Miami News Blog

Leading up to Miami Book Fair International, Riptide 2.0 will be publishing profiles of visiting authors. Check back often as two to three will going up per day until Sunday, November 15.

Marie Ponsot is the best poet you've never heard of.

Photo by Michael Lionstar

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Her first book, True Minds, was published in 1957 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti's City Lights Pocket Poets Series, but it took until 1981 and some nudging by her friend and fellow poet Marilyn Hacker to put out her second volume, Admit Impediment. Why? Because while her male contemporaries were jockeying for awards and professorships, Ponsot, 88, was rasing seven children, sixteen grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren, all the while writing poems for the simple reason that she loved doing it.

"When things were very intense, I had a rule that I had to write for at least ten minutes before bed every night," she says. "Sometimes I'd be dead asleep at the end of the ten minutes, but sometimes I'd get caught up [in the poem]." She's awake now, and the world has awoken to her finely-crafted verse.

Voices United recording at the Hit Factory

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Not many records released this year will have as much good karma on their side as Lost & Found, the new album by Miami nonprofit Voices United.

Voices United was founded in 1989 by then 17-year-old director Katie Christie. It brings together 150 local children a year together to write and perform a vocal and theatrical production. This summer, 25 of those students -- ranging in age from 12 to 18 -- got together with sound engineer Carlos "El Loco" Bedoya at Aaron Fishbein's studio, The Franchise, to record a four-song EP that's being released tonight during a fundraiser at Las Tias in Wynwood (2834 N Miami Ave).

Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. event are $40-75 (remember, it's going to the kids), which gets you free wine and bubbly, music from Voices United alum DJ Hot Pants, a special appearance by NBC-6 anchor Willard Shepard, and a silent auction that includes a week-long trip to the Bahamas. The album costs $6. Buy two!

​In a boon for intellectual life in Miami, the University of Miami unveils its brand-new Center for the Humanities--the first of its kind in South Florida--this evening at 6 p.m. in the Storer Auditorium in the School of Business Administration (5250 University Drive, Coral Gables).

What is a Center for the Humanities? According to Director Mihoko Suzuki it's a way to bring the public--and other local universities--into a larger discussion about issues that center around art, interpretative social science, pedagogy, and literature. Technically speaking, it's an non-degree-giving entity within a university that sponsors lectures, panels, and other educational events that aren't limited by departmental or even organizational constraints. First founded in the United States a little over 50 years ago, Centers for the Humanities allow universities to host visiting scholars and open their doors to non-affiliated individuals.

"The events are open to everyone," Suzuki says. "The Center will encourage exchanges between us and FIU, FAU, etc. It's been a long time coming."

Tonight's lecture is a great example. The Center is hosting Marjorie Garber, who is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of English and of Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard University. She'll be presenting a talk on "Shakespeare, the Humanities, and Modern Culture"; in other words, how the works of Shakespeare continue to inform modern life and literature. The free lecture is followed by a cocktail reception. (To RSVP, call 305-284-1580.)

Right now, the Center's offices in 123 Ashe are being re-modeled, but the new center hopes to occupy them by the end of the calendar year. And in the future, Dr. Suzuki is hoping to build a free-standing Center, similar to the Hall Center at Kansas University.

"But right now, we just want people to learn that we're doing these events and to know that they should come," she says.

Courtesy of The Beach Chronicles

​Miami gets animated in a new graphic-animated novel from creators Gianfranco Bianchi and Kevin Sharpley. The duo teamed up to create a sexy, gritty action-thriller set against the backdrop of South Beach.

Titled The Beach Chronicles, the series is the antithesis to the rampant depictions of Miami culture as being only about coke-laced, club-hopping yuppies with bad tans, and instead brings dark, edgy, fashion-forward allure to every smartly written plot. Each episode showcases upcoming local designers and artists, including everyone from KRELwear designer Karelle Levy to Mr. Clucky.

Jimmy Jean Louis, actor from NBC's Heroes, lends his voice to Jacques Jean Jille, a laid-back, fashion-forward Haitian scenester who is a reoccurring character on the show.

Glynn Jackson brings his legendary hair shows to the 3-0-5 this Sunday.

