Your Evening Sift

Wow. That was fun.

There was a ton of posts to sift through tonight but I knocked it out. The weekend is almost here so make sure you check on the SFDB Weekend Widget in the right sidebar. Let's get going with your evening Sift.

A- We get it going this evening with Carlos Miller who has a film clip of a photographer being pushed back from a crime scene in Overtown this morning.


B- Go help Hidden City decide what he should do with Hidden City.

I’m trying to do too many things, it would appear. Some essays I hope to educate or inform you; in others I hope to make you feel; I always want to entertain. If I’m lucky and diligent, maybe I can do all three, and do so with a modicum of craft.


Maybe I shouldn’t do any of them.

C- Worst Pizza announces a pretty great sounding pizza tweetup.

On April 11, 2011 Grande Pizza Co. in Boca Raton has invited us all to come in and enjoy FREE pizza all night. If you haven’t tried their Detroit Style Pizza aka Crusty Cheese Pizza, you are missing out on one delicious pizza. Grande Pizza in Boca Raton is one of the few places in all of Florida to make pizza this way. We will get plenty of these pies, as well as plenty regular and Sicilian Pizza to go around.

D- Beached Miami was busy today putting together all their April top ten lists.

1. Top Ten Music Events, including Dr. Dog and Record Store Day

2. Top Ten Bike Events, including the Emerge Miami Street. Art. Cycles ride through Wynwood

3. Top Five Art Events, including the opening of Jillian Mayer’s first solo show

E- The Green Parrot tells us about Smirk Day [which is tomorrow] and with it you get a little bar history.

Yes it's been thirty five years since since that enigmatic countenance, that sphinxlike kisser, appeared on the plywood shutter on the Southard Street facade of The Green Parrot.

Facing the barroom when the Parrot is open and facing the street when we are closed, Smirk, has, as we say, "Seen it All".

F- Coral Gables Watch says to get ready for higher parking fees in Coral Gables as the city switches to high tech meters.

G- South Florida Theater Review and South Florida Theatre Scene preview some upcoming shows.

H- Transit Miami thinks it's great that Brickell Avenue is getting a traffic circle.

Miami Today News is reporting that a new traffic circle will be placed at the problematic Brickell Bay Drive and South East 12th Street intersection. Lucky for every one that walks around Brickell the Sabadell Financial Center Landlord 1111 Brickell Office is investing $400,000 to insure the safety of the thousands of pedestrians that use this intersection every year.

I- Swampstyle takes us along for a drive up Biscayne through MiMo.

Just north of downtown Miami is a stretch of Biscayne Boulevard that defies understanding. From thirty sixth street to seventy ninth, more recently known as MIMO or Miami Modern is a stretch of swamp anchored on the south end by MAC a new public school in the old channel 10 building and the Boulevard Strip Joint on the north. Along the way is a charming blend of the residential and commercial that typify bayside living. From the tony gated Bay Point and leafy Morningside to the raunchy motels of days gone by, this stretch of tropics is ripe for commentary.

J- Food for Thought provides us a great post on the Miami New Times-Lee Klein kerfuffle.

K- Mango&Lime covers the shutdown of the Roots in the City Farmers Market and tries to describe the City of Miami's permitting process.

The mayor’s people, however, made the process sound easy, calling yesterday’s events a “teachable moment” (for the market organizers) and saying it’s just doing business and to do business you need to play by the rules. Fair enough. Organizers are clear that they have no issue with complying, but they also say their calls and emails to the city often go unanswered.

So, if the city “loves those guys” (as they told me) and wouldn’t want these markets to stop, why not just work with them? Easier said than done, I know, but the county does. Many of the people I’ve spoken to say the county has been helpful and willing to work with market organizers so they can operate. I asked the mayor’s office if the city was doing anything to improve the permitting process. They said they were working to make it easier for everyone. How? I’m not sure.

L- South Florida Classical Review lists April's South Florida events.

M- Boy Writes Miami suggests you come well-equipped when you visit El Palacio de los Jugos.

Here is a fair warning: If you don’t speak Spanish, you better head to a Berlitz office and hire yourself a translator. Either that or point and smile. Also, they probably accept pesos. And threats.

If you’re looking for authenticity, this is probably up there. Real food, marginal service, fattening shakes/desserts, and pure español. I don’t even think this place has a web site, or as they call it, a “wessite.” But it’s good, and I’m sure you’ll love it.

N- with Rick Scott at the helm, Florida's government is definitely "for-profit," says The Reid Report.

The evidence is growing that Rick Scott ran for governor in order to lay the groundwork for future riches for himself and his cronies. As one commenter at the Herald points out, HCA veterans fill the ranks of Solantic, including the company’s CEO, and members of its board.

O- State Senator Gwen Margolis has crafted a bill that would make it possible to recall Florida's governor and Eye on Miami has it.

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DUI Laws Are Killing America

Meanwhile, out in Montana, Republicans argue against DUI laws...



Drinking and driving is American, dammit!

I'm just surprised he didn't cite Scripture or something.


-via Tbogg


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SFDB's Thoughts Too Big For Twitter [UPDATED]

So ya think that Chuck Strouse is having lunch at Route 9 today? And if he is, wanna bet that tomorrow's New Times is going to report that it is the best doggone restaurant in Miami, if not America?

Bets?


*******

I'm glad no one bet.


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Driving Around South Florida

The Google Street View car gets its picture taken on the Palmetto at NW 58th Street by an alert SFDB reader.

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The BOB Nominations Continue

The Sun Sentinel BOB Awards continue to collect nominations through April 3 [Sunday] @ 9 AM, so if you want to make sure your favorite South Florida blog is included, get over there and nominate them.

While the voting process remains flawed [as I've mentioned before] and the competition amounts to nothing more than a popularity contest in which the blog with the best social media network wins [along with the Sun Sentinel's statcounter] , I do like the fact that people taking the time to review the blogs will find that there's a lot of good ones out there that I don't cover here at SFDB. I was amazed when I started checking out some of the blogs that I had never heard of before. There's a lot of solid writing going on that you can bet I'm going to start following as a result of becoming aware of them through this contest.

I had a problem last year with some of the categories that certain blogs were placed in and this year that seems to be a little better although I have to mention that European Wax Center is a business blog, for gosh sakes, and should not be sitting in the Defies Categorization, Personal and Pop Culture categories. Jeez, I'm befuddled as to who could have ever nominated it for those categories.

So make sure you get your favorite blog(s) nominated. It will be fun and along the way you might just add another blog or two to your RSS reader or blogroll.


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SFDB's That Was Awesome!

Your dance-like-no-one-is-watching Moment of the Day...



That was awesome!


-via The Daily Wh.at


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The Cooler

Here are the things that grabbed my attention this morning in the local news.

A- Herald: Lexus lanes on 441?

Drivers have come to accept HOV lanes on Interstate 95 and even tolerate express toll lanes on the highway in Miami-Dade County.

But imagine them on U.S. 441 or Glades Road in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

That’s what the Florida Department of Transportation is imagining. Looking for innovative ways to manage congestion, the department is exploring concepts few have considered on arterial roads.

