Oh Spring is awakened alright!!

This past weekend I was very pleased to be invited to see a new little show we have playing at the Arsht Center called Spring Awakening.. You know that little musical that won 8 Tony Awards in 2007 for everything from best musical to best book and score and has been playing on Broadway since 2006?

Not only was the music phenomenal, but the storyline was great. Its set in an early 19th century German prep school and as you can imagine what goes on in kids minds at that pubescent age, well lets just say there are more than flowers blooming.

This musical takes you on a journey of love, sex, desire and the confusion of puberty. And if you can believe it, it is actually an adaptation of a controversial German play from 1891 that was banned due to its portrayal of adult content such as, masturbation, homosexuality, rape, bondage, child abuse and suicide.

I could just imagine how ahead of its time this play was in that era. I was blown away and I thought I was pretty liberal. Some of the scenes caught me a bit off guard. I was like, "Is that boy really masturbating on stage and did he just take off his pants?"

Hey nudity, rock and roll and kids defying their parents, what more can you ask for out of a musical!

For the most part it was fun and upbeat. Some of the songs they performed jump out at you and its electrifying! But there were some songs I felt were just too serious and/or sad, but then I realized, teenagers going through puberty are supposed to be depressed and emotional so I guess they had to put some of that in there.

One of the things that stuck to me was the story about how a girl begs her mother to tell her about sex and the mother refuses. But since her mother refuses to tell her about sex how is she supposed to detect it when its happening? She now knows nothing about it so when faced with it what is she supposed to do?

This is the same conundrum girls have been faced with forever. Because to tell boys about sex is easier, dad's usually have less gripes about talking to their sons about it.

But when it comes to the daughter, both parents just freak out! Its a no-go! The last thing they want is for their daughter to be having sex, so they figure that by not telling her about it, they are protecting her from it some how. BIG MISTAKE!

Just as the girl in the play, she is still going to do it at some point no matter what so wouldn't you rather she was at least prepared for it when it does happen?

I really liked the musical for the clever way it portrays touchy issues. I recommend getting seats close up so you could see the facial expressions and the cool hair doo's. I also noticed that audience members were ushered to seats on stage before the show!

I wonder what I'd have to do to get a pair of those seats? Flirt with the teacher I assume... ;)

tah tah..

Eating in New Orleans!

This past weekend I had the wonderful pleasure of visiting one of the best cities in the US. A city where food and music are of most importance and if you're not too timid the people there show you how its really done!

One night we ventured to this little spot called Cafe Degas located near the grounds where the Jazz Festival was being held. Its a little restaurant and all the tables are outside but its covered by trees and all sorts of vegetation which makes you feel you are sitting in a garden terrace of some sort. Very cool and comfortable vibe.

The food was delicious! We started off with a champagne cocktail they have called French 45 which is basically champagne and cognac. Very good. I had a French Onion Soup to start which was so rich I needed a knife to get through the thick, melty cheese! And then for the main course I had a Soft Shell Crab Salad. Yes, I know I thought it sounded strange too and when it got to the table it looked like this:

It was AMAZING! From the dressing to the crab, which was flash fried meaning it wasn't too greasy, giving it the perfect texture of crispiness and softness. the salad was SO GOOD. And then they sprinkled it with Goat Cheese which was a sweet surprise cause anything with Goat Cheese in it and you got me!!

The dessert was what threw us all for a loop. It was a "Frozen Chocolate Souffle," which in theory sounded quite interesting, even scientific but in reality it just didn't go over well. It was more like spongy chocolate mouse or something and was shaped into a tower which made it almost impossible to eat. The tower collapsed in case you are wondering.

But all in all it was a pleasurable experience. We were surrounded by Jazz Festers and the ambiance was energetic and fun. I highly recommend a visit next time you are there. Let me know what you think!

Here's to New Orleans!!

Little Haiti gets a space for the people with SIMIGO.

This weekend, I attended the opening of a new space called Simigo.

A workspace/gallery located on the blood line of Little Haiti 54 street and nw 1st ave.

The artist exhibiting that night was Jayme Gershem, a creative spirit who seems as deep rooted in her art as her two feet are to the ground. As soon as you meet her, you know that she is serious and passionate about her craft.

She is what initially drew me to the event during a chance meeting with her at another art show in the convention center called Arte Americas, a couple of weeks ago.

