The Story Matters
Calendar p.14 Bring the kids to hang out with Fancy Nancy this weekend at the Miami International Book Fair!
Vol. XXV No. 44
November 18, 2010
Visit us at sunpostweekly.com
GET IN THE RING! Miami Gallos Set to Touch Gloves and Come Out Swinging MAYHEM P.4
PROFILE P. 6
POLITICS P. 8
NEWS P. 8
CALENDAR P.14
CINEMA P. 18
DANCE P. 19
411 P.20
GO! P. 22
SEE PAGE 10
FASHION P.24
SEX P. 26
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Kim Stark kim@sunpostweekly.com SOCIETY EDITOR Jeannette Stark jeannette@sunpostweekly.com COPY EDITOR Mary Louise English
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SALES DIRECTORS Jeannette Stark Manny Duran
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jeffrey Bradley Charles Branham-Bailey Stuart Davidson Marguerite Gil Jennifer Fragoso John Hood Dr. Sonjia Kenya Joshua Malina Ruben Rosario Mary Jo Almeida-Shore Michael Sasser Kim Steiner
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Tropical Mayhem BITS AND PIECES OF MIAMI LIFE
U of M Alumni Center There’s a new building on the campus of the University of Miami, and it’s a beauty. The Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Alumni Center is a living tribute to the generosity of the many loyal alumni and other supporters who have helped make the U of M what it is today. This new structure provides an array of warm and welcoming spaces for working, lounging, reminiscing, and reconnection for the thousands of university alumni who wanted a “home away from home.” Located at 6200 San Amaro Drive, across from the sports stadium, the building contains ten distinct areas including a cafe, a multi-purpose room, a library, a business center and an executive conference room. The state-of-the-art facility was officially “baptized” last October and according to the University’s President: Donna E. Shalala, who said “It’s my very favorite place. I’m overwhelmed by the beauty of the building”. The goal (of the building) was to build an Alumni Center that evoked feelings of nostalgia, and to project an optimistic and progressive vision of the institution’s future. The 72,000-square-foot, four-story building is adorned with a grand mural depicting the University’s history and its library will house U of M’s yearbooks dating back to the University’s inception. The Alumni Association was founded in 1930. Today it has more than 156,000 alumni members living in all 50 states and 148 foreign countries. The design of the Newman Alumni Center reflects its setting, and incorporates opposing elements that create a comfortable space that is equally moving and powerful: courtyards with pergolas, stone and glass walls, wood beam ceilings and paneling, stone floors and fountains. The building was designed by the world-renowned architectural team of Michael Dennis and Associates out of Boston, as well as the design team of MGE Architects, led by Rolando Conesa, AIA principal with the firm. - Marguerite Gil (famae.org). Photos. M. Gil.
Miami through my iphone
THE OFFICIAL RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY
PRESIDENT DONNA E. SHALALA AT THE INAUGURATION
ROLANDO CONESA, ARCHITECT WITH WIFE JEANNE
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SECRET TREASURES by Ines Hegedus-Garcia - miamism.com - ines@miamism.com Miami is full of perfect getaways and treasures that make our city so special. Take the Soho Beach House, for example, a private members club, hotel and spa that feels like home away from home. While the rest of the country is feeling the beginning of winter, we can have a fabulous lunch and get pampered in our own tropical paradise.
MIAMI, SPEAK YOUR MIND! We welcome submissions to Tropical Mayhem. To get your business or item considered for publication, email a hi-res photograph and a description to kim@miamisunpost.com.
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • Page 5
NAME: BIZ MARTINEZ BORN: OCTOBER 24 OCCUPATION: MUSIC DIRECTOR (LIV/ARKADIA/MMG) ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: SCORPIO CITY: MIDTOWN MIAMI/DESIGN DISTRICT PET: CHOCO (LITTLE PERSON IN A FUR COAT) PASSION: THE ARTS (PRIMARILY DESIGN & MUSIC)
PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY YOU SHOULD KNOW
Biz Martinez Music Man By Jennifer Fragoso Let’s face it Miami lacks next to nothing. There’s sun, sand and fabulous shopping. But every now and then you meet a fine young specimen that diverts your attention from the parading Louboutins and puts the “bien” in bienvenido a Miami. Biz Martinez is that specimen. He’s as charming as he is handsome and his passion and work ethic is unparalleled. Take note Ladies, if you haven’t already, Biz Martinez is on fire personally and professionally and that’s why he is The SunPost’s latest Reigning Man. Word on the street is you’ve got a new gig, can you tell us a little bit about your new venture as the Music Director for LIV/Arkadia? I was always anti-
establishment, if you will. For the better part of a decade I enjoyed the freedom of being an independent event producer in Miami. I had turned down similar offers in the past but when this one dropped it felt right and the timing was spot on. It felt like it was time for me to evolve and take on new challenges. As Music Director for LIV/Arkadia I work closely with David Grutman and the MMG team booking, developing and maintaining relationships with Electronic Dance Music artists.
wanna leave it all on the dance floor and perhaps meet your future ex-spouse go Arkadia.
ate a more intimate experience with Arkadia that compliments its sister club, LIV. The beauty of this project is you get to see the best DJ’s and artists in the world in two very different venues. If you like going big, you go LIV. If you
What I wear is a representation of how I’m feeling and the role I’m playing. But I try to funk it up a bit even when I’m wearing a monkey suit.
When did your love of music blossom? I was the kid at the record store who’d
spend hours flipping through piles of music and sampling records. The cash I earned at 14, bagging groceries was spent mostly on buying music. I had to have the latest tunage and the liner notes that came along with them. One of my biggest heartbreaks to date was having my entire CD collection stolen from my car in 1997. Over 300 CD’s!!! I mean who lugs around that many CD’s in their car but a kid who’s obsessed music. When did you decide to turn this love into a career? Back in 2000, a promoter named Gil Alfaro introduced me to Emi Guerra at Space. Shortly after that I became part of the original Space family and was there for three and a half years. Together our little brood, under the direction of Louis Puig, created Miami’s longest running Saturday Electronic Dance Music night and after-hours. What has the journey been like? PRICELESS! Digging through memories and
What environment are you looking to create at Arkadia? Our goal is to cre-
You are part (biz)ness man and part club kid, how do you dress for success?
experiences makes me a little nostalgic. Never in a million years did I think I’d end up here. I’m thankful to have worked with and learned from great minds. People like Louis Puig, Danny Tenaglia, Behrouz, Murk (Oscar G & Ralph Falcon) and Roland among others. I’m still learning and evolving every day.
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Do you vary your wardrobe from the conference room to the dance floor?
Most def! Although I have been known to sneak a pair of Havaianas into the conference room every now and again. You seem to have penchant for hats, do you have a favorite designer? I
mostly shop Nice Collective, Modern Amusement, John Varvatos and Theory. Their cuts and threads rep me best. What can we expect to see from you in your new post? Well I can’t discuss
what I’m currently working on, as I don’t want ideas to leak to the competition, prematurely. But what I can tell you is to expect Axwell, Erick Morillo, Luciano, Sander Kleinenberg, Steve Angello, Tiesto, Kaskade and a plethora of others will be dropping in before the New Year. Besides that, you MUST drop in to Arkadia on any given Thursday for our “Subliminal + Friends” weekly party hosted by Erick Morillo, my partner Kristine Hall and me. It’s a riot! The night showcases Subliminal Records artists and friends of Eric Morillo Subliminal’s head honcho. Trust, things are a proper mess every Thursday! Keep up with all that is Biz via twitter.com/bizmartinez or Biznation.net.
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Can He Say That? COLUMN
No, It Doesn’t Necessarily Get Better By Charles Branham-Bailey sobefla@gmail.com You know by now that the current most popular internet-campaign-gone-viral (over 2 million YouTube channel views at last count) is in response to a nationwide spate of bully-provoked gay teen suicides. “It Gets Better” is the genuinely-felt message that online video posters – ranging from celebrities like Gloria Estefan to President Obama, to ordinary people – are attempting to convey. At the risk of seeming brutally insensitive, I shall throw a bucket of warm spit on this naïve reassurance to America’s youth. The inconvenient truth, American youth, is: Sometimes things get worse before they get better. Or – worse – don’t get better at all. Sometimes life is replete with bullies hell-bent on making your and my lives as uncomfortable as they can possibly succeed at engineering. Sometimes we go to school with them. Or work alongside them, or for them. Or live with them. And – all too plenty of times – we elect them to public office. It gets better? Take note: Your elders – those of age to vote – earlier this month gave congressional power back to a party whose members, drunk on the wine of victory, are tripping over themselves with wild and barelycontained glee to see who will be the fastest and loudest to proclaim a reversal to all sorts of advances:
Killing Obama-care. Trashing financial regulatory reforms. Opening up the nation’s natural resources to even more rapid and unrestrained exploitation. Gutting laws meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate change. Green-lighting off-shore oil drilling. Stripping women of a good share of their reproductive rights. I could go on with this laundry list of nightmares, but will spare you. Are you going to take the word of an older generation that will bequeath you a national debt nearing (this week) $14 trillion (that’s a $125,000 share for each of you, by the way)? And that will also drop in your laps these: A depleted Social Security system? A sicker environment? Depletion of natural resources? Deforestation? The increased threat of oil spill-contaminated oceans? Mass-congested streets and highways? Crumbling, underfunded infrastructure? A trade deficit? And (again, I’ll cut this mercifully short) much more? Your elders had this phrase from the anti-war, hippy ‘60s: Never trust anyone over 30. Things do have the potential to get better, but oftentimes better just doesn’t happen on its own. Better often has to be helped along. It has to be encouraged and induced with some effort – and wiser choices. Let’s recount the choice Floridians made for gover-
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nor. They chose a man who pledged to create 700,000 new jobs (this in a state with over one million unemployed). Try telling the 5% of state workers he wants to lay off (evidently his pledge didn’t apply to them) that it gets better. He wants to ban most abortions. Try telling prochoice women it gets better. He wants to slash property taxes by up to 19%. Try telling municipalities that depend on this revenue to fund essential services that it gets better. Sometimes things don’t get better, they become progressively worse. Particularly when voters throw good judgment to the wind and put short-term aspirations and gratifications ahead of long-term best interests. Wanting a quick fix to economic woes, they sometimes throw overboard measures intended to produce quality-of-life improvements (such as, say, to the environment). To resolve the state’s budget shortfall, statehouse Republicans proposed balancing the state budget on the heads of Florida’s schoolchildren by asking their parents to increase class sizes (voters, however, turned them down). It gets better? Take note: Congressional Republicans vow to wield their own ax at the federal budget and extend the Bush tax cuts. But how will this reduce the deficit? It can’t. So says a man who’s been there and done that: Reagan budget chief David Stockman who, on 60 Minutes recently, declared, “If these [Republicans] were all put into a room on penalty of death to come up with how much they could cut, they couldn’t come up with $50 billion, when the problem is $1.3 trillion. So to stand before the public and rub raw this anti-tax sentiment, the Republican Party, as much as it pains me to say this, should be ashamed of themselves.” Fareed Zakaria, writing in Time last week: “If Republicans were really serious about cutting spending, they had a golden opportunity after 2002, when they controlled all the levers of government in Washington. The result was the most reckless expansion of government spending and debt in two generations.” It is noteworthy that our Emoter-in-Chief – arguably the year’s biggest victim of bullying – posted a video message to the nation’s bullied gay youth. This year saw him get pushed around by ragtag gangs of Republicans and Tea Partiers who taunted his agenda and successes, threw them to the ground, kicked them in the dirt, and managed, by November, to dupe the nation’s voters that they were the good guys and he the bad. If our wimpy leader can’t pick himself up from the ground, dust himself off, and quickly acquire the cojones to get back in the game and start socking it to Boehner’s Boys and McConnell’s Mob come January, then he stands a solid chance of becoming a one-term prez whose turn at promoting his own White House memoirs at the Miami International Book Fair, plus breaking ground for his own library – all of which his predecessor did last week – will happen four years earlier than he either planned or wished. Washington is a town of bullies, as the Professor-in-Chief now learns so rude-awakeningly by these election results. It is not for the timid nor the bullied. The bullies aren’t going
