The Story Matters
Mayhem p.4 Divine Debris and Glorious Trash - Catch the newest exhibit at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden.
Vol. XXV No. 22
June 10, 2010
Visit us at sunpostweekly.com
SOBE ARTS MAYHEM P.4
PROFILE P. 6
POLITICS P. 8
CALENDAR P.14
411 P.20
GO! P. 21
FILM P. 24
ART P. 24
Beach Arts Institute Trains Stars of Tomorrow SEE PAGE 10 BOUND P.23
FASHION P. 26
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Kim Stark kim@sunpostweekly.com SOCIETY EDITOR Jeannette Stark jeannette@sunpostweekly.com COPY EDITOR Mary Louise English
PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER Kim Stark kim@sunpostweekly.com ACCOUNTING Sandie Friedman SALES DIRECTORS Jeannette Stark Stuart Davidson
CALENDAR EDITOR Jake Orsinni calendar@sunpostweekly.com
ADAMS VETERINARY CLINIC Full Service Clinic: Surgery • Boarding • Medical • Dental X-rays • Ultrasound • Diagnostics Small Mammals, Dogs, Cats, & Exotics
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jeffrey Bradley Charles Branham-Bailey Stuart Davidson Marguerite Gil Mary Louise English Jennifer Fragoso John Hood Dr. Sonjia Kenya Thomas Quick Ruben Rosario Mary Jo Almeida-Shore Michael Sasser Kim Steiner
PUBLISHER EMERITUS Felix Stark (1929-1995) WEB SITE sunpostweekly.com PRODUCTION Blue Studio MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 191870 Miami Beach, FL 33119 MAIN LINE 305.538.9797 MAIN FAX 305.538.9774
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Stuart Davidson Jennifer Fragoso Marguerite Gil Ines Hegedus-Garcia Jipsy Mary Jo Almeida-Shore Mitchell Zachs
FOR ADVERTISING & RATE INFO: Please call 305.482.1785 or email kim@sunpostweekly.com SUBSCRIPTIONS First class mailing subscriptions are available at $150 per year. Call 305.538.9797. Copyright: The entire contents of SunPost are copyright 2010 by SunPost Media Inc. No portion may be reproduced in whole or part by any means including electronic media without the express written consent of the publisher.
ADAMS VETERINARY CLINIC: 672 NE 79 ST, MIAMI • 305.757.7309 Page 2 • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
Covering Miami Beach, North Bay Village, Surfside, Bay Harbor Islands, Bal Harbour, Sunny Isles Beach, North Miami, North Miami Beach and Aventura, Coconut Grove, Brickell Avenue, Downtown, Design District, Wynwood, Upper Eastside, and Miami Shores.
TRUSTED
$3.00 OFF HAND CAR WASH Not combined with other offer
$15.00 OFF HAND CAR WAX Not combined with other offer
$15.00 OFF A FULL CAR WINDOW TINTING Not combined with other offer
$25.00 OFF FULL DETAIL Not combined with other offer
MVR #25108466
www.miamisunpost.com • The SunPost • April 22, 2010 • Page 3
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • Page 3
Tropical Mayhem BITS AND PIECES OF MIAMI LIFE
Miami through my iphone SUN CATCHING AND LUMINOUS LABRADORITE SEMI PRECIOUS GEMSTONES ARE WIRE WRAPPED IN 14KT GOLD FILLED WIRE. $89.99. LARGE SPARKLING RUTILATED QUARTZ SEMI PRECIOUS GEMSTONE. LIMITED EDITION. $119.99. BELOW: DARK CITRINE GEMSTONE. ONE OF A KIND. $89.99
MIAMI SHORE KIDS FOR CHARITY by Ines Hegedus-Garcia - miamism.com - ines@miamism.com Junior members of The Miami Shores Heidi Hewes WCA (Woman's Cancer Association) organized a carwash this past weekend to benefit cancer research! Talk about proud parents of these kids who took time from their weekend to give back to such a worthy cause. The Presbyterian Church let them use their parking lot, so it ended up being a great community event. Kudos to the kids, their parents and everyone who stopped to get their cars washed.
Precious Rings Absolutely fabulous, limited edition, wire wrapped,
Divine Debris and Glorious Trash Coming to the Miami Beach Botanical Garden is the Art at St Johns annual exhibit, Divine Debris and Glorious Trash, where artists create work from recycled materials & trash. This year the theme is Miami Beach. Set to participate are artists Kathi Gibson, Janet M Mueller, Stefan Von Fouts, Hans Feyerabend, Mila Hajjar, Rosa Naday Garmendia, Roger Abramson, Dan Walker, Kristie Stephenson, Nancy Martini, Jerry McMillan, Luciano Rabuske, Rosie Brown, Kerri Kobialka, Fritz Leip, Scott Hickey and co-curators Paula Turk and Carol Hoffman-Guzman. The exhibition opens on June 14. Opening reception on Tuesday, June 15 from 7 to 9pm. Miami Beach Botanical Garden, 2000 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach. For info: 305-613-2325. Page 4 • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
gemstone rings from
Miami
Beach designer Kelly Cimber. A Lieutenant in the Miami Coast Guard, Cimber coordinates search and rescue and law enforcement cases, while she is also pursuing a lifelong dream career in the arts. To purchase her jewelry cimberdesigns.com
Pantoni Chair $265
KMP FURNITURE SHOWROOM: 6444 Biscayne Blvd., Miami • 305-438-1797 kmpfurniture.com
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • Page 5
PHOTO: MAGICAL PHOTOS/MITCHELL ZACKS
PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY YOU SHOULD KNOW
Charlie Cinnamon Public Relations Maestro Compiled By Kim Steiner Who are you? I'm still trying to figure it out. But I go by the name of "Charlie Cinnamon."
What are we still missing culturally in Miami? Attention paid. We have everything a serious metropolitan city has to offer.
Something new that you have just discovered about yourself? I'm still here
What do you do in real life? Pretend I'm a publicist for very glamorous people
What is the wildest event you have handled? A tie between the opening of Elizabeth Taylor in "The Little Foxes" (thanks to producer Zef Buffman) and Pavarotti on The Beach (thanks to impresaria Judy Drucker).
One luxury that you cannot live without? My loving Lexus.
How many years have you been working in Miami? 40-something...(some say since the Spanish American War) What is the most significant difference in Miami from when you first moved here? The wonderful concrete skyline...you can no longer see the water What do you do now, that you did not do 20 years ago? Count sheep before I go to sleep
Favorite Restaurant? Barton G The Restaurant (if I want to live...) Three Words to describe you? Happy, hostile, hilarious
What one person that you have met in your life has made the biggest impression on you? My dog "Coalie Cinnamon," who everybody knew and, of course, was a real person. What do you do when you are not working? Laundry, read, and watch"Nurse Jackie."
Page 6 • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
So what's next for Charlie? Tomorrow is another day.
FATHERS DAY SALE 10 A.M - 5 P.M.
