. If you feel uncomfortable leaving your name, just be anonymous, but please let me know. I'd like this to continue to be a place where readers can stop in and catch up on the SoFla blogging scene without having to check each and every blog out there. And while you're here, maybe chat about politics or whatever else is on your mind.

Tell me about your thoughts in the comments, if you would.

[Thanks to commenter Billy Zane for making me think about this.]

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The Cooler

The hurricane preparedness coverage is starting, folks. Get ready. Here's some selected stories from your SoFla mainstream media...

A- Herald: What to eat when the hurricane hits.

Peanut butter (or other nut butters) and crackers: We feel silly mentioning peanut butter and crackers, but it's the quickest ''sandwich'' there is, and without A/C in the house, bread is going to get moldy quicker than you can say FPL.

B- Herald: Free mass transit in Miami-Dade County?

C- Herald: Ana Menendez on how Florida treats education.

No parent would skimp on her child's education so she could buy a new fur coat. But somehow, we tolerate the equivalent from our leaders, who treat education as if it were a nuisance expense.

It seems that no matter how bad things get, some people will always be immune. Stadium owners can keep getting rich and the wealthy can continue to enjoy the state's low taxes.

Meanwhile, our students must count on the generosity of strangers and the gambling habits of Florida's lottery players.

It will be a happy day when schools have everything they need and sports teams are forced to subsist on the quick-pick fortunes of the daily Cash 3 drawing.

A state with its priorities in the right place? Fat chance.

D- Palm Beach Post: Driving While Nude.

E- Palm Beach Post: Is that a Slim Jim in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

F- Sun-Sentinel: Jaxson's Ice Cream: Not the best but still darn good.

G- Local10: Dirty Dining's Jeff Weinsier recommends a Fort Lauderdale deli that had 5 critical violations 2 months ago. WTF?

H- NBC6: The rubber band man.


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Your Morning Sift

Good Morning! I have this Hump Day off to take care of a couple medical appointments so I'll be in and out, mostly out, all day. Let's get things started with this morning's Sift...

A- Still posting her recent trip to Key West, the (covert) overt does the tourist thing and visits Mallory Square for the end of the day festivities. Pictures are included.

B- The Linchpen writes a story for the Miami Herald on the first day of his internship there. Pretty impressive.

C- Tilefortlauderdale drops Hal off across from the Museum of Discovery in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

D- FinsNation explains why Will Allen's days as a Dolphin could be numbered.

E- Daily Cocaine shows us all how to roast a perfect chicken...or is it how to perfectly roast a chicken. No matter, this bird looks killer.

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Your Evening Sift

I don't know what is in the water but it seemed like everyone wanted to post about food today. As a result, you'll get your share here in tonight's evening Sift...

A- Owenized says goodbye...

Well, it has been fun. From the very beginning, our credo at Owenized has always been "no heavy lifting." We definitely succeeded in that endeavor. But like any great movie, game, or vacation, the fun eventually comes to an end.

On a personal note, I'm going to miss Steve's sense of humor and his special insight into the workings of a television station. Owenized was a good read and earned a place high on SFDB's Most Mentioned List (right sidebar) because of it. I sure hope he pops in every now and then to comment.

B- Obama is a Muslim anti-American racist Communist Castro sympathizer Elitist Socialist man very similar to Fidel Castro Marxist big, fat hypocrite weak, young, and inexperienced commie pretender, so says babalu.



Unsophisticated animals of low intellect in the wild kingdom show frustration in a variety of ways. Pigs grunt. Apes thump their chests. And the babalu boys drop F-bombs. In this post, Val Prieto must really be frustrated as he lets loose 17 of them. We'll let you know when the grunting starts.

C- Menupages Blog: South Florida interviews Chef Jonathan Eismann of the newly re-opened Pacific Time and All Purpose Dark visits and reviews it.

D- For those of you who visit Key West, the (covert) overt has another restaurant you can add to your must-dine-at list.

