Your Evening Sift

I'll have more tomorrow about tonight's Christmas on Las Olas debacle where sweaty people were outnumbered only by strollers. I'm thinking it's going to be a few years before I brave that BS again. Too harsh? Yeah, well, you had to be there. Here's your evening Sift.

A- Brickell Life starts us off tonight with a few images from around South Florida.

There is a little bit of everything in here from the long weekend including Thanksgiving dinner, a 7-mile run up Rickenbacker Causeway, sunsets over Deering Bay, the Gold Coast Train Museum in South Dade, fried pickles and sunrises around Brickell Key.

B- Eater Miami tells us about an all-you-can-eat stone crab deal that you can get on Fridays at Kitchen 305.

C- Beached Miami has much more on the Liberty City Farmer's Market that Miami on the Cheap first told us about yesterday.

What is the core mission of the Liberty City Farmers’ Market?

Melissa Contreras: The core mission is to actually to bring more healthy food options to a food desert, which is Liberty City and the Little Haiti area, where there just aren’t that many healthy food options or many grocery stores. Most people get their food at corner stores, which is generally processed food. There’s just not enough access to fresh food.

D- One of Miami Favs' favs is Jaxson's ice cream.

jaxson’s really is amazing. the ice cream is delicious. and it’s such a fun and relaxed atmosphere. it’s kind of random that you feel like you’re sitting in a parking lot. but, alas. you pretty much are. and although it is random, it also just feels right.

E- Coral Gables Watch claims city employees are at risk.

I have yet to see a single worker with protective equipment, such as earplugs, operating high decibel noisy equipment. The equipment includes mounted lawnmowers and gas powered leaf blowers and grass trimers. Also, I have observed lawnmowers being driven on the main streets.

F- REVMiami reports in from last night's SIN exhibition at BAC. Photos are included.

Overall the BAC experience met my expectations, they always deliver a killer event: stand out artwork, good people, access to artists and their studios, and great live music.

G- All Purpose Dark describes the scene at last night's Soho House beach barbecue.

Typical ensemble: crayola-red pants, leather moccasins (no socks), pastel sweater tied around the shoulders. Also, a few extras from an episode of Schprockets.

The grub: delicious mini hamburgers that were too few and far between, spicy lamb skewers, truffle pizzas, chips and salsa.

H- Holiday decorations are being put up all around the Grove, as Coconut Grove Grapevine shows us.

I- Random Pixels gives the Herald a thumbs up for a few stories but also has a few thumbs downs to deliver.

J- GastroPod #2 is hitting the streets just in time for Art Basel, says Mango&Lime, who also has a schedule.

Chef Jeremiah had been toying around with the idea of launching a second trailer for a while but it all went into motion on the drive back to Miami from New York after the Star Chefs conference. He stopped in South Carolina where the person who built the first gastroPod mentioned that he had another trailer that could be ready in a short amount of time. Those were the magic words.

“We thought: what a cool thing it would be for our first year anniversary to come out with the second one,” he said.

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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 over the past 7 days. We find the best post of the week and note the runners ups as we judge them to be.

Blogging always slows down during a holiday week so last week was rather pedestrian, but we still were fortunate enough to get some quality posts that in some cases were a direct result of the holiday. Here we go with this week's SFDB Post of the Week selections...

Runners-Up: The Miami Bike Scene did justice to their 2nd Annual Cranksgiving event with a great slideshow and a video showing the start and finish in their post titled Cranksgiving 2010: Recap. Beached Miami told us all about the new recycling center on Miami Beach which generated a lot of feedback in the comments of the post. A Miami Herald story prompted Random Pixels to do a little investigating about a couple guys who should have been behind bars instead of doing home invasions in Miami-Dade County. What he came up with is in A Life Of Crime Comes To An End.



Winner: Transit Miami continues to be at the forefront of efforts advocating for mass transit and the creation of a safe environment for bicyclists and pedestrians in Miami-Dade County. The death of a 21-year-old UM student at a Coral Gables intersection in mid-November prompted TM to conduct an in-depth analysis of the intersection in an effort to determine what design flaws may have contributed to the tragic hit-and-run accident involving the young pedestrian. The post uses Google images taken at street level and from above as the discussion focuses on the crosswalks and sidewalks and the overall dismal condition of the intersection. It's an articulate, well-composed and important post that's deserved of this week's SFDB Post of the Week recognition.

I can't believe it's already time to vote for the November Post of the Month. Stay tuned for the voting to begin later this week.

And...'til next time, keep on blogging!

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How Much For That Art?

Let's hope that the Miami Herald has the sense to run this video feature again this year for Art Basel. It was the highlight of their coverage in 2009.





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Who Needs Art Basel...

...when you have a Cougar Convention to attend at the MIA Embassy Suites. Woo hoo!

What/Why:
COUGAR CONVENTION
Thursday, December 2, 2010

Cougars (older women) are invited to meet Cubs (younger men) at this fun party! Adults of all ages welcome. Dress to impress.

7pm - Doors Open.

7:30pm - Keynote Address with Rich Gosse, author of 8 books on dating ("This is a great book! - Oprah Winfrey") including The Cougar Imperative: Why MIdLife Women MUST Choose Younger Men.

9-11:30pm - Dance to your favorite hits. At approximately 11pm one Cougar will be elected by the Cubs to be Miss Cougar Miami. She will win a free room at Hedonism II Resort & Spa at Negril Beach, Jamaica during INTERNATIONAL COUGAR WEEK, March 27 - April 2, 2011.

COST: $20 cash at the door.

LOCATION: Embassy Suites Miami Airport, 3974 NW South River Drive, Miami FL 33142. Hotel parking available for $5 per car. Overnight rooms available at hotel at $145 per night. Does not include admission to convention.

If there was ever an event custom made for "Cub" Carlos and his video camera, this is it.

Pure cinematic gold.

- photo via Cougar Events Facebook

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

It's the last day of hurricane season and again this year, South Florida escapes unbruised. To celebrate, let's dig into to those large stashes of canned goods and bottled water. Yum. Here's your morning Sift.

A- Artlurker describes HOTBED Miami 2010.

For HOTBED Miami 2010 four senior-level students [...] from the New World School of the Arts, a creative educational institution in Downtown Miami that has spawned many of South Florida’s recognized young artists, were selected to produce work for exhibition at Fountain Miami 2010, a pioneering fair in the heart of the Wynwood Arts District that describes itself as “the installation-based exhibition of avant-garde galleries.”

