… like my mother used to say. Miami is the land of shock and awe.  People underestimate us sometimes. They give props to the bigger cities like Los Angeles or New York, but we got our own characters and craziness that can make anybody say: “OMG!” Here are the Most “OMG!” Miami Moments of 2011:

5 – BAR shuts down

Vagabond owner Carmel Ophir was accused of being the reason why Bar on 14 Street was shut down. Ophir owns the property and according to many, did not want to renew their lease. It caused a lot of stir in the inter-webs and many people were genuinely pissed their little spot was no more. It’s a they-said, he-said situation. I believe we won’t really know what went down. (Although we heard that the reason BAR shut down was because the renters SOLD the liquor license and were operating ILLEGALLY!) The bottom line: It’s business, not personal.  This unexpected shut-down makes the “OMG!” list at numero cinco.

4 – Tom Cruise ROCKS the 305

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIt7Gm1U5MM

The last time you read any mainstream madness on the ill-est spot this side of the WWW was when I made the common rookie mistake to review the Lil’ Wayne concert.  Truth be told: I almost got fired for that one, but thankfully it all blew over rather quick. To my surprise, the filming of the upcoming Cruise flick ROCK OF AGES made the list.  Now, I have the pleasure and honor of knowing one of the extras on the set, Ruben Fonseca, who personally said to me the experience was amazing. He even had the opportunity to speak by Paul Gia-fucking-matti himself. The bottom line, hot A-Lister’s such as Mr. Cruise and company make exciting news when they come around. The fact that a major movie production has once again picked the 305 as a filming locale is why ROCK OF AGES is our number 4 “OMG!” Moment.

You are not on acid. The dirty, nasty weeds in the Downtown area near Grand Central are in color. Why? Cause GC owner Brad Knoefler took it upon himself to beautify the city since the city won’t do it themselves. It is known as Weed Bombing and I think it gives the area a kind of Wynwood feel.  Here’s where it gets mean: city officials won’t do anything about the over-grown, unsightly brushes yet they ARREST Knoefler for spraying the shit. This number three ”OMG!” Moment was brought to you by the courage and gall of one man willing to beautify his surroundings and take a stand.

“We’re tired of living in a big dump overrun with weeds and trash,” Brad Knoefler

2 – Pepe Billete

Anything this hilarious, original and utterly adorable is “OMG!” worthy.  This fine gentleman has gone viral this year and we can’t get enough of him. Truth be told I have a couple of “Pepe Billete’s” in my own family. Escoria Films concocted this brilliant Cuban creation that I haven’t seen since the ”Que Pasa, USA?” days. I can’t watch too much of it without wanting un pastelito. Click below and say hello to my lil’ fren:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuL69QBD8zg

1 – “Dude, where’s your penis?”

“No clothes and no dick make Isa go crazy …” Only an outrageous moment such as this can earn the number one spot on our “OMG!” list. A strung-out, uncooperative Naked Asian man at the Ultra Music Festival earlier this year had so many of us scream “OMG!” I think it registered on the Richter Scale.  If pictures are worth 1,000 words, I think we can fill 1 million tomes with these two perfectly timed shots. Stills like these belong in the prestigious pages of The National Geo and Time, but until the day comes that they begin appreciate their beauty – at Antisteez is where they’ll live <3.

This whole moment has an entire story behind it that you can’t let the year go by without hearing: Apparently, Naked Asian wanted to get too close for comfort which led to the fully-dressed gentleman take a perfectly aimed swing that knocked Naked Asian on his ass. I know many people fist pump to house music, but this is hilarious. We caught up with the Puncher since the Punch-ee was unavailable due to, what I believe is, the shame his little member put him through. Catch the full interview below.

On a personal note: 2011 has been amazing because of antisteez.com and you. Seeing all of you read and follow-up with us is the biggest high I have ever felt. I am looking forward to continue writing for all of you in upcoming year. Here’s to another successful 12 months with the coolest people I’ve had the priviledge to know and work with: My fellow antisteez-ers.

Ya’ll party safe now, ya’ hear?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w85xD4ULlM

5 – The “Alleged” Baby-Killer: Casey Anthony

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H6YxAEVJdY

As a Cuban, please believe me that I was putting little glasses of water under each of my loved-ones’ beds, puffing cigar smoke into every room, and I almost killed a chicken to protect us from the evils that allowed this woman to walk free. It seems that everybody was certain that this duct-tape-fetish-and-little-heart-shaped-sticker-collector was the culprit … except the jury. Needless to say, everybody talked about this woman: From her lack of emotion, to her sly stares and the laugh attacks that she had to control during her own murder trial; none of us expected what we heard the day the verdict was read. Antisteez dubs this one as: The WTF?! Moment That Almost Had Us Take The Law Into Our Own Hands.

So basically she got the name DRAKE tattooed across her forehead. Big, bold and ugly. According to the tat artist, she was not drunk; she was not dumb, all she wanted was DRAKE on her head, that’s all she asked for Sam-I-Am. Antisteez dubs thee: The WTF?! Moment That Made Us Say “ew.”