PRICES SLASHED
UP TO 70% OFF
Recliners from $19900 3 PC King Mattress Set $29900 6 PC King Bedroom Set $59900
JOHN STEMBRIDGE FURNITURE Excellent Service Since 1953
545 NE 125 Street, North Miami - Tel: (305) 893-0800 uzi26@comcast.net • www.johnstembridge.com
Full gallery of contemporary, traditional and antique reproduction furniture from the top manufacturers of Europe, the Americas and the World
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • Page 7
PICK UP YOUR COPY OF THE SUNPOST AT THESE LOCATIONS:
MIAMI BEACH Miami Beach City Hall Miss Yip Davids Cafe Books & Books Score Panfiore SB Finest Carwash Uncle Sam’s Music Manolo Normandy Gym
MIAMI Andiamo Balans Magnum Bagels & Co Ascot Outoor Furniture A&A Antiques Design District Post Office Miami Shores Library Nroth Miami Post Office Stembridge Furniture
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CARRY THE SUNPOST IN YOUR BUSINESS PLEASE EMAIL kim@miamisunpost.com
Can He Say That? COLUMN
As Goes San Fran, So May Go The Rest of Us By Charles Branham-Bailey (EN ROUTE FROM SAN FRANCISCO) – I didn't get a glimpse of it, but it wasn't for lack of trying. A blanket of clouds beneath my jet obscured from view the city of New Orleans, the coast of Louisiana, and the beleaguered Gulf of Mexico now under the savage and unrelenting onslaught from the BP oil spill, and so I didn't see, from that high up, the black sludge coating the sea below. Returning last weekend from a conference in San Francisco, I knew our trajectory would take us over the disaster region in the Gulf, so I made a special effort to keep awake for the point in the flight when we would be overhead. It looks like an otherwise serene planet when you're tens of thousands of feet above it. However, from that altitude, you can't easily make out the critical condition it is in from all the crap we and our human stupidities have done and continue to do to it. I was visiting a state on the cusp of its June 8 primary this week, one in which the Democrat heavily favored to vie for the right to succeed the “Governator” is former two-term '70's guv – and San Francisco native – Jerry Brown. How's that for politics? Here, in this eco-friendly state, they even recycle governors. The nostalgia for a return to more economicallyrobust and wishfully less-complicated times is fueling a desire among many Golden Staters to see the man once lampooned then as “Governor Moonbeam” for his progressive, ahead-of-his-times agenda and ideas, returned to Sacramento. Since he left the job in his mid-forties over a quarter century ago, he's gone on to serve as mayor of Oakland and, currently, is the state's attorney general. SF Weekly, an alternative paper in the mold of our own Miami New Times, wrote in its endorsement of him last week – “We wish we knew which Jerry Brown we're voting for: the crazy young man who used to run California, or the crazy old man who just won't go away. Either way, we're in.” By the time you read this, Brown will likely have won the primary and advanced to the chance – now, at age 72 – to win the top job all over again in November and attempt to revive a state desperate for revival. Gavin Newsom, the charismatic boy wonder of
Page 8 • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
S.F. politics, may be his generation's answer to Jerry Brown, having been elected the city's mayor seven years ago at the tender age of 36. His name is also on the June 8 primary ballot, for lieutenant governor. Newsom's up-and-coming career was nearly deep-sixed and given up for dead after an extramarital affair with an aide while he was in the thick of a divorce came to light in 2007. But the shelf life of that scandal has long since expired and receded into the wood work as old news, and Californians appear inclined to resuscitate his possible future ambitions for higher office (the Senate? the White House?) with a victory on Tuesday the 8th. Ah-nold leaves office at year's end with a mixed record of success. The one area in which most can agree to award him credit is for having drawn the spotlight to environmental issues, such as improving auto fuel efficiency standards (California leads the nation) and capping greenhouse gas emissions (he signed the nation's first). The oil spill in the Gulf has hit home the urgency of safeguarding the environment to an extent that no other crisis in recent memory has managed to do. It is why the country is now squarely forced to contemplate questions it has stubbornly and stupidly avoided for too long and must no longer ignore. And it's why San Francisco – and California overall – is poised to be a pivotal trendsetter for the rest of the nation in dragging us, by tooth and by nail if necessary, to confront our oil-gluttonous, resourcesquandering, energy-wasting habits and the stark future consequences that await us if we don't change. Green is the “in” word, the “in” concept. Room signs here ask hotel guests to help conserve water by requesting bed linens and towels be laundered only when needed rather than everyday. Compact sidewalk sweeper mobiles – “green machines” – sweep up litter from city walkways. Public trash receptacles sit side-by-side with ones for plastic bottles and other recyclables. Critical Mass, the urban bicyclist movement cropping up all over the country, including here in Miami, has been a part of the San Fran scene since 1992. I overheard a native say that Mass cyclists as much as “take over” the city streets on Fridays.
Hmm. Gives new meaning to the old TV title, “The Streets of San Francisco.” This spring, the Board of Supervisors expanded the city's 1994 smoking ban with a prohibition that now includes lines at ATMs, movie theaters, and nightclubs; farmers markets; building entrances; and common areas of residential buildings, such as courtyards. Smoking bans in outdoor dining areas of restaurants take effect in October. The city knows something of its own about oil spills: A container ship struck the San FranciscoOakland Bay Bridge in a fog in November 2007, spilling 53,000 gallons over a 150-square-mile area, closing more than 50 public beaches, affecting fisheries and killing 2,500 birds, and incurring $70 million in cleanup costs. Last week, as the nation's attention was riveted on underwater video of BP arduously attempting to cap the Deepwater Horizon leak, the California Assembly passed legislation prohibiting grocery and convenience stores, pharmacies, and liquor stores from dispensing plastic shopping bags free of charge. If The Schwarz signs it into law, California would be the first state to impose such a ban. It's one more sign, supporters of this law attest, that California is geared up to lead the nation and world on yet another significant conservation issue. And from whom did the state take its lead on this? In November 2007, San Francisco became the first major city in the country to ban the bags. City officials estimated that prior to the ban, 180 million plastic bags were being used annually, and blamed them for littering streets, clogging storm drains, harming wildlife, and jamming recycling machines. The climate change deniers and neo-cons who have made San Francisco out to be the poster child for what's wrong with America will find no safe refuge here for their neanderthalic recalcitrance on climate change. Franciscans' feelings for them is largely mutual. The city and county, combined, tilted a lopsided 83% for Obama vs. 13% for McCain in the 2008 election. San Francisco for too long as been famously put down for its liberal-progressive bent, for a politics and lifestyle culture other Americans deem too radical, or too bohemian, or too looney, or too tolerant for their white-picket-fence, Fox News-viewing, don'trock-the-boat sensitivities. But now, as the chickens of environmental consequences come home to roost, the City by the Bay should be having the last laugh – if only our environmental fuck-ups were worth laughing about. Instead, the city so many like to insult and roll their eyes at has become the metropolis americana that may yet show us the way out of this wilderness of environmental Armageddon. But only if we quit being such dummies, wisen up, and follow her lead. Time is not on our side. It is one commodity whose flow man and all his machinery are powerless to cap.
Politics COLUMN
Obama’s Katrina By Jeffrey Bradley “We’ll make sure that public transportation is both available and affordable...”—Barack Obama Day 50 and counting. Too bad all those “top hat,” “top kill” and “junk shot” efforts to cap the undersea oil well failed. They kind of sound like a weird sports jargon, for curling or baseball. Still, we were heartened to learn “a small hose” is siphoning off part of that noxious swill. We’ll be sure to tell the gulls and pelicans. Either way, we have it on good authority that all will be capped and under control by the November elections. Question is, this disaster may have many fathers but, what the hell are doing drilling 5,000 feet down in the Gulf of Mexico? Also, when do we plan on overthrowing this dependency on a 19th century energy source and get with the modern times? Unfortunately, President Obama keeps mouthing the words “alternate energy sources” and “a commitment to public transportation” as if that was a mantra when, in fact, it was only the onslaught of opprobrium attending the worst environmental catastrophe since Chernobyl that caused the administration to “rescind” more permits for continuing drilling on a much grander scale. Say, isn’t this the same president who, as candidate, declared his rival’s proposal to allow offshore drilling making “absolutely no sense at all”? Hey, what do we know—no doubt that’s “just politics.” He couldn’t possibly be in cahoots with the cheap oil sta-
tus quo, right? A main reason actually, and one we haven’t heard of yet, is that environmental diktat has put us here. For sure, environmentalists have succeeded in putting a lot of the Atlantic coast off-limits to drilling, made possible, really, by a series of Democrat fiats. Think of it: We can’t drill on the Continental Shelf, nor on land—that safest of all places—nor even drill where the oil is: in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (There’s a ban.) But don’t get us wrong. We think all drilling is
beyond the cutting edge of technology. It’s no surprise that we had that blowout; the wonder is it didn’t happen sooner. Death, infamy and chaos attend oil production. But if we have to drill, then why not in the frozen Arctic? (Republicans are no better; they’d have derricks sitting right off our shoreline and blighting the view. From the beach it would look like a gaggle of Martian fighting machines ready to start honking their horns and wade ashore to obliterate everything. After all, these are the same guys that think bicycles pollute.) Oil spills are always catastrophic. Witness the wrecked lives, the dead animals, the appalling way that staining slick has spread through the ocean sea. So how has drilling gone from tundra to tourist, from the back of beyond to the busiest recreation locale on Earth? And not that environmentalists are solely to blame; there’s plenty of that for all. For instance, Federal officials raging against BP are merely deflecting attention. Interior was especially lax, and now threatens to “push [BP] out of the way.” And do what? Put Nancy Pelosi in charge? This administration may be very good at
“So everytime you fill up that SUV, Gertrude, you enable them and put your imprimatur on the actions of elected officials that’ll do anything to keep the oil flowing” heinous with only one outcome: a series of eco-disasters. Left to us and we’d slap a $12 surcharge on every gallon of gas you buy. You wanna pollute the world because you’ve gotta sit in gridlock somewhere fouling the atmosphere, then you pay for it, mate. To get that cheap gas we’ve got to go ultra deep,
passing out earmarks, but when it comes to capping a deep-sea oil well, it hasn’t a clue. So when the president claims he needs to know “whose ass to kick”, we respectfully suggest he start with the contractor’s in charge of that clean-up who made sure, when the president arrived, to have plenty
of workers on hand visibly cleaning, but let ‘em all go the second the president left. That, according to Oil Mop, Inc.—the contractor—was just a coincidence. Sure, and some people actually believe that that Gazabound ship was on a humanitarian mission. But here’s a newsflash for the president: When you’ve got a huge oil blowout 15 months into your administration, after your own Interior Department gave this kind of dangerous drilling a “categorical” environmental exemption in April 2009, then it’s no longer Bush’s fault. It’s your problem, Mr President, so man up, and get on with fixing it up. Notice that we haven’t mentioned BP as one of the chief culprits. This is because, weasly tho’ they are (and they are weasly), two things here are in play: 1) There’s no virtue in BP, only self-interest, so why would they not want to cap that well? Every day of leaked oil means millions more in cleanup and restitution, and 2) If the price of gas was astronomically high they wouldn’t be prowling these deep-sea trenches searching for profit—the risk would be too great. So every time you fill up that SUV, Gertrude, you enable them and put your imprimatur on the actions of elected officials and entrenched interests that’ll do anything to keep the oil flowing. Either way, it’s all shaping up as Obama’s Katrina. If this gusher ain’t capped by August then this administration is toast. Which is really unfair, because Obama is no more responsible for this calamity than Bush was for Katrina. Still, for a man immodest about his own powers, we do expect more. Isn’t he the one that said to mark his presidency as the moment when “our planet began to heal” and “the rise of the oceans began to slow”? For someone imbued with such Merlin-like powers, stopping a little oil from ruining the Gulf can’t be too hard. Easy, in fact, as putting gas into your car. And by the way—the more we rely on alternative transit like streetcars and bikes, the less likely this kind of hideous outcome will happen.
