Women Sustaining the Earth

November 19, 2009

Dr. Shirley Freeman & Erika



Women Sustaining the Earth

The Ragbirds

Our friend Erika Biddle is a shining example of what makes Key West such a wonderful community. Thinking of a way to bring money and attention to the Key West Community Gardens, Erika followed the example she saw in the British film “Calendar Girls”. In the film, a group of middle-aged women decide to pose nude to raise funds for a local hospital, and Erika reasoned that many of her friends could be convinced, perhaps after a few glasses of wine to doff their clothing for a cause.

Erika

Rosi & Sheel

The result is the newly released Women Sustaining the Earth which features Erika and fourteen of her (and our) friends who have tastefully posed in the buff. To celebrate the release of the calendar, former Monroe County Commissioner and calendar model, Shirley Freeman hosted a wonderful party at her home.

Capt. Victoria

Coco, Shirley & Carol

Judging by the huge crowd who gathered at the party, the calendar is a big success. The party turned out as spectacularly as the calendar itself. Locals turned out in droves to support the cause and to get a peek at local calendar girls including Erika & Shirley as well as, Roberta DePiero, Kate Miano, Lucy Carlton, Rosi Ware, Alicia Metzler, Angela Byarlay, Charlie Wilson, Coco Ono, Zaira Sepulveda, Carolann Sharkey, Capt. Victoria Impallomeni, Amy Culver and Katharina Arnhold. All the photos were done by local photographers Lynne Bentley-Kemp, Carol Tedesco, Richard Watherwax and Sheel.

Kim, Carol, Margit & Kathy

The money raised will go to the wonderful community garden and I have a feeling that there will be no shortage of women volunteering to participate next year. Congrats to Erika and thanks to all who participated.







Kathy headed off this week to attend an educational conference in Washington DC and being home alone, I decided to spend a night out on the town enjoying some music. I started at the packed Hog’s Breath Saloon where the Massacoustics were beginning their week –long series of gigs. It was a packed house and a lot of fun, but I soon headed over to the Pier at the Ocean Key House to see the latest band in the Sunset Pier concert series, The Ragbirds from Ann Arbor, Michigan.



Rob & Carla





It was an amazingly good performance and I am so glad that I made time to check them out. They play a mix of folk-rock with some jam band thrown in for good measure. They had a decent crowd considering this is their first visit to Key West. They were really well-received as well and the crowd was dancing on the pier. Another cool thing is that they travel to all the gigs in a van powered by vegetable oil. It was a great night with a great band- one that is well worth checking out. I have posted a handy link below.

The Ragbirds

The Ragbirds Website

Miami Book Fair Day 2

November 16, 2009

Ralph Nader



Miami Book Fair Day 2



The long day & night of the first day of the Book Fair didn’t drain me of my enthusiasm for the second day of the fair and I was up bright and early and headed over to the Wolfson campus of Miami Dade College to spend another great day. The weather was even more perfect, if that is possible, one of the most pleasant and enjoyable Fall days that I have spent in some time.

The Lorax

Ralph Nader

The crowds were up early again as right out of the box was a presentation by Ralph Nader. Nader’s presentation was fair, not nearly the excitement that Al Gore delivered on the previous day and I made a decision to spend the rest of the day avoiding the masses at the bigger names and concentrating on some of the smaller venues, taking chances on unknown authors and experiencing a totally different kind of fair.

John Dufesne



I started off with a presentation by John Dufresne and Dan Choan who each read from their latest work. Next I headed over to catch Ann Louise Bardach and Gerald Posner. Posner was presenting on his recent book, “Miami Babylon” which traces the history of Miami Beach, but I also got the chance to chat with him about my favorite work of his, “Case Closed” in which he makes a compelling argument that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President Kennedy.





The next presentation featured Louise Gilkow speaking about the 40 year history of “Sesame Street” and Anita Silvey on her new book, “Everything I Needed to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book”. It was another great session; I especially enjoyed the video presentation on the history of Sesame Street. It is amazing how relevant much of what they did 40 years ago still is, and how well the new stuff holds up in comparison.

Taylor Branch

Robert Olen Butler

I also really found the session that I attended by two writers who have each released new books coving recent events in Afghanistan & Iraq. Doug Stanton, whose earlier book on the USS Indianapolis was great, has a book called, “Horse Soldiers” about the first troops sent into Afghanistan. David Finkel was especially compelling as he read from his book, “The Good Soldiers” which follows a single unit from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky through their first deployment into Iraq as part of the surge strategy.