3 – The Occupiers and the Po-Po’s

Occupy: A movement to express the anger and frustration the American people feel over the rich “Fat Cats” that make their wealth off of the hard working man’s bread.

All across the country the Occupy Movement is making a dent in history. However, wherever there’s a cause - there’s The Man to shut it down. Police have raided the areas the Occupiers have taken over and trumped over their rights to peacefully assemble and protest. Raids have occured in Oakland, and in Boston they tore down a mini house structure made of plywood. Built as a symbolic representation to the caving housing market and the way banks are shamelessly foreclosing on homeowners … the same homeowners who bailed out said banks back in 2008. Antisteez dubs this one: The WTF?! Moment That Made Us Say: “Shame, shame.”

2 – “Preacher, preacher, fifth-grade teacher, you can’t reach me, my Mom can’t neither!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVUg7wwQ1Tw

I remember this well because it was around my birthday and my favorite little spot was serving two-for-one’s Rapture Rum and Cokes which made it a very happy birthday indeed. This crazy preacher, Harold Camping, had the audacity to claim his fifteen minutes of fame by saying the end of the world was upon us on … get this … on May 21. Well, May 21 came and went with not so much as a spring storm and millions of us used it as an excuse for a reckless hook-up, binge drinking, and I wouldn’t be surprise if it sprung up a whole generation of post-Rapture babies. Not so fortunate where the poor saps who believed the crazy preacher and splurged all their savings on bunkers, salvation and SPAM.

Then he went on every channel, website and radio station to say: “Heh, did I say May 21? I meant October 21, OCTOBER 21 … yea.” Uh-huh. Gee, that’s funny because I clearly remember strutting down Lincoln Road on Hollow’s Eve in my hot Kitana costume. I guess he got his wires crossed when taking God’s messages cause in June of this year, Camping suffered a stroke that left him debilitated. We wish him a speedy recovery cause Lord knows we need all the excuses in the cosmos to party and get wild. Antisteez dubs this one: The WTF?! Moment With The Biggest Apocalyptic Fail.

and the number one WTF?! Moment of 2011 goes to …

1 – The NBA Lockout

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIQwkxQf5Yo

Even wealthy basketball players are feeling the recession. The NBA locked them out earlier this year while they negotiated contract deals. I understand. I mean, I went to Dairy Queen just yesterday only to find it closed while managers and employees haggle wage contracts. So much for my daily Blizzard but, I digress, point I’m trying to make is that this is TOTALLY relatable. We all want more money to play. When I was kid playing freeze-tag with the homies, I was always the only one left tagging free my frozen friends. One day I had an epitome: I should earn money for this. Long story short, my Freeze-Tag Player dreams where trumped before they even began. Thus, we’re back to the present where po’ folks like DWADE, Bryant and Howard are in turmoil over their meager paychecks; cause let’s be frank: Half of a multi-billion dollar pie is just not enough. Is my villa in the South of France just gonna take care of itself? I don’t think so! Antisteez dubs this one as: The WTF?! Moment That Made Us Sing: “Money, money, money, mo-ney! MONEY!!”

Happy End of the Mayan Calendar, folks! Catch you on the other side of 2012.

*Disclaimer: (And I am writing it in pink AND bold which I know Lou hates.)

I started doing these Best Unseen Antisteez Moments with the intent of writing all  five. Unfortunately, I couldn’t complete #2 because of time constraints. That’s when my partner, man of magic and goodness that he is, stepped up to the plate to compile this epic post about music and about our weekly podcast. (Thank you for that selflessness and teamwork, Lou.) Personally, I don’t think that anyone could have done this post but Lou; the king of music and the man behind the utopia that is Antisteez.  He puts 100% of himself and his passion into bringing you, our fans, the music that is essential to your lives. He does it every week, without fail. (Okay, Guilletine helps, too. lol) For that, we thank you, Lou and Guille. Music is the glue that holds us together and you…well…you make the glue. You make glue. lol Sorry, that’s all I got. –goobs

Without further ado, I present to you our leader, Lou.*

107.

Let’s all say it together now…

ONE HUNDRED AND SEVEN!

That’s the amount of podcasts that we have been nice enough to bring to the public. Every single Tuesday, no matter what, since December 22, 2009. We have never missed one. We don’t plan missing one. Now, it’s obvious that no one has heard all of them but me, and I don’t blame you. Not until August 3, 2010 did I bring Guilletine into the mix. (Pun was totally intended and genius, I know.) Before then, our weekly podcast was a simple iTunes playlist that I would load up at work, record on some crappy free application and then upload an hour and 10 minutes later.

But since Guilletine jumped on we’ve gotten incredible feedback from all of you about our themed mixes. We’ve had requests. We’ve teamed up with crews to do exclusives. We’ve even done mixes for specific events to showcase artists that might not have the biggest names in Miami just because we know hundreds of you guys listen to the podcast religiously.