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• Don't call it a comeback, and rapper JT Money isn't rising from the dead, but his last hit, "Who Dat," was in 1999, and he's back for Halloween weekend -- so you can call it a resurrection.
• Jazz chanteuse Nicole Henry has returned from Russia (with love) and will be performing soulful standards at MOCA.
• If you think haunted houses are scary, try being locked in an interrogation room with cops searching for an unruly child murderer. Live it at Ground Up and Rising's version of The Pillowman.
• See Saw. The latest installment in the horror film series that will inspire you to give more "ew" than "ahhh" will premiere at Club Mansion.

Click here for our big ol' list of Halloween parties, family events, and other scarily fun shit. And here for Sunday's hangover action.

With all the bad news usually posted on Riptide, this is a nice change of pace. Above is a video local art/graphic design/animation duo Friends With You, consisting of Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, made for Nick Jr., a cable channel popular with the pre-school set. But you don't have to be 4 to enjoy the whimsical nature of the promo. Titled "Move to the Music," the animation is used to introduce the channel block of the music video programming--sort of like MTV, but with far less Real World/Road Rules challenges and Speidi. Enjoy!

​There's something very old-world Italy about going to catch a flick at the Miami Beach Cinematheque. Not only because of the inevitable catcalling, but also because of the ambiance and seclusion of the cobblestone street that lend a quaintness to the experience, which ends with you tucking in for a boutique moviegoing evening.

Great news for members and sporadic visitors alike, by the summer of 2010, the Cinematheque is packing up and moving to its new, bigger location on the bottom floor of the historic City Hall at 1130 Washington Avenue. More parking, daytime screenings, a larger cinema room with stadium seating and electrifying fiber optic 5.1 dolby surround sound will be added to the repertoire, but owner/founder Dana Keith assured us that those will be the only similarities to your local megaplex. "Our byline will remain 'Ordinary Movies? Never!' You won't be seeing Transformers at the new MBC," he promised. "It will still be the oasis of film culture on the beach as always, but an expanded, more accessible one at that. South Beach is finally ready for us, so we are happy to provide. There are many exciting things developing, but MBC will always be the alternative to typical commercial cinema. That remains the whole point. And our Cleopatra sofa that we got for $20 is going with us."

Change is good, people, and with the addition of a café, museum, and full photographic arts gallery space, you'll be glad that the MBC gave you an excuse to go back to Washington Avenue. To donate to the cause, call 305-67-FILMS or email info@mbcinema.com.

You know how Michael Benjamin Bay got his start? He made a short film about a helicopter flying into the sunset:

Which he parlayed into multi-million dollar box office smashes. This is how it works, fledgling film directors. You make a kick-ass short. People take notice.

That's why you should enter the Miami International Film Festival's first annual Online Shorts Competition, presented in conjunction with Diesel. (The jeans company, not Vin.)

From now until midnight on January 16, 2010, submit a film that's shorter than ten minutes in Quicktime or MPEG-4 format to the contest website. Finalists will have their films shown at the Miami International Film Festival in March and a lucky one or two will win Jury and Audience awards. Because the fest is in Miami, and Michael Bay is Miami (scientific studies have shown that destroying one, destroys the other), there's always a chance that the Man Himself will be in the audience, see your film, invite you back to his house, finance your feature debut, and hook you up with Megan Fox.

But only if your film is as awesome as...

Photo by Paul Kolnik

"You and me are meant to be." Kenita R. Miller and LaToya London as Celie and Nettie.

​As the curtain rose on  The Color Purple's long-awaited Miami run, a young woman on stage suffered labor pains as a joyous church congregation sang of the glories of the Lord. Then the gossiping church ladies and bombastic preacher disappeared as Celie, the play's protagonist surrendered her newborn son to her rapist father.

These opening scenes were the production's attempt to balance the weight of Celie's struggle as a poor black girl in rural Georgia with the celebration and humor audiences expect from musicals. At the Arsht until November 1, the production generally succeeds despite flawed performances and pacing. The vocals and music, based on the Alice Walker's 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name and produced by Oprah Winfrey, were excellent, with performers belting out their joy and sorrow in a way that felt right for the characters.

Gus Garcia-Roberts

​The world's largest rubber band ball stands six feet seven inches tall and has a circumference of 25 feet. It took five years for Joel Waul of Lauderhill to create, weighs more than 9,400 pounds, and contains approximately 720,000 rubber bands. The outer layers consist of multicolored industrial-size bands that weigh several pounds each.

