Your Evening Sift

The SFDB Weekend Widget is humming along in the right sidebar and I have a nice evening Sift for you. Life is good. Enjoy.

A- AshAndBurn has a tee shirt for all you Heat fans.

B- Burger Beast is running a contest and the winner gets a coveted spot on something called the Burger Beast Food Tour.

We’re considering doing a monthly Burger Beast Food Tour but as a precursor to that we’re going to hold a “Contest” where 5 Burger Beast Readers (who may also bring a +1) will win a spot on the Burger Beast Food Tour 2012. The Tour will be on a Sunday and you must available for 12 consecutive hours (no excuses), it will be a marathon. I won’t reveal anymore details til after the contest is over.

C- South Florida Theatre Scene posts their weekly wrap up of South Florida theater happenings just in time for the weekend.

D- Transit Miami takes a quick look at the layout of the old Miami trolley car system of the 20's.

To attract people and business in the 21st century, the Miami of the future should look a lot like the Miami of the past.

E- Art in Pembroke Pines? You betcha. Check out The Sincerity Project at Arterpillar.

F- Justice Building Blog is still obsessed with how long he and other lawyers wait in line at the Miami-Dade County Justice Building.

Imagine you are an attorney hired for a big case in Tampa. A six or eight week murder trial, and every day you have to wait in line for an hour to get into the courthouse. Think your opponent will have an advantage over you?

G- Discourse gives us the news that a Federal court today decided that at least part of Florida's new voter laws enacted by Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-controlled legislature are "harsh and impractical" and, of course, unconstitutional.




.

SFDB Thursday Afternoon Chuckle

 

Republicans are avoiding mentioning these two almost as much as Democrats are pointing to them as perfect examples of what happens when Republicans are in charge.



-via Daily Kos


.

Goebbels Couldn't Have Done It Better

Here's the "report" Fox News produced on President Obama's "4 years of change."



If this little gem, loaded with dishonest and inaccurate claims, doesn't convince you that Fox News is the Republican Party's version of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, then, well, you must be a Republican.




.

Big Ups To Transit Miami

Well, would you check this out...

Early Wednesday, a trio of uniformed Miami motorcycle cops on a special detail — ticketing motorists who fail to yield to crossing pedestrians — gamely tried to patrol the river of traffic that is Brickell Avenue’s Eighth Street intersection. They wrote tickets as fast as they could and still couldn’t keep up.

In just a bit over an hour, the officers handed out 47 tickets to surprised drivers, most of whom were turning onto Brickell off Eighth and in the process brushed by, cut off or pushed into people on foot who had the right of way in a crosswalk marked with big, fat zebra stripes.

[...]

Wednesday’s crosswalk detail, the second in two months, was prompted by a pair of videos sent to Miami Police Chief Manuel Orosa by Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, whose district includes Brickell. Sarnoff has been trying, with some success, to get police to target speeders and other motorized scofflaws in the area, where he says pedestrians and cyclists are too often getting struck by cars.

The first video, by Craig Chester, a blogger and advocate at transitmiami.com, shows cars forcing their way through crossing pedestrians at the Eighth Street intersection, to a soundtrack mash-up of Rodney Dangerfield’s “I don’t get no respect’’ refrain and a singing Aretha Franklin asking for some.

That's the Miami Herald, folks.

And that's blogging that the whole South Florida blogosphere can be proud of.

Nice job, Transit Miami. Way to get sh*t done.

This calls for a do over.







.

SFDB Morning Chuckle

"Pub Dog"






link


.

The Cooler

The Marlins Stadium dominates this morning's Cooler for all the wrong reasons. That and more. Enjoy.

A- Herald: Boston who?

After thoroughly dominating Game 1 of these Eastern Conference finals, the Heat outlasted and outgunned the Celtics when they were at their best in Game 2. In the end, the Heat’s 115-111 overtime victory might have been more demoralizing to Boston than the initial punch in the face to begin the series.

B- Herald: Just say 3 Hail Marys.

The priest of the Rincón de San Lázaro church in Hialeah was suspended of his duties Wednesday after a video of him gambling at slot machines in three Miami-Dade casinos emerged.

C- Herald: The GOP's effort to game the vote.

Bush strategists recognized the ticking time bomb during his presidency, and sought to get their party on board with comprehensive immigration reform, only to face a backlash from the Archie Bunker wing. These days, no Republican dares speak of immigration reform, unless it involves a moat filled with alligators, and the sole GOP strategy for attracting more Latino voters appears to be dangling Sen. Marco Rubio in front of an adoring press corps.

Younger voters are pro gay marriage, which the elders of the religious right fulminate against. Women are discovering a conservative movement their grandmothers thought was buried in the 1970s, complete with abortion and birth-control banning Puritans and Rush Limbaugh calling women “babes” and “sluts,” while Romney grimaces uncomfortably, but doesn’t do much more.

With all of that as a backdrop, kicking potential Democratic voters off the rolls might be Republicans’ best hope.

D- Palm Beach Post: Life in South Florida.

One man was arrested late Tuesday after he tried to rob a Pennsylvania man on a charity bicycle ride, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.

The man knocked forcibly took the backpack of Spencer Holm, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., off his bicycle while the cyclist was returning to John Prince Park in suburban Lake Worth, said Teri Barbera, sheriff's spokeswoman.

Sheriff's deputies patrolling the area on bicycle intervened on behalf of Holm, who is riding from Philadelphia to Key West to raise money for Philabudance, a charity that feeds the homeless.

E- Miami Today: The shiny is wearing off.

Since opening day, Miami Marlins ticket prices have done a complete reversal, going from highest to lowest in Major League Baseball, data shows.

While some decrease in ticket prices can be expected following the highly-anticipated first game of the season in their new ballpark, sports economists say the steady decline in Marlins ticket prices since then reflects something more.
"They don't have much of a market," said Phil Miller, an associate professor of economics at Minnesota State University and a contributor to The Sport Economist, a website about the business of sports.

Miami "is not really a good baseball market."

F- NBC Miami: Video, the new Rickenbacker bike lanes.

G- WPLG: This wasn't supposed to happen.