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • Page 9
SOBE ARTS Beach Arts Institute Trains Stars of Tomorrow Written by John Hood
t began as many great good things begin; that is, by accident. A composer of a certain stature was asked if he knew a good violin teacher. He did, and he put the would-be Paganini in touch with an instructor. Then the teacher came back and said he’d be delighted to do even more teaching, but he needed a place to hold classes. So the composer then offered the use of his living room. Within three months there were 40 students and 15 teachers and the composer’s apartment could no longer withstand the traffic. So another space was rented and SoBe Studio was born. Flash forward five years and SoBe Studio is now known as the SoBe Institute of the Arts. It’s a bustling place, full of sound and vision and hopes and dreams. And it’s become the de facto home to both budding professionals and the pros that show them the way to the top. The composer behind this accidental milestone is Carson Kievman, who is also now the Executive Director of Sobe Arts, as well as an instructor in both Composition and Theater. Kievman, who counts Tanglewood and the New York Shakespeare Festival among his many residencies, was, in fact, composer-in-residence for the now defunct Florida Philharmonic when fate further intervened in his future. And he’s as surprised as anyone that the Institute even exists. “I’d been teaching up at Princeton at the time,” he told SunPost Weekly. “And I needed a break. So I came down here to compose. But after seeing how many people wanted to learn and how many teachers wanted to teach, I felt compelled to meet the need. Everything kinda snow-balled from there.” Indeed it did. From that one-room Euclid Avenue studio, SoBe Arts now boasts a veritable campus of creative learning. There’s the flagship 1915 Carl Fisher Clubhouse (which once served as the founding Floridian’s golf course hangout), where one can take classes in everything from banjo to cello, an outdoor bandshell, where some of the end-of-season concerts take place, and then there’s the Little Stage Theater, a landmark 1937 structure where a cornucopia of dramatic arts programs are both taught and staged. The entire campus is located in what’s called Miami’s Beach’s CANDO District, an unwieldy acronym that technically stands for Cultural Arts Neighborhood District Overlay, geographically comprises the stretch from Dade Boulevard to Lincoln Road, and is perhaps better left said in the more sensible “can-do.” According to Lievman, this move too was something of an accident, albeit one backed by intention and bolstered by a whole lotta sweat equity. “I heard a State of the City address by then Mayor David Dermer announcing the formation of the CANDO District,” explains Kievman, “and I saw that it was missing a place for high level arts education, so I applied. And after some maneuvering we were given a summer trial run. Then we were given a season. Then a second, and a third, and in January we signed a five-year renewable lease.”
January was also when SoBe Arts unveiled the Little Stage Theater, which is where a lotta that sweat came in.
professionals, which is about as important to Kievman as the curricula itself. “From the beginning we decided that only the most experienced would be on our staff,” said Kievman. “And we’ve stuck to that.” Take Viktor Nikolov for example. The Bulgarian-born pianist is just the kinda high quality pro SoBe Arts insists upon. A former faculty member at the University of South Florida, Nikolov divides his time between Miami and Sarasota, where he also teaches at the private Allegra Music Academy. And while he teaches both children and adults, intermediates and beginners, one gets the impression it’s those kids which give him the most reward. “It’s amazing to see a child come in and no nothing of the piano,” Nikolov told SunPost Weekly, “and then a year or two later they’re doing recitals.” Such a student is a lad named Angel, who came to SoBe Arts at eight and is now something of a veteran, all at the ripe-old age of 11.
“At first the City was like no way, it’ll cost at least a half million dollars to renovate that space,” remembers Kievman. “We said we could do it for $35 thousand. It was a ton of work. But between the volunteers and the donations we did it.” And it was good that they did too, because it enabled SoBe Arts to expand its theater program to encompass not just training, but the all-important staging as well, whether it’s akin to the cabaret which inaugurated the space, or the operatic reworkings of Shakespeare which are a spin-off of what Kievman did in New York for the late, great Joseph Papp. But music remains the core curricula at SoBe Arts and though Kievman estimates a good one-third of its students are adults, the remainder is children, and they range in age from five on up. And no matter how precocious you may believe your child to be, here is where they get to prove it. Teaching those students, young and old alike, is a full faculty of
Angel will be one of the many budding Rachmaninoffs on hand for the summer program, the first of which begins June 21 and runs through July 16 (the second runs July 19 - August 13). And he and his peers will also be showing off their chops at the conclusion of each session. It’s an all-encompassing program that helps separate SoBe Arts from some run-of-the-mill music class. Kievman said he was inspired by CalArts and Julliard, and he’s assembled a team to back up that inspiration, not just on the front lines, but behind the scene as well. Former Miami Beach Commissioners Saul Gross and Nancy Liebman are among the nine members of the SoBe Arts Board of Directors, as is Ray Breslin, president of the Collins Park Neighborhood Association and Mark Needle, a community activist with the Miami-Dade Department of Education, who is Board Chair. And among SoBe Arts’ distinguished Advisory Board is Diane Camber, former Executive Director/Chief Curator of the Bass Museum of Art,
I
Page 12 • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
Jack Firestone, former Executive Director of the Louisville Orchestra, New World Symphony CEO Howard Herring and legendary hype man Charlie Cinnamon, who, since he’s handled the likes of Liza, knows more than a thing or three about musical theater. Reached by email before deciding to profile the Institute, Cinnamon said SoBe Arts is “an extremely worthy organization that is creative and caring and forward thinking and deserves a great story.” And that’s one of the reasons you’re reading this right now. But we’d be singing the praises of SoBe Arts even without Charlie Cinnamon’s say-so, because we, like you, see the creative arts to be an integral part of our community. That means they should be taught, they should be learned, and they should be able to be experienced first-hand, from the cradle to the grave. SoBe Arts has set itself up as a kinda launchpad for the stars of tomorrow. Just as importantly though, it keeps us in touch with what matters today and every day, and that’s the twinkle in the eye which comes from one who’s been inspired. See ya on the stage! To find out more about the SoBe Arts Institute and their summer programs go online to sobearts.org
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • Page 13
Calendar WHAT TO DO IN MIAMI THIS WEEK
PAULINA
Page 14 • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
SAVE THE DATE:
June 10
COMEDY Ian Bragg Catch Canadian comic Ian Bragg when he hits the Improv for four shows through June 13. 8:30pm. $16.05. Miami Improv, 3390 Mary St, Coconut Grove. For info: improv.com
