The Mad Tea Party at WMODA March 24, 2022 Share Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There was published 150 years ago as a sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. These fantastical stories by Lewis Carroll have inspired a pop-up exhibit within the Art of Tea at WMODA. Follow Alice down the rabbit hole and through the looking glass to meet some of the curious characters of Wonderland as seen through the eyes of famous pottery and porcelain artists. In the 19th century, the Jabberwock monster inspired Doulton’s Mark V. Marshall and Victorian tile artist, William de Morgan, was enthralled by the Dodo. Lewis Carroll reputedly introduced the extinct flightless bird into his story as a caricature of himself. The Ardmore Ceramic Art studio in South Africa made a Dodo teapot which would enhance any Mad Hatter’s tea party. It Is always 6 o’clock in Wonderland at the Hatter’s endless tea party with the March Hare who is equally mad. Novel and ingenious teapots are a feature of the Art of Tea exhibition and some of the craziest designs have been loaned to the Mad Tea Party exhibit by Dr. Unjeria Jackson, author of Teapots by Design. There are also tiny teapots, less than an inch tall, created by master potter Alex Meiklejohn and a miniature tea party presented by dollhouse designer Judith Rudin. Alice experiences extreme size distortions in Wonderland caused by a Drink Me potion and an Eat Me cake She also nibbles on a magic mushroom which makes her the right size to enter the magic garden where she meets the Queen of Hearts from a pack of playing cards. This formidable monarch orders executions at the slightest offense, shrieking “Off with their heads”. The playing card motifs inspired designs by the Moorcroft Pottery as well as the British porcelain artist David Burnham Smith. The Royal Doulton group portrayed many Wonderland characters in their popular collections of figures and character jugs. About The Museum The Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts was founded in Dania Beach, Florida in 2014 by Arthur Wiener and family. The museum celebrates the fired arts of ceramics and glass and visitors can see beautiful pottery and porcelain art from the 18th century to the present day. The Wiener museum introduces the work of British pottery pioneers, such as Josiah Wedgwood and Sir Henry Doulton, as well as European designers from Art Nouveau and Art Deco eras. The glass galleries at the Wiener Museum showcase the art of French designer Renée Lalique and Venetian maestros from Murano, as well as local glass artists working in South Florida. The highlight of the Hot Glass gallery is a spectacular collection of Chihuly. Contemporary ceramic art from the Ardmore studio in South Africa is one of the favorite exhibits at the Wiener museum, which hosts a varied program of exhibitions and cultural events. WMODA is located inside the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts on the second floor 5 minutes south of Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport, the hours are Tuesday - Saturday 10:00am - 4:00pm. WMODA - Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts 481 South Federal Highway Dania Beach, FL 33004 www.wmoda.com < Previous News Next News >

Property Rules For Snowbirds: The Difference Between Second Homes And Investment Properties By Christopher Carter - Real Estate Broker Associate February 23, 2024 Share Over the past couple of years, thousands of buyers from "up north" have purchased houses and condos in Florida with various ideas in mind about how that property might be used. Some intend to relocate here full-time, some want to be seasonal residents until they become full-time at some point in the future, some want to own property they can offer to visitors and snowbirds for Short-Term Rental. It is important for all property owners to have accurate information about the difference between Second Homes and Investment Properties. Many potential buyers and new owners are asking for clarification on various occupancy categories, and the answer depends on whether you're looking at mortgage lenders' guidelines, IRS interpretation, or Condo/Homeowners Association Rules. Mortgage lenders focus on risk management The IRS is concerned with taxation and deductibility of costs Condominiums and HOAs want to preserve property values through controlling non-owner occupancies. Mortgage lenders identify 3 separate levels of residential occupancy in their borrower qualifying standards: Primary Residence, Second Home and Investment Property (Non-Owner Occupied). Within the same mortgage loan program (30-year fixed for example) and for the same borrower, a Primary Residence mortgage will have a lower interest rate than a Second Home, and a Second Home will have a lower rate than an Investment Property. When applying for a mortgage, buyers sign a statement declaring their intended occupancy of the property. Lenders' maximum Loan-To-Value ratios (LTVs) are higher for Primary, lower for Second Homes, and lower still for Investment Properties. This means that a higher down payment is needed for Second Homes and Investment Properties. This is part of all lenders' risk management. Primary Residence