MIAMI -Rain washed out batting practice Wednesday at Marlins Park.

And yes, the $634-million ballpark has a retractable roof.

The roof was open when a rain cell developed over the ballpark nearly four hours before the start of the Marlins' game against the Washington Nationals. Showers fell for nearly 15 minutes before the roof began to close.

H- WPLG: No guts, no glory.

LAUDERHILL, Fla. -Remains found floating in a Lauderhill canal Wednesday are not human, Lauderhill police said.

Lauderhill police said the intestines and stomach tract were found in a canal near 4200 NW 16th St.

Lauderhill police said they took the remains to the medical examiner's office for examination. There, officials determined that the remains are from an animal, possibly a cow, horse or goat, police said.

.

Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

We're at that point in the week where the SFDB Weekend Widget makes its initial appearance in the right sidebar. Check it out after you take a look at this morning's Sift.

A- Miami Beach is conducting a couple bicycle summits, according to The Miami Bike Scene.

B- This has been a very rainy May for some places in the swamp, as Go Hydrology! graphically depicts.

C- Swampiness is discussed at Swampstyle.

D- Eye on Miami considers for a moment how budget cuts and Republican downsizing of government might be impacting law enforcement's ability to effectively investigate and prosecute our politician's misdeeds, using Congressman David Rivera as a case in point.

Assuming that FDLE and the Miami-Dade State Attorney did not drag their heels on the Rivera investigation (that may be too big an assumption since Rivera was a powerful GOP leader and roommate of Marco Rubio, now US Senator and short-listed for the GOP VP slot), the question taxpayers and voters should ask is whether the GOP jihad to "shrink government to the size it can fit in a bathtub" is designed precisely to allow the worst-of-the-worst like Rivera, to play out the clock and to create an unlovable majority of the corrupt.

E- Bark Bark Woof Woof discusses the Obama Administration's "kill list" that was recently unveiled.

I'll get to the morals in a bit, but as for the legal conundrum, it's pretty clear: there's nothing in the Constitution that authorizes this kind of executive power. But, as Charlie Pierce points out, there's nothing in the history of the last fifty years that would indicate that there is anyone who is going to bring the president up on charges for using the 82nd Airborne from taking out an individual.

.

SFDB Late Night Politics

In this two-parter, Jon Stewart lays waste to all the boneheaded conservatives who have made the word "socialist" a dirty word while subscribing to socialist policies. Masterful...they have never looked so effing silly.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

.

Your Evening Sift

Another great day of blogging in the South Florida blogosphere. Lucky for you I have the highlights. Enjoy your evening Sift.

A- Bark Bark Woof Woof explains why Willard "Mitt" Romney is aligning himself with Donald Trump...besides the fact that Republicans like a-holes they can identify with.

After having finally sewn up the nomination -- a foregone conclusion since the very beginning -- Mitt Romney climbed aboard the crazy train with Donald Trump in Vegas. This is a win-win for both men; Donald Trump is never at a loss for words that can get the cameras pointed at him, and Mitt Romney needs to have him on his side because, as Josh Marshall notes, it's better to have Mr. Trump inside the tent pissing out rather than outside the tent pissing in.

B- Eye on Miami introduces some young South Florida environmentalists to their readers.

These kids are the best hope we have to stop the destruction of the environment in Florida. Some of the rest of us are getting old and tired (getting old sucks don't let anyone tell you otherwise) and cannot stomach meetings anymore.

C- Food for Thought gets a burger named after him at Blue Collar.

The month of May, according to authoritative source "A Hamburger Today," is "National Burger Month." To celebrate the auspicious occasion, Blue Collar Restaurant has been running burger specials every week inspired by local food writers, including - yes - yours truly. I'll admit: it is difficult to resist the allure of having a menu item named after you.

D- Gun Free Zone manages to clearly define what heroes aren't made of in his latest post.

As much as my morals say “Yes a**hole [Ed.], if you see a case so clear in front of you, it is your moral imperative to act and defend a life in jeopardy.” But at the same time I have a family that depends on me and an very elderly mother that might die if subjected to a Martin/Zimmerman media frenzy and that would be on my head too.

E- Arterpillar has lots of local art linkage.

F- Florida Keys Girl enjoys dinner at 2 Cents in Key West and reveals something of a pet peeve when it comes to ordering wine in restaurants.

If FKGuy orders the wine, I full well expect the server to bring it over for his perusal and have him taste the wine. If I order the wine, I expect to be shown the wine and then do the tasting. I have perfectly good taste buds. Just because I do not have a penis, does not mean that I am incapable of determining whether or not a wine is flawed. I can detect TCA taint a mile away, often before some of my male friends.

G- Salty Eggs reveals their top 5 politicians that we can look to for leadership during the zombie apocalypse.

H- Culture Designers finds some unique random art around Wynwood, which is saying a lot for that area.

Seems the Miami Zombie isn’t the only mystery to arise over Memorial Day Weekend, for while a naked madman was eating the face off someone near the MacArthur Causeway, an enterprising art op was affixing a series of sculptures to a few choice utility poles around Wynwood.

I- South Florida Food and Wine's luncheon at Cecconi’s at the Soho Beach House included wine, wine and more wine.

Cecconi’s is well known for its stunning nighttime vibe of twinkling lights that covet the Buttonwood trees year-round. During the day Cecconi’s is equally as enchanting with the South Beach sun peeking through the the branches radiating a calm, chic mood.

J- What is Miami's "most anticipated restaurant opening this summer?" Find out at Eater Miami.



.

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.

I like it when we get some new faces for the Post of the Week consideration. For that reason, among others, this week's selection was fun. Let's see why...

Runners-Up: Food for Thought composed a nice review of Pubbelly Sushi with their usual easy-flowing narrative and decent photos that we've come to expect in their posts. The305.Com did an excellent job covering the opening of the New Era store on South Beach and produced a cool video that does a good job capturing the vibe. The decadence of Bal Harbour's J&G Grill was perfectly described and documented in South Florida Food and Wine's review of the over-the-top restaurant.