away anytime soon. They’re charged up, energized, rarin’ to go, ready to turn back the clock and stifle progress. Things are about to get worse, and no viral video can take the sting out of the abuse America is about to get for the foreseeable future from these progress-resistant reich-wingers. Things will get better only when a fed-up nation, unhappy with their results, chooses to fight back and wrest its future from them. SEEN AT THE MIAMI BEACH VETERANS DAY PARADE: While all the other officials present were being chauffeured in vintage or sporty cars, County Commish Sally Heyman broke the mold and did something I bet you’ve never seen a local politico do in a parade – ride a Segway. She not only looked to be having a grand time on it, but appeared to be quite expert with it, too. THE PARADE CONCLUDED with a ceremony at the Flamingo Park circle which, itself, ended in overthe-top style – literally – with a punctual and precise flyover of five F16s straight out from Homestead AFB. DID YOU KNOW that there is a Miss Miami Tropic Teen USA? Or a Miss Miami Beach Teen USA? Or a Miss Winchester USA? Well, no less than a dozen local beauty queens (yes, there are that many and likely more) were in the parade. What do they call that? A gaggle? A flock? God forbid something terrible happened and the bus from which they were all waving that fakey-looking-hand-wave that beauty queens wave had decided to tip over and crush ‘em all. That would have meant a whole lot of runners-up claiming the winners’ titles, sashes, and tiaras. I wonder if there exists some kind of protocol – like when they keep one cabinet secretary from attending the president’s State of the Union speech in case the federal government were to go up in smoke all at once – whereby one local beauty queen is always kept away just in case all the others were wiped out in one fell swoop. Hmm. Maybe Miss Allapattah USA was kept away for this very reason. OUR FAIR CITY IS WELL REPRESENTED, I can attest, by a gorgeous blonde stunner. She’s Miss Miami Beach USA 2011, Annilie Hastey (and if I haven’t got that correct, I hope she’s reading this now and will so provide me with any corrections. As well her phone digits. Well... I can at least try, can’t I?). She got a lot of requests from servicemen and others to pose with them for pictures after the parade, and happily and patiently sated them all. But at event’s end it was odd to find her – a popular attraction only minutes before – standing all alone at the edge of Flamingo Park in her dress, minus her sash and tiara, with no military escort or hangers-on. Just another nondescript attractive girl in SoBe, apparently waiting for her ride home. MY FAVORITE PARADE MOMENT – quite a poignant one – was one not scripted by organizers. Just in front of me, outside the Clay Hotel, a wheelchair-bound parade viewer, a former Marine, maybe a Vietnam vet, was greeted by a passing contingent of Marines. “Semper Fi!” he called out to the marchers, and they returned the salute. An Air Force marcher with the group, after greeting the man, doubled back, asked him to join them, and – just like that – a parade spectator became a participant. Then down Washington they all went, the Air Force airman pushing the wheel-chaired Marine vet. A Veterans Day parade indeed.
Politics COLUMN
Back to the Future For Positive Change on Miami Beach Bring Back the Streetcar! By Jeffrey Bradley
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: 1. ARMY SPECIALIST & MBPD CAPT MARK CAUSEY, CHIEF CARLOS NORIEGA, ARMY SGT FIRST CLASS & MBPD OFFICER JAVIER MATIAS WITH ARMY VETERANS. 2. COMMISSIONER CONGORA AND MAYOR BOWER. 3. MIAMI BEACH FIRE DEPT. 4. MIAMI BEACH SENIOR HIGH MARCHING BAND. 5. MBPD HONOR GUARD PRESENTING COLORS
Miami Beach Veterans Day Parade 2010
Photography by Miami Beach Police Sergeant G. Kluger
Boom times or bust, streetcars continue their comeback. Literally dozens of cities have either opened lines or plan to break ground and get them operating. This reach-back to the past is not about satisfying nostalgia but enticing developers, visionaries and hipsters of urban growth to bridge old industrial areas and faded neighborhoods with posh districts via the steel rails of streetcars. The never-ending and much-needed urban renaissance makes streetcars the draw for investing in the future. They’ve always been good—in this century and last—at connecting neighborhoods and providing an inexpensive alternative to walking and driving. Their return is not for new reasons but the same reasons. Today they commonly operate along rights-of-way connecting downtown with fashionable districts and entertainment centers, and many lines sprout condominiums as soon as the tracks go in. Tampa recently spent $55 million on a 2-mile line that’s attracted over $1 billion in private investment. Tampa! And part of that marketing attraction is the view that streetcars are romantic yet practical—an unbeatable combination. Public support in the face of worsening traffic congestion continues to climb. And when cities complain they can’t “afford” streetcars what they mean are light-rail systems that push beyond the urban core to attract federal dollars. These systems often require evidence they’ll save passengers time and must extend out to the suburbs—definitely expensive. But that argument applied to Miami Beach is nonsense. Electric streetcars can cost less than 1/5 the price of light-rail because they run fewer, lighter cars on shorter tracks that share the road with cars and buses. They also evoke emotions, apart from the screechy naysayers, uniformly upbeat. Saying they have ‘sex appeal’ is an understatement, they resonate so positively with the neighborhoods along their rights-of-way. Besides, developers don’t write checks for buses. Most urban streetcar lines operate over less than 5 miles and are so appealing that some developers—noting the influx of activity around their transit stops—help pay for the systems. Streetcars, vintage chic or ultra modern, are a cheap means of rapid transit expanding the reach of pedestrians in a community without having to build an expensive infrastructure. It can be up and running quickly, inexpensively, right in the street, and makes getting around without a car much easier. No panacea, they do seamlessly augment other forms of transit, which is the reason more cities are buying in. Streetcars revive old neighborhoods and raise the property values of all. They attract investment, fill retail and office space, encourage housing, offset blight or cause it to give way to playgrounds, lofts, hotels, convention centers and museums, all within blocks of the line. As ridership always increases they lessen the need for that most wretched of city set-asides, parking space. Wherever they go goes an opportunity for reinvention. In most cities forward-thinking mayors, business types and developers see them as a tremendous amenity that helps revitalize neighborhoods. It’s great transportation; more, it’s a package of urban renaissance tools. Sadly, applying that last bit to our elected officials makes them appear as clueless to rapid transit as Charlie Rangel is to tax codes. When our mayor and commissioners speak of “transportation issues” they really mean “parking”. How provincial! <Sigh> We’ll still keep our fingers crossed that one day leadership will trump being a wardheel. www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • Page 9
The Miami Gallos Boxing team in the ring at Dr. Mickey Demos Boxing Center in Miami's Tropical Park
COVER STORY
GET IN the RING! Miami Gallos set to touch gloves and come out swinging Written by Michael W. Sasser Contributing Writer Photography by MagicalPhotos.com / Mitchell Zachs
hen Sijuola Ade Shabazz was 15 years old, he moved from a small New Mexico town to the larger city of Las Cruces and found himself in conflict with his new peers. “I got into a lot of fights,” the 25 year old admits today. “But I was always one to be smart about it and know how not to get caught.” Much of his energy was channeled into his efforts on his high school football team and into running track. Along the way, he became friends with an older boxer who always encouraged him to consider the sport. “My senior year, I finally went to the [boxing] gym and I fell in love with it immediately,” Shabazz said. “I got into it and I never left.” William Williams said he was barely out of diapers when his interest in boxing was inspired. “I was about four years old and saw a boxing match and I knew that was what I wanted to do,” Williams, 20, said. “I even had a little punching bag. I’ve been doing it almost my entire life.” Both Shabazz and Williams come from athletic families and both received support from their fathers – perhaps busting the angry, isolated young man froma- rough- background boxing stereotype. Williams’ father played football for the Midwest powerhouse Nebraska Cornhuskers. “When I showed real interest in boxing, my dad started training me,” Williams said. Shabazz’s father was a grand master in the martial arts. “I was always interested in it,” Shabazz said. “Plus I had a lot of brothers, so we were always fighting.” Williams and Shabazz have a few other things in common. Both came up just short in amateur boxing’s U.S. Nationals; both are aspiring Olympians; both
W
have significant accomplishments in the international boxing arena. They are both, at the very least, fighters to keep an eye on in the very near future. Thanks to another commonality, the committed young men’s careers will be particularly convenient for South Florida boxing fans and general sports enthusiasts to monitor. Williams and Shabazz are two of the approximate 15 members of the Miami Gallos, South Florida’s newest sports franchise, set to launch on November 23. he name Gallos most closely translates to “Gamecocks” in American sports lingo.
T
Miami’s was the first of the four North American World Series of Boxing (WSB) franchises to announce its name. For the uninitiated, WSB is the vehicle through which mankind’s oldest sport is evolving for the 21st century. That evolution begins in earnest with this November’s launch of the inaugural season. Initiated by the International Boxing Association (AIBA), WSB will be the only professional series in which boxers will retain their Olympic eligibility and federations will receive a return on their investment in boxers. The WSB will crown both individual and city-based teams as world champions. The WSB boxers will compete within teams across three global regions: Europe, Asia and the Americas. The Americas’ teams are Los Angeles, Memphis, Mexico City and Miami. “Over the last few years, the AIBA has worked on this concept to create a hybrid of amateur, Olympic and professional boxing to have commercial appeal and to support people training for the Olympics,” said
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Miami Gallos General Manager Mike Sophia. “In the past guys would train for three years for the Olympics, then go compete and afterward a promoter would usually make them an offer and they would jump at it. The WSB creates a system that allows them to compete, to provide for their families and to maintain their status for the Olympics.” As Sophia rightly pointed out, boxing is one of the last sports to head down the road to professionalizing. “Because the AIBA created the league, it created rules to allow for players on teams to maintain their amateur status for the Olympics,” Sophia said. In the past and in other sports, critics have com-
“Boxing is a tough game,” Sophia said. “As young boxers are coming up, most don’t have the resources they need. When someone comes along and offers them 20 thousand, thirty thousand, forty thousand dollars…in a contract…it looks good…even if it’s not friendly to the boxer. The WSB gives these fighters a chance to compete against some of the best boxers in the world, to work with great coaches and to [support themselves]. Rather than working in a relative vacuum in preparation to climb the boxing ladder rungs to the Olympic team, the WSB brings together the next generation of great fighting talent in a collective, structured environment.
