Category Archives: senior lifestyle

Eating Delancey

Posted on by
2

IMG_2844.PNG

lois whitman - Eating Delancy1
I am singlehandedly trying to bring back the Charlotte Russe. Ever since I mentioned it in the much-publicized coffee table book, Eating Delancey, the Charlotte Russe is getting notoriety everywhere. The Staten Island bakery that still sells the dessert is running out of the tiny paper that the Charlotte Russe is stored in. How funny is that?

It started when co-author Aaron Rezny asked me to tell my story about the Jewish foods we ate when I was a kid. Most others wrote about eating matzoh ball soup, chopped liver, and bagels and lox. I happened to mention a Charlotte Russe, even though there is nothing Jewish about it. It was a favorite dessert to many at the time. I had no idea I would strike such a nerve. Everyone who reads the book gets giddy when they come across the Charlotte Russe.

Aaron and I are trying to get a social media spin for Eating Delancey in the upcoming weeks. We are going to use the Charlotte Russe as the hook.

If anyone wants to buy Eating Delancey, click here.

If you have any stories that can help our cause, please share.

Thank you

P.S. The handsome guy in the picture with me is my brother Steve.

Extra, Extra, Hear All About It

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_2839.JPG

IMG_2840.JPG
I always want to know exactly what is happening around me. I don’t like to find out that after I visit a particular city, one of my favorite singers was having a concert exactly at the same time in the same town. I feel the same way about art exhibits, book signings, and craft shows. I want to know my options.

A friend told me about Tagwhat, an app that could present me with information about nearby points of interest every place I go. I like that, if it works. I just downloaded Tagwhat and within seconds, I received alerts about nearby restaurants and bars.

Most of the information is being mined from social networks where business and events are always recorded. I was also told that I could point my iPhone with an open Tagwhat app at a retail store and I would pull information about it from the Web, Facebook, Twitter, or Foursquare.

I plan to check this feature out tomorrow and report back. I am also supposed to be able to point the app at landmarks and get all kinds of interesting information about that as well.

I started to test the app out. This is what I got about two locations nearby.

Texas de Brazil – Miami Beach

IMG_2841.JPG

Miami! Join us for a “Night with LEBLON Cachaça!” A full mixology class where you will learn the ins and outs of making the perfect cocktail. RSVP below now before the classes fill up!

Miami Beach: https://mbmix.eventbrite.com/
Miami FL: https://miamimix.eventbrite.com/

Government Cut

IMG_2838-0.JPG

Government Cut is a manmade shipping channel between Miami Beach and Fisher Island, which allows better access to the Port of Miami in Miami, Florida. Before the cut was established, a single peninsula of dry land stretched from what is now Miami Beach to what is now Fisher Island, and boats destined for the port at the mouth of the Miami River had to pass around Cape Florida, to the south of Key Biscayne.

Opened in 1905, the cut across the peninsula that is now Miami Beach was authorized by the U.S. Government (hence the name), in order to provide a direct route from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the seaport on Biscayne Bay to the west, without having to detour southward. The cut across the mangroves and beach at the southern end of the peninsula created Fisher Island, which except for the extreme northeast corner, is part of unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. The now-famous South Beach is to the north of the cut.

Art Basel Highlights

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_2785.JPG

IMG_2786.JPG
This sculpture is made entirely out of pill bottles. A perfect DigiDame item.

IMG_2779.JPG
Gail Williams of Williams McCall Gallery, and her buddy.

IMG_2770.JPG
Hip Hop Artist Swizz Beatz (married to Alicia Keys)

IMG_2789.JPG
This large scale installation is from Swoon, a street artist. She specializes in life-size wheatpaste prints and paper cutouts of human figures.

IMG_2609.JPG
I startled Jerry Powers, founder of Ocean Drive, with my camera.

IMG_2611.JPG
Frank Stella continues to captivate
.

Communicating With Tonki

Posted on by
1

IMG_2588.JPG
Larry, Lois, Eliot, and Sheri

My girlfriend Sheri has always loved her pets. She has gone from the largest of dogs that she can possibly get, an English Mastiff, to the smallest of small, a Pomeranian.

IMG_2766.JPG

IMG_2765.GIF
Size doesn’t matter to Sheri (ha, ha), she treats of all her pets like royalty. The latest one is Tonki, a Pomeranian. The sketch of the Pomeranian shown above is displayed on all of Sheri’s emails. For many years, Sheri never left home without Tonki. The baby dog slept in Sheri’s handbag at restaurants, the movies, at parties, during mani/pedis, and airplane rides.

It was never an option. Tonki went everywhere with Sheri. Most of the time, no one knew that Sheri’s handbag contained a pet. Tonki was so happy to be near Sheri that she never barked a word. It was pretty amazing.

That was the situation for many years. Now that Tonki is a much more mature dog, she is only comfortable at home. Sheri hates leaving her so she and her husband have a Drop-cam with audio on Tonki so they can watch her every move and occasionally talk to her if she needs calming down.

I recently found out about iCPooch.

IMG_2764.JPG
iCPooch is a new way to keep in touch with your dog and relieve separation anxiety while your away from home. You can video chat and deliver a treat over the internet.
iCPooch holds pet treats that the owner can dispense remotely via the ‘drop cookie’ button in the corresponding app.