E- The Taddeo for Congress campaign needs volunteers to help sign up voters at the Miami Beach Convention Center tomorrow and Thursday, according to Carlos Miller.

F- An epic post about Fat Man's Barbeque, courtesy Habla Mierda.

G- Tilefortlauderdale leaves Al in downtown Lauderdale.

H- Coconut Grove Grapevine has a Cafe Tu Tu Tango slideshow comprised of pictures taken over the last couple of years at the soon-to-be-shuttered restaurant.

I- The Florida Masochist, hanging tough while battling cancer, is celebrating his 3rd blogaversary.

J- Bark Bark Woof Woof gets a little payback. I would have tied a brick to it.

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John McCain: He's A Decider

"By 2008, I think I might be ready to go down to the old soldiers home and await the cavalry charge there."

Let's see...old soldiers home or President of the United States? Old soldiers home or President of the United States? Old soldiers home or President of the United States?

Don't ever let it be said that John McCain isn't capable of making tough decisions.



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The Cooler

Slow news morning. Read and discuss...selected stories from your SoFla mainstream media...

A- Sun-Sentinel: The day's most ominous lede...

After jumping into the ocean to look for life on an overturned fishing boat, Riviera Beach dive boat captain Jonathan Rose realized the sharks got there first.

B- Sun-Sentinel: What people leave behind on Tri-Rail.

C- Sun-Sentinel: What Broward County residents won't get with lower property taxes.

D- Sun-Sentinel: Turning lemons into lemon juice, or something like that.

E- CBS4: South Florida is the new Hollywood for filmmakers.

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Your Morning Sift

Anybody else have a holiday hangover? Here's your morning Sift...

A- Daily Cocaine describes the simple breakfast served up at Bagels & Co. but the photos really do make the post.

B- Miami & Beyond weighs in on the St. Lucie County teacher who abused an autistic student.

C- Computer Colonics goes on a "semi-hiatus," whatever that means.

D- Random Pixels has the pictures of a spectacular auto accident that occurred at 8th and Meridian in South Beach yesterday. Looks like it happened on I-95 and not some residential street.

E- Some Cranky Guy is frustrated with the state of politics today and offers an alternative no solution.

F- Ipanemic strolled down to Lincoln Road yesterday morning and took 60 photos in 60 minutes, all of which are available for your viewing pleasure.

G- Stuff You Think You Need has an out-of body experience during a Memorial Day drive on I-75.

H- Bark Bark Woof Woof points out that Fidel Castro shares many hardliner's dislike for Obama and has some other thoughts...

I actually think that the Castros are just fine with having either Obama or McCain as president as long as the embargo stays in place so they can use it as the excuse for their regime's brutality and failures. As long as they can blame someone else, they're happy, and the United States has played along for nearly fifty years, basically enabling them in this gambit. Virtually every other country in the hemisphere, including Canada, conducts trade with Cuba, as does just about every other country on the planet (with the exception of Israel). So blaming their woes on the U.S. is just their way of keeping the "revolution" alive. If the embargo was lifted, they know they would be unable to hold back the wave of McDonald's, Wal Marts, and NAPA Auto Parts stores.

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Your Evening Sift

Man, do I despise the end of a holiday weekend. Just when I was getting in the routine of doing nothing all day. Here's your evening Sift...

A- Tilefortlauderdale does another two-fer today, leaving Fred in the ladies room at Total Wine (off of Cordova Road?) and Zoey at the yellow phone box at the Shell station on State Road 84 and SW 9th Avenue, both, of course, in Fort Lauderdale.

B- Miami Dish does a great post on what to expect when you dine at the FIU Hospitality School. Lots of pictures included.

C- The Marlin's performance this year has reawakened at least one fan's dormant soul at The South Florida Fan Blog.

D- Man or Maniac has some pretty strong feelings about the St. Lucie County teacher who recently abused an autistic child in front of the whole classroom.