June 11
THEATRE Mary Poppins Combining the best of the original stories by P. L. Travers and the film from Walt Disney, the Tony Award-winning Mary Poppins includes all the old favorite songs like Chim Chim Cher-ee, A Spoonful of Sugar, Let’s Go Fly a Kite and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale: For info: browardcenter.org
June 11
ART Fruit & Passion Rodez Art Gallery combines the passion and colorful palette of George Rodez’s Caribbean works with the tasty and mouth-watering fruit sculptures of Mari Sánchez. Runs through June 30. 7pm. Rodez Gallery, CocoWalk, 3015 Grand Ave., Coconut Grove. For info: rodezart.com
SATURDAY, JUNE 26
FREESTYLE EXTRAVAGANZA PARTY TO SOME OF THE BEST DANCE MUSIC FROM THE 80’S AND 90’S WHEN THE AMERICAN AIRLINES ARENA IS CONVERTED INTO THE BIGGEST DANCE PARTY OF THE YEAR. CATCH STEVIE B, COVER GIRLS, EXPOSE, LISA LISA, JUDIE TORRES, CORO, NOEL, AND BIZ MARKIE (TO NAME A FEW) WHEN THEY PERFORM THE HITS THAT MADE THEM FAMOUS. 8PM. $70. AMERICAN AIRLINES ARENA, 601 BISCAYNE BLVD., MIAMI. FOR INFO: AAARENA.COM
June 11
CLUB A Night in Pandora This should be an interesting evening. Known for his killer birthday bashes, Michael Capponi and club king pin, Eric Milon are transforming SET into the world of the movie Avatar. Sounds by Laurant Simeca and Chicco Secci. SET Miami, 320 Lincoln Rd. Miami Beach. For info: www.setmiami.com
June 12
PERFORMANCE Temptation Temptation brings the age-old art of Cabaret to meet the contemporary language of dance. The show features an animated master of ceremonies who tantalizes seven trained dancers and an aerialist as they travel to the lacelined streets of 19th century Paris. A combination of dance, acrobatics, pop, cabaret and live music in a nightclub setting. Passion Nightclub in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood. For info: temptationcabaret.com
LISA LISA
June 12
SPORT Bike Rides and Bakeries Something a little different for you sporty bike riders out there. Join Emerge Miami for the Sweet Treats Ride with a group of casual bike riders when they hit local bakeries and sweet shops by bike. It is part of a series of rides that will explore Miami's food emporiums. First stop is Chocolate Fashion in Coral Gables, Buttercream, Whip n’ Dip, and Sun Juice Smoothie is the second stop and a final finish at The Gourmet Cookie Café in the Grove. Free except for any treats that you want to munch. Bring sun screen and water. 10am at the Douglas Metrorail Station. For info: emergemiami.com
June 12
SPORT Rockin’ Roller Derby South Florida's own roller derby team, Gold Coast Derby Grrls, will take on Atlanta's Sake Tuyas this Saturday in a no-holds barred, rockin, roller derby fest. If you are a fan of tough chicks duking it out on skates, then this is the event for you. Doral Park Country Club, 5001 NW 104th Ave; Doral. For info: goldcoastderbygrrls.com
June 12
MUSIC Fangoria
Named after American horror film magazine Fangoria, the band Fangoria is an electro-pop duo from Madrid, Spain. Since 1990, Alaska and Nacho Canut have recorded and launched several albums, always under the patterns of dance-pop electronica. 8pm. $10 cover. The Awarehouse, 550 NW 29th St; Miami. For info: ccemiami.org
June 13
MUSIC Passion Pit
ABOVE: THE GOLD COAST DERBY GIRLS IN ACTION. RIGHT: HELIO CASTRONEVES.
Indie Popsters, Passion Pit will perform live for a one-night only concert on South Beach this Sunday night. Soulful, memorable, danceable, earnest and unabashedly pop, the music Michael Angelakos and the rest of the guys delivers will have the entire room rocking, hard. Tokyo Police opens. $24. 8:30pm. The Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave; Miami Beach. For info: livenation.com www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • Page 15
Calendar WHAT TO DO IN MIAMI THIS WEEK
CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS
June 13
with the Stars, in his new biography, Victory Road (Celebra, $24.95), the three-time Indianapolis 500 winner tells us his story about determination, family, faith and beating all odds to win. He will read from and sign his memoir this Wednesday at Books & Books , 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables. For info: booksandbooks.com
FILM The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is the first of a trilogy of novels by the late Swedish writer Stieg Larsson. The film version follows Harriet Vanger, who disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. 6:50pm & 9:30pm. $10. $7 members. Miami Beach Cinematheque, 512 Española Way, Miami Beach. For info: mbcinema.com
June 17
BOOKS Sebastian Junger Author Sebastian Junger’s on-the-ground account in War (Twelve, $26.99) follows a single platoon through a 15-month tour of duty in the most dangerous outpost in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. Meet and Greet with the author this Thursday. 8pm. Books & Books , 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables. For info: booksandbooks.com
June 14
BOOKS Christopher Hitchens The #1 New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist –one of the most admired and controversial public intellectuals of our time—shares his personal life story in Hitch-22 (Twelve, $26.99). He will read from his new book and sign copies in a meet and greet put together by Books and Books. Tickets required and available at all Books & Books locations. 7:30pm. $10. Temple Judea, 5500 Granada Blvd., Coral Gables. For info: booksandbooks.com
June 15
ART Lox with Black Beans and Rice This photodocumentary exhibit by Randi Sidman Moore on the contemporary Jewish community in South Florida includes 30 large-scale photos and narratives reflecting Cuban Jews from all walks of life. Through Sep. 26. $6. Jewish Museum of South Florida, 301 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. 305-672-5044 or jewishmuseum.com
Catch the exclusive Paulina & Friends concert benefitting The Lili Claire Foundation. Set to perform with Paulina are Fanny Lu, Luis Fonsi and Miguel Bosi to name a few. 9pm. $96.50. The Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave; Miami Beach. For info: livenation.com
June 15
FOR KIDS Prehistoric Adventure
MUSIC Dada Life Catch Swedish house band Dada Life when they spin at LIV this Wednesday night. Also on point are DJs Ross One, Contra, and Jessica Who? $25. 10pm. 4441 Collins Ave; Miami Beach. For info: livnightclub.com
June 16
While most of America may know Helio Castroneves as the funny Season Five winner of Dancing
MUSIC Paulina & Friends
TOP: SEBASTIAN JUNGER ENTRENCHED IN AFGANISTAN. MIDDLE: THE LADIES OF TEMPTATION. BOTTOM: FLOWERS WITH CHELLO AND CANARIES, JORGE RODEZ .
June 16
BOOKS Helio Castroneves
June 19
IAN BRAGG
Page 16 • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
Enter a time machine and journey back 230 million years when dinosaurs roamed the earth at the Miami Children's Museum’s new Dino Island exhibit. Nine lifelike, robotic creatures, including a Tyrannosaurus Rex, Apatosaurus, Triceratops mother and baby, Maiasaura family, and a suspended Pteradon are featured. Walking, feeding, roaring, fighting, hatching and caring for their young, Kokoro dinosaurs act and interact with captivating realism. Custom sets include a periodically erupting volcano with sound, lights and smoke, a swamp with bubbling water, cave with a “fireside” reading nook area, and more. Kids can also experience dinosaur habitats, unearth mysteries at a fun fossil dig station, and create unique pieces of art at rub stations. $12. 10am to 6pm daily. MCM: 980 MacArthur Causeway, Miami. For info: miamichildrensmuseum.org.
