Your Evening Sift

There's lots to read and digest in your Monday evening Sift. Here we go...

A- Brickell Life took a photo of the notorious Coatman during yesterday's marathon in Miami.

Part street party, part race and part cultural celebration - nothing beats Miami in January. I've only been running now since June to get back into shape, but so far the fever has stuck. Believe Brickell Life will at least be running the half next year. To all those who ran, big congratulations.

B- Jeff Eats likes Joanna's Marketplace on South Dixie Highway in the 305.

I’m gonna make this one real simple…Joanna’s Marketplace is a terrific joint for appetizing, sandwiches, baked goods, prepared foods. Their fresh roasted turkey breast, tuna salad, sliced flank steak sandwiches are off the chart…same goes for the chocolate croissants, rye breads…the orange glazed chicken, outstanding.

C- Transit Miami shares some thoughts on the closing of the Tri-Rail Airport Station. 

Project engineers claim that keeping the service running would lead to cost overruns and delays in opening the Miami- Intermodal Center big parking garage  next to Miami International Airport. Users coming south from Broward and Palm Beach will have to take a shuttle from Hialeah station to MIA. No big deal to FDOT district secretary Gus Pego, who said users already have to take a shuttle from the existing station to the airport (which is a bit misleading – a 5 minute shuttle cannot be compared to a 20-30 minute bus ride through Hialeah.) As one commenter on the Miami Herald put it, “Another decision about public service made by those who don’t use the service.”

D- Can the nation's financial crisis be blamed on some in South Florida? Eye on Miami seems to think so.

To know the principal, local actors of the housing boom and crash, explore the contributor list to Natacha Seijas' defense today. It is the same cast of characters who promoted the political order that reef wrecked the economy -- the patriarchal cartel that promoted "The Ownership Society". Yes, the financial crisis was preventable. The question might have been asked in the winters when then Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and his wife looked for the best parties in Miami with local developers and speculators: they convinced each other that there was nothing wrong at the time. Nothing wrong with the fruits of speculation, lost wetlands, and a rapidly diminished quality of life that now makes it difficult to attract jobs to Miami. Nothing wrong with the lobbying culture or any aspect of the Growth Machine. On these connections, the Miami Herald was silent.

E- Was the "sandbar piano" art? Random Pixels asks some locals...including SFDB.

In a town where a guy like Romero Britto can make a comfortable living selling "art" that looks like something you might see in a child's coloring book and where giant, molded pink snails are deemed "art," is a piano on a sandbar art?

Well, is it?

Yesterday I emailed a dozen or so people in search of an answer.

F-South Florida Lawyers sounds as though he likes the judge's tone in today's important ruling on healthcare reform.

Say what you want about Judge Vinson, but this comports with my personal experience with him.  He is straightforward and intelligent, tells you exactly what he thinks and where he is coming from, and tries to engage you on the merits without excessive rancor or inflated "judge-itis."

G- Check out who is appearing at Van Dyke Upstairs during February at Soul of Miami.

H- Leave a comment, win a cookbook at Mango&Lime.

Now about that giveaway, leave a comment telling me about your favorite Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink memory (a first date, a great birthday, a memorable dish, an embarrassing moment) by 11:59 PM EST on Saturday, February 5. The chef will pick his favorite answer and I will announce the winner next week. Good luck!

I- The video system at the New World Center is not always a friend to the music, according to South Florida Classical Review.

It’s too soon to say what impact the use of video will have in the New World’s work, although clearly with its investment in state-of-the-art, computer-controlled projection system, the orchestra plans on using it a great deal. The videos shown Sunday were well-crafted, imaginative, often whimsical and always faithful to the spirit of the music. At times they worked well with the music, but too often they distracted from it, as multiple images on big screens made it difficult to focus on anything but them.

J- Lots of fresh faces at The Street.

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Last Call For SFDB 2010 Post Of The Year

This is it, readers. You have until 9 PM tonight to choose your favorite post of 2010.

Thus far, one of Carlos Miller's posts has the lead but, regardless, make sure your opinion is tallied before tonight.

Vote!








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Plum TV: The New World Center

Great video on the opening of the New World Center...





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Which Ones Are The Terrorists?

Time to play Which Ones Are The Terrorists?

 Roger Stockham, a 63-year-old Army veteran from California who was reportedly angry at the U.S. government, was arrested by police in Michigan and charged for allegedly threatening to blow up a Mosque in Dearborn.

Dearborn police allegedly found Stockham inside his vehicle outside the Islamic Center of America with a load of M-80s in his trunk and other explosives, the Detroit News reported.

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Counsel on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), told the newspaper that police told him the suspect was drinking in a Detroit bar on Monday and threatened to do harm to a mosque in Dearborn. An employee at the bar followed the man outside and wrote down his license plate which he reported to police, Walid told the newspaper.

The 63-year-old grandfather is charged with one count of a false report or threat of terrorism and one count of possession of bombs with unlawful intent, according to the newspaper.

"He's very dangerous," Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad told the Free Press. "We took his threat to be very serious."

Roger was most likely NOT a viewer of Fox News and probably never heard of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh.

Never ever watched them. Never ever listened to them.

Never.


-via Hullabaloo


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Monday Morning Chuckle

Because Monday mornings are all about multi-tasking...

-via The Daily Wh.at

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The Cooler

The Cooler is back! Here's what caught my eye in this morning's mainstream media.

A- Herald: The Chief doesn't have many friends in high places. [Summary]

Like sparring boxers, Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito and Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle are trading jabs in the most unusual of places: the public arena.

Fernández Rundle, in one e-mail telling Exposito that he was wrong in an earlier communication, added: ``Nonetheless, I know you will believe what is convenient for you to believe.''

Exposito, in an earlier e-mail accusing Fernández Rundle of putting out misleading information, wrote: ``I am uncertain if this situation was caused by an oversight by you or your staff, or an unsound practice that is currently part of your office procedure.''

