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Your Morning Sift
01/17/2012

Good morning.

We're still in weekend holiday mode at SFDB HQ so your regular programming won't return until tomorrow. Enjoy your morning Sift.

A- Martin Luther King is remembered by Bark Bark Woof Woof and Gun Free Zone. From the former...

So here we now celebrate and honor the birthday of Dr. King three years into the presidency of the first African-American elected as president. And yet, the campaign to find a Republican candidate to run against Barack Obama's re-election has been colored, so to speak, with racial issues, including overt appeals on the part of some candidates to the old fears about "us" vs. "them" and the re-telling of myths and lies about welfare and African-Americans. And they haven't been subtle about it. Dr. King's admonition about judging us by the content of our character has been lacking in a lot of people who know that racism is still a specter in this nation and are willing to use it and exploit it.

B- Mike LaMonica is an orchid rescue man.

I’ve been taking in stray orchids for about a year now. The one’s that people usually toss away after the flowers die (yeah you). They aren’t the pretty kind like you’d buy in the store or boutique but to me that’s what makes them even more beautiful.

C- Carlos Miller claims his high-speed camera makes him look like a real pro and protects him from arrest.

Not only did I have a shotgun microphone on the camera, which enabled me to capture audio from a distance, but I was wearing headphones and had my 5D dangling from neck as well. The cops must have figured I was media and were smart enough to know that it would not have been wise to arrest me.

D- Nunez Photography shares images of Christmas decorations at a few typical South Florida residences.

E- Sounds like Mario the Baker on Biscayne Boulevard needs an attitude adjustment, according to this post from Eater Miami.

According to the father, who has been taking the children there since the four year old was an infant, the manager, Krista Tremblay, called him outside and said "We can't serve you, we can deliver to you or do takeout but we can't have your girls here. Maybe when they get older. They make too much of a mess and none of my waitresses want to wait on you."

F- Florida Keys Girl endorses Pepe's in Key West.

The food at Pepe’s is always good. The fish sandwiches are fresh. Mine, the blackened mahi mahi with cheese, was great. Cooked perfectly, and served with home fried potatoes, but not a ton of them, it is a reasonable sized portion.

G- So far, this winter has been warm in South Florida and Go Hydrology! has the graphs to prove it.

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remind us every day of how far we have yet to go.

I'll be back later with the morning Sift.

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Soul of Miami has a bunch up, too.

B- You're missing some good concerts if you're not visiting the New World Symphony, according to the South Florida Classical Review.

The New World Symphony’s Sounds of the Times concert Saturday evening proved that new music can be a big draw at a time when most orchestras have whittled their seasonal repertoire to warhorses. An enthusiastic audience packed the New World Center for the program of relatively unknown works, all written since 1980.

There’s a lot that’s unique about these contemporary concerts besides the repertoire, not least the Frank Gehry-designed venue and the affordable $15 price. New World programs the highest quality guest soloists and conductors, like Pablo Heras-Casado on Saturday, a fast-rising podium star.

this past week when Daimler AG's Mercedes division used the image of Ernesto “Che” Guevara during a recent presentation in Las Vegas.

But the company quickly stopped using the image and apologized after a very vocal condemnation by Cuban-Americans, who said it was outrageous of Daimler to highlight a revolutionary who played in central role in executions and the establishment of a regime that has oppressed the people of Cuba for decades.

Fair enough.

Senator Bob Menendez from New Jersey, the son of Cuban immigrants, had this to say about the incident.

“I say to people ‘The guy killed people,’” Menendez said. “It’s their lack of knowledge of the history, clearly, that has them falling into these circumstances where they think they’re supporting some idyllic romantic hero.”

Exactly.

Because if there's a group of folks that knows all about making an idyllic romantic hero out of a killer, its Cuban-American hardliners.

All Luis needs is a beret and a beard.

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A- The M-Path Extension Celebration Ride was memorialized on video by The Miami Bike Scene.

B- The Street has 30 new photos up for your viewing enjoyment.

C- Bark Bark Woof Woof shares some notes from Art Deco Weekend Day One.

D- A guest blogger at Eye on Miami discusses the layoffs of Miami-Dade police officers.

What this all boils down to, we the public, along with our police, are being placed in harm’s way by this political nonsense. I don’t pay taxes to wonder when the police will have the time to respond to my call. I do pay taxes for services and for the safety of my family.

A- Random Pixels points out WPLG's mistake of calling Miami-Dade County Hall by the wrong name.

No, Calvin! It's not "city hall." It's not "Miami county hall." It's Miami-Dade County Hall.