E- Not Exactly Coral Gables is amazed at the results of a Sun-Sentinel poll that indicates that SS readers apparently don't like to visit the beach too often.

F- Miamism Pix captures a one-man band set up at Bayside.

G- Rakontur has the trailer for their new flick called Cocaine Cowboys II.

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Holy Cannoli!

SFBD has been nominated for Best Local Blog in the 2008 Netroots Awards!

SoFla blogs that are also nominated in that category include Eye on Miami, Miami-Dade Dems, and Transit Miami, which basically means I am totally screwed.

Make sure you check out all the categories. There's a lot of local representation there.

Hey, just go vote and support Netroots, okay?

I'll be back a little later with the Sift.


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Memorial Day 2008

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

-Moina Michael

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The Cooler

Nothing but the Herald this morning, folks. Everyone else is still sleeping.

A- Herald: The Marlins get out the broom.

B- Herald: The true meaning of Memorial Day.

C- Herald: Ana Menendez on Obama's Miami visit.

We may never be able to transcend the politics of identity that marked the 20th Century -- a century of mass migration and upheaval whose wounds we learned to salve with liberal doses of sentimentality.

But in many ways Obama is the first politician of the new century, one who seems to be striving for a way past the dichotomies and clichés that dominated the discourse for so long.

Friday, black, white, immigrant and native-born gathered in Miami to hear an African American make his case for the presidency before a Cuban American group. Thirty years ago, such an event would have been unimaginable.

Last week, it proved historic for reasons no one could have predicted. Identity took a backseat to ideas. And pandering finally gave way to a conversation among equals.

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Your Morning Sift

Good Monday Morning! Not your regular Monday morning, of course. Things were kind of slow last night in the blogosphere, as you might imagine, but there were still a few posts of note that are included here in your morning Sift...

A- Random Pixels ventures over to South Beach and shoots some film of the festivities that are taking place this weekend.

B- Man or Maniac experienced mayhem out on SoFla roads this weekend.

C- Some Cranky Guy and the wife take off driving and wind up in Naples.

It was 8:00 on Day Two of the Memorial Day Three Day Weekend. I handed the keys to my wife, and when she asked me “Where to?” I just shrugged. I noticed she had two of her CD carriers, each holding several dozen CDs, so I figured we could wind up anywhere. We did.

D- JSponge, over at The South Florida Fan Blog, loves him some doubleheaders. Especially when the Fish win.

E- This is what George W. Bush has brought to these United States, via Discourse.


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Favorite Fever Foto of the Week

Miami Beach


-miami fever

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Memorial Day Vigil With Annette Taddeo

Join South Florida congressional candidate Annette Taddeo tomorrow at 6:30 PM in Miami's Bayfront Park for a Memorial Day vigil to honor those soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ms. Taddeo will be reading a letter that a female Army officer who was stationed in Afghanistan sent home to her family. Afterwards, she will be joining the other attendees in reading the names of the 177 Floridians who have died in the war.

-via Incertus

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Your Evening Sift

Having already done a little sifting earlier today and highlighting those posts, I only have a couple things for your evening Sift. The first one is very cool...

A- Tilefortlauderdale, fast becoming one of my favorite blogs, left Violet at Birch State Park this morning and someone found her. From the comments...

We found your tile this morning while attending a small bbq/breakfast with some old friends. It brightened my day and my family's day. Thank you we will proudly display this in our house and tell everyone about it.

Very cool.

It was a two-fer today as Lisa was placed under a seat at Cinema Paradiso.

B- Not Exactly Coral Gables takes a nice clear photo of a woodpecker.

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SFDB Post of the Week

SFDB selects its Post of the Week by going back and reviewing all the Sifts that we've done during the past 7 days. We find the best post of the week and note the runners ups as we judge them to be.

I'm real happy with the quality of this week's posts. After a couple blah weeks, things picked up and once again made selecting PotW quite interesting.

