King Mango Strut

Michael Jackson showed up. Kind of. So did Anna Nicole Smith, Jesus, Condoleeza Rice, Jim DeFede the Hare Krishnas, Heck-of-a-Job Brownie and Andrea with Shishi.
King Mango Strut in Coconut Grove had the most beautiful weather imaginable, thousands cheering and laughing and wondering at all the sarcasm possible.
My favorite being the line which Wacko Jacko's "lawyer" adapted from another famous trial: "If the kids don't fit you must acquit".
tomáš

Click on any of the photos or on this link to see the photo gallery.

Michael L & Michael G Loft Party

Turning their backs on 2005 Michael & Michael, two New York expats with nice lofts in Miami Beach decided to wish everyone a Merry Christmas painting their message in the most visible places and smoothing the flow with two open bars.
Michael L's penthouse loft in the wonderful Chad Oppenheim building on the corner of Meridian and 17th (opposite Burdine's/Macy's) is very cool, I love the fact that he's leaving the concrete ceiling unfinished (I should have photographed more the feel of that). Never met so many Michaels in the same place, they seemed to be coming from everywhere. Not only the hosts, but besides many others, there was this wonderful couple, where both partners, female and male, were named - you guessed it ... Michael. Cool!
One more day and we can party like it is 2006. So, what are your plans?
tomáš

See the photo gallery here.

Romanian Christmas

Click on any image for photo gallery.

Jewish non-christmas Fiestas

On Christmas eve the Matzo Ball at Opium Garden competed for attention, people and funds with the Eve party at Crobar against the JSoiree at Shine and others. I missed the Matzo Ball (but later on Opium Garden was packed) and when I checked Shine at midnight
it was scaringly empty. Empty as in no people at all (supposedly there were 100 there earlier in the evening. But wouldn´´t you stay a while after paying 45$?).
So the welcoming jewish place to be was Crobar with the Eve Party. And it was so much fun to be with my persian friends. Yes, they talk a lot. And those from L.A. think walking six blocks is kind of not cool. :-) . It was wonderful.
The other good news: Miami feels like Miami again. 75 in the shade and 84 in the sun at 10 am is definitely something to write home about, :-) (as it was only 55 yesterday morning).
tomáš

Photo Gallery here

Christmas House in Pinecrest

How sweet. Really. You have to go to appreciate the joy in the eyes of all these kids. The normally serene streets in upscale Pinecrest (best way to go: follow Old Cutler Road to 67th Av; if you never driven Old Cutler Road you are missing out on a lot of the beauty of living in Miami) are full of semi-illegally parked cars, but no one cares. The feel of this display supersedes everything. And as well as it should.
The Clot Xmas display has delighted the sights of South Florida residents for over 30 years. The display consists of over 600,000 lights, over 100 custom made animated displays and takes approximately 15 days and 15 volunteers to assemble.

See the photo gallery of SW 119th Street and 68th Court in South Miami (Pinecrest)
The display draws in excess of 2,000 amps of current and consumes some $4,000 in electricity monthly.

tomáš

Happy Birthday, Joanna

Winter Solstice at The Raleigh

click on any photo 2 c gallery

Elie Wiesel in Miami

It is nice to have a little bit of culture in our humble backyard fun paradise. So, we should be thanking Mitch Kaplan's Books & Books every day for not being a place where only Barnes & Noble and Border's compete.
And there is no better opportunity to get some education and knowledge than following the soft spoken words of Elie Wiesel (so soft spoken, that they were regrettably barely understandable in the back of Temple Judea, as the speaker system was probably set up for the booming rabbi, not the mild mannered Elie). Not because Mr Wiesel is a Nobel prize laureate, but because he taught me (and I am sure others) a simple but valuable lesson at his lecture.
One of the three most important principles he can pass on from his experience is to listen to others. Listen without interrupting. "I'm the best listener in the world. In 30 years of teaching I have never interrupted a student" he said.
I can't confirm that, but I'll take it at face value, and we all got the principle.
Try it. It won't be easy.

tomáš
Click on any of the photos for more pictures

o-R-o . Miami Vice glitz is back

o-R-o . Miami Vice glitz comes back.
o-R-o. Speak every letter by itself, not like in oro, gold in spanish. o-R-o definitely glitters and shines, in a way not seen in the South Beach Marina area since Don Johnson parked his Ferrari (or whatever he was driving, I don´t remember Miami Vice that well) in those spots nowadays reserved for Bentleys, Rollses and Ferraris.

Lots of space, lots of glitz, lots of people of all ages, although I don´t assume from all walks of life. I hear they will only be serving dinner for now, which is a shame, as the view is beautiful onto the marina.
I guess on this shortest day of the year we´ll have to wait until spring or summer to see how o-R-o glitters when daylight hits the chandeliers.

Here's the link to the photo gallery of the opening.

Sabrina's Pro Stem Cell Research Event

Sabrina Cohen was paralyzed in a drag racing accident thirteen years ago. The stem cell research moratorium imposed by George Bush in 2001 affects her personally, as she hopes for a cure for herself and others with similar injuries and many others where stem cell research would possibly bring a cure closer.
Sabrina has designed a line of T-Shirts with bold messages like "Wanna check out my ass?" which is rather difficult for wheelchair bound people or "I´m sick of pricks" (you interpret it anyway you want), which were showcased at this event, where finally I saw the Press room (and the street in front of it) full of people. Nice.
Sabrina (go to her web page by clicking here) was honored by the City of Miami Beach, which declared October 19th 2005 Sabrina Cohen day, honoring her for using creativity and wit to gain attention for many worthy causes.

You go, girl!


That photo gallery is online already.

Watch Reuters News-TV here.

Besides the events covered locally you can jump into the wide world of television news thru an innovative service that Reuters offers for free. Reuters TV plays pretty smoothly in its own video player at the bottom of this page. CTRL+End will take you there.
Check it out. I wasn't disappointed. You won't be either.
tomáš

Ego Magazine @ Shine

Saturday night and the kids have to party.
Ego Magazine added to the draw of Shine, the revived disco era style nightclub at the Shelbourne hotel.
Best part (besides free beer - not for me, obviously) is the pool area, as in many Miami hotels. The breeze, the december night feel (yes, it got warmer since yesterday. Statisticians register 79 degrees at 2 in the morning), the wide open spaces, an eclectic people mix out there on the deck.

Not that the confinement of Shine or the Shelbourne bar (the one before the night club itself, with the lights set up perfectly for my type of photos) wouldn´t be good for many a reveler. Very different crowd than the Setai as you see in the photo gallery ...


tomáš