B- Miami Beach 411 posts video of Occupy Miami protestors being arrested at FIU yesterday.

At 4:38, police moved in and started making arrests, making good on their five-minute promise.

Apparently, they don’t understand that five minutes in Miami actually means 20 minutes.

After making seven arrests, police drove off with their prisoners while a group of activists made their way to speak to FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas, who told them that of the seven activists, four were not actual students, which somehow made them even more in violation.

However, FIU has always been open to the public. It is a public university with a section of its parking lot metered for public parking.

C- Fruit and Spice Park in Homestead is visited by Redland Rambles.

Now the 37 acre county park is lush with over 500 varieties of fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs and nuts, some you may have heard of, and many you might not have. Tram tours will take you around, and the guide will fill you in about the plants and the history of the park. Where else in Miami would you find 150 varieties of mangos, 75 varieties of bananas, crimson gak fruit, sensitive cacao growing sheltered in a heated greenhouse, or annatto to stain your fingertips bright orange?

D- Obalesque makes the case for airlines to charge according to a passenger's weight.

Charging per pound would not only address the basic economic inequality of airline tickets, it would serve the same social function as prohibiting smoking in restaurants and firearms in bars (except in Florida, where a drunk packing heat is regarded as a disincentive to crime, specifically those that involve shooting. Don’t ask). Individuals would have the choice to change their habits and save money — or not — but in both cases, there would be economic consequences. And the free ride ends.

E- Not surprisingly, Gun Free Zone is a big Tim Tebow fan.

I guess me and many others are just plain tired of NFL players behaving like caricatures of themselves:Stupid, highly egotistical & faithless morons. Tebow represents something different and even fresh in our times. And I guess many others resent what he is and represents and have no problem bashing him for what he is (but surprisingly cannot complain much about his game) and do it in a less than classy manner.

F- Beached Miami presents a story of a lost dog that was eventually reunited with its owner in North Miami Beach.

On New Year’s Eve, on my way to a potluck in North Miami Beach, I spotted a Shih-Tzu running headlong at my car with his tongue hanging out, the poof of his off-white fur ablaze in my headlights. I stopped the car and opened the door. He jumped in and laid down in the passenger seat. He was filthy and collarless. Just like that, I had a dog.

G- Bark Bark Woof Woof takes a crack at the New York Times column that was mentioned yesterday by Discourse.

You don't have to call someone a liar, but when you are presented with a statement from someone like Mitt Romney who says, for example, that President Obama has "apologized for America," all you have to do is cite the fact that there is no evidence that he has done any such thing and let the reader come to the obvious conclusion that Mr. Romney is, to be charitable, making shit up.

If a $7,000-a-year reporter for a little radio station in Northern Michigan could figure that out in 1979, surely the same thing must occur to the mighty New York Times.

Two items of note...first, human billboards on Lincoln Road.

Really? I'm not sure how long this has been going on but...really?

Also, ate at Sosta yesterday for the first time and perhaps it was the perfect weather but the pizza tasted super. If you decide to go, try the "Sosta" with sundried tomato spreads, mozzarella, burratta cheese, and prosciutto crudo di parma. *Foodie imitation* The pizza was a deceptively simple dish, offering a wonderful contrast of a creamy cool cheese against a warm pizza, further brightened and enhanced by the other components.*/foodie imitation*

Since it's Lincoln Road, alfresco is a must....

A- There's a new burger spot right across the street from the legendary Charm City Burgers in Deerfield Beach and Burgers by the Beach rates it pretty good.

The Hungry Wolf Burger, along with every other burger, is made with Certified Angus USDA Prime beef. This double quarter-pounder was grilled perfectly and had that high quality meat taste you look for in a burger.

B- Some good lookin' offshore boat racing photos that would make a desktop proud...at Nikon Miami.

C- Photos from last night's Spam Allstar gig at the Green Parrot in Key West.

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Improv Everywhere, there was one, lone Miami participant.

Here's the official No Pants video...

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A- Ipanemic has a plan and it doesn't include South Florida.

B- Go Hydrology! says that Honeybell oranges are out there although I have yet to see one in my local Publix.

It’s incredibly easy (and clean) to peel and has only a few seeds. Best of all is its juice which I can only describe as nectar sweet.

C- Worst Pizza found next to nothing to complain about when they visited the new PieZano's in Boca but they still only gave them 6 out of 8 stars. I'm officially done trying to understand their rating system.

