Harlow the Harlot in Miami.

Red Dust (1932), a classic Pre-Code starring Jean Harlow, Clark Gable and Mary Astor in a L-U-V triangle will be shown on Turner Classic Movies at 8:15 AM on November 17th. A must see!

In other news, Ryan and I spent a few days in Miami/Miami Beach last week and it was a much needed break, though much more than a few days there is unnecessary unless you somehow win the lottery or a multimillionaire decides he likes your style and wants to foot the bill for the remainder of your life. I spent a painful 30 minutes in a teeny little store, Base Annex, dying to buy every single item of clothing they had, but finally discovering this gorgeous linen-covered Five Year Diary that was cheap enough for po' lil ol' me. The beautiful gay men running the establishment really thought I was going to drop money or maybe they were just being nice, because they were trying to sell me these $800 Comme Des Garcons t-shirts.

I did find a great small shop called Arrive on 16th near Collins that sold both mens and women's clothing (lots of wonderful wool car coats...in MIAMI???) and I found a stunning cotton Vivienne Westwood skirt that is totally evocative of her Pirates collection on sale. I almost cried; finally, I own Vivienne. I also bought a very Edie smoky grey cotton tee with very high side slits...it was only $30 on sale. Great store.

The food there was excellent for the most part, except our unbelievably crappy breakfast at the horribly overrated News Cafe on Ocean Drive, known as the last spot Gianni Versace interacted with someone not with an intent to murder him to become famous. I think our server wanted to murder us and not be known for anything but a hateful little bitch murderer of two paupers. Ocean has become pretty tawdry in some ways; Collins is the more interesting street at this point. The single most annoying thing about South Beach is the hostess with the over sized menu, seated on a tall stool and jumping into your path, shoving said menu in your face and saying, "Would you like to take a look at our wonderful dinner menu?????" It is horrific that restaurateurs believe this to be indicative of hospitality. It is assault.

We missed eating at Tap Tap as it was closed, but Grillfish was good, casual and had excellent service. Tapas y Tintos on Espanola Way was a beautiful little spot and most of their tapas were fantastic, except the final one, something to do with "Devil Shrimp". They should have called it "Something Remotely Like Shrimp Drowned in Parsley Sauce." It was disgusting. Ryan got all Bourdain on me and called it "a failure." The service sucked. We won't need to ever go there again.

In Miami proper, Catch of the Day on Le Jeune is A MUST. Super fresh seafood done extremely well; Cuban owned and operated with fantastic Cafe con Leche and wonderful, though youthful, service. We had a stone crab cocktail and deep-fried red snapper, served "smiling at you", i.e. HEAD ON!

Thanks to Ann-Eliza and Brian for reccommending The Catalina Hotel and Beach Club on Collins Ave., just past the Delano. Great rates, cool rooms and a wonderful pool. Not to mention free drinks for guests at Happy Hour.