Thanks to the round-the-clock coverage that the mainstream media gave Michael Jackson's death and its aftermath, by now you've heard how he died and how he lived. All that was left was to see if the undisputed King of Pop still had what it took to live up to that title. Feted as a tribute to his life and career, This is It is a montage of rehearsal tape shot during MJ's preparations for his sold-out concert at London's O2 Arena. Using footage from April to June 2009, just days before his untimely death, the documentary was a raw portrayal of Jackson that had never been seen.

Full disclosure: I am and always have been a tremendous fan of his music, his story, and the character that Michael Jackson was. I grew up on his music, living only the first year of my life without his music -- and only because he, the consummate perfectionist, needed a little extra time on Thriller. The guy people labeled a weirdo and a freak was a major force in my life, lending the soundtrack to my personal and professinal triumphs and being a constant source of happy feelings that coincided with my childhood. I grew up with him in my ear, and his death devastated me, as did the other tragedies that befell him. I wept when he was acquitted on child molestation charges, my heart hurt when Martin Bashir went all judo-journalist on him, and I get chills every time I hear his voice and watch him dance. Accepting his flaws, his gifts, and whatever else he offered me from afar, I am a superfan and always will be.

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• The Fort Lauderdale Film Festival kicks off today with Black Dynamite, a new take on the always-entertaining blaxploitation genre. It's gonna git you sucka!
• Brendan O'Hara and Komakozie of The Big Bounce are landing at Moonchine tonight for a one-off show that promises set after set of their uniquely dope music.
• The Infinite Bits Convention is giving you a reason to depart from your couch and join like-minded gameheads for hours and hours of thumb-controlled fun. XBox, Wii, PS3, oh my!
• Feeling generous? The Miami Science Museum's Young Patrons are putting on an event where your money will go to charity and cocktails. Score!
• And for more "Score," Swingfest 2009 starts today. That is all.

Click here for Saturday and here for Sunday's haps.

Photo by Jan Cobb

John Hodgman

​Minor television personality and big-time genius John Hodgeman is an expert on things that don't matter: Presidents who have hooks for hands. The perfect name for a Hobo. Monsters hunters.

He'll be in town for the Miami Book Fair International (November 8-15)and is one of those authors who could fly under the radar. (But shouldn't.) His new book, More Information Than You Require, reads like a gift sent from the God of attention deficit disorders. It's a trivia book full of fake facts, footnotes, and lists.  Think McSweeny's deadpan humor. "It's grab-bag nature wasn't a choice; more of a reflection of my adult brain," Hodgman explains, "And my hatred of long paragraphs or even complete sentences."

Did we mention that it's hilarious? Or that Hodgman is somehow able to make the subject, "Speaking of Parasites" funny? Perhaps best known as "That guy in the Mac commercials," Hodgeman began as a freelance writer in New York City. He then became a literary agent and humor editor for New York Times Magazine. Eventually, he says, he was able "to fool someone into thinking a collection of my insane obsessions might be worth publishing."

Photo by Joe Lederer, courtesy of ImageMovers Digital, LLC

Jack Rapke (L) on the set with Director Robert Zemeckis

​When he's not cheering on the Dolphins, Miami-native Jack Rapke is calling the shots at ImageMovers Digital, the film studio he founded in 1998 with Robert Zemeckis and Steve Starkey. The trio's first film was the wildly successful Cast Away (2000), and since then, they've been at the forefront of performance capture technology, first used in their 2004 film The Polar Express. Born in New York, Rapke moved to Miami when he was seven and attended South Beach Elementary and the University School at Nova Southeastern before moving on to film school at NYU. The Culture Blog caught up with Rapke as he was in Miami promoting ImageMovers Digital's newest project, the Disney holiday film A Christmas Carol.

New Times: Hello, Mr. Rapke. Thanks for taking time with us.

Rapke: No problem. Go Dolphins!

NT: You saw the Jets game?

R: I watched the game in L.A. When Ronnie ran it in, I was running around my house like a ten year old.

NT: So you're still a Miami guy then?

R: I left to seek my destiny, but my heart never left. I've always called Miami home, and I've always come back. I have an apartment in North Miami, and I'm a lifelong Dolphins fan. I went to the very first game [A 23-14 loss to the Oakland Raiders on September 2, 1966 - Ed.] and worked at the Orange Bowl growing up, selling Coca-Cola at Dolphins and Hurricanes games.