Michael with Indy Car driver Milka Duno

That was the final author session that I attended, spending the remainder of the day checking out the massive street fair and enjoying some of the delicious food that was available. Exhausted, I headed home late in the afternoon already looking forward to returning next year, the book fair being one of my favorite annual events.

Melvin Van Peebles

Miami Book Fair

November 15, 2009

Al Gore

Iggy Pop

Miami Book Fair

The Spam Allstars

My first full day at the Miami Book Fair was nearly perfect. The weather was incredible, sunny and breezy, but no heat or humidity and the plethora of choices of the over 300 writers in attendance was staggering. Where else could you begin the day with Al Gore and end it with Iggy Pop?



Gwen Ifill

A full day is an understatement as I was there bright and early to see the opening presentation by former Vice-President Al Gore, who delivered a riveting, funny and sobering presentation on the topic he has now devoted his life to, global climate change. Maybe it is the passion with which he tackles the subject, but if he had been as engaging during his run for the Presidency as he was here, he would have won the election. It was a fascinating and fantastic presentation to a packed and enthusiastic crowd.

Al Gore

Gwen Ifill

That was only the beginning of what was a stellar line-up of author presentations that I attended. During the day I managed to squeeze in a wide range including Joyce Carol Oates, NPR’s voice of books Alan Cheuse, Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler, Political insiders Taylor Branch and Gwen Ifill and more.

Alan Cheuse

Joyce Carol Oates


Among my favorites of many were Wally Lamb, who read from his latest novella “Wishin’ and Hopin’ “, “Daily Show” contributors John Hodgman & Larry Wilmore, who delivered a hysterical presentation despite having never appeared together, and author of the bloody “Dexter” series on which the popular TV show is based, Jeff Lindsay.

Wally Lamb

Jeff Lindsay

I also got the chance to meet former Senator Bob Graham, which was pretty cool. But the real highlight for me was the awesome presentation by the incredible Iggy Pop. Why would Iggy be at the book fair you may ask? Well he collaborated with photographer Robert Matheu on a new illustrated history of the Stooges, the influential band that helped usher in the punk rock scene. It was a great presentation and exceedingly insightful. Iggy Pop has had one of those Rock n Roll careers that would be a cliché if it were not all true and much of it was documented in some incredible photos.

Bob Graham

Iggy with his dog Lucky

If the day wasn’t full enough, I had a long night as well. First heading over to attend the author’s party at a swanky Biscayne Avenue high-rise, I had scored the coveted author party invite for becoming a “Friend” of the fair. The party was quite swanky and there was free food and drinks, but I have to say that it was a pretty dull affair. Since most of the people there had no idea who the others were it was all sort of forced. I didn’t stay long, opting to head over to South Beach.

Jazid



There I had the pleasure of catching one of my favorite bands, The Spam All-Stars, playing on their home turf at the groovy little South Beach hangout, Jazid. The small club has a hip little lounge upstairs and the bands play in the tight downstairs area that soon became jammed with a dancing, partying mass of people who obviously love the band as much as I do. It made for a long, but wonderful day and night.

Fighting HIV with Sandy B

November 15, 2009

Sandy



Fighting HIV with Sandy B



While I was away in Miami attending the book fair, Kathy remained at home to help our friend Sandy Balbuena with her big fundraising effort to help those living with HIV/AIDS. Sandy is participating in the Smart Ride to raise money and awareness and to help her towards her personal goal of raising $3000, she organized a cool event, or more accurately a series of cool events, which were held at the Indigenous Park in Key West on Saturday afternoon.

Kathy



Sandy, at age 65, will be participating in the Smart Ride and will be riding her bicycle 165 miles from Miami to Key West early next year. To promote her effort and to raise funds, she organized a 2-man Bocce tournament and a Conch Chowder and Fall Dessert competition which Kathy helped her organize along with many of Sandy’s friends.

Howard



Shelley

Despite a few small snafus like there not being electricity for the bands to be able to play, the first time event went off well and people who attended tell me it was a great time. The food competition was especially fierce and there was tons of great food. The Fall desserts were I hear, especially tasty. They all had to feature pumpkin as the main ingredient and there was a variety of tasty pumpkin treats entered.





The Bocce tournament lasted late into the evening and many two person teams competed, all in all it was a great effort to help Sandy out. The smart ride has raised in total over 1,7 million dollars over the past 5 years and is growing each year as hundreds of people participate in the January ride. You can learn more by clicking the link that I have provided below.





All sorts of businesses donated items for a silent auction and a raffle which all contributed to the money raised, 100 % of which will be used directly for services for people locally living with HIV/AIDs, including AIDS Help.