Neither would comment on the other, though Fernández Rundle said in a statement: ``I have always made, and will always make, law enforcement coordination and cooperation one of my highest priorities because it is the most effective way to protect the community.''

Exposito, a 36-year veteran, was named chief in November 2009. 

B-Herald: Why we live here.

The National Weather Service said freezing rain and snow could start to fall in some areas Monday, making morning commutes difficult. But that was expected to be just the beginning of a storm system that forecasters said could bring heavy snowfall Tuesday and Wednesday, paralyzing parts of the region. The storm was expected to march from the Rockies through much of the Plains and Midwest before making its way to the East Coast.

Chicago and Milwaukee were expected to be particularly hard-hit. The weather service issued a blizzard watch for Tuesday and Wednesday for southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois and northwest Indiana that included those cities. Forecasters said snowfall totals could reach up to 2 feet in some areas by the time the storm system has moved through the region.

The weather service said the heavy snowfall combined with high winds could create whiteout conditions, particularly on Tuesday night into Wednesday, making driving extremely dangerous in some areas. Snow drifts of 5 feet to 10 feet are possible. The service said winds on Tuesday could reach up to 60 mph in open areas and near Lake Michigan.

C- Herald: Video, Miami Marathon.

D- Herald: They write letters.

Be prepared

I went to the drivers license bureau to renew my license and was asked for my identification. I showed them my drivers license and was told that could not be used for ID. It works everywhere else but not there. I was then told what was required.

I went home and found my allowable ID: passport, Social Security card, electric utility bill from my home and vehicle registration. Without those I could not even get in line. So they say, ``Gather, Go and Get'' all your information or go directly to www.gathergoget.com to find out what is required.

Yes, I got my license renewed for another six years until age 88. Maybe they will renew it again for another six years after that. I wonder what I will have to bring then -- besides my walker -- to get a new license.

BILL SILVER, Coral Gables

E- Palm Beach Post: Photos, Race For The Cure.

F- CBS4: Another South Florida success story.

MIAMI-DADE (CBS4) – A con man who once duped investors into buying machines he claimed could weigh the amount of gold in any object is behind bars in Miami-Dade for allegedly peddling a cream he said could turn back the hands of time.

Joseph Fox Batista, 55, who claims to be a relative of the Batistas who once ran Cuba, has been charged with grand theft and organized scheme to defraud.

Fox reportedly convinced investors to buy nearly $400 thousand worth of stock in his company, Telogenesis, Inc. which he said would produce a yogurt cream that would grow hair on balding men and, in general, reverse the aging process, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.

Investigators said Fox pocketed a majority of investors’ funds and spent it on a luxurious lifestyle which included fancy apartments and lavish dinners.

G- WSVN: Video, Big wreck last night on Palmetto and the 836.


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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

I have a great morning Sift for you this Monday morning. Check it out.

A- Beached Miami reports in from Can't Stop's CD release party on Saturday night at Sweat and includes a video of a rocking tune that is sure to amp you up this Monday morning.

All of which is to say Can’t Stop, in the singular or the plural, is one of the most exciting projects in Miami’s music scene right now, and you’d do well to catch the next show (which is when???).

B- Superbee is thankful for being able to sleep on Marathon Morning but not so much for his expensive Art Deco posters.

So, to the people in my neighborhood, I say "Thank you. Thank you for either shutting up, or thank you for not managing to overpower a fan and a white noise machine."

To celebrate not having been woken up at an ungodly hour, I spent $1,800 on Art Deco Posters at the Antiques Fair at the Doubletree Convention Center by the Airport.

C- Everglades bird photos at Nikon Miami.

D- Bark Bark Woof Woof has some information on Chick-fil-A that you may not have known.

E- FTL Collective shares a few reworked photos from Flamingo Gardens.

The Davie animal sanctuary is devoid of any of the animal superstars (elephants, giraffes, mierkats, and camel back riding) and is a heck of a lot smaller (8.1% the size of Dade’s super zoo). Regardless, it’s still worth a visit on a sunny weekend afternoon on a slow Sunday. With attractions such as monster-sized alligators, Florida panthers, Broward’s 2nd highest peak, a free flight aviary, an old school tram ride, and a Jurassic era turtle hybrid, you’re bound to have a blast.

F- Not all plants in the swamp are hydrologically made the same, Go Hydrology! reminds us.

G- There's a lot of folks over at the Little River Yacht Club that are working hard on their Darwin Awards, as The Heat Lightning shows us.

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Your Evening Sift

A- Nikon Miami posts your average monkey-on-a-dog-at-a-rodeo picture.

B- Taking Over Miami visits Bonsai in west Miami-Dade.

The service was good and attentive. No complaints coming from me.

Looking back, we were very happy with our meals. It’s hard to be happy with it when the food is so good, moderately priced, and you have dance music pulsing your veins. Oh! And I cannot forget: sitting on the ground. Sitting on the ground made me happy. It’s the little things right?

C- It isn't a masterpiece but the New Theatre's High Dive is fine entertainment, according to South Florida Theater Review.

High Dive is the shaggiest of shaggy dog stories, but with Barbara Sloan as the storyteller Saturday at New Theatre, it was akin to spending a delightful hour listening to an unusually entertaining luncheon partner.

D- Images from today's King Mango Strut Parade in South Miami are up at Coconut Grove Grapevine.

Lots of familiar faces, who were part of December's Coconut Grove King Mango Strut, were part of this South Miami King Mango Strut today, too.

E- UVu Blog shares some video from the American League dugout at yesterday's Joe DiMaggio Legends Game in Lauderdale.

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SFDB's A Few Moments @ The Fat Village Art Walk

The Fat Village Art Walk in Fort Lauderdale is held on the fourth Saturday of each month. It's not as grand or sprawling as Miami's and, in some ways, that's what makes it so nice. Here's a few images from last night.

 

 

The warehouse space offered some great photo opportunities.

Briefcase Sandwiches

Liquids and rice and beans in speakers...interesting.

Heads Up @ The Puppet Network.