is defined similarly by most all interpretations. It refers to where a person lives for most of the calendar year, based on things like: • Address on Driver’s License and Vehicle Registration • Utility Usage • Address On Federal Income Tax Returns • Voter Registration (The rumored "6 months and a day" standard for occupancy, residency and Homestead Status is just that - a rumor. Occupancy and residency are determined and verified through valid documentation.) When we talk about Second Homes, things get a little blurry depending on whether you're applying for a mortgage or Filing Tax Returns. IRS Publication 936 (Home Mortgage Interest Deduction), addresses how mortgage interest is treated on Primary and Second Homes. Here is a direct link: Publication 936: www.irs.gov IRS guidance explains that if a Second Home is not rented to others, it is automatically considered a "qualified home" for Tax purposes even if the owner doesn't use it during a given calendar year. As such, any mortgage interest paid during the year on a qualified Second Home is Tax Deductible when Itemizing Deductions on Personal Income Tax Returns, the same as for a Primary Residence. When a Second Home is rented to someone else for part of the year (seasonal or vacation rental), the IRS says the owner must live in the home for a certain period during that same year in order to deduct mortgage interest. If an owner does not live in their Second Home for at least that period of time, the IRS calls it a rental property, which requires different tax accounting. See IRS Publication 527 (Residential Rental Property) for details. Here's the direct link: Publication 527: www.irs.gov - Make sure to consult a tax professional for application to your specific circumstances. Just because the IRS says something is OK for tax purposes, that doesn't mean mortgage lenders look at things the same way in terms of their risk management. For our discussion today, we are using FNMA's (Federal National Mortgage Association or "Fannie Mae") guidelines which are considered the benchmark for conventional (non-government insured) mortgage qualifying standards. Government-insured mortgage financing (FHA, VA, USDA) is only for Primary Residences. Second Homes and Investment Properties are not eligible for FHA, VA, or USDA mortgage financing programs. FNMA's current Second Home guidelines include: • Reasonable distance from Primary Residence • Occupied by borrower some portion of the year • Single-family home or individual condominium unit • Suitable for year-round occupancy • Borrower has exclusive control over occupancy (no third party approving or declining rentals and tenants) • No rentals for a certain period after purchase Under either IRS or lender guidelines, if a property's use doesn't conform to all Second Home guidelines and requirements, it defaults to Investment Property status which is property purchased with the intent of producing cash flow and/or price appreciation. Remember - loans for Investment Property carry higher interest rates and require higher down payments than loans for Second Homes, and Second Home mortgages have higher interest rates and down payments than those for Primary Residences. For years, occupancy misrepresentation to receive better rates and terms has been one of the most-committed types of mortgage fraud in Florida. Another major difference between Primary, Second Home, and Investment Properties comes into play with properties governed by Condominium and Homeowners Associations. Many Associations limit Non-Owner Occupied (Investment) occupancies. When there are too many Investment Properties in a building or community (think Short-Term Rentals), lenders are unlikely to approve purchase financing for individual properties in it. Study your Association's Governing Documents for details and restrictions related to owner, guest, and tenant occupancies. Keep in mind that for all of the occupancies mentioned in this article, non-immediate family and friends/guests/acquaintances are NOT owner occupancy if the property owner is not there at the same time. This distinction is made clear in many Florida Condominium and Homeowners Associations' recorded Governing Documents. There is still another major occupancy issue for buyers to consider - Florida's very attractive Homestead protection for Permanent Residents. Depending on how long owners themselves plan to live here each year, they may or may not qualify for Homestead status on their Florida properties. Those who have already established homesteads and rent out their properties for too long or too frequently (treating it like a Second Home or Investment Property) can be considered as having abandoned their Homesteads, losing the benefits that go along with it. For expanded discussion, take a look at my Homestead article from last November: Florida Homestead Exemptions - basics for new full-time residents: www.thefloridarealestateblog.com Second Home and Investment Property occupancies are not eligible for Homestead status, according to County Appraisers offices. Whether you are a potential buyer or a current owner of a Florida house or condo, it is very important to understand the various rules that apply to the use and occupancy of your property. Editor's Note: Christopher Carter is NOT an attorney. He does not give legal advice. For interpretation and application to specific circumstances of anything you read in this article, you must speak with a Florida-Licensed attorney. Have a question or comment about anything you see here, if so, visit: www.TheFloridaRealEstateBlog.com < Previous News Next News >