Sex
Health COLUMN
COLUMN
Being Me Smoke-Free
Sex Addict By Dr. Sonjia Kenya
R U N2 TEXTING UR DESIRES? Sexual communication is having a revolution. Flirting, apologizing, breaking up, and lyrical loving are all happening via text messages. Sexting, sending explicit messages or pictures to someone’s cell, is common among teens, young adults, and even elders are tapping into the temptation of texts. According to a 2008 survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, about 39% of teens and 59% of young adults (20-26 years) have sent sexually expressive messages. Nude pictures are also a pretty popular form of sexting, as 20% of teens and 33% of young adults in the same study admitted to sending photos in their birthday suit. Seniors are also spicing up their love life through sexting, according the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons (AARP). AARP’s 2009 article, “Sexting not just for teens anymore” shared stories of several adults over 50 years old that use text messages to make dates, exchange erotic photos, and revive romance in real relationships. Miamians are no exception to the texting trend. I searched every bar, restaurant, and lounge in my path and was unable to find one person who had yet to participate in some sexy texting. The boundaries of this new communication are unclear and the workplace happens to be where most people send and receive sext messages. This makes sense because when people are at work, they’re also more likely to be unavailable for in-person loving or phone flirting. Just yesterday, one of my employees shared an almost innocent text from a lady he’s dated twice. “Did I ever tell you how sexy you are?” Sexting has become a convenient and easy way to let your lover know you’re lewdly lusting over their loins. Though usually intended for a specific someone, don’t be surprised if you discover your sext has been shared with a stranger. The esteemed social scientists at MTV recently conducted a study that found almost 20% of sext messages are shared without permission from the sender. This sounds about right because friends and colleagues have shown me at least a dozen sensual messages that weren’t intended for my eyes. A few have also asked for advice when
responding to sexts. While I’m always happy to help those at a loss for words, I doubt their lovers knew I drafted some of the sensual messages they received. In addition to not knowing who is sending or receiving your messages, there are other legal and psychological consequences of sexting. Last summer a father in California used a taser gun on a 23 year old man who sent pictures of his genitals to his daughter. The father now faces 4 felony charges and the 23 year old was charged with child pornography since the female recipient was just 17 years old. In 2009, six kids in Pennsylvania were charged with child pornography after three high school girls sent semi-nude photos to boys in their class. A different situation involved a teenage couple that exchanged sext messages regularly. After a bad fight, the male half of the couple posted nude pictures of his girlfriend online. When the incident occurred, he had just turned 18 and was considered an adult while his girlfriend was still a teenager. He was convicted of child pornography and is now a registered sex offender whose life-long dreams were shattered by a naive mistake. The private nature of sexting makes it tough for lawmakers to control and sometimes the outcome is more tragic than a conviction. In 2008, 18 year old Jessica Logan committed suicide after her boyfriend electronically spread nude pictures she sent him. Her parents are suing the school but nothing will bring back their daughter. In a separate case, 13 year old Hope Whitsell killed herself after she sent sexy photos to a boy she liked and he forwarded the pictures to classmates and friends. Despite these terrible tales, sexting can be quite effective and convenient for busy adults to communicate their desires. People interviewed for the AARP article indicated they experience more sexual freedom using text messages which allows them to say things they would not feel comfortable voicing over the phone. It’s also an exciting way to reveal romantic wishes in budding relationships. Chances are, a recent divorcee’ or widowed adult has never been in a relationship involving text messages. This new form of communicating adds to the energy and excitement that rarely endures after the early stages of a relationship. But just like fresh lust, sexting can intoxi-
By Jennifer Fragoso (jennifer@sunpostweekly.com)
cate and some end up addicted to the high that results when urges are expressed through text messages. Kwame Kilpatrick, the former mayor of Detroit exchanged more than 14,000 sexually charged text messages with his chief of staff over a four month period. That’s an average of 117 text messages per day and clearly an indication of addiction! Some new websites allow members to text without disclosing a real name or phone number which is great for sext addicts. Using one of these ‘specialized’ websites, my neighbor showed me at least four different sext exchanges with individuals he had never met in person. By reading the messages and viewing the vivid pictures, I could tell sexual fantasies were executed and satisfaction was the goal of the game. Some of the conversations had at least 20 responses from each sexter and others were even longer. All the texts my neighbor showed me were saturated with sexual innuendos from different people and some even described climaxing while sexting. The anonymity and detachment fostered by this popular form of communication allows individuals to fulfill sexual desires with several others without ever meeting in person. But does doing the deed via text affect real relationships with other humans? According to my neighbor, if the sexting is good, it may motivate a real romance and he showed me a long sext conversation to prove his point. I read about their desire for each other and viewed pictures of their private parts. Then I learned about all the erotic things they planned to do with each other and saw more pictures revealing how each sexter was role-playing the fantasy. At the end of an extensive digital love-making session, each agreed it was a satisfying experience and decided to exchange something real. So for the very first time, they disclosed first names and phone numbers. But that was last week and neither has dialed the number yet. Since they’ve never talked on the phone and have no plans to see each other, it seems like sexting is more addictive than the sex that will never be.
Name: Jennifer Fragoso Age: 38 Years smoking: 23 SMOKE FREE: 14 Weeks
WEEK 15: BACK TO THE BEGINING A reader and diligent anti-smoking advocate asked me to delve deeper into the reasons why I began smoking in my teens. The answer comes in three parts – means, motive and opportunity. When I began smoking as a teenager some 23 years ago you could buy cigarettes easily and by today’s standards pretty cheaply as well, if not in a store, then certainly from a vending machine. As for motive the answer is I needed something to do with my hands at keg parties. Which is another way of saying I wanted to fit in. I wanted to feel comfortable in the height of my pubescence amongst my peers and cigarettes provided me with some form of the comfort I craved and still crave to this day. The caldron of emotional ups and downs has been brewing and now that the soup is done simmering I’m left with a hearty broth filled with all of the bits and pieces I put in along the way. I picked up smoking to help me work through who I was and I continued to let smoking define me through adulthood. Which leads me to opportunity. My father smoked and because he did it was much more difficult for me to be sniffed out – literally. If I came home drunk or having had a few drinks I was more likely to be found out than if I had a few cigarettes. With all three components, means, motive and opportunity, my addiction manifested itself through pressure to fit in, to be cool, to be a better me. Because the person I saw, back then, when I looked in the mirror was so unsure of everything including and above all who I was. Believe it or not I still sometimes feel the same way today. The difference now is that I’ve grown up and into my own skin. I’m confident, I’m worthy, I matter, even if only to myself and I can be proud of taking this giant step forward. I don’t pretend to know anyone else’s reality and my story is just that. It is my story and I share it with all of you because somehow in my newfound sobriety I feel not only comfortable to be a part of a discussion but also worthy of starting one. We are all in this together. If our children suffer then so do we. A teen will do just about anything they feel they can get away with. Testing boundaries is a part of growing up but smoking shouldn’t be a right of passage it should be reviled. We should lead by example. We should also talk openly and honestly about the dangers of smoking. It took me 23 years to quit. I will never get those years back but if I can create change through sharing my own experience then at least I can atone for my own stupidity. It is estimated that one in five teens aged 13 to 15 smokes worldwide.** One in five! Talk to your child today and we may just be able to bring that number down. Thank you MJ! ** Based on statistics from 2008. Taken from smoking.ygov.com/smoking-statistics-general-facts/
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • Page 17
Village Walk Miami Shores
NE 2nd Avenue between 96 & 98 Street Miami Shores Optical Dr. Courtney C. Williams
Board Certified Optometrist 9440 NE 2nd Ave MIAMI SHORES • 786.313.3048
Tiki Boutique
chic mommy and me boutique
