FOLLOW me on my popular Twitter feed. Just click this photo! @hbbtruth - David - Common sense on #Politics #PublicPolicy #Sports #PopCulture in USA, Great Britain, Sweden and France, via my life in #Texas #Memphis #Miami #IU #Chicago #DC #FL ๐Ÿ›ซ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿ“บ๐Ÿ“ฝ️๐Ÿˆ. Photo is of Elvis and Joan Blackman in 'Blue Hawaii'

Beautiful Stockholm at night, looking west towards Gamla Stan

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Looking ahead at Hallandale Beach/Hollywood Blog to everything in 2020 that we'll be analyzing, discovering, examining and writing about with our customary nuanced and fact-filled way, including news via new platforms to better inform the public in South Florida and beyond in ways they can better use, appreciate, and share with others so that more people are in-the-know.

Looking ahead at Hallandale Beach/Hollywood Blog to everything in 2020 that we'll be analyzing, discovering, examining and writing about with our customary nuanced and fact-filled way, including news via new platforms to better inform the public in South Florida and beyond in ways they can better use, appreciate, and share with others so that more people are in-the-know.


My 2019 photo of the Andrew Antonaccio mural at 1900 Hollywood Blvd. in Downtown Hollywood, featuring da Vinci's Mona Lisa masterpiece. I've been using this photo at the top of my blog since the summer of 2019 to replace the by now familiar photo of the iconic rainbow-colored Hallandale Beach Water Tower on State Road A1A that I've been using on the blog since starting it in 2007.


My photo of July 6, 2019 of the Fabio Onrack mural a few blocks farther west in Downtown Hollywood at 2050 Hollywood Blvd., on S. 21st Avenue, just south of Hollywood Blvd. 
It features iconic 20th Century artists Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=83&v=jDmHyUhxu_8&feature=emb_logo

Today I'm looking ahead and talking out loud about some of the things in 2020 we'll be analyzing, covering, discovering, examining and writing about with our customary nuanced and fact-filled way.
It'll also feature news about some new-and-improved platforms to better inform the public in South Florida and beyond about some important matters of public concern in ways they can better appreciate, use and share with others.

Fortunately, many people in our area have perches that allow us to take a long (term) view and not the all-so-familiar, myopic takes on the news and events that far too much of South Florida's news media seems to prefer for reasons of their own involving either laziness, lack of due diligence, or confusion on whether they are journalists or publicists.
That's a REAL pernicious problem in South Florida, especially with reporters under the age of forty.
Too many seem to prefer shallow takes completely lacking historical context or intellectual heft that are instantly forgettable.

Like nearly everything that appears in the troubled and bias-laden Miami New Times, once actually voluminous and fun to read, to which can't seem to see straight out of its inability to treat people fairly, and not write pieces based strictly on personal/political spite or animus.
Almost everything written there reeks of indignation, much of it of the know-it-all kind that sells in places where everyone calls for diversity yet always agrees.
That's called consensus, not diversity. 




Just so you know, there will be a LOT of interesting news, commentary and insight about Hollywood, Hallandale Beach and Broward govt./political/public policy doings coming the next few weeks, so don't think I've taken the holidays off. No. I've been busy writing away and putting my little nuggets of information into storage until the holidays were over and people were of a mind to start reading things that are not frivolous.

Usually, but not always, at the Panera Bread on Sheridan Road in Hollywood, not far from where I live these days, as opposed to the days I lived in Hollywood Lakes on Wiley Street and just north of Young Circle on Filmore Street, west of U.S.-1








That necessarily includes returning to the antics of Wednesday Hallandale Beach City Commission meetings at 5:30 pm due to the return and reboot of Joy Cooper to the local political scene. I anticipate some antics and melodrama, since all that time away from the passing scene has got to have built up quite a lot of need in her to show everyone what's what.
Certainly that's what the South Florida news media is expecting, so I expect they'll be more likely to actually show up when something important is going on instead of the sillier issues that drew them like flies the past 2-3 years. Which is all to the good. 

 I'll be there more often, too, to observe and report back here with what's what, including some news about an expensive financial fiasco the HB CRA is involved in that will likely explode in February unless cooler heads prevail.
Slim odds of that if you've seen who's at Hallandale Beach City Hall these days.

