Guardian Dragonthing

A house near my apt. has this gargoyle/dragon hybrid statue as its front lawn welcoming committee. It's so tacky it's cool, but to fully know how cool it is you have to see it at night, when the big glass eyes are revealed to be motion sensored lamps that light up whenever something moves around. If I had lots of money to waste, and knew my wife would let me get away with it, I would so put one of these guardians up as well!

Also, welcome to any and all new readers of Miami DP coming in from www.MiamisNews.com and www.CriticalMiami.com.

Miami!

I took this photo as I was driving (see a pattern here?) down the big bridge that connects Miami Beach to the mainland. That's downtown Miami over there, with the port just off to the left.

Say Hello To My Little Friend

As I was leaving the bank yesterday I noticed there was a large number of dragonflies just flying around (they appear in droves in this time of year). I then noticed that there were various just resting atop blades of grass, so I got my camera and approached them very carefully. I was rewarded with various shots (though this is the best one, see if you can count them all), but this one dragonfly above was great, going above and beyond, allowing my camera to get within inches for a nice pic. I think I'll call him Stanley.

They're After Me!

I took this photo of the traffic behind me on the expressway this afternoon as I drove home. I took it by shooting at the side rearview mirror while driving (not very intelligent, I know).

Why I Was Late This Morning

As I've said, I live in an island connected to the mainland by various causeways. I took the southernmost one this morning as I had to go by Office Depot, only to be stuck in very slow traffic for a short while. Eventually we saw there had been a really bad accident on the lanes leading into the beach. I've no idea what happened but the other car involved (behind the yellow cab) was in extremely bad shape.

FYI, that's downtown Miami in the background.

Morning Training

I work near an area in the subirbs called Horse Country full of huge mansions and flat fenced grazing areas with, you guessed it, lots of horses. As I was turning onto my street, I saw this man training his horse to walk in a particular kind of way. In Puerto Rico (and Colombia, too, and this area has a lot of Colombians living near it) we call it Paso Fino (fine walk), and it's both a name for the type of trot and for the horse breed (though I don't know if this horse is a Paso Fino breed). It was very neat, and made me very much aware of the very different things we may mean when we say we are off to work in the morning.

Little Garden Revolution

I was really wondering what photo I would post today when, as I was walking to my apt., I saw my neighbor's little garden. She planted it first last year, but the hurricanes destroyed it, so she replanted about a month ago and it is thriving once more. I mean, look at that basil in the center! Funny thing is, she has started a small garden revolution, with everyone else in the building now going out to plant some flowers as well. We'll see if the seeds I planted actually grow this time.

Yikes!

The price of gas here in the states is getting out of hand. I took this last night at the pump right next to my house (Regular Unleaded would be roughly $0.75., or .60 Euro, a litre), and already today it's a cent higher. You can still get a gallon for less than $3 (I paid $2.95) but I fear it may not be for long. I fully realize Europeans will see this and laugh long and loud, but over here it's not funny. Maybe I should join Eric over in Paris once and for all.

Welcome to Miami Beach

Contrary to popular belief, the entity known as "Miami" is actually made up of a couple dozen smaller cities spread throughout the county. You have already met Coral Gables, and now you get to meet my homecity of Miami Beach. There's a couple of these welcome signs around the island (one for each of the causeways that connect us to the mainland), each with its own charm. This one is in the style of the Miami Beach of the 30's and 40's (much like my own home) when all this area was full of apartment buildings for vacationing northerners escaping colder climates.

Art Flamingo

I believe it started in Switzerland with benches, but then it was New York with cows, and then everyone and their mother was doing custom-made art sculptures for charity. In Miami we had at one point giant roosters (I'll try to get a pick, there's still a few around town) and then flamingoes. This one was at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens, just next door to the Holocaust Memorial. The flowers there were in full bloom and amazing, and I'll show you some down the line.

