You can’t be in the city of Miami this summer without seeing the largest touring collection of mummies ever assembled. You know me as the editor of Miami Life but long before I started writing this column, I was known as DigiDame and today I am sharing the DigiDame’s secret power. Miami is the most poetic city in the world, and the Dade Poets Society is a great organization to join. We’re getting a new bridge, the Canopy Bridge, a walking piece of art that connects the Biscayne Bay walkway on South of Fifth to the path going north.

Now – Sept. 4. Mummies of the World: The Exhibition

You must visit the Phillip & Patricia Frost Museum of Science this summer to see the largest touring collection of mummies ever assembled. I know some of you are cringing right now, but the museum promises that the exhibition will completely transform your perception of mummies and mummification.I know many of you are saying that you have better things to do than see a bunch of dead bodies. Let me remind you that many diseases have been cured through the study of mummified remains. The exhibition highlights real advances in scientific methods, including Computed Tomography (CT), DNA analysis and radiocarbon dating, all of which allow researchers to learn about the lives, histories and cultures of these ancient people and animals. Who were they? Where did they come from and what can they teach us?

I just want to make sure we are all on the same page to understand the definition of a mummy. It is a dead body of an animal or human that has been preserved after death so that it does not decompose. To be considered a mummy, the body must keep some of its soft tissue.

The museum explains that the exhibition features the mummified remains of 40 real humans and animals and 80 rare artifacts from across the globe. The exhibition provides a window into the lives of ancient people from nearly every region of the world including Europe, South America, and Ancient Egypt, offering unprecedented insights into past cultures and civilizations. This compelling collection, presented with reverence and dignity, will enthrall with dramatic displays of the mummies and their personal stories. State-of-the-art multimedia stations will take you on a 4,500-year journey to explore the histories and origins of the mummified remains, as well as how they were created. Inside every mummy is a story waiting to be told. Through modern science and technology, their secrets are now revealed.

Mummies of the World: The Exhibition will be on view from Saturday, May 27, 2023, through Monday, September 4, 2023, inside the Hsiao Family Special Exhibition Gallery on the first floor of the Museum. Admission to Mummies of the World: The Exhibition is included with all Museum admission tickets. GET THE DETAILS.

The Digidame

You know me as the editor of Miami Life for The Three Tomatoes. Long before (decades) I started writing this column, I was known as DigiDame in the tech industry. My public relations agency specialized in tech and as soon as bloggers were born, I started a daily post on innovative items I thought my contemporaries would be interested in. Lately I have been writing about art because that is where my daily travels have been taking me. However, many friends have recently told me they miss the gadgets or tech advancements I informed them about. I dumb down everything because most of us are only interested in the essentials. So here I go. I can’t promise you that I will talk tech every week because my main assignment is Miami Life for The Three Tomatoes, but I will post interesting developments that I think mature women would like to know about.

Now for DigiDame’s Secret Power. I have been using a rhinestone embedded, portable charger for weeks. I simply love it. The iWALK portable charger has doubled my iPhone usage time. More time for Kindle and Audible.

I have used many portable chargers before, but they were always too chunky. This one easily fits in my mini crossbody handbag. If a charger can fit in one of my mini handbags that I now wear, you know it’s small. It is slightly larger than lipstick.

I first spotted Kathryn Mikesell of Fountainhead Arts using The iWALK portable charger on our trip to Buenos Aires. I never saw a charger that looked like that. It slips into the charging plug on the bottom of your smartphone so you can use any kind of cover you want to. I immediately went to Amazon and bought one for $35. It charges AirPods too.  What a great gadget to carry with you every time you leave your home. You can even stick it in your pocket.  I’m now a proud super charger. CHECK IT OUT.

Interested in joining the Dade Poets Society?

“Medicine, law, business engineering— these are noble pursuits, and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love—these are what we stay alive for.”

Miami is the most poetic city in the world. If you are planning to spend any extensive time in Miami, I strongly suggest you join a few organizations. It’s a great way to meet people, get invited to monthly events, expand your horizons, and be a Miami insider. It’s really wonderful to know that you have upcoming activities to look forward to. Being part of community activities gives you time for your own personal interests as well as being involved with a social network.

Throughout the year, the Dade Poets Society teaches poetry to kids in schools, hosts a month-long poetry festival, and publishes Miamians in books and unexpected places like billboards, fences, and walls. Their work is an act of love for Miami, inviting Miamians to share their stories and write a new one together.

Prospective members should contact their Development Director, Marie McGrath, at marie@omiami.org. Check out their list of current members. If you Google the names on this list, you will see how important and meaningful this group is to Miami.

Through site-specific events, activations, and projects, O, Miami seeks to broadcast the voices of Miamians; engage residents in a literary community; and create intimate experiences that encourage cultural exchange. Here you’ll find some of the activities that have taken place. New activities are being added all the time. GET THE DETAILS.

South Florida’s Coastal Cultural Mecca

The entranceway to Miami Beach, off of the Mac Arthur Causeway, is about to change forever. The real estate developers, who are building the Five Park Miami Beach condo project on Alton Road and Fifth Street, promised a dramatic looking bridge to connect the Biscayne Bay walkway on South of Fifth to the path going north. That would mean residents and visitors could walk the whole south circumference of the beach and then continue north on the beach or bay side.

Designed by French conceptual artist Daniel Buren, the new Canopy Bridge is a walkable piece of art. A prolific artist, Buren is known for creating sculptures and installations using contrasting-colored stripes to affect a space and is the brainchild behind some of the world’s most recognizable public works of art.

Culture, Color, Connection 

Buren said. “When completed, the Miami Beach Canopy Bridge will be the beach’s most prominent landmark, soaring forty feet over Fifth Street. The bridge is a striking connector, bringing the larger neighborhood into focus and providing ample opportunity to explore the energy and vibrancy of Miami Beach’s artistic enclaves.” GET MORE DETAILS.