Mega Python Vs. Gateroid

"Miami Monster Movie: SyFy Channel’s “Mega Python Vs. Gateroid” Shows Area Potential For Blockbuster Gold" by v. johns

While national politics are of some concern, I prefer to spend my time on this blog promoting and explaining the opportunities and challenges of the Southeast Florida region. As powerful and influential as our area seems to be sometimes, its poor promotion of itself and its overall quality of life, as it approaches build-out, causes it to always play second fiddle to the usual, more organized, super-regional heavyweights and mainstays of New York, Los Angeles, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston.

Still, our incompleteness, if you will, presents opportunities for growth in areas, relatively new to our region, that have long established histories in other more centralized regions. In addition to biotechnology, information technology, green industry and mass transportation, Florida’s budding film and entertainment industry may show more promise, and more potential for a higher return on investment, than any of these other industries, at this time. With special effects wizards Digital Domain establishing a Florida corollary to its California headquarters, right here on the Treasure Coast, our work history and credibility as real players in the entertainment industry can only get better.

A few weeks ago, after watching New York-based Centropolis Entertainment’s horrible remake of “Godzilla,” on FX, I wondered, as I always do, why filmmakers have never thought of making a Hollywood-level monster movie based in the Miami area. I also wondered how the same people who made “Independence Day” could have made that awful “monstrosity?” And while it can be said that SyFy’s “Mega  Python Vs. Gateroid” is perhaps just as horrible, “MP vs. G” is  not only made for TV, which is somewhat more excusable, it’s more fun to watch and caricatures the quirky nature of Florida’s people and life, in a way that “Godzilla” fails to do for New York. With the premiere airing, this past Saturday, hosted by it’s two main stars, Debbie Gibson and Tiffany, of 1990’s music fame, the movie not only pits the proponents of two animal species against each other, it pits the two animals species themselves (foreign pythons and Florida alligators) against each other for Everglades food-chain dominance (an actual issue here in our area). And upon foolish human interference with their biology, these rabid reptiles evolve rapidly into oversized monsters and begin to run amok, beyond their swampy Everglades setting, slithering and stomping across major highways and threatening to pummel Southeast Florida’s flagship city, Miami.

Wow! Now, imagine watching what I’ve just told you in a movie theater, with better quality of effects and a better storyline, and recognizing the particular portion of I-95 that the monsters just destroying! Awesome! Right?

While I enjoy TV crime dramas like “CSI: Miami” and “The Glades” and always look forward to theatrical action movies like “Bad Boys” and “The Fast and the Furious 2,” not to mention TV movies like “Spring Break Shark Attack” and “Mega Piranha,” I’d like to see Southeast Florida cities and towns, in a big way, fight off mega monsters, zombie swarms and alien invasions for a change. I have yet to see South Floridians portrayed on the big screen battling major other-worldly threats and dealing with extinction-level events on a massive scale. Is there not a niche for us in this market?

For anyone wishing to capitalize upon such ventures, say Will Smith, who in my opinion help put Miami firmly and permanently on the map, the key is paying attention to how Floridians and Southeast Florida residents of all shapes, sizes, creeds and colors go about their normal daily lives which can, at times, appear to be significantly different than that of the rest of the nation, but is what makes us who we are. Pay attention to common regional dialogue such as “down in Lauderdale,” “up in Vero,” “305,” “561,” “772,” or “off I-95,” and to landmarks, transit modes and thoroughfares such as “A1A,” “Federal Highway,” “Tri-Rail,” “Beeline Highway,” “Military Trail,” or “The Jetty.” Note also that much of our region is also an extension of the New York area empire. 