With all that said, we felt that it was appropriate to make today’s unseen moment the top 5 podcasts according to your favorite Antisteez-ers. Yup, we rounded the Antisteez kids up and asked them what they thought that top 5 podcast were. And they all had mad opinions right away. We like that kind of conviction. So, without further ado, check out our staffs’ top picks and the music that moves them. See if they move you, too.

Fry: He mainly focuses on sports talk here on Antisteez, yet you might have seen him write some pretty dope album reviews on Army of the Pharaohs “The Unholy Terror”, Canibus “C of Tranquility’ and Wu-Tang “Legendary Weapons”. That said, it’s obvious that dude is pretty big into his hip hop. Here are his favorite podcasts:

- 1993 Hiphop
- WU-TANG Sample Medley
- Mobb Deep vs. Heltah Skeltah
- Army of the Pharaohs
- Metal Fingers Instrumentals

Isabel: She is a well-rounded writer. Isa will toss up a great post about politics, come around and hit you with an upper cut about the Indie scene and then swing back around and bring some awesome interview about some important names down here in Miami. Yet, between you and I, I really never saw her as a hip hop lover. That is, until I read her top picks…

- The NaS Podcast
- The Slum Village Podcast
- The Redman Podcast
- The King of Pop
- Royce da 5’9″ Podcast

Omar: Our guanajo (Who recently announced his retirement.) is the old-school music lover in the Antisteez camp. Don’t let him fool you with his multiple tattoos and super-skinny, skinny jeans. Omar isn’t your typical screamo punk rocker.  He loves and knows his  hip hop. I learned this in one of our many conversations about Kool Keith. (He’s totally hating me for this intro, btw.) Here’s Punk Rock Omar’s favorite podcasts:

- DJ Shadow VS. RJD2
- The Mos Def Podcast
- MIAMI BASS!!!
- EPMD Podcast
- De La Soul vs Tribe Called Quest

Caro: I know, I know. You’re all thinking what I’m thinking. She listens to Y-100 and she hangs Britney Spears posters up on her wall, but chillin’ with Guilletine and yours truly for so long, she’s grown a pair of hairy hip hop balls. That and she loves our local hip hop scene. She will be disgusted that I said she had hairy balls. Here are her favorite mixes:

- 1993 Hiphop
- The King of Pop
- MIAMI LOCALS!!
- Common Sense Podcast
- BIG-L Podcast

EZ: Now, if you wanna talk hip hop, here’s the homey to do it with. Seems like I can NEVER surprise this dude with a new hip hop artist. Seems like the artists HAVE TO contact EZ and check in with him before they release an album. It’s nuts. He is a huge hip hop aficionado and HUGE supporter of the Weekly Podcast. His five picks are as follows:

- Welcome 2 Durham: Little Brother
- STONES THROW!! (Which EZ picked the tracklist for.)
- Apollo Brown Podcast
- The King of the Remix: Pete Rock
- Duck Down Podcast

Damian: I’ve known this dude for close to a decade now and since I can remember, he’s been very heavily into music. I met him in the Drum ‘n’ Bass scene and went on to have him teach me a bunch of things about Trip Hop and Glitch Hop. I also know his favorite hip hop album of all time is Masta Ace’s Disposable Arts. Let’s see what his favorite podcasts are…

- Aesop Rock Podcast
- The Birthday Podcast (ft. J Dilla)
- The Outkast Podkast
- DJ Shadow VS. RJD2
- The Prefuse 73 Podcast

Goobs: Not until Goobs threw down her 16 bars over Raekwon’s “10 Bricks” (prod. by J Dilla) did I truly understand what this woman was about. The hip hop soul living inside of this woman has been ACHING to pop out and high-five the world. She does it through Antisteez. Her soundtrack to that is as follows:

- DJ Shadow VS. RJD2
- De La Soul vs Tribe Called Quest
- Common Sense Podcast
- The Mos Def Podcast
- 1993 Hiphop

Lou: I’m biased. I hate Drake and Wayne. I love shit you’ve never heard. Blah blah blah. So what?! I listen to good ass music. If you’re reading this, you know that. I take  hip hop to a different level. I dissect it and re-arrange into something that makes sense. I also love instrumentals that explain what the producer was feeling at that very moment. I also love samples.

- The King of the Remix: Pete Rock
- Cool-Out Joints: Elevator Hiphop
- DJ Shadow VS. RJD2
- The Groovecast Vol. 1
- The eLzhi Podcast

Now, I know what you’re thinking. I’m way ahead of you and of course this post wouldn’t make too much sense if we didn’t post up what the DJ of the last 70-something podcasts thought about them. Well after pulling out some teeth, we actually made Guilletine pick his 5 favorites and he was nice enough to narrow it down to six. So let’s go ahead and see which 5 (six) he actually thought were his best…

Guilletine: I met this cat at 13 years old when he looked over at me, the older kid in class, and said, “My dad got me a DJ set for Xmas.” I of course had to take advantage and go play some music. 14 years later, here we are. Dude puts together a quality mix every single week for all his fans. One of Miami’s top  hip hop DJs is bumping some serious music in his car. Let’s see what it is…

- MIAMI LOCALS!!
- The King of the Remix: Pete Rock
- Common Sense Podcast
- DJ Premier!!!
- Cool-Out Joints: Elevator Hiphop
- 1993 Hiphop

So there you have it.