Calling all Hollywood Entrepreneurs: Save the Date for FastTrac Application Portal Opens: January 8-31 Thu Jan 04 2024 17:02:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The Place To Be: The Parker Has A Diverse Entertainment Menu November 8, 2022 Share The Lillian S. Wells Hall at The Parker has created a menu catering to everyone’s tastes this November with jazz great Brian Culbertson, guitar icon Joe Satriani, the legendary Marshall Tucker Band, celebrations of Queen and John Denver, the return of the comedy duo Cat & Nat, the beloved film Dirty Dancing presented in concert, and an evening with digital journalist Andrew Callaghan. Joe Satriani: Earth Tour 2022-2023 is the chance to see the world's most successful solo guitar icon perform his mind-bending guitar daredevilry live on Friday, November 11 at 8 p.m. One of the most imaginative, brilliant and talented rock guitarists ever to strum six strings, Satriani has played guitar with Mick Jagger, Deep Purple and Chickenfoot. His own instrumental-rock releases, like Surfing With the Alien and The Extremist, earned him gold and platinum plaques and multiple GRAMMY® nominations. His most recent studio album, Shockwave Supernova, has already been hailed as yet another creative breakthrough. Rolling Stone magazine said of the legendary axeman, "From the start, he possessed an inimitable approach to guitar that balanced melody and technicality, as well as elements of hard rock and jazz, in a way that made for a sound that made him a guitar hero to a generation of young wood shedders." This event is presented by the Broward Center for the Performing Arts and AEG Presents. Tickets are $39.50-$99.50 with a $160 VIP ticket that includes a Q & A with the artist. The 2022/2023 Truist Comedy Series continues with Cat & Nat, who return by popular demand with the “Unfiltered and Live!” tour, on Thursday, November 17 at 8 p.m. Promising to be the most hilarious and highly entertaining comedy show that any woman or mom will ever experience in their lifetime, the show is hosted by the two most honest, unfiltered, pee-your-pants funny moms on the planet. After bringing together a community of women and moms to laugh and cry together, Cat & Nat are rounding up their entourage (including their male dancers) and hopping on their tour bus and coming for one night! Tickets are $30-$60 with $100 VIP tickets that offer an exclusive pre-show Q & A. One of the major Southern rock bands of the '70s, The Marshall Tucker Band performs Saturday, November 19 at 8 p.m. with special guest Shannon Lawson. The band has performed for 50 years combining rock, country and jazz, and featured extended instrumental passages. Their peak came with the million-selling album Carolina Dreams and its Top 15 single "Heard It in a Love Song" in 1977. Led today by founding member and lead singer Doug Gray, the band represents a time and place in music that will never be duplicated. With hit singles like "Fire On The Mountain," "Can't You See" and "Take The Highway," The Marshall Tucker Band continues to be played on classic rock and country radio. Current members include guitarist and vocalist Chris Hicks, drummer B.B. Borden, multi-instrumentalist Marcus Henderson plays flute, saxophone and keyboards in addition to lead and background vocals. Ryan Ware plays bass guitar with Rick Willis on lead guitar and vocals. Tickets are $47-$97. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts and Innovation Arts presents Dirty Dancing in Concert Sunday, November 20 at 6 p.m. In the classic film's first live film-to-concert experience, the digitally remastered hit film is screened with a live band and singers performing the film's iconic songs. With a soundtrack that marked a generation, Dirty Dancing in Concert promises to bring a thrilling new and unique experience to the 80s classic as audiences immerse themselves in the timeless romance of the most memorable movies of the past 35 years - now live! Tickets are $55.75-$70.75. Back by popular demand, One Night of Queen Performed by Gary Mullen and The Works performs Friday, November 25 at 7:30 p.m. Recreating the look, sound, pomp and showmanship of Queen and its flamboyant frontman, Freddie Mercury, this amazing concert showcases rock royalty's greatest hits with amazing authenticity. This complete two-hour Queen concert features such hits as "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Killer Queen," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "We Are the Champions." This performance is generously underwritten by Mary and Dean Middleton and the Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. Foundation. Tickets are $48-$63. The Broward Center and Emory Entertainment present A Rocky Mountain High Experience® Christmas Show starring Rick Schuler on Saturday, November 26 at 8 p.m. This