“For the uninitiated, WSB is the vehicle through which mankind’s oldest sport is evolving for the 21st century.” plained that rules that permit millionaire American athletes from Major League Baseball or the National Basketball Association to compete in the Olympics against 20 year-old amateurs from other nations. However, both the sport of boxing and the AIBA, are international – creating a legitimately level playing field. That playing field is advantageous to athletes, global boxing and fans.
Sophia said that each team will have six home and six away matches. Winners of each of the three international conferences and one wildcard advance to the playoffs. Although the WSB has been in development for a number of years, at least for the Miami franchise, things came together fast. Unable to attract private ownership groups –which the international conferences did – the league itself owns the North American franchises. The Miami-Dade Sports Commission is managing the business aspects of the Gallos for the time being. Miami was awarded the franchise from a short list of cities in contention and clearly both its history with the sport and its international nature must have been determining factors in addition to geography. This inaugural season certainly has had some bumps in the road, with the schedule already changed at least once and with the Gallos coming together for the kickoff competition a little late because of the time it took for team members from overseas to arrive in Florida. Still, all signs point to a very competitive team in a terrifically competitive new sports league. “The WSB is the best going against the best,” Sophia said. “Fighters aren’t going to have to build records by competing against lesser boxer. All of the guys are part of the Olympic boxing system. Some are past Olympians; some are future Olympians. In terms of amateur Olympians, these are the best boxers.” Sophia said he is excited about the makeup of the Miami Gallos. “These guys have a ton of talent,” he said. “I feel like we are going to be competitive right from the beginning.” The team consists of three boxers per weight division in each of those five divisions. Gallos members are excited about the opportunity that the WSB is providing them. Shabazz said he was ready to turn pro but decided
News Briefs Miami Beach Celebrating America Recycles Day Celebrate America Recycles Day on Sunday, November 21, 2010, between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Lincoln Road at the Euclid Circle. Representatives from the recycling industry, non-profit environmental organizations, Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami Beach will have informational booths, free giveaways, collections, workshops and presentations, and fun, educational activities for children.
to “stick around” for the WSB. “I’m looking for the Olympics,” Shabazz said. “I want to represent the United States in the Olympics and to win the gold medal. I also want to be the champion of this league and to help the team win the championship. I might even want that more than I want the Olympics.” Williams said he is looking forward to three years of the WSB in advance of the Olympics. He too is eyeing the Olympics and WSB championship. “I think the WSB is going to change the sport,” Williams said. “There are a lot of young boxers out there looking for something like this.” Although it might be a subtle difference to the very casual fight fan, one distinct aspect of the WSB is mightily appealing to Shabazz and Williams. “With the league, it’s pro-style boxing and that gives you a better chance to make the Olympics,” Williams said. Shabazz feels his second place finish at the U.S. Nationals last year would have ended in a victory had professional rules been in effect. “In amateur you have head gear and I thought I should have won because [his opponent] just touched me,” Shabazz said. “Pro scoring will be a big change. The changes showcase a fighter’s true skill. This will show who the real boxers are.” ight fans are in for a treat with the launch of the Miami Gallos – once they find out about them.
F
“A lot of people don’t know about [the WSB] yet,” Sophia said. “Those who do, love it.” In marketing terms, Sophia said the franchise is focusing on two strategies. “We’re reaching out to the grass roots, to boxing fans, to the local boxing gyms – people we expect will be interested,” he said. “Then we’re targeting general sports fans and we want to bring them in. It’s not an easy process. We want to make sure that we’re providing a high quality product to help create buzz about it…and so that people will keep coming back.”
Sophia said the grassroots approach is preferable because the team feels it is the most effective. Gallos team members have already been active at youth, charitable and other events in South Florida. “We won’t have the marketing budget that the Miami Heat or the Miami Dolphins have,” Sophia said. “We got a decent advertising budget and we will do that. But in this market, it’s about reaching the right people with the right message.” Miami boxing enthusiast Joel Simpson said that he remembered hearing about Miami’s WSB franchise but was surprised that the season was at hand. “There is so much sports in South Florida that I guess it’s easy for a whole new league and team to be kind-of lost in the shuffle,” Simpson said. “I like and follow a lot of sports, but the big teams here get most the attention. The Heat with the LeBron thing…the Dolphins season at midway…there is a lot of attention focused on those things. I want to see how the Gallos do but I think I would like to see one of their matches. Hollywood’s David Gimmel said he has followed all of the news related to the Gallos. The former Navy boxer said he remains a huge boxing fan. “I wasn’t this excited when Miami got the Marlins,” Gimmel said. “This is such a sports crazy area with such a history in the fight game, I’m surprised the Gallos haven’t generated more attention. I guess it will take a while.” Gimmel, though, said he would definitely make the short trip to Miami to see the Gallos’ fighters box. “I don’t think casual fans understand yet just what an improvement on the old ‘system’ that the WSB is,” Gimmel said. “I also think it will have a big impact on the Olympics.” Sophia said that his goal is to fill the 4,000 available seats at matches at the American Airlines Arena. “I’m not sure about opening night, but we’ll get there,” Sophia said. For more information on the Miami Gallos and the team schedule, visit miamigallos.com.
RECYCLING/COLLECTIONS Electronics: EcoBatt, SmartAtBulbs and eTronic eWaste Bring used batteries, light bulbs and electronics such as computers, keyboards, monitors, printers, and cell phones. Plastic Bottles & Aluminum Cans: The Recyclable Planet Project “Green machine” will collect clean PET plastic bottles and aluminum cans for recycling Single-Stream Recycling: Miami Beach Sanitation Division Drop-off commingled recyclables (office paper, magazines, cardboard, newspaper, plastic, metal, and glass). Light Bulb & Showerhead Exchange (while supplies last) Miami-Dade County: Water & Sewer Department & the Office of Sustainability Bring your current showerheads and three most heavily used regular light bulbs to the event and trade them for ones that are more efficient. Get two high-efficiency showerheads and up to three energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs. Miami Beach Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off OFF-SITE: 41 STREET & CHASE AVENUE Acceptable household hazardous waste to bring include: latex paint, aerosol cans, herbicides/pesticides/insecticides/fungicides, automotive oil, transmission fluid/antifreeze, gasoline, automotive/marine batteries, household batteries, kerosene, acids, oil-based paints, any household chemicals, fluorescent light bulbs, primer/turpentines/varnishes, medical waste, propane tanks, mercury items/mercury contaminated debris, fire extinguishers, and any other household chemicals. Please make sure all materials brought to the drop-off location are properly identified/labeled and in a sealed container. This is a safe alternative for residents to properly dispose of household chemicals and help prevent these products from contaminating soils and groundwater. WORKSHOPS Composting Workshop (12:30 p.m.): Fertile Earth Learn how to create and maintain your own composting system and how it benefits clean water, soil and air. Activities for Children: ReThink + ReUse Center and Upcycled Objects Create art and jewelry from recycled materials. How to Create a Rain Barrel: UF Extension and Florida Yards & Neighborhoods will be giving rain barrel presentations throughout the day and will provide information about other simple water conservation techniques. INFORMATIONAL STATIONS New Miami Beach Recycling Programs: Miami Beach Public Works’ Environmental Division Educational materials on the City’s new 24/7, single-stream recycling program with community drop-off locations at 210 2 Street in South Beach and 75 Street and Dickens Avenue in North Beach. Residential & Commercial Programs Choice Environmental Services, General Hauling Services Inc., WSI and Waste Management Inc. Information on recycling options available within Miami Beach. Benefits of Recycling: ECOMB and Dream in Green Educational material on the benefits of recycling to the health of the community and the local environment. Environmental Stewardship: Streetwaves Program that mentors and empowers high-risk urban youth through environmental stewardship and engagement in outdoor activities such as swimming and surfing. For more information about America Recycles Day, contact Lisa Botero at (305) 673-7080 or lbotero@miamibeachfl.gov. www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • Page 13
Calendar WHAT TO DO IN MIAMI THIS WEEK
BUIKA
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November 19
ART Bruce Webber: Haiti The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), is showing a new exhibition of photographs of Miami’s Haitian community by celebrated photographer Bruce Weber. Bruce Weber: Haiti / Little Haiti are 75 photographs taken by Weber from 2003 to 2010. Through February 13. MOCA, 770 NE 125th St; North Miami. For info: mocanomi.org
November 19
DANCE Hip Hop Flamenco Beats & Compas, hip-hop-Flamenco, is an encounter of flamenco juxtaposed upon an urban landscape. Choreographer and Hip Hop dancer Charles Williams, and Flamenco dancer Celia Fonta, unite their creative energies and delve into the unknown territory of Beats and Compas revolutionizing the way you experience either of these musical genres. $25. 8pm. Byron Carlyle Theatre, 500 71 St; Miami Beach. For info: 305.866.4387
November 19
TOURS Gay & Lesbian Tour
JULIETTE LEWIS
November 18
Recognizing the many contributions of the LGBT community to the history of Miami Beach, the MDPL is premiering a new Gay and Lesbian Historic Walking Tour of South Beach. Among the stops: the Palace Bar (home the Sunday drag shows), Gianni Versace’s Casa Casuarina, and the Breakwater Hotel - site of the photo shoot for the iconic Calvin Klein Obsession ad campaign. 6pm. $20. LGBT Visitor Center, 1130 Washington Ave; Miami Beach. For info: mdpl.org.
MUSIC Manuel Valera Catch the Manuel Valera Quartet tonight.9pm. Free. Van Dyke Cafe, 846 Lincoln Road, South Beach. For info: 305-534-3600 or thevandykecafe.com.
