Gone fishing

I have decided to end the Grapevine, but maybe not totally end it, I don't know yet. What I am doing is stopping daily publication for now, only because I feel that I have other things I need to do and I believe that you physically have to shut one door to have another door open. I want to immerse myself into the cartooning world and so that is what I am going to do. I plan on traveling often, my first trip is to New York for the New York Comic Con, where I can mix and mingle and pick up tricks from other cartoonists. I need to promote myself and my comic, Tomversation, full time. While I bought a 4-day pass, I was also given a press pass, so I will be covering the event for publication, maybe for the Huffington Post.

I could keep the Grapevine up and running, but not on a daily basis, but I feel that would be doing it in a half-assed way. I don't want to do that. I have tried hiring photographers and writers but it doesn't seem to work. So rather than run the thing into the ground, I will take this break, most likely it will be final, but I am a Gemini and I change my mind often, so maybe I'll start it up again in a few months, we'll see. There are almost 9000 stories here believe it or not, all done in the 7.5 years we've been up and running, so you can always go back into the archives and have a laugh or two if you feel like it.

I won't be going far though because I will still have my presence in other publications as I always have like at the Huffington Post, The Miami Herald, the Examiner, Salon.com and other places, including Tomversation.com where I have my daily comic strip, but also, I have a blog there. If you look at that page, you'll notice the cartoon is at the top and the blog below it, so even if you don't want to read the cartoon, you can always follow me through the blog, where I talk about personal things, social media and cartooning.

I will be in town, I'm not disappearing. I'll be at the Pumpkin Patch this weekend and Grovetoberfest and the Gallery Walk, next month, I am just not just publishing the news on these pages.

I will keep the Grapevine Twitter feed @grovegrapevine going and the Facebook fan page (http://www.Facebook/coconutgrovegrapevine) so that I can post photos and event notices and things like that whenever I have them, so I won't totally be out of the loop. That is where I'll probably post the Grovetoberfest photos or the Pumpkin Patch photos. I'll sometimes just post random photos, I posted one of amazing clouds and the sunset last night and it got over 100 likes, so people seem to enjoy that.

And if that isn't enough, you can personally follow me on Twitter at @Tomversation or at Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Tomversation. It's a fan page, so you don't have to ask to be a friend, you can just follow any time you feel like.

Yes, I'm all over the place, but I have been all these years, you just may not have known it because it flows very seamlessly. I just post various things in the various publications, pages, and sites that pertain to those sites and subjects. I also have Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr, I guess you can eventually find those sites if you look.

I never realized how busy I was before, I run a full time business on top of all this and for many years was on every committee in town, for six years I was even my condo's president. But now it's time for me to take time off from a lot of this and go off and do new things. Again, if you care to keep up with me personally or with Grove events or whatever, you can do it all via the social media sites listed above and when I have stories published in other publications, I'll share the links on the social media sites so you can read me if you feel like it.

Until my next tweet . . . 

Solo exhibit of Tony Mendoza at Rodez Gallery

Pregnant Birds

In Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month Rodez Art Gallery presents a Solo Exhibit of Tony Mendoza’s Idioms Series.

Tony is known for his whimsical and colorful work celebrating life in Miami’s Little Havana.  In this series, he has applied his distinctive vision to literally portraying the imagery of common Spanish and English language idioms. Discovering in the process that what is said in everyday conversations can inspire truly humorous, compelling and surrealistic illustrations.

Faceless

In his colorful work Tony pokes fun at life.  He sees humor in all things, thus compelling the viewer of his artwork to take matters-at-hand a little less seriously.  His creations have the ability of making people forget their headlong race against time, obliging them to stop, observe, smile and yes, to even laugh out loud.

The vernissage will be held on Saturday, October 6, during Coconut Grove Gallery Walk from 7 to 10 pm.

Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 11:00 am to 7:00 pm and Friday and Saturday, Noon to 10:00 pm.

The Rodez Gallery is at CocoWalk, 3015 Grand Avenue, suite 237. Tel: 786-467-7111.

The Devil's Daughter getting Married

The falling leaves

I'm going up north in the next week and that made me think of fall leaves. How about if we truck in lots of fall leaves, dump them in Peacock Park and let people jump around in them and play in them for a fee? Or even for free? It's sort of like Snow Days, but with leaves, it could be called "A Taste of Fall."

I heard that Snow Days won't be back this year but that Fete de la Musique, is coming back. I'm not quite sure why we can't have it all. Snow Days is a popular fun thing. I am told that there's only so much money to spread around by the BID these days and I feel they made a bad choice in choosing one event over the other.

Let's bring families to the Grove at Christmas time. I understand Fete is culture and it may be great to have all sorts of musicians all over town performing, but if it's the difference between Snow Days or the  Fete de la Musique, I would choose Snow Days. Add more snow, make it a bit larger, but keep the popular tradition!

Remember that Cirque du Grove which we had on July 4th weekend for a couple of years? There was a night time fire show and a daytime acrobatic show, right out on the streets, all for free. Well we didn't have that this year because the money went to the Fete de la Musique, which again, was fine but the Cirque brought more people and was different, exotic and something we could claim as our own.