Courtesy of NeckFace/Norman Lendzion

​When we recently caught up with NeckFace, the elusive graffiti goblin was busy conspiring with the crew helping him create his nightmarish opus at O.H.W.O.W., on the corner of NW 32nd Street and Seventh Ave.

The 25-year-old West Coast street artist has been in town since August preparing for "Devil's Disciple," his premiere solo Miami show.

NeckFace, whose work has appeared in magazines and galleries since he was a teen, and is also emblazoned across skateboards, sneakers, and T-shirts from Los Angeles to New York, London, and Tokyo, has already created a local ruckus even though his creepy exhibit won't open until Halloween night.

His huge street murals and deftly executed drawings evoke all manner of references ranging from Big Daddy Ed Roth, the creator of the Rat Fink character, to a doodle-addled Hieronymus Bosch or a young Tim Burton and even the hellfire-and-brimstone images often found in the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages.

To generate buzz for his sprawling 10,000-square-foot exhibit, he created a dummy in the gallery window last month, rigging it to look like a bloody murder victim and covering its noggin with his own hair to make it appear real. The stunt immediately landed NeckFace's handiwork on the local news.

​If you're young and male and highly educated, you've inevitably viewed the sea as a potential testing ground, an antidote of sorts to the education you didn't receive. And most likely, you chickened out, or we'd have read about it, because nearly every piece of literature about an intellectual picking up an oar has been a tremendous success: Richard Henry Dana, Jr.'s Two Years Before the Mast, Melville's Typee, Joshua Slocum's Sailing Alone Around the World, Robert Stone's Outerbridge Reach, and so on and so forth.

Miami-born and -bred artist Justin H. Long's new solo show at Twenty Twenty Projects, "From Sea to Shining Sea," doesn't attack this theme head-on; rather, it fleshes out the imagination and simultaneously reclaims the sea for the romantics. Because, let's face it, living in Miami makes the sea either a political construct (Haitian and Cuban illegal immigration) or a banal symbol of bourgeois excess (flotillas of drunk lawyers). Is it an antiquated notion to sit on the beach and dream of sailing to foreign lands? If I have Facebook friends in Chile, does that preclude the desire to sail around Cape Horn? If I've seen it done on the Discovery Channel? If I own every season of Deadliest Catch?

Before.

​South Florida's elite graffiti crew MSG might have lost one of its most prolific taggers, as reported here last week, but it looks like the remaining artistes are picking up the slack. And while Riptide, for legal reasons, remains firmly against vandalizing other people's property, this still wins our heart as the best defacement we've seen in a long time. As touted on his crew's own website, MSGCartel.com, local graffiti legend Crome recently performed a big-schnoz customization of Miami's creepiest landmark: the Don Bailey Carpets advertisement along I-95 displaying the business's pale namesake in a nude recline.

MSGCartel.com

After.

We called the carpet king Bailey himself for his take on the graffiti -- but first, for our own edification, some sort of explanation of the advertisement that's put us off our croissant on many a morning commute.

Fans of obscure beefcake know his nude pose was once topical: When he first had it painted 38 years ago, Bailey was inspired by Burt Reynolds' April 1972 Cosmopolitan spread in which the Smokey and the Bandit star forever tainted a bearskin rug. At that time, Bailey says, he had just recently quit a janitorial job to invest $5,000 in savings into his start-up carpet business in a warehouse on the then-desolate block of 8300 Biscayne Boulevard. "I saw how Reynolds got so much publicity when he was the first man to ever pose nude in a major magazine," recalls the old-school entrepreneur. "I immediately told an artist to paint me a 20 [foot]-by-40 [foot] mural of me in the same pose. Business was slow, with maybe two women a day coming in to look at carpet. The day after the mural went up, we started getting 15 to 25 people a day."

Photo via NefariousGirl.com

Shelley Novak

South Beach's legendary queen of drag, Shelley Novak, is normally full of sassy one-liners and puns about penis size. But she has a straight face when explaining, "It was like Friday the 13th. He came running up my stairs, chasing after me with wild, crazy eyes."

She's reliving the moment before she called police to report an alleged assault last week. Her contention: A gay man named Zachary Cerre hit her face and smashed his fist though the window of her apartment on West Avenue.