magical and enchanting holiday show features favorite John Denver hits including “Rocky Mountain High," "Sunshine On My Shoulders," "Take Me Home County Roads," "Leaving On A Jet Plane," "Annie's Song" and "Thank God I'm a County Boy." Schuler also wondrously weaves in heartwarming inspirational carols and holiday classics from Denver’s memorable TV specials and Christmas albums including "Aspenglow," "Away in a Manger," "Silent Night," "Joy to the World," "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire," "Let it Snow" and "Silver Bells." Tickets are $59. Live Nation and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts present Channel 5 Live with Andrew Callaghan on Sunday, November 27 at 8 p.m. Known for his deadpan humor and unfiltered reporting on complex social and political issues via his YouTube channel, Callaghan is a 25-year-old American journalist who explores the depths of the most controversial issues in spectacular fashion. This year, he has traveled to Ukraine to document the Russian invasion, covered the NRA meeting and exhibition which occurred days after the tragic mass shooting at Uvalde, and reported a pro-choice protest in his hometown of Seattle, Washington just 48 hours after the Supreme Court repealed Roe Vs. Wade.VIP M & G packages available. Tickets are $31 with $141 VIP packages featuring a meet and greet with Callaghan. Ticketmaster is the only official ticketing service of The Parker. Buy tickets online at ParkerPlayhouse.com and Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954.462.0222; in person at The Parker box office and the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office. Lillian S. Wells Hall at The Parker is located in Holiday Park at 707 N.E. Eighth Street in Fort Lauderdale. The Parker is an affiliated venue of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, which provides programming and management of the facility. The performance season at The Parker is supported by the Broward Performing Arts Foundation. For more information, visit https://www.parkerplayhouse.com/ < Previous News Next News >

A Nation of Snitches: DHS Is Grooming Americans to Report on Each Other Thu Sep 28 2023 16:07:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

100 Years Of Gershwin - South Florida Symphony Orchestra Launches Its 2024-25 Season Fri Oct 18 2024 19:15:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Getting Ready For The Jewish Holidays: Looking Good For The Fall With New Designer Eyewear And Trendy Fragrances Thu Sep 22 2022 16:04:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Welcome To 2025! And the Reflections On Cuba III Wed Jan 08 2025 17:15:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The City of Hollywood is Using A New Web Solution That Helps Identify Unregistered Vacation Rentals Thu Jun 03 2021 04:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A History Maker: Mayor Larisa Svechin Of Sunny Isles Beach Thu Dec 28 2023 17:11:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

AI Technology Puts a Target on Your Back: It Could Be A Matter of Time Before You Find Yourself Wrongly Accused By John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead May 26, 2022 Share “The Government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem and very often makes the problem worse.” — Milton Friedman You’ve been flagged as a threat. Before long, every household in America will be similarly flagged and assigned a threat score. Without having ever knowingly committed a crime or been convicted of one, you and your fellow citizens have likely been assessed for behaviors the Government might consider devious, dangerous or concerning; assigned a threat score based on your associations, activities and viewpoints; and cataloged in a Government database according to how you should be approached by Police and other Government Agencies based on your particular threat level. If you’re not unnerved over the ramifications of how such a program could be used and abused, keep reading. It’s just a matter of time before you find yourself wrongly accused, investigated and confronted by police based on a data-driven algorithm or risk assessment culled together by a computer program run by artificial intelligence. Consider the case of Michael Williams, who spent almost a year in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Williams was behind the wheel when a passing car fired at his vehicle, killing his 25-year-old passenger Safarian Herring, who had hitched a ride. Despite the fact that there were no eyewitnesses to the shooting and no gun was found in the car, Police charged the 65-year-old man with first-degree murder based on ShotSpotter, a Gunshot Detection Program that had picked up a loud bang on its network of surveillance microphones and triangulated the noise to correspond with a noiseless security video showing Williams’ car driving through an intersection. The case was eventually dismissed for lack of evidence. Although the Gunshot Detection Program like ShotSpotter are gaining popularity with Law Enforcement Agencies, Prosecutors and Courts alike, they are riddled with flaws, mistaking “dumpsters, trucks, motorcycles, helicopters, fireworks, construction, trash