We met Jill Biden last Thursday tonight, the next First Lady of the United States. She has the intelligence and common sense to help this country heal. The highlight for me was when Biden mentioned the importance of community college during her visit to Miami Dade College. She came to Miami to promote her new book “Where The Light Enters.”

She gave me goose bumps when she talked about the function community college plays in helping people better prepare themselves for the academic world. Eduardo José Padrón, President of Miami Dade College (MDC), also talked about his struggles of getting into college and how many he was rejected from. Now because of his position for the last 20 plus years, all of the schools that rejected him found a way to give him an honorary degree.

For the last few days I have been somewhat involved with the new museum for the Statue of Liberty. I was happy that Jeff Bezos took the opportunity at the unveiling of the new museum to honor his dad who came from Cuba alone at 16. Great story.

I really wanted to write about something today that could be useful for children.

I think I found something that would be fun and motivate youngsters to do more physical activities.

Let me introduce you to a $70 Fitbit for kids. It just became available. Fitbit had a unit for children last year that was called the Ace. It was $30 more than the new one. The Ace 2 device for children is now available at $69.95.

Ace 2 now tracks activity and sleep. It also encourages children to do one hour of activity a day. The kid-friendly unit features a bedtime reminder, alarms, timers and call alerts. It is also water-proof and has five days of battery life. The companion app is called Kid View.

For those who feel fitness trackers may be too stressful for children, let me remind you that all sports are competitive. It’s better to learn to be active at a young age, than to be a fatty when you’re older.

Thank you Lisa Deveraux for these fabulous photos.

36 Actors Still Living Aged 89-104

Click below

https://youtu.be/eB3SUWJ7pK8

JLo Sings With Her Daughter And What It Takes To Put On A Performance

Click below

https://youtu.be/D0ygcwCmd4Q

Met Gala 2019: The Best, Worst and Weirdest Moments From the Ball!

Click below

https://youtu.be/eorJ-o-bfJ4

I admit it. I really don’t know anything about art, but I do know what I like. I can walk into an artist’s studio and immediately spot a piece of art that makes me feel happy and enthusiastic about life.

I also think artists of all mediums are among the most interesting people on Earth. Their passion and devotion to their art makes them totally different from most people you meet. It’s as if they have a deeper understanding of life. They see life in abstract forms that gives us an alternative way of looking at things.

Eliot and I visited several artists who work at the Fountainhead Studios on Saturday. I could have purchased several works right on the spot. The inspiration was flowing.

Artist Alex Nunez and her parents. Alex is one of my favorites.

I love walking into a room to see a series of exciting paintings that scream happiness.

Not all art hangs on a wall. Performance art is becoming more popular everyday.

The performers on the other side of the wall are fascinating. Watching them make it happen was completely surprising.

I love these chairs. They represent good times.

Some artists like to express a different identity.

Studio visitors love to compare notes.

Cut outs are becoming more popular.

Artists love to support each other.

I think we have learned during the Trump administration that every decent thing our parents tried to teach us, is no longer valued or relevant. The United States went from the most respected country in the world, to a major embarrassment.

Just when you thought conditions in the U.S. couldn’t get worse, check out what’s happening in China. It could happen here. It’s all spelled out in the above video.

Every citizen in China is being tracked by a nationwide surveillance system. There is a new social credit system for the 1.4 billion people in China that monitors every good, or bad, move they make. Everyone has a personal record. They are judged by their score. This should scare the heck out of you.

If you think it can’t happen here, think again. It is already taking place. The Internet knows what you read, wear, eat, travel, and do for a living. The U.S. also has security cameras on practically every corner of the country. There’s not too much you can do that’s not being recorded. Be very careful.

Warning: The video is very disturbing.

Thank you Howard Stern. I hope your statement makes an impact on your fans.

https://youtu.be/28TNk8zKR1E

We will be spending the afternoon visiting the studios of some of Miami’s most creative artists. Join us.

This evening we will be at Books & Books in Coral Gables cheering on Helene Berger who will be reading from her new book that has been receiving excellent reviews from the medical and senior community. Our close pal, Elaine Bloom, CEO and President of Plaza Health Network, will be introducing her.

Since this is my personal blog, I can brag a little. I just opened Facebook and saw that Peter Marc Jacobson, one half of the then married couple that created “The Nanny” on TV, posted news that they are reportedly working on a Broadway Show about their long running series.

Guess which couple was the first investor??? Answer: The founders of HWH PR, Lois Whitman-Hess and Eliot Hess. This was our secret for over two years. We can’t tell you anymore because this is supposed to be a rumor. Wink, wink.

The success of “Rent The Runway,” an Internet site that allows you to rent every type of clothing imaginable, is starting to rub off on the retail community.

Express is one of the first women’s clothing chains that is encouraging customers to rent rather than buy. I heard other women and men stores will be offering rental plans very shortly.

I was shocked when I first learned about Express going rental because it just didn’t seem like a very practical move. I guess getting customers to pay a monthly membership for the ability to constantly rent, is a great way to keep the cash flowing.

I’m going to stick with ownership for the foreseeable future, but I bet we all will get sucked in to renting from one or two of our favorite retailers. All I can say is that store owners better have a super dry cleaning system, otherwise we are all going to be exposed to all kinds of germs.

Ouch!

I fell in love with this sculpture on the grounds of the Bass Museum, Miami Beach.

I took this photo from my Lyft after a very early morning meeting. I see a face in each color.

I posted this photo on Facebook yesterday and a few hours later, my friend from Vegas, Frank Siciliano, replied that the same sculptures are in the desert 10 miles outside the strip.

The artist is Ugo Rondinone.

Frank and his lady Amy.

Seven Magic Mountains,

Las Vegas

Internationally renowned Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone’s Seven Magic Mountains is a large-scale site-specific public art installation located near Jean Dry Lake and Interstate 15, approximately ten miles south of Las Vegas, Nevada. Comprised of seven towers of colorful, stacked boulders it stands more than 30 feet high, 

Miami

Mountain 2016

Bass Museum

Permanent Collection

Kyra Sedgwick stepfather, Ben Heller, Powerhouse Collector of Abstract Art, Dies at 93

Over 60: Why Own When You Can Rent

Apple Unveils Historic Store

https://www.chainstoreage.com/store-spaces/apple-set-to-unveil-its-most-ambitious-historic-store-restoration-to-date/