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South Florida Cartoons

Jim Morin, Miami Herald

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Your Mid-Afternoon Sift

Looks like another great day out there. Let's get started with a busy mid-afternoon Sift.

A- Swampstyle provides some swampy commentary on all the development that's going on in Miami-Dade County.

Removing tons of muck material along the subterranean charted path will require unsurpassed imported Italian tunnel making technology and tons of cuban concrete to hold back the swamp, all of which make jobs for dump-truckers and pencil pushers.

B- Belle Isle Blog has an amazing number of photos already up from this morning's marathon.

There were runners (and wheelchair athletes) of every speed, shape and size — from the three front-runners who crossed our island just after 7 a.m. to the walkers working their way along two hours later.

C- Ipanemic is no longer feeling the street photography.

Honestly, I could not take another street photo and probably be content ending my photographic “career” (with street photography at least) with what I’ve already published and releasing everything I haven’t. But I’m not going to do that. I’m just finding that I have less interest in shooting the things that I was shooting before. Girl on a bike. Guy walking. The times that I have purposefully set out to take street photos any longer, it takes me a good while to see anything I think is worth capturing. Although, there is certainly plenty to capture, I’ve lost interest in shooting a lot of it.

D- Wander2Wonder is leaving his apartment.

Tommorow I move back to the hostel. I have my reservation, and enough money to pay for a week, or as long as I need. I'm sad to lose a friend, but I don't want, or have to live somewhere where someone gets angry with me every 10-14 days. I am what I am. God thinks I'm beautiful, and that's all I need. His will is perfect, his love is sufficient.

E- There was a fire breather outside of Churchill's last night and of course Beached Miami was there to catch the action.

So, I’m on the corner outside of Churchill’s last night when wooosh — suddenly my beer’s ten degrees warmer. Yes, randomly encountering a fire breather practicing firing breathing in the alley outside of a crowded bar is a quintessential “Only in Miami” moment, but more accurately it is a “Brought to you by Churchill’s” moment.

F- After reading this Bark Bark Woof Woof post you can't help but think that rampant Republican anti-intellectualism seriously threatens America's youngest generation.

The problem occurs when elected officials with the power to determine the future of this country are incapable of separating their superstition from reality. Mr. Kingston can believe in whatever fantasies he wishes about how the earth came to be, but when he votes against education funding because he thinks that children should be taught mythology along with biology, we have a problem that goes far beyond answering where all the fossils are.

G- A perturbed Coconut Grove Grapevine reports on a possible top secret King Mango Strut Parade in South Miami this morning.

Why the secrecy? The parade’s director, Glenn Terry explained, “We couldn't have pre-publicity. The 'flash part' makes everything easier to produce. We're going to gather at Sunset and US 1. At 11:30 we are going to march east through an existing event, a vintage VW car show (Volksblast). We think it will be the world’s first flash parade,” Glenn co-founded the King Mango Strut in Coconut Grove in 1982.

Guess it's easier to produce when you don't need to involve those pesky permits and police and other city services.

H- Big 105.9 radio personality and wine entrepreneur Paul Castronovo answers a few questions posed to him by South Florida Food and Wine.

South Florida Food and Wine: What was the last restaurant you ate at and did you order your wine?

Paul Castronovo: We dined at Arturo's Ristorante in Boca Raton. Fantastic Northern Italian cuisine, in fact next week we're going back because the chef from the Villa D'Este hotel in Lake Como, Italy is cooking and that Rissotto is world famous.

I- Eye on Miami has the list of the 53 Florida state parks that are being targeted for closure.

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SFDB Saturday Night Turndown Service

K.D. Lang, Save Me


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Your Evening Sift

Anyone know how to bottle up a day like today so we can save it for mid-July? After spending the week in Memphis, this was a nice welcome home. Enjoy your Saturday night and the evening Sift.

A- Lots of Critical Mass photos at The Miami Bike Scene although the viewer is kinda small.

B- The piano sandbar is still making news in the mainstream media and over at Random Pixels where today he comments on a Herald article about police cracking down on sandbar violators.

When the Miami Herald first reported the mysterious appearance of a piano on a Biscayne Bay sandbar, officials shrugged it off. A spokesman for the state's Fish and Wildlife Commission went so far as to call the piano a "habitat for wildlife."

But that was then.

Less than a week later officials have adopted a no-nonsense stance against...well, nonsense.

C- South Florida Lawyers gets emails from Dennis Kucinich about his dental work.

D- Nikon Miami posts a great image of a classic VW bus.

E- The kids at Coconut Grove Elementary are involved in a very worthwhile gardening project, according to the latest from Coconut Grove Grapevine.

F- South Florida classical performance audiences continue to frustrate South Florida Classical Review, this time at the Arsht.

The crowd at the Arsht Center Friday night gave the orchestra a South Florida welcome—coughers and latecomers walking in loudly on high-heels—for which the Knight Concert Hall is as resonant as a Stradivarius. The distractions forced music director Franz Welser-Möst to stand on the podium with his back to the audience until the noise stopped. He raised his baton, and, as if responding to his cue, someone emitted a cough perfectly timed to obliterate the first flute notes of Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.

G- Food for Thought finds that Sustain is worth your time.

Open only a month, Sustain is clearly a work in progress, but there are already some gems: the 50-mile salad, the corn bisque, the burger are as good as any comparable dishes I've had in Miami. While others may still be subject to refinement, there are good things happening here.

H- Miamism shares a photo slideshow from the St. Rose of Lima Carnival in Miami Shores.


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Pat Metheny Has A Date With South Florida

This just made my day.

Thanks, Soul of Miami!


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SFDB's We Live Here

 

-miami fever

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Come To Daddy

According to the Politico, Marco Rubio continues to define himself as just another member of the Republican Party and not the visionary [dare I say] maverick that he portrayed himself to be to right-wing extremists and the Tea Party during the election.

