Getting naked in public and running like hell. It was a fad among college students in the early 1970s, its crowning moment occurring in 1974 when a streaker bounded across the stage of the Academy Awards telecast right under the nose of prim Brit actor David Niven. Back then musician Ray Stevens immortalized the phenomenon in a song, "The Streak," which spent 12 weeks at number 1 on the charts in the spring of '74. In the intervening decades, streaking seemingly disappeared. Almost 20 years later Madonna's ridiculous 1992 "book" Sex, in which she was photographed performing mundane tasks (many of them in Miami) such as pumping gas naked, marked an early resurgence of interest in streaking. But the watershed modern-day moment came with Will Ferrell's fraternity boy escapade in last year's film Old School.
As those who witnessed the Super Bowl or its aftermath may have noted, streaking is back -- but now it's big business. British super streaker Mark Roberts, who in a crass commercial move sells space to companies on his back and chest to support his habit, conquered America in a big way. Slipping by more than $1 million in security, he ran across the football field wearing only adverts and a G-string. (Is it really streaking if you're not totally in the buff?) Roberts has hit many major events around the world (the bull run in Spain, the Tour de France, Wimbledon), has a Website on which he peddles streaker merchandise, and was recently a guest on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show. And folks found the sight of Janet Jackson's breast outrageous? How many NYPD Blue episodes have featured wide shots of Dennis Franz's bare butt?
But we digress. Displaying themselves in their most vulnerable state, streakers need to get back to basics. Maybe they should follow the example of Erebeto Rivero. Standing before a judge in a Miami courtroom not long ago, Rivero took it all off. Supposedly his aim was to display the bruises he received from his jailers. He didn't have the chance to run, though. Instead he was led away quickly by bailiffs. -- By Nina Korman
Rough Trade
Policing the Police
TUE 2/24
Rendering of a complaint filed to the Miami-Dade County Independent Review Panel: "Okay, so, like we were sitting around watching the Free Trade Area of the Americas protests. You know, just hanging in our Boho Che Guevara T-shirts, looking like mall rat Manson chicks, when all of a sudden my Frappuccino explodes and I get pegged right above my belly ring with a rubber bullet. We turn to see all these cops in formation marching, skinny white dreadlocked kids running, and cameras everywhere. Then we're all forced to sit down. There's blood and Frappuccino all over. Then we're all hauled to a detention center. What the fuck? What the hell's going on?" Such complaints by protesters who were trapped by police during the FTAA conference are being addressed by the IRP today. The public is invited to attend and speak to the 9-member panel, which is investigating allegations of excessive and unnecessary force. If the black-booted thugs trampled over your civil liberties (and you know they did) this is your chance to fight back. The meeting begins at 10:00 a.m. at the IRP Conference Room, 140 W. Flagler St., Suite 1101. For more information call 305-375-4880. -- By Juan Carlos Rodriguez
Imagine All Those Paintings
Lennon's other work takes center stage
FRI 2/20
Favorite Beatle? All answers are moot until the question is rephrased: Which of the Fab Four articulated the most complete artistic vision, pushed his art furthest, and most defended his point of view, even when it meant putting his career in jeopardy? Answer: John, the one whose hope and struggle for a better world looms heroic. A visit to the traveling exhibition "When I'm Sixty-Four: The Artwork of John Lennon" offers an opportunity to gauge the reach of the late musician's oeuvre. More than 100 of his works, priced from $200 to $30,000, will be on display. The pieces include wedding lithographs, lyric manuscripts, signed albums, and works created in the last year of Lennon's way-too-short life. The show opens at 5:00 p.m. and runs through Sunday, February 22, at 1118 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach, under the Regal South Beach 18 Movie Theatre. Admission is $2. Call 888-278-1969 for details. -- By Victor Cruz
Exploiting War
NOW 24/7
Goose-stepping with Mother Goose. That is what the cover of the 1914 children's book Nursery Rhymes for Fighting Times features: a combat-ready Mother Goose festooned with bayonet and helmet, marching forward into the battle. The book is one of the artifacts displayed at the Wolfsonian-FIU's exhibit "Weapons of Mass Dissemination: The Propaganda of War." In it posters celebrate Nazi youth and explain how gas masks work. The Japanese are urged to turn off lights and the French are asked to ration wine and cigarettes. The genre may seem outdated, but it is not unfamiliar. The current war against terrorism uses much of the same rhetoric. Any quote from our slogan-slinging president fits right into the show, as well as Iraqi "Most Wanted" playing cards and Osama bin Laden toilet paper. Originally slated to close March 22, the exhibit has been extended until June 13. Doors open at 10:00 a.m. at the Wolfsonian-FIU, 1001 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. Admission is $5.35. Call 305-531-1001. -- By Juan Carlos Rodriguez
