Vamos USA!

Like all "real" sports fans here in America, I'm captivated by the World Cup. And for the first time in three World Cups, I'm rooting for Sam's Army right here in my home turf.

There's something to be said about being surrounded by like-minded fans who share your same nationalistic pride. Something that I'll never take for granted.

Last World Cup, I was traveling in Quebec, surrounded by French Canadiens and other nationalities. Three World Cups ago, I was traveling in Brazil – Rio de Janeiro specifically. Lucky for me, Brazil won the World Cup that took place in South Korea/Japan, becoming five-time champions. A byproduct of that victory? I discovered what the verb "party" really meant (not even attending a state school could prepare me for the type of festivities I saw down there).

But now, I can't say I'd rather be anywhere except the good ol' U.S. of A. to enjoy a little futbol with those in red, white and blue. Try being the only Americans in a bar in Montreal when all others are cheering for the Azzurri or with those who have shifted to become bandwagon Brazilian fans. Awkward, yes. While at the bar, we didn't want to look like we had "quintessential obnoxious Americans" etched on our foreheads, so we were careful in containing our cheers and jeers. Even worse, we were traveling during the unpopular Bush years when American popularity waned as much as our soccer hopes did that year. Then, we quickly reminded ourselves Canada's first and only World Cup qualification was in 1986 and its best chance of qualifying escaped when Steve Nash decided to play basketball instead of soccer. So then we cheered to our hearts' content.

On Friday I watched the USA's match against Slovenia on my home turf. More specifically, I watched the 10 a.m. game sitting right at my office desk in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Connected to the Internet, and thankful our workplace is a "soccer-friendly office" (as deemed by our COO), I cursed at the first Slovenian goal. And, I nearly smashed my office phone with my right fist at their second goal. But when Landon Donovan scored one of the best goals in the tournament to cut the Slovenia lead in half, I let out a yelp that only an American soccer fan can appreciate. Funny thing is, I could hear about half the office floor cheering almost simultaneously with me. And, when Michael Bradley scored the equalizer, I couldn't be happier to cheer amongst my pro-American mates. Yes, the obnoxious American was here, right where she belonged.

However our American boys do this year, however they finish, it's overwhelmingly refreshing to cheer amongst peers and to be embraced by those who love Donovan, Dempsey, Howard, Altidore, Edu, Bocanegra, Bradley and the other troops in Sam's Army as much as I do.

My Sherpa

Saying goodbye is always a difficult thing to do, but lucky for us and our publishing company, we have the chance to say good luck to one of the best employees whose name has graced our masthead. On Friday, Gold Coast magazine will bid adieu to Jennifer Math, our associate editor, my right-hand woman, my sidekick, my sherpa, my cohort, my friend.

Jennifer has been with us for nearly 2.5 years, and it can't be mentioned enough how her impact and talents will be missed. She's revolutionized our front-of-the-book sections and brought in amazing copy editing skills that will undoubtedly be unsurpassed.

But there's a lot of tasks Jennifer performs for our magazine that you might be unaware of. Keeping in line with our Gold Coast editorial department, Hearsay, I present:

6 Things You Didn't Know About Jennifer Math:

1. She's the only magazine member who can wear a child-sized glove.

If you're looking for a good laugh or two, ask Jen to palm a basketball. Or even a tennis ball.

2. She's been called a "workout workhorse."

For one assignment, Jen tested a Metabolic Assessment Profile Test at a local gym. There, the professional trainer asked her to run an ungodly amount of time on a treadmill while wearing an unattractive mask that measured the volume of oxygen her body absorbed. After about a gazillion minutes of running and showing no signs of fatigue (as verified by this oxygen machine), the trainer exclaims, "Man, you're a workout workhorse! Triathletes don't even have the endurance you do!"

3. She's our resident taste tester.

If there's a South Florida key lime pie or mojito of note, Jen's conquered them all. Her expert palate and taste buds have been utilized in every taste test we've done these past 2.5 years.

4. She pronounces "drawer" the good ol' fashion New York way: "drahw-yer."

For the most part, Jen has no trace of her native geographic background in her speech. Except when pronouncing this fun lil' word. Sometimes I'd purposely trick her in saying the word (like, "Where did you put that file, Jen?" "Oh, it's in my drahw-yer.").

5. Jen claims to have a "good" side.

Well, to the rest of us, every side of Jen is her good side, but when taking pictures, please note Jen prefers to be on your left side.

6. She can do a mean Cupid Shuffle.

For last year's annual Florida Magazine Association conference in Orlando, Jen single-handedly showed us why our editorial staff won three fancy-smancy Charlie Awards -- it was because of her post-award ceremony Cupid Shuffle at the Universal CityWalk. Down, down, do your dance, do your dance, Jen.