Next month, it will launch a three-year study of U.S. 441 in the two counties and Glades Road in Boca Raton that will consider, among other things, adding HOV or toll lanes to them.

B- Herald: Really?

Fans of Norwegian Cruise Line no longer have to board a ship to buy branded gear like baby bibs, shirts decked out in rhinestones and luggage tags.

The Miami-based cruise operator this week launched an online shopping site, www.nclgiftshop.com.

[...].

A look at the website shows merchandise that ranges from a shot glass for $3.60 to a women’s Norwegian Epic velour sweat suit for $89.40.

C- Herald: Morin.

D- Sun-Sentinel: What your Florida legislators are working on. By the way, Turn 4 is totally booked. Oh, nevermind. NBC Miami says the proposal is dead. Someone call the Sun-Sentinel.

The checkered flag may wave for eternity for some racing fans.

A bill winding through the Florida Legislature could allow race fans to have their ashes interred at Daytona International Speedway and Homestead Miami Speedway.

The legislation would allow the racetracks to build a structure known as a columbarium to house the urns.

E- Sun-Sentinel: Chan Lowe.

F- Palm Beach Post: Life in South Florida.

An 88-year-old woman was recovering Wednesday from a beating she received at the hands of a robber who forced his way into her Pompano Beach home the night before.

[...]

Pearl Patrinos answered a knock at her door and was met by a young man who pushed his way inside, punched Patrinos in the face and then took her to her bedroom, where he demanded money, investigators said.

G- South Florida Business Review: Zuma rocks.

Zuma Japanese Restaurant in Miami’s Epic Hotel made OpenTable’s list of the Top 10 Hottest Restaurants in the U.S.

H- Miami-Today: Miami Today goes .pdf which means you won't be seeing it here in the Cooler any more.

I- WPLG: Graffiti artists take over Parkway West hospital.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The old Parkway West Regional Medical Center has been sitting empty for more than a decade, but lately, it has become home to vandals and a canvas for graffiti artists.

[...]

Local 10's Roger Lohse walked right into the empty building through the front door, which was wide open, and said it was like stepping into a horror movie. The lobby is covered in graffiti, and there are broken ceiling tiles and debris all over the floor. There are holes in the wall, the elevator shafts are wide open and a chilling message spray-painted above the double doors leading to the back rooms reads, "Welcome to Hell."

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

The SFDB Weekend Widget is up and running in the right sidebar this morning and I'm happy to note that a Miami blogger has actually picked up one of the very important stories that received so many tweets yesterday. Things are looking up. Enjoy your morning Sift.

A- Get your day going with wrestling photos provided by Nikon Miami.

B- Artlurker discusses Swampspace's The Know Show.

A sand covered Styrofoam sculpture currently on view at Swampspace in Miami’s Design District transcends it’s obvious phallic aspect for a couple of simple reasons that dovetail with it’s righteous simplicity.

The work is a collaborative effort by the un-gallery owner, show’s curator, artist, blogger, and art fabricator to the stars, Oliver Sanchez and his daughter Lulu, but while it is part of ‘The Know Show’, for this observer who first sneak-peeked the sculpture through the locked glass doors before the show opened, it stood out like (and could even be said to resemble) the proverbial sore thumb.

C- Shorter Searching for Signs...

Not tolerating intolerance makes you tolerant in name only.

D- Hallelujah. Random Pixels decides to give the bogus restaurant review at the Miami New Times the blog time it deserves.

Miami New Times editor Chuck Strouse, in an unprecedented move Wednesday, pulled a restaurant review by long-time critic Lee Klein from the paper's website.

Late Wednesday night, Jeremy Goldberg, owner of Route 9 in Coral Gables, confirmed in a phone conversation with me that he called Strouse Wednesday after reading an online review of his eatery by Klein.

Goldberg said he learned of the review after a customer called and left a message.

"Much of the information in the review was incorrect," Goldberg told me.

E- The Chowfather recounts his Wagyu Dinner this past Saturday night.

The Brana dinners are usually held on Saturday's at an initially undisclosed location in the Coral Gables/South Miami area. Seating is limited to eight to ten people. Dinners costs $85 with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Cancer Connections a non-profit the Brana's recently founded that focuses on the overall well being of cancer patients. An additional $15 donation is suggested but not required. This is a cause near and dear to the Brana's as evidenced by a quote of Anna's on their website “This project is a promise. A promise I made to my sister Gaby, who succumbed to cancer at a young age”.

F- O, Miami is on Miami Favs' mind.

this is probably one of the most inventive, coolest events i have ever heard of, and i have been stoked about it since the day i heard about it. i CANNOT WAIT.

G- March photos of the month are posted at Beached Miami.

H- Under the Sun takes us back to the North Miami of '50's with a great slideshow and audio piece.

I- The current crop pf Republicans running for president is horrendous, according to one Republican that Bark Bark Woof Woof makes note of.

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Your Evening Sift

With the risk of sounding extremely outdated, I suppose I long for the days of just a few years ago in the South Florida blogosphere when breaking news would be discussed on blogs and people actually had the motivation and desire to use more than 140 characters to express their opinions. Instead, today's reactions on Twitter vary from "Cool" to "LOL!" to "That sucks!" to simply nothing more than RT. I hate it when I see the URL from one of my posts being retweeted and the comments of the post remain empty. Are we really that short on time? Have we lost the means to write out complete entire sentences in a comment block? Are we that lazy?

Anyway. Just some thoughts that swirled around my head this evening as I sifted and looked through the blogosphere for some pretty significant stories that I had seen mentioned on Twitter. But no luck. Only Eater Miami took the time to mention them and Beached Miami had the other one covered with just a few comments. And with that rather long-winded and frustrated introduction, here's your evening Sift. Enjoy.

A- Coral Gables Watch is all over the Coral Gables elections with a look at the positions of the mayoral candidates and those running for commissioner.

B- Because most things too good to be true don't last very long in South Florida, the City in Miami has decided to shut down the acclaimed Roots in the City Farmer's Market and Beached Miami is the only South Florida blog to cover the story. There are some comments, too, including a couple that claim that they're still open.

That the city would shut it down over a legal technicality is condemnable and further proof that Miami remains woefully far from joining the ranks of the world’s great cities, all of which accommodate, cultivate, and celebrate outdoor markets. Not Miami though. No, Miami brings down the hammer just a month before the market was to close for the season.

C- Blogging Black Miami tells us about a school Walk In that's being conducted at schools in South Florida to protest the cuts in education.

While the folks in the Florida Legislature continue to turn back the clock and strip us of our rights while blatantly destroying public education and preparing to hand over the business of Florida to their friends, we must send the message that enough is enough. Let’s join in the UTD sponsored WALK-IN tomorrow, March 31, 2011, 4PM-6PM at your closest public school.

D- In two interesting cases of South Florida bloggers electing to tweet major foodie stories rather than write about them, Eater Miami picks up the slack and covers an interesting situation at the Miami New Times where a food critic allegedly didn't visit a restaurant he reviewed and also takes a look at the real reason Miss Yip vacated their Lincoln Road venue. Thanks, Eater Miami!