B- Nikon Miami shares a couple images of the solar boat that made its way into town recently while Beached Miami posts a few pictures from last night's "Natural Selection" exhibit in Coconut Grove.

C- Miami Beach 411 discusses how Tyler Weinman, the once accused serial cat killer of South Florida, was wronged by the media and claims that some people still think he's guilty.

If anybody is guilty, it is us, including the media and the police and the State Attorney’s Office and the animal lovers who created Facebook pages calling for his head even though the evidence against him was circumstantial at best.

We are all guilty of ravaging his character like the pack of dogs that were most likely responsible for killing those cats in the Cutler Bay and Palmetto Bay neighborhoods during the spring of 2009.

D- Lots of photos from last night's Knight Arts Challenge Reception are up at Soul of Miami.

E- Bark Bark Woof Woof examines the alleged partisan politics of the TSA screening brouhaha.

F- Eye on Miami questions the process Miami-Dade County is using to verify signatures on the petitions to recall Mayor Alvarez.

Harvey Ruvin, The Miami Dade Clerk of Courts is reviewing the Petition signatures for the Mayor's Recall. Ruvin wrote an article in the Miami Herald on how he would be handling the Recall count. He has hired a forensic document examiner to look at the petitions/signatures. Say what?

This is overkill and I don't like it. The bar is set too high for Petitions or too low for Absentee Ballots.

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Your Evening Sift

I took a little drive down to South Miami-Dade today and visited Robert Is Here, Knaus Berry Farm and The Keg South off of U.S. 1. The produce and citrus is still a little scarce at Robert but I got to try a mango shake [with no line] at Knaus [excellent] and carry home some cinnamon rolls. And then I spent some time with one of the Keg's burgers which was honestly not all that, in my opinion. The service is great but I don't get why the burger gets raves. Anyway, it was a great day not to be at work. Here's your evening Sift.

A- Publix is still struggling with discrimination against African-Americans, according to this post by Blogging Black Miami.

On Saturday, November 13, 2010, demonstrators protested outside of the Cutler Bay/Goulds Publix Supermarket on US 1 and Allapattah as the EEOC investigates another allegation of racial and gender discrimination. Currently, Publix has no female African-American store Managers in the state of Florida. Publix operates over 1,300 stores in five states and there is a disproportionate number of minorities in management.

B- The Blue Piano opens tonight, reports Eater Miami

....Blue Piano will feature music, yes--good music orchestrated by Jorge Villamizar, lead singer of Colombian pop band Bacilos, wine--over 100, sakes, beers and a small plates menu curated by familiar Tweeter, blogger, and now creative director Aniece Meinold and featuring "rotating cheese and cured meat selection" and chilled appetizers...

C- Miami on the Cheap says there's a farmer's market in Liberty City and it opens on Thursday.

D- Just another tale of a [disbarred] South Florida attorney getting in trouble again from South Florida Lawyers.

E- The Grove House is an integral part of Coconut Grove history and Coconut Grove Grapevine has its story.

The GroveHouse was started by James Merrick Smith, Otto Holbein and Lester Pancoast who were concerned about giving local artists an outlet for their work. GroveHouse became an incorporated non-profit marketplace for their work.

F- A Mom, A Blog, And The Life In-Between misses her grandmother.

She was dead a good five months before I finally cried for her. The tears, and the heavy, painful sobs that burst out of me, came suddenly and unexpectedly late one night as I lay in bed. One minute I was thinking of her and how I’d felt nothing but numbness since my mother gave me the news; the next, I was bawling, remembering the woman I loved so very much, whom I feel so lost without.

G- Sex and the Beach visits Key West and the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum.

The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum is a non-profit organization devoted to conservation of underwater archeological artifacts and public education. Mel Fisher's salvage company did donate many of the items on exhibit, but technically, it's a separate business entity. However, there's a Mel Fisher Treasure Store in the museum where you can buy beautiful coin pendants from the Atocha if you have a few thousand to spare. More affordable reproductions, made from the wreck's silver, are also available.

H- REVMiami has lots of photos of local bands that showed up to play for someone's birthday party at Lauderdale's Monterey Club last Saturday night.

Last Saturday night the Monterey Club in Ft. Lauderdale hosted a 40th birthday party for Jessica Kross. Jessica is a lucky girl because some great bands came together to help her celebrate including: Between Enemies, To Be Hated, Flees, Bob Wayne & the Outlaw Carnies, The Shakers, and After the Fact.

I- What $699K gets you in Miami Shores these days, at Miamism.

Everyone that walks into this home has a WOW moment. Everything is new, permitted and finished in 2008 from the new pool, new kitchen, new plumbing, new electrical, new air conditioning, new impact resistant windows and new roof (finished in 2007).

J- The Zoetic Stage is hoping to wow the South Florida theater community with their first production, South Beach Babylon, according to South Florida Theater Review.

Among the highly anticipated evenings in local theater this season, few are in this league: a world premiere about South Beach to inaugurate a Miami theater company made up of some of the best talents in the region.

Friday not only marks the debut of Michael McKeever’s South Beach Babylon but the first full production from Zoetic Stage, a creation that aspires to be the local version of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Zoetic is betting heavily on the two-week run of a self-styled “wickedly funny and sexy” play about artistic integrity versus commercialism set during Art Basel (and actually performed during Art Basel at the Arsht Center).

Starting a new theater in the depths of a recession seems foolhardy on paper, but this is not your usual cast of dreamers. Their reputations and experience are the strongest assets on their books.

K- If you're up in Jupiter, Burgers By The Beach recommends CG Burgers.

Carmine. Keep doing whatever your doing. These burgers are outrageous!

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SFDB's Why We Live Here

Last week in Seattle...




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SFDB's Hellos And Goodbyes

It's time again to refresh the SFDB blogroll. We like to keep the blogroll fresh and exciting and filled with the best South Florida blogs that post regularly so every now and then we clean house and sweep out the old and bring in the new. With that in mind, here we go with the latest adjustments.


Hellos

Wander2Wonder

Wander2Wonder documents the musings of a homeless man on South Beach. Mark has been living in the bed of his pickup truck for 4 months but dreams of owning a boat and sailing off one day. It's a fascinating, if not always pleasant, read that gives some intriguing insight and perspective to being homeless in South Florida.

Wander2Wonder has been posting since August and uses the Blogger platform. Posting is pretty consistent averaging between 25-30 posts a month.


