Happy Umbrellas!

These are happy umbrellas. 


Designs and color give them life!  


Not sure how good they are for shielding from the soaking rain. 


But they do add some shade in the blazing hot sun. 


Florida tends to be hot, hot, hot.  😉


(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Ocean Waves Electric

Thought this was pretty cool at the Boca Museum of Art.

Electronic Ocean Waves. 

Mesmerizing and calming.

And all in bits and bytes. 

They also had a display of black and white photos of the ocean waves. 

But it was a little too sterile for me. 

I like nature and nurture in perfect harmony.  😉

(Credit Video: Andy Blumenthal)

Birds Dropping In For Lunch

These birds decided to swoop in for some lunch. 

It was funny to see the people go scrambling from the table.

The birds were completely unabashed and took their time over the chow. 

One couple in the corner had ordered this truly enormous meal (don’t worry, I was good and ate only the salad).

Each of them had a full lunch plate PLUS in the center of their table was “The Volcano” of nachos, cheese, chili, guacamole,  sour cream, and jalapenos. 

That was certainly no bird food with The Volcano punching in at 3,500 calories!

I have no idea how any two people could possibly eat that much food.

Probably good that the birds decided to drop in.  😉

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Searching For Gold

This guy had some getup on in Fort Lauderdale on the toasty beach. 

He’s in the ocean dressed in a full wetsuit with a mask over his face, a hat on his head, and the headphones over his ears. 

He had a metal detector and wand looking for lost gold in the water right off the beach. 

But didn’t see him find a dime the whole time we were there. 

I can’t believe these guys can actually find enough jewelry on the beach to make this worth while. 

Back and forth with the wand…searching, searching.  😉

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Ocean of Words

I really like this phrase from a book that I’m reading called “Like Dreamers.”

An ocean of words and a desert of ideas.


Too often, we hear people who like to hear themselves talk, think very highly of themselves, show off, or just spout away. 


And while they say a lot…


There may not be a lot there. 


New ideas, thoughts, ways of looking at things, innovation, creativity, outside the box thinking–that’s like a desert!


In Yiddish (and it’s always funnier in Yiddish), we say:

A big, big mouth, and a tiny, tiny head.


Similarly, in Hebrew, there is phrase that translates to:

Say a little, and do a lot. 


Sometimes, the smartest people are the ones who use their words wisely, strategically, with depth and meaning, and when they really have something to say.


It’s at that time that you better be listening.  😉


(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Panorama: Ocean and Beach

Thought this was pretty cool…


Panorama of Ocean and Beach.


Made it look the the ocean is in between the beach.


Love the “special effect.”


Feels a little like Moshes who led the Israelites through the (Red) Sea.


Anyway, nice to get away a little and see life through a different lens. 😉


Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach! 


(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Life Is Like A Sailboat

Planning is a critical aspect of making progress toward your goals.


As they say;

If you fail to plan, plan to fail. 


However, planning is subject to life–and life happens!


One colleague of mine compared it to a sailboat, and our dialogue went something like this:

You set out on a course. But the wind and ocean current takes you here and there. Even as you try to steer the boat with the sails and rudder, sometimes you land on Gilligan’s Island!


Hence, life is like a sailboat.  😉


(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Ship+ In A Bottle

You ever wonder how they build that big ship in that little bottle. 


Someone needs very dexterous hands and a lot of patience to put the pieces through the opening of the bottle and assemble the ship inside. 


But this second grader, Dylan Yasseri, upped the game on this whole concept and imagined a whole beach in the bottle. 


The sand, ocean, sky, birds, crabs, fish, umbrella, and even the shack (snack?) bar!


This is one reason that kids are so awesome–their purity of heart and their endless imaginations make almost anything possible.


The fantasy becomes the reality. 


The colors are magical too here. 


If adults could maintain even half the heart and creativity of our children–oh what a world it could be. 😉


(Source: Andy Blumenthal Photo of Dylan’s beautiful painting).