Global Film Initiative and Miami International Film Festival will unspool Global Lens 2005, a traveling film series that showcases 10 dramatic feature films from around the world. Screenings will take palce at October 6 - October 15th at the Tower Theatre located at 1508 SW 8th St., in Miami. General Admission is $7. Members, sponsors and students with ID is $5.

The series features films from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Vietnam, Algeria, Uruguay, Argentina, Angola, Mali, China and Turkey.

I was looking for something to do tonight. I just found out The Baboons are performing at Tobacco Road.

“THE BABOONS SPECIALIZE IN SPONTANEOUS RHYTHMIC COMBUSTION. Ranging from Afro-Cubandescargas to big-bottomed funk, from the laid-back grind of righteous reggae to syncopated New Orleans blues, from rock ‘n’ roll to primal percussion with a left turn at free jazz.”

Tobacco Road is graet venue for live music; it’s also the oldest Bar, Restaurant & Cabaret in Florida, established in 1912.

Saturday the New World Symphony performs a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief, including Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story”.

The concert, entitled “Symphonic Relief”, will be conducted by Alasdair Neale. Tickets are $15.

If you can not make the live perfromance, the concert will be broadcast on 91.3 WLRN om Saturday, September 24th at 8pm.

Via: Hella Frisch

A British company called idscan introduces Clubscan — an ID scanner for nightclubs and entertainment venues.

Here is how it works: at the door, people present their ID which is scanned and validated against a database which recognizes passports, driving licenses, and national ID cards from the US, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and the Far East. The scanner also allows club owners to collect information about male-to-female ratios, average age, geographic report by postal code, average time of arrival, Oh, and it has this CD burning feature to help facilitate police cooperation.

Engadget says if you ask clubbers to scan their ID’s they will go elsewhere, but I don’t agree. I’ve seen poeple wait in line for over an hour and then pay $30 to get into Opium. Not to mention, everything you must do to get past Mynt’s ridiculous door policy.

If people think that by letting the club scan their ID, they may be getting to the front of the line, those eager to enter will happily supply their ID for scannage.

Via: Engaget

Gridskipper says you’re never going to get into Mynt Nightclub so stop reading now:

“Your only hope is dropping a couple grand on bottle service—cash in advance, please. It will totally be worth it when Jennifer Lopez orders her publicist to order her bodyguards to order the manager to order security to order the doormen to evict you from your table.”

Via: Gridskipper

Also see: Mynt Reviews

It’s exciting to see travel podcasting catching on. Supposedly, it started in January of 2005 with Adam Curry and his South Beach Podcast.

This new podcast by Budget Travel takes us to Miami Beach. The hosts visit the beach and talk with a sun worshiping butler, and a real estate preservationist.

Budget Travel has put a lot of production effort into this podcast, with original music and natural sound FX, but they do feel a bit staged.

Via: Gadling

Related stories:
South Beach, Miami Hotels
Miami Beach 3-Star Hotels

Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing points us to a photoshop contest; Great Worth1000’s: If Goths Ruled.

Michelle and I just got back from our friend’s wedding in Argentina. We had a great vacation, and learned a travel tip, or two.

We can’t say enough good things about Buenos Aires. The food, the exchange rate, even the Engligh TV is cool. While we were there, we watched an unedited version of “Cat People” on public TV.

What’s your favorite Goth movie, or band?

For Goth movie, I choose “The Hunger”, staring David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, and Catherine Deneuve.

I can’t choose a band.

My vampire friend, FaberX, recommended a great Goth song to me, but I can’t remember the title. Perhaps when he wakes from his slumber, we can ask him to post a link.

I think the band’s name had the word “Romulus” in it.

Meg James of the LA Times points out “As Hispanic Population Grows, So Does Its Presence On TV”.

Meg has some interesting points related to media trends:

“To lend authenticity to UPN’s upcoming prime-time soap, “South Beach,” some scenes are being shot entirely in Spanish. Subtitles will be sprinkled throughout the midseason offering, which Jennifer Lopez’s production company is filming in Miami.

In ABC’s new sitcom, “Freddie,” one of the main characters—Freddie Prinze Jr.‘s Puerto Rican grandmother—speaks only Spanish. The show, which debuts in October, will use subtitles to translate her words.

In “Go, Diego, Go!” a Nickelodeon cartoon that premiered last week, the hero is a brown-skinned bilingual boy who lives in a rain forest and teaches viewers to say “cuidado” (be careful) and “al rescate” (to the rescue).

The Hispanic market is growing in affluence, and it’s growing in influence,” said Felipe Herrera, director of diversity sales and marketing for General Motors, one of the nation’s largest buyers of TV advertising. “We recognize that this is an incredible opportunity.”

Executives at the major networks are experimenting with a mix of English and Spanish to win over what some say is becoming one of the most attractive groups of all: young bilingual Hispanics.”

As Hispanics become the largest minority group in the United States, representing an estimated $700 billion a year in buying power, media companies and advertisers are scrambling to figure how to appeal to them.

We are reaching out t to our Spanish speaking visitors by translating Miami Beach 411 en Español.

Via: Media Spotlight

Sobe Wraps is a new express eatery located at 941 Washington Avenue.

The restaurant is the brainchild of Alan Roth (of Rumi) and Tommy Pooch (of Pucci’s Pizza). They offer a few salads, but the menu is more sandwich-focused with gourmet meats (prosciutto, lamb, roast top beef) served on a variety of breads from pitas to tortillas.

The wraps are generous in size—8 to 10 inches long—and include gourmet extras like frisée, radishes, avocado, even artichokes. The 420, for example, packs in smoked chicken, roasted tomatoes, smoked mozzarella, lettuce and akimchee mayo.

Note: When ordering, ask them to go easy on the condiments. Most of the wraps are paired with a heavy-handed amount of dressings (miso soy, horseradish mayo, jalapeño cilantro).

Sobe Wraps
941 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139
Phone: 305-673-0066
Web: www.sobewraps.com

Jaime Foxx will host a charity cocktail party on Sunday night at the Delano Hotel in Miami Beach to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Foxx will serve as auctioneer at the poolside party charity event. Items to be auctioned off include diamond watches, travel packages, and a lunch date with a celebrity, among other things. Tickets are $200. The proceeds will go to the American Red Cross.

Another celebrity event to benefit the American Red Cross is scheduled on Tuesday night at Macarena in Miami Beach. Grammy-winning Bacilos will perform. The minimum donation is $30.