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/

Photos by Eliot Hess, April, 2019

See E.L. James on The View

https://youtu.be/gGvGN772AAw

I never read any of E.L. James’ books. I had absolutely no desire to do so even though she sold over 125 million copies worldwide, 35 million in the United States. They are classified as erotic romances.

The following trilogies that James is so well-known for are: Fifty Shades Of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed. Her latest book is The Mister.

When I heard that James was going to be interviewed by Mitch Kaplan of Books & Books at the Adrienne Arsht Performing Arts Center in Miami last week, I knew I had to attend. I wanted to meet the woman who was considered to have one of the sexiest minds in the world.

I looked around the room. Approximately 200 women and three men showed up for the event. Many of the women I spoke to were huge fans. They spoke of James like they personally knew her. They wait patiently for every new book. There was no question in my mind, after I saw most of the audience line up to get their books autographed, that many women today still have an active fantasy life. It doesn’t matter what their circumstances are.

I am amused by the pseudo intellects who say James is a terrible writer. She doesn’t claim to be Harper Lee or Jane Austen. She knows exactly who she is, a happy wife and mother who knows how to entertain other women who love to dream.

The strangest thing is going to happen to Facebook in the next 50 years. The Oxford Internet Institute says “the dead will outnumber the living” on the social media site.

It’s very possible that one to five billion Facebook users will have died by 2100.

That means the number of dead Facebook accounts will surpass the number of live accounts by 2070.

Digital lives exist forever.

“People can continue to interact with a person’s digital remains long after their physical remains have decayed.”

The OOI thinks that folks will start asking if their social posts should continue online after they’ve passed? “Who will make sure their accounts will be closed upon death?”

The OOI believes there might even be a “Facebook for the Dead.”