Your Evening Sift

Holy cannelloni, what a day in the SoFla blogosphere. Lots of great stuff here for you so grab a chair and get comfortable because your evening Sift is here...

A- Artlurker briefs us on the loss of Haitian art to the earthquake.

The recent earthquake in Haiti hit near the Art Center of Pétionville where as of 2008 over 30 galleries were clustered. Most of these, including Gallery Bourbon Lally and Gallery Art Nader sustained severe damage. Although the Nader gallery in Pétionville survives and their family is safe, their Museum in Depres, home to many of Haiti’s seminal artists, collapsed, burying much of the collection.

B- Mambi Watch says that the internet is full of misinformation that is used by the people who find it most useful.

If any of the above had considered how absurd these comments were, and suspended their prejudices for a moment, they might have presented real facts for their readers. Just like the Anchorage Daily News did for their readers, with a little commonsense.

You see, if Renato Perez Pizarro DID read the Russian articles that he links to in his Cuban Colada post, he might have found the right answer: Hugo Chavez never made comments that the U.S. military caused the Haiti earthquake, instead the comments come from a Russian website "which clearly gives conspiracy fabrications."

C- Redland Rambles gets fan mail, and deservedly so.

D- Believe it or not, Miami Beach's Temple House is still for sale. If you haven't seen it [I find that hard to believe], Miamism has some photos and the backstory.

E- Blind Tastes recommends that you go for the ribs at Gardner's Market in the Grove.

When I first unwrapped the ribs from their foil, I noticed that they were pretty big and that they weren't cut. They also looked like they were going to be tough and certainly weren't falling off of the bone. Luckily, they weren't tough at all and they were loaded with meat!

I tried the first rib by itself and thought it was ok. The meat was nice and tender but the rub didn't have much flavor. Things got better when I added the barbecue sauce that came on the side.

F- Blogging Black Miami posts a letter to the Miami City Commission from the "Concerned Citizens of District Five" and has some suggestions for a replacement for Michelle Spence Jones.

We believe that, for a district of over 60,000 residents, consideration must be given to more than one willing candidate. The discussion must be widened. The politics of Miami can no longer be restricted to a select few. District Five needs the Commission to cast a wider net and take this opportunity to consider the abilities and talents of other citizens who have earned due consideration—people who presently serve the City, and the residents of District Five, selflessly and with enthusiasm and unquestioned integrity.

G- Eye on Miami has thoughts on Miami attorney Dan Paul's passing.

Last time I spoke to Dan, he was upset over the County Commission's rejection of the Charter Review Committee's findings. He was pretty disappointed -- disgusted -- with what the current Commission has done to pervert the Home Rule Charter's intent by ordinance. He said about the Charter, when it was drafted:

"The way I wrote the charter says specifically that the enumeration restrictions herein shall not be construed to restrict any of the powers granted by the home rule amendment. All that other junk that Mitchell (Wolfson) wanted in was window dressing, from a legal point of view anyway. George Okel, who was a member of the Charter Board and who was the only Charter Board member who didn’t sign the Charter."

H- Miami Bike Scene comes through [as always] with some great videos of the Memorial Ride this weekend and links to even more.

I- Mood Vane had an interesting weekend.

Yvonne Colon of IWAN and The Bubble warehouse told me that if I ever saw Boise Bob & His Backyard band, I would love them. I had no idea why she thought I would feel that way about them until I saw the show myself. The band played at The Monterey Club with Smokestack on Saturday night, and I could not stop laughing from the moment they went on. Boise Bob yelled, “Living in a swamp, living in a swamp” like he felt persecuted about it. Owen Cash standing on top of his washtub bass (called The Holey Ghost) with his pant legs rolled up making animal sounds cracked me up as did the entire band’s performances of “I Luv Possom Meat” and “Calling in Drunk”. These people are off the chain. I hope they do birthday parties. Seriously.

J- Soul of Miami has a bunch of photographs from this weekend's Miami Beach 411 Meetup in Miami Beach.

K- Speaking of Miami Beach 411, they're demanding that the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau remove offensive material from their website.

Is anyone moderating the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau’s website?

Obviously, no.*

*Based on the pornography that’s being hosted at 411.miamiandbeaches.com.

This isn’t just an oversight. Hundreds of images, much more graphic than the one above, have been on their website for over two weeks.

L- Eater Miami informs us that Morena Restaurant will be opening somewhere *sigh* in South Florida on Friday. [I'm pleading with you Eater: please quit forcing your readers to click out of Eater in order to find out where in South Florida they can find the restaurant you're posting about promoting.]

M- Eating Local In The Tropics posts a nice review of a farmers market that is held on Las Olas in Lauderdale.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the Las Olas Farmers Market. It's tiny, but it's trying and it had a nice atmosphere. I'd like to see it expand. I live in walking distance, so it's very convenient. If you live close, support the market and pay it a visit. If you live far away, I wouldn't make a special trip.

N- Los Van Van is touring and coming to Miami soon, according to The Cuban Triangle.

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