Savoring South Beach

Savoring South Beach is another Blogger blog that is primarily a foodie blog but every now and then there will be a travel post to break things up. Here's how SSB describes themselves...

Welcome to the crazy world of living in South Beach. Here I ramble mostly about food, a bit about living in a place about as far from the Midwest as I can get and a lot about where this world is always taking me.

SSB has been around for 4 years but has kept a pretty low profile, posting only a few times a month. They've picked it up recently and I'm hoping that continues.

You'll find Savoring South Beach in the South Florida Foodies blogroll.


Belle Isle Blog

Interested in Belle Isle? Well, now there's a blog for you on the SFDB blogroll. Yes, it's all things Belle Isle on this Wordpress blog that has been operation since December of 2009. From their About section...

This is a blog about the neighborhood of Belle Isle, a community of condo residents a quick bridge-walk from the hubbub of South Beach. Our bloggers live here, work nearby and care about a quality of life unique and special in South Florida. We welcome posts from neighbors and friends, and consider this an extension of our home.

So it looks like a group blog, which should make things rather interesting.

Posting appears to be rather consistent through the week.


Live Laugh Snap

Live Laugh Snap, or LLS as I'm going to abbreviate it from here on in, is a Blogger photography blog that comes highly recommended from a couple other South Florida bloggers that are on the SFDB blogroll so we're going to go with it.

What is Live Laugh Snap all about?

Welcome to Live Laugh Snap -a photography blog about the people, places and things in my life. Now I have a home for all my favorite shots to live.

The author of LLS is Amanda, who describes herself in her Blogger profile as...

Reader, blogger, newbie photographer, PR professional, yogi, dog lover, foodie, future marathoner, livin' in Miami, enjoying life.

What you get is a clean, minimalistic blog [no archives] that makes big, clear photos its priority a couple times a week.


SFDB extends a welcome to Wander2Wonder, Savoring South Beach, Belle Isle Blog, and Live Laugh Snap to the blogroll.


Goodbyes

• greenerMiami: Last post, June 3, 2010.
• Mambi Watch: Last post, July 16, 2010.
  
• Matt's Photo Blog: Last post, August 2010.
• Depth of Field: Last post, August 20, 2010.
• Volando vengo, volando voy: Last post, August 22, 2010.
• Fanless: Last [real] post, May 2010.
• SFLTV: Lost interest.
• MAeX Artblog: Moved, lost interest.
• Florida Speaks: Last post, June 2010.
  

Hope you enjoy the changes.


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Tit For Tat

Because one act of terrorism deserves another...

A fire reported early this morning at the Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center in Corvallis where Portland bomb plot suspect Mohamed Osman Mohamud sometimes attended is being called arson.

The fire was reported at about 2:15 a.m. today. Corvallis Fire Department spokeswoman Carla Pusateri said the fire was intentionally set, but would not say what led investigators to the conclusion. …

Islamic Center leader Imam Yosof Wanly said he doesn’t believe the fire is a reflection on the community of Corvallis where he has lived for 24 years.

“I know people here know the true reality of the Muslim community here,” he said. “It’s a sad situation.”

I'm waiting for some folks to wake up and realize that the best way to show that America is better and more "exceptional" than others is to stop acting like the people we despise.


-via lgf


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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

It's Monday and while many people are heading back to work after a long holiday weekend, I'm not. The Sifts are going to continue but you won't see the Coolers and posting will be at irregular times. I'm going to change the SFDB Weekend Widget to the Art Basel Widget this morning and will have plenty of links to Art Basel happenings as covered by South Florida bloggers. And to top it all off, this morning we modify the SFDB blogrolls with the Hellos and Goodbyes post. So even though I'm on vacation, grass isn't growing under my feet, readers. Here's your morning Sift.

A- Redland Rambles says there's another farmer's market in South Florida to look forward to this year.

The South Miami Farmers Market starts Saturday, December 4th, and will run every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The location is in the parking lot in front of South Miami City Hall, 6130 Sunset Drive. The market will run year-round, and will feature prepared food vendors, artisans, green technology vendors, and community groups.

This new market will showcase the best local, organic and sustainably-grown produce in season (tropical fruits, annual and perennial vegetables, mushrooms), eggs, dairy, and value-added products (jams, jellies, salsas, fermented and pickled foods). Only local growers will participate in this market. Food will come from local area organic growers (including participating members of Redland Organics), community gardens and backyard growers. The market will also sell edible and native plants.

B- Check out this week's 10 best Miami blog posts as deemed by Beached Miami.

C- Luther Campbell has a new lawyer, according to South Florida Lawyers.

D- Bark Bark Woof Woof's latest post proves to me that the GOP is deliberately working against the interests of the United States in ways that undermine and threaten our national security.

Mr. Danforth's concern has real implications. Mr. Lugar is defending the Obama administration's attempt to ratify the New Start treaty with Russia, and it is running into opposition from the Republicans based on nothing other than the fact that the GOP does not want to hand the president any sort of accomplishment. The leader of the opposition to the treaty in the Senate is Jon Kyl of Arizona, who so far has been able to come up with no clear reason to oppose it on any other grounds. The new treaty has the support of conservatives ranging from Pat Buchanan to Henry Kissinger, but Mr. Kyl is adamant.

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Your Evening Sift

Enjoyed a great meal outside on the sidewalk at Lola's on Harrison this evening. I love this place and the ricotta gnocchi is to die for. Enjoy your Sunday evening Sift.

A- The Heat Lightning talks about shtuff with local artist Jillian Mayer.

I also often look like a crazy lady. I have a “food in my teeth problem.” So, you’ll be showing at David Castillo and the De La Cruz Collections during Basel, can you tell me about what’ll be up?

At David Castillo, I am mainly showing some illustrations from a series entitled Practice Babies. Those drawings are based on the psychological disposition of women who react to the societal pressure of enforced gender roles, using small animals as surrogates for children, fashion or lovers. But just for the record, I don’t do that with my miniature chihuahua at all. We have a mutual friendship.

B- Check out the lame Citysearch Best Ofs for a few categories of South Florida restaurants at Burger Beast.

C- Who knew the 1969 Palm Beach Pop Festival was such a big deal? Take a trip back in South Florida history with Beached Miami tonight.

On Nov. 28, 1969, three months after Woodstock, Janis Joplin, Sly & The Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane and others in that historic lineup came down to Florida for another three-day music festival. The Palm Beach headliner was the Rolling Stones, who six days later would headline the infamous Altamont Speedway Free Festival where four people died, one by stabbing.