For some reason, after running into her I remember saying to myself, "You gotta check out what this girl is doing." And so I did.

The space is airy and filled with a good energy. Plenty of rooms and clean white walls to display art. And as stated by Gershem and her partner, a place created by the people for the people.

They want the community to partake in this place. They're inviting artists of all kinds to come in and become a part of the creative quilt they're establishing.

Just as simple as stopping by one day and saying, "Hey."

I love this new little space, I definitely intend on going back. Its times like these I wish I could paint!

The Sony Ericsson Open

March is one of those months in Miami when you literally do not have enough time (or energy) to do everything you want to do! One of the events I was really excited about attending was the Sony Ericsson Open, which has been held in Key Biscayne's Crandon Park for over a decade.

My favorite match was Henin vs Zvonareva. And although I didn't really know exactly what was going on (except the part of the game where the player gets the ball over the net) I must say it was amazing to watch.


This was Henin's first year back after retiring at 1st place in the world and to Zvonareva's dismay, she won that night. It was great.

She had decided to retire when she was on top. She started a family and then after all was said and done decided to come back and start all over again from scratch. Truly inspiring watching this tiny woman play with so much strength and heart.

Zvonareva was interesting to watch too. When she gets mad, she has this thing where she growls like a wild animal and then hits herself with her racket. And hits herself hard! I couldn't decide whether that was funny or just disturbing...

Anyway, besides all of the traffic, being a local during one of the coolest months here was a blast!

So much happens in this city in March. Amazing events such as the Winter Music Conference, Miami International Film Festival, Calle Ocho, The Youth Fair, Jazz in the Garden Festival and St. Patricks Days which is always insanity in this town.

It's months like these I remember why I call Miami home!

Cheers to that!

What is your truth?

In the midst of deep thought today, trying to make sense of things. Wondering why certain things happen to different people, I asked myself, "What is my truth?"

The question came to me very suddenly and very naturally and just the mere contemplation of an answer made me feel centered..

I thought about what really matters to me and what is really truthfully at the center of me, what is my truth.

Find your truth, believe in your truth and everything will make sense...

Democratic Republic of beer more like Communism of beers..

I was so excited to visit this little spot where it seems beer flows like fountains but I just have to say after this last visit I was a bit saddened by the whole experience. Where do I begin?

The Democratic Republic of Beer is a bar that carries over 150 beers from all over the world. And the premise is, the first time you walk in you fill out your passport with some likes and dislikes and some basic information and they store it on file. Then whenever you come in and order a beer they are supposed to put it on your passport so that you and they can keep track of what beers you've had. I brought friends with me that had never been there before so upon arrival I requested a passport for them to fill out. I was so gleefully excited to bring my friends to this new spot and show them the cool passport gimmick.

Being that the last time I had gone in I had tried like 5 different beers (oops I meant to say 2), I requested my passport to see what I had tried because who could remember, and I wanted to know what to choose. And to my dismay the bartender told me they had not saved anything to my passport so I basically had to start all over again. In addition, one of my friends couldn't fill out their passports because they didn't have enough copies made. Leading me to believe that this whole passport thing was exactly that, a gimmick..

So I put that little incident behind me and decided I'd order some new beers, hoping they would add them to my list this time. At that point the menu became so daunting that I really didn't know what to choose and the staff wasn't the greatest at steering my taste buds into the right direction. I decided to wing it on my own and choose a beer I thought would be good and they said they had just run out. The same thing happened the next 3 beers I ordered...

And with each reply it felt like I was talking to the soup guy on Seinfeld except it sounded more like, "NO BEER FOR YOU!!!"

Finally I was able to get a beer that I requested and that they had in stock early enough to catch up to my friends who were well on their way to a beer buzz. It was a Japanese beer called Hitachino Nest with a little owl on the label, that tasted like fruit which was good.

We then decided to order some apps and call me crazy but when they arrived it felt as though the plates had been dropped on our table from high above and the silverware just flung in our direction. Very abrupt if you ask me. I mean I know we're at a bar essentially ordering bar food but we're sitting down and it does say "restaurant" on the sign. There is something to say about service. Service is service is service no matter the environment you're in, period.