Kathy had a great time helping out with the event and we both wish Sandy the best of luck with her efforts to raise money and to complete the smart ride.

The Smart Ride website

Good Times

November 14, 2009

Jim, Kathy & Michael

Miami

St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders

Good Times

One of the many great things about the tight-knit Key West community is that there always seems to be some sort of celebration taking place and this week was no different. Our friend Jim Smith, who just happens to be rebuilding our bathroom (which was gutted when our lateral lines failed the city’s test and the leak was found under the house) invited us to join with his wife Fiona and friends for his birthday celebration at Braza Lena, my favorite Brazilian steak house.





Fiona & Jim

A large crowd of Jim’s friends gathered for the meat-fest, as Braza Lena features the constant delivery of 16 different cuts of meat which are brought around by gauchos who cut slices based on your personal preference. It was a fun and festive evening and the food and libations were in good supply. The food is truly outstanding and the salad bar is easily the best in Key West. Jim seemed to enjoy himself and we wish him a happy birthday again!!

Graf & Eileen





The next day, I was on the road again, headed up to Miami to attend the 26th annual Miami Book Fair The fair, which is held on the campus of Miami Dade College in downtown Miami is the largest event of its kind in the nation. It features a huge street festival of book sellers, vendors and wacky non-profit and religious groups and over 300 of the best writers in America giving presentations over the weekend.
I made a brief stop at the street fair to give it a once over on Friday afternoon before heading over to check in at the hotel. The crowd on Friday afternoon was very manageable, not the mobs that can crowd the vendors over the weekend. I was able to pick up my passes and free tickets for the more popular author events in advance an be ready for the fair.





Having no plans for Friday evening, I decided it might be interesting to take the short drive up I-95 to Ft. Lauderdale where the number 1 ranked and defending National Champion high school football team, The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders were attempting to complete another perfect season in their game with Cypress Bay.



TD Raiders!

Considering how many great high school football teams there are in America, winning back to back national championships is an amazing feat. The crushing 35-0 pounding they gave Cypress Bay was televised nationally and played before a packed crowd. There was all sorts of talent on the field, many players who will be playing on Sundays in a few years. They honored two players named to the all-America team, Lamarcus Joyner and Phillip Dorsett who then went out and lead the rout. It was cool too because the St. Thomas coach is a Purdue grad and the school uses the Purdue fight song as their school song. The Raiders won their 34th straight game.

Lamarcus Joyner & family





It was a perfect night for football, so perfect that 1000 miles away at the same time, my alma mater, Cathedral High was playing for the regional championship against the New Palestine Dragons. They too won big, cruising to a 45-6 win and moving on what hopefully will be a second straight Indiana State Championship. Go Irish!!

Little Feat

November 9, 2009

Little Feat

The MuseGurus



Little Feat



In the 30 some years that I have been going to see live music, 500 plus concerts and almost 1000 bands, somehow there are still a few bands that slip by and I have never gotten around to seeing. Little Feat, a band that is celebrating their 40th year of existence, happens to be one that I somehow missed. That all changed when the Parrothead convention booked them to headline their Saturday night concert at the Casa Marina beach stage.

Emma & Dani



The day began early as Kathy & I joined hundreds of people who participated in the Zonta Walk/Run to raise money for cancer research. We were walkers, but we kept up a steady clip to complete the 5 K in around 45 minutes. It was a nice walk from Salute restaurant along the beach in a brisk wind.

Kathy & Michael

Tracy & Gretchen

After the walk, I headed over to check out the vendors at the Parrothead convention. I was surprised to find some friends among the vendors as my friend Charlie, who owns a bookstore in Marathon was hosting a book-signing for mystery writers Tom Corcoran & Tim Dorsey. Both authors set their books in Key West and both are worth checking out. Tom who has written songs for Jimmy Buffett (including crowd favorite “Fins”), was excited to share with me the new “Shoreline” CD by John Frinzi on which he co-wrote most of the songs.

Tom, Tim & Charlie



We were back at the Casa by early evening for the Little Feat show. The crowd seemed a little subdued at the start and it took a little time for the band to really get going, but they eventually did and the second half of the show was truly stellar. The weather was near perfect, a beautiful night with a stiff wind coming in off the ocean. The sound system they had was really excellent as well and the band seemed to enjoy the beautiful setting as well.