Sen. Marco Rubio announced Friday that he’s tapped a former economic adviser to Mitt Romney and aide to Vice President Dick Cheney to serve as his chief of staff.

[...]

Conda previously served as an assistant to Vice President Dick Cheney on domestic policy, a top aide for former Sen. Spencer Abraham (R-Mich.), plus advised two presidential campaigns including, most recently, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s bid for the White House in 2008.

This should be of some comfort to those centrists who were concerned that Rubio was being genuine and sincere when he courted Tea Party support but extremely disappointing to the wingnuts who believed that they were getting something other than another GOP flack.

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Shoes, Hands, and A Lousy Memory

The right-wing's latest talking point is that the unrest that is currently consuming Egypt is President Obama's fault because the Middle East doesn't respect President Obama like they did President Bush...or something like that. But because it's a talking point, you just know that Babalu Blog's Drillanwr is available to parrot it.

Yesterday, she did just that but added a special twist to her dementia-fueled view of politics by comparing the United States to Egypt...

Consider how he and his party and MSM apologists/minions deem the 'rightwing' and the dissenting Tea Party movement "violent/racist/hate-filled" for their right to gather freely and peacefully, and to express their dissent of government through free speech. He demands Egypt return internet and cell phone services for the Egyptian people to use them openly and freely ... While his own FCC is taking measures to track American citizen internet and cell phone users and take control of their access, also giving Obama's administration the ability to have a 'kill switch' to shut down the internet when he deems the need to. And then there is talk about devices to prohibit cell phone usage in our cars, as they look to make it illegal to text and walk at the same time. Oddly, just about every pro-Egyptian people bullet-point in his speech this afternoon could be turned around on him and the US government that has spent the last several decades, especially the last few years, incrementally removing our freedoms and opportunities through regulations, laws, and taxes that go far beyond the boundaries of the US Constitution.

Wow.

Of course, this correlation is coming from the same group of self-proclaimed "Cuba experts" who have also recently compared the United States to Cuba. So take it for what it's worth.

Drillanwr and her fellow simpletons are free to go there or anywhere else they want to go [I have a place in mind that's always very hot] but their recollection of Saint George W. Bush as some kind of superhero who was well-respected and feared [when he wasn't dodging shoes] is rather flawed, especially when it comes to the Middle East. Especially when it comes to Egypt's Mubarek.

Quite a lovely couple, I must say.

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The Cooler

Haven't done one of these in a while.

A- Herald: This is very cool.

Nothing says concerto like seven-story-tall cellos, a Chihuahua named Baby and wine sipped from plastic coffee cups.

That's not the classical image of a night at the symphony, to be sure. But traditional isn't quite what the New World Symphony was going for when it hired architect Frank Gehry and aspired to create a new symphonic experience by building a high-tech system to broadcast live performances on the massive facade of the new $160 million New World Center.

Friday night, the symphony reintroduced itself to South Beach in high definition by ``Wallcast.''

Using four industrial projectors, technicians projected images of a live concert onto the 7,000-square-foot projection wall, while dozens of surround-sound speakers simulcast the audio of the performance for the hundreds who gathered in the adjacent Miami Beach SoundScape Park.

B- Herald: Is this really a bad thing?

The only mystery in Biscayne Bay now is what will turn up next at the spot known as the ``piano bar.''

A café table and two chairs -- complete with tablecloth, place settings, a bottle of wine and a chef statue standing as sentry -- were spotted Friday morning on the famed sandbar. Luis Espinoza, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resources, said the furniture was quickly removed.

Authorities are concerned the sandbar ---- a few hundred yards east of Miami Shores ---- may become a sweet spot in the bay for would-be artists, pranksters and anyone else awash in the piano phenomenon.

C- Herald: How Miami moves forward.

The nine members of the board that governs Tri-Rail agreed Friday to close the popular Miami Airport Station just east of Miami International Airport -- a move that upset some riders.

[...]

Tri-Rail staff officials said the move is temporary while a huge $1.7 billion transit hub is being built just east of MIA, next door to Tri-rail's Miami Airport Station.

However, that hub, known as Miami Intermodal Center or MIC, is not expected to be completed until 2013.

The closure is necessary to speed construction of the center. When it's done, an upgraded Tri-Rail station will reopen within the hub, Tri-Rail officials said.

If the station is not closed and demolished, construction of the MIC would be delayed by two years, officials say.

D- Sun-Sentinel: You have got to be kidding me.

State Farm Florida Insurance, the state's largest private property insurer, wants to raise rates by a statewide average of 28 percent.

Although Florida has dodged a direct hit by hurricanes the past five years, the company says the increase is needed to cover rising losses for claims unrelated to storms such as sinkholes. The increase comes after the company received approval in 2009 to raise average statewide rates by 28 percent and approval in November to raise them by 6.6 percent.

E- Sun-Sentinel: Chan Lowe.

F- South Florida Business Journal: Where's Ponch when you need him?

Former “CHiPs” star Larry Wilcox won’t be spending any time behind bars for his role in a securities fraud scam.

The TV icon was in Fort Lauderdale federal court Friday morning, where he was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to serve 500 hours of community service.

Wilcox pleaded guilty in November to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. He faced up to five years behind bars. He was not ordered to pay restitution, only $100 in court costs.

Prosecutors had recommended only one year of jail time because Wilcox had cooperated in helping to arrest other fraudsters.

However, in sentencing him, Judge James I. Cohn said he was not giving Wilcox jail time because of the considerable amount of community service he had provided in the past and the fact that he served in Vietnam.

“I think we’ve got an individual who is truly remorseful,” Cohn said. “The court does not want to send the wrong message but I don’t think Mr. Wilcox should be sentenced because of his celebrity status.”

Wilcox, 63, said he is financially ruined, which is what led him to engage in his illegal conduct. He told the judge he was remorseful.

G- TC Palm: Life in South Florida.

STUART — A Tequesta man was ordered Thursday to spend nearly two years in prison after being convicted for burglary and grand theft felonies related to a rash of residential burglaries authorities say he committed with an accomplice in May and June.