And finally I decided to go with Le Fin du Monde which they had thank goodness and if you haven't tried, I highly recommend you do. It has been my favorite beer lately. And I stuck to that for the remainder of the evening, I really didn't want to go through the headache of dealing with the server staff again. Instead of feeling like they wanted to help me find the perfect beer for me, it felt more like I was bothering them and for that I can go to Total Wines buy a bevy of beers, get great service and go home happy instead.

I am still holding out a flame for this spot though. I mean who knows, anyone could have a bad night. I just hope its different next time I go in. And lets hope they wrote in what beers I had, but maybe I'll just go in with my own pen and pad. I don't know, let's keep our fingers crossed...

The word I love today.

An enigma can either be a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence, a person of puzzling or contradictory character, a saying, question or picture containing a hidden meaning or a German-built enciphering machine developed for commercial use in the early 1920s.

It can also refer to someone who is puzzling, ambiguous or inexplicable or a Gordian knot which is something sometimes used as a metaphor for an intractable problem, solved by a bold stroke.

I think the word enigma itself is an enigma. The very definitions of it are so diverse.

The way that it sounds even lends to its mysterious connotations. Some of its synonyms are words like perplexity, teaser and mystification. Man I'm really loving this word right now.

Now in current times lets try to figure out what is an enigma?

An enigma can be male or female. It can be an idea you don't seem to understand. It can be a book, a memory, a song, a voice message. An enigma can be just about anything these days and boy are there a lot of them.

I am riddled by all things enigmatic. Enigma's follow me wherever I go. Am I myself an enigma? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, are you an enigma?

Likes are you haven't. Well actually you just did. What did you come up with? Was the thought a complete contradiction? Confusing isn't it? Yes I know, your brain hurts so I will stop.

But I will leave you with this. An enigma is that feeling you get when you know you are doing everything wrong and everything is coming out right.

The end.

Did someone say Roadside Chicken Mole Tacos??

THE TRUCK STOPS HERE!!

In case you haven't heard by now, there's a black truck adorned with red flames parking it all around Miami serving up scrumptious burgers and tacos at super low prices. And my favorite part is the fries, let me not even start telling you about the a special seasoning they sprinkle on them, to die for!

I know you're wondering "Why is the Commish eating at roadside trucks, pent up for cash these days?" Well not really, although if you have some extra throw it my way!

The real reason I made a u-turn when I saw this truck on the roadside is because it is owned by a little chef named Ingrid Hoffman who just happens to have a show on the Food Network called Simply Delicioso and a best selling cook book by the same name.

She's a hispanic chef (Colombian to be exact) who has lived in Miami for many years and is now blessing us with cheap, good eats!

The fun part about it is that on any given day you can go to the website - http://latinburger.com/

to find out what location they are stopping at for that day. And they can park it anywhere. I've seen them in Design District and my recent visit took place on Biscayne at the Busy Bee's carwash. And the other day I heard they were in Aventura. So the possibilities are endless.

Let me know what you order and what you think about it when you check it out.

Tell them Ms. Commish sent you!

Stripping just became legal on Lincoln Rd...

Walking on Lincoln Road isn't just good, clean fun for the family anymore we now have something scandalous for those with a more lascivious appetite.

The Strip, which just opened where the old Rumi lounge once stood, is a place where just about anything can happen. One minute you're encountered with a dance duo on stage and the next you're experiencing a psychedelic intermission by the host.

From ultra sexy burlesque clad bartenders

and dancers

to an intensely flamboyant host,

my Thursday night sizzled. Although I grew up in a city, where showing skin is almost a requisite, I found it difficult to believe I was standing in a club on Lincoln Road watching all sorts of promiscuous behavior as part of a show. And did I mention nudity? Enough to make this good ole Miami girl a little hot and bothered!

The choreography and logistics, I must say, could have been carried out a bit smoother for my taste, but it was a very interesting evening and the ladies did a great job.

Upon entering, picture a bar with vertical monkey bars on each end, rope straps hanging from the roof of the bar and swings dangling from the ceiling along with all kinds of other contraptions the girls have at their disposal.

The bar is nestled under a stage that is only viewable from the 2nd floor therefore from the moment you walk in, you are instantly curious and drawn to rush upstairs. BUT my question is, will the shows be performed just for those dropping big dollars up stairs or will anyone be able to get a taste of the action??