Winner:  If there's one place you can always count on an opinion being expressed, it's Obalesque.You may not agree with Squathole all the time [in fact, I'm thinking most times you won't] but you have to give guy credit for laying it all out there for his pseudonymous commenters to take pot shots at him.  But the post Native Intelligence doesn't offer Obalesque's opinion. Instead, it recounts a recent trip to Orlando and the resulting conversation that he has with a certified redneck outside of Eustis.  What the reader expects and what they get is what makes this well-written post memorable and worthy of this week's SFDB Post of the Week recognition.


'Til next time, keep on blogging!





.

"There Is Something Horribly, Horribly Wrong"

Imagine for a minute if a Democratic Florida Governor decided during an election year that he was going to launch a purge of voting rolls that would result in the removal of hundreds of Republicans.

Imagine how pissed off all those good 'ole boys from Collier County would get when their pals got letters telling them they had to prove their citizenship.

So why the eff isn't Governor Scott being dragged before the Florida House and asked to explain this horseshit?

Bill Internicola is a 91-year-old, Brooklyn-born, World War II veteran. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge and received the Bronze Star for bravery. He’s voted in Florida for 14 years and never had a problem.

Three weeks ago, Bill received a letter from Broward County Florida stating “[Y]ou are not a U.S. Citizen” and therefore, ineligible to vote. He was given the option of requesting “a hearing with the Supervisor of Elections, for the purpose of providing proof that you are a United States citizens” or forfeit his right to vote.

Or this?

Maureen Russo was born in Akron, Ohio. For the last 40 years she’s operated a dog boarding and grooming business — Bobbi’s World Kennels — with her husband in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Maureen is 60 years old and has been a registered voter in the state for the last four decades. She regularly votes at the church around the corner from her home.

Two weeks ago she received a letter from the State of Florida informing her that they had received information that she was not born in this country and, therefore, was ineligible to vote.

Look, I could give a crap less if Maureen and Bill are Democrats or Republicans. They are effing Americans. This kind of BS doesn't go on in this country. No one, especially a pissant like Rick Scott, takes an American's right to vote away from them with an effing letter.

And Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes? To hell with you for agreeing to send out those letters. If you were an honorable person you would have resigned before doing something as despicable as you did to Maureen Russo and Bill Internicola and who knows how many others.

Iraq War veteran Jon Soltz, Chairman of VoteVets.org, says it best...

“When someone who put their life on the line to protect the right to vote from fascists and empires is denied the right to vote, and is purged from voting rolls, there is something horribly, horribly wrong. Anyone who would stand behind an action that threatens the right to vote of a WWII vet is someone I would call un-American.”

Goddammit. 

Finally, for all of you who voted for Rick Scott in 2010: I hope you're happy with the work your Tea Party Freak of Nature is doing in Tallahassee. Do us all a huge favor and get your heads examined. And then move to another state.

And don't forget to take your birth certificates. And your guns. And your bigotries.


.

SFDB Morning Chuckle

Fails of the month...






.

The Cooler

Looks like we have an Urban Beach Weekend link to the cannibal on the causeway. That and more in this morning's Cooler.

A- Herald: Cannibal was a Urban Beach Weekend partier.

Police have just begun to piece together Eugene’s actions in the hours before the attack.

It appears Eugene had been in Miami Beach — in full party mode for Urban Beach Week over the Memorial Day Weekend — shortly before the attack. Eugene’s car, a purple 1995 Chevrolet Caprice, was towed for being parked illegally at 1100 10th St.

B- Herald: Because renaming a street is the highest honor in South Florida...for some reason.

A section of a Miami street will be named in a special ceremony on Wednesday in honor of late police Sgt. Angel Calzadilla, who died last year at 48 of cystic fibrosis.

The street renaming will take place at 10 a.m. along Southwest First Street and 19th Avenue.

C- Herald: Life in South Florida.

History and our fine-tuned reputation as a storyteller’s paradise have taught us that how 31-year-old Rudy Eugene met his maker — shot by police after he bit off most of a man’s face right next to the Miami Herald building, the scene creating a hellish traffic jam — is the kind of news that draws tourists and filmmakers like mosquitoes to standing water.

Once upon a time, this would have been the kind of news that sent the Chamber of Commerce into emergency meetings to figure out how to counteract the bad image of Miami promulgated by the negative media. But in the age of the Internet and social media, everyone craves a piece of the action. Stories like Eugene’s sends gallows humor into high gear.

The wackier the news, the wider the reach, the more people develop the sense that we’re just a happening kind of town. Makes them want to be part of the scene.

D- Palm Beach Post: Who knew?

PALM CITY — A Martin County Sheriff's deputy has been placed on paid administrative leave following his Saturday morning DUI arrest, according to a Sheriff's Office news release issued Tuesday afternoon.

Deputies charged Kurt Abbott, 42, a former Florida Marlins baseball player, with DUI after a Stuart Police officer stopped him about 3 a.m. Saturday at Martin Downs Boulevard and Waterfall Boulevard, according to arrest affidavit.

Abbott was a member of the 1997 World Series Marlins and 2000 National League champion New York Mets.

E- TC Palm: Answering the question as to who is to blame for the political BS in DC.

VERO BEACH — U.S. Senate candidate Connie Mack IV told a Pointe West crowd Tuesday it's time to elect conservative congressional members who aren't just looking to compromise once they get to Washington.

And if Florida pencils in Mitt Romney for president and Mack for Senate, Mack predicts the GOP will regain the White House and Congress' upper chamber.

"We need to send more Republicans — not just Republicans who are going to go along to get along — but Republicans who are going to stand up to Democrat leadership or Republican leadership," said Mack, a sitting Republican congressman from Fort Myers.

F- CBS4: In addition to the bad drivers...

Sateena Spates, 31, was heading on I-95 when a vehicle hit some debris in the road south of Griffin Road. A large metal rod flew up in the air and pierced the windshield between the driver and passenger seats. Neither Spates nor her passenger Carlton Francis Jr., 29, were seriously hurt.

.

Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

Hump Day is here. Things were a little sluggish in the South Florida blogosphere last night so this should take you no more than a minute.

A- South Florida Food and Wine mentions a few culinary events around SoFla during the coming weeks.

