and finally . . .

atlantis aquarium, part deux

atlantis aquarium

atlantis, paradise island

If you've been to the Bahamas, you've probably been to Atlantis, Paradise Island, a billion dollar resort with just about everything you could want, need or imagine --  postcard-like views, scenic beaches, fine (and very pricey) dining, a huge aquarium, water slides through shark-infested waters, a casino, a marina with helicopter-equipped yachts, and a lot more.  It was definitely one of the highlights of my trip, right up there with a touching beachfront wedding and Dewer's on the rocks with my toes in the sand at midnight.

I will say two things, however.  Most of the outdoor slides and attractions were closed by 6 p.m. when we went, which meant no slide action for me.  (Keren was relieved. She knew I'd drag her on.)  Six o'clock and they shut down for the day?  Not cool when rooms are more than a dime a night.  Secondly, there's definitely way too many loud kids.  I mean, I came here to get away from the noise of New York, right?

Other than that, Atlantis lives up to the hype.

rrrrrrrrright by da beach

the bahamas

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a been a while.  So without further ado, here are some shots from the beautiful Bahamas.  Went there with Keren for the wedding of her friend, Alex, to Billy -- a truly good guy.  The entire trip was, in a word, reinvigorating.

Ah, it's good to be back.  On this blog, that is.  

More shots and commentary to come.

JRM

'I promised him he wasn't going to die and I didn't even know his name.'

Author's note: First and foremost, sorry for the lack of recent material. Trying to get back to posting nowadays though, including some fiction projects to come. For now, here's an unedited, much longer version of a story I wrote that ran in Tuesday's New York Metro. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading.
JRM



EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
Amid the hysteria of an erupting steam pipe and pedestrians running for their lives, all Junior Suarez could hear was piercing screams from a bloodied "pink" tow-truck driver who suffered third-degree burns to more than 80 percent of his body. Suarez, 27, said he encountered a "staggering" Gregory McCullough shortly after the July 18 explosion in midtown Manhattan. Just minutes before, McCullough had been driving with another woman, Judith Bailey, when the pipe burst near Grand Central Terminal, creating a sinkhole large enough to swallow the red truck.
"I don't know why, I just ran up to him, and as I did, he just fell in my arms," Suarez said yesterday. "There were cars everywhere, people screaming, and above all, his screams -- the sounds coming out of Gregory's mouth. It was just incredible to see someone in so much pain. His eyes were vacant and I remember lying him down on the floor, and as I did, the smell of his flesh just burning ... his skin looked so pink."
Roughly 20 minutes later, when a paramedic arrived and asked him to cut off McCullough's clothes, Suarez said the badly burned man violently shrieked as skin fell off his 21-year-old chiseled frame.
"Finally, he just grabbed my hand and he looked me in the eye and he told me, 'Just promise me you're not gonna let me die,'" recalled Suarez, who is shown below being consoled by McCullough's mother, Tanya McCollough-Stewart.
"And at that point, I promised him he wasn't going to die and I didn't even know his name. And as soon as I promised him, his eyes just went blank."







McCullough remains in an induced coma at the burn unit at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center. Alongside his mother yesterday, attorneys Kenneth Thompson and Derek Sells said they intend to sue Con Edison -- and potentially the city and independent contractors -- for the blast that left McCullough badly burned, another woman dead and more than 40 others injured.
"We intend to protect Greg's interests all the way," Thompson said. "He is burned all over his body. His life will never be the same."
Beginning on Dec. 28, 2006, Thompson said Con Ed crews serviced or inspected the pipe on no less than six occasions, including during one visit just hours before the rupture.
"What it illustrates is that there was a problem at that intersection," he said. "We think that that is a tell-tale sign."
Alfonso Quiroz, a spokesman for Con Ed, said the utility continues to work with "outside experts" to determine a cause for the explosion.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and their families," Quiroz said. "Our 14,000 men and women work hard everyday to deliver energy as safely and as reliably as possible."
Meanwhile, Tanya McCullough-Stewart said she continues to hope that her son can one day resume his dream to work in law enforcement or to become a Marine. For the first time since the explosion, McCollough opened his eyes last week when she sung "Jesus Loves Me" in his hospital room.
"Him responding to my voice, it does wonders for me," McCullough-Stewart said through tears. "It does wonders for me because I know he's there. That's all I'm concerned about when I go to the hospital -- just letting him know that my presence is there."
McCullough-Stewart said her son faces a "long road" to recovery, including at least three more surgeries in addition to the multiple operations he has already undergone to remove dead muscle from his body. Costs for his medical care to date has been roughly $1 million. Doctors will decide on long-term treatment options sometime this week as McCullough heals, his mother said.
"As a mother, you know your child, and to see him grimacing in the hospital and not being able to a word, you know, you just know your child is in pain and there's nothing you can do about it," she said. "Nothing."

Joshua Rhett Miller

celebrity jurors

What do actor Robert De Niro, TV personalities Regis Philbin and Montell Williams have in common?

They've all served on New York state juries in 2006 and were honored for their civic duties today at Manhattan Supreme Court as part of Jury Appreciation Day.