D- Ipanemic nears his destination.

I have a roof over my head. Last night, for the first time in well over a year and a half, I slept on what I can only call my own bed with my own pillow underneath my head.

E- Some Blogging Guy has photos of Broward residents who have a head start on their Christmas decorations.

F- Lots of photos of Palm Beach County drag racers are posted at Nikon Miami.

G- Wine blogger Cellarmistress is placed in the spotlight by South Florida Food and Wine.

South Florida Food and Wine: What is the best wine advice you have to share?

Cellarmistress: Everyone's palate is different. Never be a snob about wine. There is so much wonderful wine to be shared at any price point. So take it and share it with good friends. Wine makes the world go round!

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SFDB's That Was Awesome

So you say you liked Hot Wheels when you were a kid?



To mimic Los Angeles’s infamous road traffic, Chris Burden & co. constructed a massive, 18-lane Hot Wheels set populated by 1,200 custom-designed cars.

“[E]very hour 100,000 cars circulate through the city,” Burden told the New York Times. “It has an audio quality to it. When you have 1,200 cars circulating it mimics a real freeway. It’s quite intense.”


That was awesome!


-via The Daily Wh.at

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"Let's Do It Like The Israelis"

"Let's do it like the Israelis," is the retort many people fed up with TSA airport screening provide when you ask them for suggestions on a better system. I've posted on the "Israeli system" before and mentioned the high costs of such efforts but the Washington Post's Dan Milbank has actually crunched the numbers.

In a time-consuming and labor-intensive process, Israel uses profiling, background checks and extensive interviews to filter out the highest-risk fliers, who are then subjected to searches of luggage and person more invasive than anything the Transportation Security Administration has conjured. The air security argument has been about whether Americans would prefer Israeli-style profiling to the current system of body scans and pat-downs. But this overlooks a more fundamental problem: The Israeli system, even if it could be scaled up, is out of our price range.

El Al, Israel's national carrier, reported spending $107,828,000 on security in 2009 for the 1.9 million passengers it carried. That works out to about $56.75 per passenger. The United States, by contrast, spent $5.33 billion on aviation security in fiscal 2010, and the air travel system handled 769.6 million passengers in 2009 (a low year), according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That amounts to $6.93 per passenger.

The analogy isn't perfect, because security is largely handled by the airline in Israel and by the government here. (In both countries, the government pays just under two-thirds of the security costs.) But this rough comparison indicates that Israel spends more than eight times as much on security per passenger. To duplicate that, the United States would need to spend an extra $38 billion a year.

And that might understate the cost of staffing the nation's sprawling air travel system with highly skilled interrogators; Israel, after all, has only one major airport. In Foreign Policy magazine, Annie Lowrey calculated early this year that if each passenger flying through a U.S. airport were subjected to 10 minutes of questioning by a guard, we would need 3 million full-time guards, at a cost of more than $150 billion a year.

It's even more curious when you consider that most of the folks demanding such a change are against bigger government or consider the government a big, bloated, bureaucratic animal.

There may be ways that the TSA screening process can be improved, but it is clear that "doing it like the Israelis" isn't going to work given the current fiscal climate in the United States.

-via Bark Bark Woof Woof

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

We're still running the SFDB Weekend Widget in the right sidebar so make sure you check it out as we wrap up the big Thanksgiving weekend. Enjoy your Sunday morning Sift.

A- Liam Crotty Photography unveils their photograph of Rachel Levy at South Pointe Park.

I just learned yesterday that my photograph of Rachel Levy was accepted by the Miami Independent Thinkers’ art exhibit at the Casa Wynwood which takes place during Art Basel! This piece is entitled: “South Beach Peace” and it’s a graphic representation of the challenge of remaining balanced in such a vibrant and energetic community.

B- The spot breasted oriole continues to be a frequent visitor to Some Blogging Guy's backyard.

Yes, birders have driven from Ohio and Michigan to see this bird, as it cannot be seen outside of the SE Florida area.

And now, we have some living in our back yard. Every day, without fail, we see one, sometimes two.

C- The demise of 93.1 provides Man or Maniac? with the opportunity to rant about the state of radio in South Florida.

If radio wants to survive in the 21st century, it has got to unlearn all the poor habits it's picked up in the last thirty years. Radio started to suck when they stopped letting human beings program in favor of letting spreadsheets and statistics do the programming. And now, it's given us a sterile, bland, playlist that is reduced to background noise, like Muzak.

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SFDB Saturday Night Turndown Service

The legendary Boz Scaggs...




Boz Scaggs, Save Your Love For Me

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Your Evening Sift

So I got so tired of this warm, humid weather today that I looked at the long range forecast and found out that there might be a little relief in store for South Florida by Thursday or so. 'Bout time. Enjoy your evening Sift.

A- The Heat Lightning interviews local artist and curator Carlos Rigau and I invoke the Thumperian Principle.

B- Check out the photos of the food served up at Lauderdale's Market 17 at South Florida Food and Wine.

My dining experience was nothing short of amazing and yes you can taste the difference between mainstream food and farm to table food. We opted for the six-course tasting menu with the wine pairing. It did not disappoint.

C- Lots and lots of Monkey Island photos are posted at Nunez Photography.

D- Taking Over Miami is actually one of those people who camped out in a Best Buy line for hours to get a computer.

So, here I was at 9:30PM. There were a couple of people in line but not enough to scare me away and give up. Yes, I became one of those people at that moment. A woman with Parkinson’s and at the front of the line made her way asking what everyone was interested in. I was incredibly hesitant to say why I was there because maybe that is why they all were there too. It wasn’t. Apparently, I was the only one who had made any mention of “Desktop” and “Bundle”. Good news but I was still anxious, not feeling I could necessarily trust anyone.

E- Shorter Coconut Grove Grapevine...

Little pink shops for you and me.

F- Transit Miami gets another email about another accident on Brickell Avenue.


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SFDB's Unique Holiday Gift Guide

The sandal for the ultimate foodie...




-via apple arts


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The GOP: When You're Ready To Find The Love Of Your Life

From the Great State of Minnesota, home of Tea Party Starship Warrior Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, comes this dating tale of another Republican, State Rep. Tom Hackbarth [pictured above].

State Rep. Tom Hackbarth was stopped by police earlier this month in the Planned Parenthood parking lot in Highland Park after he was spotted with gun near his waistband, according to a story in the Star Tribune.