I hope to be able to be finished writing some positive stories I've started regarding some dynamic new entrepreneurs who have come to the area and who are making a very positive difference in the general attitude of things hereabouts as it concerns satisfying customers. 

Like my marketing-savvy friend, John Wiltsey, who worked so successfully for so many years for the fashion house Chanel, which included LOTS of traveling to fascinating luxurious places I've only read about and seen photos of but where lots of hard work goes on, too, according to him.
John's dream turned reality in Downtown Hollywood late this past summer with the opening of
Camp Cocktail Bar + Grill, on the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and N. 21st Avenue, at 2051-B Hollywood Blvd.
That's the same block on the north side of Hollywood Blvd. where popular GoBistro! and it's newer brother, GoGai! is located, as well as Tasta Gelato & Cafeteria. 



2051-B Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Florida 33020
+1 (754) 263-1175
campcocktailbar@gmail.com

I first profiled Tasta Gelato and its five owners, longtime childhood friends from Italy and Sicily, back in October of 2016, over three years ago, even before they officially opened, when I was able to get a behind-the-scenes view, with lots of photos, and was able to tell how and why they chose to locate in Downtown Hollywood over many other possible sites throughout the U.S., including, naturally, South Beach.





https://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2016/10/how-why-italys-tastagelatos-first.html

Other people who've made a VERY positive impression on me since I returned to Hollywood last April include Craig Avera and Rose White, the owners of Cali Coffee just north of Sheridan Road on N. 29th Avenue, west of 1-95, in front of the Holiday Inn Ft. Lauderdale-Airport. 



2650 N. 29th Aveue, Hollywood, Florida 33020
+1 (954) 251-3274
https://calicoffee.net/
https://www.instagram.com/calicoffeeofficial/
+1 (954) 251-3274
Open 5 AM – 10 PM

In the near-future you'll be reading here about how Craig and Rose's business has succeeded in ways they could not have imagined, and how that very success will lead them in 2019 to open two other Cali Coffee locations in Broward County, and what's behind that expansion. 
I know the locations, but you'll get no reveals from me right now.

Over the last few months, once fall finally got here, there has been Antonio Cao, owner of Cao Bakery & Cafe, who I had the opportunity to speak with both before he opened his new location, and during a little community sneak peak when the neighborhood and many area civic activists could get together and check it out.
The new location has their official Grand Opening next Thursday, the 23rd, at 5 pm!


Above, Hollywood Park East Civic Association President Tom Lander and Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy, with microphone, on the night of December 17th, when Cao opened for a few hours to give some members of the Hollywood community a sneak peak of things to come and food to be savored.
I made sure to sample everything that could be sampled. 
A few times!








A huge thanks to our friends and supporters, especially the people have stuck thru since the heat and humidity of last summer: Mark at Mickey Byrnes Irish Pub, and Jimmy at The Greek Joint.
I'm so appreciative for them being supportive of our efforts at Hallandale Beach/Hollywood Blog ever since we returned to Hollywood in late April, with the idea of continuing to get more useful and original news, information, context and informed commentary out to you, however you choose to receive it online.

 I also hope to soon be announcing some new dynamic advertisers to the blog very soon, including some new businesses in Hollywood, Hallandale Beach and throughout South Florida that have people are talking about in positive tones! Some restaurants and real estate projects and even maybe something for those of you who own pets...

2020 is going to be an amazing year in many respects, including two areas that occupy so muc of my time, sports and politics, starting off with a Super Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in less than three weeks that will bring lots of excited and curious visitors to our area -though not as many non-game fun activities as I hoped we'd see in Hollywood- plus, a great Summer Olympics in Tokyo to look forward to, plus national, state, county and city elections.

 In case you didn't know, the Orange Bowl Committee will be hosting a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship game next January at Hard Rock Stadium, and just like last night's game in New Orleans between Clemson and LSU, that game in 12 months in South Florida will bring tens of thousands more excited people from all over the U.S. to our perch in the world, most of whom won;t even have tickets to the game but who just want to enjoy the spectacle and the partying going on beforehand. That's what college loyalty does!

I've got a number of interesting out-of-town and even overseas trips to look forward to over the next 12 months, details of which you will be reading plenty about here in the weeks beforehand. That includes one up to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, a place that I have never visited before, despite having read about it in books and magazines and seen it in TV shows and films for many decades.

