Billie Swamp Safari

Yes, I know... Billie Swamp Safari isn't in Miami--it's actually a bit of a drive. But it's important for city folk to venture out into the countryside (which in Florida are the Everglades' swamps) and reconnect with nature and an alligator or two. Also, I just figure this blog will have lots more interesting content if I include things outside of the immediate Miami area, but within driving distance. There is only so much sand and concrete a girl can take.

Well, Billie Swamp Safari was a blast to visit. It's a great, unique way to spend the day: there are walking trails on a boardwalk over the water, airboat rides (the absolute funnest thing), swamp buggie rides (this would be great to get around Miami traffic!), shows, animal enclosures, and you can even spend a night in a Chickee for about $35 (I didn’t do that, but I plan to soon!). What's a Chickee? It's a raised platform hut with some cots. No air conditioning or running water here.

Other things I did that day... ate alligator (soooo yummy! Tastes like a mix between chicken and fish) and fed an ostrich (who bit my hand hard!).

The drive there is part of the fun because it's a great opportunity to see the everglades, not see any buildings, and breathe some fresh air. But here is a piece of advice: Do NOT speed through Clewiston, which is the Indian reservation where Billie Swamp Safari is located. Once you start to see houses, make sure to slow down to the appropriate speed limit. Tony and I got pulled over =(

There are a bunch of other things to do that I haven’t mentioned so for more details visit the official website: http://www.seminoletribe.com/safari

Here's the address:

Billie Swamp Safari
HC-61, Box 46
Clewiston, Florida 33440

But, that probably won't help you...they've got directions posted on their site.

Take Alligator Alley (I-75) from either Ft. Lauderdale or Naples to exit 49 (Mobile Service Plaza) then go north 19 miles to the park entrance.

Those 19 miles are the fun driving part!

Don't Give Me Moore Crap

Yes, I am going to see "Sicko". No, I haven't yet.

I have seen some clips from the film of a Cuban hospital that made my blood boil.

Supposedly, Moore went to Cuba and took with him some aid workers who were injured and supposedly asked the Cuban government to give them "the same care they give their own Cuban citizens [....] No more, no less. And that's what they did."

Yea. Great. And that proves what exactly?

I know I need to see the whole film first to see what this hospital looked like. But still, this sounds way too fishy for me because I know people, family members, friends, I have twenty-six years of listening to Cuban family and friends talking about Cuba, I know what's going on over there. I hear it every day. Things are not better over there than they are here.

Also, I saw a clip of Moore boasting about the price of medicine. How it was loads cheaper in Cuba than in the states. Yea. I bet they are. With Moore's salary, his American dollars, and his American citizenship, anything is available to him. The same is not true for the people that live there.

I wonder why in the time I worked in Walgreens I saw so many people buying medicine! food! clothes! to send back to their relatives in Cuba. There are companies that specialize in sending packages to Cuba! Ummm...why the demand if Cubans have it so good over there? If what Moore is saying is true about the low costs of medicine, why don't Cubans buy in bulk and send to their relatives here in the states, in Miami? Hmmm???

I'm sorry...but watching people that have absolutely no ties to Cuba talking about Cubans or the country or its politics like they know what the fuck they are talking about pisses the shit right out of me. They don't give a damn about the people in Cuba. Moore probably didn't leave the touristic part of Cuba to visit where the people live. He probably didn't realize that only the "clean" part of Cuba is reserved for the tourists, not if you actually live there. No, I don't think he noticed, he was probably too busy giving a shit about himself and the American's he took over there to make a stupid point. He should have grabbed a few random Cubans off the street and asked the hospitals to give THEM care.

Here is a link to Humberto Fontova's article about "Sicko". It's a good read, well worth the time.

Danger: Glossy Flyers Ahead

I'm a graduate student and I also teach. One thing I've noticed about the campus I work at is that it is absolutely littered with flyer advertisements. There's everything including the to-be-expected "looking for a roommate" and "selling my car". However, there is another type of flyer, a much more dangerous one.

These flyers are the glossy little cards that usually have a half or fully naked glistening woman in some sort of contorted animal-like position. It's a great attention grabber, obviously. It's also very affective to throw these glossy flyers down stair wells (which already happen to be quite slippery (add to that the scenario of the occasional Florida downpour)) or to lick the back of these tasty advertisements and slap them onto the back of bathroom stall doors or to the inside of elevator doors (something nice to look at in both occasions). It's also especially brilliant when the distributors of these flyers (who are mysteriously never seen in the act) leave one flyer on each and every desk inside of a classroom. It's just wonderful! They leave me some great teaching material.