Hackbarth, R-Cedar, was stopped by police on Nov. 16 after a security guard noticed his gun. Hackbarth was in the Planned Parenthood lot after hours. Police ordered him out of his car at gunpoint, handcuffed him and questioned him before taking his gun.

Hackbarth, who has a conceal and carry permit, told the Star Tribune that he is not familiar with the Highland Park area and he didn’t know he was at Planned Parenthood when he pulled into the empty lot.

“I didn’t even know it was Planned Parenthood,” he said. “I fully understand why they were upset.”

Hackbarth said he was in Highland Park to look for a woman he met online.

From the Star Tribune:

“Hackbarth said he had coffee with the woman on Nov. 15, and asked her to dinner the next night but she told him she couldn’t because of a commitment she had with a female friend in Highland Park. Hackbarth said he felt that she might have been seeing a man instead, so he parked his car and walked around the block looking for her car.”

“I was not a jealous boyfriend,” said Hackbarth, who is in the process of divorcing his wife of 25 years. “I was just trying to check up on her. It’s totally a misunderstanding.”

Creepy.


-via digby


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Black Friday At Dolphin Mall

I don't know anyone who would admit to participating in a Black Friday scene like the one below, but yet here's video evidence that thousands of South Floridians did just that at Dolphin Mall in West Miami-Dade yesterday.

I'm not sure if this behavior correlates to the type of, say, driving we see in Miami-Dade County, but if there is a relationship, it explains a heck of a lot of things.



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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

It's the last weekend before the art tsunami known as Art Basel Miami Beach hits South Florida. Just a few South Florida blogs were busy last night and this morning. Enjoy your morning Sift.

A- Beached Miami posts a super set of photos from last night's Critical Mass ride.

Last night’s Critical Mass rolled 12 miles through downtown, Spring Garden, Historic Overtown, Wynwood, Design District, Midtown, and Edgewater, and ended with a short but picturesque loop on the Venetian Causeway. The best stretch was through Overtown, where the spectacle of approximately 300 cyclists overrunning Dorsey Avenue drew a crowd to the sidewalks.

B- Sarah Palin decides to handle criticism in an infantile fashion and Bark Bark Woof Woof has some commentary.

I think it comes down to a simple question: we've already had one president in recent memory who had all the maturity and foresightedness of a drunken frat boy. Do we really want to have another who reminds us all of the bratty kid we had to put up with in grade school?

C- The South Florida Watershed Journal shows us the difference between Big Cypress and the Everglades with a flyover.


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Your Evening Sift

I saved about $500 today...by not going shopping. It was a nice, quiet day that was spent far away from the mean streets of a South Florida Black Friday. Enjoy your TGIF evening Sift...

A- Random Pixels picks a high profile story from today's Miami Herald and gives us some important background that the Herald staff was apparently too busy with pumpkin pie to dig up.

Clearly, Fussell and his partner in crime, Perez, picked the wrong apartment to rob.

What's not so clear is why Fussell or Perez were on the street in the first place. Both have extensive have criminal histories.

The Herald story doesn't answer that question or offer any information other than what's contained in the Miami Dade Police press release.

So I did a little digging.

B- Man or Maniac says the day after Thanksgiving is made for The Sandwich.

I remember one year, I was up at my dad's, while he was with wife #2. She just couldn't get over the fuss we were making. She had argued for a smaller bird, and my dad and I just stared at her like she'd gone insane. "Why do you need a 30 pound bird when there's only three of us?" she demanded. "To have enough for the sandwiches," my dad and I chorused.

C- If you're into ham tastings [and really, who isn't?], South Florida Food and Wine has some valuable info for you.

On Thursday, December 2 at 6:30pm La Bodega Tapas y Tintos wine bar in Boca Raton will be hosting a Spanish wine tasting and a Jamón Ibérico cutting with a professional ham-cutter. This promises to be quite an international fiesta of wine and tapas complete with all the fanfare of Jamón Ibérico.

D- Beached Miami unveils their Top Ten Art Basel 2010 Fairs, Exhibits, Happenings.

This list will help make sure you have an incredible experience during Art Basel 2010 (Dec. 2 – 5). It includes the essentials, a few often-overlooked gems, and a dark horse or two.

E- A video describes the role of a Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper at View from Virginia Key.

F- Fox News broadcasts a story from The Onion as real news and Bark Bark Woof Woof wonders what happened.

There are two possibilities here. Either the folks at Fox Nation are too dense to get the satire of The Onion, or they get it but know that their readers are so gullible and believe anything that they post that they would fall for it anyway.

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Black Friday: America The Beautiful

Just a couple observations...I love how some of the people who make it through the crush in the below video don't give a rat's ass about the people screaming behind them as they fixate on that 1/2 price XBox. And how about the guy who is doubled over in pain but finds the strength to shuffle off and pick up his doorbuster? Pathetic.

I guess I could make some comment about how Black Friday epitomizes America at its worst but why bother. The video speaks for itself.





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Flashback Friday

Beck, Think I'm In Love


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Babalu Distorts, You Decide

The stilted and hilariously ideologically bent coverage of politics and Cuba continued over the Thanksgiving holidays at Babalu Blog when Val Prieto interrupted his Thanksgiving Eve preparations to deliver a big "Eff you!" to any Cuban-American who voted for President Obama...

If you're an American of Cuban descent with a right to vote in this great nation and you voted for Barrack Hussein Obama, I have two words to say to you:

F*CK YOU. [Ed.]

Not only did your choice help dig this country into this financial and political abyss that we're in, but it screwed those Cubans on the island that fight for their liberty and their dignity every day.

Prieto then proceeds to link to a Daily Caller story in which a prominent Cuban political dissident claims that he recently waited at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana for almost an hour past his scheduled appointment time and wasn't able to get his computer fixed as he requested. Terrible stuff.

Prieto's loutish outburst not only ignores his BFF's not-so-minor role in collapsing the U.S. economy before he beat feet out of DC but it also totally glosses over the part the Obama Administration had in recently bringing Cuban political prisoner Ariel Sigler Amaya to the United States...

Sigler was granted a humanitarian U.S. visa based on his medical condition. Local officials in Miami cleared the way for him to receive full Medicaid benefits, which Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado supports.

"We did the same thing for Haitians who were injured by the earthquake," Regalado said. "When the U.S. government grants a humanitarian visa for medical reasons that means it's an extraordinary case and this is extraordinary."