Cerre has not been charged with a crime. He swears the man in a wig is making it all up. "She's a washed-up old queen who just wants attention," he says. "Everything she told cops is a lie."

In the late '90s, Shelley Novak -- whose real name is Tommy Strangie -- was a South Beach celebrity. She shared VIP rooms with Madonna and once threw up on Ricky Martin's shoes. Most of that boozy glamour came to a halt after Gianni Versace was shot dead outside his Ocean Drive mansion in 1997.

​Opa-locka is unique. There's outlandish Arabian-style architecture. Gunfights take place in the open. And in 2007, city commissioners passed a law prohibiting -- and Riptide is not making this up -- saggy pants.

Now a couple of South Florida entrepreneurs have patented a pants design aimed at skirting the measure, which prohibits jeans worn so low that underwear becomes outerwear.

Tyrone Henry, of Carol City, and Fermin Esson, of Loxahatchee, were awarded a patent last week for  "reversible waist wear." This novel piece of clothing can either be worn like conventional pants or reversed to show an ample slice of faux underwear.

"We just think it's unfair that somebody should get [busted] because of the style of your jeans," Henry said, noting the city of Riviera Beach in Palm Beach County passed a similar measure. "What's next? You're going to ticket a girl for showing her stomach."

Photo via WikiCommons

Jaeger Jaeger Baby

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• Comedian DeRay Davis is at the Miami Improv til Sunday, and he's been called the next king of urban comedy so just like you'll be forced to fulfill the club's two drink minimum, you'll be LYAO'ing too.
• Of course Rock Fashion and Funkshion Weeks are still rolling, rolling, rolling.
• Singer/songwriter/producer/bad mothafucka Gordon Chambers is putting his Grammy-winning voice to use at monthly soul explosion, Acoustic Flow.
• OOOOHHH!!! And the Casanova Freestyle Reunion featuring VANILLA ICE!! Other cool people too like the Sugarhill Gang (a hip hop a hibbid to the hibbid), Debbie Deb, and Big Daddy Kane, but if you're still reading you're probably only going for the Ice Man anyway.
• Start working out that muscle in your head, bro. Basel's coming. You've let it hibernate so now get it warmed up at Hope Blossoms: An Art Happening. A bunch of artists from across the country are coming, different mediums, it'll be good. You'll cover a lot of ground at once.
• Click here for Saturday's plans.
• And here for Sunday's.

Courtesy of Valentino: The Last Emperor

Valentino inspects a crimson masterpiece.

​Fashion weeks are like assholes -- nearly every city has them. And while the offerings from New York, Paris, and Milan are hands down the most influential, it's hard to ignore our Funkshion and Rock Fashion when they are capable of resurrecting Pam Anderson's iconic Baywatch suit and showing Dennis Rodman all dolled up and pretty in pink (again).

The shows continue through Sunday, but in case your fashion interests sway more toward the silver screen than the runway, the Miami Beach Cinematheque and Funkshion have teamed up to show a style-centric collection of films called "Fashion on Film" today till Sunday evening. Tonight at 7 is Lagerfeld Confidential, an exclusive peek into the life of head designer and creative director of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld. The German-born designer's resumé is a veritable who's who in high fashion -- from Balmain to Chloé, and currently Chanel, Fendi furs, and an eponymous line. This silver fox who is perpetually laced in black and white is as infamous for being fiercely private as he is for dropping witty pearls of acerbic wit and wisdom. For this 2007 documentary, director Rodolphe Marconi was granted unprecedented access into Lagerfeld's tight-knit circle, resulting in the type of intimacy one desires to see from a man whose creative juices are spilled so freely on the runway but rarely in real life.

Tigertail Productions

Cover by Susan Lee-Chun

​Edited by local poets Campbell McGrath, Denise Duhamel, and Michael Hettich. Art by Miami's own Susan Lee-Chun. Poetry by FIU alums Jill Allen and Hugo Rodriguez, plus Yayha Frederickson. What's not to like?

It's the seventh version of Tigertail: A South Florida Poetry Annual, and the debut and reading is tonight at Books & Books (265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables) beginning at 7:30 p.m.

It only comes out once a year, so miss it tonight and you'll have to wait a long time for another one.

See you there, Literary South Florida.