Saving Our Libraries

With a controlled, even voice, Jim Findlay announced to 18 Broward Public Library Foundation board members that upon his upcoming retirement, the county will not seek a replacement for his vacant curator spot at Bienes Museum of the Modern Book, the museum located on the sixth floor of the Main Library. As I heard Mr. Findlay breath each word with a hint of marked sadness at last week's board meeting, I couldn't help but think, wow, this is the personification of a double-whammy: Cutting back a museum's staff and, just as bad, cutting back on a library's staff.

During the short life span of this blog, I've tried keeping topics lighthearted and trivial. For me, that type of narrative comes easiest. But this time, sorry Charlie, I've got to speak about something that hits close to home.

The way I see it, not only has the county decided to cut funding toward arts and culture, with targets set at the Bienes Museum at the Main Library, it's made our public library system innately inferior to its potential, poorly servicing our citizens. Blame it on economic woes, budget cuts, whatever, but the fundamental right to read and learn is taking a multi-year back seat with little end in sight.

During the past three years, our public library system has cut its staff by one-third (324 jobs lost) and chopped nearly a quarter of its funding. The irony? Circulation and workload has increased by 11 percent. Thankfully, books are still arriving, but the good folks who check them in are far and few in between.

My neighborhood library, Imperial Point, has inconvenient service hours. Closed on Fridays, not open after work hours some days, unlocking its doors too late on other days. I can't blame them -- they can't afford to stay open during "normal" hours. Instead, they compromise with abbreviated times and services. And it's not just the Imperial Point branch or any other branch in Broward; it's sadly a commonality all over the nation. Last year all city libraries in Seattle were forced to shut down for an entire week due to budget cuts.

Call me crazy, but as an editor, journalist and writer, I've got this weird attachment to books and libraries. I grew up around books, and I was practically raised in a library (though my parents will never fess up to it). After school, my brothers and I would go to the library to read, study, research and entertain ourselves. My parents couldn't afford a baby sitter; instead, the library became our surrogate nanny. By the time I was 10, I think I read every single book in the children's section (thank you, Ann M. Martin, for The Baby-Sitters Club series). I say with confidence the impact the library had on me is directly correlated with my current choice of profession. And, I'd like to think there's millions of other folks that libraries have directly impacted, too.

On June 22, county commissioners will hold a Budget Workshop, discussing the budgets for a variety of civic services, including the public libraries. Let's hope for the sake of ourselves and our libraries, no shortcomings are finalized.

Gold Coast's hot fashion issue

My publisher's tossed this idea out a few times during editorial meetings. Actually, he suggests it at any moment he can – regardless of time, audience, location or scenario. He thinks our magazine should do a fashion shoot here in Fort Lauderdale. Of what, you ask? Of fashions Fort Lauderdalelites wore during the late 1800s and early 1900s. It'll be a major page turner, he thinks.

I consider myself a pretty creative person, but I'm clueless how I can make ruffled, ankle-length skirts, corsets and bonnet hats hip and cool again. Call me crazy, but I'm thinking the only folks who might pick up this issue are from a small community in Lancaster, Pa.

Kids These Days... (part deux)

In continuation of my last blog about recent college grads and their string of poor interviewing etiquette with me, I must admit I was pleasantly surprised with a one new interviewee. And, equally as disappointed with a separate one.

So, good news or bad news first? ... Alright, I'll go bad news first. So, as you are all aware, we're interviewing for a position on our editing staff. What characteristic do you think an "editor" might have? For example, go ahead and conjure up a few words that might sketch your image of an editor. Like, being a good writer, right? OK. Good. What else? Do you think an editor might, um, read? Surely, right? 

Well, I guess one of our interviewees thought she could slip by and become a great editor without being a good reader. 

What ticked off that my judgement? I asked a seemingly simple question to her: Who's your favorite author? 

After waffling for about 10 seconds (i.e., an eternity during an interview), she said she couldn't name one. 

OK, I thought. She must have a slew of writers she loves and can't just name one. So, I tried to help her out and asked her who her favorite five authors were so that she didn't have to choose just one. Seems I only made it worse.

"Um, well, I, um, I don't really, um, you know, um, read much," she said. "And, I don't remember any of their names if I do read their work."

Yes, red flags, alarms, toll bells, North Korea's nuclear bomb, whistles, etc., all went off in my head. Wow, I thought, can't she just make up a name? Like, just say Salinger, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, King, whatever. Geez, name ME as your favorite author if you can't think of one. 

A blank, sheepish, blush-filled face looked right at me. I don't even want to think about what my facial reaction was staring back at her.

Call me crazy, but I find it difficult for a person to be a good editor or writer without being a good reader. Our words, syntax and style shouldn't be learned via Ryan Seacrest's monologues on "American Idol" or from dialogue from the latest "Twilight" movie. 