Composer Marvin Hamlisch ("A Chorus Line"), CNN newscaster Paula Zahn, fashion designer Nicole Miller and several other local news anchors were also among those in attendance.

I had the pleasure of cornering Bobby B just before the ceremony began and asked him if his work on "Cape Fear" helped him navigate a courtroom. De Niro told me he was selected for a rape case earlier this year that never went to trial, hence he had no chance to break into, "Oh counselor, come out, come out where ever you are!"

boo!

the many faces of bobby d

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and actor-director Robert DeNiro announced a partnership yesterday between the Tribeca Film Festival and the inaugural Rome Film Fest, which begins next month. The City Hall press conference, typically attended by New York's print, radio and television reporters, was instead mobbed with dozens of extra photographers and the mayor of Rome's sizeable, well-dressed entourage.

Here's a few shots of Bobby D I managed to catch while steadying a tape recorder. I must say, he was rather smug throughout the 45-minute presser, aside from cracking a grin after Bloomberg plugged his new restaurant. DeNiro didn't like talking before the entire gaggle, either, he was terse and took every chance to step back from the podium.

Still, he was nice enough to shake my hand when I approached him and said, "Oh counselor!"

skydive, bitch

So for my 27th birthday last month, on Aug. 9, I decided what better way to bring in the year than to jump out of a plane strapped to a stranger at 13,500 feet. It's called a tandem jump and is recommended to all newbies. Prior to the jump, I devoured every piece of skydiving material I could get my hands on, many of which gave it the highest praise in terms of exhilaration and sheer adrenaline. These books, pamphlets and videos also had something else in common: disclaimers that every jump, no matter how experienced the parachuter, could be the last. Crashing into Earth at terminal velocity (roughly 120 mph) is not joke indeed. The fatality rate for first-time jumpers is roughly 1 in 100,000. With those odds and a belief that I truly am a lucky soul, someone with a star on my arm, I leapt.

After much trepidation, my girlfriend Keren accompanied me. And I must say, up until she boarded that single-engine Cessna to jump strapped to a just married, good ole Southern boy, I had my doubts. But to her credit, she did not waver and just went. I love you, my little daredevil.

In short, we were both amazed by the experience. After a 10-15 minute flight stuffed in a cabin roughly the size of a horizontal bedroom closet, the instructor tapped me on the shoulder, when, as we discussed below, I was to open the plane's thin plastic door and step onto a metal 2 x 4 plank. After an instant to readjust himself, my instructor, a young South African with more than 5,000 jumps, joined me on that plank and then stepped off.

We were now diving through the air, joined at the shoulders and hip, spiraling and rotating like plummeting birds. Contrary to what you might expect, there is no rush to the stomach like you'd experience in a roller coaster. No, this is a different feel, my friend. Quite simply, you feel like you're flying, complete with a raging yet serene soundtrack provided by the rushing air and your own cries of exultation (Yeaaahh! Fuck yeaaahhh!) and an immediate sense that it's a moment you'll remember forever.

I want to go again, this time at night. I'm told without being able to see the ground below at higher elevations, say 18,000 feet, there is an even greater sense of flying because you don't see the endzone.

Who's coming with me?

star looks for fresh air

[AS SEEN IN THE NEW YORK METRO]

Embattled radio host eyes comeback after charges dropped

by joshua rhett miller / metro new york

Now that criminal charges against Troi Torain, 42, aka Star — a former Power 105 radio host who was fired for making racist and explicit comments on air about a rival’s wife and daughter — will be dropped, he wants a new start. Torain (above) spoke to Metro yesterday after his court appearance about nearly having to face the music.

So what’s next for you?

I got a lot of great opportunities that I didn’t realize I had since this quagmire happened. You have to make the best out of things. I’m 42 years of age, man. I’m excited to be moving forward — trying to put a book together. My Web site, starandbucwild.com, will keep listeners updated, and I have television and radio meetings next week.

In retrospect, did you go too far?

I never should have been arrested. We all don’t like some things people say, but if you’re not breaking the law, are you not an advocate of freedom of speech? Or do you have a problem with a certain subculture? Where we’re going as a nation is scary, and I’ve spoken about this in the past on my show. Of course [the comments] were taken out of context. To people who are not in the world of hip-hop and rap radio, it would all seem to be overtly aggressive. Did I intend to bring harm to anyone? Of course not. I’m a man of sound mind and a rational thinker. But I don’t necessarily feel that my opinion here means anything after the legal decision — the charges were dropped.

Hot 97 remains the top-rated station in the 18- to 34-year-old demographic. Would that be different if you were still at Power 105?

I’m sure to some degree, but I don’t wish anything bad upon [Power 105]. I’m not angry. That station is what it is. I’ll be going to a different station with different people and people have to realize that there are limits that are pushed — and it’s not just from one person.

Are you considering other formats?

I’d love to do more of a rock format or an alternative show. Hip-hop just doesn’t excite me, it never really has. I don’t even listen to rap radio, I never did. I guess that’s my appeal to people — I’m an outsider.

Were your fans supportive after your arrest?

I was supported by listeners, but I don’t consider them fans. These are people who listen from all genres and all age categories.

Were you unfairly targeted by police and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office?