November 19 SOCIAL Rock Cancer
November 18
HOLIDAY Festival of Trees FIU’s annual Festival of the Trees has become a South Florida tradition, marking the start of the holiday season for close to 25 years. Since its inception, the Festival of the Trees has united the region’s premier design professionals in this celebration of the holiday season’s shapes, colors, light and poetry. The trees will be auctioned at the event. 6pm. Coverings, 7610 NE 4th Court, Miami. For info: festivalofthetrees.com
Kitchen 305 will open its doors for a night of rock and roll to help raise money for young cancer patients. The Rock the House charity event will be hosted by Interscope Record’s lead singer, Rich Luzzi, and Miss Maxim USA, Tami Donaldson, Detour, and DJ Mike Palmieri. Win an authentic Rev Theory electric guitar, which will be signed and raffled off for charity. All proceeds will benefit the Rock Cancer campaign for the cancer advocacy group for adolescents and young adults. $10. 7pm. Kitchen 305, The Newport Beachside Hotel and Resort, 16701 Collins Ave; Sunny Isles. For info: 305.749.2110
November 18 MUSIC Juliette Lewis
Hollywood actress and recording artist, Juliette Lewis, will perform with Aerosmith’s, Joe Perry at tonight’s Dolphins-Bears game. On the Tailgate Stage. 7pm. Limited tickets are available to the game. For info: miamidolphins.com
November 18
COMEDY Going Green the Wong Way
Performance art meets stand-up comedy when Miami’s award-winning Mad Cat Theatre Company teams up with irreverent West Coast theater artist Kristina Wong in her hilarious comedy Going Green the Wong Way. Described as Brutal but hilarious Wong burns up the stage with humor and theatrics. 8pm. $35. Carnival Studio Theatre, 1300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami. For info: arshtcenter.org
November 19
THEATRE Oliver
Actors’ Playhouse will show the Tony-award winning musical Oliver! One of the most beloved productions of all time, Oliver! vividly brings to life Charles Dickens’ timeless characters from the novel Oliver Twist, with its ever-popular story of the boy who asked for more. Directed by Carbonell Awardwinning Artistic Director David Arisco. Starring Gary Marachek as Fagan. $37-$42. Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables. For info: 305.444.9293 or actorsplayhouse.org.
FESTIVAL OF TREES
SAVE THE DATE: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2010
CULTURAL SERIES KNOWN FOR BRINGING THE WORLD’S BEST PIANISTS AND RISING STARS TO SOUTH FLORIDA, THE MIAMI INTERNATIONAL PIANO FESTIVAL KICKS OFF A NEW SERIES OF PERFORMANCES DUBBED THE AVENTURA CULTURAL SERIES. THE FIRST CONCERT IS BY ITALIAN KEYBOARD MASTER, FRANCESCO LIBETTA WHO WILL FEATURE COMPOSITIONS BY CHOPIN AND OTHERS THAT SPECIFICALLY PAY TRIBUTE TO CHOPIN’S FASCINATION WITH ITALIAN THEATRE, SOPRANOS, SINGERS AND BALLERINAS. LIBETTA HAS ALSO INCLUDED HIS OWN TRANSCRIPTION OF THE ITALIAN SINGER, SONGWRITER, FILMMAKER AND PAINTER, FRANCO BATTIATO’S LA CURA AS WELL AS SOME LIGHTER WORKS BY ILDEBRANDO PIZZETTI. $30. 4PM. AVENTURA CULTURAL CENTER, 3385 NE 188 STREET, AVENTURA. FOR INFO: OR 954-462-0222 www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • Page 15
Calendar WHAT TO DO IN MIAMI THIS WEEK
OLIVER
November 19
berg. 8pm. $10 with ticket. Chapman Conference Center, Miami Dade College, 300 NE Second Ave, Miami. For info: miamibookfair.com.
STYLE Trunk Show
November 19
Head to AAA Treasures for a really unique trunk show from fabulous designer, Raquel Vallejo. An evening of Bubbles, earrings, necklaces and music, as in a live Flamenco Guitarist. 5:30pm. A&A village treasures, 9702 NE 2nd Ave; Miami Shores.
BOOK FAIR Edwige Danticat Carlos Eire on Learning to Die in Miami, Edwidge Danticat on Create Dangerously: Immigrant Artists at Work and Ngugi Wa Thiong’o on Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir. 3:30pm. Free with ticket. Chapman Conference Center, Miami Dade College, 300 NE Second Ave, Miami. For info: miamibookfair.com.
November 19 BOOK FAIR Patti Smith
An Evening with Patti Smith. A new memoir, Just Kids, from this amazing musician who was a fixture in the 70’s arts scene with Robert Mapelthorpe, Andy Warhol and Allen Ginsberg. 8pm. $10. Chapman Conference Center, Miami Dade College, 300 NE Second Ave, Miami. For info: miamibookfair.com.
November 19 ART Pink Snails
D’ya remember Christo? When he wrapped the Beach Islands in shocking pink? Well, the guys from Italian-based, Cracking Art Group, have done something similar. They have created huge clusters of pink and magenta snails. The snails will start out at the Art Deco Welcome Center, and end up at Collins Park in front of the Bass Museum. Art Deco Welcome Center, 1001 Ocean Dr; Miami Beach. mdpl.org.
November 20 MUSIC Buika
At the crossroads of genres — a place where jazz, flamenco, copla and neo-soul come together, Buika has left audiences across the world spellbound. Her latest project, El Ultimo Trago, pays homage to the celebrated Mexican singer, Chavela Vargas, honoring the Latin American tradition of song with the powerful vocals only Buika can deliver. 8pm. $30 - $65 Knight Concert Hall, 1300 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami. For info: rhythmfoundation.org.
November 20
SOCIAL Good, Bad & Kinky Get ready for what is billed as one of the Sexiest Annual Parties, The Good, the Bad & the Kinky is happening this Saturday. Dress as what you are or want to be; the Good - in All-White Attire, the Bad - in All-Black or All-Red or the Kinky - in Fetish Wear. 10pm. $20. Harveys By The Bay, 6445 NE 7th Ave; Miami.
November 20 BOOK FAIR Patti Smith
An Evening with Patti Smith. A new memoir, Just Kids, from this amazing musician who was a fixture in the 70’s arts scene with Robert Mapelthorpe, Andy Warhol and Allen Gins-
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November 20
PATTI SMITH
ART List Art
A collaborative event between the Arsht and Lincoln Center is the List Art Collection, showcasing more than 35 art works from national and international visual artists. The art will show in the halls of the Arsht Center for the entire season. Free tours every Saturday at 12pm. Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami. For info: arshtcenter.org.
November 21
GREEN America Recycles Day Celebrate America Recycles Day on Lincoln Rd with ECOMB and the City of Miami Beach. Representatives from the recycling industry, non-profit environmental organizations, Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami Beach will have booths, giveaways, collections, workshops, presentations, and fun, activities for the kids. Lincoln Road at the Euclid Circle, Miami Beach. For info: ecomb.org
FOR KIDS Friday, November 19 - 21
Children’s Alley (and Beyond!)
A MAGICAL WORLD OF READING AND LEARNING. THIS YEAR, THE CHILDREN’S ALLEY OF THE MIAMI BOOK FAIR INTERNATIONAL PROVES THAT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE WHEN CHILDREN READ - FROM GIVING A MONSTER A HAIRCUT TO SKIPPING DOWN THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD TO VISIT THE WIZARD OF OZ. KIDS OF ALL AGES WILL SING, DANCE, READ AND CREATE DURING A WEEKEND OF FUN THAT WILL HIGHLIGHT CHILDREN’S BOOKS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF READING AT SEVEN THEME AREAS. IT’S A WEEKEND OF FUN THAT NEVER HAS TO END FOR CHILDREN - AS LONG AS THEY KEEP READING. DON’T MISS A CUPCAKE TEA PARTY WITH FANCY NANCY, BROOMSTICK RACES AT THE LAND OF OZ AND WILD ANIMAL BINGO AT THE GREEN PLANET. SOUNDS LIKE A WHOLE LOT OF FUN TO BE HAD. 9AM TO 4PM. CHILDREN’S ALLEY (PLAZA BEHIND BUILDING 1), MIAMI DADE COLLEGE, 300 NE SECOND AVE, MIAMI. FOR INFO: MIAMIBOOKFAIR.COM.