...as well as the recent arrival of Cuban political prisoner Arturo Perez de Alejo from Spain...

MIAMI – Cuban dissident Arturo Perez de Alejo arrived from Madrid and became the first ex-political prisoner from Cuba to enter the United States with a visa issued by the U.S. Embassy in Spain.

“This is very important for me because it’s the beginning and opens the way for all of us to come here,” Perez de Alejo said after he, his wife and the couple’s younger daughter disembarked at Miami International Airport.

He cited U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as saying that all of the Cuban dissidents released and sent to Spain over the past two months “who would like to come here will be able to do so. Now almost all have begun the process, but there are some who would rather stay there.”

I've watched this obvious manipulation of the facts over the years that I've been following the Babalu Bunch and it never changes or gets better. The Miami Herald is a liberal rag so Babalu didn't say a word when the Herald endorsed Marco Rubio for the U.S. Senate this fall. The Obama Administration are a bunch of Socialist, Marxist, Communist Castroites so when they bend over backwards to accommodate and assist freed Cuban political prisoners, that angle isn't mentioned. In fact, the opposite is reported as is evidenced above.

Although I don't think that any Babalu writer or contributor would ever claim their coverage of Cuba or politics is anything close to fair and balanced, the degree to which they twist and misrepresent and, most importantly, omit, renders their presentation virtually useless as a reliable and trusted source of information on Cuba news and American politics.

I have to admit, however, that while it has zero integrity, Babalu Blog just may be the most entertaining collection of horse dung stinking up the South Florida blogosphere.


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The Cooler

Forgot to mention that the SFDB Weekend Widget is up and running in the right sidebar. Check it out for things to do in during the next few days. Here's your Cooler.

A- Herald: God Bless consumerism.

Sale-seekers stampeded into the Dolphin Mall when the clock struck midnight Friday, pouring through seven entrances for eight minutes straight.

By 1 a.m, the Doral-area mall's parking lot was at capacity, with cars spilling onto grassy patches and nearby parking lots.

``This is beyond my expectations,'' said General Manager Pete Marrero, his jaw dropping as he watched crowds stream in.

The Super Wal-Mart in Pembroke Pines opened at midnight, but hot electronics items didn't go on sale until 5 a.m. By 3:30 a.m., there were lines for iPods, TVs and Xbox 360 bundles.

B- Herald: Morin.

C- Sun-Sentinel: Very Black Friday.

A woman jumped off an Interstate 95 overpass in an apparent suicide attempt Friday morning and hit a car traveling on the northbound highway in Boca Raton, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The woman, who jumped onto I-95 around 7 a.m., survived and is conscious and talking to rescue workers, Lt. Tim Frith said. The driver whose car she hit was not injured, Frith said.

D- Miami Today: Suckers.

Miami has joined Miami-Dade County's call to revisit Marlins stadium terms. But it's largely ceremonial, Miami's mayor says.

The reason: Florida Marlins President David Samson has already told the city he won't renegotiate terms for the stadium garage, said Mayor Tomás Regalado, which the city is funding with $101.4 million in bonds. With interest, the city is expected to owe $223.5 million.

"He [Mr. Samson] refused to reopen the contract for the advertising part of the Marlins garage," Mr. Regalado said. "So I don't think that the Marlins will… reopen the conversation with the county."

E- WSVN: Socialists!

MIAMI (WSVN) -- Gloria and Emilio Estefan opened their hearts and the doors of their restaurant Thursday to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate on Thanksgiving.

The Estefan's Bongo's Cafe joined forces with several sponsors and charitable organizations to host a Thanksgiving feast for hundreds of needy South Florida families. "It feels great, you know, I'm privileged to be to help," said Gloria Estefan. "I know there's a lot of people, particularly now, in this economy that are hurting and someone that always needs some help."

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

Day 2 of my vacation and I'm really looking forward to my free purple Slurpee today. It's the little things, you know. Like a Black Friday morning Sift. Enjoy.

A- Go to MOCA for the guards says Eye on Miami.

I find special the guards that work there. They are so proud of the Museum and seem gloriously happy to be working there. Two were helpful and engaging. One suggested leaflets of future shows that I should take with me. I never felt so welcome in an art museum.

B- Ipanemic is thankful for everything this Thanksgiving, including Scooter and the memories that linger. Video included.

I am thankful that I am getting a new scooter tomorrow. A newer version of Scooter. Yet unnamed.

C- The bug/tourist levels are just about right for a some boating on the Turner River, according to the South Florida Watershed Journal.

D- Latino or Americano #13 is up and ready for your guesses at Sweet Home Hialeah.

E- Some Blogging Guy explains his love/hate relationship with his iPad.

I go literally everywhere with my Apple iPad. Meetings, workshops, bathrooms, parks, bookstores, garage sales, road trips – everywhere. And I use it continuously. Email, Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, writing short stories, parts of novels and even work memos. I watch TV episodes and movies on it, play music, review excel spreadsheets and check the news and weather and surf the web.

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Your Evening Sift

C'mon, I'm sure you have room for one more piece of punkin' pie. Or maybe not. But you have no choice but to make room for a very lean Thanksgiving evening Sift.

A- There's yet another food truck that has joined the fleet that is already motoring through South Florida's neighborhoods and the Burger Beast has their menu and a little about the unique sandwich they prepare that only the oldsters among us will recognize.

B- Happy Thanksgiving from Miamism and Taking Over Miami.

C- The Van Dyke has a mean Key Lime pie, according to Soul of Miami.

The pie has just the right amount of tartness (has more bite to than most) and the graham cracker crust is just perfect, melts in your mouth.

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SFDB Ecard Of The Day

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An SNL Thanksgiving Day Song

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Your Thanksgiving Day Morning Sift

Good morning [just barely].

Hope you are enjoying your day, whatever you're doing. Here's your Thanksgiving Day morning Sift.

A- Thanksgiving Day thoughts and best wishes from:

- Coconut Grove Grapevine
- Phin Phanatic
- Southern District of Florida Blog
- South Florida Lawyers
- Nikon Miami
- Searching For Signs
- The Heat Lightning [the Most Intelligent Blog in Miami!]
- Sweet Home Hialeah
- South Florida Food and Wine
- Redland Rambles
- I Heart Miami
- The Burger Beast
- Bark Bark Woof Woof
- Discourse
- Eye on Miami
- The Reid Report
- The South Florida Watershed Journal

B- A Mom, a Blog and the Life In-Between has a problem with Thanksgiving.