Now you know a little more about us. Now you know what we listen to when we drive or are just working on the site. That’s right. We listen to our own podcast. If we didn’t think they were the best mixes out there, why the HELL would we put them up on our site, right? And, don’t try and be coy…we know which ones you guys are listening to, too. Mmhmm.

Here’s a list of the top 5 podcasts ever downloaded. HAHA! We own the Interwebs, kids. NOTHING IS A SECRET!!!

- MIAMI BASS!!!
- The Love Movement Podcast & Contest!
- The Groovecast Vol. 1
- 1993 Hiphop
- The King of Pop

Now go forth and listen…because there is always a message involved. -Antisteez.com

Yes, Lou decided that we would put out our weekly podcast and for the glorious day of love, Valentine’s, we would give our readers an opportunity to win a date with us. The conversation went as follows:

Lou: Boo, I have an EPIC idea.

Goobs: What is it?

Lou: How about if for the Valentine’s day podcast, we do a contest where our fans can win a date with you and me. Like, someone can win a date with you. Someone can win a date with me. And then we can go out on a double date for dinner and movie.

Goobs: That is the worst idea ever. Of all time.

Lou: Boo! It’s epic. Allowing people to win US. You know how many people will enter this contest? People love us, boo. They want to hang out with us. It will be amazing.

Goobs: Absolutely not. No. No. No. What if some creepy guy enters because he wants to see my boobs? What if some stalker girl enters and wins a date with you and then reveals that she wants to tie you up and do weird shit to you?!

Lou: I am perfectly fine with that.

Goobs: No. No way.

Lou: Come on! Please! It will be so epic.

Goobs: Fine. Ugh. No. We can’t. Ugh. Fine. I hate you.

So, we asked our writer Omar to raffle us off to the masses and he sat down and composed the most-hilarious WIN LOU AND GOOBS contest post of all time. Here it is:

I have been selected to inform you all of our very crazy and very real Antisteez’s Valentine’s Day/Possibly-A-Love-Match-If-You-Like-Hip-Hop-Hermits-Or-Big-Boobed-Potty-Mouthed-Women-That-Work-In-Porn-Mines-Contest!! Okay, okay, that’s not really the name of the contest but everything in that last sentence is absolutely true and can become a reality for you if you participate! Basically, what’s going on here is that we got bored and decided it would be awesomely epic if we gave all of you a shot to go on a date with our fearless (and lonely) leaders, Mr. Lou “I don’t leave my house for shit, son!” ANTISTEEZ himself, or the one and only Goobs, self-proclaimed porn miner that likes to point at things with her huge boobs. The best part? Two winners will be chosen, making this a DOUBLE DATE! I told you we loved you!

Here’s the deal, basically all that you need to do is:

1) Download the podcast (because it is awesome)

2) Leave a comment below (only one entry per person, please)on why you deserve this date. You can be witty and funny or you can go the romantic route and leave a poem or a sexy lyric for either Lou or Goobs. You can also go the creepy stalker route (my favorite approach) and leave cryptic serial killer shit for them to read and totally regret this idea ever became a reality.

3) You need to be available for this date, which will happen this Saturday, February 12th at 8:30. You will meet be treated to some yummy pizza at Piola on South Beach and then a movie right next door at the Regal South Beach Theater. (You must have a ride, transportation will not be provided)

So now that you know what the lowdown is…what do you know about your possible dates? Just because you love ANTISTEEZ.com and you devour every post that we post for you does not mean that you know Lou or Goobs. Trust me…they are both quite the catch, if you like catching awkward stares from strangers (I kid,I kid!). I will do my best to introduce these two lunatics to you a la Chuck Woolery from The Love Connection (yes, yes, I’m old, I know).

We’ll start with Goobs:

Goobs is kind of an enigma; if I was a cartoonist I would just draw a pair of ginormous boobs and a big mouth holding a megaphone, which naturally, she would use to yell obscenities with. When she is not busy at the helm of ANTISTEEZ, she can be found cooking lavish meals, tearing up the dance floor, hanging out with her squad or saving kittens and puppies…and by kittens and puppies, she means hot ladies and strapping, young men. Ever the equal opportunity destroyer, goobs is looking to win the heart of a nice girl or bad boy so that she can make funnies and possibly bump uglies. That’s right…this date can be VERY interesting, only hilarious and awesome-minded people can enter this realm, if you don’t fit the bill, she’ll chew you and spit you out. She is brains and mad genius-like, so I hope you like talking (a lot) and maniacal laughter (also a lot) because there are no seat belts on this ride!

