WHERE ARE THE MAGIC GOOD ANGELS?

WHY DO WE CONTINUE TO ENDORSE WEAPONS THAT ENABLE MASS SHOOTINGS?

I'm paraphrasing here, but I remember some top NRA person, after the Orlando shooting...no wait, after the movie theater...nah, I think it was after the college campus mass slaying...nope, maybe it was after the school kids in the northeast were slaughtered with their teachers, or was it...?

Well, anyway, there are so many people armed to the teeth with weapons fit only for the battleground (not that we're much for wars either), it's hard to remember which idiotic gun lobby statement came after which tragedy.

But the bottom line, is the essence of the press comment after a ton of bloodshed was that if more people were armed with more high powered, automatic weapons, the good people would step in and kill the bad ones.

Like in the historic black church. If just bowed to the NRA, the good angel snipers would have been in the wings...they'd have instantly detected a crazy/bigoted person and picked him off. No good, everyday people slain in their pews.

I called B.S. on the statement when I read it.  But I gave it the benefit of the doubt.  Who am I, a mere mortal who would like to live in a world where half of everybody doesn't have a military arsenal in their attic.

Maybe I'm the crazy one. Maybe if the gun manufacturers could have one more year of record profits, then maybe these good sniper angels would bless us with their appearance.

But now my home state of Florida has had two nightclub mass shootings in the space of two months. And the rest of our major cities have drug dealers, jilted lovers, troubled loners and alienated young men ready to fire off a few dozen rounds from assault weapons...when something really life-threatening happens, like a friend cracks a joke about your mom, your girlfriend, your ride, your height, your clothes.

I'm just failing to see these NRA-anointed good angels. Surely, if they exist, they would have emerged from the heavens to for non-lethal shots at the hands of all the people who take up arms when they're having a really crappy day.

You know, the kind of people who -- back before we had assault weapons flooding the market -- would have given somebody a bloody nose, been fired, arrested and sent home.

Clearly, life is so much better now with dozens pierced to pieces in a hail of gunfire than one person sporting a shiner and the short fused person suffering the consequences.

So perhaps the next time somebody takes out dozens...it's only a matter of days...those magic NRA good angels will get off their duffs and fulfill their promised mission.

Or are there no angels?

Perhaps it's simply a failed PR campaign.  But it hasn't failed because a majority of our Senators and Representatives are too far in bed with the gun lobby that the insane good angel sniper theory actually sounds logical to them?

I'm starting to fear those magic NRA angels don't exist.

Maybe we are surrounded by devils.

And the smallest percentage of devils are those who actually pull the trigger.

The vast majority of devils are gun nuts, gun manufacturers, gun dealers and gun-happy legislators all too happy to ride the guns and bullets gravy train.

Maybe there never were any magic good angel snipers.

Maybe only greed- and power-motivated devils.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA

OUTSTANDING WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

My wife is a wheelchair user. We have no kids. Knowing she cannot ride thrill rides and we don't have little ones that love theme parks, we don't fit the Universal demographic.

But recently, we visited Universal, to check out the wheelchair access. Our curiosity was piqued when we stumbled on Universal's online Rider's Guide.

It goes through each attraction -- from thrill ride to animal show -- with dozens of listings that address the concerns of wheelchair users, walker users, folks with visual, hearing and other impairments.

It even explains that in a 3-D theater, you can sit in a stationary seat if the sensory seat's movement would hurt you or make you uncomfortable. My wife, having joint issues from arthritis, was greatly served by this detailed information.

Universal hosted us for a day while we checked out the accessibility at Universal Studios (we did not have time to make it to Islands of Adventure, plus it was 100 degrees out and we had no energy for 2 parks in one day.)

Armed with the Rider's Guide, we could connect the dots between attractions that were safe, sound and fun for us. The very detailed and lengthy Rider's Guide (Islands of Adventure is included) should when an award for service to people with disabilities.

https://www.universalorlando.com/park-guide/universal-orlando-riders-guide.pdf

We wish the hotel industry could adopt such an explicit, detailed sharing of specifics...rather than simply stating a room is accessible and leaving the potential guest in the dark about hundreds of specifics that can be the difference between a comfortable trip and misery. 

We loved the Animal Actors and Horror Movie Makeup shows. Being Simpson's fans (who isn't), we loved getting a Lard Lad donut (or 2), checking out Moe's and getting snacks in the food court with Krusty Burger facade. The old New York back lot was a lot of fun too. 

We marveled that just about every restroom area also featured a family restroom. Good for parents with young children, they are great for me, because I can help my wife transfer from her wheelchair -- without the uncomfortable feeling of me barging into the women's or her intruding into the men's room.

https://www.universalorlando.com/Resort-Information/Accessibility-Information.aspx 

That is our usual mode of spouse assisting spouse. Food areas were highly accessible, as were shops. Universal truly has accessibility figured out on all levels. I would highly recommend a visit -- even dining at CityWalk --with a family member with any range of disability.