It sounds like I dislike the holiday, but that's not the case. I'm just not impressed by it; I don't see the point to designating one day in the year to go into gratitude overdrive. It's a bit much to swallow all this when it feels like most people are putting on a show. And I see the other spin to this, that it's just a moment to express thankfulness for everyone and everything in our lives, to take a break from daily troubles and self-absorption, to - even if just for a day - not be neglectful of the things that matter most.

But it's that very notion that depresses me, that it takes a specially designated day for us to pause and reflect; pause and feel humble; pause and stand in astonishment that despite all our problems, we are loved and lucky in ways that so many lack. And for me, that just sucks.

C- A prominent Republican gets convicted of money laundering on Thanksgiving Eve...now THAT'S some sweet justice! The Reid Report and Bark Bark Woof Woof some commentary.

D- Beached Miami was at the '80's Prom Party at Vagabond last night and has the pictures to prove it.

E- Some Blogging Guy posts A Blogger's Thanksgiving List and mentions SFDB so...you know.

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Happy Thanksgiving

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I'll be back a little later with the morning Sift. Gots to gets my giblets going.


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Your Evening Sift

Traffic was down this afternoon, but posting continues to forge ahead at warp speed in the South Florida blogosphere this Thanksgiving Eve. I'm off for the next 10 days but I'm not sure what that's going to mean for SFDB. The Sifts will continue but we'll have to see what else does. Speaking of Sifts, enjoy the one the evening...

A- The irrepressible Miami Favs guest posts "Ten Reasons To Be Thankful You Live In Miami" at Beached Miami.

The people

Yes. The people. I am tired of hearing about the lack of cultural Miamians. Like I said, if that’s your complaint then you aren’t paying attention. I have made amazing friends in my mere 17 months here. People willing do to crazy things with me, others who will grab a glass of wine and talk politics, others who inspire me with their creativity and drive, and others still who make me laugh again and again. And then there are the bloggers, Miami’s true champions. For them, I am very thankful.

B- Random Pixels, Eye on Miami, Radio or Not, Miami Favs and Mike LaMonica have some Happy Thanksgiving wishes for their readers but Mike adds a little bit more and it makes all the difference.

C- Spokes 'n' Folks shows us the new bike lanes down near the Falls.

D- Eater Miami posts the latest 4-star Miami restaurants according to Forbes Travel Guide.

E- Lots of Bayside Rocks Reggae Music Festival photos from this past weekend at REVMiami.

The day started off nice and easy then picked up momentum by the hour. The environment was real laid back, people were extra friendly and Jah’s blessings filled the air from start to finish (as you would expect from fans of Reggae music). I can see why this was labeled the Woodstock of Reggae.

F- South Miami-Dade residents are alerted to a new farmer's market that is getting ready to open in a couple weeks in the latest post by Homestead is Home.

Homestead's eastside residents won't have very far to go for fresh organic or hydroponic vegetables. That's because the Keys Gate Farmer's Market will be open in a couple of weeks to provide area residents with fresh grown produce. The market is located directly behind the Keys Gate Sales Office and has an address of 888 Kingman Road. This particular concept at this location belongs to Patrick Gleber, who is the owner of several Miami area dining spots and is a business partner of Michael Latterner and Wayne Rosen.

G- Luther Campbell continues to have his legal problems, according to South Florida Lawyers.

H- The South Florida Theatre Scene's weekly review is up and ready for you.

I- I'm not sure what's funnier: the van that Sweet Home Hialeah photographs with an obvious spelling error or the title of the post with an obvious spelling error.

J- Hidden City shares a couple recipes for some special cranberry sauce just in time for the holiday.

This year I have made two batches. The first is my more or less standard recipe. It’s very thick and very sweet and highly spiced. It’s also rather uneven and lumpy, neither the clear red jelly traditionally served fresh from the can, or the cold and crunchy relish made from ground cranberries and oranges (as favored by my grandmother). Were I a hipster I might call it “artisanal.”

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SFDB's Favorite Comment From Yesterday

"Sweet potatoes and a nap."


- Nonee Moose, SFDB Question Of The Day [What are you doing for Thanksgiving?]

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Opt-Out Day: Measuring Success [UPDATED]

As you head out the door today to catch your flight, let's think about how the folks participating in National Opt-Out Day will measure the success of their protest.

They will be successful if, after arriving at the airport extra, extra early...

* they wait in the screening line for hours.

* they get patted down.

* their loved ones get patted down.

* they eat airport food all day.

* they miss their flight and cause others to miss theirs.

* they sleep in the airport while the TSA workers finish their shifts and head home to bed.

Maybe these Opt-Outers can celebrate with a piece of extra pepperoni from the Sbarro's on Concourse D.

Mission accomplished.


******

Sanity prevails. It was a bust.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport said 39 (out of 47,000) fliers opted out of the scanners. All continued to their flights after being screened, while at LAX, there were 113 opt-outs across eight terminals, which was less than 1 percent of the total travelers screened.

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My Feelings About TSA Screening Procedures

One of my first bosses, God rest his soul, told me once, "If you come in here complaining, you better have a suggestion to make things better, otherwise don't waste your time."

I sorta feel the same way about the TSA screening brouhaha. I hear a lot a people whining and complaining about their rights being violated or being critical of the system, but no one has a viable alternative.

They DO have suggestions like...

- Let's do it like the Israelis.

The Israelis have one airport to cover in Israel and somewhere in the neighborhood of 35-50 planes to worry about. Their passenger load is a fraction of ours. Plus they have a citizenry who is willing to pay whatever it takes to keep them safe.

- Let's privatize the screening checkpoints.

Like they were on September 11, 2001? Minimum wage Wackenhut workers. Sure. Brilliant.

- Let's profile.

Yes, let's. So what do we do? Put all Muslims in one line and then let the white folk and some of the Urkel-looking blacks go in the other? Is that how it's done? What about the older Muslims? Or the real shady looking black guys? Not even to mention some of them olive-skinned Cuban Americans who look like they could definitely be from Beirut. If you think all terrorists look the same, you need to do some research.

Or let's imagine that we start profiling and the terrorists decide to invest in some great makeup so that they look like Don Jones, businessman from Peoria. Or Sally Evans from Bakersfield, California. Or they decide to give their 10-year-old son a "money belt" to wear onto the plane or their handicapped mother a little something extra to pack in her wheelchair that will conveniently be stowed in the cargo compartment of the plane.