[...]

Both men "confessed to several boat burglaries," arrest affidavits show. They admitted using a canoe to access the back of waterfront homes to commit their crimes.

H- WSVN: Sounds like the City of Miami PD is a mess.

Several Miami Police officers said they are scared of retaliation from the chief, among other things. "A lot of us are in fear of safety. Also intimidation, transfers, demotion, trumped up charges made up," said an officer.

Officers are also afraid of Major Alfredo Alvarez, the head of internal affairs for the Miami Police Department. The officers accuse Exposito of using Alvarez for his own personal vendetta against certain members of the department. "They're not using sergeants or lieutenants or officers that are there," said an officer. "They're actually utilizing the major, questioning individuals who may testify negatively toward the chief."

Another police officer said, "There have been allegations that he's following members of the department who don't agree with what is happening right now."

I- WPTV: Never too old.

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. - Adriane Maira, 55 was arrested for prostitution after officers allegedly located her performing a sexual act on a male inside his van in the 500 block of SE 18th Avenue in Boynton Beach.

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

Slow, slow night in the South Florida blogosphere. On a personal note, It feels good to be back home and not living out of a suitcase. Enjoy your morning Sift.

A- Critical Mass was last night and Beached Miami already has some photos and a report up for your enjoyment.

Last night’s 12-mile (+detour) Critical Mass ride through East Little Havana, Allapattah, Wynwood, Little Haiti, Midtown, and Edgewater drew several hundred riders, the most I’ve seen in the last five months.

B- See what $259K gets you at 1060 Brickell over at Miami Condo Investments.

We currently have an exclusive listing for a beautiful 1 bedroom/1.5 bath bi-level loft at 1060 Brickell. The unit has 1,128 square feet of interior, polished porcelain tile throughout, stainless steel appliances, stackable washer/dryer, an upgraded full bathroom and a balcony facing west overlooking Mary Brickell Village.

C- Eye on Miami has found a Florida Republican who is willing to advise Congressman David Rivera to get his sh*t together.


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Your Evening Sift

I'm back in South Florida and don't have any travel planned for the near future. I'm getting to this rather late after an evening flight in from Atlanta but here you go...presenting your Friday evening Sift.

A- Redland Rambles presents your CSA Share Week #8.

B- Wide Lawns and Narrow Minds, The Heat Lightning and Man or Maniac? remember the Challenger explosion. From the latter...

Finishing at the bank, I turned north onto US1, and saw a strange cloud on the horizon.  Just another sudden Florida thunderhead, I thought.  Kinda freaky, the way it's forked.

C- Miami Beach 411 has some fun with the famous Piano On The Bay before it is hauled off.

But as we approached today, I could see that several small boats had beached and the owners were walking about taking pictures of each other posing with the beat up instrument.

Gary got his sailboat as close to the island as possible but we had to wade through knee-high water to reach dry land.

As Cindy and her fellow mermaids brought their cases of gear ashore; I set about shooting pictures of the charred hulk of what used to be a marvelous musical instrument.

As I composed the picture in my viewfinder I couldn’t help thinking that the piano a very long time ago, must have been the proud centerpiece in someone’s home.

D- Brickell Life posts a nice panoramic photo of a Brickell Key sunrise.

E- Worst Pizza gets wowed by Pizzeria Oceano in Lantana.

Pizzeria Oceano is probably one of the best pizzas I have tasted in the country, and I certainly wish I had tried this before putting out my top ten pizza places in the country for 2010. If they keep up this incredible pizza, I am sure they will make it for 2011. YOU NEED TO GO AND TRY THIS PLACE!

F- Lots of new photos at The Street.

G- Spokes 'n' Folks has some good news for South Florida mountain bike riders.

H- The Reid Report shares the news that there's even more dirt being dredged up on the already filthy Congressman David Rivera from Miami-Dade County.

I- South Florida Classical Review has been spending a lot of time at the New World Center this week.

An intense, focused exploration of the musical world of Franz Schubert took place Thursday in the New World Symphony’s new concert hall in Miami Beach, showing that the highly publicized building is more than just a flashy, high-tech addition to the Lincoln Road neighborhood.

Called “A Schubert Journey,” the evening used the auxiliary stages located at various points around the hall to move seamlessly between the German composer’s orchestral, chamber and vocal works for a deeply rewarding look at Schubert’s music.

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Flashback Friday

Lakeside, Fantastic Voyage



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SFDB 2010 Post Of The Year Voting Continues

Time is running out to vote for the SFDB 2010 Post of the Year. Since January 17th, the poll has collected 74 votes from the 5,400 unique visitors that have stopped by SFDB.

*sigh*

The polls close on Monday. Please vote.

Thanks.


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Map Of South Florida Surnames

Pretty much says it all, doesn't it?

-via National Geographic


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Fox News: Still Dumbing Down America

'Cause it's only extreme weather when it's COLD extreme weather for the fair and balanced folks at Faux News...



These Einsteins need to quit worrying about where Al Gore was yesterday and wonder where THEY were on September 28, 2010, or August 10, 2010, or July 7, 2010.

Good thing that most of Fox's viewers were wrapping up their reading yesterday morning and totally missed this nonsense.

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25 Years Ago Today: Where Were You?

I was at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when I overheard someone passing by say that the Shuttle had crashed. I found a TV monitor and joined a crowd of people as they watched the above clip played over and over again.

For many of my generation,  space exploration had been free of tragedy and loaded with successes.

On January 28, 1986, NASA was no longer invincible.


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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

TGIF, readers. As I make way back to the sun and sand of South Florida today, make sure you check out the Weekend Widget in the right sidebar [I just updated it again this morning!] and check back frequently for all sorts of SFDB goodness that I have planned for you today. I guarantee you that I will not be questioning any one's motivations for not blogging. Cross my heart. Here's your morning Sift.

A- Burger Beast presents the lineup [thus far] for this year's Riverwalk Trust Burger Battle.

