miamime

provocations & observations by William Plasencia 

Claude Lévi-Strauss, Anthropologist, Dies at 100 - Obituary (Obit)

Apic/Getty Images

Mr. Lévi-Strauss in Brazil in the 1930s.

I remember studying his work in college. Amazing life this man led.

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South Florida Beer Blog: The Democratic Republic of Beer opens in Miami

The Democratic Republic of Beer, or The DRB for short, opened its doors on October 15th. The menu states they have over 400 beers, making it the largest beer menu in South Florida.

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The recession is affecting everything

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Apparently, there's lowered demand for large-sized condoms.

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Human trafficking `survivor' to speak at Miami summit

``You're 13 years old and you see $400, $600, $800 in your hand,'' she said in an interview. ``I'm seeing all this money and I'm like, I could get somewhere, I could make it on my own. I don't need my parents for nothing.''

Mia, who did not want to disclose her last name, would end up far from her Arizona home, trafficked by pimps to California, and later traveling to New York. She estimates she was arrested more than 50 times.

Now, five years later, she lives in Miami and is trying to rebuild her life.

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Sexual Slavery: It's a problem in our own community and you can help stop it

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photo via nytimes.com

There's been a rash of headlines lately because of a federal crackdown on sex trafficking rings nationwide. But the problem is more close to home than you think.

According to the Herald a few days ago, law enforcement authorities arrested 84 people in a sweep aimed at finding underage girls who have been forced into prostitution. A 14-year-old was rescued in those raids, but victims as young as 10-years old are regularly found. The L.A. Times article goes further in describing the sweeps, which involved the FBI, local law enforcement agencies and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Many of these children are abducted and forced in sexual slavery but many more are coerced off the streets by promises of a better life. The targets are runaways who leave homes or abusive or neglectful environments only to be caught in up a different more perfidious type of hell.

The New York Times is running a series called Selling Their Bodies, which delves deep into the problem of prostitution and in particular about how teenagers are increasingly falling into prostitution as economic hardships rend many families apart or make it harder for these kids to fend for themselves. The stories are heartwrenching. The series begins with this article, and continues today with the story of a 14-year old who was forced to have sex or face being thrown out into the street: “Where was I going to go?” she asked.

Here in Miami, there are organizations, such as Kristi House, that are helping children deal with the aftermath of sexual exploitation and that are actively campaigning to put an end to it through increased community awareness and the political pressure that comes with that. I'm on the board of Kristi House, and I'm doing my best to get the word out.

We need to protect our children.

If you want to make a difference, come see me Thursday at the Mandarin Hotel for a networking event I'm helping co-host. All money collected at the door will go to the Voices For Children Foundation, which helps fund the Guardian Ad Litem program here in Miami-Dade.

Here's a video from the NYTimes series:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/10/25/us/1247465360380/when-no-ones-looking.html

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Did you really need to say that?

The consequence of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity is that you wind up sounding like a moron...

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Remake of one of my favorite songs: Under the Milky Way

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The Australian singer Sia Furler recorded a version of the song Under the Milky Way, originally by The Church off of their album Starfish.
You can hear the remake here -- it's available as a free download. I'm guessing that Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln division, which has been using the song on one of its commercials, is underwriting the cost. It's a nice version. Take a listen. Buying a Lincoln is optional.

(download)

You can also hear the original here:
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Church/_/Under+The+Milky+Way

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Matchbooks and matchboxes experience a renaissance

"...the average restaurant goes through about 20,000 boxes or books each year..."

I love old matchboxes especially, but they're hard to find. As an advertising medium they can be works of pop art. And, yes, they're also useful for things other than smoking, for people who like to camp or own a grill.

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Gibbard And Farrar Set Kerouac To Music : NPR

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Most everyone knows that I'm a Jack Kerouac fanatic. When the Herald's Lori Todd sent out this link to an NPR story about Son Volt's Jay Farrar and Death Cab For Cutie's Benjamin Gibbard collaborating to put music to some of Kerouac's work, I had to listen. It's beautiful. Especially Track #3, Williamine. I can't wait to buy this album. And then re-read Kerouac's Big Sur.

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Skeptics of Balloon Drama - The Lede Blog - NYTimes.com

You guys said… that, um, we did this for the show.

Balloon Boy's dad is full of hot air. I wanted to say worse.

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