Hope

The Holocaust Monument can seem like a very somber and depressing place, especially if you consider the last statue of the monument (see The End), but I don't believe it is. The main sculpture is brutally honest and realistic, but also one of hope and faith. That hand is not defeated; see the sinews, see the veins, see the strength with which it reaches to Heaven; see how the skeletal figures climb it, possibly with their very last ounce of life, for at the top lies salvation. Just as we were liberated from Egypt, we were liberated from this last enslavement, and so it shall be in the future.

I am off in celebration of Passover. A world of thanks to Nicola, from RheingauDP & WiesbadenDP, for having helped out with the daily pics during these days. Danke schön!

Water

Today is the last day of Passover (though outside of Israel we celebrate one more day, tomorrow), the day in which G-d parted the Sea for the Israelites to escape Egypt, so I thought it appropiate to feature an image of water. This fountain surrounds the center walled area of the monument like a crescent moon and creates a wonderful contrast with the pink Jerusalem stone from which the whole monument is made of. As an extra, our oral tradition relates that when the Sea parted for Moses and the Children of Israel, ALL the water in the world parted as well, from oceans and lakes, to rivers and wells, even water held in buckets or drinking vessels, thus proclaiming the miracle to all of humanity.

I am off in celebration of Passover. Nicola, from RheingauDP & WiesbadenDP, is helping out with the pics. Thanks!

Peace

No matter the bustle around, no matter how many cars are passing by, there is always a heavy sense of peace and serenity at the monument. Now that the buganbilias are all in bloom, the place offers a very sharp contrast of natural beauty sheltering a record of human attrocity.

The Cry

This is the scene that greets you as you enter the inner walled chamber of the monument (via The Passageway, below). It is interesting that this figure is turned away from the Hand reaching to the skies. I interpret it as a powerful act of inclusion; though G-d will surely bring salvation, signified by the larger sculpture, this little girl makes you, the viewer, the visitor, part of that process. Will you pick her up and carry her to safety (if not physically, then at least in memory)?

The End

Sadly, the story of our family ends like so many others did, 6 million others to be precise. And yet, there is a glimmer of good: mother and children remain together, a small miracle given the big picture.

I am posting this in honor of my Rabbi's mother, Miriam Bracha bat Hinda Freida, who passed away last Sunday, April 9. May her soul find peace and may she be reunited with the whole family that she lost in the Holocaust.

The Passage

As you approach the center, you must descend down a tunnel-like passageway offering only strips of sunlight that only serve to illuminate the names of some of the most (in)famous death camps: Treblinka, Ravensbruck, Dachau and Auschwitz, among others. At the entrace to the walled plaza housing the monument, this young girl cries and reaches out to you for help, for succor, for understanding. The rest of her family are nowhere to be found.

I am off in celebration of Passover. Nicola, from RheingauDP & WiesbadenDP, is helping out with the pics. Thanks!

The Sad Beginning

The Jews in Europe, much like the Jews in Egypt in the days of Pharaoh, thought they had a great situation, enjoying comfort and wealth, and much like in the days of Moses, they all learned that these things are ephemeral, and fortunes change at the drop of a pin.

The Holocaust Memorial starts with this statue of a mother and her two children, pondering the sad reality of the dark days that are to come. We will journey through the story of the Holocaust with this family and learn their fate later on.

I am off in celebration of Passover. Nicola, from RheingauDP & WiesbadenDP, is helping out with the pics. Thanks!

Hand to G-d

This is the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach, a massive 42-feet high bronze sculpture crawling with human figures that depict the anguish, pain, horror, defeat and ultimate hope of the victims of the Holocaust. The hand, tatooed with a serial number, reaches out to G-d in Heaven, from where salvation has, and always will, come.

I am off in celebration of Passover. Nicola, from RheingauDP & WiesbadenDP, is helping out with the pics. Thanks!

I Wanna Be A Cat!

Seriously, this is what my cat, Paris, does all day long. What a life, no?

