Opinion & Commentary

Letters from the Issue of April 8, 2010

Luke’s Gospel: Legalizing marijuana will fix the economy

This week’s Newsweek — which should probably be titled “Suck-up-week” — includes a front page pic of the iPad and a back page ad for the Amazon Kindle. The main article is a generally positive piece about the iPad and the geeks who love it…

This past September 16, Miami’s planning advisory board recommended the city expand African Square Park on NW 14th Avenue and 61st Street. The board recognized the need for more public green space in one of Miami’s poorest neighborhoods, but the city commission apparently didn’t get the hint.View Larger MapThree months…

On the cover of his 86’d EP, conscious South Florida’s rapper Protoman sends a mixed message with several examples of vice giving us bedroom eyes from that big, red no-no circle. Come sit over here, Crown Royal.With Los Angeles producer Sebino providing the beat firepower, the EP digs into everything…

If you grew up in Miami Beach prior to 1993, the floor above the neighborhood drug store on Fifth Street at Washington Avenue was a magical place.For more than a quarter-century, aspiring boxers climbed two flights of creaky stairs to a cavernous, broiling-hot room to train, hoping they would emerge…

Yesterday we noted the pop-culture luminaries of the Jersey Shore have arrived in South Beach and are staying at the Catalina Hotel (until their full-time pad is ready, we hear), but TMZ reports there was a bit of surprise. Angelina “Jolie” Pivarnic, who lasted only three episodes during the first season,…

In our Moving Units column, Mike Ramirez at Fort Lauderdale’s Radio-Active Records  graciously keeps us up-to-date and comments on the current releases flying out of his store each week.Two was the magic number last week, and things have only changed moderately since then with Norwegian shoegaze specialists Serena Maneesh and…

Already read the review of Saturday’s massive TopSpot USA industry showcase at the Talent Farm? Need more shots of local heartthrob punks like New City Lions, Easton, Not Here Now, and Vega Under Fire, as well as San Diego’s So Long Davey? If the answer is yes to either of…

Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. Up this week, Luke makes the case for legalizing marijuana across the nation, beginning in Miami-Dade County.Off the bat, I…

So the original Jersey Shore cast in definitely in town. Lesley Abravanel reports the cast members are staying at the Catalina Hotel until they move into their new home, and our sources confirm it. But today, Doron Ofir Casting posted a seemingly legitimate casting call for more guidos and guidettes for…

Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares stories of memorable rock ‘n’ roll encounters that took place in our local environs. This week, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers play their first official gig and get a heartbreaking rebuke.During a pleasant fall evening in 1976, I was in an…

Countless videos of the Paul McCartney show went up on YouTube almost immediately after the concert. Most of the best come from user dsmpaul, who seems to have been sitting somewhere in the first few rows, and who seems to have uploaded damn near the entire concert in song-by-song clips. Here’s…

Best Veggie Chili Ever?Not sure, but the Magic Veggie Chili made by Christopher Hughes is the best I’ve yet tasted. It’s also the only chili I’ve ever had that has its own blog. Amazing what a person can do with textured vegetable protein and imagination.  The Amazing and Incredible 4…

This week, believe it or not, was a relatively intelligent one in South Florida. We had a Miami Gardens minister buying Rolls Royce Phantoms for drug dealers, and a Miami Heat player’s penis made an unexpected cameo, but all in all, it was mostly quiet on the moron front. You…

While perusing Paula’s roundup on Easter specials yesterday morning, I couldn’t help but notice the pricing strategies pursued by the various restaurants. For instance, at Essencia you can enjoy organic selections cooked up by one of Miami’s really talented veteran chefs, Frank Jeanetti — plus  a prosecco or mimosa –…

The Broward-Palm Beach Crossfade contingent is definitely the opposite of emo about our feature, “TopSpot USA Showcase Punks Up the Talent Farm” in this week’s music section.We caught up with TopSpot USA founders Sean Russell and Frankie “Famous” Nobile preparing for their first industry showcase at the Talent Farm this…

Thanks to Jersey Shore, the era of ethnocentric reality-TV trash is upon us, and it was only a matter of time before someone decided to mine the potential reality-TV gold that is Miami’s vast chonga community. We’re 99 percent sure this isn’t an April Fools’ Day joke.Beach Pictures, the production…

It’s official. The Associated Press reports the U.S. Department of Justice is opposing Ana Margarita Martinez’s attempt to make charter companies that book flights from here to Cuba pay a $27 million judgment she won against the Cuban government. In submitting its opposition motion in Miami federal court, the DOJ declared…

It’s been a while since I’d heard from reclusive producer/instrumentalist Harmonix. Yup, last time his work graced my stereo was way back in 2008 when he dropped the space-jazz, crunk-flavored and New Wave savvy Instrumentals, Volume 1. And this track here has a funny story, seems like he was trying…

Pay Dirt Yellow press: No one likes it when corruption, theft, and greed are associated with a government agency, but this article is pure sensationalism and really lacks merit (“Disorderly Conduct,” Tim Elfrink, March 25). It’s unfair to criticize an entire organization, or an entire profession, over the actions of…

Golden gals gone nude at the World Erotic Art Museum