EXPERT ALTERATIONS Next to the U.S. Post Office PARKING IN THE REAR FREE PICKUP - DELIVERY
9835 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami Shores 305.757.8386 Mon-Fri: 8am - 6pm • Sat: 8am - 4pm
216 NE 98th St, Miami Shores 305-392-0323 www.dakies.com
CARMEN’S BOUTIQUE URBAN CASUAL FASHION ELEGANT SILVER JEWELRY
Dresses from $20 up for All Occasions 214 NE 98th St. Miami Shores 305.757.3458• 305.528.8899
SHOES FROM $9.99
WE DO ALTERATIONS 9723 NE 2nd AVE MIAMI SHORES • 786.308.8859
Village Walk at Miami Shores Fashion Show
FATHERS DAY GIFTS AVAILABLE
Chevrolet Chrysler Jeep
WIDE SELECTION OF USED PARTS & SERVICE 8880 Biscayne Blvd., Miami • 305.754.7551 www.TropicalAutoGroup.com
The 411
Dr. Jose Azel at his Man ˜ana in Cuba book launch event at Books & Books
Bradley Cooper, Julian Junto on the Despierta America set
Nick DAnnunzio, Navi Rawat, Sam Robin, Tara Solomon, Jose Ortiz at Coco De Ville
COLUMN
Sex and the Magic City By Mary Jo Almeida-Shore maryjoshore@sunpostweekly.com Photos by Mary Jo Almeida-Shore
Lily & Steve Prellezo at Man ˜ana in Cuba book launch at Books & Books
Luis and Barbara Stein at Dr. Jose Azel's book launch event at Books & Books
A year to the day of what has become known as “The Great Storm of 2009,” the one that flooded every street of South Beach, turned Venetian Causeway into a “Venetian causeway,” crippled businesses for weeks and wreaked havoc on the Fontainebleau, yes, that storma different yet powerful storm took over as Hotel Thrillist Miami came to town. While this storm kept structural damage to a minimum, 200 Thrillist enthusiasts including media, tastemakers, Thrillist editors and their friends, and 12 lucky contest winners, enjoyed complimentary rooms, free meals, free cocktails compliments of Corona and Bacardi, and events, such as Saturday’s pool party with live DJs, Equinox-sponsored massages, and a chi chi rooftop dinner on Saturday night. Friday evening, guests enjoyed poolside cocktails but were forced inside by the first storm of the weekend, resulting in an impromptu party on the terrace of Scarpetta. According to a Thrillist insider, “Someone may or may not have run out into the tropical storm wearing nothing but an aqua Speedo, and doing slip-and-slides in the mud.” Later that night a five-star feast was presented by Scarpetta, Hakkasan, Gotham Steak, and Solo, with musical entertainment by Angela Laino and Suenalo. Evidently, the rhythms and/or cocktails were so intoxicating, even extremely self-conscious people left their seats to dance. Our source blames the band’s conch trumpet – “nothing stirs the passions like a conch trumpet!” The party continued at LIV with performances by DJ Soul, DJ Ruckus, and J. Cole, the up-and-coming North Carolina rapper who’s now part of Jay-Z’s J-Crew. There are rumors of a 4 a.m. pool party but these are unconfirmed. During the afternoon on Saturday, blue skies and sweltering weather gave way to a Spring Break-esque pool party, complete with extreme competition; a BBQ Showdown between Peter Vauthy of
Maria Enrique, Urizar, and Lily Azel at Books & Books
Page 20 • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
Red, The Steakhouse and John Suley of Gotham Steak and a Bizarre Bazaar, featuring discounted premium threads from Duncan Quinn, Unique Knits by Krel 2 Go, and custom jewelry creations by H.O.W.L. (Handle Only with Love). House of Jackie Brown and Stunner of the Month were also on-hand to showcase their bathing suits and cool shades. Anyone enjoying the cloudless day would have found it hard to believe that at this very hotel just one year ago, the “Great Storm” created an enormous, gaping hole in the ceiling outside of LIV shutting down all clubs and restaurants and turning the hotel into a virtual hurricane shelter. Yet, almost on cue, around 7 p.m., after hundreds of revelers had been baking for hours, the skies opened and a deluge began, just in time for the Torched Miami rooftop party at RED, the Steakhouse. Fortunately, the half-baked crowd didn’t seem to mind the rain and the party went on, featuring great food and performances by DJs accompanied by a violinist and a guitarist, Senor Stereo, Fire Dancers, Miami Heat Dancers, and Capoeira Dancers, who specialize in Lambada: The Forbidden Dance (remember that?!). Because The Cure and probably several other bands said “it’s never enough”, RED partygoers were shuttled by Coastal Car buses back to the Fontainebleau, where reportedly “the greatest chicken fingers of all time” were served at Vida restaurant, (these folks can eat, huh?) and an impromptu pool party was fueled by Corona, Bacardi Torched Cherry, and a few daring guests’ refusal to wait 30 minutes after eating before going for a swim.
CONGRATULATIONS NAYIB AND LARA! Extreme VIP guests just over the bridge on Star Island, enjoyed the wedding of Lara Coppola and Nayib Estefan, the son of Emilio and Gloria Estefan with an epic bash at the Estefans’ estate, boast-
Crowd in Pool at the Thrillist event
Suenalo Performing
Angela Laino being serenaded
ing musical entertainment by the Misshapes and a bevy of celebrity guests, including Andy Garcia, Lily Estefan, Danny Santiago, Belkys Nerey, Sammy Sosa, and Thalia, and A-listers including: Jorge and Darlene Perez, Nick D’Annunzio, Tara Solomon, Jose Ortiz, Frank Amadeo, Mario Vergel and Sebastian Puga, to name a few. While we can’t reveal all the details, we can say that Lara looked stunning in her Oscar de la Renta gown, the Estefan “ringdogs” were escorted down the aisle by the Dog Whisperer, and that a full-piece Latin band had the crowd of 400 dancing all night. Later that night, a group of 25 gathered at Coco de Ville to celebrate Burn Notice star, Navi Rawat’s birthday. Cast mate, Jeffrey Donovan joined in the festivities, along with Brawley Nolte (Nick Nolte’s son) Nick D’Annunzio, Tara Solomon and Jose Ortiz. DJ Elle spins at the pool
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS: In addition to those mentioned above, J Cole and Kat Deluna performed and hung out with the Thrillist gang all weekend. Two famous soccer players dined at Mr. Chow this past weekend: Zlatan Ibrahimovic from the Swedish team and Allesandro Nesta from the Italian team. Both will be playing in the World Cup this year in South Africa.
Above: Kat Deluna Performing. Below: Naomi and Bill at the Fountainbleau pool
above: Jungle Island. Below: Adam, Bill and Ben at the Thrillist event.
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • Page 21
REDUCED OCEANFRONT/OCEAN ACCESS 2/2 CONDO ON MILLIONAIRES ROW. RENOVATED CORNER UNIT WITH 1296 SQ.FT. IN RENOVATED PRIVATE BUILDING. 5775 COLLINS AVE. APT # 905, $335,000 Josephine Pampanas, P.A., GRI | Miami Beach Broker-Associate Office 305.674.4051 • Cell 305.343.0517 • Fax 305.672.1499 • Josephine@josephinepampanas.com
710 Liquors Beer, Wine, Spirits LOCK & KEY CO., INC. www.yorklock.com
WE DELIVER
LR0031
Your Electronic Bridge to Physical Security • Expert Locksmith Service • Electronic Access Control • Intercom • Telephone Entry • CCTV • Safes • High Security Locks
1554 Alton Road - Miami Beach Fon: (305) 672-5622 Fax: (305) 672-0301
710 Washington Ave. Miami Beach 305.531.1710
Celebrate Father’s Day In Style with a new Adirondack or Steamer Chair for Dad
Open 7 Days • 12951 Biscayne Blvd., North Miami • 305-892-2131 • www.AscotTeakMiami.com Page 22 • Thursday, June 10, 2009 • The SunPost • www.miamisunpost.com
GO! EVENTS
Upcoming Social Events By Mary Jo Almeida-Shore maryjoshore@sunpostweekly.com
SOMETHING NEW AND SOMETHING BLUE: AVATAR AND MIAMI SOCIALHOLIC PARTY This Friday, June 11, SET nightclub will be transformed into the magical land of Pandora for an Avatar themed bash. Guests are encouraged to dress as their Avatar. From 10 p.m. to 12 a.m., free-flowing cocktails courtesy of Grey Goose Vodka will be served at SET in honor of the launch of Miami Socialholic™ Miami’s internationally acclaimed, new website. RSVP is required by visiting miamisocialholic.com.
SCHOOL’S OUT FOR SPA As we hear a collective sigh of relief from teachers everywhere, Seven Seas Spa is offering a much needed retreat at a bargain. To thank educators for their contributions to the community, the Seven Seas Aveda Spa and Salon is hosting a summer-long, teacher appreciation promotion from June 15 to August 15. Select luxury spa treatments will be offered at the discounted rate of $20.10 to celebrate the end of the 2009-2010 academic year. Teachers can choose from a 30-Minute Massage, 30-Minute Facial, Nail Polish Change and Pedicure, 30-Minute Reflexology Treatment, Spray Tan, or 30-Minute Sugar Scrub for only 20 bucks and change. A Teacher Ap-
preciation Launch Party will be hosted at Seven Seas on June 15 from 6 to 9 p.m. The event will feature complimentary cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and spa tours for guests who present a valid ID from a primary or secondary educational institution. Free valet parking available along with, complimentary steam, a complimentary glass of champagne, and beach deck access are available when any spa treatment is booked.
QUEST AT CAFEINA Cafeina will showcase the 2010 U.S. artistic debut by Los Angeles artist GIANNI, an installation, titled QUEST, which showcases GIANNI’s signature style of abstract expressionism, a hypnotic vision of textures and vibrant colors contrasted by streaks of high gloss black. Cafeina will host a sneak preview of GIANNI’s work in its 1,000-square-foot art gallery on Friday, June 11 at 9 PM. GIANNI’s exhibition will officially open to the public during the Wynwood Art Walk on Saturday, June 12 and it will run through July 3, 2010. RSVP required to cafeina@taraink.com. Guests may visit the gallery from Saturday, June 12 through Saturday, July 3 from 6:00 p.m. to midnight, and also by appointment at GIANNI@ArtByGianni.com.