B- Fox News and its staff of Flintstones doesn't seem to remember there's something called YouTube out there. Bark Bark Woof Woof has the latest example of The Daily Show using said video archive to embarrass them.

C- A Mom, a Blog, and the Life In-Between is inspirational.

D- Obalesque tells us about his hard-working cats.

For the last five winters or so, our aralia trees have been decimated by rats that climb to the top, chew off the bark of the tenderest parts, and kill them from that point up. By spring, I’ve had to chop them back to save them – they do grow back, but they start at half their size.

This year that hasn’t happened (yet). I have to figure the cats are controlling the population. You can call it ethnic cleansing. I call it preventative landscaping.

E- Get acquainted with the Vatican Splendors exhibition currently on display at Fort Lauderdale's Museum of Art with this uVu Blog video.

F- Beached Miami gets an interview with the guy who does the Critical Mass rides with a giant sound system on his bike.

Can you explain the sound system itself in layman’s terms?

DS: In layman’s terms, it’s basically a car system that’s battery powered. I use a wheel-chair battery. I have a JL Audio amplifier. Most sound systems I’ve seen have used car speakers, but I didn’t feel it was loud enough. So I managed to find PA speakers that would fit into a trailer. They’re much louder and direct a lot of sound to the front and back — that way everybody can enjoy it. Then we added the ability to have different iPods all hooked up, so if we want to change a set list, we can turn off one iPod and change to another one. We also hooked up a microphone to it to be used as a portable PA.

G- Blue Heaven in Key West is one of Miami Favs' favs.

ah! blue heaven is my favorite key west staple. i cannot go there without a visit to this adorable place. i always save a time for brunch at blue. and recently, the cutest shops have sprung up nearby - so, if you have to wait for a table, who cares? just go shopping! retail therapy sometimes helps solve an empty, growling stomach. i don’t know why. but it’s true. and i like it. and the wait is worth it anyway.

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Your Evening Sift

The Weekend Widget continues to grow and become more relevant as we move closer to the weekend. Check it out and then come back to breeze through your evening Sift.

A- Brickell Life turns 2...you know what to do.

B- If you're an aficionado of old warbirds, Nikon Miami has the post for you.

C- Beached Miami reviews Dreaming in Stereo's 2nd album and includes a few tracks.

In the end, Dreaming in Stereo has put together a mature mix of guitar-driven pop rock with watertight arrangements and palpable passion. Perdomo’s obsession with pop is the lifeblood of his music, and his ability to come up with fresh ideas from old styles should have us hearing music all around us for years to come.

D- There's a number of South Florida wine-related activities to get yourself involved in during the next couple months, according to South Florida Food and Wine.

E- Sarah Palin's high school behavior and level of intellect was once again on display for the world, and readers of Bark Bark Woof Woof, to see and experience.

F- Miamism Pix gets a photo op with Frank Gehry himself.

G- Elections have consequences as the good people of Florida and South Florida Lawyers are finding out.

H- Even more new photos at The Street.

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SFDB's We Live Here

-Miami Fever


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Those Who Can, Blog...

As the word-starved mediums of Twitter and Facebook continue to thrive, some in the blogging world are apparently giving up saying they're frustrated with the amount of time blogging requires.

Lack of time forced Eric Benderoff to quit blogging, even though he was one of the most prominent personal- technology writers in the city.

For several years, Mr. Benderoff, 46, reported and blogged about personal technology for the Chicago Tribune. He liked the breeziness of the medium and the tremendous response—”except when someone called me a moron,” he says.

After he was laid off from the Tribune in 2009, he began blogging independently to launch his own editorial consulting firm, posting three or four times a week on Bendable Gagdets. He ghost-blogged for clients, and for a while, tried daddy blogging. “That wasn't as satisfying as I hoped,” he says.

In October, Mr. Benderoff got a full-time job, as manager of the tech practice in the Chicago office of Burson-Marsteller, a New York-based public relations firm.

He has since quit blogging, though he doesn't rule out returning to it in the future.

“To do it right, it takes time,” says Mr. Benderoff, who lives in Ukrainian Village. “I didn't want to take that time from my wife or job or kids.”

In my very frank opinion, I think that most any blogger who tells you that they don't have the time to blog anymore is making excuses for the reality that it's just no longer a priority in their life. That's totally okay, but I know bloggers who claim that they're short on time but miraculously find the time to do a whole host of other things and then either Tweet about them or update their Facebook page.

Of course it's about priorities and blogging, like anything else you do in life, requires a certain amount of prioritization. So maybe you head out to eat a half hour later this evening after writing that blog post or maybe you get up a half hour earlier in the morning to do some research for a post you plan on doing later that day. Whatever the case, you make time for it...if it's really something you want to do.

Yes, Twitter and Facebook have probably impacted blogging. I have all sorts of opinions about Twitter and it's true that these other forms of social media certainly have their place.

But there's always time to blog. The question is whether you still have the passion and drive to produce content with any depth.

And if you don't, well, there's always Twitter.

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South Florida Cartoons

Jim Morin, Miami Herald


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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

The Weekend Widget is up and running in the right sidebar and is packed with things to do this weekend. Check it out right after you take in your morning Sift.

A- Ipanemic gets up close and personal in his latest post which is guaranteed to make you feel fortunate about something we all pretty much take for granted...our teeth.

Not long after I started my professional career, a very troubling phenomenon began to occur: my teeth started falling apart. I learned that the decay that was going on in my mouth was a side effect of my blood disorder. It was far more distressing psychologically than it was physically. I was a relatively “together” man in my twenties, had lived a fairly privileged life, worked in a professional environment, had the mortgage and the wife and the kids. Successful by most middle-class standards and climbing my way up to be a regular success of a person. And my teeth, with which I smiled at the sunny world and all the people in it, were disintegrating. My carefree smile would disappear with them.

B- South Florida Classical Review attended the New World Symphony's first full concert presentation last night.