Southeast Florida’s unique and unusual mix of various cultures, peoples, attractions and charms, while showcased splendidly in the movies and TV shows mentioned above (and listed on this blog’s sidebar), is still rich with drama, comedy and action that has yet to be captured and capitalized on in more blockbuster ways. Even with the advent of the state of New Jersey vying for film and television attention (“Sopranos,” “Jersey Shore,” “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” etc.), not to mention aggressive New Orleans area film development (“Treme,” “Steven Segal: Lawman”, etc.), in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, Southeast Florida remains to be one of the most viable, attractive and exotic areas, outside New York and L.A., for filming movies, news and entertainment. But in order to keep all the successes we’ve had in this arena (“African Queen,” “Flipper,” “Miami Vice,” “Flight of the Navigator,” “CSI: Miami,” “Bad Boys”, etc.), while growing even more, we’ve got to stay on top of things by diversifying our offerings and keeping the allure of Florida life and lore alive. What better way to do it than to go after the lucrative action/adventure blockbuster genre of the industry? 

In conclusion of these arguments, a little known piece of trivia: Jacksonville, Florida was once the film capital of the nation. Perhaps Miami and other Southeast Florida locales can help our state reclaim its film-works throne. With blockbuster films of all kinds taking place here and showcasing our life, style and culture (real or imagined), we’ll never have to spend any more tax payer dollars than is necessary to promote our region as the premiere place in the world to live, work, study, play, relax and do business (or save the world from monsters!). We will, instead, have the luck and luxury of letting our film and entertainment industry do it for us! 

FPL Name Change

"FPL Name Change Shows How Powerful Marketing and Branding Can Be" by v. johns

I’m reading in today’s printed edition of the Palm Beach Post (Mar. 20) about Florida Power and Light Company’s parent company name change, later this spring, from FPL Group to NextEra Energy. This in an effort to “modernize the company’s image and give people a more complete picture of what it does.” Carey O’Donnell, president of O'Donnell PR Group told the Post that the current name sounds like a “big stodgy utility” and that “the elements of branding matter more than ever before today.”

I couldn’t agree more. Which is why I’m continually perplexed by the lack of corrective visibility regarding the promotion of South Florida as a three-county urban jungle, rather than the more diverse seven-county super region it actually is. While Miami and Fort Lauderdale are no-brainers, it has taken several years and (a little train called Tri-Rail that connects Palm Beach to Broward and Dade) to get West Palm Beach its proper place in the South Florida metrosphere. So, seeing as how the Palm Beaches and the Treasure Coast go hand-in-hand, wouldn’t it make sense that the Treasure Coast is also a part of the South Florida region? And poor Key West… They may be in a world all their own down there, but they are the southernmost point in Florida and the U.S. Even they seem to only get honorable mention…

While I’ve observed tremendous strides in local press, business and government entities in recognizing South Florida’s true boundaries, i.e. consisting of Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, the overall push to make it official, and abundantly clear, remains to be seen by the public at large. It’s not rocket science. Regarding tourism, the idea is to get people here. They can decide on their own which county suits them best for their needs, intents and purposes.

While I’m encouraged by the NFL’s recognition of South Florida’s boundaries outside the immediate Miami vicinity, with them labeling the last two Super Bowls here “the South Florida Super Bowl,”  I’d like to see more competition, browbeating and perhaps outright bullying regarding South Florida’s size, diversity and depth. What kind of place sucks up over 7000 square miles and fails to brag about it? Compare our 7000 square miles to L.A.’s 3000. Yeahhh, NOW you get it!

Oddly enough, I think people on the Treasure Coast actually get the South Florida concept. We grew up having to travel all over the region for this and that and to visit churches and relatives and malls. It’s people in South Florida’s Gold Coast urban core who seem to not have a clue about places outside Miami, Lauderdale and West Palm. Who the hell doesn’t know where Stuart is? So, you can imagine how clueless tourists might be.

