Medias Blancas

Given how the South Florida media is reacting over Tropical Storm Ana (and Tropical Storm Bill, which probalby should be its own thread), I'm surprised one has not been posted here yet as far as I can tell. As you know, Ana figures to affect South Florida by the end of the week if it stays on its current forecast track.

The fire is located in the area of 136th Street and 127th Avenue in SW Miami-Dade. Link

...was one of the most important dates in the history of rock and roll. On this night half a century ago, the Winter Dance Party was taking place in the Iowa town of Clear Lake. Performing in the Surf Ballroom that night were Charles Hardin Holley, J.P. Richardson, and Richard Steven Valenzuela. Of course, we respectively remember these men as Buddy Holly, "The Big Bopper," and Ritchie Valens, and it would be the last performance of each man's career. Later, in the early morning hours of February 3, 1959, Holly had chartered a plane to take himself, Richardson, and Valens to Minnesota. The Winter Dance Party has been travelling from town to town on buses, but the buses were in deplorable shape and had no heat. Hence, Holly chartered the plane. Valens won his seat on the plane only because he beat Tommy Allsup in a coin toss for the seat. In another twist of irony, Richardson convinced another performer to let him have his seat on the plane. Richardson had been battling the flu and did not want to sit on a cold bus all night. That other performer's name? Waylon Jennings. With Holly, Richardson, and Valens on board, the plane took off from Mason City Municipal Airport in Iowa at 1:00 a.m. The plane crashed shortly after taking off, killing the three performers and the pilot, Roger Peterson. Poor weather conditions contributed to the crash. It wasn't until the following morning until the wreckage was discovered. Hence, Feburary 3, 1959, would become known as "The Day the Music Died." Fourteen years later, Don McLean released called "America Pie" that referenced the events of that terrible day. Supposedly, that day was called "The Day the Music Died" because rock and roll stations throughout the country did not play music that day out of respect for the fallen rock and roll performers.

Well, I guess we can call off the "Fidel Watch" for the time being. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez went to see Castro today and said that he looks well. Yesterday, she said, Fidel watched the inauguration. Coincidentally, President Obama is the 11th President of the United States to serve since Castro came to power in 1959. EDIT: And, now, Castro has resumed his role as Granma columnist suggesting that his health is on the decline.

So now Hugo Chavez is saying that Castro is still "working."

According to the Spanish-language Diario Las Am?ricas newspaper in South Florida, Castro is in a coma and on a respirator. Of course, no one knows how reliable this source is, but it's yet another sign.

To my regret, I do not know the Spanish language well enough to capture what this article is saying. However, in the eighth paragraph, is the article quoting the Spanish newspaper El Pa?s as saying that Cuba's interior ninistry and armed forces have begun "movements" which may signal sign that something has happened or is about to? I wonder why no other media outlets have picked up on this.

Both The Miami Herald and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel are reporting that Fidel Castro's health may have taken a turn for the worse and that the end of Castro may be nigh. Herald Link Sun-Sentinel Link

Another trip to Publix.... Where shopping is a pleasure. But it may not be this time around if thousands of people are all there at the same time getting things.

There's another one out there, tropical depression eight which would be named Hanna if it reaches tropical storm status. Link

There is a possibility that South Florida could be affected by some sort of tropical distrubance early next week. The disturbance, which is not even a depression as of yet, is situated east of Puerto Rico. It is too early to tell how big this disburbance will become or where exactly it will go. If it becomes the next named storm, its name would be Fay. Link

Are they preserving the east endzone and the scoreboard? It looks like it's still intact.

The City of Fort Lauderdale and the Baltimore Orioles has been working to keep the O's spring training base in the Venice of America, but they were thrown a curveball by the Federal Avation Administration. The FAA owns the land involved, and it just increased the rental fee ten-fold. What the FAA wants to do is expand the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport which sits next door. Hence, it raised the rent knowing Ft. Lauderdale and the Orioles would no way in hell pay for it. This obviously has land grab written all over it. Hence, spring training baseball will end in South Florida (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale) with the Orioles expected to take over the Dodgers' vacated Vero Beach facility.

Maybe he's taking trim spa. Or he called Jenny Craig.

Bolivian president Evo Morales met Thursday with former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. In talking about his visit, Morales indicated that Castro appeared thin but remains lucid. Not that there really is much to this, but could this report of an increasingly thinning Castro be a sign of his current health condition or the direction thereof? Link

Is there any place where one can go to see photos of the ongoing demolition?

How about this radical concept? Have the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County police departments share policing duties at the new ballpark? Has this idea crossed anyone's mind?

Fidel Castro may have resigned, but I am sure he still will be the de facto "Maximum Leader" meaning any major decisions about the direction of Cuba will be made or, at least, influenced by him. Ra?l Castro will more likely run the day-to-day operation like he has been since Fidel went under the knife.

Could this be a sign from Fidel that he will finally formally step down? Link

If the build the new stadium at the Orange Bowl site, will there be enough parking? If I recall correctly, there is not much parking around the current and soon-to-be-demolished Orange Bowl stadium.

All the South Florida stations are covering this live over the air and/or online. NBC 6 just reported that the suspect, Michael Mazza, is in custody.

Looking at segments of Castro's video on Univision, it seems like some of his speech was slurred. I'm not saying he's had a stroke (which can cause slurred speech) or anything like that, but the slurred speech is something worth noting.

Amid all the rumors that he would not be long for this world, Cuban leader Fidel Castro appeared on Cuban television Friday evening in an interview taped earlier that day, reportedly. Link

While the forecast cone has Felix between Honduras and the Yucat?n Penisula, Mike Seidel (IIRC) on TWC suggested earlier that a trough could push Felix northward toward Texas.

Friday's edition of The Wall Street Journal has a front page article about the Fidel rumoring. I cannot link it here because you can only read WSJ articles online if you are a paid subscriber, which I am not.