Not only do I have to physically see these things at school where I both work and try to study as a student, but now they've infiltrated my Facebook account. The image below is a cut-and-paste from a side advertisement on a wall-to-wall conversation page on Facebook. It's lovely how the people at Facebook match up your zipcode to these ads (I wonder if people in small towns have Wet Wet Wednesdays). This was plastered (literally) right next to where I was typing. And I find it interesting how throughout many of these social websites there are options to “report” an image or a post that another user uploads, but not for advertisements that we really have no other choice but to look at. Quite interesting.

I know the image below is small and obviously a scan of one of the dreadful flyers I've mentioned before but the woman in the picture is clearly naked and covered in suds. I'm sure this would offend more than just a few people. Or maybe I'm wrong. Either way, if people (especially women) are just ignoring these images or see these images and shrug them off as unimportant, trivial, not allowing the images to affect them, it is still sad that these images are allowed regardless of the public's reaction. Though how many images of women covered in soap suds, degraded, and in submission can a person see without being affected, I am not sure, but I don't think it takes too many of these images to cause an imprint.

WET WET WEDNESDAYS



@ Club VIP
(on the corner of 79th and 7th ave)

18 to party
21 to swallow

FOR MORE INFO CALL
(yea...I'm not going to advertise for these idiots, sorry)

Cougars, Kittens, and Kelly--OH MY!

I originally posted this commentary on my Facebook and MySpace profiles, so it is not academic, researched, or even partially well-written. However, my lack of time compels me to include a post on this subject of "cougars" and hopefully when I have more time, I'll come back and expand on this post.

Ok...I need to take a time out and write something about these new (or are they old) terms for women. Kitten, I've heard before, but Cougar? WTF?

This morning [when I originally wrote this it was Tuesday 19 June 2007] while I getting dressed I turned the tv on and started watching Live with Regis and Kelly. I love/hate the show for various reasons that have to do with misogyny and sexism that I just am not going to get into now. Well, Kelly's husband, whatever his name is, he's a pretty-boy, is the host of a new show called The Age of Love (I think). It's another stupidly idiotic show about a bunch of women trying to get a guy. Oh my god, let me give them a freaking award for originality... Anyways, there are two groups of women on the show who seem to be fighting for some dork's affection. One group is of kittens (young women, in their 20s) and the other is called cougars (older women, over 40).

BTW, Kelly stupidly told a little anecdote about her husband calling her a cougar and acting all sad-like because she wasn't called a kitten. WTF? She's always acting so retarded on that show and now this? I mean--c'mon, I love shoes and nice outfits too, but that's not the extent of my brain. She should at least try to get a little more respect, especially from Regis who is a closeted misogynist.

Well, tonight, after getting home from school I thought I would flip on the TV, relax for an hour or so before I start working on the scary Spenser paper that's due Thursday. What do you think is on my freaking TV screen? Secret Lives of Women and tonight's episode is about cougars. Of course! Where did this stupid word come from? How could I have heard it twice in the same day?

Well, I shouldn't have to explain why this makes me so mad, if you know me, you know why I am pissed...

Now I don't care if an older woman dates a younger man, but why the fuck does society feel the need to label that? When men date younger women they are not called or labeled anything! I can't believe such stupidity and ignorance still prevails. You'll never see men being called anything similar... nor will you see a tv show that labels a group of men anything as stupidly retarded as kittens and cougars.

Panera, oh, my Panera Bread

My brand new favorite place to buy bread, eat a yummy pastry, and grab a cool coffee is Panera Bread. Unfortunately, the location is a bit out of the way, but we make a trek over to Doral to get our bread fix.

This place has it all! It’s like a Starbucks on steroids (or just a big helping of yeast). There’s also wireless internet and lots of tables, and PLUGS! Yes, laptops do need power—my biggest qualm with places boasting about wireless access is that there is usually no place to plug in. But, the most startling revelation for me, which I just noticed on their website is that their wireless is free! Yes, FREE! I didn’t notice that it was free when I went, since I didn’t take my laptop with me, but I saw others, and assumed that, like all the other places, you had to pay for it. Apparently, not! What a great feature!

I’d give you a sampling of their menu, but it is really varied. They have everything from panini’s to freshly made pizza to scones. You’ll just have to visit their website. They even serve a soufflé in the mornings, which I have not had the chance to eat because so many people get there early to eat them.

The service is great considering you walk up to a counter to order your food, bread, drink, or dessert. The place is also clean, which is very important to me. There are a lot of patrons at all times of the day chatting which makes for a pleasant environment and the décor is modern and inviting.

Now…about the bread. Oh, do I love my bread! The first day we went to Panera, we actually got a loaf for free because we wanted French bread and they were baking some at that moment. So, they gave us one of their cheese breads, sliced it for us, and gave it to us for free! WOW. Free food! Awesome!