Regardless, I am sure this venue decorated with velvet gold lined chairs, soft lit sconces and risque images scattered throughout will blow the tassels off of everything ESPECIALLY its resident dancers.

I can only imagine what kinds of reactions future performances will spur, but I'm sure they will be anything but ordinary...

It's a virtual garage sale!

In recent months I came to notice that every other friend I've spoken to has either been holding garage sales on their front lawns or more efficiently selling everything but the kitchen sink online!

Folks are getting rid of old books, purses, moldy coats (please dry clean before selling) and anything not bolted down or needed for immediate use. Its quite a phenomenon if you ask me.

To think the items we used to hoard and treasure. Like the pair of pants that used to fit you just right but are now a couple sizes too small but you were hoping you would fit back in them - gone.

The Fendi purse your mom gave you that you thought you'd use one day but just haven't found the right occasion and its been sitting in your closet for years - gone.

The massive amounts of dusty books you've kept around displaying your intellect are now not as necessary as you once thought, you can show people how smart you are in other ways - gone.

With a couple of clicks on the key board, these possessions which were once prized and adored are being thrown into the fire in order to pay for other important things like food, shelter and gasoline!

Our parents always told us that one mans junk was another mans treasure and we never really got it did we? Well now we do and we're learning it the hard way. An article on Reuters states, "its not about getting rid of clutter anymore, its about survival." And they're not kidding.

So don't be ashamed, its merely cause and effect, a product of our current state. So click away friends, click away to a better tomorrow because in today's economy you can't just sit around and sulk, you've gotta get up and do whatever you can to stay afloat and if selling the old beanbag puts gas in your tank to get you to the next interview then so be it!

And if one day I just happen to see you strolling out of Goodwill I promise that little secret stays between you and me...

Love and War..

Its difficult to decipher when was the first time you were left out in the rain by someone you cared about(emotionally, that is) and made to feel incompetent or unwanted or like nothing you thought mattered but each of us will admit albeit reluctantly that it has happened to you. And on this the eve of Valentines Day, I saw fit to implement a few of my thoughts on the subject of finding true love. If it still actually exists somewhere, I heard Love was hiding with the Loch-ness monster for a while and then was seen living it up with the tooth-fairy, leaving all of us to wonder does Love actually want to be found?

And as much as we've tried to avoid it, get around it and ignore it, you just can't stop yourself from being drawn to the light and imagining the perfect scenario. The scenario we all strive for when it comes to relationships where everything just seems to fall into place and make sense.

Some of us, if we're lucky, achieve parts of this perfect scenario while the rest of us are left to fin for ourselves in this deep, ravenous, extremely hazardous war zone called dating," its really a jungle out here!

A jungle none of us were equipped to deal with. It's a war zone where each person follows their own rules. Rules they learned and developed through their own personal experiences, some treacherous and some amazing. But all unique to that individual. Meaning that each and every single person's hard drive is set to a different function.

We are all in the same war and yet we are all playing by different rules? Its quite shocking if you ask me. How is someone supposed to find the one? Where's the playbook because didn't get one on the way into this mess...?

I think in this world filled with great expectations, we need to go back in time to the days when people got together because they got to know on another and each others families first. Yes I know, these traditional methods do sound intrusive and uncomfortable to most but we really need to go back in time a little here. Obviously the options we have been trying thus far are just simply not working are they?

We find ourselves going in and out of spurts of relationships that never lead to anything meaningful and end before you ever got to really know the person, yet you are left with all these impressions and emotions that get harder and harder to shake off as years pass. And its the same for men as it is for women. We all feel it at some point, maybe some later than others..

Isn't anyone ready to get off the Roller Coaster? I sure am, and I'll tell you, although I spend most of my time by the pool tipping the cabana boy, I've learned the importance of finding true meaningful relationships. Starting with friends, to family and lovers. The more "time" you take to get to know the person, the better things will be for everyone.

I know it seems like a foreign concept, this thing called "taking time" that none of us have enough of now a days. But you know what, the last time I checked, we still have 24 hours in a day and 365 days in year so the time is there. We just need to take it easy. Your opportunity will come, you just need to give it time...

I have a feeling, due to the subject matter, this will be the first of many installments but in the meantime keep in mind that Love only hurts if you let it and remember have faith in your bare instincts.

Au revoir!