Bill Cooke

Trisha Posner (left), Irene Marie, and Tara Solomon

​Just last week, investigative journalist Gerald Posner complained to the New York Post that no one in town would throw a party for the release of his new book detailing the cocaine-fueled history of Miami Beach, Miami Babylon. Not even Tara Solomon, who would throw a party for anything.

Well, there might not have been an open bar and a guest list, but boldface names showed up for Posner's reading and book signing last night at Design Within Reach on Lincoln Road. Bill Cooke, camera in hand, snapped pics of Tara Solomon, Irene Marie, and former Miami Beach Mayor Alex Daoud. Current Mayor Matti Bower, Carlos Betancourt, and designer Barbara Hulanicki were also reportedly in attendance.

While those folks were content to hear Posner tell tales of a time when they were all relevant, noticeably absent was Ingrid Casares. She took to Twitter today to declare, "gerald posners book.. is complete fiction.. maybe all those facelifts clouded his memory.. pathetic."

Click here view the full slide show from the event.

Natalie O'Neill

Atomik

​Atomik, a hot-tempered graffiti bomber, shakes a can of yellow spray paint and nods toward a pair of toothless Haitian men. "These guys won't mind if I tag their dumpster," he says and then scribbles his moniker onto the rust-blasted box. In an alley near NW 71st Street, the onlookers fold their arms and watch.

The stocky Kendall-bred graphic designer -- whom Riptide agreed not to name because, well, we like outlaws -- has been arrested five times for tagging rooftops, trains, and buildings. He's been chased by police dogs and hunted by helicopters. But his most recent beef isn't with the cops.

Atomik is the Kanye West of the Miami graffiti world: crazy talented, but with a reputation for pissing on other artists. After six years at the top of the well-known graffiti crew MSG -- or Miami Style Gods -- he's leaving. The reason: He and the founder, Crome, had a blowout over how to handle a turf war.

Crook, the cofounder, says, "It's like... your parents splitting up."

 

​For some (like us), it's just another Friday, but for you lucky guys and dolls, it's the beginning of a three-day weekend, and that means an extra day of debauchery. Or catching up on The Young and the Restless, whichever is more your style.

Miami Carnival jumps off today, so the parties, flag-waving, and country-repping will be at a maximum from downtown Miami to SoBe. The pierced and the painted will be at the Visionary Expo -- a mishmash of tattoos, art, and music -- through Sunday, but showing up today means it's less likely a hungover brute will ink your bod. Out at the Doral Resort, the Puma Open has already teed off, but it's not too late to catch dinner and Vegas-style gaming at 7 p.m. with today's players.

Of course, second Saturdays are for, uh, Second Saturdays. This month is extra-extra-special because New Times will put on a show of some our most amazing covers from the past 22 years. Be at the Miami Art Space and see the collection -- compiled, created, and curated by our incredible design team. Oh, and there'll be an open bar. Why? Because we love you.

Click here for more Saturday happenings and here for Sunday's.

via Diaspora Vibe Gallery

Aimee Lee

​Ah, autumn. There's no indication of it yet in the weather, but 'tis the season to be viewing new art. Here's what we'll be making a priority at the Second Saturday Art Walk in Wynwood and at Art + Design Night in the Design District.

"The Machine in the Ghost" by Paul Pfeiffer, 7-10 p.m.
World Class Boxing, 170 NW 23rd St.
Check out our write-up by Carlos Suarez de Jesus, but if it's at W.C.B., you know it's going to be good. Paul Pfeiffer's videos are essential viewing.

"Everyday Travails" by Adler Guerrier, 7-10 p.m.
David Castillo, 2234 NW 2nd Ave.
One of a select few hometown artists to be featured in the Whitney Bienniel, Guerrier never disappoints.

"Fieldwork" by Richard Höglund, 7-10 p.m.
Gallery Diet, 174 NW 23rd St.
Amazingly intricate large- and medium-scale drawings, some of which are based on mapping Spinoza's Ethics.

"Cutting Edge Framing", 6-9 p.m.
Cutting Edge Framing, 11 NE 39th St.
We're really looking forward to this D.I.Y. exhibition from some of our favorite locals. (See our post from Wednesday). Also, don't miss the afterparty at Terri and Donna's.

"Native Intelligence" by Aimee Lee
Diaspora Vibe, 3938 North Miami Ave.
The opening for this show was actually Thursday, but most people probably waited until Art + Design Night anyway. This show feature's large-scale installations that are impressive upon first viewing but also reward extended staring.