Pet’s tablet can be placed on the adjustable mount of the iCPooch unit. Retail is $149.00.

How nuts is this? Don’t ask a dog owner.

Ariel Swedroe Weinberg, Art Basel’s Youngest Star

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_2602-0.JPG

Meet Ariel Swedroe Weinberg. At 11 years old, she is already well on her way to become one of this country’s major fashion designers. She has been designing for three years. I met her at Art Basel in Miami. She was there to debut her new line mermaid dresses. While Art Basel is really all about paintings and photography, Ariel felt it was a great stage for exposure.

Ariel and her entourage of models were walking around the show to garner attention for the brand, Swedroe. Ariel was already featured in the Miami Herald because she designed a collection for a local tech show. Ariel participates in Design Lab Miami, a dedicated sewing center with classes for kids and adults.

If you watch the above video, the five minute clip will explain in detail how she got her start and some of her past work. Ariel’s inspiration comes from her grandfather, Robert Swedroe, a well-known artist and architect in the Miami area. In fact, her grandfather’s art is laser printed on her fabrics. She loves the vibrancy of his colors. Ariel also features LED lights on some of her designs so that she can mix technology with fashion.

The hot topic in tech today is wearables like a digital pedometer that you wear on your wrist or Google glasses. Ariel is right in the middle of this developing trend. Remember her name. She is going to be the next Versace or Vera Wang, or somewhere between.

People Watching At Art Basel

Posted on by
2

Everyone goes to Art Basel to see the art. I go to Art Basel to look at the people. There is a reason why Art Basel is in Miami. The people who live or visit Miami are very creative. It’s always a show.

IMG_2701.JPG
I found this couple outside the tents of Art Miami and Red Dot. The two were total showstoppers.

IMG_2683.JPG

IMG_2713.JPG
The tents

IMG_2609.JPG
I took Jerry Powers by surprise. He is the founder of Ocean Drive magazine.

IMG_2616.JPG

IMG_2678-0.JPG

IMG_2674.JPG

IMG_2675.JPG

<a href="

IMG_2652.JPG

IMG_2646.JPG

IMG_2665.JPG

IMG_2673.JPG

IMG_2633.JPG

IMG_2647.JPG

IMG_2682.JPG

IMG_2676.JPG

IMG_2667.JPG

IMG_2659.JPG

IMG_2663.JPG

IMG_2643.JPG

IMG_2644.JPG

IMG_2640.JPG

<a href="

IMG_2638.JPG

<a href="

IMG_2672.JPG

IMG_2670.JPG

IMG_2653.JPG

IMG_2671.JPG

Voicemails Forever

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_1618.PNG
I can still remember the voice mail I received from my father 36 years ago. He was terminally ill at the time and I remember thinking that I wanted to keep that audio message forever.

I’m not sure what happened, but I don’t have that voice mail today. I would do anything to hear that particular message again. I knew at the time that would be one of his last messages to me.

There have been countless times that I would have wanted to save certain voicemails. The only way I knew how to do that was to tape the voice mail message on a separate machine. That was fine for the time, but I can’t find the cassettes I used. I really needed something more formal and secure.

Enter Voicemails Forever. The safekeeping process includes one hour of voicemail recording time for just $19.99. You can access your private account anytime by simply dialing in.

In a company press release, David Poloner, founder of Voicemails Forever, claims that “People can now breathe a sigh of relief when existing voice messages (both personal and business) are set free and saved forever, especially before upgrading to a new phone or switching carriers.”

Voicemails Forever protects and stores messages as MP3 files on a secure site. They also can be saved to your computer, tablet, or mobile device for repeated playing.

This is what I call, “Technology for technology.”

A New Wearable Technology

Posted on by
6

IMG_2594.JPG

I think I finally found a cure for losing my iPhone. A company named Bandolier makes a fashion accessory that is actually a super mini case to hold my iPhone. It’s perfect for me.

IMG_2596-0.JPG
My iPhone will now be housed in a snazzy case with a shoulder strap that I will carry around my neck. Goodbye to the days when I just put my iPhone in my handbag, on a restaurant table, or my dresser. I tend to forget where I last placed it. Then I spend a few minutes, in full panic attack mode, frantically looking for it.

I want to avoid those awful moments of thinking that I lost the device that houses all of my information. It’s a terrible, hopeless feeling. Most of the time, my iPhone is in my handbag. It just a big black hole to me.

The new line of shoulder cases also feature two slots to accommodate credit cards and driver’s license. Check out the website. The cases are reasonably priced.

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, You’re Really A TV

Posted on by
1

IMG_2295.JPG

IMG_2307.JPG

I have stayed at the best hotels in the world, and some of the worst. I think I have seen it all, At least I thought I did until I walked in to our guest room at the Mondrian Hotel, in West Hollywood, earlier today.

There was an object in the room that looked like a mirror but doubled as a TV, It is totally bizarre but I love it, Eliot thinks it’s stupid, He would rather have a larger flat screen TV.

The TV inside the mirror is a Sony 42-inch unit, It took us a while to figure out how the TV got inside the mirror. We discovered that it was the brainchild of Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, the interior designer responsible for the new look at the hotel. It was very clever to take an ordinary TV and turn it into an art piece.

I guess you have to be a lover of contemporary installations to appreciate it, At the very least, it shows great energy and positive thinking.