E- Random Pixels maintains there's someone even less qualified than Luther Campbell running for Miami-Dade Mayor.

F- Liam Crotty Photography shares some photos of the unique Mikesell family.

G- The Heat Lightning gives readers the quick and dirty on Virginia Key and posts a map as a bonus.

The park, despite not having swimming, still has its charms. It’s the quietest beach I’ve ever been on and is probably the best place to pick up shells and driftwood in Miami. However for swimming, the actual beach section can’t be beat for one simple reason: it’s practically deserted.

I’m not talking about the north end, with the volleyball courts and whatnot. I’m talking about the south end with all the breakers and inlets. Here there is no lifeguard and most days you can claim an inlet entirely for yourself. The water is nice and deep enough to swim in and the sand is nice. For the most part it’s the perfect place for a beach party. Then when you’re done, you can always nurse your sunburn up at Jimbo’s. What more could you ask for?

H- Another World War II veteran is gone and this time it's personal for Searching For Normalcy.

I- Check out Lebron's locker at The305.Com.

J- Wow. A former U.S. Attorney is making some serious allegations against Jeffrey Epstein's defense team including Miami attorney Roy Black. Southern District of Florida Blog has the story.

K- Eye on Miami says that FPL is raising their rates $1 billion [with a B] over next 5 years, but the legislators who are approving these hikes can still say with a smirk that they're not raising your taxes.

Looks like FPL will get the nod to raise rates by 1 billion over 5 years. Their cost: They hired 30 State lobbyists and doled out campaign contributions to State legislators and Governor candidates of $4 million. The bills say they don't need approval of State regulators.

L- The Wisconsin governor is defying a judge's order for the second time, according to The Reid Report, and I just wish he would be treated like anyone else who exhibits a contempt of court.

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SFDB Afternoon Politics

This is simply brilliant.

The Daily Show
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

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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's hard to believe that this is the last SFDB Post of the Week for March and soon the SFDB Editors will be voting for Post of the Month. 2011 is just flying by. We had a real solid week of posting in the South Florida blogosphere as you'll see by the following choices I made for the top posts of the week. Let's check them out.

Runners-Up: Once again we find  Miami Beach 411 hanging out in the SFDB runners-up circle, this time for their excellent review of El Buen Sabor Mexican Restaurant. The picture depicting the proud owner at the top of the post is a classic in and by itself. Bark Bark Woof Woof's tribute to playwright Lanford Wilson was masterfully written and a real compliment to a man who was a big influence in BBWW's life. Transit Miami did a fine job comparing some of Miami's streets to a few of the world's great boulevards and generated a lot of discussion in the comments.


Winner:  The food truck craze has taken root in Miami over the last year and the meals on wheels are everywhere in Miami-Dade County, it seems, selling their fodder for an increasing number of people. Last week, Food for Thought's Miami Food Trucks Keep On Trucking cast a discerning eye to a number of the fragrant rigs and provided some thoughts and feelings as to how the final products measure up. It's informative, well-written and fun, which are three great characteristics for an SFDB Post of the Week. This week Frodnesor gets the nod.


'Til next time, keep on blogging!

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The Drama Queens Of American Politics

It must be getting near election time because Republicans are beginning to curl up in a fetal position and whine how the United States will never be the same if Barack Obama is elected to a 2nd term.

Remember the first time around? I sure do. This was Babalu Blog's George Moneo back in October of 2008 before the election...

Folks, America is in danger. This grand experiment, concocted a little over 232 years by a group of tax dissenters, may be on the verge of changes that will leave it mortally wounded. This is nothing less than a struggle for the survival of our country and our country’s values which each generation bequeaths to the next. What will my wife and I say to my son? What will my sister say to my niece? “Sorry, we screwed up America for you. We’re sorry this is not the America that once was” and leave it at that? Are we willing to elect a man who espouses the keystone Marxist principle of wealth redistribution? A man who for the twenty years of his public life has allied himself with the most despicable, vile, anti-American traitors and seditionists.

And then there were the other Babaloozers...

Trust me America will be at it’s weakest (because of the current economic problems sponsored by Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd and Co.) with these Democrats in power and any scenario that we could not think off can take place because our enemies will be smelling the blood of a weak America and will go for the kill.

Plus the people that surround and advice Barack Hussein Obama have all the qualifications to make a bad situation much worse and I’ll guarantee you that they will.

GOD HELPS US ALL. - FreedomForCuba, in the comments

It remains to be seen who America will choose this Election Day. If they do elect what many have proclaimed to be the next JFK, his supporters will not be the only ones celebrating—our enemies will be celebrating, too.- Alberto de la Cruz

Well I believe in The Bible Prophecies , so whatever happens now it will lead to the final battle of Ezequiel Chapter 38 and Chpt 39 and it has to happen.- Peter Perez, in the comments.

And, well, there's more where that came from.

As we all know, the world has not ended and America is getting better from the 8 years of abuse she took from George W. Bush. In fact, the worst thing that has happened in the last 2 years for the GOP is that more Americans have better healthcare. And while that, by itself, is very scary to these conservatives, they can take comfort by claiming some successes in demonizing Muslims, breaking labor unions, and cutting the salaries of police officers, firemen and teachers while extending tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations.

But as I mentioned, 2012 is fast approaching and it's time to turn up The Fear. Who better to trot out on Fox and, graciously prompted by Sean Hannity, sound the alarm but Cuban-American Marco Rubio who has parents who have seen what Fidel Castro did to Cuba and, you know, he's not saying it will happen here but, well, maybe...



You heard it. America can't survive another 4 years of Barack Obama. The greenhorn senator didn't say this but I know for a fact that he thinks that the only way we can make it is if we have a Republican president, a Republican Congress and everyone listens to Rush Limbaugh in the afternoon. And we all gotta keep hatin' on the gays and Mexicans, too. Can't forget them.

Then, and only then, will we be exceptional and the greatest country on Earth.

USA! USA! USA!




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SFDB Culinary Adventure Of The Day

Maple Bacon Sundae

For a limited time only, Denny's is hosting what they're calling the "Baconalia" festival with seven bacon-laden dishes including a Triple Bacon Sampler, a BBBLT Sandwich, and the implausible (but not improbable) Maple Bacon Sundae. It features maple flavored syrup, vanilla ice cream, and "a generous sprinkle of our diced hickory-smoked bacon."

-Eater National


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The Cooler

Lots of things going on this morning in South Florida and you can keep up with it with this morning's Cooler.

A- Herald: Pitts slams The Donald.

Donald Trump doesn’t like “birthers.” He calls the word “unfair’’ to people who don’t believe President Obama was born in the USA.

Very well, then. If not birthers, how about if we call them “morons?’’ How about ‘‘jackasses,” “imbeciles,” “idiots’’ or “doofuses?” How about “pinheads’’— or would that require a royalty to Bill O’Reilly?

[...]