Anthony, who opened PieZano’s hails from Brooklyn, and has the accent to prove it. When not yelling things to employees in Italian, he is a down to earth pizza owner, who believes in giving quality ingredients to the customers he serves. He owned a bunch of location throughout New Jersey, before ultimately realizing that living in the cold was no way to live. So he moved his family down and quickly found a location to open a pizza joint. Lucky for those of us who live in Boca Raton, he chose our city to do so in.

D-Belle Isle Blog posts some great drawings of the new exercise path in Miami Beach that they got from somewhere.

It looks a little less exciting than described (I’m not sure what they mean by “elevated” in the written descriptions) but it sure will provide a safe path for walking and running and strollering.

E- Swampy commentary on South Florida's visual pollution from Swampstyle.

The argument against billboards is simple, they are often so imposing that it is almost impossible to not look at them. If you don't like a tee-vee commercial, change the channel. If you don't approve of magazine ads, turn the page. But the appropriation of our common eye/air space for the benefit of private interest is just plain ballsy.

F- Some Miami International Art Fair photos are up and ready to be viewed at Soul of Miami.

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A- As we get older, Bark Bark Woof Woof tells us what starts to happen.

While I was waiting I saw a college-aged kid trying to send a fax. He was completely flummoxed. First, he wasn’t sure how to feed the paper into the tray. Then he kept getting a message through the little speaker, but he couldn’t figure out what it meant by “you must first dial a one.”

B- Random Pixels posts an internal email that was sent out to Herald staff today concerning their move to new quarters.

C- Jeff Eats takes his turn at checking out BGR- The Burger Joint.

What I especially liked here, was that the burgers were “cooked” over an open-flame–and not on a stainless steel griddle. Now, I got nothing against griddle burgers, but BGR’s flame technique was a nice change from the standard fast food modus operandi.

D- CSA Share Week #6, as pictorially presented by Redland Rambles.

E- Some Blogging Guy is recovering slowly from the flu and shares some home cold remedies.

Mint tea. Badia is the brand and their very inexpensive mint tea is fabulous. I drank that all day long, nice and hot, with honey. Once or twice I even dabbed a drop of hot sauce into the tea.

F- Meet South Florida Food and Wine at her book signing next week at Books & Books in Coral Gables.

On Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 at 8:00 pm Books & Books in Coral Gables is hosting my Miami book signing, for the Food Lovers’ Guide to Miami & Fort Lauderdale.

G- Lawyers becoming chefs, at South Florida Lawyers.

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01/17/2012

Who remembers their first tweet?

Check out The First Lady's recent first tweet...

You can follow First Lady Michelle Obama at @MichelleObama, although I've been told that most conservatives have been looking for her using @OneAngrySocialistBlackLadyWhoLikesChe.

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Transit Miami
"Metrorail ‘Bike and Ride’ Gets a Boost With New Hanging Bike Racks"

Transit Miami's straightforward and informative post about new bike racks on Metrorail was the favorite of the Editors last month...but not by much.

Let's check out how they voted...

Here is some of the commentary that the Editors filed after they voted.

Ipanemic:

"Redland Rambles was my pick, although (more so than normal), this was a tough call. All of the nominees (with the exception of mine) provided enjoyable and informative reading with regard to some aspect of life in South Florida. In the end, I chose Redland's coverage of the 7th annual Farm Day event as it provided a nice look into something a little different in the area. If I could've split my vote between RP, TM, and RR, I would have."

Searching for Normalcy:

"My vote goes to Random Pixels because this is exactly the kind of piece I want to read when it comes to learning about a new restaurant or other local establishment. Thanks to this post, I'm pretty sure I will be checking out Alaska Coffee the next time I am in the Aventura area. Plus, I just love coffee. =)"

South Florida Food and Wine:

"Redland Rambles did another great job of detailing to her readers what an experience "at the farm" is like; and this time it was "a party at the farm."

Mike Lamonica:

"This month, I'm with Transit Miami. I'm a Metrorailer and I'm a biker on the Metrorail. This post was not only great but had me at hello.

I don't want to blow smoke up anyone's behind, but I really think all the nominees are worthy of winning this month. As I type this there is a three way tie in the voting. I can't wait to see how it shakes out. Good luck to everyone."

South Florida Lawyers:

"Really enjoyed the leisurely, inquisitive way in which Random Pixels unfolds his discovery of a funky new coffee shop. If you are open to new experiences, you will often be rewarded. Great post."

You can view all the nominees here and check out all the past SFDB Posts of the Month at the bottom of the right sidebar.

Congrats to Transit Miami for squeaking out a win and thanks for the comments, Editors!

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