The most recent bread we bought was their mountain bread, which was just beckoning me from their rack. It is by far the most scrumptious raised dough I’ve ever had. I just had the last slice today and it was still as fresh tasting as the first day.

This place has a lot to offer and is a great place for people who love cafés, but who are a little tired of the Starbucks scene. Bread aficionados need to go and take a look too.

I hope that Panera will open more convenient locations soon… I’m actually going to try and swing by tomorrow to pick up some bread for the week.

Here’s the addy:

Panera Bread
9717 Northwest 41st Street
Miami (Doral), FL 33178
(305) 406-3330 | phone

100% Natural

Last Friday, 15 June 2007, Tony and I decided to go out to eat. He suggests a place called 100% Natural at Dolphin Mall.

Supposedly, he read a review of the place which wrote that this restaurant was a great place to eat, so we decided to check it out. When we got there I realized that the place wasn’t a restaurant that you’d go to for dinner, it was more of a lunch-type place. But, we weren’t deterred so we went in to eat.

The atmosphere of the place is sort of like a tropical, beach side restaurant with lots of green paint and plants. The center of the restaurant has a tiki hut for the bar area which is pretty much open and visible to the patrons. The Formica tabletops have pictures of bamboo sticks or something that looks similar and instead of a drink or dessert flip book on your table, you have a flip book of health tips, which makes for interesting reading while you eat. Overall, it was clean, and the service was friendly, but nothing to go nuts over.

Now, for the important part—the food!

The best part of our night was the drinks. The restaurant has a huge selection of smoothies. I just asked the waiter to get me his favorite, but from the variety listed on the menu, it seems that you can’t go wrong in choosing a drink. Also, they are HUGE, so it’s sure to last the whole meal. Tony ordered the “California,” which is made of apple, lemon, orange, and pineapple. And I had the “Oasis.” The ingredients include apple, pineapple and strawberry.

For the appetizer, we decided to be daring and went for the “Nopal planchado,” which is grilled nopal (cactus) and panela cheese with a basil dressing and pita bread. Sounds yummy, right? Well, it is definitely an acquired taste, which in our short time in the restaurant, Tony never acquired. I enjoyed it a little more, but it’s definitely something I won’t be ordering again.

For the maincourse I ordered “Quesabrosas,” which I enjoyed immensely. The meal includes three whole-wheat tortillas with cheese, spinach, mushrooms, onion and a 100% natural salad with beans vinaigrette. This was really tasty! I am by no means a vegetarian, but the mushrooms were so meaty tasting that I almost forgot about the absence of meat in my meal.

Tony, on the other hand, didn’t enjoy his experience here at all. He ordered the
“Soy de pollo,” which is their soy hamburger made up of ground chicken breast, onion, garlic and parsley. I didn’t taste his dish, but it looked appetizing. He wasn’t happy with the taste, saying it was not seasoned.

Part of the reason I think we didn’t enjoy the place as much as we might have was because we went there for dinner, and it is really a great place for lunch during a hot day. They also have a breakfast menu, which we might go back and try one day.

I give them kudos for their philosophy, cleanliness, and unique menu.

Rumblings...

I haven't gone out anywhere new lately. I do have to post some reviews about a couple of restaurants that I've been to in the past couple of months. Hopefully, I'll get those posts up next week. I have two papers I am working on for school and I actually have plans to go out next weekend...so...until then, happy drinking, eating, adventuring!

Cuban dissident Luis Garcia Perez freed after 17 years

Here is the article from Taipei Times (original source here).

AP, HAVANA
Wednesday, Apr 25, 2007, Page 7

Cuban dissident leader Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, who wrote a book about prison conditions on the island while behind bars, was freed after serving his full 17-year sentence, human-rights groups said.

Garcia Perez, widely known as "Antunez," was released on Sunday, the opposition human-rights group Bitacora Cubana said on Monday.

He was arrested for enemy propaganda and attempted sabotage in 1990. Pope John Paul II petitioned for his early release before his historic visit in 1998. Cuba freed 14 others as a goodwill gesture tied to the pope's visit, but left Garcia Perez in prison.

PRISON JOURNAL

While serving out his sentence he wrote Boitel Lives, a book about prison conditions that was published outside Cuba.

The book is named after Pedro Luis Boitel who died in 1972 in a Cuban prison after 53 days on hunger strike.

The Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation, a which represents anti-Castro exiles, congratulated Garcia Perez for his "consistency of principles."

While Garcia Perez got out, two other dissidents have been imprisoned this month after secret trials, according to a Havana-based rights group.