Winner: The {read} kitchen is one of those blogs that isn't updated all that often and makes every post count. The story Leslie Pariseau tells of her mother's affection for grilling, ketchup and corn is a treasure and one that will surely have you reflecting back to when you were growing up and the foods your Mom served up. Miss Byrne's Corn and Homemade Ketchup is this week's SFDB Post of the Week. Make sure you check it out and get the recipe for Leslie's mother's homemade ketchup.

Runners Ups: How often does one get to walk the hallways of the White House? Well, this week babalu's Val Prieto did and captured his feelings in From Where I Sit. Ipanemic posted a nicely edited video of him closing up his old house one last time in Leaving Las Lexington. Owenized paid tribute to retiring co-worker and SoFla news anchor Dwight Lauderdale in South Florida's Newsman. And Daily Cocaine gave us the blow-by-blow of a pig roast with this photogenically correct post he called You, Me, and BiBi.

As a reminder, we link to the PotW for the entire week through the PotW logo located in the right sidebar.

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Babalu And Censorship

This morning babalu's George Moneo declares that "A blog is not a forum," and dips into Webster's to substantiate his claim. You see, George says, citing Webster's, a blog is a "personal journal" whereas "a 'forum' is a place for open discussion including the venting of a multitude of opinions."

Of course, anyone who has blogged or who reads blogs knows that a blog can be a forum if its writers allow it. Certainly, if you permit comments to be posted and don't post a policy that defines your commenting policy, that is the impression you give your readers. If you aren't interested in feedback or interested in a particular perspective or view, simply get rid of the comments or make your readers aware of your commenting policy, right?

George takes on this subject to defend babalu's well-known practice of banning certain commenters. babalu's ban list includes, as George so eloquently puts it, "malcontents, imbeciles, idiots, liberals, leftists, commies, dialogueros, infiltrados, and general all-around a**holes [-Ed.]." Of course, these people are defined as such by the folks who write babalu, much like the threats to the Cuban government are defined by the Castro regime. Let's just say it's very subjective.

So, George says, because they are a blog where, by definition, open discourse and expression of ideas is not really present, it is technically impossible for them to censor anyone. In fact, George says, "We cannot censor anyone, only the Government can."

Well, which leads us back to Webster's, Moneo's Bible for blog conduct...

censor

1: a person who supervises conduct and morals: as a: an official who examines materials (as publications or films) for objectionable matter b: an official (as in time of war) who reads communications (as letters) and deletes material considered sensitive or harmful

Or, my favorite, Dictionary.com...

Censor

1. an official who examines books, plays, news reports, motion pictures, radio and television programs, letters, cablegrams, etc., for the purpose of suppressing parts deemed objectionable on moral, political, military, or other grounds.
2. any person who supervises the manners or morality of others.
3. an adverse critic; faultfinder.

Hmm. No mention of censors only being government employees. In fact, the Dictionary.com version uses the verbiage "any person."

So let's review.

By opening up babalu to commenting and by not making readers aware of their restrictive commenting policy, babalu certainly appears to the first-time visitor to be a place, indeed a forum, where their comments are welcomed. And they are, as long as the commenter agrees with the babalu message. If they don't and they post an "objectionable" comment as determined by one of the people supervising and examining babalu's comments, that comment is deleted and the commenter is banned.

That, folks, is censorship in it's purest form. And it's been practiced throughout history by tyrants and intolerant men who believe that their message is the only one that should be heard.

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The News You Won't Get... (UPDATED)

...from the Cuban-American hardliners.

A group of Cuban dissidents has backed a call by the US presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, for direct talks with the new Cuban President, Raul Castro.

The organisation, Women in White, is made up of female relatives of Cuban political prisoners.

In an open letter to Mr Obama they wrote of their hope that his policies may help free their husbands and sons.

So with the Damas de Blanco now supporting Obama's positions of dialogue with Raul Castro and the lifting of travel restrictions to Cuba, one has to ask themselves...

- When do you suppose that Cuban-American hardliners and their shills in Congress and the White House might decide that their views don't represent the will of the Cuban people any more?