JB: YOUR FIFA HEADQUARTERS As the 2010 FIFA World Cup quickly approaches, JB Kitchen & Bar in Brickell wants to extend its passion for creating delicious dishes onto the soccer field. For this special series of events, JB Kitchen & Bar is transforming its typically chic restaurant into every soccer fans Mecca. With a staff full of unwavering soccer enthusiasts, JB’s is sure to become Brickell and Downtown’s official headquarters for the FIFA World Cup. For game days, expect all staff members in their team jerseys, a wide selection of liquor and spirits, an outdoor area with a customized ready to use Astroturf soccer field, plenty of flat screen TV’s and projection screens for the best possible viewing experience, 2010 Playstation set ups, foosball tables, tournaments and more. Its menu features a variety of food selections integrated with dishes from many of the countries that are playing, providing a unique edge and flavor guaranteed to please every palate. Located on the ground floor of 1250 South Miami Avenue, JB Kitchen & Bar is open for lunch and dinner daily and recently introduced their Sunday brunch which is available until 5 p.m., for those who enjoy “sleeping-in!”
Watch the World Cup Game from 7am onwards at these well-known, popular spots around Miami.
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • Page 23
Out
Cinema REVIEW
For Better or Worse? By Ruben Rosario (ruben@sunpostweekly.com) It’s not supposed to happen this way. Movies dealing with the highs and lows of marriage, at least outside the confines of your run-of-the-mill romcom, are not supposed to come out during the sweltering days of summer. They were never meant to be the smart alternative to a movie season that, in its first month, has left a lot to be desired. And it certainly wasn’t their intention to restore this reviewer’s optimism as to what’s in the store for the remainder of 2010. But that’s exactly what this week’s inspired bits of counterprogramming have accomplished. It wasn’t love at first sight in the case of Phyllis and Harold, Cindy Kleine’s touching documentary portrait of her parents’ 59-year marriage. In fact, the film’s grating, self-consciously kooky animated opening sequence, which shows the director driving to the Long Island ranch house where she grew up, made me want to toss the DVD screening copy in the trash. But despite some pretty lousy camerawork, Kleine overcomes the “what’s-in-itfor-me?” factor that initially lingers over her film. How does she do it? Her parents’ marriage is merely the prelude to another, infinitely more intriguing love story. It might be called Phyllis and Harold, but the film clearly belongs to Phyllis. Her most vivid memory of meeting her future husband at a party was how he held her too tight when they danced. That should have served as a red flag for the attractive brunette as she embarked on a courtship-bycorrespondence as Harold, an army lieutenant, went to war (it’s Dear John for geriatrics!). In the film’s most telling sequence, Kleine crosscuts between her mother and her father as she asks them the same questions about the early years of their marriage. What Harold describes as an idyllic time was quite the opposite for Phyllis, who began a fiveyear affair with her married boss. “Our house was like a black hole,” Kleine narrates. Her depiction of marital turmoil, and the distress it caused, lacks the specificity and journalistic rigor of that other nonfiction portrait of a dysfunctional Long Island Jewish household, Andrew Jarecki’s brilliant Capturing the Friedmans. Conveying emotional violence is not Kleine’s strength. Phyllis and Harold is a lot more effective when recounting how Phyllis was able to track down her old lover four decades after she ended the relationship. Do they get to meet again? I will only say that Kleine, who is married to My Dinner with
Andre’s Andre Gregory, shows that sometimes the best stories are right under your nose. Nicholas Sparks, eat your heart out. Phyllis Kleine, who was in her eighties when she passed away, would have been a perfect target for the married antiques dealers in Friends with Money writer-director Nicole Holofcener’s latest morality play. New Yorkers Kate (Catherine Keener, Holofcener’s muse) and Alex (an ingratiating Oliver Platt) enjoy a comfortable lifestyle with Abby (Spanglish’s Sarah Steele), their denim-obsessed fifteen-year-old daughter in their chic Manhattan apartment. So what if they earn a living selling furniture and artwork bought from the relatives of the recently deceased? They have their sights set on expanding their apartment by breaking down some walls from the one next door, which they have purchased There’s just the pesky matter of waiting for Andra (gloriously brittle Ann Guilbert), the current resident, to kick the bucket. In the meantime, Kate’s ethically suspect business practice, coupled with wellfounded suspicions her husband has a wandering eye, are beginning to take their toll. She suddenly finds herself handing over $5 bills to the bums outside her building and trying to get involved in community outreach programs she’s not remotely prepared to handle. (The scene in which she visits a facility for children with Down’s syndrome is especially squirm-inducing.) Holofcener portrays Kate’s liberal guilt with a rare combination of ruthlessness and compassion,
Page 24 • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
H FOODWEAR NOTICE THE STYLIS YES THAT'S ME AND MY BOWLING "CLASSIC" FORM.
which gives Please Give the acerbic feel of a mideighties Woody Allen comedy. (Think of a more status-conscious Hannah and Her Sisters.) If Holofcener has a soft spot, it’s definitely saved for Rebecca (Vicky Cristina Barcelona’s Rebecca Hall), Andra’s down-to-earth granddaughter. When she’s not administering mammograms (the film’s clever opening sequence consists of a montage of breasts as they go under that skin-crushing machine), she goes out on disastrous coffee dates. Will she find romance with the hunky but vertically challenged grandson of one of her patients (Rookie of the Year’s Thomas Ian Nicholas, all grown up)? All I know is that somebody ought to give Hall her own movie, stat. It’s Guilbert, a TV and stage veteran, who leaves the most lasting impression. She sees right through everyone else’s hypocrisy, and gives Please Give its bite. Please Give opens today at the Regal South Beach Cinemas; for tickets and showtimes go to fandango.com. Phyllis and Harold plays this weekend at the University of Miami’s Bill Cosford Cinema; for showtimes go to cosfordcinema.com. This will also be the last weekend you’ll be able to see Niels Arden Oplev’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at the Miami Beach Cinematheque prior to its July 6 DVD and Blu-ray release. For tickets and showtimes go to mbc.com.
A SCENE FROM PLEASE GIVE
Bowling 101 By Marguerite Gil (megs@sunpostweekly.com) I know nothing about bowling, or most other “sports” for that matter. But does that stop me from participating? No! I may look silly on the lanes. I may not know the rules, but dumb doesn’t mean that I won’t be able to win a couple of sets here and there. I got a whole bunch of strikes last week when I played at Lucky Strikes in South Beach and trust me; I was as surprised as the “pros” who were playing in the neighboring lanes. We arrived at Lucky Strikes about 7 p.m. and surprisingly found a parking space in front of the place. If you don’t visit Lincoln Road occasionally you can’t understand how fortunate it is to find a space 10’ away from where you want to be. But I digress. Inside the lanes were empty but the staff was efficient and affable. So we put the funny ‘shoes’ on, introduced ourselves to our waitress, our lane and our balls. Tip 1: Bring clean socks, although we noticed that when we returned our bowling shoes, Kathy our bowling guru and shoe guardian, extensively sprayed the inside of each shoe with a Lysol like product. I appreciated that. But you still want to have your own socks when you wear rentable shoes. I told her that I had never bowled. So Kathy advised me to “bowl low.” Tip 2: The closer you are to the floor, the closer you are to getting a strike. That turned out to be some pretty good advice. I made 3 strikes. The lounge is illuminated by, ‘dark’ lighting which as far as I was concerned was a plus because if lights are low your bowling mistakes are less apparent…I hope. Owners Steven and Gillian Foster have created a 15,000 sq. ft. family play area with a capacity for over 500 patrons. Among its many features a custom lounge 100-seat restaurant and 14 state-of-the-art lanes with automatic scoring and the latest in ball return technology. The place also showcases works by up-and-coming artists that are projected on floor-to-ceiling, high resolution video screens at the end of each lane. There is a catering company which provides an inventive casual fare menu and then of course there are the stylish deodorized shoes for everyone. I must admit that I really enjoyed myself, in spite of the fact that I can’t bowl. You should try it. During the World Cup games Lucky Strike will offer soccer fans an all-you-can-eat “comfort” breakfast buffet with food favorites such as French toast, Applewood Smoked Bacon, and Bloody Marys. Lucky Strikes Lanes, 1691 Michigan Ave. Miami Beach. Info: 305.532.0307.