NEW TRIALS

A lawyer, Rolando Jimenez Posada, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for painting graffiti and distributing pamphlets with an anti-government message.

He was tried over the weekend without a defense attorney or family members present, and convicted of disrespect for authority and revealing state secrets, said Elizardo Sanchez, a spokesman for the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation.

Officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday about these cases.

Sanchez said Jimenez Posada was brought to Havana for the trial from Isla de la Juventud, where he has been jailed since his arrest in early 2003. It was unclear if the time already spent in jail would count toward the 12-year sentence.

According to Sanchez, Jimenez Posada's relatives say his request to represent himself in court was denied and that after he protested, he was not allowed to attend his own trial.

The rights commission also criticized the proceedings against journalist Oscar Sanchez Madan, who wrote about dissident groups and the hardships of island life.

He was arrested April 13 and tried in secret that day, the commission said. Found guilty of "social dangerousness," he was sentenced to four years in jail.

Vagina Dentata Materialized!

It's not just a male fear/fantasy anymore!

Here is the New York Times article "Anti-Rape Condom" by Christopher Shea. (See original source here.)

The vagina dentata - a vagina with literal or figurative teeth - is a potent trope in South Asian mythology, urban legend, Freudian rumination and speculative fiction (the novel "Snow Crash," by Neal Stephenson, for example). But it took a step toward reality this August with the unveiling of the Rapex, a female "condom" lined with rows of plastic spikes on its inner surface.

The Rapex is the brainchild of Sonette Ehlers, a retired blood technician in South Africa who was moved by the country's outlandish rape rate, which is among the highest in the world. The device is designed to be inserted any time a woman feels she is in danger of sexual assault. Its spikes are fashioned to end an assault immediately by affixing the Rapex to the assaulter's penis, but also to cause only superficial damage. The Rapex would create physical evidence of the attack as well and, as Ehlers laid out a course of events for reporters at a news conference, send the offender to a hospital, where he would be promptly arrested.

Ehlers estimates that each Rapex would cost 50 to 60 cents - a pricey proposition in Africa for a nonreusable item. On a Web site, www.rapestop.net, she answers other frequently asked questions: How is it inserted and removed? In each case, with an applicator. Do you hate men? No. Won't it get some users killed? Many rapists kill anyway; you stand a better chance against a temporarily disabled man. (On this last point, some may find Ehlers a little blithe about the prospect of an enraged rapist.) In a phone interview, she said that she has found the Rapex prototype to be more comfortable than a tampon. But Chantel Cooper, director of the Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust, remains unimpressed. The Rapex, she said in an e-mail message, sends the retrograde message "that women should be responsible for their own safety."

There are obvious problems with this device. Using this may give women a false sense of security. Men who rape are violent and rape is a violent act. Causing this type of injury to men will not debilitate them, they can still use their hands, arms, legs, body weight, etc. to hold women down and inflict even more vengeful violence onto them. The website's claim that it will give women a chance to get away is idiotic.

Also, this device will enable women to commit violent acts towards men. An unsuspecting boyfriend can be seriously injured by this device. Unfortunately, many women use rape in order to seek criminal charges against men. When false rape charges are brought against men, the only result is further invalidation of women whose real claims of rape are disbelieved and questioned. This putts them in danger and allows perpetrators to get away unpunished.

Are You Thorney?

Recently I filled out a survey for the American Family Association (AFA). A friend on MySpace posted the following bulletin:

The AFA (American Family Association) is expecting an overwhelming majority of respondents to say that they would be 'less likely' to do business with a company if they knew it supported the "homosexual agenda" - whatever that is. So far, they are getting the results they seek. Of course, they are only sending it where they will get the expected results. Let's change the outcome by completing the 1-question survey and sending it to everyone we know who is tired of this archaic and hateful way of thinking. Follow the link to take action on this important issue.

Well, needless to say I did. However, the APA took my e-mail address when I confirmed my vote (which goes against their philosophy) and just sent me a propaganda e-mail telling me to boycott Ford. However, that's not really what interests me... What does interest me is an advertisement (obviously from a company that they endorse and which financially supports the APA's political agenda). Here is the ad:

Mother's Day
May 13th
Whether it's a Crown of Thorns necklace or something else for Mom, Samaritan Arts has hundreds of Christian jewelry ideas. For that gift they will always remember...

What a beautiful, heartfelt idea. Let's give our mothers a crown of thorns to wear around their necks! Metaphorically it does represent the constant struggle, discrimination, and suffrage of working women with families and the blatant pressure placed on them by society and organizations like this one, which endorse the "nuclear" (see Jane Caputi for her discussion on this topic) family.