- What motivates hardliners to stick with unwanted policies that haven't worked for almost 50 years and do not do anything but cause heartache for their fellow countrymen?

- When will mainstream Cuban-Americans marginalize these powerful extremists within their own community and finally declare that is enough is enough?

I don't have any idea about the first two questions, but as to the last one, I think November would be a great time to start.

-Link


......

26th Parallel says hold on a minute and references an El Nuevo Herald article that indicates that Obama actually got two letters from the Ladies in White. The letter expressing support for Obama's Cuba policies was written by the group's founder. The other letter was written by the group's rank and file and asked for the immediate and unconditional release of Cuba's political prisoners, according to a translation provided by 26th Parallel.

These are two separate letters from the same group dealing with two different subjects. Predictably, 26th Parallel downplays the founder's letter as "coming from an outspoken critic of U.S. policy towards Cuba." Well, jeez, no kidding. Do ya think that's why she's supporting Obama? Because he represents a change in that policy?

The fact remains that a well-respected and leading dissident group inside Cuba is actively supporting Barack Obama's promise to drop travel restrictions to Cuba. The fact remains that the Cuban-American hardliner position is in direct conflict with this dissident group who should, more than anyone sitting in Kendall, know what is best for Cuba and her people.

You would think that if dissidents are saying that dropping travel restrictions is really what's needed, Cuban-American hardliners would listen to them rather than dismiss their voices as nothing but expected rhetoric from Bush critics.

After all, isn't it the dissidents who are living the nightmare while hardliners decide whether it's hot dogs or steak for the big barbecue tomorrow.

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The Cooler

Not much from your SoFla mainstream media this morning...

A- Herald: Cuban judo player who defected is hanging out in Orlando.

ORLANDO --It was two weeks ago when Yurisel Laborde stepped out from under the Hyatt Regency's marquee onto Southeast Second Avenue in Miami, but she still recalls the fear that gripped her as she left the hotel.

The 28-year old Olympian walked quickly but cautiously, as inconspicuously as possible past guests and valets, disappearing out of their view and into the afternoon.

The deserted stretch of urban boulevard -- the lonely confluence of the Miami River, Brickell and downtown -- didn't scare Laborde. If accosted, the 5-9, 171.5-pound world champion judoka could take care of herself.

B- Herald: Two men shot on Washington Avenue on South Beach early Saturday morning.

C- Herald: The Cereal Bowl hits the big time.

D- Sun-Sentinel: Wellington is full of it.

E- Sun-Sentinel: Palm Beach County police find 30-50 guns and a hand grenade in man's house and say, "It is possible he's a collector."

F- Palm Beach Post: Celine Dion wastes water.


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Your Morning Sift

It was a quiet, rainy Saturday night in South Florida that apparently didn't lend itself to too much blogging. Just a couple things for you in this morning's Sift.

A- Ipanemic disassembles a deleted comment...and commenter.

B- Some Cranky Guy has a low key, but good, Saturday evening.

C- Incertus has a strong opinion on how they're disciplining kindergarten students in St. Lucie County and I totally agree with him.

D- Miami & Beyond explains why allowing free travel to Cuba makes sense for these United States.

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SFDB Saturday Night Turndown Service

Ingrid Michaelson, The Way I Am


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Your Evening Sift

Despite the rain, SFDB had a wonderful day relaxing and tossing up a few posts. But overall, the SoFla blogosphere was fairly quiet. We're going to take advantage of the calm to fine tune the blogroll.

***New Blog Alert***

I received a very polite email from Not Exactly Coral Gables the other day requesting a place on the SFDB blogroll and I'm certainly happy to oblige Sandrine. Here is how she describes NECG...

This is my little corner of the web. I live in Miami, just a few minutes drive from Coral Gables, hence the title of my blog. I am NOT a native English speaker, so please pardon my mistakes. I love photography, scrapbooking, and cooking, so you will find a lot of this here.

