Hugo Schwyzer

My beloved and I are in an unseasonably cool South Beach this morning. My poor wife, who craves the heat and humidity that reminds her of Colombia, was forced to wear a wrap as we ate a late pasta dinner on Ocean last night. I had a short run this morning on the boardwalk, and am now negotiating the dicey wireless and excellent coffee at the Tides Hotel.

I can’t recall a week where I’ve had more comments go into moderation! Unlike at the big, communal blogs, I have no one else to do the moderating for me, so I apologize if your comment gets stuck in limbo for hours and hours. Though I’ve closed commenting on the main post about the citation/stealing women-of-color controversy, my follow-up post remains open, as long as it is not used merely to continue the thread from the first one. And of course, personal attacks on anyone even tangentially involved in this sprawling controversy will be deleted.

I’ll be returning to what I hope will be thoughtful blogging a week from today; until the 22nd, I’ll be moderating comment threads and checking in regularly. I do appreciate both the traffic and the ongoing discussion.

For now, though, we’re going to enjoy a much-needed break here in South Beach and the surrounding area. Greater Miami both seduces and appalls, I find. After four visits out here in as many years, I’ve decided it’s very much the “nice place to visit, but wouldn’t want to live” experience. I would go absolutely mad in a world so utterly and indefensibly flat.

But hey, South Florida has its benefits. I’m going up to Boca Raton this afternoon to take a buddy of mine to lunch. Though he and I are both in our forties, knowing where we’re going to eat, we’ll be guaranteed to be the two youngest patrons in the place by at least a quarter century. I felt “old” a few weeks ago at the WAM conference; I feel positively coltish here.