But, there was redemption later that day when we interviewed another candidate. Perhaps she was reading my blog from last week (doubtful, but hey, I can dream, right?), but she did the rare deed of asking for my business card before she left for the day. Just as she was about to form the words "May I have your business card?", the conference room where the interview took place became a slow-motion "Matrix" scene where her mouth was moving -5 mph to utter those six magical words. I even thought I saw a rainbow appear behind her.

Hallelujah, I thought. They do exist.

Kids These Days...

What's up with kids these days? I've been interviewing recent college grads for the opening of our associate editor position at the mag, and seriously, have we forgotten how to teach our kids etiquette and manners? Please, if you're out there looking for a job, don't Linday Lohan yourself by creating a self-spectacle and not exuding normal professional manners.

Example #1: Dude, where's my thank-you note and follow up e-mail/letter/phone call?

Dude, isn't it just customary to send a follow-up e-mail to thank your interviewer for the chance to meet?... What? Do you think you can just wait around expecting an e-mail to arrive from me? Or, wait... Maybe it should be ME who should thank the candidates for the opportunity to interview them! Eureka! Maybe I've gotten it all wrong this whole time. 

Only one of my six strongest candidates was keen enough to do so. That's 16.6 frickin' percent. Sixteen percent is a horrible free throw shot percent, an atrocious batting average and barely above the abysmal New Jersey Nets' 14.6 percent win rate. And guess what? It's also an unacceptable rate of e-mail follow-up among these kids. 

[For the record, this season my flag football team's record completely sucked (2-8) and we managed to go better than 16.6 percent. That's pretty sad.]

Example #2: Sending an e-mail solely with attachments and no greeting message

If a person thinks they are actually going to get an interview by applying for a job with an e-mail whose subject line states "Applying for Associate Editor Job" and sending it only with a resume and cover letter attached, then you're just plain dumb. Seriously. Do I even need to explain why this is unacceptable?

Example #3: Not making your Facebook page private

We're all guilty of it. You know, party pics with red solo cups in hand and silly photos with half-naked people (well, everyone's guilty of it except me. You know, since I'm an angel). But hasn't the media and all your friends warned you about the perils of posting those photos? Like, in the event a potential employer has at all come out from behind a rock in the past five years to discover Facebook?

Example #4: Not asking for the potential employer's business card at the conclusion of the interview

Man, this was something that was ingrained in me at the end of college. Everyone I talked to advised me to conclude the interview with a sincere thanks, handshake and request of a business card. It kind of signals interest and a mature level of professionalism, no? NONE of these candidates have asked for my business card. One person even left without shaking my hand. Geez.

Listen, if you think I'm being harsh on these young'ins, then go ahead and think it. But this job's tough, and the job market is even tougher. We've already got to teach this person about the pitfalls of journalism and why it's still relevant in this age of Twitter, and it's disappointing we now have to teach them etiquette and manners, too. 

R.I.P. Cero / Hello Via Luna!

A new guido's in town. And Fort Lauderdale-lites should be prepared for an onslaught. 

The Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale recently replaced its beloved restaurant Cero with a brand-new Italian grill restaurant, Via Luna. Cero coincidentally happened to be one of my favorite restaurants in all of Fort Lauderdale, and when I found out via a press release of its closing, I think I took it as hard as when my goldfish, Tigre, died (I'm still claiming he committed suicide over Thanksgiving break). I remember opening the e-mailed press release and struggled to understand why Cero -- a restaurant with sauces and combinations that were close to genius -- would be replaced.

After dining at Via Luna this week, I kinda sorta understand why. It seems the Ritz needed a change, as PR Director Michelle Payer said. Via Luna offers a beautiful menu of gorgeous seafood items and more that all have genuine flavors. I had a halibut over a pea risotto and jumbo shrimp over linguini with white wine sauce. 

As a card-carrying member of The Clean Plate Club, I appreciate a good, hearty meal. My hat's off to Via Luna as each plate left my sight with an approval from The Clean Plate Club. I noted to the guests in my party that the prices at Via Luna certainly aren't cheap (they started around $25 and went up from there). Because of that, I could appreciate the restaurant's obligation to serve a beautiful dish that's still filling.

I've known Executive Chef Christian Clair for a couple of years now, mostly via my business relation with the Ritz. I pulled him aside before dinner and asked him an honest question: What do you think of the change?

And, he gave me an honest response: "I'm still getting use to it. It's not my style. But I think it will be good." 

Chef Christian, it should be noted, is classically trained in French cooking. At this level, though, he can do anything. And do it well. So, while this type of cooking might not be his exact cup of tea, I think that's the mark of a brilliant chef -- one who can do unbelievable things to styles he doesn't favor.