Criticize him to your heart’s content. Give him hell over Libya. Blast him about Guantánamo. Knock him silly on healthcare reform. He is the president; taking abuse is part of his job description.

But this ongoing birther garbage, like the ongoing controversy about his supposed secret Muslim identity — is not about criticism. It is not about what he has done but, rather, what he is.

Like “state’s rights,” these controversies are a code, a dog whistle for those with ears to hear. They provide euphemistic cover for those who want to express alarm over the raw newness of him, the sweeping demographic changes he represents (‘‘He’s black! Oh, my God, they’ve got the presidency now!’’) without appearing uncouth enough to do so.

B- Herald: Morin.

C- Herald: They write letters.

Build a new shelter

Surely after Miami-Dade County funded the new home for the Florida Marlins, county commissioners — or the Marlins — can find it in their budgets, hearts and wallets to fund a new home for abandoned and neglected pets .

Kimber Mariani, Miami

D- Sun-Sentinel: Who are the biggest polluters in South Florida?

Air pollution from power plants, factories and sugar mills plunged in South Florida over the past few years as manufacturing plants shut down, consumer demand fell and companies took steps to cut emissions of harmful chemicals.

Industrial discharges of benzene, styrene, hydrochloric acid and other pollutants fell 60 percent in Broward County and 74 percent in Palm Beach County in 2009 from 2006, according to an analysis by the Sun Sentinel of four years of reports by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Sun Sentinel has prepared a database, http://www.sunsentinel.com/pollution, that allows you to find out who the major polluters are in your city and see whether pollution levels in your community are rising or falling. South Florida is not a center of heavy industry, but it generates a significant amount of air pollution from sugar production, power plants and scores of small manufacturers.

E- Sun-Sentinel: Fire fighting isn't that hard after all.

WEST BOCA— Aiden Lindsey knew just what to do when a fallen lamp sparked a fire in his home west of Boca Raton. The 3-year-old put out the small fire with a skill he'd learned when firefighters visited his school.

For Aiden's quick action, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Chief Steve Jerauld Tuesday gave him a Junior Firefighter Award in front of his classmates at Little Lion's Preschool.

On Feb. 11, Aiden poured water from his sippy cup onto a carpet fire.

F- TC Palm: I love stories like this.

PORT ST. LUCIE — Alex and Sylvia Elbaum celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary Tuesday by dancing and trading zingers — the same as every day since 1936.

"Look — before and after," Sylvia said when she saw the sepia print of their 1936 wedding picture as they entered the clubhouse at The Palms Assisted Living at St. Lucie West. She donned a plastic tiara with pink stones and netting.

Watching her husband settle into a chair while she walked around the room and looked at decorations, she shook her head.

"I don't know how we've lasted," she said. "We're like night and day. He's night and I'm day. He sits there, and I'm rarin' to go."

Sylvia, 95, started tapping her feet as soon as the music started. Alex, 99, looked at her after a few moments and offered his hand. Soon they were up and slow-dancing while friends, family, and staff clapped.

G- TC Palm: Why it doesn't pay to help people out in South Florida.

MARTIN COUNTY — Two men parked at a fast food restaurant who acted as if they were having car problems robbed a man of $220 cash at knife point, according to a Martin County Sheriff's Office report.

The incident happened about 5:30 p.m. Monday at Blimpie's in the 2500 block of Southeast Monroe Street, Stuart. The victim told deputies he arrived at the restaurant and noticed two men near a white, four-door vehicle with the hood up.

When he asked the men if they needed a jump start, one of them grabbed him, slammed him against the white car and held a knife to his face, according to the incident report. The men took the cash from his pocket, closed the hood on the car and fled the area, the report states.

H- NBC Miami: A sure sign of the apocalypse.

Fans of the teenage pop star lined up at Lucky Strike Lanes in South Beach just to get a picture with a piece of Justin Bieber's hair.

The clump of hair was on display inside a box, signed by Bieber, that he gave to Ellen DeGeneres. She auctioned it off on eBay for $40,668 and donated the money to charity. The winning bidder then let a Miami-based company called Stone Rose borrow the lock of hair to raise money for charity.

I- WPLG: Video, 66-year -old Coral Gables jewelry store owner kicks a robber's ass.

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

It was a busy night in the South Florida blogosphere. Here's your Hump Day morning Sift.

A- Miami Beach 411 picks apart and evaluates the response of the Miami Beach Police Department and a security guard during this weekend's melee that was captured on film.

Abelardo Antonio Soto, 29, was charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence, felonies which can send him to prison for several years.

Police claim he tossed sand at Simon as he struggled with the woman, inciting the crowd. Police also claim he attacked Simon with a weapon, drawing a gash to the officer’s forehead.

None of this is supported by the videos, including the one above and the three below.

B- Speaking of picking apart, Searching for Signs dissects and criticizes "ultra-liberal" Miami Herald columnist Daniel Shoer Roth's latest column in which he criticizes Governor Rick Scott.

Up to now, Daniel Shoer Roth’s columns have been sensible enough to overcome and overlook his far-left tendencies. With this column, and in particular his parting shot that amounts to little more than a temper tantrum directed at Rick Scott and “his Tea Party loons”, he really “se la comió” (Cuban slang for “he really went over the edge”).

C- One of Miami Fav's favs is Garcia's Seafoood Grill.

i think sometimes we forget that we live by a gorgeous river. and i think some of us don’t even know that we can sit by it. while eating. at really good restaurants. i didn’t. but i do now. as if i needed one more reason to love miami. we ordered apps and stone crabs and drank cold beers while the sun set and we reminisced about swinging from a rope just an hour earlier.

D- The Green Parrot posts a little bit of the bar's history.

E- Obalesque ponders Europe's efforts to reduce methane.

I know in my household, despite our largely plant-based diet, there is absolutely no human methane emitted — thanks to the presence of a large dog and 5 cats, whom I can blame for every gust of scented wind. (“Dammit Tiqi — did you fart again?!” * guilty canine face *)

F- 20 new photos are up at The Street.

G- The Wisconsin governor and his enablers continue to ignore a judge and break the law. Bark Bark Woof Woof has the details.

H- Discourse has a lengthy discussion of last night's city commission debate in Coral Gables.

I went to the Coral Gables candidates’ debate this evening, sponsored by the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce. I walked in genuinely undecided about all the races, and in some cases pretty uninformed. I walked out knowing there was no choice in Group 5, and I think I may have figured out who to vote for in the Mayor’s race, but I remain undecided in Group 4. Today I’ll write about the Commission debate.

I- Eye on Miami reviews a recent article of Florida demographics.

Looking at pure percentage change by market, not surprisingly, the Orlando area has seen the biggest change, driven by a 50% increase in Hispanic residents and a 32% increase in Black residents. West Palm Beach has seen a very similar level of change, with a 44% increase in Hispanic residents and a 30% increase in Black residents (we know from other data sources that a significant portion of this is driven by Caribbean growth). The Miami market continues to be the most diverse market in the state, with its white (non-Hispanic) population at 21.6% (and under 10% in Miami Dade County), with both the largest Hispanic populations (2.1 million) and Black populations (950K).