B- Lots of new artist opportunities in South Florida at Arterpillar.

C- Doom and gloom at Eye on Miami this morning.

No one who shops at convenience stores or Publix or Walmart is putting up much of a fuss except to complain about the rising costs of food. No one seems to care that short-sighted policies we endorse, through elected officials we return to office one cycle after another, are to blame.

.

Your Evening Sift

Most everyone returned to work today which meant the South Florida blogosphere was active, too. Here's what I thought the highlights were, collected and collated in your evening Sift.

A- Eater Miami tells us about yet another high profile chef who is reportedly considering a move to the Brickell area.

B- Burger Beast recommends Waffleworks in Hollywood.

C- Salty Eggs pretty much trashes the F.A.T. Village Art Walk and says that it doesn't measure up to the sophisticated character of Wynwood's Second Saturday event.

When compared to Miami’s own monthly Art Walk events, the Fat Village Art Walk served as an unfortunate reminder that the area simply does not harbor the same kind of cultural density as its sister city to the south. Though much of the visual art was well done, particularly some of the installation and sculpture pieces on exhibit, the vibe in general was simply lacking. Miami’s Art Walk usually boasts its share of outlandish-looking characters, too, but there is always an air of sophistication to the evening; every month feels like a small build-up to Art Basel.

D- The Miami Bike Scene links to some Bike Prom photos.

E- Statistics break down who was arrested during this year's Urban Beach Weekend, at Random Pixels.

F- All Purpose Dark describes J + G Grill in Bal Harbour to us, although I'm not totally sure that they've formed an opinion of the place.

G- Celebrities acting badly in South Florida, at South Florida Lawyers.

H- Buyers are apparently engaging in bidding wars for real estate in certain parts of Miami-Dade County, according to Miamism.

We have many clients who refuse to be part of “the game”, but if you want to get into certain areas of Miami and Miami Beach, you will have no choice. Take The Brickell area, just South of downtown Miami, for example. Properties under $400,000 in newer buildings are selling in days! We are talking about sellers receiving multiple offers on their properties as soon as they come available on the market. For the most part, cash is king!! Because it means no ridiculous demands from banks who are lending money to buy the properties, no closing delays and no closing conditions.

.

CBS4 Wordsmith Quiz

Yesterday, CBS4 reached way down into the bottom of the Wordsmith Well and pulled out a true gem of a headline.

Which one was it? [no fair using Google!]

A

B

C

D

.

Affordable Care Act: It Makes Sense

They're coming around.

May 24th...

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., gave a strong defense yesterday of a portion of the Affordable Care Act that allows children up to 26 years old to remain on their parents’ health insurance plans, breaking a bit from the GOP’s hard-line opposition to Obamacare.

Yesterday...

POMPANO BEACH, Florida — Though Rep. Allen West (R-FL) ran for Congress on a platform of completely scrapping Obamacare, he praised a number of its key provisions on Tuesday, putting him at odds with many House Republicans leading the repeal effort.

In an interview with ThinkProgress, West pointed to three popular provisions of the health care law that he would like to see preserved: allowing parents to keep children on their health insurance plans until 26, ensuring that people with pre-existing conditions aren’t denied insurance, and closing Medicare’s prescription drug donut hole...

The reasons for this have to include a realization by these politicians that taking medical insurance away from their constituents by fully repealing the Affordable Care Act is political suicide, especially when you don't have a viable alternative.

I imagine the only people who continue to oppose the Affordable Care Act are right-wing ideologues who are too obtuse to fully understand what a catastrophic illness can do to you and your finances...until it happens, of course.


.

2012 Knight Arts Challenge Miami Finalists

Just announced last night, here is a list of the 57 Knight Arts Challenge Miami finalists for 2012.

