Everyone’s a critic. Sure, it’s easy to look at some of the programs that get green-lighted each season and wonder what particular kind of crack the network executives were smoking that day — Cavemen, anyone? No? Alrighty then. But behind the scenes, television can be more dramatic and difficult than…
She passed away in 1959 at age 44, with a mere 70 cents in her bank account. By the end of her too brief, too tragic life, Billie Holiday had lost so many things: Her money had been swindled from her, her luminous looks were ravaged by heroin long before…
:As one of the founding fathers of blaxploitation, Melvin Van Peebles has a body of work with a reputation to uphold. It’s always bold, typically brash, and proudly in your face. His Seventies films, Watermelon Man and Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, set the stage for a new generation of filmmakers…
Sexual tension so thick you can cut it with a knife. Humor wicked enough to make Liz Taylor blush. Greed, death, dysfunction, and “the powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity.” Hardly the kind of thing you’d expect from fresh-faced college students, but that’s just what you’ll discover at the University…
An uninspired mind might look at a tablecloth and see simply a stretch of fabric designed to save your dining room furniture from errant spills. Artist Pip Brant looks at them and sees a world of expressive possibility. Her fiber-based art combines traditionally dyed and embroidered tablecloths with bold impressions…
What with its diverse blend of native Spanish-speakers, Miami has much to commemorate this Hispanic Heritage Month. Events, taking place throughout the city, are all designed to pay much-deserved tribute to the achievements and contributions of Hispanics who have made this nation (and especially this city) the culturally fascinating melting…
Ever been to an adult party with a piñata? After the candy explosion, there’s a whole lot of cleaning up to do. Your friends might be loath to put their cocktails down and pick up the lollipops underfoot, because grownups just don’t have the yen for candy that little kids…
Overworked. Stressed out. Hating life. If you think we’re speaking directly to you, honey, you need hugs, not drugs. You could also use a massage. And maybe a facial. But the meager salary from your thankless job doesn’t quite cut the mustard when it comes to pampering yourself, does it?…
Ah, 1992. It was a very good year. The New Wave hippies were grinding their teeth and enjoying the heyday of raves, Dr. Dre was educating us about The Chronic, and the new music by flannel-shirted Seattle bands was just beginning to garner mainstream attention. And in the midst of…
Give Wendy Doscher-Smith free rein behind the lens of a camera, and all kinds of quirky images begin to emerge. Doscher-Smith is best known as the doggie-obsessed president of Apawture Pet Photography, and she specializes in taking poignant and sweet portraits of the paws of famous people’s pets (check www.apawture.com)…
In American slang, being a jerk is considered a bad thing. It means you’re idiotic, rude, insufferable, and generally not fun to be around. But to Jamaicans and other Caribbean islanders, the word jerk conjures up delicious images of highly spiced meat dishes. Jerk means lots of thyme, Jamaican allspice,…
A few words of advice for those rare locals who (for God knows what reason) hate to party: Steer clear of downtown Miami today. In fact, if you’ve got an aversion to loud music, allergies to hot women in sequin-glitter-and-feather-festooned bikinis, and no interest in celebrating with Caribbean folks, just…
Ooooh, Steve Almond doesn’t know who he’s messing with. The first chapter of his fifth book — the hilarious, freewheeling memoir Not That You Asked: Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions — kicks off with a series of trash-talking letters to Oprah Winfrey. Yeah, that’s right, Almond takes on the high priestess…
If you’ve been bred anywhere besides the Caribbean archipelago, today’s just another Wednesday for you. But your islander friends have a special gleam in their eyes. For months they’ve been prepping for this upcoming week — working out, buying special color-coordinated outfits, and planning a jam-packed jamdown schedule for Miami…
Thinking hip-hop fans are feeling their age these days. They refuse to contort themselves into the latest ridiculous dance, “Crank Dat Soulja Boy,” or participate in the basic call-and-response-based “A Bay Bay” brainwashing that’s taken over radio and television airwaves. They refuse to swallow BET’s bitter pill. Music lovers who…
He’s had joy, he’s had fun, and now Argentine-musician-turned-Miami-man-about-town Diego Jinkus is ready to pack up his guitar and take his songs on the road. “Tonight is a farewell and my birthday party. I’m gonna play with my whole band, horn section and all. I leave in October to tour…
Golf tournaments are a dime a dozen in this town. Nine times out of 10 they take place in Doral, and thanks to the “celebrity” factor, the entry fee is damn near astronomical. If we wanted to watch OJ Simpson tool around for an afternoon in the sun — well,…
Oprah Winfrey has always had her own strong and passionate ideas about, well … everything. The best books, the coolest celebrities, the most fabulous food, the smartest weight-loss methods, and the hottest must-have knickknacks all get equally gushing play daily on her TV show, and monthly in O, The Oprah…
If you work in downtown Miami, you see them all the time — homeless people and their doggies, begging for food on corners. Insensitive and unsavvy types have been known to wonder aloud, “If you’re homeless, why have a dog?” The sad truth is, for the destitute and downtrodden, sometimes…
James Brown was the hardest-working man in show business, a relentless touring machine who loved nothing more than putting on a sweat-drenched, high-octane performance for fans night after night. With his beloved cape, inimitable dance moves, and trademark “Hey!” he etched a place in rock and roll history. Right alongside…
Director and producer Rudi Dolezal’s list of film credits reads like a who’s who of the music world. He has filmed Sting in Brazil, directed segments of the original Live Aid, produced more than a thousand music videos, and filmed concerts and documentaries about everyone from Miles Davis to David…
Our presidential elections aren’t until 2008, but the way the campaign trail is heating up, you could be excused for thinking they were this November. It seems in the drive to hang new drapes in the White House, we’ve forgotten about the depressing debacle of our electoral process. Hanging chads,…