Sandrine is apparently of French origin and uses her blog to convey her impressions of living in South Florida. She has been writing NECG since February and uses the Blogger platform. Welcome Sandrine!

***Adios!***

SFDB says so long to The Greg Graham Guide: Miami Beach which was a very promising blog but not posting in 4 months doesn't cut it. And Miami Metblogs was never much of anything but it has been inactive for 2-1/2 months.

We'll keep an eye on these blogs to see if they become active again but as of now, they're off the blogroll.

On to your evening Sift!

A- Computer Colonics, a lifelong Republican, is finally waking up to what her party is about.

B- Tilefortlauderdale, who we highlighted today for the 3Questions feature, left Trixie in the handicapped stall of the Winn-Dixie ladies room on State Road 84 in Fort Lauderdale.

C- Ever wondered where to go for Happy Hour in downtown Miami? Miami Downtown Life has a list for you.

D- Blast Off! looks at the chances Charlie Crist has at becoming John McCain's running mate.

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Welcome To The Rainy Season

End-of-the-world dark skies followed by wind, torrential rain, vicious lightening, deafening thunder and...bright sun.

All within an hour.

It's back, folks. Get used to it.

-photo via doncon402

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Heh Moment of the Day

While Obama packs them in everywhere he goes...

A Tuesday fundraiser headlined by President Bush for U.S. Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign is being moved out of the Phoenix Convention Center.

Sources familiar with the situation said the Bush-McCain event was not selling enough tickets to fill the Convention Center space, and that there were concerns about more anti-war protesters showing up outside the venue than attending the fundraiser inside.

Another source said there were concerns about the media covering the event.

Bush's Arizona fundraising effort for McCain is being moved to private residences in the Phoenix area. A White House official said the event was being moved because the McCain campaign prefers private fundraisers and it is Bush administration policy to have events in public venues open to the media. The White House official said to reconcile that the Tuesday event will be held at a private venue and not the Convention Center.

Convention Center personnel confirmed the event has been canceled at their venue.

Does anyone need to be reminded that Arizona is McCain's home state? The Republican Party is so in trouble, folks.

Heh.

-Link

3Questions

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Worth A Thousand Words

This morning, Incertus comments on a Newsweek poll that allegedly documents Barack Obama's supposed problem of attracting the white vote.

I'm a man of few words, as readers of SFDB surely recognize by now, so I'll let a picture of Obama's recent rally in Oregon speak for itself.



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The Cooler

Lots to read and view in your SoFla mainstream media this morning...

A- Herald: Home prices are at 2004 levels and buyers are starting to bite.

B- Herald: Slideshow, Obama's visit to South Florida.

C- Herald: Video, Obama's speech before the Cuban-American National Foundation. Feel free to count the standing O's.

D- Herald: Doral has a new police department.

E- Palm Beach Post: People got to the Bank Atlantic Center before dawn to attend Obama's afternoon rally.

SUNRISE — It was still dark outside Friday when the Young family got in line for an afternoon event in a 20,000-seat arena.

The mother and daughter did the same thing in the 1980s for Michael Jackson tickets. More recently, they woke the kids before dawn on the day Nintendo Wii hit the stores.

But on Friday, it wasn't a pop star or the next hot gadget that roused them from their beds.

It was a politician.

F- Palm Beach Post: More reason not to cut funding to Tri-Rail.

G- Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County high school makes female graduates wear pantyhose.

H- Palm Beach Post: Marlins offer all-you-can-eat seats.

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Your Morning Sift

The first day of an extended weekend is great. You've [hopefully] caught up on your sleep and you're looking at nothing but fun for the next 72 hours. So with that attitude, here's your Saturday morning Sift...

A- In a rare detour from politics and finances, Eye on Miami gives us her thoughts on Mary Brickell Village.

I have one restaurant I like in Brickell Village: Perricone's Marketplace. Owner, Steve, is actually an Italian running an Italian restaurant. He is always a friendly host and I once complained about the pasta and he was pretty interested in making a change. He has great hair, but last time I was there he was bald.

