Being a blogger is a lot like being on a reality TV fashion competition show: some crazy man locks you in a small, depressing room for hours at a time and asks you to complete multiple, seemingly random tasks with ridiculously short deadlines and few resources and then the finished…
In this week’s print edition of Riptide, I wrote that none of the candidates in the Miami mayoral race will crack the $1 million benchmarks set by Manny Diaz in 2001 and 2005. Nevertheless, City Commissioners Tomas Regalado and Joe Sanchez are shoring up support with some of the city’s…
Freelance photographer Ian Witlen was shooting for us at the Crystal Method show at Revolution last night when he spotted what he says was Joaquin Phoenix in the crowd. From the photo it looks like a unshaven guy in a top hat, so we aren’t 100 percent convinced its him…
Virginia quintet Parachute has been on the rise since it landed the song “She’s Love” in a Nivea commercial. Suddenly, thousands of women with smooth legs wanted more of those smooth pop-rock sounds. In the resulting buzz storm on iTunes and the like, the song eventually also landed on the…
This week: VegetablesVegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie. ~Garfield (Jim Davis)Large, naked raw carrots are acceptable as food only to those who lie in hutches eagerly awaiting Easter. ~Fran LebowitzLife expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables…
Beings is the latest project from Miami musical standout Mike Alén (:nobuhjest:, Secret Service, Foreign Bodies, Map of the Universe, etc). The group has Beatriz Monteavaro (Floor, Cavity) on drums and Ivan Marchena (Bling Bling, Map of the Universe, etc.) on guitar and vocals, and is suitably noisy and catchy…
Editor’s Note: In this week’s column, José El Rey asked readers to submit questions and he’d “lead them to a better living.”My old lady doesn’t love me what should I do?CharlesI hate answering questions with more questions. Do you mean old lady like your mom? No, no, no… Old girl…
The Maryland pop-punk quintet Count Your Blessings headlines the Talent Farm this Sunday night as part of its “Hip Shakers and Trouble Makers Tour.” Click here to read what Brett Gillin had to say about it in this week’s issue of the Broward-Palm Beach New Times.The band’s debut full-length, Like…
Here’s a pretty good item from a couple years ago. Best of Miami is coming June 11. You can vote on a lot of other categories here. Best Road Rage Dump truck overturned on I-95 August 27, 2007 Chaos ensued when a dump truck flipped and spilled gravel, shutting down…
Back to the Future at the Clevelander
Barry, Barry Racist More than meets the eye: As a former student at Barry University, I was disturbed by Natalie O’Neill’s May 7 story, “A Noose and a White Sheet.” My professors sometimes made odd comments that I wasn’t sure were racist or simply sarcastic. I had good experiences and…
To read past installments of South Florida According to Brooklyn, click here.A couple of months ago I wrote about the difference between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. I recently moved back to Ft. Lauderdale, and I’ve realized the two places are two totally different worlds. Granted, the greatest friends I have…
Notes from the Soundboard is a new column appearing every Wednesday on Crossfade, focused on pop music’s history and ongoing evolution. Lee Zimmerman shares insights and observations on how music continues to connect with the weirdness of the world. 1969 was, looking back with the benefit of 40 years of hindsight,…
The fivesome Clock Hands Strangle are based a little further north, in Melbourne, but have increasingly ventured outside their hometown, recently playing in Miami for an in-store at Sweat. We should be seeing more of this band after the release of its forthcoming full-length, Distaccati. And to whet your appetite,…
A couple weeks ago I got a mailed copy of Elizabeth Goodman’s new Cat Power book, Cat Power: A Good Woman. Although it’s deeply reported, it’s unauthorized; Chan Marshall refused to speak with Goodman for the project, and thus all her quotes therein are indirect. It’s a fast-paced read, but…
Restaurateurs are increasingly seeking new ways to boost sales. I say: A good motto never hurts. And also: But a bad motto is funnier. In that spirit, allow me to lend some ideas for catchy tag lines — don’t worry restaurant owners, no charge for the suggestions!Motto for Einstein Bros…
Shocking horrible news this week that is tearing apart Miami at it’s very seems: a grown man touched a lady once, and it was photographed! The horror! Not just any man of course, but a celebrity priest. First, a Mexican tabloid released photos of Father Cutié frolicking on a beach…
Expose was a chart topping Miami based girl group that got caught up in a protracted legal battle involving labels, lawyers, songwriters and publishers. Eventually the original three members were replaced and the band continued, and you can find them at ‘relive the 1980s’ type concerts to this day.But what…
It doesn’t bode well for The Fashion Show, Bravo’s brand-new rip-off of its former flagship program, Project Runway, that the most entertaining thing during its premiere was the previews of The Real Housewives of New York City reunion that aired during the commercials. To the right is the design of Miami-based …
This week:DietingI bought a talking refrigerator that said “Oink” every time I opened the door. It made me hungry for pork chops. ~Marie MottMy doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four — unless there are three other people. ~Orson Welles The second day of a diet is…
Silence in Liberty City We’re better than this: Thank you, Mr. Elfrink, for reminding the black community of the plague that has rooted itself in our once-proud neighborhood. However, I am responding to your article with the hope that blacks who were once enslaved by antisocial behavior and enjoy freedom…
“Don’t fight it, we gona feel it tonight, ya understand.” And with these words Sam Cooke launched into “Feel It” on what would become his “Live At The Harlem Square Club, 1963” album, though it wasn’t released until 1985, well after his death. Jerry Wexler, the man who coined the term “Rhythm and…