EXPERT ALTERATIONS PARKING IN THE REAR
Shoe Repairs & Shoe Shine
9835 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami Shores 305.757.8386 Mon-Fri: 8am - 6pm Sat: 8am - 4pm
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • Page 17
Cinema
HARRY POTTER
REVIEW
Epic, Intimate By Ruben Rosario (ruben@sunpostweekly.com) He holds out his hand. She hesitates, then takes it. A smile spreads across her face. They start dancing to the upbeat song; he twirls her around. They suddenly stop, stare at each other. They’ve known each other since they were 11. Is there potential for more than friendship here? The tender, bittersweet scene I’ve just described is not from the latest indie romance. It happens halfway through Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and it encapsulates everything I’ve come to love about the series (the books and the movies). For all their displays of wizardry and derring-do, J.K. Rowling’s tales of the boy with the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead are most memorable to me as an exhaustive, deeply personal coming of age saga, its fantasy elements more and more rooted to real-world concerns as one chapter leads to another. Not merely content with regurgitating a variation on Sorcerer’s Stone (the first entry), Rowling chose instead to dig deeper, creating in the process a complex, fully realized parallel world with striking similarities (and differences) to our own. The movie adaptations, I’m happy to report, have followed suit, and beginning with Order of the Phoenix in 2007, they have found in BBC workhorse David Yates (The Way We Live Now, the original State of Play) a director whose disciplined approach to the material has proven to be precisely what the franchise needed to find its onscreen spark. His focus is not on the action, or setting the viewer up for the impending showdown between Harry and Voldemort, the evil, reptilian arch-nemesis who murdered his parents and is dead-set on taking over the world of Muggles (non-wizard humans). His entries in the series have worked as well as they have because he’s primarily interested in Harry’s emotional journey. In Half-Blood Prince, the previous film, he went a little overboard, depriving the viewer from some proper wand-towand combat in favor of chronicling the romantic
entanglements of Hogwarts’s hormone-driven students. That’s certainly not the case with the new film, which starts out with an extreme closeup of a pair of eyes. “These are dark times, there’s no denying,” states Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour (new addition Bill Nighy, star of Yates’s HBO movie The Girl in the Café), and the film wastes very little time in plunging the viewer into the chaos of a world at war. We see Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) taking one last look at the broom closet in which he spent most of his childhood. Hermione (Emma Watson) casts a spell on her parents so they forget she ever existed. And the movie sustains that existential, brooding tone for just about all of its nearly two-and-a-half-hour running time. It’s quite a high-wire act Yates performs here. In recounting the budding wizards’ attempts to find the pieces of Voldemort soul (called horcruxes) that will make him vulnerable, he keeps the story flowing at a steady pace, yet he also retains the novel’s languorous interlude in which Harry, Hermione and Ron (Rupert Grint) hide from Voldemort’s henchmen (aka Death Eaters) by traveling from one secluded location to another like itinerant gypsies. As the body count rises and circumstances become more precarious, Yates, working from another fine script by Fabulous Baker Boys director Steve Kloves, uses thriller and horror-movie tactics to stage some pretty tense sequences, none scarier than Harry’s fight with Voldemort’s deadly snake, which recalls Sam’s encounter with that big spider in The Lord of the Rings. If there is one omission from the book I yearned to see onscreen, it was the passage in which Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), Harry’s werewolf professor in Prisoner of Azkaban (the third film), asks to join them and is turned down. Other than that, Deathly Hallows 1 is everything a Potterphile could ever hope for, and then some. It heartens the soul and chills the spine. It makes you feels the tedium of these characters’ lives, and it quickens your pulse when you least expect it. Above all, LA YUMA
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it’s a testament to Yates’s judicious storytelling skills, because he has turned the Potter saga into that rare studio franchise with a heart as expansive as its scope. All I can say is bravo! Potter’s not the only rebellious teen making his way to movie screens this weekend. In the vivid, painfully intimate documentary Last Train Home, Chinese-born director Lixin Fan gives us a compassionate, clear-eyed portrait of 17-year-old Zhang Qin and her family. According to China’s strict laws, she and her younger brother, who have been raised by their grandmother in a remote village in Sichuan province, cannot accompany their parents as they go off to the city to work in a factory. The only time they see each other is during the Chinese New Year, when Changhua (Dad) and Suqin (Mom) embark on that long train ride, packed like sardines along with millions of other workers in what, as the film states at the beginning, is the world’s largest human migration. Failing to get a ticket means the difference between seeing your loved ones and waiting one more year to do so. Changhua and Suqin have become strangers to Qin, and her resentment over their absence, made even more blistering by her contention that all her parents care about is money, has grown to such an extent that, in the course of the two-plus years that the director spends with this dysfunctional household, she will opt to drop out of school and enter the work force. It all leads up to a domestic squabble between father and daughter that starts verbally and then turns physical in front of the cameras. “You want to see the real me? This is the real me,” Qin screams at the filmmakers. One of the film’s most notable aspects is its gorgeous photography. Lixin Fan takes the viewer right in the middle of a chaotic train-station..and then pulls back for a stunning overhead shot of a sea of people and pastelcolored umbrellas. There are also some stunning vistas of China’s wintry countryside. The film’s strength, however, lies in its quietly inquisitive outlook. By focusing on the troubles of one family, Lixin Fan delivers a social issue documentary that sheds some light on a fascinating subject yet doesn’t feel the least bit preachy. Another probing exploration of a working-class family comes in the form of La Yuma, Nicaragua’s first feature in two decades and a runaway hit at this year’s Miami International Film Festival. I have to admit I didn’t much care for the awkwardly staged baseball game between the residents of a Managua barrio and members of the city’s police force that opens the movie. “Amateur night,” I thought to myself. But this kitchen sink melodrama,
which tells the story of a short-tempered female boxer who dreams of moving away from her seedy neighborhood, has a scrappy energy and eye for detail that eventually won me over. Director Florence Jaugey, making her feature debut, brings a sense of authenticity to her narrative as well as to the locations where she shot the film. She often evokes Fellini’s early-sixties neorealist work, Nights of Cabiria in particular. (There’s even a circus towards the end of the movie!) The story kicks into gear when Yuma (Alma Blanco) catches her younger brother robbing the backpack of Ernesto (Gabriel Benavides), a handsome university student. The tentative upstairs-downstairs romance that ensues when she returns his missing computer disk is a study in contrasts. Yuma, with her confrontational personality and boulder-sized chip on her shoulder, and Ernesto, an idealistic journalism major who abhors violence of any kind, make for an appealing yin-yang couple. (There’s little doubt as to who wears the pants in this relationship.) I do, however, wish Jaugey had let her scenes breathe more. With its breakneck pace, her film is as tightly wound as its heroine. In addition, Jaugey bites off more than she could chew when she delves into Yuma’s domestic strife with her hard-working mother and her unemployed, good-for-nothing boyfriend. It’s one crisis too many for a film that’s only an hour and half long. The boxing in La Yuma turns out to be a minor aspect, but the film really thrives inside the ring. When we see Yuma finally hitting the ropes for an official match, the empowerment Jaugey elicits from this moment is enough to melt the most hardened cynic. Hers is a refreshingly feminist take on the underdog tale, one that will hopefully result in more stories from Central America seeing the light of day on the international movie scene. La Yuma‘s 12-day run at the Coral Gables Art Cinema begins this Sunday with a complimentary pre-screening reception open to all ticket holders. This will be the film’s first North American theatrical release. Director Florence Jaugey will attend every screening between Sunday and Wednesday; she will be on hand for post-screening Q & As. For more details go to coralgablescinemateque.org. Last Train Home screens this weekend only at the Bill Cosford Cinema; go to cosfordcinema.com for showtimes. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 hits U.S. screens on Friday. If you’re going this weekend, I advise you to buy your tickets in advance; it’s well worth the effort.
Music COLUMN
Mayday Parade By Alan Sculley When Derek Sanders, lead singer/guitarist of Mayday Parade, talks almost in disbelief about having seen his band’s second CD, “Anywhere But Here,” come out on a major label like Atlantic, it shows a humility that’s refreshing in rock and roll. “That’s just something that as a kid when I started playing guitar, I just never ever, ever, ever thought that anything like that would ever happen,” Sanders said about the group’s arrival on a major label. But when one considers the band’s humble beginnings, it’s not so hard to imagine how Sanders would be thrilled to be on Atlantic, or for that matter to see Mayday Parade get to a point where the band is headlining modern rock tours such as last fall’s “Alternative Press” magazine tour or this fall’s “Fearless Friends” package tour that also includes Breathe Carolina, Every Avenue, Artist Vs. Poet and Go Radio. Mayday Parade’s rise has been swift. It was only four years ago that Mayday Parade was a local band with a novel idea to try and raise awareness of its music. The group decided to travel along with the 2006 Warped tour, arriving at the venue each morning – not to play a set – but to try to hawk its EP to ticket holders that were lining up waiting for the venue to open. Although plenty of people ignored Mayday Parade’s sales pitches, the group connected with thousands of potential fans, sold a good number of EPs – and most importantly, created enough attention that the band was offered an audition that netted it a deal with Fearless Records. Since that point, Mayday Parade has made steady progress with its career, releasing its debut CD, “A Lesson In Romantics,” in 2007 and actually playing on the Warped tour that summer. Next was first release on Atlantic, the 2009 CD “Anywhere But Here.” And the members of Mayday Parade — Sanders, bassist Jeremy Lenzo, guitarists Alex Garcia, Brooks Betts and drummer Jake Bundrick — quickly discovered that making a major label CD was going to be a much dif-
ferent proposition than recording for an indy label, beginning with the songwriting. For the first time, the band was asked to work with outside songwriters, including established hitmakers Sam Hollander and Dave Katz (known as S.A.M. & Sluggo), Gregg Wattenberg, David Hodges (formerly of Evanescence), Bobby Huff and David Bassett. “The way that would work is we would have a song and we’d take it someone and they’d help just make it better or whatever or contribute whatever they could to it,” Sanders said. “Or, if it was an unfinished song, they would help finish it, things like that, which is weird…It’s a little hard to take something that’s that personal to you, like a song, and have someone else that you don’t really know contribute and say what they want to do with it. It’s really hard to get used to at first. But I think it all turned out for the best.” Mayday Parade also experienced the reality that with some major label projects, the opinions of the record company, the CD’s producer (in this case, David Bendeth, whose credits include Paramore and Breaking Benjamin) and others were going to figure into how “Anywhere But Here” would turn out. “It’s like, these songs, there are 20 different opinions going into these songs,” Sanders said. “I kind of understand a little more now why bands change as they climb the ladder or whatever. It’s hard to go through that and still maintain who you are and maintain the same sound and stuff. But I feel like we got lucky that we all did work well together.” In the end, the CD Mayday Parade made with “Anywhere But Here” turned out fairly similar to “A Lesson In Romantics.” As with the first CD, the band relies on a guitar pop sound that falls well within the tradition of Fall Out Boy, All-American Rejects or other modern pop-rock bands. That’s not a problem, because songs like “ Still Breathing,” “Save Your Heart” and “Anywhere But Here” are well crafted and show that Mayday Parade’s songwriting is a cut above most of the group’s peers. The group has been on tour behind “Anywhere But Here” for a year or so now. And even though the band’s career has shown no signs of anything but forward movement, Sanders appreciates the opportunity to tour – especially as a headliner. “The life of bands nowadays can be so short,” Sanders observed. “So it’s really cool that people actually care to keep coming to see us play. And yeah, it’s awesome to have like, there’s a lot more freedom with a headlining tour or a co-headlining tour with things you’re able to do with your set. So we’re all excited to be able to play around with it and do some really cool stuff on stage. Everything about it just feels too good to be true. It’s really awesome.” Mayday Parade plays the Fearless Friends Tour, Nov. 28 at Revolution Live, 200 West Broward Blvd., Ft Lauderdale. Doors open at 5pm. Tickets are $24.25.
Dance COLUMN
White Cube, Black Box, Dirt Plot Premieres From Daniel Ashram and the Miami Contemporary Dance Company By Celeste Fraser Delgado Artburstmiami.com I have a high tolerance for monotony. In this hyper-wired-sleep-deprived world, I welcome long stretches of sitting still, watching the same thing happen over and over. Which pretty much describes Replica, the collaborative performance piece staged by erstwhile Miami visual artist Daniel Ashram with choreographers Jonah Bokaer and Judith Sanchez Ruiz at the Adrienne Arsht Center last Friday (and at MOCA last Saturday). For just shy of an hour, dancers
Bokaer and CC Chang gently rolled, leaned, and pushed against each other in the vicinity of a white cube designed by Ashram to break apart and, at one point, to come back together in a video of the cube projected on the side of the cube (a “replica,” get it?). The “white cube” is standard shorthand for the sterile space of the art gallery, making the repeated gesture of breaking out of the cube on both stage and video a cute in-joke for the visual arts crowd. Here was a sculpture come to life. Once the dancers broke out, though, they were stuck in the “black box,” standard shorthand for the empty space of the studio theater. Here were living creatures turned into statues, though not like those white-powdered buskers on Lincoln Road who stand on boxes, completely still. The dancers were always in motion, but Bokaer and Chang are so supremely accomplished that there was never a moment when the audience doubted their control. When Bokaer hovered on an extremely articulated tiptoe for what seemed like several minutes, he never teetered, never hinted at mere mortal fatigue. When Chang fell grace-
fully to the ground it was clear that she would just as quickly and gracefully rise again. Ashram reversed the usual relationship between set design and performance: the white cube and the black box shared the spotlight; the dancers were background. Not everyone in the audience at the Arsht appreciated Replica’s essential stillness. At least 14 people fled the studio theater before the final bow, the first man bursting out of a center row before the 10-minute mark, trailing his embarrassed wife, daughter, and mother or mother-in-law sheepishly behind. Another couple, rushing out at what they could not know was nearly the end, finally broke open the black box as they practically ran into the dancers who had ventured for the moment to the edge of the stage. I imagined the fleeing audience members pausing in the lobby, pulling iPhones and Blackberries out of their pockets, escaping their boredom by fixing their eyes on a tiny screen and jabbing their fingers at the tiny keys. I think we have lost sight of what monotony is.