Next up is Lou, the mastermind behind ANTISTEEZ. Some people like to think of him as the old man behind the curtain from The Wizard of Oz, but our man Damian prefers to think of him as one of the sexy mens from Oz, the show. Lou doesn’t like anything that you like. He’s a cave dwelling computer humper that is only concerned with this site and the mixes that Guilletine does for the site. Any other subject that you may attempt to bring up during your date with him might cause his cyborg head to explode all over you, causing it to rain green Matrix-like numbers and symbols all over your face. You might get some in your hair or in your eye, but it’ll wash out, trust me (wait, what?). Okay, that was a bit much, sorry. What I was trying to say is that yes, he is a hermit, but he wants you to know he’s really a hopeless romantic at heart (he made me say that, can you tell?). His idea of a perfect night would be coding a website, while a beautiful Jordan-wearing girlie hums Dilla instrumentals and makes him a waffle. I don’t know what any of this means but it would make him happy, apparently.

So there you go! The contest is OFFICIALLY on! we hope you guys are pumped on this, because it should be kind of AMAZING when it all happens! download the podcast, think of your approach and comment away! I know that I just blew your mind, think about how crummy you were feeling before you read this and you thought that no one loved you. Remember kids, ANTISTEEZ loves you…we love you long time.

It was funny. It was true. It was kind of epic. Lou and I were super-pumped to have all the people in Miami (Not really, mostly all the people in our imaginations.) begging to go on a Valentine’s date with us. We were convinced that this was the best idea ever, of all time. We were walking around all proud of ourselves, like we had invented the wheel and cheese. Like we built the Eiffel Tower out of metal and brawn.

It was all ready to post and then…LOU GOT COLD FEET.

You can imagine that it was frightening when he realized how many women were going to enter this contest just to try and get in his pants. I am talking about lines and lines and lines of women, all wearing fly kicks and already lubricated for loving with Lou. (And I was absolutely relieved because I knew that no one was going to enter to win a date with me. Why? Because Lou was in this contest and let’s face it, he is WAYYYYY prettier than I am.) So Lou, being the incredible partner that he is, took pity on me and decided to pull the contest.

So, the night before the Love Podcast and WIN LOU & GOOBS contest was about to go live, we had to call Omar and tell him that his amazing story was not going to post. He cried. And then he complained. And then he cried. And then he complained. Naturally, Lou and I just laughed and laughed at his pain. We decided that our fans would much rather win a gift certificate for dinner and a movie with a date of their own choosing than to go on a date with us.

And while Omar NEVER FORGAVE US for abusing his genius, The LOVE PODCAST CONTEST was a great success and our winner had a lovely time…

But somewhere deep inside, Lou and I will always regret not going on that double date because who knows? We might have lost our one opportunity to find love in Miami. And when we think about it, it makes Lou and I sad. And then we sit in front of our computers and go to youtube and watch the scene where Dumbo goes to see his mom in jail and we cry and cry.

And cry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxm6avJHTWc

But that’s not a lot of people.

So, we decided to raid the vault and post the top five unseen moments in ANTISTEEZ history. No, it’s true. We have a vault. And we have a swimming tiger that guards that vault. We feed him bistec empanizado with pepper. Because tigers love pepper and cow parts. They hate cinnamon. Our tiger’s name is Woods.

Today’s unseen footage holds a special place in my heart because:

a) My heart is under my breasts and we all know how much I love my breasts. (You love my breasts, too.)

b) It is a one of the most real and raw moments in ANTISTEEZ interview history.

Around the end of the summer in 2010, our friends at Circle Tree MultiMedia made a video for a rhyming lady duo from Texas. The ladies, rappers Memphis Blac and Smokahontas Jones shot the video for their single Got Dat Work right here in the 305.  Directed by Matthew Hoyos, the video featured Blac and Jones wearing scandalous outfits and rhyming about prostitution and selling their bodies for money.

The video was so sensational and out of control that EVERYONE was talking about it, which is why our friends at (((SHAKE))) decided to bring Blac and Jones down to the Vagabond to perform.

It was there that I met these ladies and we began what was going to be the most-epic conversation about what it was like to grow up in the impoverished areas of Texas and the life that these two women had seen. Blac, an ex-prostitute and drug addict spoke candidly with me about her life from her beginnings at Rap-A-Lot Records with Scarface to her life on the streets and how she worked hard to help her neice, Jones overcome street life and go to college.

Their story was so much bigger than the Got Dat Work video, and I felt like it needed to be told. So, the next day we headed to Critical Recording Studios and met up with Blac and Jones and recorded our conversation with them about life on the streets. It was one of the most-intimate interviews we ever conducted.

When we edited it down, the footage was about 25 minutes long and so good that Lou couldn’t stop watching it. We felt like everything that these women were saying had to be heard. But now we had three separate youtube videos and content that we had no idea what do with. How could we post it? How could we spin it? Would people want to watch it? Would people just see the hookers and not the message?

We thought about it for a long time, actually.

We kept thinking that there would be a great opportunity to post them at some point, some day…and then they were lost in the vault and never saw the light of day. (It is a shame when things like that happen. We are not proud of it.)