Polaris proved an intense and hypnotic experience, with the video complementing the music without being so busy that it distracted. As repetitive patterns in the orchestra gained intensity and force, the hall’s five curved projection screens displayed images of waves crashing on rocks and two women walking along the shore. The music intensified as more instruments joined in, with sudden breaks in the music matched by changes in the video. The work built to a grand climax and the images vanished, replaced by bubble-like circles.

The visual experience of the performance was different from that to which most classical audiences may be accustomed. The hall is distinctly vertical, with the audience placed not only in front but all around the orchestra. And with the use of risers to give the orchestra itself five levels of seating, it was possible to see the faces of the bassoon players, second violinists and many more musicians, making the ensemble seem less remote from the audience than in traditional concert halls.

C- South Florida Theatre Scene presents their weekly review of events.

D- Lots of new photos over at The Street.

E- Beached Miami posts some images from Soundscape outside of the New World Center.

Last night I walked over to New World Symphony’s new Miami Beach campus and found the mega projector in Soundscape, a 2.5 acre public park with a really bad name, beaming a series of images onto the 7,000-square-foot plaster wall of the Frank Gehry-designed concert hall.

F- Under the Sun follows the story of a Haitian woman from Hollywood who returns to her country after 20 years.

When Haiti’s earthquake hit, Alexandra Azor had a comfortable life in Hollywood, Florida, a good job as a healthcare consultant, and something coveted by her fellow Haitians– a U.S. passport.

But after seeing the quake’s devastation, she packed up her belongings and moved back to her hometown of Port-au-Prince to help rebuild.

Trenton Daniel tells the story of her “quote-unquote” homecoming. Azor finds her parents sleeping in a tent, and she finds foreigners everywhere– “filling restaurants, driving around in white SUVs.”

G- It seems like every day there's a story of a Tea Party representative or Republican who demonstrates the hypocrisy of their ideology. This morning that story is at Bark Bark Woof Woof.

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Your Evening Sift

Another night on the road, another great meal. Too much goodness tonight, I think. Ugh. Anyway, here's your better-late-than-never evening Sift.

A- The SotU gets a Swampstyle kind of commentary.

The 2011 SOTU speech last night began at 9:11 pm promptly. Our president GObama had plenty of intriguing words for those listening in this world. To interpret this historic oratory one must keep in mind that it was crafted by an army of speech writers simply pulling buzz-words out of their ashtrays for news junkies drinking games and for all those wolf blitzers on teevee and washington insiders to digest for hours ad-nauseum.

B- Miami Beach 411 assesses Grand Central.

The diversity in acts bring in a diversity of crowds as well. But make no mistake: despite allowing in a lot of people, Grand Central still attracts a fashionable clientele . It’s just more locals looking for a good time than visitors looking to be cool.

C- The hypocrisy of many in the South Florida Cuban-American community and those who represent them in Congress is spelled out in this post from The Cuban Triangle.

A substantial segment of the Cuban-American community – about ten planeloads a day out of Miami – could care less about sorting this out. Contrary to the views of those they elect to Congress, they send their money, buy their plane tickets, go to Cuba, take their families out to restaurants, take them to stay in tourist hotels, and help them as best they can.

They act as regular immigrants, but they elect legislators who consider themselves exiles.

When these legislators talk about Cuba policy, they don’t take a sanctions-begin-at-home approach. Has anyone ever seen them try to persuade their own constituents to stay at home, not to travel to Cuba, not to support such a huge flow of hard currency to Cuba?

D- Restaurant Gal's job challenges continue.

If, on day ten, you are offered another job that you are certain you can do well–all except the part about carrying trays and jacks, since its been years since you had to carry a tray full of food in any formal fashion, and you are pretty sure the new bosses will find this to be a problem, even though they hired you on the spot after you explained this major deficiency in your hospitality experience, you accept the job while desperately pounding the pavement to find another so you don’t actually have to take it.

If, on day eleven, you give notice, saying to your immediate and wonderful manager, “I have found something that is a better fit for me,” and he laughs with you while congratulating you, and then adds, “I’m out in a week, too,” you know you made the right decision to leave, but feel terrified that the next show will be an equal disaster.

E- Eye on Miami takes the position that you give what you get when it comes to Florida's Republican Party.

The Florida GOP wants war with Florida voters. War, it will get.

F- Boca's Speranza Pizza gets a visit from Worst Pizza.

The pizza was quite oily, and I was a little upset with the size of the pie for the price. It seems like they could make the pizza better, and it wouldn’t be hard to do. Simply use less flour, leave the pizza cooking longer, and spin it regularly, add a tiny bit more sauce and make it appear a little bigger.

G- REVMiami tells us all about the "Trip to Cuba" exhibition at the Ricart Gallery.

The theme created a nice buzz and attendance was high, especially for an off night, where no other galleries were open. It Just Takes Two performed a variety of popular tunes maintaining a lively vibe for the art lovers.

H- The New York Times' recent coverage of Miami has been rather kind, reports Beached Miami.

Because of this history of condescension, I was surprised to see Miami pop up in so many NYT stories this week, and scarcely a back-handed remark in the bunch.

I- You have lots of choices for Valentine's Day dinner in South Florida as South Florida Food and Wine demonstrates.

J- Go Hydrology! updates us on the swamp's rainfall amounts.

K- South Florida Beer Blog briefs us on The Filling Station's Garage Bar Mug Club.

The club is limited to only 50 people and will run you $75. They have already sold over 20 of the mugs in just a couple of days so you will need to get on it quick if you want to be part of it. Here is what you get as a member of the club.

-YOUR OWN MUG. The mugs are individually numbered and hang above the bar. You must show the beer tender your GARAGE BAR MUG CLUB KEY in order to use your mug.

L- South Florida Classical Review was there for the opening night of the New World Center. Soul of Miami has a boatload of photos. From the former...

The New World Symphony held the opening ceremonies of its modernist new campus in Miami Beach Tuesday evening, with speeches, a few morsels of music and a well-deserved air of self-congratulations.