Miami Contemporary Dance Company No one walked out of the Miami Contemporary Dance Company performance at the Colony last Friday. In fact, in true Miami fashion, audience members were still trickling in long after the curtain rose on a bride mourning beside a corpse in The Death of Federico Garcia Lorca. I had not seen this piece before, and it quickly became my favorite in artistic director and choreographer Ray Sullivan’s repertory so far. The poet Garcia Lorca’s passionate life and tragic death make for gripping drama and his verses, as MCDC demonstrated with a gasping recitation of “Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejia,” make for a stunning accompaniment to dance. The main attraction of the night, however, was the world premiere of Sullivan’s latest work, Harvest Voice. Inspired by interviews with women migrant farm workers in Homestead, this lyrical dance is set against a video backdrop of grass and brush animated occasionally by elements such as a tractor tire rolling by and a fluttering butterfly. The set played a starring role in this piece as well, with the dancers dragging about six wooden boxes filled with soil and climbing in and out now and again. In one of my favorite moments, a male dancer bathed one of the women in dirt. Unlike The Death of Federico Garcia Lorca, which fused flamenco with MCDC’s contemporary vocabulary, this piece did not incorporate a movement drawn either from the Mexican regional dances that dominate the Homestead camps or from the reach and bend of farm work itself. Instead, arched backs, falls, and full extensions represented what Sullivan gleaned from the dream life of his subjects in the abstract. Nor were any of the words of the farm workers recited in the manner so effective with Garcia Lorca’s verse. Harvest Voice is a lovely piece, but after the curtain fell, the secret dreams of women in the fields remained a secret to me. Miami Contemporary Dance Company performs The Death of Federico Garcia Lorca and Harvest Voice at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, November 19 and Saturday, November 20 at the Colony Theater, 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. Tickets cost $20 - $35. Call 305-865-6232 or visit miamicontemporarydance.net.
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • Page 19
The 411
Amir Ben-Zion & DACRA’s Craig Robins at the Townhouse 10th Anniversary bash
Brooke Shields and Leonardo Davalos at JW Marriott Marquis
Anna Kournikova at JW Marriott Marquis
Angie Harmon & Florencia Tabeni at the JW Marriott
COLUMN
Milestones By Mary Jo Almeida-Shore maryjoshore@aol.com
WOLFSONIAN QUINCES
Jonathan Morr & Amir Ben-Zion, Townhouse owners
Susanne Birbragher & Sam Robin at the Townhouse Hotel’s 10th Anniversary party
Nothing marks a coming of age like a good old fashioned Cuban Quinces. On Friday, November 12, the Wolfsonian Visionaries celebrated the museum’s milestone with a fantastic Quinceañera-themed party at the Fontainebleau- the most glamorous and fun Quinces we’ve ever attended, and by all accounts, one of the best parties of the year. From top to bottom, the elegant event was sensational, featuring gorgeous décor; an A-list crowd, who dressed to the nines for the occasion; fantastic food and “put on your red shoes and dance!” music by Grammy-nominated Conjunto Progreso led by Johnny Aguiló, who performed one of a kind traditional Cuban Son music and DJ Jody McDonald, a twenty year veteran of the turntables, who played all of our Old School favorites: (think roller skating circa 1980- in fact several guests “pretend skated” on the dance floor.) The chic crowd of 320 all but ignored the decadent dessert bar-as the music was too good to fully enjoy sitting down and broke curfew by dancing way past any respectable hour of guests typically found at Quinceañera celebrations. Spotted, in a blur, tearing up the dance floor: event chairs, Gingi Beltran, Adrian De Brasi, Jaime Odabachian; Wolfsonian Director, Cathy Leff (who donned butterfly wings) along with VIPs: Criselda and Jonathon Breene, Iran Issa Khan, Sam Robin, Alvaro Cuadrado, Dr. Julio Gallo, Susanne Birbragher, Jilian Sanz, Mario Vergel, Marysol Patton, Philipe Pautesta, Lauren Gnazzo, Tito Gaudenzi, Frank Amadeo, Frederic Dechnik, Laure Heriard Dubreuil, John Joseph Lin, Jillian Jacobson Altit, Louis Aguirre, Robert Chambers, Peter L. Corsell, Neil and Kira Flanzraich, Marvin Ross Friedman and Adrienne bon Haes, Frederick and Carole Guest, Shulamit Katzman, Shari Liu and Alejandro Grimaldi,Luis Pons,Tui Pranich, Alan Randolph,Susan Bell Richard, Sandy and Tony Tamer, and Jeri L. Waxenberg Wolfson, Louis Wolfson III and Ellen Wolfson. Gingi Beltran, co-chair of the Wolfsonian Visionairies, a group of community leaders, predominantly from the art and design worlds, shared the following: “It is a privilege to be a part of the Wolfsonian Visionaries and to help produce the Quinceañera. As Visionaries, our goal is to help strengthen community ties and raise funds to support the museum’s ex-
DJ Sasha Lauzon of Ess & Em spins at the Townhouse party
Page 20 • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
hibitions and activities. So many extraordinary people came to support and celebrate the museum’s 15th birthday. We are all extremely proud of the Wolfsonian’s accomplishments and of the many people who have helped make it all possible.”
TOWNHOUSE TURNS TEN On Thursday, November 11, Miami’s social set joined Jonathan Morr and Amir Ben-Zion for the 10th anniversary of the Townhouse Hotel and the official grand opening of the Rooftop Lounge. VIPs in attendance included: Iran Issa Khan, Craig Robins, Paul Bacardi, Ingrid Hoffman, Frederic Dechnik, Susanne Birbragher, John Lin, Sam Robin, and City of Miami Beach Vice Mayor, Michael Gongora. Guests were welcomed to the lobby level of the landmark hotel by contemporary beats from Ess & Emm before making their way upstairs to the dimly lit Rooftop Lounge for signature cocktails courtesy of Grey Goose vodka and a wide variety of delectable sushi from long-standing favorite, Bond Street Lounge.
JW MARRIOTT MARQUIS MIAMI MAKES ITS MARK JW Marriott Marquis Miami, the first Marquis in the JW Marriott portfolio, celebrated its grand opening event with a spectacular star studded event on Thursday, November 4. The evening kicked off with an exclusive cocktail party at db Bistro Moderne, the latest outpost of world renowned French chef extraordinaire, Daniel Boloud, who was on-hand for the opening. Guests were treated to savory bites as canapé trays were passed throughout the evening with samplings of the three-time James Beard Award winning chef’s signature dishes. The famed db Original Burger hit the floor sending the crowd’s taste buds into a frenzy, as did the overflowing food stations surrounding the restaurant’s private dining rooms serving whole roasted suckling pig stuffed with house-made sausage, Swiss chard and olives; a raw bar, including cracked stone crab claws, jumbo shrimp, oysters and mussels; and varieties of cheeses, fruits, and pates. To accompany the scrumptious cuisine and keep the party going, Grey Goose cocktails were free-flowing. Just before the food coma set in, we noticed scantily dressed models holding signs urging us to head to the hotel’s 19th floor- an entertainment
German Alvarado, Daniel Boulud, & Jarrod Verbiak JW Marriott Marquis opening party
and lifestyle complex, which includes a basketball arena. The arena was buzzing with excitement, including a live media interactive painting performance by renowned artist, David Lebatard (a.k.a. LEBO) and tunes by celebrity DJ, Irie. Miami Heat’s Tim Hardaway hosted a basketball challenge where celebrities and party-goers such as Alex Rodriguez, Helio Castroneves, Stephanie Sayfie Aagard, Rick Leventhal and Dan Lebatard competed for a grand prize of $10,000 to be donated to the charity of their choice. Alex Rodriguez came in first place and donated the $10,000 to the Boys and Girls’ Club of Miami-Dade. Celebrities, athletes and local-influencers enjoyed the rest of the evening sipping cocktails, and taking advantage of the various entertainment suites on the 19th floor, such as the Jim McLean Golf School, virtual bowling alley, billiard rooms and expansive pool deck. In addition to those previously mentioned, celebs spotted throughout the evening included: Brooke Shields, Angie Harmon, Venus Williams, Anna Kournikova, Tim Hardaway, Helio Castroneves, Jim McLean and Alexis Thompson. Additional guests included Michelle Bernstein, George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, Jorge Perez, Ingrid Casares, Alicia Cervera, Dr. Julio Gallo, Monica Kalpakian, Belkys Nerey, Gary and Dana Shear, Tommy and Michelle Pooch, Dan and Tina Carlo, Hernan Arriaga and Fabio Lopez, Bonnie Clearwater, Louis Aguirre, Alan and Diane Lieberman, James Wark and John Lin.
DJ Irie, Tim Hardaway and The Miami Heat Dancers
LeBron James, along with fellow basketball pro Jerry Stackhouse, made their way to STK Miami. James requested his favorite table in the main dining room. Favorite Latin duo Hansel and Raul hit the stage this weekend for the Vegas-themed 50th birthday bash of Manny Gonzalez; surprising guests with an impromptu concert. Guests were treated to favorite hits “No Hay Cama Pa’ Tanta Gente” and “Maria Elena.” Miami and Bal Harbour luminaries, Fana and Abel Holtz, Nancy and Jon Batchelor, Leila Chang-Ripich, Chip Brady, Bunny Bastian, Kirk Landon and Pam Garrison, Alan and Vivian Dimond, Sheila and Bill Steiner, Fran Fields and Sam Gordon, Dr. Shulamit and Chaim Katzman, Bob and Sookey Schwartz, Cindy Carr, Rosy Cancela and Max Berney, and Mari Alarcon Grimalt recently attended a gorgeous private dinner party for the Jackson Memorial Golden Angels. The event was sponsored by Florida Dental Benefits, Incorporated.
Jon Secada and Olivia Newton-John Backstage at the Magic City Casino
VABC - Fabio Canduro & Princess Thi-Nga at D. Rodriguez Cuba Restaurant
HEARING VOICES AT D. RODRIGUEZ Also on Thursday, November 4, the Florida chapter of Voices Against Brain Cancer (VABC) gathered at D. Rodriguez Cuba at the Astor for a kick-off for the upcoming Sounding Off For A Cure Concert, taking place at the Fillmore Miami Beach on February 10. Supporters joined VABC founder, Mario Lichtenstein as they toasted the organization’s achievements. Conjunto Progreso provided the night’s entertainment as guests enjoyed delicious hors d’oeuvres and cocktails by Atlántico Rum. Dr. Joseph Rosenblatt, Alexia and Herman Echevarria, Brian Elias, Pedro and Carolina Martinez, Frank Amadeo, Oscar and Carole Seikaly, Yolanda and Jeff Berkowitz, Leslie Munsell, Mari Alarcon-Grimalt , H.I.H. Pincess Thi-Nga of Vietnam and Laura Buccellati were among the VABC supporters who came out to support the organization.
