Surf and Turf

Luther Campbell bumper stickers flooding Dade County roads. Uncle Luke is a candidate for our times because sadly Blow-Fly is too old to run for Mayor of Miami. The county has already lost its shirt, now is the time to roll with Luke's Luck, we have nothing to loosen but our pants.

For many longtime residents, South Florida living has always percolated along irrespective of the slurry of political news from downtown and from afar on teevee or the grapevine. Folks are like that all over the world but Miami is #1 for pervasive oblivious apathy.

The Town of Surfside was incorporated 75 years ago. Soon after the town Social Center was established. No doubt it catered to a "select crowd" of whites only.

Some years later, the town Social Center moved and changes its name to the Community Center. As decades unfolded, an new policy of accommodation and inclusion fostered understanding among residents, their guests and visiting tourists eager to enjoy our beautiful sun and surf. We had our very own Library. Children took swim classes . National holidays were celebrated. At election time, we voted there. Grilled cheese sandwiches were $1.50.

Several years ago, a decision was made by devious politicians to demolish the building before funding was secured for new construction. The ill conceived blunder not only destroyed the classic modern architecture but also tore apart the fragile symbiotic social fabric of our community. Sadly without a central meeting place, I have no idea who our neighbors are today.

As the wheels of progress grind slow with the drag of bureaucratic sludge, three years have passed. Two administrations later, the town is poised with pride for the much anticipated grand opening of our paired down new state of the art social center.

Hispanic workers that built this ultra-fancy structure must have wondered what on earth the architects were thinking when they designed this parabolic pagoda of glass and concrete. I think at least one senior at the firm is a big star-trek freak... and that's a good thing.

Here is a sneak peek of the of the aquatic features formerly known as pools. The basins are wedges that taper from a tarmac as if to mimic the oceans shore. Trouble is, they put the pool on the south end of the site where it will be in the shade of the neighboring condo tower for most of the winter months.

The facility is essentially a giant table about the size of a soccer field with a "blow-away" glass underside. The old place had something of a rooftop deck. Perhaps the new place will make use of the increased square footage for Trump to land his helicopter.

All smart new construction must have a round thing and plucked palms.

Surfside is a well kept secret. We tolerate the multitudes of mainlander beach crowds that trash North Shore Park and Haulover Beach, we begrudgingly accept the overdevelopment of Sunny Isles, the snobbery of Bal Harbour Mall and Aventura, we flick a finger at the thievery of North Bay Village and their red-light cameras. It has become increasingly difficult to maintain the level of tranquility and quality of life that made this place our blessing. But Surfside is primed to usher in a new chapter in its quiet history. We welcome you with SPF 75.

Trouble is, every time something gets build, there is more concrete and less green.

The swamp has been paved over and over.

Pleasing to look at and offering shade, a palm is not a tree. Palms are part of the grass family.

Site of the old Surfside Six Motel where a new proposed hotel issue is in the final throws of a controversial confrontation between developer and 600 residents. This you can read about in the local news.

The Miami Herald

The article, "Surfside approved controversial hotel project" by Angel L. Doval, in the Sunday, May 15 Neighbors section omitted critically important information and a very compelling presentation made by attorney Tucker Gibbs and zoning expert Mark Alvarez, given at the behest of the Surfside Residents Association (SRA), and therefore only told half the story. Documents and a PowerPoint presentation allege that the Town of Surfside 2004 Charter Amendment 4, that passed with a 92 percent voter approval and which limits a development’s height, density and intensity was “broken”, thus calling for a “vote of the people” via referendum.

To my great disappointment, the most controversial item to appear in front of this commission to date had two absent members; Mayor Dietch and Commissioner Karukin. Mr. Dietch, a strong supporter of this project, was the town’s planning and zoning chairman for four years and not only missed the opportunity to cast his vote, but also the liberty to challenge the presentation as well.

The vote taken on a matter of such importance, with only three members of the commission present, represents a sad day for Surfside governance.

Joseph “Joe” Graubart

Vice mayor, Surfside

The business end of Surfside. Perfect everyday.

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Got Hydrology

Just One Drop. When the going gets tough, the tough get soaked.

Mobius Revolution. Irony runs counter-cyclical when focus is on naysayers. What is amusing today may be our woes tomorrow. One thing is certain: when it rains, truth roars.

Mr. Mississippi is a shimmering blue snake in the grass not hard to find, enthralling to discover navigate trace the meandering towards its delta estuary soaked and churned in a venom of uncertainty gushing into the gulf of mexico BP basin.