 I also wish Universal's brilliant and user-friendly access guide could serve as a template to air carriers, air ports, public transit and all other hospitality providers. It is unmatched in high quality. 

 

THE ORLANDO EYE

 FIVE STARS FOR WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

The wheelchair access is great at the Orlando Eye.

It starts with free surface parking right next to the wheel (drive around behind the parking deck to get these if you have the parking placard).

As a companion to wheelchair user (my wife), I got a free ride "or flight," as they like to call it. 

Add in Florida resident discount and we were riding for less than half price.

The area where you watch the video on the wheel is super wheelchair accessible.The lobby gets high points for a family restroom, where a spouse can assist his partner in transfer from wheelchair in privacy.

The ride is smooth and the cars are big.The attendants don't make a fuss or make the wheelchair user feel awkward.

The wheel lights up at night and is quite beautiful.The only drawback is well, the view is Orlando.

No offense, but you see the tops of a bunch of mega hotels, the parking lots of I-Drive then the last of the scrub land beyond...that has let to be developed into a mall, theme park, or hotel complex.

You ride the London Eye, you see all the famous buildings in London.

No offense to Orlando, but the scenery doesn't match Big Ben and the Thames. From the Orlando Eye, even the Epcot dome looks a bit like a golf ball far off the the south.

WYNWOOD WALLS

IS A ULI AWARD FINALIST

Proud that PlusUrbia Design's Wynwood Walls Garden design is part of Wynwood Walls -- "Project of the Year Finalist" Urban Land Institute Vision Awards:

http://seflorida.uli.org/events/vision-awards

Grateful for the opportunity to contribute to Goldman Properties' legacy in Wynwood.

For more information on the Wynwood Walls Garden design, please visit: 

http://plusurbia.com/project/wynwood-garden/ 

PLUS URBIA DESIGN PRESENTS FRANCIS SUAREZ FOR MAYOR OF MIAMI

GREAT TO WELCOME OUR DEAR FRIEND FRANCIS SUAREZ INTO THE HOME OF JUAN MULLERAT AND MEGAN MCLAUGHLIN -- CO-HOSTED BY STEVE WRIGHT AND HEIDI JOHNSON-WRIGHT TO HELP LAUNCH HIS CAMPAIGN FOR THE ELECTION IN 2017

Francis grew up just blocks from Juan & Megan's restored historic home in Miami's incomparable Shenandoah neighborhood.

We live in a restored 1920 Spanish Mission style on historic William Jennings Bryan Park.

Francis, when he was a rookie commissioner for District 4, spearheaded a compromise that brought a properly-scaled park office, mini community center and ADA-compliant restrooms to the developed side of Bryan Park.

The park, once in peril of being completely paved over for a competition tennis center that would have destroyed the neighborhood with noise, cars and lack of green space, survives.

Francis showed his leadership by preserving the western half of the 2-acre park as green space in perpetuity.

Each day, we look out our huge front windows and see dozens upon dozens of children and families playing on the green grass that almost became a sea of concrete.

We look forward to Francis' leadership -- on parks, job creation, affordable housing, safety, crime reduction, corridor enhancements, the arts, attracting innovative companies, historic preservation and reinventing Calle8 as a livable main street with 2-way, calmed traffic -- as mayor of Miami.

DAY DREAMING OF...

ISTANBUL, ON A STORMY MIAMI FRIDAY WITH A FULL WORK DAY AHEAD

Wish I could take credit for this picture, as more than 9 out of 10 images on my site are my own handiwork.

But I've never been to Eastern Europe, let alone Turkey, let alone Istanbul, let alone the Bosphorus or Golden Horn.

Only through the writing of Orhan Pamuk have I walked the streets of the imperial city, Galata, Beyoglu, or the Asian side.

Some day.

Some day soon.

THIS IS WHY CALLE OCHO MUST BE ENHANCED FOR PEDESTRIANS

HARDWORKING ENTREPRENEURS LIKE SUZY BATLLE AND BILL FULLER DESERVE A MAIN STREET, NOT A COMMUTER HIGHWAY IN FRONT OF THEIR BUSINESSES

From Saveur:

On Miami’s Calle Oche, the busy throughway that traverses the heart of Little Havana, nestled between a cigar factory and Latin dance club, there’s a pastel blue building dedicated to Cuba’s favorite food: ice cream.

In Havana, wolfing down 15 scoops of ice cream in about as many minutes is commonplace; that’s why ex-banker Suzy Batlle decided to open Azucar Ice Cream Company, Miami’s first store dedicated to Cuban spins on the frozen treat.

“The Latin people want their Latin food,” Batlle says, “and Cuban people love their ice cream.”

Full Story here