• 6th Street Dance Studio/WholeProject: To broaden and support the TruSchool Hiphop program for kids by incorporating new forms of dance, writing and cultural events.
• 826 Miami: To provide an engaging after-school option for kids by bringing a national model to Miami that turns storefronts into free creative writing centers funded by the sale of local artistic goods
• Actors’ Playhouse Productions: To culturally enrich Miami-Dade Schools ninth grade students by making 3,000 seats available to the Tony winning musical In the Heights, coupled with a rap-writing contest
• Andrea Askowitz: To give a voice to more Miami stories by coaching underrepresented members of the community to present a spoken-word performance about their experiences
• Ann Kelly: To enhance the capacity of Miami’s local theater community by establishing a cooperative scene shop where artists can collaboratively build sets, store props and share expensive tools
• Art and Culture Center of Hollywood: To share the work of dynamic, national visual artists by hosting an ongoing lecture series
• Arts for Learning/Miami: To provide opportunities for high-school students to pursue their interests in the arts while also learning essential work skills by offering six-week paid summer art internships and apprenticeships
• Bass Museum of Art: To use the arts as a catalyst to promote creative thinking by expanding the popular IDEA@thebass program, which helps bring the classroom to life for young students
• Borscht Corporation: To increase Miami’s leadership role in the indie film community by expanding the Borscht Film Festival to help it become the epicenter of regional filmmaking
• Brazz Dance Theater: To build Miami’s reputation as an emerging center for contemporary dance by creating new works, helping dancers develop professionally and launching a Brazilian dance festival
• Centro Cultural Español de Cooperación Iberoamericana Miami: To bring Spanish theater into the community by offering a series of exciting yet short plays to small audiences in a unique venue – a 150-square foot shipping container
• Classical South Florida: To showcase local students’ classical music abilities and talent by having high-schoolers compete to perform live on Classical South Florida Radio
• Coral Gables Cinemateque: To bring high quality, unique and culturally diverse films to the community by increasing programming and educational outreach at the theater
• Coral Morphologic: To put Miami on the map as an eco-arts-tourism-destination by creating an underwater sculpture park installation featuring works by local artists
• Creative City Collaborative DBA Arts Garage: To facilitate an exchange of art and ideas by presenting contemporary musical performances, films and visual art exhibitions at a Palm Beach collaborative
• Cultural Foundation of Broward: To connect local cultural projects to donors by bringing to Broward County power2give.org, which allows cultural organizations to crowd-source funding for specific projects
• Cuqui Beguiristain: To help brand Miami’s Bird Road Art District, an industrial turned artistic neighborhood, by creating a series of conceptual pieces and murals that will serve as both an outdoor exhibit and an art marker to interpret the area
• Dance NOW! Miami: To help bring under-resourced dance productions to the performance stage by providing a venue and marketing help for choreographers and dancers to engage with new audiences
• Deering Estate Foundation: To bring a meaningful cultural dialogue between artists and audiences by supporting a performing art series and a residency opportunity that includes  lectures and master classes at the estate
• Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden: To bring together nature and art by strengthening Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s music program under conductor Teddy Abrams
• Florida Grand Opera: To engage new audiences in the opera by simulcasting free performances outside at the New World Center in Miami Beach
• Frank Falestra: To encourage South Florida musicians to produce innovative compositions by giving them the opportunity to perform and network with modern composers at an experimental music event
• FUNDarte, Inc.: To strengthen the local performing arts by providing seed funding for new works for local companies and artists
• General Practice: To promote experimental, cross-disciplinary art by strengthening an artist-run gallery where performance, visual art and music are presented beneath one roof
• Indie Film Club Miami: To build and strengthen Miami’s film community by hosting workshops and screenings and by promoting filmmakers’ work locally and nationally
• LAB Miami: To bolster innovation in the arts by bringing together creative professionals and techies for a three-day art hackathon, where they will develop apps and websites that answer one question: how do we enhance the delivery of local art to users?
• Logic Art Miami: To help local artists show their work nationally and abroad by defraying shipping and crating costs that typically discourage exhibitions outside South Florida
• Miami Children’s Museum: To create a landmark at the gateway of Miami and Miami Beach by installing an educational light sculpture on the entrance wall of the Miami Children’s Museum
• Miami Dade College: To celebrate and preserve the arts and culture of Hialeah – Florida’s fifth largest city – by supporting the opening of the Hialeah Cultural Center
• Miami International Airport: To engage and connect audiences to global and local rhythms by presenting performances of world music to travelers at Miami International Airport
• Miami Light Project: To support emerging artists by creating an artist-in-residence program as part of the annual Here & Now Festival, which commissions and presents local works
• Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs: To celebrate native talent by presenting a Bring it Home Miami series at the South Dade Cultural Center featuring artists from South Florida who have developed national and international reputations
• Milo Fox: To celebrate the art of puppetry by restoring a 1930s-era marionette theater and presenting performances to underserved children in parks, schools and theaters
• The Miami Symphony Orchestra: To help develop South Florida’s musical voice and infuse the symphonic repertoire with new energy by commissioning works through a composer-in-residence program
• [NAME] publications: To promote innovation in the arts by producing books that feature local artists who work across disciplines
• Nancy St. Leger: To introduce new audiences to Haitian dance by creating a professional folkloric ensemble
• O Cinema: To build a sense of community in Wynwood by presenting an outdoor, family-friendly film series that seeks to bring residents together with the people who visit and work in the neighborhood
• Opa-locka Community Development Corporation: To celebrate the art of the African diaspora by producing a multidisciplinary juried arts festival to coincide with a major public art installation in Opa-locka
• Open Lab: To foster the local film scene and build community among filmmakers by creating a monthly, guerrilla-style gathering where producers screen their films in a variety of locations
• Pablo Malco Foundation: To celebrate South Florida’s vast cultural traditions in a Hip Hop Symphony that combines dance and music in a show for all ages
• Paula Kolek & Neil de la Flor: To promote Miami as a center for LGBT literature by creating a Reading Queer series for writers who create hybrid, genre-bending works
• Performing Arts Center Trust: To provide more exposure for emerging artists by expanding the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Miami Made festival to include all artistic genres
• Pinecrest Gardens: To give local groups the chance to perform in a historic amphitheater by creating the Arts in the Gardens series at Pinecrest Gardens
• Ranjana Warier: To promote cross-cultural understanding by showcasing Indian Classical dances through adaptations of western fairy tales
• Sweat Records: To help make Miami a musical destination by providing a stipend for touring acts to provide free or affordable concerts for an all-ages crowd
• The Artisan Lounge: To strengthen Miami’s visual arts community by creating more low-cost studio and exhibition space for working artists
• The Betsy Hotel: To brand South Florida as a muse for authors by expanding a new writer-in-residence program on Miami Beach to include community outreach events
• The Black Archives, History and Research Foundation of South Florida: To cultivate spoken poetry by providing studio space at the historic Lyric Theater and an annual festival for artists who create pieces that highlight life in Overtown
• Patricia Hernandez: To experiment with engaging audiences through presenting cutting-edge, thematic, multidisciplinary projects inspired by local ideas, people and issues
• Miami Children’s Initiative: To share local history through the arts by creating the Liberty City Renaissance, a year-round series featuring local African-American artists and culture
• Miami Classical Guitar Society: To expose new audiences to classical guitar by launching an educational outreach program to community centers and schools, culminating in an international competition and festival
• The PlayGround Theatre: To help nurture small performing arts groups by providing them with a small, well-equipped black box theater at discounted rates
• The Project [theatre]: To strengthen Miami’s alternative theater scene by providing funding to develop a new theater company dedicated to innovating and redefining the theatrical experience
• The Rhythm Foundation: To introduce new audiences to Haitian music by expanding the successful, one-year-old Big Night in Little Haiti concert and art series
• Thought Loom: To position South Florida as a hub for dance by pairing South Florida-based choreographers with national and international dance artists for seasonal performances
• Urgent, Inc.: To engage and inspire young artists by having them create murals in Overtown’s historic Dorsey Park commemorate it as the home of South Florida’s Negro League baseball team
• Viernes Culturales/Cultural Fridays: To accelerate the transformation of Little Havana’s arts district by expanding the scope and programming of the popular monthly cultural festival, Viernes Culturales

.

SFDB Culinary Adventure Of The Day

Used Band-Aids!

Via Neatorama...

Here’s a terrific treat the kids will love -to make fun of! But they’ll end up eating them as well, yelling “Ewww” the entire time. The recipe for Used Band-Aids is simply cinnamon graham crackers with some frosting for the pads, and maybe a bit of gross red jelly or jam in the middle.