Until now.

Below you will find our interview with Jones and Blac in three parts. If you ask me, it is one of the greatest interviews we have ever done. It’s full of real talk, full of real moments and the truth about what happens on the street in the struggle.

We think it’s pretty amazing. That’s why it’s number four on our Top Five Unseen Moments countdown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1WLxkbrVys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFF-g_ESd98

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoPjx30l7v0

P.S. It’s okay to hate your government, but love your country. That’s why I say; SCREW THE POLITICS, SUPPORT THE TROOPS!

There are a ton of amazing causes in this city to give your money to and that’s why the Friends of the Miami-Dade Public Library are only asking for $10. In its second year, their 10×10 program seeks to raise $100,000 by getting 10,000 Miami-Dade residents to donate $10 each to the campaign. A campaign, might I add that will fund some amazing and important programs.

“The 10 x 10 Challenge funds all Library programs including Summer Reading initiatives, Reading Ready: an amazing tri-lingual program designed by the library to help children learn to read, Storytelling Camps: where Children and Parents learn the art of storytelling and practice with a professional and the Art of Storytelling Festival: a massive festival day every year in April where children pour into the Main Library from all over the county for a day of fun activities and Storytelling on the library’s dime.” said Nicole Chipi, Friends of the Miami-Dade Public Library

“The library also funds lesser known programs that I am really proud of like Talking Books: a program that lends full-length unabridged books on cassette along with a player or Braille books to the sight-impaired in our community. We also fund Connections, a program which delivers books to the homebound. What I consider the most amazing program that the Friends of the Library funds is Project LEAD. Project LEAD is a program that advocates Literacy for Every Adult in Dade county. This program offers confidential and private tutoring sessions with a personal mentor that helps adults learn to read. “

All they ask for to keep these programs running is to support the 10×10 Challenge.
Going on June 1 – October 10 you can make your donations by going to their Website

By Mail
Send a check to:
Friends of the Miami-Dade Public Library
101 W Flagler St
Miami, FL 33130

By Phone
Call the Friends at (305) 375-4776.

Let’s show how much love and support the Antisteez family can give by making your donation, helping spread the word and becoming a Friend of the Miami-Dade Public Library.

To join the campaign click the link above

Lately all I hear is bad news about Florida’s public school system and all the budget cuts coming their way, having several friends who chose teaching as their career path this issue hits especially close to home for me. So, when I found out that publishing giant Penguin Group was doing their part to help the Florida Public School System I thought I would do my part to spread the word about their campaign. Not only am I a HUGE reader but I am an even bigger fan of giving back so to me when their powers combined the perfect cause was born. Thus is the message behind We Give Books.

They have several campaigns going on, but the one that impacts us here at Antisteez, and all our kiddies in the 305 is Read For My School Florida. All it takes is for you to go to Penguin Group by clicking the link above, sign up via Facebook (we know you all have got one!) and start reading. The books on the site are meant for kids so I had a damn good time reading some of my old school faves and finding some new gems. For those of you Steezers with kids of your own its a great activity to do with them, it takes 10 minutes max. Once your done you click Donate a Book, and just like that Penguin donates one book to a Florida school of your choosing for every book you read. A better deal than that I’ve yet to find. They have pledged 50,000 books, and so far I’ve got to say the 305 is not doing that great a job of representing for our young folks. So lets get on it, spread the word, put a badge up on your site, post it to your Facebook or Twitter feed but most of all join the campaign and read your asses off because its only good until May 9th when the campaign ends.

-goobs

ps: A shout out to Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine from BBC’s Last Chance To See for doing a great job at raising awareness for endangered species and for narrating epic bird fuckery in such an eloquently British way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY

Yes…the Duchess of Doral. (Yeah, we named her that. It’s fitting.)

For years, people have driven past her while she sits regally, waiting for her transportation. (She rides the bus around town.) Or they have recently taken to snapping shots of her while she shops and reads the paper at the McDonalds kiosk, located inside the Doral Walmart. (Mostly trying to get her on PeopleofWalmart.com…which she has been on a grand total of three times! 1, 2, 3 times!)

But nobody really knows anything about this woman, in her wild outfits and garish lipstick…until now.

Because one fine day on a recon mission, me (Goobs! Yay!) and my antisteez cohort, Helen, bumped into the duchess and actually got to sit down and chat with her. What transpired was the stuff of legend. All recorded on Helen’s iPhone (Which is why the recording is soooooo bad, but soooooo good at the same time. lol) while we sat at McDonalds.

To say that this woman is batshit crazy, is an understatement. She proceeded to tell me that she was a trillionaire. That’s right…trillions. She told me that she has mansions in Palm Beach and Europe and all over the United States. She rambled on about war crimes and sticking my nose where it didn’t belong and then told me that she has only slept in a bed for 13 nights since October of 2000. She touched base on Nader and on the earthquake in Haiti, too.