The orchestra’s founder and artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas walked out on the stage of the compact 756-seat concert hall and—before leading the orchestra in a note of music—received a standing ovation from an audience of patrons, public officials, musicians and other guests. He turned, signaled the snare drum and led the audience in The Star-Spangled Banner, as the huge video screens above the orchestra displayed images of Mount Rushmore, the U.S. Constitution, fireworks and the Statue of Liberty.

“It’s a really wonderful night that we have to remember and celebrate in one another’s company,” Tilson Thomas said.

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News That Makes The Little Limbaughs Sad

Today...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The Dow crossed the 12,000 mark for the first time since June 2008 as U.S. stocks nudged higher Wednesday.

What's good for America is bad for Limbaugh and his minions, which has to warm the hearts of everyone who wants this country to move forward.






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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.

It was another tough week for finding the best of the best in the South Florida blogosphere. After some serious deliberation, the choices were clear.  Here we go with the SFDB Post of the Week selections.

Runners-Up: In what may be one of the more unique posts of late, Some Blogging Guy told us all about the special place he has constructed in his backyard to help photograph the neighborhood birds. Birding Blind also contained some nice images.  Random Pixels wandered over to Miami Beach 411 and provided them with an educational post for photographers who want to get the most from their time on South Beach.  Belle Isle Blog turns in yet another great look back into South Florida history with Capone, Hoover and J.C. Penney: How a Belle Isle Winter Led a President to Take Down Scarface.


Winner:  It seems that the 2nd most popular topic for South Florida bloggers to write about [right after the food trucks] is the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center. Last week, South Florida Classical Review took their turn and penned a wonderfully composed look at the building and the intentions behind it. Although it lacks the extensive imaging that other blogs have used, the informational post makes up for it with polished prose and an easy flow. It's yet another noteworthy post on an extraordinary building and I'd like to recognize it with this week's SFDB Post of the Week.

'Til next time, keep on blogging!

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SFDB Question Of The Day

You're in your cargo shorts and a tee shirt and you're hungry but you want a good meal with good service at a reasonable price.

Where in South Florida do you go?

I go to Southport Raw Bar in Fort Lauderdale.

How about you?

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SFDB's .Gif Image Of the Day

Congressman David Rivera contemplates questions posed to him by investigators...


-image via If We Don't Remember Me



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SFDB's Thoughts Too Big For Twitter

With 11 shot, how long before the "War on Cops" becomes the "War on Greedy Public Servants With Bloated Pensions" once again?

America: Hypocrites With Extremely Short Memories 'R' Us


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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

This Hump Day Sift won't take but a minute.

A- Eat It, Miami takes full credit for some changes that Burger and Beer Joint has recently made.

B- Miami-Dade Dems,  Bark Bark Woof Woof and The Reid Report offer commentary on last night's State of the Union speech. From the latter...

To my mind, this was the Obama of 2004 even more than the Obama of 2008 — calling on the country’s sense of shared purpose and presenting himself as a man willing, even eager, to work with Republicans to move the country forward. It had touches of Reagan (optimism, can-do Americana) and Kennedy (vision). The question is, how does a Republican Party that’s shackled to the tea party respond?

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SFDB Late Night Politics

Making fun of Fox News is so damn easy...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
24 Hour Nazi Party People
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> The Daily Show on Facebook

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Your Evening Sift

I'm skipping the SotU tonight to bring you your belated evening Sift. I'm sure there will be plenty of people talking about it tomorrow. Enjoy.

A- Republicans are already planning for a David Rivera early departure, according to an article that Bark Bark Woof Woof links to this evening. Discourse also has some thoughts.

B- Shorter Babalu Blog...

The U.S. Justice Department is no better than the Castro regime.

C- South Florida Lawyers wonders what "conflict" might be sparking the latest defection from Yoss LLP.

Hmm, I can't speak to the details of this particular conflict, but I know one conflict that would be difficult for any law firm (in the generic sense of course) to overcome -- I would like to be paid vs. sorry but we really can't pay you right now.

D- Brickell Life discusses the joys of the Pinecrest Gardens Farmer's Market and whips up a salad made from local ingredients.

This incredible salad included Bee Heaven Farm red leaf lettuce, roasted new potatoes, oyster mushrooms, grape tomatoes and smoked eggs. We also couldn't resist throwing in some conventional applewood smoked bacon, creamy goat cheese, cucumber and a little sea salt. We dressed it with a simple splash of good extra virgin olive oil and some balsamic vinegar.

E- Go Hydrology! has the graphs and photos to back up his discussion of the widely varying water depth in the Big Cypress Swamp.

The summer of 2005 really jumps out in my mind. That wet season started fast out of the gate with +20 inches of June rain and it ran strong through the fall with a hurricane season that just wouldn’t die. And who could forget Fay in August of 2008. It soaked the entire state (except Tampa) from head to foot and inundated the swamp well up into the pines.

F- Nunez Photography posts lots of Zoo Miami photos.

G- AshAndBurn finds a DecoBike kiosk being installed on South Beach.

H- Tree pruning Hialeah-style, courtesy of Sweet Home Hialeah.

I- Urban Environment League gives us the details about a meeting that is being held tomorrow regarding a DIY park in downtown Miami.

Former Miami Arena site to convert into a "Do It Yourself Park!" Come learn about an exciting park project that’s taking place on the former Miami Heat Arena site in downtown Miami. A coalition of volunteer professionals will employ the homeless and convert a stalled red field development into an active green field park in 30 days!

J- Eye on Miami examines Governor Scott's strained relations with the press.  

If Governor Scott imagines that his pattern of ignoring every request for interview by editorial boards of state newspapers during the campaign can now be extended to his term in office, he will become an endless source of derision. It is inevitable. These tiny desk, "online town hall meetings" via Twitter will dog Scott for the rest of his term.

Why? Because it is clear that Scott's advisors-- and perhaps Scott himself-- appear to believe that they can get away with anything in terms of managing the press.

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