.

The Cooler

Just a few things for you in this morning's wrap up of the mainstream media feeds. Enjoy.

A- Herald: Boston who?

The Heat took a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night with a 93-79 victory against the Boston Celtics at AmericanAirlines Arena. While last season’s postseason series between the rivals only lasted five games, Boston at least made Miami work for it. This year’s version of the Celtics — older, slower, limping and maybe still sucking wind from a seven-game series with the Sixers, barely made LeBron James and Dwyane Wade break a sweat in Game 1.

B- Herald: They write letters.

Language barrier

Re Julia Morrison’s May 19 letter, English speakers shut out of jobs: As a registered nurse with 24 years’ experience, certified in my specialty and out of work in Miami for the last 10 months, I agree that there is something wrong here.

In order to work and pay bills, I had to take a position 155 miles away from my home and husband. I have had offers from everywhere except Miami, receiving glowing compliments on my résumé.

As far as learning a new language, I never left my country, so why should I be forced to learn one in order to be able to be employable here? It’s unfortunate that this community has lost the likes of seasoned nurses.

Kris McCarthy, Miami

C- CBS4: I see a lawsuit coming and the end of the wall.

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – An 11-year-old attending a Miami Marlins game remains in the hospital after an 18 foot fall from a rock wall outside the stadium. It appeared something went terribly wrong with the attraction Saturday afternoon.

[...]

The 18-foot-drop was captured on cell phone by the 11-year-old’s father, Jeff Davis. He took his daughter and son to the carnival setup on the west side the stadium. The good times quickly ended when Emily started up the rock climbing the attraction and let go.

In the video you see her fall back and hear her father scream, “Jesus! Help! Help!”

D- NBC Miami: The Socialist Bus!

A new bus service for Broward County commuters aims to take the stress out of your drive to work.

Starting Tuesday and running through June 1, travelers can test out the 595 Express Bus service for free. It offers two routes from the BankAtlantic Center Park and Ride in Sunrise to downtown Miami and downtown Fort Lauderdale.

"The 595 Express Bus is the ultimate hands-free device," said Jeremy Mullings, FDOT Project Manager.

The 42-foot-long Hybrid buses run every 30 minutes and weekdays during morning and afternoon rush hours. The new fleet offers Wi-Fi and 12-volt power outlets for charging laptops, iPads and cellphones. Each bus seats 38 passengers.

The bus service is funded by the Florida Department of Transportation.

.

Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

SFDB is still in a kind of holiday mode this morning but that doesn't mean that you're not going to get any of the high quality content that you're used to here. It's on its way, readers, just a bit later than normal. Enjoy your morning Sift.

A- Prompted by a misguided column in the Miami Herald, Obalesque discusses disco.

Most folks I hung out with at the time hated disco — not just the music, which we found repetitive, unimaginative, shallow, and just plain obnoxious — but the whole greasy scene. It struck me as a return to the 1950s, a deplorable era of conformity, anti-intellectualism, and cliques. The one notable difference was that there was a wider variety of available drugs, although the two of choice — cocaine and Quaaludes — never appealed to me.

B- Bark Bark Woof Woof discusses how Rick Scott is working to ensure Mitt Romney's victory in Florida.

The fact is that the Republicans know that if everyone entitled to vote did vote, either here in Florida or Ohio, they stand to lose; the registration numbers alone outnumber them. So the only way they can assure a win is by gaming the system. Rick Scott may be a lousy governor, but he's a very good fixer.

C- Eye on Miami has some useful information for you if you're a homophobe and use the internet.




.

Your Evening SIft

Hope you all enjoyed your holiday and took a little time to reflect on the meaning of the day. There were some uniformed service members traveling through the St. Louis airport today and I couldn't help but note their service on a holiday. Here's your evening Sift.

A- Salty Eggs reviews Friday night's Weeping Willow event at Radio-Active Records.

Noise, as a musical genre, is the raw meeting of music and performance art. It’s overly aggressive and not out to please the general consuming public. And this past Friday some of the genre’s best local talent graced the Radio-Active Records stage for Weeping Willow, a promising new monthly noise event that calls out to those craving a stranger, darker escape from the monotonous, sun-filled everyday – that and probably some ringing ears and overwhelmed senses to crowd out reality a tad longer, too.

B- The305.Com gives their summary of Urban Beach Weekend 2012.

Miami and Miami Beach has been a central point for the partying on Memorial Day Weekend for decades now, but has gotten a lot of scrutiny for becoming the spot for “Urban Beach Weekend” over the past few years. However, this may be the last year or one of the last years that Miami will serve as that destination for the “urban” crowd as the consensus is labeling it.

Aside from the decreased amount of visitors and the fact that a lot of people headed to other destinations like Vegas, Atlanta and even Puerto Rico. Miami was on locked down with Miami Beach Police ready to make their point that they don’t want “Urban Beach Weekend” around anymore.

C- A look back at a Memorial Day story from a few years ago, at Random Pixels.

D- All Purpose Dark checks out LeBron's Aventura store named UnKnwn.


.

SFDB Heads To The Midwest

Thought I would post just a few shots from the last 48 hours of my weekend.

 

Panera Bread is called the St. Louis Bread Company here. Strange. My GPS led me to this place after I did a search for Panera Bread. It looked wrong until I walked in and everything had the Panera logo on it.

Plenty of this stuff once you clear the cities.

The guys were out in force at the local VFW post.

The Greenville, IL train station.

Quintessential "corner drug store" in this quaint little town.

The reason for my trip.

Unfortunately, there was no A/C in the gym that the commencement took place. It was 97 outside and probably 100-110 inside. I'm not sure how everyone survived it but we did.

My nephew, the graduate, now heads out to L.A. looking to hit the big time. Here's to youthful exuberance and eternal optimism.


.

Memorial Day 2012

Over barbecues, at the beach, on the golf course, on the boat...whatever you're doing today....

Remember.

Always remember.

                                             Todd Heisler/The Rocky Mountain News, via Associated Press

link



.

Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

I'll have some thoughts on the day coming up but, first, your very topical Memorial Day Sift.

A- Memorial Day thoughts from Coconut Grove Grapevine, Gun Free Zone, The Reid Report, Eye on Miami, and Bark Bark Woof Woof.




.

Your Evening Sift

97 degrees today in Southern Illinois and no air conditioning in the gym where my nephew's college graduation was held. Amazingly, I didn't see one person being taken to the hospital. I'm on my way back to SoFla tomorrow afternoon.Enjoy your evening Sift.

A- Go Hydrology! uses animation to explain the Florida Hydrological Year.

B- Swampstyle rails against development in his own special way.

There was a time not long ago where bayside living was the desired lifestyle in the swamp.
Aside from the lush and splendid inland charm that was the Moral Gables Merrick sold, settling on the high ground along the shores of Biscayne Bay was most desirous for its proximity to the beaches and safe harbor from storms. Today, not so much as a coconut remains of that charm.

C- As part of their Old School Sunday feature, The305.Com posts an image from 1930 showing the Freedom Tower and Biscayne Boulevard.

D- Random Pixels shares a couple videos taken on South Beach this weekend.



.

Cow Pie Of Distortion

Thursday in Iowa...




More like this, please.



.

The Big Picture: Owsley County, Kentucky

The Boston Globe's The Big Picture feature focuses on life inside the Appalachian community of Owsley County, Kentucky, which is a place that couldn't be more different from South Florida.

You can view all the images here.



.

Face Time

So by now you've heard about the naked guy who was killed by police yesterday on the MacArthur Causeway while eating another guy's face. Even by Miami standards, this story [video included!....sorta] is bizarre and will no doubt help further solidify South Florida's reputation as one of the weirdest and wackiest places for news in the world.

Speaking of which, here is how the news organizations from around the world are reporting this incident.

The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau must pinching themselves this morning with all this press directed their way.

And here's a prediction: this spot will become as popular for tourists as the Versace Mansion, at least in the short term. Besides the standard poses, think about all the possible "reenactment" photos that could be shot by good-natured visitors to the Magic City.

The first guy who makes it out there with a cooler full of $5 bottled waters gets the spoils.

It's the Miami way.


.

Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

It's going to be a scorcher out here in the Midwest today. 96 degrees with a 0% chance of rain. South Florida looks positively refreshing in comparison. Enjoy your morning Sift.

A- Swampstyle takes a drive up 95 to Lake Worth.

B- There are some notable authors coming to Books & Book in Coral Gables in the coming weeks, according to Soul of Miami.

C- South Florida Food and Wine spends a few minutes chatting with Peter Vauthy, executive chef and partner of Red The Steakhouse.

South Florida Food and Wine.com: What is your one go-to ingredient and why?

Peter Vauthy: A real tomato! The flavors that come from true heirloom tomatoes are so vast and different they can be applied to all aspects of cooking. From the beauty of a stuffing tomato, the richness of stewed san marzanos, the meatiness of a Cherokee purple, or the sweetness of a pineapple heirloom, their versatility is magical.

D- Time Stands Still at GableStage is well worth it, Discourse says in a rare theater view.


.

SFDB Saturday Night Turndown Service

Simply gorgeous...




Someone tell me how I feel
It's silly wrong but vivid right
Oh, kiss me like the final meal
Yeah, kiss me like we die tonight

-Elbow, One Day Like This



.

Your Evening Sift

It was a slow day for blogging in the South Florida blogosphere, as you might imagine. However, the SFDB Weekend Widget in the right sidebar is still being updated so make sure you check it out after you breeze through your evening Sift. And I invite you to come back at 10 for a very nice Turndown Service. Enjoy.

A- After a 4-month hiatus, All Purpose Dark is back and telling us about a kinda secret dining spot on South Beach.

The revamped Shelborne on South Beach is now to the polished Vesper, a clandestine supper club serving upscale American standards. Tucked away in the back of the hotel by the pool, the restaurant is entered via the kitchen, giving it a mafia-movie vibe (although the name is a reference from an Ian Fleming James Bond novels). The petite dining room done up in wood paneling, leather banquettes and black and white photos feels like the interior of a yacht or an underground gentlemen’s club. A large patio offers al fresco seating with white couches and candlelight, as well as ocean breezes and pool views.

B- A few grainy night time South Beach photos are up at AshAndBurn.

C- South Florida Guy tells us the places he goes to see flowers in Florida and many are right here in the southern part of the state.




.

SFDB Thought Of The Day

-via Daily Kos



.

Travel Mode

I'm on the road again, this time traveling out to Southern Illinois to attend the college graduation of my nephew. The family will be out there and we'll all have a good time catching up and witnessing young Mike taking a very important step in his life. I vaguely remember my graduation and how nice it was to know that family was sharing the moment with me.

Oh, yeah....it's supposed to be 97 degrees today and tomorrow. In that regard, it will feel like home.

Things will continue on here as normal as normal is over a holiday weekend.


.

Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

Getting an early start this Saturday morning. Enjoy a little morning Sift with your breakfast, readers.

A- Go Hydrology! demonstrates how water levels can vary from cypress dome to cypress dome.

B- The Street has a bunch of new photos posted.

C- Random Pixels looks back at Allan "A.C." Cohen, "Miami's first food truck entrepreneur" by posting a 2008 Miami Herald article about A.C. in its entirety.

D- Coconut Grove Grapevine shares a couple images of the Grove Tree Watch program in action.



.

Your Evening Sift

The South Florida blogosphere is shutting down for the weekend and all those "offline" bloggers can be found over on Twitter or Facebook or, well, you get the idea. Have a great evening whatever you're doing and enjoy your evening Sift.

A- Arterpillar gives us their take on tomorrow night's Chick Flicks event in Lauderdale.

B- The305.Com posts the traffic map for South Beach over Memorial Day.

C- The State of the Green Parrot Bar in Key West is good, according to the owners, who also share a great video of the place.