The parrothead convention wrapped up on Sunday with the final few events. One of these was the wonderful and jam packed Songwriters jam at Blue Heaven. I went and checked it out for a while, watching a variety of up and coming songwriters giving their best trop rock inspired performances. It was a mixed bag, but fun nonetheless. Next, it was over to the Oldest House on Duval where the Bahama Village Music Association was hosting a “Day Filled With Music” which featured a number of local bands performing to raise funds.





Dora & Larry





Our friends Larry & Dora and their band the MuseGurus were performing when I arrived, it was a nice little event, that was interrupted briefly by the loud sounds of the Powerboat parade that motored down Duval Street in the early evening. The events don’t seem to end in Key West this time of year and the World Powerboat Championships are on tap for this week. The parade of boats, heads down Duval before heading into Truman annex to the pits where they will reside all week.

Parrothead Invasion

November 8, 2009

Peter Mayer



Howard Livingston

Parrothead Invasion

Bill Wharton

The weekend after Fantasy Fest in Key West is reserved each year for an influx of Parrotheads who hold their annual Jimmy Buffett fan convention, The Meeting of the Minds on the island. Literally thousands of mostly middle-aged, often pudgy and somewhat pasty people arrive from the north, in search of the mythical tropical island lifestyle that is espoused in Jimmy Buffett songs.



Peter & Jim Mayer



They are a friendly bunch and they certainly enjoy a libation or two, easily standing out in their funny hats, Hawaiian shirts and their convention credentials draped around their necks. Many locals seem to despise them for some reason, I can’t figure out the origins of the many negative comments that I hear from friends because they are a harmless lot. In fact they not only add needed dollars to the bottom line of our local economy, they also donate a tremendous amount of funds to local charities.



It is through their charity work that I first started attending the convention about 12 years ago, as Reef Relief was one of the charities they supported. While I no longer work for Reef Relief, I have kept signing up as an attendee, even though I am not a parrothead in the truest sense. The reason is that they bring a fantastic array of music to the island for the week and they know how to throw a great party. In addition to occasional appearances by Jimmy Buffett himself (he was a no-show this year), they bring in all sorts of great trop rock bands, members of the Coral Reefer band and more, putting on concerts and performances at many venues around town.

Peter Mayer



The first night featured a stunning good show at The Studios of Key West by Peter Mayer, who is a member of Jimmy’s Coral Reefer Band. Peter & his brother Jim recently released an entire CD of Beatles songs that they reworked and rearranged and the show featured them performing these songs in the sold-out (two shows) at the Armory.





The intimate setting and familiarity of the crowd with the Beatles tunes as well as the rabid parrothead following that came to the show, made for a spectacular performance. We were thrilled to have been able to see the incredible show. For those in Key West, Mayer will be returning to TSKW for an encore show in January and I would suggest rushing out and getting tickets.

Club Trini



Shannon & Carla

The next night was at the beautiful beach stage at the Casa Marina and we saw performances by the Boat Drunks and Club Trini, which is basically the Coral Reefer band sans Jimmy. While the Boat Drunks were decent, Club Trini was sadly terrible and we actually left early.





Friday afternoon, was the Parrothead street party on Duval, headlined by Howard Livingston & the MM24 band. Howard lives just up the Keys and has been getting increasingly popular as his light, fun beach inspired music catches on. Watching his performance from the perfect vantage point of the Spottswood Law offices, it is easy to see why Howard is enjoying so much success. He was fantastic, easily one of the highlights of the weekend.

Teri & Jerry



Gae

Mike



After Howard’s show it was over to the Green Parrot, where The Sauce Boss- Bill Wharton was whipping up some blues music and his traditional Gumbo for the packed soundcheck audience, performing from the stage, atop the bar and even heading out into the street outside the bar.



Bill Wharton

Peter Mayer website

Howard Livingston website

Zombeez

November 1, 2009







Zombeez

Michael & Kathy



The Zombeez float was scheduled to start 49th out of 55 entries in the big parade this year. Being at the end of the line gives you an extra hour or so after the official start of the parade to hang around and relax before getting going. There was time to tap a keg or two, to make final preparations on costumes and time to practice the dance routine that some of the Zombeez planned to perform to the strains of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” at various stops along the parade route.

Howard





This year we had over 100 people dressed as Zombeez as part of our group, a good mixture of old familiar faces and newcomers who joined in this year. For the first time in ages there was no representation from perennial favorites and our cohorts at Lazy Dogs so we had a large contingent of crossovers from that group who joined in with us this year.

Randy, Kathy & Alison

Shannon, Tom & Terri

Elliot & Todd

It was a festive group and as much fun as we have had doing the float. We finally got going sometime after 8 and it was slow, slow going. The parade crept along in fits and starts at one point pausing in a single spot on Whitehead Street for almost 30 minutes as there was some sort of power outage along Duval Street. Even without that delay, the parade seemed to move along at a snail’s pace. It was hot too, with temperatures near 80, which makes for some sweaty costumes, but despite all of that, it was a great time.