I am not sure why, but I kind of felt that she started talking current events to test my intelligence. You know…to feel me out and make sure that I wasn’t some ignorant hillbilly. (Which I am sure she bumps into all the time at Walmart! lol) Once I started chatting with her, she made it very clear that she didn’t want to talk to me and that she was leaving….then she rambled on to me for 30 minutes. In fact, I think she was sad to see me go. It must be hard to be a trillionaire…so starved for good conversation.

Because the Duchess is smart. She is not your average, run-of-the-mill dumb bum. Oh, no. She is full of all sorts of knowledge and conspiracy theories. She claims that people are looking for her. That she is on the run from those who would steal her money and take her many mansions from her. And I won’t lie, with her level of sharpness and her decent vocabulary…I kind of want to believe that YES, she is rich , that yes…she is a trillionaire. TRILLIONS, son! (And that maybe she adopts me. lol)

Peep the audio of my interview with the Duchess of Doral below and prepare yourself…you’re gonna be confused. You’re gonna say, “This lady’s batshit crazy!” and you are going to wonder why this lady doesn’t have her own TV show. lol

Never again wonder who that crazy, big-hat bag lady is standing on the corner waiting for a limo that will never come.

Duchess of Doral mystery is SOLVED.

Goddamn! I feel like Sherlock Holmes!

-goobs

Get the Free EP Right Here:

Also check out the site too for merchandise and more (possibly live show tickets or other future goodies?):

How To Destroy Angels Website

Oh No

You’ve heard the phrase “it’s in their blood” thrown around when it comes to families with great musical genes. The artist known as “Oh No” is part of one of those families- son to cult 70′s singer Otis Jackson and nephew of renowned jazz trumpeter Jon Faddis. Oh No has proven himself a skilled producer as well as a versatile MC and this is no surprise being that Madlib, a musical genius, is his brother. Talk about melodious and talented genes.

The young up and comer is signed to Stones Throw Records. STR knows music; they have presented us acts like Madvillain, the late and great J Dilla, Aloe Blacc, Percee P, Lootpack MED, and the list goes on and on…. Last year STR asked Oh No to remix Guilty Simpson’s, another STR veteran, “Ode to the Ghetto”.

 

The tasty piece of ear candy that he feeds us is called “Guilty Simpson – Ghettodes”. Remix albums aren’t always up to par, but here at Antisteez.com we only give you what you need to hear. For more information on this and any STR artist visit the Stones Throw Records homepage.

PS. the album is available for download on their website, do it!

Check out one of the cuts…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6q6uilXXsQ

Here at Antisteez, we like to support the 305. It’s our home. It’s our stomping grounds. It’s the place that has birthed many of the things we love from our great football team (GO DOLPHINS!) to cafecito (Con lots of azucar. porfa-please!) So, it’s no surprise that when we heard that one of our own Cuban sons of Miami (Yes…a made-in-Dade native!) was headed over the wild territories of Australia, we needed to support him.

After all, it isn’t every day that a Cuban goes to the Outback.

His name is Willie Concepción, which for all intents and purposes, makes him like Bond, James Bond…only more Latino and less British. Willie and his friend/partner/cohort/accomplice Andrew Adams (Which is THE whitest name known to man. Seriously. Willie Concepción and Andrew Adams sounds like a Latin Fusion Jazz Duo. lol) auditioned and WON! to be part of a trip called VAN-TASTIC Adventures. The gig, which is sponsored by travel insurance group, WorldNomads.com., is basically this: Willie and Andrew travel around Australia in a van named Geoff and document their experiences. At the end of their six-week trip, they pass Geoff off to another traveling duo and make a master movie of their adventure. Then they compete against a bunch of other Van-tastic’ers movies for a grand prize of $10,000 and some other coolness. (If you want a fancy-schmancy explanation, watch the interview.)

Yes. A Cuban from the 305, rip-roaring through Australia and checking out the natives and wild animals with his Caucasian friend and a camera and a dream of money.

It sounded like a novela on Univision, so we were instantly drawn to these gentlemen. (It also didn’t hurt that we knew Willie’s cousin, Lino, either.)

One white guy. One Cuban guy. One huge rock. AUSTRALIA.

So, I set out to interview Willie, mano-a-mano. Well. rather, iChat-to-iChat and despite the fact that I was in Miami and he was in Australia and he was  actually 13 HOURS IN THE FUTURE!!! We managed to communicate and he managed not to tell me anything that would happen.(Because we all know that it would have probably screwed up the space-time continuum.)

Willie and I talked about his trip, his experiences, aliens, kangaroos and Andrew dazzled me with his Spanish. Naturally, Willie tried to show me his dingo about three minutes into our convo, (What is it about webcams that make guys want to whip out their dingos, eh?) but I refused and then things went along nicely.

Willie and Andrew play patty-cake in a tank with a bazillion-pound crocodile killing machine!

Why should you watch this interview? 1) Because it’s kind of funny. 2) Because you get to see random glimpses of my cleavage. 3) Because these guys need you to love them instantly and vote for them on July 2 – July 25 so that they can win $10,000 to make their dreams come true.