For patrons, you see the same great staff, beer's never been colder (thanks, Buco), still the best music in town, or anywhere for that matter, (you never know if it will be funk, rock, or reggae but you know it will be good), and most importantly, the same fan base in the friendly confines, that's you, the customers I'm talking about (from "the street to the elite" as Pat says). It's you that continue to make the Parrot what it is, and we never want that to change.

D- AshAndBurn checked out South Beach this morning and has a few images that don't show a lot going on...yet.



.

Flashback Friday

1990-1996







The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air




.

Romney: Making Someone Out Of No One For No Reason

Master statesman Willard Mitt Romney finds a way to validate the know-nothing daughter of a third world dictator confined to a postage-sized island in the Caribbean...

“President Obama should disavow the endorsement of the daughter of Cuban dictator Raul Castro. It is galling that an envoy from a Communist regime would come to our country and lecture the American people on who to vote for while the regime refuses to hold free and fair elections and systematically violates the human rights of its people. The decision by the Obama Administration to welcome Mariela Castro to our shores—a decision that has received rightful criticism from both Republicans and Democrats—continues to be an egregious affront to the people of Cuba and those who love freedom everywhere.”

This from a guy who happily accepted an endorsement from a slug who likes to threaten violence on the President of the United States and other Americans.

Doesn't he realize that there is absolutely no need to kiss the asses of the Republican Party's most predictable block of voters? They vote "R" no matter who it is.

*cough*David Rivera*cough*





.

SFDB Question Of The Day

I'll be heading off to the Midwest tomorrow morning to watch my nephew graduate from some some obscure college in the middle of nowhere. The family will be there and we'll spend a minimum amount of time together before I return on Monday. It's a holiday weekend, readers....


What will you be doing this Memorial Day Weekend?




.

SFDB Morning Chuckle

link



.

The Cooler

Miami Beach Police have already made one high profile arrest in conjunction with the Memorial Day weekend. That and more in the Cooler.

A- Herald: Heat advance.

Except LeBron James isn’t always even the best player on his own team.

Sometimes that is Dwyane Wade.

This time, when it mattered most, it was Wade.

Man, was it ever. Brilliantly, emphatically, it was Wade.

“He was spectacular,” James said.

And that is why Indiana fans in their “Gold Swagger” T-shirts emptied into the night quietly Thursday, their team finished, while Miami with its Gold Standard duo moves on, as expected to the Eastern Conference finals.

Heat 105, Pacers 93.

B- Herald: And off they go.

A month after reaching a legal settlement that cleared the way for the controversial $2 billion PortMiami expansion plan, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has issued a permit that will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge and deepen in and around Government Cut by up to 50 feet.

The project will be put out for bids this summer, with construction expected to begin in early 2013.

C- Herald: They're doing it for the kids.

The Miami City Commission on Thursday unanimously approved an ordinance allowing illuminated signs on three city-owned properties.

Miami stands to generate about $1 million a year, mostly through permitting fees, for the brightly-lit billboards, Assistant City Manager Alice Bravo said. That figure is nearly double previous estimates.

“This is $1 million in reoccurring revenue that we’re going to bring into the city that wasn’t there before,” Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones said. “More money into our coffers represents more [firefighters], more police, more parks programs, more essential services.”

The Miami Children’s Museum, James L. Knight Center and Gusman theater — where the LED signs will be hung — will get varying infusions of cash, too.

“We need those funds desperately to re-do the exhibits,” said Jeffrey Berkowitz, chairman of the Miami Children’s Museum. “We need those funds to bring the Miami Children’s Museum back into the top 10 children’s museums in the United States.”

D- Palm Beach Post: Life in South Florida.

WEST PALM BEACH — West Palm Beach police say officers were driving down Dixie Highway overnight when they came across a partially naked, emotionally upset man, covered in a toxic chemical.

West Palm Beach Fire Rescue officials say the man was covered in a gasoline-like substance, upset about his house being on fire.

E- Palm Beach Post: For what it's worth.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center called for a 70 percent chance that the season will produce nine to 15 storms of at least tropical storm strength, with four to eight becoming hurricanes and one to three becoming major hurricanes, of at least Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

NOAA’s 1981-2010 average is 12, six and three.

F- NBC Miami: And here we go.

New York Knicks Guard J.R. Smith was arrested in Miami Beach Thursday night on a warrant for no valid driver's license, jail records showed.

The 26-year-old, whose real name is Earl Joseph Smith, was arrested around 9 p.m., Miami Beach Police spokesman Sgt. Bobby Hernandez said.

G- WPTV: Classy.

Kenneth Lee Timmer, 41, was arrested on a battery charge May 19 after deputies went to Hobe Village Mobile Home Park on Southeast Federal Highway in Hobe Sound.

Investigators spoke with a 27-year-old woman who had on a "white tank top that was wet and had a rank smell," a report states.

Timmer and the woman are acquaintances. He was at her home visiting her roommate, and all were imbibing.

The 27-year-old woman said Timmer entered the bathroom before she was done using it and they started to quarrel.

"Timmer began urinating in the toilet then turned and began urinating on (the woman)," a report states. "The urine struck (the woman) in the chest area."

Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

TGIF, readers! The Memorial Day Weekend is here and the SFDB Weekend Widget in the right sidebar is full of things to do. We'll talk a little more about that later, but in the meantime, here's your morning Sift.

A- Brickell chickens at Sex and the Beach.

B- Coconut Grove Grapevine says that the Grove is a good refuge from the Memorial Day Weekend South Beach scene.

I think I called it the anti-South Beach a few years ago, not meaning it derogatory, I just mean it as being the quiet alternative to a crazy South Beach weekend. In fact, we have the best of both worlds, because we can head out to South Beach for part of the weekend if we like, and thankfully, come back here to the peace when we're done partying.

C- The Christian Family Coalition gets a few South Florida takers, according to Eye on Miami.

D- Another view of our polarized politics is highlighted by Bark Bark Woof Woof.

Mr. Dionne quite correctly notes that what has led us from the country club conservatives to the seething mob with their misspelled signs is the breakdown in the sense of community; we're all in this together and together we can handle the problems that come along. We may have different approaches, but we don't need to separate ourselves from each other. That has been taken over by mistrust of the community and turned into an I-got-mine-screw-you mentality.

.