Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg — a lot of name for a lot of guy. Born into German aristocracy in 1907, he was a soldier by the age of 19 — and, by most accounts, a warrior with the soul of a poet (he was especially smitten with…
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is certainly curious — a modest F. Scott Fitzgerald story about a man born in the twilight of life and gradually regressing toward dawn that has been adapted into a two-ton, Oscar-season white elephant. Directed by David Fincher from a screenplay by Eric Roth,…
What a treat it is to see one of our professional theater companies take on an old-fashioned 1950s mindfuck like The Chairs. Eugene Ionesco is the kind of discomfiting relic that nobody wants to touch, and other than a local college’s very fine 2007 production of The Balcony by fellow…
If you’ve ever been on Sistrunk Boulevard (AKA NW Sixth Street) just west of where it meets Andrews Avenue, you’ve probably seen the art of Charles Mills, in the form of a sprawling mural on the south side of the street. That’s Mills’ Sistrunk Entryway and Historical Wall, dedicated in…
What do Ted Bundy, Slick Willie, and Dubya have in common? They were all born the same year. 1946 also delivered one of our few remaining hardcore saloons. Fox’s Lounge is home to the city’s best martinis and a jukebox that rocks this town. Inside, you can imagine Johnny Wadd…
Bars and clubs come and go in Miami Beach, and then there’s Mac’s Club Deuce. Opened in 1926 as a restaurant and nightclub, it remains an oasis of permanence, affordability, and realism in an overpriced tourist trap that often feels like a mirage. On a Friday or Saturday night, if…
India’s Akbar the Great, ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1605, is renowned for his contributions to art, science, and building technologies. No surprise that his reign saw the creation of a smoking implement that marries all three. According to Wikipedia, the physician invented the hookah as an…
Back in the early 1980s, a prominent professor I knew was accused of sexually harassing a colleague. This man was a compulsive flirt who couldn’t get within feet of a woman without coming on to her, so it wasn’t altogether a surprise. But long before an internal inquiry cleared him…
Two years ago nearly to the day, Will Smith and Italian director Gabriele Muccino released The Pursuit of Happyness, one of the most underrated of recent Hollywood movies. It starred Smith as a single father navigating a hand-to-mouth existence on the streets of San Francisco. Watching Smith and Muccino’s latest…
I do not like Mart Crowley anymore. Crowley is the old queen who rocketed to worldwide fame and acclaim with the 1968 play The Boys in the Band — and who spent the next 40 years trying to remain, and occasionally succeeding at remaining, relevant. According to Sol’s director, Robert…
Milton Avery: The Kaufman Collection,” now at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, is so modest that it’s best approached with minimal expectations, or maybe even no expectations at all. There are only 21 pieces in the exhibition, and three of them are greeting cards from Avery to the Kaufmans,…
They say it’s the most wonderful time of the year. What they don’t tell you is that it’s because of Alligator Alley’s Christmas Eve party. This year there will be all kinds of getting down as Felix and Julius Pastorius (sons of legendary jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius) and Colin James…
The joint is tucked away on SoBe’s 17th Street, past the busboys’ cigarette spot and a strangely ubiquitous heap of the Delano’s daytime trash. Admission is an “I belong” smile to the stone-faced security guard. On Tuesday nights, a stroll down the steps, through the glass doors, and along a…
You know shit is wicked rough when luxe retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom are offering deep discounts, and piles of Coach purses and Prada wallets are popping up at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Ross. Recession time, and the living ain’t easy for many a retailer. If the big…
Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade has been playing like a man possessed. D-Wade is averaging 29.5 points per game — tops in the NBA — and is among the league leaders in steals, with 2.3 per game. While the Heat has been floundering to stay within three or four above…
Miami’s favorite Latin – rock – cumbia – whatever mash-up band, Locos Por Juana, has finally got its due from the awards gods. The Locos have finally scored their first Grammy nomination, in the category of Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album, for La Verdad. Note that this is in…
Dealing with your family’s incessant “suggestions” for your love life over the holidays can be pretty difficult. You ask her to pass the mashed potatoes, a well-meaning mother asks when you’ll give her grandchildren, bubalah. You look for reprieve on Facebook, but all you find is an unending stream of…
You have to wonder what thoughts crossed the policeman’s mind who wandered into Radio-Active Records one recent night. Unable to be contained in the rear, sound-proof performance space, jazz crazyman Kenny Millions was twitching his way to the front entrance, lead by a passion that demanded he unleash every lick…
Three, two, or even one year ago there wouldn’t have been anything notable about getting a decent lunch for $3.99. The fact that you could spend your lunch hour at scenic Fort Lauderdale Riverfront, grubbing on a blackened tilapia wrap at the Palm Grill while swilling $9 vodka martinis would…
Injuries are never a good thing for a hockey team. For the Panthers though, all it took was a few injuries to some forwards and a host of rookies marching through the locker room to generate some serious momentum. Key players like Jay Bouwmeester and Stephen Weiss are playing near…
To go, or not to go—that is the question. And the answer, fair reader, is … get your ass up and experience The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)! Okay, so maybe you hated reading the Old Willie’s plays in school, but that’s only because your teacher wasn’t as entertaining…
Tarot may have been dealt a bad hand, typically characterized as a cheap gypsy carnival ploy. While certainly used for divination, tarot has also been used as a meditation tool, sometimes linked with the Kabala. Tarot’s strongest proponent might be Carl Jung: along with dream interpretation, he used the tarot’s…