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Your Evening Sift

2 down, 3 days to go until the weekend. I've got a pretty decent evening Sift here for you to peruse through. Enjoy.

A- We begin things this evening with a list of where you can get your Rakontur Square Grouper servings in April.

B- So you don't want to pay over $150 to see Wicked in Fort Lauderdale? South Florida Theater Review has a possible solution.

C- Mango&Lime learns how to make kimchee at Muriel Olivares’s Little River Market Garden.

Before starting Muriel warned that the way she prepares her kimchee is the way she likes it not necessarily the traditional way. Not that it matters. One Korean couple that attended the workshop said there is no one exact way to make kimchee. You can make it your own and in Korea there are endless variations of it depending on the region and even the household in which it is prepared.

D- South Florida Food and Wine previews this year's Burger Battle II in Fort Lauderdale.

This was a great event, and not because I was on the committee as I am again this year but because it was one of those food and drink events that didn't get uncivilized, you know the one's I'm referring to, with hundreds of people all wanting a sip and a taste at the same time crowding and hovering like some pack of wild species in the Serengeti. It wasn't that way and we're planning on the same crowd control again this year, by limiting ticket sales.

E- Boy Writes Miami likes Balans for brunch.

We’re here by noon and the pretty waitress tells me brunch lasts all the way until 5. Five! That’s like, brinner. I had the bacon eggs benedict and a side of multiple orgasms. Sure, I’ve had better, but that day I was craving brunch so viciously if I had a kid I’d rename him English Muffin.

F- The305.Com does Casola's and loves it.

Casola’s has a love or hate relationship with those that eat there, but they have their advantages over other pizza shops. One, they offer other things like subs, hot dogs, chicken wings and burgers. They also have quite honestly what may be the biggest single pizza slice known to mankind.

G- Eye on Miami does a good job exposing Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina as a fraud when it comes to the new Marlins stadium.

Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina speaks in favor of the Florida Marlin's deal on March 23rd 2009 at the Miami Dade County Commission Meeting. He is campaigning, to replace Carlos Alvarez, saying he didn't support the ballpark with the expensive retractable roof.

H- The Reid Report has the 411 that about the only people hearting Rick Scott these days are the 20%'ers and the Little Limbaughs...but I repeat myself.


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Firefox 4 Is Here

In case you haven't noticed, Firefox 4 has arrived. I haven't downloaded it yet as I have a number of add-ons that haven't been updated by their developers. I think I'm going to give it a few more weeks, but in the meantime, here's what's new...



And The Blog Herald had this great infographic showing the stats from the first 48 hours of Firefox 4.

Have you downloaded 4 yet?



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Where Is The Tea Party...

...when this kind of crap happens?

State employees haven't received a raise in more than four years, but most agency heads that Gov. Rick Scott has appointed are making $20,000 a year more than their predecessors.

Scott has named 10 new department heads with salaries of $140,000 compared to $120,000 or less for their predecessors, according to a web site database launched by the governor.

Scott this past week named three agency secretaries, with both Ken Lawson at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and Dr. Frank Farmer, secretary of the Department of Health, earning will $140,000 compared to $120,000 for their predecessors. Liz Dudek was elevated to secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration at $140,000 a year compared to $164,380 for her predecessor, Tom Arnold.

Asked this week why he was paying most of his secretaries significantly more when state employees haven't been given a raise, Scott did not directly answer the question. Instead he said that state employees are "very hard working people."

You know, on a scale from 1 to 10, taking money from the coffers that educate Florida's children and giving your pals pay raises might just be a -50 in my book.

They like to talk about fiscal responsibility but when things like this happen, the Tea Party folks and those who voted for guys like Rick Scott say not a word. They are nowhere to be found.

And that's because the Tea Party never was about fiscal responsibility. It never was about responsible and representative government.

The Tea Party has been and will always be about one thing.

-via The Reid Report


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Meanwhile, At Ultra [UPDATE]

I didn't know they had incorporated a WWE event into the weekend program.

[caution, NSFW, language]...



From the Herald:

Around the same time, an event security guard stopped Lt. Douglas Simon and pointed out a woman who had just been thrown out of the concert due to “unruly behavior.”

According to police reports, Simon tried to stop the woman but she ran.

Simon, atop an ATV, caught up with her and stopped her. But as he detained the woman, crowds began to surround Simon, who requested backup. [...]

As Simon arrested Sara Greenback, a 25-year-old from Maryland, police say Abelardo Antonio Soto began throwing sand at Simon, and inciting the crowd.

An arrest report says Soto, of North Miami, “was able to turn the crowd hostile towards officers, as numerous people began fighting with officers.”

The report says that Simon approached Soto, who struck the officer with a weapon. Simon suffered a deep cut on his forehead and received stitches at Mount Sinai Medical Center, according to reports.

Soto, 29, was arrested and charged with aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and affray.

Greenback was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence.

*******

UPDATE: Riptide has the whole series of videos.

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The Cooler

I have a whole range of stories pulled from this morning's mainstream media. Enjoy the Cooler.

A- Herald: Privatizing government.

In what could signal a massive private takeover of public prisons, the Florida Senate quietly slipped language into its newly proposed budget Monday that seeks to give corporations the chance to run correctional facilities and probation services in 18 counties

The move — which could shift nearly $600 million to private firms — surprised prison guards, their unions and even the head of the Senate’s Criminal Justice Appropriations Committee, Mike Fasano, who said his committee was opposed to the idea of privatizing prisons when it was proposed by Gov. Rick Scott’s aides . “We made it clear that we weren’t interested. We moved on without doing it,” said Fasano, R-New Port Richey. “And now it appears in the budget. I’m not pleased. It is a huge, substantive issue. It’s a major policy change and it should have at least been discussed publicly.”

[...]

The budget language doesn’t appear to favor any one vendor although a leading contender is GEO Group, whose healthcare arm, GEO Care, has contributed at least $126,000 to state parties and candidates since 2009.

B- Herald: Morin.

C- Sun-Sentinel: Life in South Florida.

A suspected car thief who tried to force a woman into the trunk of her car last week in Boca Raton was arrested in Miami-Dade County on Friday, authorities said.

David Julien, 22, allegedly pointed a gun at a woman Thursday morning in a dermatologist's office parking lot at 880 NW 13th St., Boca Raton police said.

The 45-year-old woman had arrived for an appointment about 11 a.m. and noticed a man dressed in black talking on his cellphone in the parking lot, she told police.

When she opened the trunk of her 2007 BMW 535i, the man masked part of his face and pointed a gun at her stomach, according to a Boca Raton police arrest report. He told the woman three times to get in the trunk, but she refused.

The victim told him she had a child and asked him not to shoot her. She offered him her car, jewelry and money. He took the keys and took off in her car after he had trouble starting the engine.

A GPS system in the stolen car helped police track it later that afternoon to 23310 NE Fourth Court in Miami-Dade.

[...]