Bound
a
COLUMN
A Hitch in Time Christopher Hitchens Takes to Memoir By John Hood
Memoirs have become something of a large (and largely disparaged) cottage industry in this age of blogophilia; in fact so many undeserving folks have written such works they’ve pretty much lost their ability to charm. It’s not that most of what is written in memoirs is made up (though of course there is that); it’s that most of what is written is made up from stuff not worth writing about and then turned into something worse. That’s one of reasons why I’d never in a minute expect a man like Christopher Hitchens to ever allow himself to bow to the form. Hitchens, a keen and often vitriolic critic, is the kinda cat who won’t let anyone outta the bag, let alone off the hook for even the most inane mistakes. So I’d think that he’d be abhorred with the form and especially its practitioners. Come to think of it, perhaps he is just that, which is why he decided to write a memoir of his own. So he could show those dolts just how it’s supposed to be done. The book in question is called Hitch 22 (Twelve $26.99). Since the book arrived on my doorstep only an hour before deadline, I’ve no idea why it’s called that (though I suspect a certain Heller is lurking around somewhere). But after reading just one of the book’s 18 chapters, I can tell you that it’s put the memoir back on the top shelf. The chapter that leads me to believe all this is entitled “Martin” and, yes, it concerns Amis fils. Oh, it’s got pops Kingsley roaring about as well, for this happens to “be a wonderful golden late summer” in the relationship of the son and the father, and Hitch was on hand for much of it. There are also cameos by the historian Peter Ackroyd (who introduced Amis and Hitchens), Clive James (a regular at the notorious Friday lunch), Ian McEwan (who had just succeeded Amis as winner of the Somerset Maugham Award) and Thomas Pynchon (who was upset about the British impounding of Larry Clark’s Faggots). Even Margaret Thatcher shows up at the end, and she shows up well. Hitch had called the soon-to-be world leader “sexy” while she was rising to the top, but it was what she did to his bottom which nicely, er, rounds out the chapter. But it’s not the names alone that make Hitch 22 a game-changer in memoirs; it’s the way those names are
written about – the affection, yes, especially in Amis’s case, moreso the exactitude. There’s a sense of being there that can’t be dispelled even when Hitchens says that you may have to just have been. In one of the more memorable sentences, concerning Amis’s fondness for the sinew of George V. Higgens’ dialogue, Hitchens writes: “he would not dump a trope until he had chewed all the flesh and pulp of it and was left only with pith and pips.” It’s a marvelous sentence, at once a little awestruck (without fawning of course) and highly acute (which has always been Hitchens’ strength). And it shows a respect for the man and for the man of words that has eluded the world of late, a loss largely brought about by the paltriness of memoir. So yeah, Hitchens has stepped up to the plate and batted away. And if this chapter on Martin Amis is any indication of the book as a whole, he’s hit another one outta the park. Christopher Hitchens appears at on June 14th, 7:30pm at Temple Judea 5500 Granada Boulevard Coral Gables. Tickets are required for this event and are available at all Books & Books locations, while supplies last. The $10 ticket can be used toward the purchase of Hitch-22 or any other book at Books & Books. For more information call 305.442.4408 or log on to booksandbooks.com
ABOVE: ONE OF THE MOST ENTERTAINERS IN SUNNY ISLES WAS COMEDIAN FRANKIE SCOTT, A FIXTURE AT THE THUNDERBIRD. FAR ABOVE: ONE OF THE SEVERAL MOTELS WITH "BLUE" IN ITS NAME, THE BLUE MIST, SHOWN HERE, WAS FAMOUS FOR IT'S FANCIFUL AQUAMAIDENS HOLDING UP THE FRONT PORTE-COCHERE. STANDING IN FRONT OF THE MOTEL IS WELL KNOWN AND LONG TIME SUNNY ISLES MOTEL MANAGER MOISHE POOPICK.
A Special Moment in Time
The History of Sunny Isles By Seth H. Bramson (seth@sunpostweekly.com) It is interesting that while Miami Beach is part of Miami, Miami Beach, with eight suburbs, is never referred to as “Greater Miami Beach.” Yet going back to the days when Mel Richard was a Miami Beach politician, efforts were being made to separate Miami Beach and it’s adjoining communities on the east side of Biscayne Bay from Dade (now Miami-Dade) County. The most prominent name that was bandied about for the new county during the secession campaigns was “Atlantic County.” There were—and are—numerous legitimate (and few less than legitimate) reasons for the east side of Biscayne Bay’s villages, towns and cities to form their own county, but politics are not the thrust of this column; rather, as we have overwhelmingly learned from the readers of the Sun Post, there is an unending interest in the history of not only Miami Beach but it’s adjoining and adjacent smaller neighbors, including Fisher Island, North Bay Village, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Indian Creek Village, Surfside, Sunny Isles Beach and Golden Beach. As noted in this column’s headline, Sunny Isles Beach, formerly known as “Motel Row” or Sunny Isles, was, for many years, the place to come to for great times, great food (Rascal House, Dagwood’s, Junior’s, Lime House, the Lagoon, Victor Bidone’s and numerous others, including The Sultan’s Tent in the Marco Polo Hotel, the Pub Restaurant in the Newport, Grandma’s Kitchen,and, for a short time, a branch of the fabled Picciolo’s) and terrific entertainment, which included names of the past such as Tubby Boots, Zorita, Ike and Tina Turner, The Mob, Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons and so many more. In addition to the food and entertainment, shopping, whether for beach wear or more formal attire, was “a breeze,” with strip shopping centers catering to every taste up and down Collins Avenue and on 163rd Street (167th Street on the beach side). Most of the larger motels had night clubs with the Marco Polo, the Newport’s Seven Seas Lounge and the Castaways’ Wreck Bar being the biggest draws, fielding the biggest names, but almost every one of the sizable motels, including the Sahara, Desert Inn, Golden Gate, Pan American, Last Frontier, Suez and Thunderbird had lounges and show rooms that brought in the crowds. Additionally, many of the smaller motels had bars and cocktail lounges with their own followings and many of the locals (and vacationers) swore on “their own” spot as being the best. Recreation abounded, with a bowling alley, miniature golf course, the famed Sunny Isles fishing pier and the Loew’s 170th Street theater, at the time it opened the newest and most beautiful movie theater in northeast Dade County. However, Sunny Isles was simply “the place” for families and honeymooners and the deals and offers were legendary. For the local young swains, though, “cruising” Collins Avenue in the evening and stopping to talk to the young women tourists was something that no few of the fellows from North Miami, North Miami Beach and Miami Beach occupied themselves with, particularly in the summer and during spring break and Christmas vacation. Sunny Isles (today, with the surname “Beach” added, a beautiful incorporated city) was, as a place and as a memory, a very special moment in time. Next week a look at the beginnings of what today is truly a great city. Though only thirteen years old, the wonderful history of Sunny Isles Beach reads like a storybook. www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • Page 25
Style TRENDS
Cool Off This Summer With Some Ice By Jennifer Fragoso (jennifer@sunpostweekly.com)
Ice-Watch recently made its U.S. debut this spring. The watches are fashion forward, affordable and water resistant. If you want to inject a splash of color into your summer wardrobe the Neon collection will do the trick. The collection features turbo charged hues, transparent “plas-cite” bands and a bright white dial with luminous hands. With water resistance of up to 5ATM any color watch in this collection is the perfect fit for the surf or the sand. Ice-Watch® has every element of style covered with timepieces that go from adding zing to a bit of bling. À la the Swarovski embellishments found in the Stone collection. The Stone collection has the look of luxury you want without the inflated sticker price. Log on to www.ice-watch.com to find the collection that suits you. Ice Watches are available at World Time USA in Miami; Time Station in Miami Beach; Watch Time in Miami; Galleria of Watches in Ft. Lauderdale and dillards.com.
THE STONE COLLECTION IS PRICED FROM $265.00 - $335.00 COMES IN CLASSIC WHITE OR DRAMATIC BLACK. ABOVE: THE ICEWORLD WATCH.
Page 26 • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • SunPost Weekly • www.sunpostweekly.com
THE NEON COLLECTION IN FLUORESCENT YELLOW, BLUE, GREEN AND PINK. AVAILABLE IN THREE SIZES: SMALL (38MM) $95.00, UNISEX (43MM) $95.00 AND BIG (48MM) $110.00
We have a new website.
What you love about our print edition is on our website, plus a whole lot more. Check it out right now.
sunpostweekly.com
www.sunpostweekly.com • SunPost Weekly • Thursday, June 10, 2010 • Page 27
Sick of the Gym? Get a refreshing workout in the water with the gear the navy seals use*
THE EVOLUTION OF FITNESS
RESISTANCE, STRETCHING CARDIO AND PYLOMETRICS WATER PILATES, BOXING, YOGA, MARTIAL ARTS AND CROSS TRAINING
786.220.1799 www.aquafitmiami.com
PERSONAL FITNESS TRAINING IN YOUR POOL * We do not use any foam buoyancy equipment