Briget Marquardt

Rick & Eric



The crowd seemed much larger than the last few years, as there were no gaps at all along Whitehead as there had been the past few years. The crowd was great and mostly well behaved, during the parade itself at least. We did manage to see a lot of friends along the parade route, which is always fun. In all the chaos, it can be hard to spot people you know, but this year we encountered many people watching the parade that we know.









Howard & his wife Najada drove in the cab of the float and did an excellent job in what are often trying circumstances. As the parade goes on, many of the Zombeez got progressively tipsy as they went through the six kegs of beer. Kathy & I always refrain from imbibing during the parade, something about not wanting to use the porta-potty and also liking to keep clear headed to take everything in.





Ashley & Arlo

There are two official stops along the route, the media area in front of the La Concha Hotel and the judges stand which is inexplicably at the end of the parade route, translating (for our group at least) into a lot of drunk bees trying to organize themselves and perform the dance. It worked a lot better during the first stop, but was pretty good both times all things considered.

Jerian & Billy

Breanne & David





The parade didn’t end for us until around 11:30 and unlike past years there was very little post parade partying around the float at the end. Instead a large contingent of Zombeez headed to nearby La Te Da to celebrate and dance the night away. La Te Da is out of the zone of chaos that is lower Duval Street and offers a great location to unwind post parade.

Bill & Monica

At La Te Da

Suzyjo & Autumn

Debbie & Matt

Eliza

We ended up the late night at the Green Parrot where the crowd was actually as sparse as it had been all week. There was some activity in the street, but overall the mood was sort of somber and we didn’t stay too long. Heading home to try and recover after a long week.



Elio

Kathy & Gae

Fantasy Fest

November 1, 2009

Zombeez

Kathy


Fantasy Fest





In all the fun and frivolity that surround the biggest party of the year in Key West, there have been some troubling trends in recent years as the focus seems to have shifted away from the creative spirit and more towards a more raunchy celebration of drunkenness. By promoting Fantasy Fest with more focus on sex and partying (such as having as Grand Marshall a former Playboy Playmate) and having numerous officially sanctioned parties hosted by Porn Stars and Playmates perhaps it should come as no surprise that the nature of the crowd has changed, drawing a seedier element that has not been overly prevalent in the past.



Things came to a tragic head this year with the first homicide in the 30 year history of Fantasy Fest when a 23 year old local man was tragically knifed to death in a fight. Reports are that Marques Butler was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that he was not directly involved in the fight, rumored to be over members of one group taking photos of a woman in a different group. Whatever the details may be, there is no escaping the tragic loss of a young man who though I did not know personally, I spent many hours watching when he was a player for the Key West High basketball team. He was by all accounts a wonderful man.

Najada & Elliot

It cast a pall over the parade for many of us and our deepest sympathy goes out to his family and many friends here in Key West. Hopefully this tragic incident will lead to a shift away from the sordid focus that Fantasy Fest has had the past few years. If not, then I fear that this tragedy will become the first of many.

Steve, Suzyjo, Autumn & Rick



Kim

Of course the show went on, and we as always were there. Our float, sponsored by Blue Heaven restaurant and masterminded by our friend Rick Keith had the theme of Zombeez. Undead bees provided a unique theme and we, being way behind this year scrambled on Saturday to create our Zombie Bee costumes. Costume central was held at our friend Melissa Jean’s home and both Kathy & I were able to scramble and get our costumes done in time for the float marshalling time Saturday evening.

Miles

David & Martha

Esme



Our float this year was not one of finest efforts, we went for practicality rather than spending weeks building. It was fairly simple, yet provided the optimum of comfort with AC for our driver Howard and a comfortable back deck that was roomy enough for the sound system, our 6 kegs of beer, cases of beads and even a couch. We towed a porta-potty behind, thus having all the necessities for a comfortable float experience.

Steve

Paul

Martha

One of my favorite times of the week, is the gathering of floats just prior to the parade. As parade participants, it is really the only time we get a chance to see the other floats, many of which have been built by other friends of ours. This year there were a number of excellent entries, including great efforts by our friends Rich & Penny from the Key West Chevron Stations and an inspired entry by Cayman Smith-Martin and friends called “Smuggler’s Blues” that focused on the drug smuggling that was part of Key West’s seemy past.

Ian

Kim, Chris & Erin