"New Work" by Jenny Brillhart; "Recorded Eyesight" by John Sanchez, and "Venting" by Richard Heden, 7-10 p.m.
Dorsch Gallery, 151 NW 24th St
All three artists are worth checking out, but we're particularly excited by Brillhart, a recent transplant to the Miami scene.

Miami-Dade Corrections

​As you read this, Miami-Dade cops are making another arrest in relation to the rampant horse killings that have made headlines for the last year. Agriculture Crimes detective Mario Fernandez, a lead investigator of the phenomenon, tells Riptide that the squirrelly fellow on the right, 33-year old Eddy Lucio Guerra, sold horse meat to an undercover detective, which is never a good move. He'll be the fifth suspect arrested for killing horses for meat in the last three weeks.

The cops were originally targeting his dad, 53-year old Eddy Gustavo Guerra, who already has an animal cruelty conviction on his record. But Pops told an undercover cop that "selling horse is too hot right now," says Det. Fernandez. After the detective had left, though, Eddy, Jr. called and said that if his dad wouldn't make the sale, he would- unwittingly taking a jail-time bullet for his old man.

An undercover cop made two buys from South Miami's Eddy Lucio Guerra, says Fernandez, buying 10 and then 20 pounds of horse meat from him for 5 dollars a pound. The detective believes that Guerra bought the doomed horse at auction, but doesn't rule out that the meat-peddler had stolen animals to kill in the past. "These guys are opportunists," Fernandez explains. "They might buy horses at auction one day, but if they see a chance to steal a horse for meat without getting caught, they'll do that too."

Guerra, who will be charged with selling horse meat for human consumption and violating his probation, already has three felony convictions on his record, for credit card forgery, burglary, and grand theft. Cops are arresting him as he meets with his probation officer. 

By the way, if some reality TV producer isn't already working on Miami-Dade Agriculture Crimes Unit: The Horse Force, we're calling dibs now.  

​Remember that Urbania Fine Art Frames store at 11 NE 39th St. in the Design District? Probably not, but you will soon. In a bit of clever re-appropriation, a group of Miami artists has taken over the vacated space and turned it into a venue for an ad hoc show opening this Saturday. Called "Cutting Edge Framing," the exhibit takes on the supposedly minor tasks associated with mounting and exhibiting art work: hanging, framing, pedestaling, etc., using the space's former identity as a critical subtext for the work.

The curators are Lola Sinreich and Win McCarthy, and the list of participating artists includes folks you know and love: Harry Crofton, Jim Drain, Richard Haden, Charles Harlan, Zak Kitnik, Erik Lindman, Samara Golden, Jamie Isenstein, Win McCarthy, Martin Oppel, Anna Rosen, Carson Salter, Paul Salveson, Sydney Schrader, John Seal, Robert Snowden, Ryan Trecartin, Joe Verril, and Addison Walz, as well as a featured performance by Frankie America.

We also recommend checking out the afterparty at that kick-ass exhibition space-slash-dating service, Terri and Donna's (153 NW 36th St., Miami).

"Cutting Edge Framing," 11 NE 39th St., Saturday, October 10, 2009, 6-9 p.m.

We'll do an extensive Second Saturday roundup this Friday, so stay tuned.

The Dalai Lama's Shoes, 2005, Kirlian photograph, 40 x 40 inches.

​When "The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama" opens this Friday night at the Frost Art Museum, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate won't be in town for a swig of the complimentary Chablis.

"We tried to get him to come for the exhibit, but he wasn't able to," says Jessica Delgado, the museum's communications and marketing manager. "But we do have his shoes on display," she laughs.

Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury used a process called Kirlian photography to "capture the energy field" emanating from the spiritual leader's kicks on view at the Frost.

The upcoming exhibit was organized by the Committee of 100 for Tibet and the Dalai Lama Foundation to explore art as a medium for inspiring visitors to pursue peace in their individual lives and in their communities. More than 40 works by artists ranging from blue-chip talent such as Chuck Close, Laurie Anderson, Bill Viola, Jenny Holzer, Anish Kapoor, and Marina Abramovic to actor Richard Gere have been corralled for the show.

But Gere, a practicing Buddhist and an active supporter of the Dalai Lama, must be swallowing his tongue in the wake of the news coming from the White House today.