I don't get it. But where the BID is concerned I never get it.

Kids casting call for "Cinderella" at Conservatory

This Saturday,September 29, The Miami Conservatory of Music is hosting an Open House and Casting Call for "Cinderella" from 1 to 2:30 pm at the Recital Hall next to the Improv (2911 Grand Ave). Emphasis is on both, singing and acting. Keep in mind, this is an acting class, there is a fee to join.

They need young people. There's a fee to participate, and kids will be taught acting, singing and dancing by veteran performers. The play will debut in April. Rehearsals are on Saturdays at the Conservatory. This is ideal for young aspiring actors who could use a Broadway Show credit on their resumes.

The casting call is for all roles. Everything from Cinderella to the evil stepsisters and the handsome prince! The Conservatory is licensed to produce Disney events and plays. Info at http://www.miamiconservatoryofmusic.com/ or 305-442-2283.

The only wine event you need to attend this week

It's amazing to think that the best wine tasting in town is at El Carajo, the gas station!

It's time for their monthly Wine Flight Dinner called, "Fall into Pinot." It's Wednesday, September 26 from 6 to 8 pm. If you don't do any other wine event in the Grove this week, and why would you? this is the one to attend. Go here and you won't need to attend any of the other copycats.

On the menu:

- Course 1 -
Rockerfeller Mussels baked with Spinach & Cheese
Franz Keller Pinot Blanc ‘10

- Course 2 -
Mushroom Salad in a Wine Demi-Glace
Remoissenet Pere & Fils Bourgogne ‘09

- Course 3 -
Parmesan Veal Scallopini
Crū Vineyard Montage ‘09

- Course 4 -
Dr. Pepper Lacquered Duck over Sweet Potato Mash
Domaine Serene '09

- Dessert –
Brie Baked Dates
Vin Santo del Chianti '07

This casual, yet elegant dinner includes several off-the-menu courses paired with great wines, each expertly chosen to enhance every plate. Local wine educator Barry Alberts will be floating around the dining room discussing and answering all your questions about the night’s wines. 

This fantastic menu was prepared by Luis Barbosa (Head Chef) and Micheal Cespedes (Wine Steward).

El Carajo is at 2465 SW 17 Avenue.
Cost: $60 per person Tax & Gratuity not included
Please RSVP at least one day in advance at: 305.856.2424.

The more things change . . .

The more things change, the more they stay the same in that they constantly change.

I met a man and his wife last month, they stopped me on the street to tell me they live in North Carolina, but read the Grapevine every day. They originally were from the Grove, in fact, the man told me that his grandfather was one of the first homesteaders of the Grove. He opened the Kress 5 & 10 in 1933 and they owned and still manage buildings and stores in the Grove.

The man was telling me all about the Grove back in the day, which was well before his time, but I guess his grandfather and parents told him of the way it was. He told me that the area all near the 5 & 10, which is where Jaguar, the restaurant is now, was pine trees, he said it was all one big pine forest in that area, from the post office on down the block.

I have friends whose family has been in the Grove since 1931 and they tell me about having goats and chickens in the yard off of 32nd Avenue, which was basically farmland then.

The man who stopped to talk was a bit upset about the streetscape plan and the trees being removed and replaced he wasn't crazy about that and he enjoyed the fact that I would write against it in the Grapevine, but it made me think, didn't his grandfather have to remove the pine forest to put in the 5 & 10 store? And all those buildings he owns in the Grove, wasn't that the same? Didn't they have to take down trees to put them in?

I didn't tell him that, but it's interesting to think that the world did go on, even though his family removed that pine forest, and I guess we'll go no with the new smaller trees installed around the Grove. The guy promised to send me some old photos of the pine forest and what it looked like on Grand Avenue back in the 1930s. I hope he still does. That would be interesting to see.

TEDx Coconut Grove is at Ransom on Friday

Nelson Dellis, speaker

After months of planning, TedX Coconut Grove is happening this Friday, September 28 at the Lewis Family Auditorium at Ransom Everglades. The program is from noon to 9 pm. 

TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group.

Speakers include Nelson Dellis, a memory champion and Alzheimers activist. He has developed a passion for memory training and has noticeably improved his memory.

Producer and Musican Emilio Estefan is also a spearker, also Thelma Gibson, Nurse and activist; physician Joe Greer will speak, he is founder of Camillus House. Best selling author and trail attorney James Grippando will speak and the list goes on. 

The Introd to TEDx is at noon and then speakers will begin starting with Greg Cooper, a Ransom teacher who teaches US History and US Government. They will go on until 6 pm, when there is a dinner break, from 6 to 7:30 pm. Then the speakers will go on from then until 9 pm. There are four sessions with the dinner break in between.

You can see the full list of speakers and schedule and purchase tickets here. They are close to selling out, so there will be no onsite sales. Adults are $50 and students $10. This includes admission to all four sessions and includes dinner, which is provided by many local restaurants.

For more info: info@TEDxCoconutGrove.org

Ransom Everglades is located at 3575 Main Highway.