Although Julien reportedly confessed to the carjacking, he said he kept his BB gun in his belt and never pointed it at the victim. He also denied trying to force her into the trunk.

D- Palm Beach Post: Because after saying they were doing nothing, they had to do something.

Gov. Rick Scott on Monday unveiled a new plan to attack crooked pain clinics, committing $800,000 to beef up criminal investigations into shady operators and rogue doctors as well as drug manufacturers, wholesalers and street dealers.

The plan calls for launching a "Drug Strike Force" made up of dedicated squads in each of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's seven regions across the state. The teams will incorporate state and local criminal investigators and also regulators from the health department and other state agencies.

At a hastily arranged news conference on Monday afternoon, Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi said sheriffs and police chiefs will run local "strike teams" but otherwise were vague about how the task forces will work.

E- TC Palm: They write letters.

Letter: A prayer for Floridians as this snowbird heads north, back to reality

My last tirade of another winter in La La Land. Soon I'll travel north to reality again.

This winter was one of discovery for this northern mill town boy who remembers very well what it meant to be in the worker class. I learned that there is plenty of "tea" in the Vero Beach water supply. It's sad to hear Americans talk about other Americans the way they do.

Florida's "I plead the Fifth" governor, the one who bought Florida for $75 million, is waging war on public workers, teaching professionals, school workers, police, fire and other state and local employees, trying to balance the budget on their backs and those of our children and ill and aging people, while giving breaks to the rich.

I offer no tirade to them. Instead, I offer a prayer for all of you, "May God bless you and help you; unfortunately, no one else is going to."

Robert Brady, Port St. Lucie

F- CBS4: Video, when eagle rays attack go nuts.

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

If you notice that Republicans are a little more light hearted today, it's because it's Eugene McCarthy's birthday and they probably just got finished having a piece of cake. Here's your morning Sift.

A- What $675K will get you at Two Tequesta Point, courtesy of Miami Condo Investments.

The 2 bedroom/2.5 bath condo is located on the 29th floor and has 1,540 square feet interior, a large terrace off the bedroom and living room, marble flooring in the main living areas and carpeting in both bedrooms.  The unit also has crown molding, an eat-in kitchen with separate dining room, custom built-in closets in both bedrooms and full side-by-side washer and dryer.

B- Obalesque heralds the beginning of baseball season with an update on the Bobby Bonds trial and some commentary.

C- Beached Miami combines a Missed Connection and their cartoons.

D- Bark Bark Woof Woof wraps up the President's speech last night.

I came away a bit more mollified that we weren't really going to full-tilt war there, but also remembering that we've heard that before from presidents sending in American military forces in some way or another for nearly 100 years. What starts out as a humanitarian effort doesn't always end that way. That's not to dismiss the idea of doing it for the most lofty of goals -- to prevent a massacre -- but once you start, it's not easy to stop.

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Your Evening Sift

I should have known it was going to be the typical Monday where bloggers turn to their computers to write after shunning them all weekend. So here is your typically full Monday evening Sift.

A- Restaurant Gal gets us going this evening with a story of tourists and sunrises.

“I guess it’s like a summer vacation,” my new regular continued. “Hard to shake the idea of summers off when your school days are over and you have a real job,” she continued as I poured her a second cup of coffee. “For me, it’s spring break. Can’t not take it,” she shrugged.

“What are you up to today?”I asked my new regular. She was traveling alone, I knew, but that was about all I knew.

“Oh, I’m not sure,” she replied, almost absently, and a sudden silence ensued, during which she pushed back an imaginary stray strand of her cropped gray hair and stirred a second sugar into her steaming coffee. “What would you do?” she asked, suddenly looking right up at me.

B- Carlos Miller and former Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler attorney, Mike "Cigar Mike" Pancier, have filed suit against 50 State Security.

Eight months after I was battered and assaulted by a security guard on the Miami-Dade Metrorail for videotaping inside a train station, I filed a lawsuit seeking damages.

The suit was filed today at the Miami-Dade Courthouse by my attorney Michael Pancier, who also happens to be a talented nature photographer.

C- Writer Gabrielle Calvocoressi is from LA and will be attending the O, Miami poetry festival this coming weekend in Miami, a city that she loves. according to this Q&A she did with Beached Miami.

Seeing as you had all these intense experiences in Miami, does the city factor into your poetry?

GC: Miami does function in my artistic life now. I don’t necessarily think of it as, I would go to this place and these dangerous things were happening. But I felt like I was going to a place both foreign to me and really magical. It looks different, it smells different. Even when I was little, I could look at Miami and realize there were places that were really different from where I grew up. It seemed that there was so much possibility.

The things that were happening on screens while I was there — whether the screen of a television or the way a window can look like a screen when you look through it — those had an intensity and a tenor that I think really affects my work now. The way, for example, that color saturates my work, and the way media and political events figure in my work. I think my relationship to that really did being in Miami.

D- Find out how Chow Down Grill makes their soy sauce and tofu at Mango&Lime.

The bins with the soybeans, flour and yeast then go up in the rafters “because oddly enough, it has the right temperature, it has good air flow and the humidity is about 60 percent.” Mold starts to grow and after about two weeks the paste that forms is placed in a salt solution. That’s where the process ends for six months save for a stir every three or four weeks.

After the six months, the liquid is filtered, pasteurized and placed into small oak barrels from where it’s poured into the sauce bottles that sit on the tables and counter at Chow Down. The result is not the dark-colored soy sauce that you buy at the supermarket. This sauce is a light brown hue.

E- Turns out that lawyers are just as big of a-holes when they deal with other lawyers, as this post from South Florida Lawyers demonstrates.

F- Random Pixels notes a deafening silence after the latest Miami shooting.

Commissioner Dunn, who hoped to stop the violence with prayer, has been uncharacteristically silent on the shooting of Smith-Brown and her son. Not a peep.

So too, the Herald. Not a word about the shooting in our paper of record.

Also quiet, members of the community where the shooting happened.

Other than telling police that the shooters were on bicycles, no one has provided the cops with a detailed description according to William Moreno of the Miami Police Department.

And that's strange.

G- FTL Collective visits The Field and catches the Hot Rod performance.

Overall, I give Hot Rod an A+ for performance and look and a B+ for voice, no complaints.

In addition to a pretty solid performance, The Field serves quite the yummy dishes. This trip we enjoyed the corned beef and cabbage, obviously, coconut shrimp (I know, but it sounded so good, and was), Irish Potato Soup, and Country Bread. The corned beef was nice- juicy, tender, and filling (enough for two meals). The soup, one of my favorites, was rich and creamy- all that you’d dream of in a potato soup. I could easily order a bowl and call it a meal in itself.

H- All Purpose Dark gets a special preview of Makoto at the Bal Harbour Shops.

The space is grand (200 seats) but the vibe is laid-back. Good for a power lunch, great for a date, fine for an early dinner with kids. It feels like the middle ground between Zuma and Gigi - not quite as pricey or stuffy as Zuma, yet not as rough around the edges (or filled with tattooed hipsters) as Gigi.