(Naturally we will remind you to vote in July. But if you are reading this and it IS July, you can VOTE HERE!)

But for now, fall in love with Andrew and Willie and then stalk their Facebook Group and  Travel Journal so that you feel comfortable with voting for them in July. (And with leaving them little messages like, “Dear Willie and Andrew, You guys can totally show me your dingo! xoxo Big Daddy)

Enjoy these gentlemen. They really bring the LOL’s.

-goobs

Andrew and Willie and the, um, bearded-eyes-closed-wearing-a-hat guy.

And here are some more video of Willie and Andrew…in case you can’t get enough of these guys!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np6i217pCps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANZ7hNLq14o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLmIIV5yFbg

A lot of times the DIY musical artist will run into one problem, money. As great it is to have complete control over your music when you go DIY/Indie, is the fact that you will still need money to fund your touring, CDs, etc. For those of you losing hope due to financial reasons, don’t! The internet is there to post your car wash fundraising sign to over millions of people out there and the awesome part is, you don’t have to wash anyone’s car.

The one thing you will need though is loyal and supporting fans and CONSTANT new fans to your music and band’s website. It will take a lot of advertising skills and most importantly fans that fit your band’s niche. It may be seem impossible, but a positive outlook to your musical career is a huge part of it all.

According to The Music Snob on their article about Online Fundraising, they’ve discussed a new solution compared to the failed website known as SellABand“I never wrote about Sellaband because it wasn’t something I was personally interested in trying. It only works if you have enough fans to generate a ton of donation money, and judging from my sales to date that just wasn’t gonna happen for me. In the meantime, Sellaband has gone bankrupt and gotten new investors.

This article in the NYTimes highlights some depressing facts not only about Sellaband but the difficulty of creating something unique, and inspiring enough to gather the support you may be wanting for your music:

“Four years in, the SellaBand model has not helped many groups. More than 15,000 artists have set up projects at the site, but fewer than 50 have been fully financed”
There are 13 million music profiles on MySpace, and 4,000 artists on the rosters of the major music labels
While these may be discouraging, the MySpace figure at least is deceptive, since I’m guessing many of those profiles are dead carcasses of former music projects that no longer exist. I’m sure that a couple of them are from my own projects…

To sum it all up: More bands => more competition for the pocketbooks and wallets.

Not that there’s anything surprising about this, really. The other site that the article features is called KickStarter, which bills itself as a “A FUNDING PLATFORM FOR ARTISTS, DESIGNERS, FILMMAKERS, MUSICIANS, JOURNALISTS, INVENTORS, EXPLORERS…” Check it out. I like how it’s targeted not just at musicians but anyone that wants to raise money for any sort of project. I can think of several crazy ideas that would be fun to solicit some funds for. I’ll leave that to your imaginations…”

Article Source: http://www.themusicsnob.com/2010/04/05/online-fundraising-for-bands/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheMusicSnob+(The+Music+Snob)

I’m aiming this post at my DIY indie musical artists out there. It never hurts to try and put up a tip jar for your online fundraising. Fans that believe in your music will do anything to help you rise to the top, but always continue building your fan base and use social networking to the fullest.

(Fine, you’re on a diet and you’re only eating fruits and veggies. You would be wise to break that diet ASAP!)

Well, whatever your taste buds desire, Knausberry Farm is sure to satisfy any craving in the most natural and organic way possible. And for 50 years, Ray and Barbara Knaus have been doing just that.

Every year you hear 305′ers commenting, “Oh, I can’t wait ’til the Amish farm opens.”

Well, I am here to tell you that NO, they are not Amish. They are actually Dunkers. (Sounds weird? I know! It’s a sect of German Baptist. I just wanted to clear that up.)

By now you should be pondering about making the drive to Homestead or not…I am going to advise you to do it! Why? Because Knausberry Farm is closing soon. The last day of business will be May 1st and if you miss it, you will regret it for the rest of your life! (Or until they open again in November.) And no, contrary to popular belief, they don’t leave and migrate to some mystical butter-churning kingdom way, way yonder. They’re from Miami! But they only open during growing season which is mid November through the last Saturday of April.

Reasons to go:

• Cinnamon Rolls
• Homemade Ice Cream
• Milkshakes
• Brownies
• Cookies
• Pies
• Jams & Jellies
• Fresh Breads
• Flowers
• Veggies
• Fruits (Pick your own strawberries & tomatoes!)

How about some pictures to convince you?

[flickr-gallery mode="photoset" photoset="72157623891514214"]

I can go on, but I think that’s enough convincing for you. I already made my trip last Friday and now it’s your turn. You can go any day, (Except for Sundays, because they’re closed!) from 8am-5:30pm.

One more thing…don’t think these Dunkers want your plastic! They accept cash only, so bring some bills because once you eat their magical cinnamon and pecan rolls, you will buy lots of them!

Knausberry Farm
15980 SW 248 St. (Coconut Palm Drive)
Homestead, FL 33031
305-247-0668