The overall point of all this is to say that, with Florida on the ropes amid a rough economy, we need to up our marketing and branding on a regional level to get more tourism dollars in our coffers. Once I’ve seen expensive internet, print and TV ads pitching all of South Florida’s seven counties, I’ll at least be mildly convinced that actual in-you-face regional governance and cooperation are at all possible down this way… 

South Florida's Boundaries

"Forget Waldo... Where's South Florida?" by v. johns

Over the course of constructing this blog, I've been trying to drive home the point that in order for South Florida to attain a true, complete and workable regional mass transit system, that serves all of its citizens, including the ones outside of its largest urban centers, it would help to know exactly what geographical parameters define the so-named region. According to SoFlo.org, both Enterprise Florida and the Florida Department of Transportation define South Florida as a seven-county area - not three - that runs about 300 miles in length from Vero Beach in the north to Key West in the south.

Now that we've established this, let me delve a little deeper into this issue, using my own terminology and classification modifications, to give you a fuller, more fleshed-out picture of what we are dealing with here. South Florida is composed of three sub-regions, each with their own unique problems and characteristics: The first being the Treasure Coast "district" to the north consisting of Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties. And according to Treasure Coast Magazine, it also stretches even further south into the northern portion of Palm Beach County (Jupiter, Juno, Tequesta). I agree 100%. The second sub-region being the Gold Coast "district" to the south (also known as the Tri-County area) consisting of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. And I will add to this scheme, the final piece of the puzzle, Monroe County and the Keys which I consider to be a third sub-region and refer to it as the Florida Keys "district." I also would recommend creating a fourth sub-region, the Interior Florida Everglades "district", stretching from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Keys. But I digress.

Zooming out just a little, we see that just as the three sub-regions of the Treasure Coast, the Gold Coast and the Florida Keys compose the area we call South Florida, South Florida, itself, using eflorida.com's map, is on pace to overlap and merge with four other state regions: Southwest, South Central, Tampa Bay and East Central. A PDF map on SoFlo.org's site credited to the Metropolitan Institute of Virginia Tech names this area "Peninsula" and shows other national mega-regions such as: Cascadia, NorCal, Southland, the Valley of the Sun, the I-35 Corridor, the Midwest, Piedmont, and of course, the Northeast.

SoFlo.org credits author, professor and lecturer Richard Florida for naming this area So-Flo (Southern Florida I presume): armed to the teeth with the three state powerhouse metros formed around Miami (Southeast), Tampa (Tampa Bay) and Orlando (East Central). And I will add to that, a lesser known player, Naples (Southwest). All of this forming a rough circle around Florida's rural "Heartland" region, South Central. It also describes the I-4 Corridor as being So-Flo's "northern boundary." And to complete our total regional picture, out of respect, I want to remind you that three other regions exist in this state, in addition to the five state regions comprising the So-Flo mega-region and they are: Northwest (Tallahassee), North Central (Gainesville) and Northeast (Jacksonville).

This type of clarification is rarely seen. When you've got entities such as Broward County and the South Florida Regional Planning Council that are still using and displaying information from several years ago that needs updating, it presents a confusing picture that leaves natives and outsiders, as well, in a bit of a fog. This is unfortunate because when people visit Broward.org to learn about Ft. Lauderdale and its surrounding areas, they will have no idea, unless they find out dilligently on their own, that Port St. Lucie and Stuart can provide them with lodging options if all the hotel rooms in Broward are sold out for some large event going on in Ft. Lauderdale. They may opt out altogether if they don't know what all their options are. I've seen this happen in Tallahasse when hotel rooms get sold out for big games at FSU or FAMU. I've seen people book hotel rooms for these events as far away as Valdosta, Georgia!

On a business level, in our state's quest to attract high-paying industries and jobs to our area, it would help if investors and stakeholders know what they are investing in. If an ill-informed biotech company rejects relocating to South Florida on the basis that it is perceived as too crowded, with no industrial space left, that company, not understanding that there are less densely populated areas of the region other than Miami or West Palm Beach, might pass on the entire region in favor of other areas outside the state that may be percieved as more suitable. Had they known and understood that Vero Beach can connect them to Miami without sacrificing spatial advantages that much, they might have considered and by then we will have lost an opportunity that could have been corrected with the proper information. This is assuming that a time-conscious company with little time to research an area is seeking to relocate and branch out as quickly as they can.