I- We continue with the restaurants, this time South Florida Food and Wine lunches at Michele's Dining Lounge in Fort Lauderdale.

The menu is American classic with a contemporary spin offering items such as Grilled Caesar Salad, Foie Gras with housemade blackberry sauce, Harissa-style sautéed Mussels and Pan Seared Branzino infused with Mediterranean flavors. The wine list is predominantly California with nice choices of French and Italian wines.

J- Babalu Blog and a lot of their hard right extremist brethren have a hard time discerning sarcasm from the truth, according to Bark Bark Woof Woof.

K- It looks like Rick Scott is pulling a Carlos Alvarez but will anyone besides The Reid Report notice...or care.

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They're Bullying Bloggers In Wisconsin

Yesterday's Paul Krugman [at right]...

Recently William Cronon, a historian who teaches at the University of Wisconsin, decided to weigh in on his state’s political turmoil. He started a blog, “Scholar as Citizen,” devoting his first post to the role of the shadowy American Legislative Exchange Council in pushing hard-line conservative legislation at the state level. Then he published an opinion piece in The Times, suggesting that Wisconsin’s Republican governor has turned his back on the state’s long tradition of “neighborliness, decency and mutual respect.”

So what was the G.O.P.’s response? A demand for copies of all e-mails sent to or from Mr. Cronon’s university mail account containing any of a wide range of terms, including the word “Republican” and the names of a number of Republican politicians.

If this action strikes you as no big deal, you’re missing the point. The hard right — which these days is more or less synonymous with the Republican Party — has a modus operandi when it comes to scholars expressing views it dislikes: never mind the substance, go for the smear. And that demand for copies of e-mails is obviously motivated by no more than a hope that it will provide something, anything, that can be used to subject Mr. Cronon to the usual treatment.

The Cronon affair, then, is one more indicator of just how reflexively vindictive, how un-American, one of our two great political parties has become.

This type of bullying and intimidation is not exactly new to the hard right. It's a technique they have learned over the years from some of the world's most diabolical regimes and dictators that they ironically claim to hate so much even as the mimic them in their actions. And if they gain more power expect even more of this kind of behavior as they are emboldened by a vulnerable electorate that is increasingly fueled and fed a generous supply of fiction and fable by Fox News and conservative talk radio.


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SoFla Blogosphere: How Fast Is Your Blog?

Because I spend an inordinate amount of time cruising around the South Florida blogosphere, I am intimately aware of page load times. There is nothing more frustrating than to have to wait for a blog to load and by now I pretty much know which ones are going to drive me crazy.

So I decided to check and see if it was just my imagination or were certain South Florida blogs that slow to fully load.

Using the Pingdom page load tool, the first group of blogs I checked were SFDB's Top 5. These are the blogs that get the most links here at SFDB. Then I moved on to 4 blogs that, based upon past experience, I thought might be slow. The last group of 5 blogs was comprised of some other, widely read blogs, that I wanted to check.

The first test I did was between 8 and 9 PM last Friday night. That test is designated by the letter "A." The "B" test was done between 12 and 1 PM on Sunday. I also noted the type of platform the blog was using when that was known. The numbers represent how many seconds it took the full page of the blog to load.

Here are the results.

- Eye on Miami [Blogger].................2.6A (2.4B)

- Coconut Grove Grapevine [Blogger]......7.0A (N/A)

- The Reid Report [Wordpress]............7.7A (11.9B)

- Bark Bark Woof Woof [Blogger]..........3.1A (3.8B)

- Random Pixels [Blogger]................2.7A (6.0B)


- Nunez Photography [?]..................8.6A (7.5B)

- Boy Writes Miami [?]...................8.4A (8.4B)

- Beached Miami [?]......................6.5A (7.8B)

- Mike LaMonica [Wordpress]..............4.8A (7.5B)


- Miami Beach 411 [?]....................4.6A (7.8B)

- The305.com [?]........................13.0A (15.3B)

- The Heat Lightning [?].................6.9A (9.5B)

- Miami Faves [tumblr]...................4.8A (4.5B)

- Ipanemic [?]...........................7.5A (8.1B)


Trends

- The first thing that I noticed is that there is the potential for a wide variance in the load times from day to day. Pingdom describes what is measured in the full page tests...

The Full Page Test loads a complete HTML page including all objects (images, CSS, JavaScripts, RSS, Flash and frames/iframes). It mimics the way a page is loaded in a web browser.

So I suppose that depending upon what objects the "full page" of the blog being tested added or removed between Friday and Sunday, the load times could vary.

- Overall, The305.Com was consistently the slowest tested blog to load and Eye on Miami was consistently the fastest.

- Most blogs were slower during Sunday's test. The average speed on Friday was 6.3 seconds. The average on Sunday was 7.7 seconds.

- There is so much, well, junk, on Coconut Grove Grapevine's blog that the Pingdom tool couldn't complete the 2nd test because the object volume exceeded Pingdom's limits.

- Blogger blogs generally did better than the Wordpress or "other" blogs, although my sampling of blogs was obviously incomplete and honestly did not do a fair job in adequately measuring this trend. The lone Tumblr blog in this test [Miami Favs] did better than average.

So there you go. Not a scientific or well-controlled test by any stretch of the imagination, but still rather fun. And it confirmed some suspicions of mine.

Check out your blog with the tool and post your results in the comments if you want.

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SFDB Morning Chuckle

-via The Daily Wh.at


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The Cooler

Here are the results of my quick review of the local mainstream media this morning.

A- Herald: So when you know something is unconstitutional and you do it anyway what does that make you?

How much do Florida taxpayers have a right to know about public employees?

By signing an executive order last week that requires drug testing for many current state workers and job applicants, Gov. Rick Scott is betting the public is entitled to know a lot.

Legal scholars say the governor has overreached, and that his order contradicts what many consider to be settled law regarding drug-testing of government employees.

[...]

Random drug-testing of current government workers also has been limited to those in jobs that affect public safety and to cases where a reasonable suspicion of abuse exists, according to a December 2004 federal court ruling in a case that involved Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice.

In that case, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that the DJJ violated the Fourth Amendment in ordering random drug-testing of all the agency’s 5,000-plus employees.

Hinkle ordered the agency to stop random drug-testing and pay $150,000 to the employee who sued, Roderick Wenzel.

Wenzel, a strategic planner who had no contact with children, was fired for refusing to submit to a drug test — despite his having received positive job evaluations and prizes for his performance, such as the Florida Taxwatch Davis Productivity Award.

“It definitely should have been settled,’’ Wenzel said last week after hearing of the governor’s order reinstating the policy. “I take it this is either Rick Scott’s lack of respect for public employees, or he’s ignorant of the law.’’

B- Herald: Video, construction on Biscayne Boulevard is killing business.

C- Sun-Sentinel: Video, Centennial celebration.

D- CBS4: Definitely put a damper on the party.

MIAMI BEACH – (CBSMIami.com) – A man swimming in the pool Sunday at the Clevelander Hotel disappeared beneath the surface and drowned, despite the efforts of people at poolside to save him.