B- Miami-Dade Dems explains what "Text FL to 622-62" means.

C- Hillary implies she's staying in the race because Obama might get assassinated and Reidblog gives us his thoughts as well as Keith Olberman's.

D- One day after posting some pretty classy posts about visiting the White House, babalu readjusts itself and returns to its classless roots.

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Your Evening Sift

Slowly winding down into a holiday mode, folks, and the blogging has tapered off this afternoon. As a result, just a few things for your evening Sift...

A- Val Prieto visits the White House and tells us all about it at babalu.

It's hard to put into words what it feels like to walk into the White House. It really is a surreal experience where you feel like you are walking into history itself. I had a lump in my throat from the moment I passed through the metal detectors and began making my way through the White House corridors - the very same corridors where Presidents have strolled, where dignitaries and world leaders have travelled, where great men and not so great men have paced, facing the challenges of leadership.

Henry Gomez, however, breaks the introspective mood when he flippantly claims in another post that Obama's promise to remove the travel and remittance restrictions with Cuba just ain't that big a deal.

So what's new about Obama's approach? Now that he claims to be for the embargo, the only difference between him and McCain on Cuba is that he would remove the travel and remittance restrictions with regards to Cuban-Americans. Is that a huge difference?

Considering all the space, time, and words that blog has devoted to the subject over the years, I think everyone has to stifle a chuckle with the obvious bombastic phoniness of that statement.

B- A pool is hoisted up to the roof of the Mayfair Hotel and Coconut Grove Grapevine captures it all.

C- Ten things to be happy about if you're a Marlins fan, according to the South Florida Fan Blog.

D- All Purpose Dark is impressed by the Bond St. Lounge on Miami Beach...

But if you are in the mood to splurge on some of the best raw fish in town, grab a stool in this subterranean lounge. It may be the Townhouse hotel but its appeal extends way beyond tourists. Seasoned Miami locals return again and to Bond St. and it's clear why.

E- Computer Colonics drives and films [egads!] her 1st passage over the new Jewfish Creek Bridge that opened last night.


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Friday Flashback

Tom Tom Club, Genius of Love

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Top 50 Blogger Blogs

I know some of you bloggers out there have this thing against Blogger blogs. Something about having "blogspot" as part of your URL makes you all nervous and causes you to do stuff like move to Wordpress or find another host. I have used both Wordpress and Blogger and Blogger is, by far, the easiest and most enjoyable to work with, in my opinion.

If you're one those folks with an aversion to Blogger, you need to take a look at this list of the Top 50 Blogger-powered blogs and see who is using the Blogger platform. There are some heavy hitters out there who have somehow overcome the stigma associated with a Blogger blog and are doing quite well, thank you.

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The Cooler

News of note from your SoFla mainstream media outlets...

A- Herald: Fidel slimming down, but still "lucid."

B- Herald: The Marlins are streaking again.

C- Herald: Same as it ever was.

D- Herald: Fidelistas! Communistas! Useful idiots! Nope. Just people who love their relatives.

E- Herald: The Miami Raft Invitational. Who knew?

F- Sun-Sentinel: Is it really smart to continue to employ a 911 operator who is rude to callers?

G- Sun-Sentinel: We're #1!

H- CBS4: 4-year-old Miramar boy looks forward to his career as a stunt man.

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Your Morning Sift

Yes, readers, it is Friday. A special glorious Friday, I might add, because of the extra day off. I'm going to be around all weekend so make sure you check back often. We'll start things off with this morning's Sift...

A- Critical Miami is off on another bike trip and has switched to all Twitter mode.

B- Thoughts on the Everglades and the recent fires from Eye on Miami.

C- Matt's Photo Blog finds some humor while driving around South Florida.

D- More photos of Marina Blue from Miami Condos Investment, this time with two, count'em two, watermarks.

E- Random Pixels says things are really tough at the Herald...