Rage Management: the Itaipu Dam in Brazil. They don't need us, for now.

This is how we roll, "people need stuff" painting by Herve DiRosa

The Mighty Miss flushes and flexes her discontent for our irrelevance.

Lousy Louisiana Luck

On the rocks with a splash of holy water, our cups runneth over for the victims of the flooding.

Mighty Miss explains once again to the USACE, her right to peccadillos.

DaaaaaaaaangDam

Construction on the All Possible Three Gorges Dam in China is almost Finished.

Before and After the flood, these photos look quaint from the long view of a satellite.

Wet boots on the ground tell an epic tale of our presumed detachment from nature. The planet can only take so much abuse from man, we are like the eager beavers on Owsley 2011.

Mayfair for a Moment.

What are folks supposed to do, where we s'pose to go! Frontiers are in the eyes of the befuddled, good news is man has a knack for finding water in the desert.

Missed the Boat. Juragua Nuclear Plant in Cuba sits crumbling never to become operational.

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Grand Finale

The Man the Magic

One measure of success is how much you are loved by others, including former US presidents.

The recent Beatification of Pope John Paul #2 confirms his sainthood and Vatican assurance that his remains will be preserved for adoration.

Word is My Sword

The Legacy of Martin Luther King will also be revered for his life's work to bring world peace through non-violence.

Act 3 Scene 2 Take 1

The shock and spectacle of death that engulf defining moments in the human psyche are in time transformed and twisted by a mythology that serves a scripted continuum.

Paper Machete

This photo, a clownish reenactment of the event in Bolivia 1968 where the corpse of Che Guevara was presented to the world press rather artistically defuses the passion of el Che, a man of war.

Seeing Believing

Here is the official image, corpse with eyes opened. It is interesting that immediately after the assassination photos show Che with eyes closed, leading one to conclude a decision was made that the eyes would be opened for some macabre humiliating or hypnotic purpose.

Sacred BodyBag

There are gushing volumes of talk about the one whose name i will not write.

There is an ocean of myth being poured into the vessel of civilization.

There is a billowing cloud of closure being crafted for consumption.

Deep Fry Turkey

Ceremonial burials at sea seem the appropriate choice to dispose of both pirates and presidents. We are after all, part fish. But like so many of my countrymen's disdain for bin Ladin, i might have signed off on the cremating blast from an oil well in his backyard burial.

Headline for Humanity

Let's honestly hope it's time to say adios to endless war's circus of carnivores.

Somehow i doubt it but who is ready for a ticker-tape parade?

photo not related.

What's next, a memorial to O'binLaden?

Update: According to Cindy Sheehan, this whole corpse story stinks... inclined to agree?

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Royal Blitz

Ding Dong, the Warlock's Gone.

With surgical precision, the might of America that was on the operating table has been resuscitated and it is a relief to say that the operation was a success, but the patient lied.

Moby Dark

Like the carcass of a mighty white whale consumed by nature and exposed by the receding tides; the pillars and trusses of the twin towers rise only in memory as the approaching tides of myth submerge it.

Flag Day Everyday

What better eulogy than to reflect on the beginnings of the business of conflict for all ages. We live in chess game playing to a culture of endless war for neither power or submission but always somewhere in between.

Truncated Triumph

War mongers, hawks and apologists are also jubilant and swollen with the hormones of accomplishment. It is not just republican elephants who are quick to stomp onto the game-board of war for profit. The donkey is also a stubborn player, a crabby carrier of water with a grin to make you just play along in hope of somehow setting a course onto a path to peace.

End Games

Perhaps the still warm shocking images from India TeeVee (that may a well have been cut and pasted from the movie Dawn of the Dead) would be spectacular, but this photo of pre-teens at play is more demonstrative by way of sheer shock value. As the pope get beautified at the vatican, we pray for bigger miracles needed.

War Ends Only for the Dead

Fathers, mothers, sister and brothers are the names engraved on slabs of granite that are symbols of the human toll that conflicts deliver. The message that one would hope to invoke on would be adversaries is that no sacrifice is too great to bring about a desirous result, a world with no war.

Good Times

So for the coming days thousands of relieved followers will rejoice with exasperation for the vitriolic reign of the one whose name they could not spell correctly or pronounce without flubbing.

Overheard in Jalalbucks

The final act of this grand and gory drama was made crystal clear by the blasting news reports of when Bin Laden got this message hand delivered by special forces.

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