Voices Against Brain Cancer Event - Leslie Munsell & Nesti Mendoza
VABC - Mario Lichtenstein, Carolina & Pedro Martinez
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS: Angela Simmons, 23 year-old daughter of Hip Hop legend Rev Run/Joseph Simmons, dined at the new beachfront restaurant De Rodriguez Ocean last Wednesday night. The socialite, shoe designer and star of Run’s House had the seafood-centric restaurant prepare her a special vegetarian pasta dish.
VABC - Marysol Patton & Frank Amadeo
VABC - Yolanda & Jeff Berkowitz at D. Rodriguez Cuba Restaurant
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • Page 21
411 Wolfsonian Quinces Photos: Mary Jo Shore
Jillian Jacobson Altit and Dr. Julio Gallo
Jilian Sanz and Leonardo Davalos
Gingi Beltran and Alicia Cervera
Susanne Birbragher and friend with Susie Wahab and Criselda Breene
Michael Shore and Commissioner Michael Gongora
Happy Birthday Louis Aguirre Lauren Gnazzo and Tito Gaudenzi
Alvaro Cuadrado and Sam Robin
Frank Amadeo and friend
Sandee Saunders and friend
Page 22 • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
Walid and Susie Wahab
Laure Heriard Dubreuil and Aaron Young
GO!
NEXT@19TH On Saturday, November 20 at 7 p.m., head to the Miami International Book Fair for some good old fashioned controversy. Next@19th hosts Miryam Kabakov, author of Keep Your Wives Away from Them: Orthodox Women, Unorthodox Desires, as she discusses the topic of queerness in the Orthodox Jewish community, opening minds and breaking barriers. For more information go to nextat19th.org.
UPCOMING SOCIAL EVENTS
Social Whirl By Maryanne Salvat maryanne@sunpostweekly.com
LET’S GET FUNKY BUDDHA On Thursday, November 18, Nick Noyes a one-man-band phenomenon takes the Bamboo Stage at the Funky Buddha at 9 p.m. While rooted in acoustic folk he crosses genres and back again from funk, reggae and jam to dance and soul. The following night, Nov 19, Fusik and Brotherly Love Productions host the first 1vs1 B-Boy Battle at the same venue. The top break-dancers in South Florida will be getting together to battle over a $200 cash prize. Fusik has performed at similar events around the world including shows in Los Angeles, France, Spain and Italy and wants to bring that international vibe to South Florida. As always the BLP team holds down their Sunday Night Cookout at Hurricane Bar – this week’s featured artist is Aquaphonics, a uniquely funky electro-soul indie band. Free BBQ from 6 to 8 p.m. with music at 8:30.
BELLE COEUR BY JAMIE JO HARRIS Jackie Abraham Fine and Estate Jewelry will host the official Miami launch party for jewelry line Belle Coeur by Jamie Jo Harris on Thursday, November 18, from 7 to 9 p.m. On the heels of two successful launch events at Blue & Cream in East Hampton and Fred Segal Santa Monica – where notable attendees included legendary pop icon Paula Abdul, among others – the luxury retailer will celebrate the Miami debut of the hit songwriter’s rocker-chic collection with an intimate reception and viewing. Guests will enjoy complimentary Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur cocktails and Belle Coeur branded bite-size sweets from 2 Girls and a Cupcake while perusing the line’s debut collection and mingling with designer Jamie Jo and her collaborator, celebrity jeweler Rosalina Lydster of Jewelry by Rosalina. To RSVP go to bellecoeur@taraink.com. Jackie Abraham Fine and Estate Jewelry, 1027 Kane Concourse, Bay Harbor Islands.
THE 54TH ANNUAL VIZCAYAN BALL On Saturday, November 20 at 7 p.m., join the Vizcayans as they honor James Murphy at beautiful event set in the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens: the 54th Annual Vizcayan Ball. The event this year is being sponsored by Jaguar Corporate, along with LAF/CO Santa Maria Novella. For more information or to RSVP contact Sonia Gibson at Sonia@soniagibsonpr.com or call 305 458-5003. The attire is Black tie.
A REAL THANKSGIVING AT CAMILLUS HOUSE On Tuesday, November 23, for the second year in a row, Chef Antaun Teasley, one of the preferred chefs at Club Play, will make Thanksgiving dinner for 500 people at the Camillus House starting at 4 p.m. To raise funds for this meal, A Good Cause Dinner Gala was held at Club Play in South Beach. Volunteers are needed the day of the dinner. For information on how you can help out, contact Cherry Wells at 786-797-8270 or go online to youngchefcatering@gmail.com.
THANKSGIVING AT MEAT MARKET Meat Market, Lincoln Road’s haute see-and-be-seen steakhouse, is celebrating Thanksgiving with an exciting line-up of mouthwatering specials from chef/owner Sean Brasel and pastry chef Vincent Pantoliano. Featuring gourmet twists on traditional favorites, Meat Market’s a la carte style menu offers composed turkey dishes, a three-tiered mixed grill and two dessert choices. The regular a la carte menu is also available. The Meat Market Thanksgiving menu is available on Thursday, November 25 from 5 p.m. to midnight. Meat Market is located at 915 Lincoln Road on Miami Beach. For more information call 305.532.0088 or visit meatmarketmiami.com.
THANKSGIVING IN A BOX Chef/owner Howie Kleinberg and the rest of the pack at Bulldog Barbeque, the smoking hot barbeque joint in North Miami, are offering a stress-free holiday season, they have put together a delicious down-home Thanksgiving dinner, to go, complete with all the fixings. For only $20 per person, guests can pre-order and pick up a full meal that is sure to impress. For more information call 305.940.9655 or visit bulldog-bbq.com.
ART INDUSTRY THURSDAYS Cafeina and WEC jazz up Art Industry Thursdays this week with a live performance by Angela Laino. The soulful singer will take center stage at 10:30 p.m. in the Wynwood den’s 5,000-square-foot garden, while DJ NuE-DiTTy spins inside the lounge. Art Industry specials this week include $3 Blue Moon beers and a special “Member’s Only” menu for all WEC Perks Card holders (speak softly when requesting it). The party starts at 8 p.m. RSVP to cafeina@taraink.com with your artistic affiliation to register your WEC Perks Card.
EH TEAM! FRIDAY Anthony Spinello, Qpony, and Cafeina will be hosting the November version of EH TEAM! Friday. Drink specials will be offered in honor of Spinello’s birthday bash with complimentary libations provided by Canadian Mist Black Diamond Whiskey from 9 to 10 p.m. ESS and EMM, along with Maxwell Blanford, will provide the exquisite sounds. Complimentary naturalization and disco-ization cards will be provided to “non- Canadians” in relation to the bill SB 1070. EhTeam naturalization cards will be taken at the venue; guests will receive complimentary cocktail specials with the card and reduced entry to upcoming special events.
ROCK THE HOUSE AT KITCHEN 305 On Friday, November 19, from 7 to 9 p.m., join Kitchen 305 as it opens its doors for a night of live rock and roll entertainment, a special dance performance and celebrity guests to help raise money for young cancer patients. The Rock the House charity event will be hosted by Interscope Record’s Rev Theory lead singer, Rich Luzzi, and Miss Maxim USA, Tami Donaldson, with a special performance by Detour, Los Angeles’ newest and most energetic performance show. In addition, DJ Mike Palmieri, who has quickly gained notoriety in Los Angeles and Miami nightlife scenes, and veteran drummer Tye Mohawk will play together in an energetic live music show accompanied by rock star dancers, bottle service and drink promotions and an all-you-can-eat stone crab dinner special. Guests will enjoy surprise rock star VIP appearances throughout the evening and the chance to win an authentic Rev Theory electric guitar, which will be signed and raffled off for charity. All proceeds will benefit the Rock Cancer campaign for the Broken Bones Foundation and SeventyK, a cancer advocacy group for adolescents and young adults. Exclusive Rock Cancer bands will be distributed to everyone who donates to the cause. The evening’s festivities will be dedicated to Taylor Biardi and Marika Jorgensen, two people close to Rev Theory who lost their battles against cancer. A suggested donation of $10 at the door will go directly to benefit the cause.
GLORIA ESTEFAN AND ROBERTO CAVALLI TEAM UP On Friday, Nov. 19, fashion designer, Roberto Cavalli and 7-time Grammy Award winner, Gloria Estefan will present an evening under the stars for Miami’s top philanthropists, socialites and celebrities. The event starts off with a cocktail party, followed by dinner and a Roberto Cavalli 2011 spring collection runway show at Villa Vecchia, (4821 Pine Tree Drive) the Miami Beach estate of Miami philanthropists Norma and Luis Quintero. Net proceeds from the event will benefit The Gloria Estefan Foundation and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Additionally, during the event, 10 Miami philanthropists will receive the prestigious Starfish Award, an annual award that recognizes exemplary women who contribute to local, national and international communities. Tickets to this stellar event are priced from $500 per individual ticket to $10, 000 for a front row VIP table for 10 that includes 10 VIP invites to Vernissage during Art Basel and inclusion in media correspondence and invitations. For tickets and more information, contact Lori Sundermier at gefoundation@estefan.com or call 305695-7015.
