Thursday, June 26

Shakra Thursday Specials:
Are you stressed to the max and have little time? Try the Deep tissue Massage for 35 minutes for $75 that caters to your most affected areas, including neck, shoulders, or back, etc. Have more time? Shakra does all types of massages up to 4 hours for the Ultra Stressed People. Visit their beautiful and serene Yoga Studio for Yoga for Lunch al all levels from 12:15 to 1pm, for Body Sculpting at all levels from 5:15 to 6:15pm, and for Pilates at all levels from 6:15 to 7:15pm to stretch and tone your lower back and abdominal area. Enjoy their Zen and fully equipped locker rooms as well as class props for free. The first class for new students (Florida Residents) is always free at Shakra Relaxation Oasis, 271 Alhambra Circle. Call 305-774-1355. http://www.shakramiami.com

Food For Thought Book Club Luncheons
Hungry for a good book and a good meal? Take a literary lunch break during your workday with the Thursday Book Club Luncheons at Books And Books, 265 Aragon at noon. Your paid reservation ($50 all inclusive) gets you the paperback selection for the current week, along with a delicious three course meal created by renowned chef Bernie Matz, and a professional book club facilitator to guide the discussion in the secluded Antiquarian Room. Call 305-442-4408. http://www.booksandbooks.com

Miracle Mile Toastmasters Thursday Lunch
With a shared interest in public speaking, members of the Miracle Mile Toastmasters meet every Thursday at 12:15pm at JohnMartin's Irish Restaurant, 253 Miracle Mile. Enjoy the opportunity to network, gain confidence and become an effective public speaker. The cost of lunch is $19. Call 786-399-9609. http://miraclemile.freetoasthost.us

Free Drinks At Uva Happy Hour
UVA Restaurant and Lounge at 2626 Ponce presents free well drinks and half price premium drinks from 5 to 7pm on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Call 305-476-8111.

Live Music At The Grape
Stop in to your favorite wine bar at the Village Of Merrick Park for a great assortment of wines by the glass or the bottle, plus great food and live music to round out the experience. Now, from 5 to 7pm Monday through Friday, enjoy 2 for 1 glasses of wines in the 1 to 6 category. Meet up with friends at The Grape for a great time every time. Call 305-444-WINE. http://www.yourgrape.com

Poolside At The Biltmore Unplugged
The Biltmore Unplugged Thursday features light jazz performances by Raiko Torres and Son Tres at 7 and 8pm. In addition, guests will enjoy half off Don Julio Tequila cocktails. Cascade Poolside Bar & Grill is perched on the edge of the resort's famous 700,000-gallon swimming pool, the continent's largest resort pool. Call 305-445-1926. http://www.biltmorehotel.com

Gables Democrats Welcome Raul Martinez
The monthly Coral Gables Area Democratic Club June Meeting will feature Raul Martinez at the Youth Center, 405 University Drive at 7pm. Martinez is running against Lincoln Diaz-Balart for a local congressional seat. http://www.Raul2008.com

Thursday Bierhaus Specials
It's home-made Goulash Night at the Bierhaus, with choice of two side dishes at Fritz and Franz Bierhaus, 60 Merrick Way. Call 305-774-1883. http://www.bierhaus.cc

Thirsty Thursday Wine Tastings
Join your hosts, Lalo Durazo, owner of Jaguar, and wine educator Barry Alberts of Berries to Wine for a weekly sampling of fine wines and great food at Jaguar Ceviche Spoon Bar & Latam Grill, 3067 Grand Avenue from 7 to 9pm each Thursday. The cost is $15 per person for food and wine. RSVP is not required.

Barbara Ehrenreich: This Land is Their Land
Barbara Ehrenreich's first book of satirical commentary, The Worst Years of Our Lives, about the Reagan era, was received with bestselling acclaim. The one problem was the title: couldn't some prophetic fact-checker have seen that the worst years of our lives -- far worse -- were still to come? Here they are, the 2000s, and in This Land Is Their Land (Henry Holt & Co., $24), Ehrenreich subjects them to the most biting and incisive satire of her career. Taking the measure of what we are left with after the cruelest decade in memory, Ehrenreich finds lurid extremes all around. While members of the moneyed elite can buy congressmen, many in the working class can barely buy lunch. While a wealthy minority obsessively consumes cosmetic surgery, the poor often go without health care for their children. And while the corporate C-suites are now nests of criminality, the less fortunate are fed a diet of morality, marriage, and abstinence. Ehrenreich's antidotes are as sardonic as they are spot-on: pet insurance for your kids; Salvation Army fashions for those who can no longer afford Wal-Mart; and boundless rage against those who have given us a nation scarred by deepening inequality, corroded by distrust, and shamed by its official cruelty. Full of wit and generosity, these reports from a divided nation show once again that Ehrenreich is, as Molly Ivins said, "good for the soul." Meet the author at Books And Books, 265 Aragon at 8pm. Call 305-442-4408. http://www.booksandbooks.com

Comedy Night At JohnMartin's
Enjoy Laughs On The Mile at JohnMartin's (253 Miracle Mile), every Thursday starting at 9pm as local comedian Freddie Stebbins and friends host a night of fun and frivolity at JohnMartin's Irish Pub. Call 305-445-3777. http://www.johnmartins.com

DJ Boe Spins At The Bar
Coral Gables' legacy pub presents the music of DJ Boe each Thursday evening, with drink specials: It's Super Size It Night for an extra ounce of liquor for free. Enjoy the selection of 48 bottled beers, 10 great brews on tap and the best comfort food every Thursday at The Bar, 172 Giralda. Call 305-442-2730. http://www.gablesthebar.com