I'll be there not to see the sights so much as to see my brilliant and very talented niece Jenny play for the Yale Bulldogs Women's Lacrosse team, where she is a freshman this year after starting the past  four years for one of the top high school lacrosse programs in the U.S., where she and her Glenelg Gladiators won three Maryland state championships in their division. 
That trip to New Haven is going to be both a fun and surreal experience after everything I have ever known, read and seen in tru and fictitious films centered on Yale, 

 Plus, at North Miami Beach Senior High, I had a friend and classmate in most of my many AP classes who became our valedictorian my senior year, and he chose to get out of Dodge and away from the heat and humidity of South Florida, while I chose the Midwest and Indiana University.

And in February we'll be firing up our YouTube Channel and Instagram again in the new year after a lot of inactivity, and start sharing some very useful non-text information and news with you in some interesting ways that you'll value and want to share with your friends in the area and elsewhere.  



I should also mention that I have recently downloaded WhatsApp again, so those of you who communicate with me fairly often via my cell phoen number will now have a way of knowing what, if anything, is on my mind from any one hour to another, via checking out my WhatsApp status page.
I decided I needed to be more affirmative about what I was doing or thinking since so many people tell me after-thefact, "I wish you'd told me about THAT at the time."
Well, you now have your wish!




Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, December 23, 2019

#Roxette ๐Ÿ˜ข - So many songs left to be sung that will never be sung by #MarieFredriksson ๐ŸŽค๐Ÿ˜ญ

And just a month before Marie died, November 4th, it had been the 30th anniversary of their first NUMBER ONE song on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart here in the USA, the "First song ever to reach the No 1-slot WITHOUT being released as a 7-inch vinyl disc."


Roxette - Listen To Your Heart (Official Music Video)
https://youtu.be/yCC_b5WHLX0

And less than a year later... lightning struck! A hit song from the most popular film of the year all around the world...


Roxette - It Must Have Been Love (Official Music Video, from the motion picture, 'Pretty Woman' (1990) https://youtu.be/k2C5TjS2sh4


The last time I had listened to one of Roxette's songs consistently came in 2011, just two weeks after my dad Died at Memorial Hospital here in Hollywood, after he'd suffered his first stroke in 2009, had several medical interventions, and been in an ALF in Hollywood -just blocks from where I'd later be living- where I visited him for several hours every day to check on his mood and lend encouragement. A very. very tough time for me that Per and Marie's music helped me get through.



Roxette - She's Got Nothing On (But The Radio) [Official Music Video]
Uploaded January 12, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1N-Gf0Fbcg









-------
The sad press release from Dimberg Jernberg Management in Stockholm...

Marie Fredriksson of Roxette has died 

It is with great sadness we have to announce that Marie Fredriksson of Roxette has passed away in the morning of December 9, following a 17-year long battle with cancer.

Marie was born on the 30th of May 1958 in the south of Sweden, starting her musical career in nearby Halmstad where she became friends with future Roxette companion Per Gessle. Following a successful solo debut in 1984, Marie Fredriksson became one of Sweden’s most loved and successful artists. In 1986 she teamed up with Per in Roxette with the ambition to reach outside Sweden, and together they started a historical journey that in the coming years would make them one of the biggest pop acts in the world. 

The debut single ”Neverending Love” followed by the album ”Pearls of Passion” in 1986 made them stars in Sweden, but international recognition would have to wait until the single ”The Look” from Roxette’s second album ”Look Sharp!” in the spring of 1989 opened the doors to a massive international breakthrough. It was their first No 1 single on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and would be followed by ”Listen To Your Heart”, ”It Must Have Been Love” and ”Joyride”, as well as numerous worldwide radio staples like ”Dressed For Success”, ”How Do You Do!”, ”Sleeping In My Car”, ”Dangerous”, “Fading Like A Flower” and many more. 

The massive success with sales of more than 80 million records paved the way for several worldwide tours, cementing Marie Fredriksson’s reputation as a sensational live performer. She owned the stage, commanded the band and had the audience in the palm of her hand. As great as she was in the studio, the stage was her natural habitat. This unique artistry and energy helped to create a lasting bond between her and millions of passionate fans around the globe. 