I will be offline for the next three days in observance of Passover. Nicola, from RheingauDP & WeisbadenDP, is going to be very kind in helping out with the daily photos for these days.

Morning Cat

Though my cat sleeps 90% of the time, he always wakes up to spend some time with us in the morning (at least until he can sneak into the bedroom. I took this a couple of mornings ago, while I was getting ready to do my morning prayers, and he went to his spot by the window.

As a tie-in to the Daily Photo family, my cat's name is Paris. :-)

Cats' Eyes

Both my neighbors and I have cats, and the other night, as I was walking into the house, they both happened to be looking at the at each one's window (mine is the one to the right), so I returned the favor and snapped this pic.

Coral Gables: Backyard Statuary

You know Coral Gables is a very unique place when this is the kind of things you can find tossed out on some people's backyards.

(Sorry for the delay. All's well now)

Technical Difficulties

Unfortunately I am having some technical difficulties with my computer today (I'm at my wife's). I will try my best to get the daily photo out, but if not, I will post it tomorrow, along with the regular one for the day. My apologies.

Coral Gables: The Tower

This is the tower of the Biltmore, one of two Moorish Giralda towers in the Miami area, an achitectural style brought from Spain to crown the majestic pseudo-Italianate palazzo. The first balcony from the bottom is the 13th floor, officially known as the Everglades Suite, but much better known as the Al Capone Suite, the gangster's very own personal room whenever he came to Miami. It is also supposed to be haunted, though for the price you pay per night, your own personal ghost is almost part of the package!

Coral Gables: Tropical Royal Guard

This small church stands right opposite the Biltmore Hotel, and the path is set up so that, literally, couples get married in the church and march down the road, flanked by their tropical royal guard, all the way to the entrance of the Biltmore to their reception.

So to answer Nicola's comment to the last photo, yes there are a lot of weddings here indeed!

Coral Gables: The Queen

This is the Queen of Coral Gables, the Biltmore Hotel, crown jewel of Miami for the last three-quarters of a century. Built in the 1920's, the Biltmore has had a fascinating history, going from gathering place for the international elite in the 20's and 30's, to Army barracks and hospital during WWII (origing of many of the haunts in the hotel), to dilapidated and abandoned has-been, to renewed luxury hotel.

I LOVE this building, and seeing it always makes me smile.

Coral Gables: Morning Swim

Morning swim at the Venetial Pool.

Coral Gables: Venetian Pool

This particular shot is of the small cave behind the 25-foot cascade of glorious mid-70 degrees (mid-20 degrees C) water at Venetian Pool; I was almost about to leave when I turned to take a last look and saw this little gem.

Coral Gables: Granada Gate

Coral Gables was built on a Mediterranean model, and it included coral walls around parts of the city, with gates that allowed entry. This is one of the few remaining gates, located on Granada Ave. All the streets in Coral Gables are named for Mediterranean locations and after famous people hailing from the area.

Coral Gables

Coral Gables, founded in 1925, was Miami's first fully-planned community, the brainchild of George Merrick. Merrick wanted a city with a Mediterranean flair that would also incorporate small enclaves in defining architectural styles from around the world. The city was built using coral as its defining building material, thus the name, and remains the place with the largest concentration of natural coral edifices in South Florida, making it an attraction unto itself, since coral is now banned as a building material.

The pictures this week will showcase a short jaunt into The City Beautiful, starting with the Venetian Pool, where I took this picture.

Flushing Meadows

Continuing around the Miami Design District, we find this place I call Flushing Meadows, directly across the building with the car from yesterday. This is part of the district's public art displays, and all I can guess is that the artist has some family who are plumbers. Not sure what the message is, but they are certainly quite original.

Click below for a close-up of each of the flusing trees:

• Flushing Tree #1
• Flushing Tree #2
• Flushing Tree #3
• Flushing Tree #4
• Flushing Tree #5

This is the last of the Miami Design District pics for now. Coming this week, a jaunt into Coral Gables.