All of this is very important because while we have state entities like Enterprise Florida and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) defining our area correctly, we also have other statistical entities such as Wikipedia, Florida Smart and perhaps even the U.S. Census, incorrectly, if not unwittingly, presenting our area as something else altogether. Florida Smart (smart? really?) even goes so far as to say that the Treasure Coast stretches from Ft. Pierce to Boca Raton? Not Correct. These types of discrepancies, though somewhat understandable, given the outdated statistical sources from which their information is derived, are nonetheless unacceptable and are exactly the types of mismatched presentations of information that this journal is against and seeks to help correct. In the meantime, I am at least encouraged that our state entities have gotten it right. Still, its not enough that we get it right while others get it wrong. I would encourage all regional leaders, following SoFlo.org's lead, to make some effort to promote update, correlate, corroborate and disceminate all their data across as many channels as they can (government, commercial, statistical, etc.) as immediately as possible.

In conclusion, the very foundation of this blog is that state and regional promotion must be conducted with real excellence and quality working steadily in the background to support our claims. We can't properly promote South Florida or any of our state's regions, for that matter, if the facts aren't straight and outsiders don't have a clear picture of what they are investing their precious time and money into. Our leaders, who broker these deals on our behalf, and our citizens who seek to share their slice of paradise with family and friends, must be armed with as much of the proper information on our region and our state as possible to provide a convincing argument to prospective industries, institutions, residents and investors that Florida and South Florida, in particular, is indeed the best place in the world to live, work, study, play and do business...

Regional Potential

"Untapped Regional Potential" by v. johns 1-15-08 at 8:35pm

One of the most basic goals of this site is to examine the conceptual perception of the Southeast Florida region as it relates to the structural planning and development of the land itself. At the heart of this notion that South Florida - as well as the state of Florida - is in danger of becoming a lost paradise, is the prime opinion that inter-regional mobility forms the very foundation of any region's vibrance and vitality. The mere idea of the "South Florida" brand, which has been improperly promoted as a three-county urban metroplex, is not enough to convince observers and outsiders that we are to be taken seriously as a premier regional center of excellence. This geographic branding and growing recognition of our actual seven-county commonwealth must be backed up by the one thing it not only needs and lacks but must eventually provide to compete with other national and international regions: excellent transportation.

The development of a true regional identity and a well-planned intermodal transportation system to back it up are not only vital to the region itself, but also to the state in which it is harbored. There is no question that the state of Florida is, in some ways, its own sovereign republic. The question is: Where does our region fit in? What role will we play? Will South Florida, with its many wealthy enclaves and clout, remain the premier flagship region of our state? Or will we cede our location and population advantages to increasingly more attractive competing regions in our state that are beginning to form - and are being planned - around Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville - and potentially Gainesville and Tallahassee? Like California, which makes its own deals with other countries, Florida's unique geographic proximity and connections to foreign countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Bahamas, as well, positions us in such a manner that we must also do the same - as we possess commerce and trade advantages and opportunities that other more inland states do not. Zooming in a little, we see that South Florida, especially Miami, our flagship city, with its increasingly busy airports and seaports, has always served as a gateway of sorts to Latin America. So much so, in fact, that it can actually be considered to be a part of Latin America - as it is often referred to as "the capital of Latin America."

In conclusion, getting back to the fundamental issue of regional transportation, once we have acquired the political will to demand and build a world-class transportation system for the South Florida Metropolitan Archipelago, this will only be the beginning. From there, our next challenge will be connecting our region with other regions throughout the state. From there, with the entire Eastern Seaboard of the United States of America from Florida to Maine. And from there, with Latin America and the rest of the world.