In 2002, Marie was diagnosed with a severe brain tumor, receiving an aggressive treatment that took its toll but ultimately was successful. Thanks to her extremely strong fighting spirit, Marie by 2009 was able to start a gradual return to the world’s stages. The unlikely second coming of Roxette resulted in several new albums, and tours that again put the duo in front of screaming, smiling and crying crowds all over the world. During the comeback years Marie was an amazing trooper, overcoming the many rigors of touring in order to meet her fans on stage again and again. But by 2016, the show was finally over when Marie´s doctors advised her to stop touring and focus on her health. 

Marie leaves us a grand musical legacy. Her amazing voice – both strong and sensitive – and her magical live performances will be remembered by all of us who was lucky enough to witness them. But we also remember a wonderful person with a huge appetite for life, and woman with a very big heart who cared for everybody she met. 

Per Gessle comments:
“Time goes by so quickly. It’s not that long ago we spent days and nights in my tiny apartment in Halmstad, listening to music we loved, sharing impossible dreams. And what a dream we eventually got to share!
Thank you, Marie, thanks for everything. You were an outstanding musician, a master of the voice, an amazing performer. Thanks for painting my black and white songs in the most beautiful colours. You were the most wonderful friend for over 40 years. I’m proud, honoured and happy to have been able to share so much of your time, talent, warmth, generosity and sense of humour. All my love goes out to you and your family. Things will never be the same.
P.”

Marie Fredriksson’s husband Mikael Bolyos and her two children Josefin and Oscar kindly ask for respect in their grief.
The funeral will take place in silence with only Marie’s closest family present. 

Stockholm, December 2019.
Dimberg Jernberg Management

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

The word for today is "Cao." Cao Bakery and Cafรฉ says hello tonight to their new neighbors and future customers near Hollywood City Hall. The word for today is "Cao." The newest location of @CaoBakery says hello tonight to their new #HollywoodFL neighbors and future customers near Hollywood City Hall. Their aim? To "be the Dunkin’ Donuts of Cuban pastries."๐Ÿฅง๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜˜ I can live with that! ๐Ÿ˜Š


If you have not already heard, later this evening, at 7 pm, I and several other folks from the Hollywood Hills, North Central, and Park East Civic Associations will be at Cao Bakery and Cafรฉ, at 2401 Hollywood Blvd., a new restaurant which promises to be a boon to the area near Hollywood City Hall that can certainly use more liveliness and diversity of tastes.
https://www.miamiherald.com/miami-com/restaurants/article230535274.html 

 I had the good fortune two weeks ago of being able to speak for a few minutes at their new location to Tony Cao, the owner of the popular Miami-based business. The company had previously been his family's highly-regarded Vicky Bakery & Restaurant, famous in Miami-Dade for their delicious pastries.


It's spelled Cao, but pronounced like the bovine, cow... with the "A" in the logo representing a slice of pie or cake. Tony joked to me that over time he and his business partner had come to say that CAO stood for Cuban American Original.
That's actually reflected in some of the locations on the wall behind the counter.
www.caobakerycafe.com  

With the opening of his Hollywood location on the northwest corner of Hollywood Blvd. and N. 24th Avenue, the site formerly of a Wings 'n Curls but which had laid empty for at least the past 18 months, Tony's successful business will number ten Cuban cuisine footholds in South Florida, and his second in Broward County, with more planned in the future,  including, perhaps, one located somewhere in Hallandale Beach. #CaoHollywood
Their eventual goal? "...to be the Dunkin’ Donuts of Cuban pastries." I can live with that!

Please swing by the Hollywood site tonight if you can and munch on some delicious food and socialize with some of Hollywood's most-involved, most-informed citizenry. ️

Last week I posted the following very sad blog post that you may not have seen because of the holidays and travel, so if you missed it then, please take a look at it when you can.

 In Miami, An Unspeakable Tragedy in a Time of Thanksgiving - South Florida suffers a grievous loss with the death of young and idealistic Alejandra Agreda. This news broke my heart that Saturday night... 
A 2020 that will open with one less concerned and committed civic activist eager and able to make a positive difference in a part of America that's largely bereft of them.

 Screenshot:
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2019/12/in-miami-unspeakable-tragedy-in-time-of.html 

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)