E- CBS4: Thank goodness Miami Police weren't around because they probably would have shot the perps.

MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – A woman and her son were hospitalized Sunday night after they were hit by gunfire trying the leave their Miami apartment building. Police say they were unintended victims, and believe the gunshots were meant for someone else.

The shooting happened Sunday night in the Town Park apartment complex, at 1700 block of NW 5th Avenue in Miami.

F- WPLG: Viewer's Top 10 Places to Eat in South Florida will make foodies blanch.

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

It's National Black Forest Cake Day and Respect Your Cat Day. So go get yourself some cake and have your cat neutered right after you check out your morning Sift.

A- Brickell Life shares some photos and commentary about the Sony Ericsson Open.

In my mind, you're hard pressed to find a better sporting event in South Florida than the annual Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament held on Key Biscyane. It's a rare mix of approachability, fun, casual, and cool, mixed with a hint of sophistication. Sure, you get your normal douche bags as with any Miami event - that's inevitable and part of our colloquial charm, but the tournament offers a unique glimpse into what South Florida is and can be.

B- Soul of Miami posts a bunch of photos from the Coral Gables Wine and Food Festival.

C- Superbee has bugs.

When I went to sprinkle PAPRIKA of all things, on my dinner. The paprika had clumped (or so I thought) and after banging the container on the counter, I sprinkled it all over my dinner. Although, it wasn't just paprika I was sprinkling.

IT WAS PAPRIKA AND BEETLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

D- Swampstyle shares the latest viral video of the tsunami in Japan.

E- It's a new day so there's yet another example of Republican hypocrisy, at Bark Bark Woof Woof.

F- Eye on Miami cruises by Ultra on the water and makes a video.

G- Newt Gingrich is a tool and his latest statements on his adulterous lifestyle prove it, at The Reid Report.

H- Sex and the Beach tells us about the first Miami Mojito March and includes a video and a slideshow.

We started around 3ish and didn't end until 9ish. A true mojito olympics indeed, requiring savvy pacing and endurance. Our goal: to see which one of the four establishments served the best version of a mojito, which is basically light rum served over muddled mint, lime and sugar (or simple syrup), topped with a spritz of club soda.

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Late Night @ SFDB

Just got in from a superbly powerful movie showing for a limited time at Cinema Paradiso in Fort Lauderdale. From the LA Times...

The short and tragic life of Phil Ochs is as involving as the music he wrote and played, and that is saying a great deal.

If you remember the 1960s, you more than likely remember the singer-songwriter who composed hundreds of songs, many of them, as can be heard on the strong and forceful documentary "Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune," beautiful and melodic as well as pointedly political.

We could use a Phil Ochs today.

Here's the trailer.





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Your Evening Sift

I have some plans for tonight so I'm going to get to this one a little early. Hope you enjoyed your weekend. Here's your Sunday evening Sift.

A- Mulberries! at Redland Rambles.

I offered to help pick, and scouted branches for the darkest, ripest fruit. They were deep purple and fell off into my hand at the slightest touch. The darker they are, the sweeter the flavor. The thing with me and mulberries is that for every two that go into the box, at least one goes into my mouth!

B- You can experience a Florida Panther game at Taking Over Miami.

C- Beached Miami examines a sensationalistic story out of North Miami that is pulled from the headlines.

D- The305.Com shares some old Stiltsville photos.


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SFDB's Flash From The Past

Check out this old Publix commercial...

-via The305.Com


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SFDB's We Live Here

-miami fever



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Your Mid-Afternoon Sift

I have lots of stuff for you to wade through this afternoon. So let's get into it. Enjoy your mid-afternoon Sift.

A- Some Blogging Guy posts part one of his series on the iPad and discusses who should not buy one.

3. If you are forgetful or clumsy, then step away from the iPad. It is one thing to leave your paper note pad in the bathroom or even drop it in the toilet. Something else entirely different if you do that with your expensive glass Ipad. Do you leave things in your hot car during summer? Or cold car during winter? Step back then, move along.

B- Louis Vuitton moving from Bal Harbour to Aventura gives Coral Gables Watch reason to pause and reflect about the future of Miracle Mile.

Miracle Mile will never be much more than it is now, even with new shrubs, sidewalks and thoroughfares, even with a pile of subsidies from the taxpayers. Miracle Mile will never be a Dadeland Mall, a Merrick Park, the Design District and surely not Aventura Mall.

C- Speaking of Bal Harbour, Transit Miami says one of their city ordinances regarding cyclists is in conflict with state law.

Bal Harbour should not force people to ride in the roadway. Rather then castigating cyclists Bal Harbour should work with the FDOT to provide a safer environment for cyclists of all ages to ride comfortably and safely through Bal Harbour.

D- Soul of Miami shares some photos from yesterday's Taste of Brickell.

E- Food for Thought gives us his opinion of some of the fare offered up by Miami food trucks and actually has some critical words for one.

While I've welcomed the food truck invasion, I've also been concerned at times with the quality and the variety - or lack thereof - available. For a while, it seemed like every new truck hitting the road was doing burgers, or tacos, or both. Now it's true that everyone who has a soul loves burgers and tacos, but I had my doubts that Miami really needed twenty, or forty, trucks all serving the same things. But lately the mix has improved.

F- South Florida Food and Wine asks Lyn Farmer, Director of Miami Wine and Food Festival, a few questions.

South Florida Food and Wine: What is the one thing you love the most about the festival?

Lyn Farmer: The chance to meet other people who are passionate about life. As a food and wine journalist, I believe there is a great story behind every great bottle of wine, and that usually means at least one interesting person as well. I like getting to know the stories and the people. At a festival, you don’t just share the stories of the wines, you get to experience new stories unfolding as people discover new wines they love.

G- South Florida Theater Review takes a peek at some of next year's theater performances at the Arsht.

H- Romeo and Juliet at the Arsht was spectacular, according to South Florida Classical Review.

A tuxedoed and bejeweled audience turned out for the opening performance of Romeo and Juliet Friday night at the Arsht Center, the grand finale to the twenty-fifth anniversary season of Miami City Ballet. And John Cranko’s three-act extravaganza proved spectacular indeed.

I- Eye on Miami rips Rick Scott and everyone who voted for him.

What a sorry ass excuse for a person Rick Scott is. Seventy five times he plead the 5th. Who the hell voted for him? You scum are taking down Florida with your vote for this loser.

J- The Reid Report remembers the political life of Geraldine Ferraro.

While many have run, there are only a handful of women credited with having made a serious, major party run for president: Margaret Chase Smith, the Maine Republican and courageous anti-McCarthyite who was also the country’s first female Senator, the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress (beginning in the House in 1949); Shirley Chisholm, Ferraro and Hillary Clinton (with apologies to Carol Mosely Braun and Elizabeth Dole.)

As a member of that small circle, Ferraro deserves respect and attention. To paraphrase Shirley Chisholm, who actually agreed to some extent with Ferraro that gender is often a greater obstacle for American women than race, we can, in this moment after her passing, measure Ms. Ferraro not by her achievement but by her potential.

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