Miami, literary Shangri-La? A mecca for the bookish? It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. But for more than 20 years, autumn has brought a kind of inverse solar eclipse, sending some of us scurrying from the beaches, out of the malls, off the interstate, and into the comforting, ancient…
It’s a sticky midweek morning in Mallory Square, Key West’s tourist mecca. A mammoth cruise ship disgorges passengers eager to gawk at Ernest Hemingway’s six-toed cats and guzzle drinks at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. The tourists are pink from the sun and dressed in carefully ironed white shorts and T-shirts that…
John DeGroot gives us the background facts on the University of Miami’s purchase of Cedar’s Medical Center. In short, he suggests, based on the numbers, that UM is buying itself a right big boondoggle. And this time he tees off on another newspaper instead of the old punching bag down…
The white house at 4760 Alton Road was hopping with activity this past Monday morning. Parked in front was a white pickup bearing a giant banner advertising the Miami Beach mayoral campaign of William “Bill” Smatt. Going in and out of the house were campaign workers, bearing Smatt tee-shirts, and…
Say cheese! Ink-stained media types mingled over glasses of Cypriot wine at “Bin no. 18 – European Bistro & Wine Bar” the other night. The occasion was a Cyprus Halloumi Dinner hosted by visiting dairy producers such as the Cyprus Dairy Association and Cyprus Association for the Promotion of Milk…
This past March Steve Barret, a former Opa-locka city commissioner and vice mayor, filed a class action lawsuit against the city after finding he was charged the equivalent of a 126.5 percent APR in water bill penalties from September to November of 2002. Opa-locka charged more than 10 percent compounded…
Here’s one for all of your surfers enjoying the waves of Tropical Storm Noel. It’s a recent video of a surfing dog on Miami Beach: –Tamara Lush…
This Sunday, our Dolphins flew across the pond to play the New York Giants at London’s Wembley Stadium. And while in England, they did the obvious — they lost. But for once, the teams’ 0-8 record wasn’t what the guys over at ESPN were all abuzz about. Last Wednesday at…
DJ Girl by Gwiz There is something vile about malls. Something nasty. Whether it’s the 11-year-old girl painted up like a Russian stripper or the sad old men shuffling around the air-conditioned cavern like a pack of medicated zombies, the mall breaks humanity down to its meanest possible mode: chickens…
Well, turns out the Dolphins suck on pretty much whatever continent they play on. The UK game came and went, the NFL finally got to force itself down the throats of the Brits while having their sport showcased on a field that matched the shittiness of the teams playing on…
Concrete Loop has the photos from Dennis Rodman’s Rodmania halloween party this past Friday at Gulfstream Park. We thought Dennis was going to costume up for the occasion! (Sorry. Too easy.) –Frank Houston…
OK so now I’m pissed. On the same day, the Marlins — oop, I mean Red Sox — win the World Series and the New York Times reports that former Marlins manager of the year Joe Girardi is the leading candidate to take over the Yankees. Oh yeah and did…
From the sound of it, Butler & Sons Books in Rosenberg, which is about 20 miles west of Houston, is just your average rare-book store, selling for a couple thou first editions of All the King’s Men, Tarzan of the Apes and other treasured tomes. Bill Butler bills his joint…
Serve with beans — free, if possible In October, 2003 I wrote a review of Arbetter’s Hot Dogs (8747 SW 40th St.; 305-207-0555) in which I mocked their offer of free baked beans to all customers if and when the Boston Red Sox won the World Series. My point was…
Okay, I had to laugh when I read this Herald story about Edel Mesa, Miami’s leading candidate for a Darwin Award. All I can say is que pendejo. I also got a kick from some of the reader comments like this one by Player: “He was growing weed for his…
A sea of red formed last Wednesday as local hip hoppers gathered at Santo on South Beach. The red was not a result of bloodshed, but rather donned by attendees at Michael Madd’s All-Red All-Star Birthday Bash. Madd’s party brought out a handful of hip-hop notables including Busta Rhymes and…
Something happens when bicycles come together. Watch and you’ll see it: The riders’ legs begin to move in sync, and then their bodies follow. The more bikes, the stronger the effect. A dozen riding together move as single unit, shifting direction like a school of fish, a single entity stretching…
Vote for Nudity! Filed under: Politics Times are tough, Miami. We’re talking World War III tough. We’ve got our hand so far up Iraq’s ass we can feel around and tell what it had for breakfast. The president of Iran has taken off his coat and rolled up his sleeves…
One morning in March, Joyce Kaufman called Comcast, her cable TV provider. It was the sort of mundane chore most folks must endure, but for Kaufman it became a turning point that would affect not only her but also thousands of listeners in South Florida. That day, Kaufman reached a…
View a slideshow from the October 13 game between the Hurricanes and Georgia Tech at the Orange Bowl. When Stewart Patterson heard the University of Miami Hurricanes would be playing their last football game in the Orange Bowl November 10, he decided to head for the M-I-A. Funny thing —…
The Miami Dade Schools Police Headquarters was under seige this morning. The morning staff meeting dragged on longer than usual. Channel 10 reporters flitted in and out of the decidedly shitty building. Secretaries peered out into the parking lot through the front door’s peep hole. I was there to check…
To the parents of hellspawn born in South Florida: On November 3 and 4, between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., producers for ABC’s reality series Supernanny are holding a casting call for Moms and Dads with precocious, wily, ADD-addled, potty-mouthed children during the South Florida Parenting Holiday Show at Dolphin…