Right now my sources describe the Herald as a ship without a rudder. Morale, as I've written before, is rock bottom. Many people there are going through the motions

F- Miamism finds a house in Miami Beach where the owner has a nice collection of personal transportation toys.


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Your Evening Sift

Another boatload of posts tonight. Here's your evening Sift...

A- Get ready for Coral Gables Restaurant Week and visit Coral Gables.

B- Daily Cocaine has some videos and photos of the food and ambiance offered up at the recent grand opening of a park in Little Haiti.

C- Do you have any plans for this weekend? Help spruce up the Miami City Cemetery says Miami Downtown Life.

D- The usual daily schadenfruende at Herald Watch.

E- MenuPages Blog: South Florida visits Lime Fresh Mexican Grill in South Beach and isn't exactly overwhelmed.

F- MiamiNights has their regular Weekend Roundup and this week they're calling it the Escape from South Beach Edition.

G- Speaking of escaping South Beach for the weekend, Habla Mierda is going to the Keys. Lucky SOB.

H- Tilefortlauderdale drops Meg at a pay phone off of Powerline Boulevard in Pompano. You're going to have to work hard to find this one.

I- FTL Today has the recipe for A Day At The Beach.

J- After reading this post from Incertus, I have to ask myself if smoking is really that complicated.

K- Blast Off! live blogged Obama's visit to Boca today.

J- If you thought you had a stressful day, you need to read what Superbee's was like.


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Kumbaya (UPDATED)

Anyone who knows me knows that I want to be all things to all people.

And it's because of that trait that I take today's criticisms about my postings very seriously. It seems as though some of you out there don't exactly like me calling Republican presidential candidate John McCain "old" for a couple different reasons. Even though it's probably a crazy coincidence that these denunciations are coming from older folks or Republicans or, quite possibly both, it's with extra due diligence that I intend to make SFDB much more user friendly.

So what I'm going to ask everyone to do is let me know what things I shouldn't be blogging about. Go ahead and tell me in the comments section what it is you don't want to hear when you come to SFDB. Because I want all my readers to be totally and 100% happy with what they read at this site. I want, no, actually I need, everyone to like me and everything I say here.

So I'll help start things off with some possible examples.

When I come to SFDB, I don't want to hear about:

1. How old John McCain is.
2. How John McCain is like George Bush.
3. How Obama is going to be a great president.
4. Eggs. [Hey, who knows?]

Well, you get the idea.

I'll be back later with the Sift.

......

As is usually the case, I'm not sure everyone caught the tongue-in-cheek nature of my writing. Be assured, I am going to blog about what I feel like blogging about. I suppose this was an attempt to show how asinine it is to do otherwise.

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A Few Words From His Oldness, John McCain

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The Cooler

The Herald was chock full of good stuff this morning. Here's some of that as well as a few items from other SoFla mainstream media outlets.

A- Herald: She's more than chonga.

B- Herald: Oy.

C- Herald: A single day record for Tri-Rail. Time to cut services!

D- Herald: Chickens!

E- Herald: American Airlines now charges to check ANY bags.

F- Herald: The new Jewfish Creek Bridge opens tonight, just in time for Memorial Day weekend.

G- Herald: Michael Putney.

I don't expect McCain or Obama to get into nitty-gritty policy details, but we're ready for some straight talk on Cuba, not the same old tired clichés. Pandering to Cuban Americans has been raised to an art form by both parties ever since Ronald Reagan went to the Dade County Auditorium in 1983 and thundered, ''Cuba sí, Castro no.'' But we're well past the point where a candidate can win Cuban-American votes simply by being ``for Cuba'' and ''against Castro.'' It'll also take more than showing up at Versailles in a guayabera and sipping a cafecito.

H- Sun-Sentinel: Record heat in SoFla yesterday.

I- SunPost: How to celebrate Memorial Day weekend in Miami Beach without getting arrested.

J- CBS4: Can you hear me now? Send your cell phones to Cuba, but don't visit.

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