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​If you're not already initiated into sneakerhead culture, don't get too worked up about it. Yes, the sneakers fetch exorbitant prices. No, they aren't always worn. And all that talk about uppers! Soles! Colorways! (This is something characteristic of collectors' vinyl toys too -- why aren't they just plain-old "colors" or "color combinations" instead of "colorways"?) Whatever. Everyone has his or her fetishistic little collections on some level, right?

And hey, at least sneakerhead gatherings are more fun than most collector's conventions. With various music-interested subcultural types interested in expensively adorning their feet (or not), performances and cameo appearances at the most popular of this recurring series, DunkXChange, are usually a given.
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photo by Alex Rendon

The Alligator Alley All-Stars on the late club's final night.

​In its seven-and-a-half year life, the late Alligator Alley in Oakland Park carved out a distinct swampy niche for itself. It was a rare intimate venue dedicated to a particularly old-Florida vibe, with geographically appropriate bar snacks, local micro-brews, and, most important, a nightly program of original, live blues and rock. (Fun fact: That's where we discovered the musicians who would eventually form current favorites Young Circles and Blonds.)  More >>

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That's Writer on the left with the beard, fedora, and fanatical smile.

​Back in August, we reported that local poet and promoter Renda Writer was giving up his post as editor of local arts mag WeMerge in order to focus even more of his energy toward getting the attention of Ellen DeGeneres so that she may invite him to read one of his poems on her show. Now, after years of "Look at me, Ellen!" activity, DeGeneres has finally acknowledged his existence... kinda.

In his latest effort to get the attention of the beloved comedian/host, Writer put on an art show in Los Angeles devoted to her. The event featured more than 60 portraits of DeGeneres and was called, appropriately, "The 2nd Annual Ellen Art Show." The first was held here in South Florida last year. After the event, Writer dropped a couple of the paintings off to the mail room of the Ellen DeGeneres Show and... They made it onto television!

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He's thinking, "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

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Just last Thursday, County Grind attended a particularly wild concert that included some near-nudity, stage diving, and lots of masturbation chatter. The show was that of Machine Gun Kelly, the Cleveland rapper whose gift is his ability to spit out lyrics as fast as, well, a machine gun.

After the rapper left Fort Lauderdale, he and his crew headed to Orlando, and then Saint Pete, where he ended up in a jail cell. According to MTV and Twitter, it was in the slammer that MGK uncovered that the inmates recognized him. That was probably pretty neat and fortuitous for an up-and-coming, strikingly skinny, rowdy, white-guy rapper. He was charged with disorderly conduct and released on bail.

Let's take a minute to watch a few MGK videos that foreshadow last night's events. They hint at a lifestyle that is, you know, criminal.

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Alan Gutierrez

​Bet you're wondering what the hell Luther Campbell is doing right now. More >>

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The Internet

Wait, can we use this logo?

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The Jamaican consulate asked that Banton get better digs than the tough prison in Groesbeck, Texas.

​Buju Banton has been on the move during the first few months of his ten-year sentence on federal drug charges. The iconic dancehall star went from Florida to Oklahoma to Texas, back to Oklahoma, and he'll soon be en route to the Federal Correctional Institution Miami, according to David Oscar Markus, Banton's attorney.
 
Plans to place Banton in a Mississippi prison fell through when authorities discovered that a codefendant in the case had already been assigned to the facility. Authorities then stowed Banton in a Federal Transfer Center in lovely Oklahoma City before moving him to a correctional institution in the dreadful-
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