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • Page 21
Style KIDS ROOMS
PINK AND RED ARTECNICA PAPER GARLAND, DESIGNED BY STUDIO TORD BOONTJE. ARTECNICAINC.COM
Cool Kiddie Stuff By Kim Steiner
Recently I decided to redo my nine-year old daughters bedroom. We went from perfect princess pink with ruffles, to a totally modern eclectic vibe. When the two of us stopped in at Genius Jones, a fabulous kids store on South Beach and in the Design District for some design ideas, she fell in love with bright, bold and hip. She gravitated immediately to some of my personal favorite modern pieces. I guess she has watched me for years coveting Phillipe Starke’s Ghost Chair, an acid green Panton Chair from Verner Panton and anything from Luminaire. Throw in some African art and some Chinoiserie and that is my design style to a tee. So, her new room design was decided and the shopping fun could begin. During our search, we came across some totally cool pieces that kids of every age and size would enjoy. The Eames Elephant: Almost no other animal enjoys such popularity as the elephant. Admired for its majestic size and loved for its proverbial good-humour, it is part of our everyday experience as a child's cuddly toy, a storybook character and a majestic creature. Charles and Ray Eames also succumbed to their charms and in 1945 designed a toy elephant made of plywood. However, it never made it into mass production. The Eames Elephant is now available for the first time in a plastic version for those it was originally intended for: children. Whether used as a toy (also outdoors) or a decorative item in a children's room - this friendly-looking animal with its distinctive, over-sized ears will bring hours of fun to any child. $290. Genius Jones, 49 NE 39th St., Miami. geniusjones.com. The Lou Lou Ghost Chair: The relentless success of Louis Ghost has spawned a “baby” version of Philippe Starke's famous chair. Lou Lou Ghost has inherited the originals classic design, material, indestructibility and ergonomics, teaching children to use small-sized chairs but with adult forms. $133. Genius Jones, 49 NE 39th St., Miami. geniusjones.com. Merry Go Round Mobile: A Merry-Go-Round for all ages. Each mobile is laser cut from 100% museum board. Comes in black or ivory and is 12” x11”. $65. Ige Design, shop.igedesign.com Hang It All Rack: This whimsical rack was designed by Charles and Ray Eames Eames in 1953 and is produced by Herman Miller. More than just a conversation piece, the Hang-It-All holds anything that slips over its colorful hooks. The solid maple balls are painted in nine bright colors. $179. allmodern.com. KMP Furniture has there own version called the Ella Wall Rack which retails for $109. KMP Furniture, 6444 Biscayne Blvd. Miami. kmpfurniture.com See more of our finds on our website sunTHE LOU LOU GHOST CHAIR postweekly.com Page 24 • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
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www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • Page 25
Sex COLUMN
Faraway Flame By Dr. Sonjia Kenya
Sonjia@drsonjia.com Does long distance love work? “It can for a short time, but then someone has to move,” said one my neighbors, a gay male nurse who moved to Miami from Pittsburgh to be with his husband. Over a delectable dinner at George’s Italian Restaurant in North Beach, he continued to tell me about his experience with long distance love. “An everyday relationship is much different than a long-distance courtship. When you live far from each other, every visit feels like a vacation; which is always fun but also very different from being together regularly. Mundane issues, like laundry, trash, and bills never come up in long-distance love.” “I totally agree,” said a computer expert who moved from Ohio to be with his woman in Miami. “Before I took the leap and moved, seeing her was my only vacation. Every trip I planned was centered around being with her. We were nervous about how things might change if we were together regularly, so before I moved, we made a deal to try it out for three months. We agreed that I would move back if it wasn’t working after three months.” And how’s it going so far? “Almost a year later, I’m still loving Miami and loving my woman even more.” If only every man would follow his lead. One of my closest girlfriends just ended a long-distance relationship after more than a decade of commuting to be with her man. Although they got engaged and even planned a wedding, neither partner planned to move and a plane ride was necessary for most of their dates. Reality set in when the wedding bells rang. Rather than walk down the aisle, they each ran back to their respective cities, alone. Shifting a long-distance love to an everyday relationship is not always easy. As my cousin, who just returned from a trip to Vietnam explained, “I was exploring the Hmong culture in the mountains and I met an amazing girl the day I arrived. By evening everyone was referring to her as my girlfriend, asking me if I loved her and wanted to marry her. I told her I wasn’t ready to get married but I really liked her. She became my girlfriend for the entire month I was there and it was an amazing experience.” So, are you going to see her again? “Well, she made my trip awesome but I don’t think it could really work outside of her small community of about 4,000 people. I don’t think it could work here, but I’ll definitely see her when I go back to visit.” I wonder if she feels the same way. If she’s like others, she might believe their long-distance love could work. As a matter of fact, long-distance love affairs are on the rise. Statistics show that almost 3% of all marriages are considered long-distance and about 1 in 10 marriages endure long-distance relationships during the first three years of matrimony. This means around 3,500,000 people in the U.S. have a long distance lover. Communication advances, such as e-mail, skype, text, video conference, and webcams help us stay connected better than ever before and are considered a big influence in the growing number of long-distance relationships. Some statistics even show that long-distance love affairs are more likely to last compared to loving someone locally. According to the Center for the Study of Long Distance Relationships, almost 90% of long distance lovers make it through the first eight months together while just 77% of local lovers make it that far. In terms of going the distance, only 8% of long distance relationships end within the first year while 25% of those who live near one another break up before the first anniversary. While most agree that the greatest challenge of a faraway flame is distance, many have also figured out some special (and free) ways to make long distance love last. One way is to pretend to get married at the Virtual Wedding chapel website (http://wedding.rin.ru/index_e.html). It’s silly fun, but if you’re in a long distance romance, you’ve got nothing but time to play with your mate. The virtual wedding lets you do everything online: propose, complete the marriage certificate, invite guests, and have the wedding, including photos! If you get into a tiff with your beloved, you can even
divorced! It’s all fake but its real fun that you two can share together! Want to go beyond marriage? How about making a baby together at morphthing.com. The website takes two images and produces a photo of what your future child may look like. Not ready for a fake pregnancy? Try adopting a virtual baby at cyberinfants.com. You both care for the child together and get a glimpse of your mate’s parenting potential. If a fake child is too much to handle, consider adopting a virtual pet at adoptme.com. Many parents say a puppy is great preparation for a baby! Those who are sure they’ll be with their lover forever should go to futureme.org and write a romantic email that can be sent anytime in the future, all the way to 2037! Try telling your lover about something special you feel today or something you shared together recently and schedule it to be sent on a future anniversary when you know you won’t be together. Include loving details that you may not remember in a few years and be sure not to break up with your mate before that email is delivered! Nothing stirs up trouble like sending an ex-lover a heartfelt message that you drafted when you still liked them! Want to get risky and learn more about your mate? Play truth or dare online at TorDol.com. The website lets you choose from G rated to X rated truths and there’s even a couples category. This can be especially fun when a webcam is involved. Those dares can get pretty devious from a distance! Speaking of webcams, how about watching your lover through a public webcam in their neighborhood? You’ll get to see them living their everyday life and you can return the favor by letting them watch you too! Go to onlinecamera.com to locate public webcams in your neck of the woods and let your lover see you in public. Perhaps, as part of a dare, you’ll find something quite interesting to do in front of that camera! For some hilarious fun, Blueswami.com generates automated, extrasilly love letters within seconds of entering your beloved’s name. Copy and paste it into an email for your special someone. And in case you break up, the website produces automated hate letters too! Some lovers love words! If you’re in love with one of them, go to armoredpenguin.com/crossword which helps you create a crossword puzzle based on words and clues about your relationship. The site lets you make a pdf file to send to your lover and, since you made it, you can always help them solve it if they get stuck! Tongue-tied couples can declare their love, apologize, or say almost anything in an easy, fun way at bureauofcommunication.com. The site produces legal-looking documents that allow you to fill in the blanks with personal information and the formality of it all makes it very funny too. Nothing gets your point across like an official declaration on a formal document! Those who want to express themselves in a sillier way can go to wordlibs.com and have a ball filling in the blanks which are quickly converted to a hilarious romantic story. It’s just like madlibs but for grown-ups and can easily be done together, no matter how far away your lover lives. Since we’re talking about laughing, nothing is funnier than pulling a prank on your special someone. Prankdialer.com lets you send anonymous prank calls to your lover and records the call so you can get in on the laugh! Want to go one step further? Prankdial.com is a different site that lets you connect two unsuspecting people and make them think they called each other. This can be great fun for long-distance couples who have mutual friends they like to laugh at! Both sites don’t share or store any numbers and services are free. When the distance gets rough and you’re yearning for a real date, consider watching a movie or concert together while sharing a meal. The first step is to find a movie or concert you can both watch simultaneously on cable or the internet and schedule the date. Before it arrives, send your lover a menu with a meal you plan to eat during the movie or concert. If you have time, try packaging some of the meal and mailing it to your lover in advance. Although you’re far away, you can still enjoy the same wine, food, and dessert that your lover is having while you watch a great show together! Almost like a real date if you use your imagination (and get a webcam involved). It turns out long distance love can actually work, but it takes effort and it won’t last forever. Eventually, one or both partners have to make the choice to move to be with each other. Statistics show the average time a long-distance couple expects to live apart before moving closer is 14 months. This seems reasonable because I don’t know anyone who wants to live away from their lover for more than a year or anyone who wants to continue a long-term relationship with someone unready to plan a future together. So what should you do if you’re dating long distance for a long time and your partner still isn’t ready to discuss the move? It’s quite simple. Move on. After all, there’s plenty of locals looking for love.
Page 26 • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
Health COLUMN
HIIT Training By Jeffrey Bradley (crazykidjoey@gmail.com) No, it’s not what you do when you’re mad at somebody—HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. Anybody serious about training knows losing bodyfat takes hard work. Ain’t no shortcuts or magic pills, not yet anyway, but there is a way to do it without sitting endlessly on a stationary bike or working the stepmill for hours. And here’s how you know if you’re carrying too much bodyfat: if you’re wearing baggy shirts and sweat pants to the gym here in Florida you’ve spent too much time in the bulking phase. If you really want to look and feel good, then I’ve got the thing for you. (And if you hate doing aerobics, I feel your pain.) The good news is, commit only a handful of weeks to shedding excess fat and you’ll see fantastic results with this “better” way… That starts out with just 7 minutes and builds to less than 30 minutes over the course of a few weeks! Can you deal with that? Stick with it and you’ll be wearing tank tops to the gym in no time! In fact, you’ll probably be accused of taking “pharmaceuticals” to get into shape so fast! It’s just about the hand’s-down quickest way of shedding bodyfat. Keep in mind that too much aerobics burns muscle. And, admit, that deep inside you know a butt-busting routine burns alot more fat than sitting on a bike and reading. Personally, I can hardly stand endurance training. So, we agreed that we want a different approach that keeps our interest, takes less time, and melts fat off faster’n anything. HIIT is it. It works because it speeds your metabolism and keeps it revved-up long after your workout. Bottom line is HIIT burns more calories and the more calories you burn the more fat you lose. So forget those “calories burned” readouts on your treadmill; practice HIIT training and burn most of your calories post-workout! This versatile approach can be done with many activities: running or sprinting the stairs, a jumprope, the stationary bike, stairstepper or anything else that lets you alternate high and low intensity. Your cardio fitness level hardly matters. Three or four HIIT sessions a week can produce fantastic results, but beware! It’s easy to overtrain with HIIT, so incorporate it into your program slowly on your “off” weight-training days. As with any cardiovascular routine it’s best performed first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Other good times to HIIT it are right after—or during, if you’re fit already— weight-training. Work HIIT by the numbers. Numbers of intervals, that is. Start with a 5-minute warm up. Then, sprint hard—flat-out—for one minute, followed by a slow-jog (walk if you have to) of 30 seconds. Sprint hard again for a minute before doing another 30-second jog. Repeat till you’ve completed a cycle of five 1-minute sprints interspersed with four 30-second jogs. Total time: 7 minutes! Try a Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday split; on the SECOND Sunday add one more minute sprint and 30-second jog for a 6/5 sprint/jog cycle, which boosts your time up to 8.5 minutes. Every other Sunday (or 3rd day) add an additional sprint/jog cycle until you max out at 15 sprints and 14 jogs. Good luck! If heartrate remains high after a series of intervals continue jogging until breathing drops to approximately 65% max effort. Email crazykidjoey@gmail.com for more information.
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www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, November 18, 2010 • Page 27
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