pickup and church bells…for gunshots.” As an Associated Press investigation found, “the system can miss live gunfire right under its microphones or misclassify the sounds of fireworks or cars backfiring as gunshots.” In one community, ShotSpotter worked less than 50% of the time. The same company that owns ShotSpotter also owns a Predictive Policing Program that aims to use Gunshot Detection Data to “predict” crime before it happens. Both Presidents Biden and Trump have pushed for greater use of these predictive programs to combat gun violence in communities, despite the fact that they have not been found to reduce gun violence or increase community safety. The rationale behind this fusion of widespread surveillance, behavior prediction technologies, data mining, precognitive technology, neighborhood and family snitch programs is purportedly to enable the Government to take preemptive steps to combat crime (or whatever the Government has chosen to outlaw at any given time). This is precrime, straight out of the realm of dystopian science fiction movies such as Minority Report, which aims to prevent crimes before they happen, but in fact, it’s just another means of getting the citizenry in the Government’s crosshairs in order to lock down the nation. Even Social Services are getting in on the action, with computer algorithms attempting to predict which households might be guilty of child abuse and neglect. All it takes is an AI Bot flagging a household for potential neglect for a family to be investigated, found guilty and the children placed in Foster Care. Mind you, potential neglect can include everything from inadequate housing to poor hygiene. According to an investigative report by the Associated Press, once incidents of potential neglect are reported to a Child Protection Hotline, the reports are run through a screening process that pulls together “personal data collected from birth, Medicaid, substance abuse, mental health, jail and probation records, among other Government data sets.” The algorithm then calculates the child’s potential risk and assigns a score of 1 to 20 to predict the risk that a child will be placed in Foster Care within two years after they are investigated. “The higher the number, the greater the risk. Social workers then use their discretion to decide whether to investigate.” This Technology is also far from infallible. Whether fallible or not, the AI Predictive Screening Program is being used widely across the country by Government Agencies to surveil, targeting families for investigation. The impact of these kinds of AI Predictive Tools are being felt in almost every area of life. Under the pretext of helping overwhelmed Government Agencies work more efficiently, AI Predictive and Surveillance Technologies are being used to classify, segregate and flag the populace with little concern for privacy rights or due process. All of this sorting, sifting and calculating is being done swiftly, secretly and incessantly with the help of AI Technology and a surveillance state that monitors your every move. Where this becomes particularly dangerous is when the government takes preemptive steps to combat crime or abuse, or whatever the Government has chosen to outlaw at any given time. With the advent of Government-Funded AI Predictive Policing Programs that surveil, flag someone as a potential threat to be investigated and treated as dangerous, there can be no assurance of due process: you have already been turned into a suspect. To disentangle yourself from the fallout of such a threat assessment, the burden of proof rests on you to prove your innocence. You see the problem? It used to be that every person had the right to be assumed innocent until proven guilty and the burden of proof rested with one’s accusers. That assumption of innocence has since been turned on its head by a surveillance state that renders us all suspects and overcriminalization which renders us all potentially guilty of some wrongdoing or other. Combine Predictive AI Technology with surveillance and overcriminalization, then add militarized Police crashing through doors in the middle of the night to serve a routine Warrant and you’ll be lucky to escape with your life. As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, if you’re not scared yet, you should be. Editor’s Note: For more information about the case of Michael Williams, Visit: https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-algorithm-technology-police-crime-7e3345485aa668c97606d4b54f9b6220 Many local communities are using ShotSpotter Technology, such as Hallandale Beach, West Palm Beach, Miami and others. Time will tell the reliability of this new technology. John Whitehead is an attorney and author who has written, debated and practiced widely in the area of constitutional law, human rights and popular culture. John Whitehead's commentary are his views and he is open for discussion, he can be contacted at: johnw@rutherford.org . Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at: www.rutherford.org < Previous News Next News >

Santa And His Sleigh To Ride Through Hallandale Beach Wed Dec 20 2023 05:05:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)