But it's not just the terrorists that we all should be concerned about. How about the mentally ill guy who feels like he's done with this world and wants to exit in spectacular fashion? Hopefully, he looks like a Muslim, right? Because if he's an ordinary looking white guy, he has an easier time boarding if we listen to some people.

The possibilities are endless. And the terrorists or the bad guys only have to succeed once. While the TSA has to succeed every minute of every day.

Of course this doesn't help the air traveler who is rushing to catch a plane and winds up getting patted down. I've been there. And I hate it.

But then I remember September 11th and how I felt on that day after finding out that three hijacked commercial airliners had extinguished the lives of thousands of mothers, daughters, fathers and sons and I remember the words of my boss.

I don't have any good suggestions to fix things and until I do, I'm not complaining.


*******

For some additional reading on this subject that I [mostly] agree with, check out Mark Thiessen's blog post over at the National Review Online. Yes, the NRO...I prove my conservative readers to be wrong every day.

In the coming days, millions of Americans will travel to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. May I pose a novel idea? As we go through the airport screening line, let’s stop and say “thanks” to the men and women of the TSA who give up time with their families during the holidays to keep us safe from terror.

In the past few weeks, these patriots have been compared with Big Brother and accused of sexual assault. They’ve suffered the same kinds of public indignities the Left has heaped on the men and women of the CIA — being accused of engaging un-American and unlawful behavior for doing the difficult and unpleasant work of protecting the country. They deserve better.

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Fox's Megyn Kelly: The Airbrushed Anchor

Just when you thought it wasn't possible to take Fox News less seriously...

TVNewser learns that “America Live” anchor Megyn Kelly is in the 2010 GQ Men of the Year issue, which hit newsstands this week. Kelly is the only tvnewser to be selected for the 2010 media personality.

Megyn Kelly GQ Men of the Year Issue



Next up: Glenn Beck in a Speedo.

-via TVNewser


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The Cooler

Everyone is talking about airport screening and I will be to later on this morning. Here's some of the more interesting stuff I found in this morning's news.

A- Herald: Pitiful.

In most NBA cities, the prospect of seeing Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh on the floor together would be enough to have fans captivated by tipoff.

But this is Miami, where socializing and showing up fashionably late is as much a part of the culture as ignoring stop signs. Heat management -- tired of seeing thousands of empty seats at the start of game broadcasts -- recently launched a ``Fan Up'' campaign in an attempt to get fans to be more punctual and spirited.

[...]

A month into this much-ballyhooed season, fans are getting restless with the team's 8-6 record and team executives are calling out some of those very fans for their game-night priorities. Season ticket holders received a notice that read: ``The Heat 2010-11 team has assembled a lineup of monumental proportions.

``But with this newfound power comes a newfound responsibility. That's why we're challenging you to Fan Up.''

What, you ask, does it mean to Fan Up? The memo continues:

``Being in your seat for tipoff and staying there until the final buzzer.''

``Standing up and making some noise.''

``There is nothing fashionable about showing up late.''

``The early bird gets the goodies.'' (Fans who arrive between 6:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. get discounts at concession stands, and some get free souvenirs).

``It's time to show that HEAT fans do deserve this team.''

B- Herald: Stuck on the Palmetto.

From North Miami Beach to Kendall -- and all points in between -- South Florida families will take to the Palmetto Expressway this holiday season as they travel to see friends and loved ones.

But they may arrive fa-la-la-la-late, according to a ``most congested roads'' report released Tuesday by The Weather Channel. Despite the highway's next-to-nonexistent risk of snow or other severe weather conditions, the Palmetto Expressway still ranked as the nation's 10th-worst holiday commute.

``The stretch that gets particularly backed up during the holidays is from Okeechobee Road to south of the Dolphin Expressway,'' the channel's report states. ``Throw in a few thousand travelers flying into Miami International Airport who then hit the roads to reach their final destination, and you have a travel nightmare.''

C- Herald: Editorial, airport scanning.

Most Americans -- 81 percent -- support using scanners, according to a CBS News poll. No word yet on pat-downs.

We face a determined enemy. No one wants another underwear bomber, let alone 9/11. In a free society, sacrifices sometimes must be made to ensure safety. Flying isn't a right. But the government must do a much better job explaining how these new measures will help, while continuing to look for less intrusive methods.

Get in line and leave your modesty at the curb -- for safety's sake.

D- Sun-Sentinel: Piecemeal.

Body parts that turned up miles apart along waterways in Fort Lauderdale and Dania Beach are those of the same man, authorities said Tuesday.

E- Sun-Sentinel: A new home for the Broward County Fair.

This year, though, the 35-year-old event is pumped for new life with a 12-day schedule of down-home community fun starting Wednesday on 115 acres of prime land next door to Pembroke Pines City Hall, 10300 Pines Blvd.

F- TC Palm: But is it as good as DD?

The Florida Department of Transportation is offering free coffee at the Turnpike service plazas and gas stations from 11 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday.

There will also be free coffee from 11 p.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday.

G- CBS4: Oh no. Does this mean more stupid protests?

People heading to court to testify, get a restraining order, pay a ticket or answer criminal charges could also face a full-body scan at courthouses.

The U.S. Marshals Service, which is in charge of protecting federal judges nationwide, is exploring their use at federal courthouses. And two state courthouses in Douglas and El Paso counties in Colorado have already deployed full-body scanners that use radio waves to detect all objects on a person, including paper.

H- NBC Miami: How many is "too many?"

A passenger on a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Denver was pulled off a plane Tuesday after other passengers said he was taking too many potty breaks, reports 9News.com.

[...]

The U.S. Airways flight was checked by K-9 units when it landed in Denver and the unnamed passenger, reportedly of Middle Eastern descent, was detained momentarily and questioned.

I- WPTV: Life in South Florida.

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. - Wild coyotes roaming Witham Field pose a safety threat to aircraft as they land and take off.

The canine-like predators could also escape from the 725-acre airport and attack pets or small children in nearby neighborhoods, said Acting Martin County Administrator Taryn Kryzda.

Consequently, Martin County has entered a $4,850 contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services to remove the nuisance coyotes from the county-owned airport starting Nov. 29.

[...]

"U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services biologists-technicians will utilize sharpshooting and trapping, as necessary, to remove coyotes at Witham Field, whose presence and activities on and around the airfield are endangering aircraft and passengers," the contract states.

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