Your Evening Sift

TGIF, peoples! The weekend is here and the Weekend Widget is up near the top of the right sidebar, ready for your review. In the meantime, make the most of your very plentiful Friday evening Sift.

A- Southern District of Florida continues with their breathless coverage of the Paris Hilton trial in Miami.

Paris Hilton is on the stand. And Judge Moreno is getting in on the act. In one exchange, Moreno was puzzled by the title of Hilton's current reality show, "My New BFF." "What does that mean?" he said. After Hilton gave the full title "Paris Hilton's My New Best Friend Forever" the judge remarked "This will be my best case forever." Without missing a beat, Hilton replied "You're my best judge forever."

B- The Mango Festival is this weekend at Fairchild Gardens and Mango&Lime has the event's schedule.

C- The McDonald's Express in Kendall is very special, according to The Burger Beast.

For some time I've known the secret of the McDonald's Express located in Kendall. What's the secret? The fact that they serve the old school apple pies, the deep fried ones. I hope you know what I'm talking about because if you don't you should. The deep fried apple pie was replaced by it's baked brother in 1992, a tragedy if you ask me.

D- Vivir el Presente seems to be looking for some answers in their latest post.

So, when you live far away, far far away, from absolutely everyone who loves you and your unconditionally, you'd better appreciate the time with them. And appreciate where you are. After all, you've put place before familial ties, right?

Right?

E- Coconut Grove Grapevine has a great 4th of July photo posted.

F- Both Wide Lawns and Narrow Minds and A Mom, A Blog and the Life In-Between are pretty impressed by Ritz-Carlton's ladies rooms. From the former...

Picture a toilet in an elevator and you have some clue as to the level of privacy and enclosure offered here. You could play a trumpet in one of those little closets and the person in the stall next to you wouldn't be able to hear it. But not only were these bathrooms private, they also smelled good - like tangerines and angels. There were lavish floral arrangements on the marble counters, real towels, wicker baskets, expensive soaps and hand cream that turned your skin into satin. I wanted to live in the Ritz Carlton restroom.

G- Worst Pizza gives Hollywood's Mauro Pizza a 5.5 slices out of 8 rating.

Mauro is great because it knows exactly what it is. It’s a hole-in-the-wall, cash-only joint with outside-only seating that caters to the locals who’ve been out for a night of drinking and need some grease to line their stomachs to prevent an impending hangover.

There’s nothing fancy about it. No gourmet Italian cheese. No fancy charred crust. Just a nice marriage of the right amount of sauce, a nice fluffy crust and plenty of foldability. If there’s a negative about Mauro, it might be an excess of grease. But after a few craft beers at PRL next door, I say bring it on.

H- Incertus explores the virtues of cats.

The real argument to me, it seems, depends on whether you think there's a disconnect between loyalty and independence. Dogs are, in my experience, exuberant about their loyalty, and I think that's a big part of what dog lovers respond to. Cats aren't generally as exuberant, though I would argue that they can be just as loyal, when they're given a reason to be. It's the second half of that equation that I find to be the most interesting--cats, especially indoor cats, haven't given up as much of their autonomy, but they've gotten all the benefits of being close to humans. And they don't really have to give anything in return--they're not expected to do guard duty or flush quail. They're like poems--they're just expected to be, and every so often, they evoke an emotional response in you, good, bad, confused or otherwise.

.