I’m not a person that needs to cry about what happened to me. Please note that I have never waived the flag of racism. We are at a much different time in our society. Nobody seems to care that we’re becoming a totalitarian nation. You can’t even drive through a tunnel without having your information checked. America is being gutted, man, and we’re brokering our own
demise.

Outside of a police station after your arrest, you told a reporter: “You’re looking at the new Lenny Bruce.” Do you still feel that way?

Yeah. [Comedian] Lenny Bruce shot dope and coke, and died of an overdose, but the guy walked through the fire. Howard Stern never had cold steel on his wrist, but yet he’s made out to be a martyr for free speech. Give me a break.

What did you learn from the ordeal?

I’m political, I’m progressive and I’m informative. I didn’t just all of a sudden pop up on Clear Channel’s radio station and say what I said. I was brought in to do a certain style of radio and I was supported by Clear Channel, so with that being said, for me to get into another situation in light of what has happened now, I’m sure a station would not want that style of radio. Am I capable of doing clean radio? Absolutely.


WHAT HAPPENED

• Star was fired by WWPR-FM in May after on-air comments he made about Gia Casey, the wife of Hot 97’s DJ Envy, and the couple’s 4-year-old daughter.
• During broadcasts on May 3-8, Torain said he wanted to urinate and ejaculate on the girl, offered $500 to any listener who told him where she attended school, and used racial epithets to describe Mrs. Casey.
• He was later arrested by detectives from the Hate Crimes Unit on charges of criminal weapons possession and endangering the welfare of a child.
• A judge yesterday agreed to drop the case in six months if Torain does three days community service and stays away from the Caseys, according to Manhattan District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Barbara Thompson. She said that the decision to drop the charges was made in order to “serve the best interests” of the 4-year-old victim.

an 'explosive' comeback

My apologies for the long absence, but I've been vacationing a bit and taking it easy. After all, tis' summer.

Anyway, I had the pleasure today of covering a truly interesting and tragic story: a 66-year-old successful doctor who was critically injured during the gas-induced explosion of his four-story Upper East Side townhouse in an apparent attempt to keep his ex-wife away from the building to be sold and split in a bitter divorce.

Here are two stories I wrote in the New York Metro and some shots I got from the scene. Enjoy and thanks for reading.


EXPLOSION ROCKS E. 62ND ST. BLOCK
by Joshua Rhett Miller

UPPER EAST SIDE — A deafening gas explosion flattened a four-story brownstone early yesterday and buried a doctor beneath 25 feet of burning debris, leaving him to call rescuers from his cell phone.
The doctor, Nicholas Bartha, was the sole occupant of 34 E. 62nd St. when the blast occurred at 8:40 a.m., according to Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta, who added that authorities were investigating the possibility that the blast was the result of a suicide attempt.
Bartha, 66, had recently lost a $4 million judgment in a divorce case, and was being forced to sell the 19th-century building as a result, according to court records.
Once on the scene, firefighters could hear BarthaÂ’s voice from the basement of the building, trapped under the rubble, said FDNY Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Weinlein.
“They said, ‘Hey, we think we got someone here,” Weinlein said. “The building was pancake down. It’s very surprising to find someone alive in that building.”
Bartha, who owns the building that housed his apartment and medical offices, was in critical condition last night with second- and third-degree burns. At least 15 other people were injured, including five civilians and 10 firefighters, fire officials said.
Rabbi Yaakov Kermaier, 36, who lives at 30 E. 62nd St., said he was on the corner of 62nd Street and Madison Avenue when the explosion occurred. After yelling to his wife and two children — who were across the street — to run in case of another blast, Kermaier had a big scare.
“My wife yelled back that the baby’s in the apartment. So I ran into my building and got the baby and the nanny out,” he said. “Thank God everyone is safe and sound.”
Kermaier said the “sudden, deafening boom” and subsequent collapse immediately covered the street with broken glass, burning wood and other debris.
Another resident of the neighboring building said her first thought was terrorism.
“I thought it was a bomb or an airplane crash,” said Sherry Miller. “After 9/11, you never know.”











'TREMENDOUS' EXPLOSION ROCKED BUILDING
by Joshua Rhett Miller

UPPER EAST SIDE — Firefighters were met with a “tremendous” amount of flames and burning rubble as they responded to the collapse of a four-story brownstone early yesterday after a gas explosion turned a once-tony block into a warzone.
“There was a lot of fire on arrival,” FDNY Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Weinlein said. “There was a total collapse of the building when we started out. So to start off with, there was not much to be able to get into the building.”
Miraculously, Weinlein said firefighters heard a noise coming from the massive amount of debris and soon realized someone had survived the “drastic” collapse.
“We heard some noise and as we quieted down the area, we were able to get someone in a little bit and they heard some more noise,” he said.
That noise was 66-year-old Nicholas Bartha, a doctor who owned the building that housed his medical offices and his apartment. Although badly burnt, Weinlein said Bartha was conscious when firefighters later reached him beneath 25 feet of rubble.
At about 4 p.m., roughly seven hours after the 8:40 a.m. blast at 34 East 62nd Street, Weinlein said firefighters were still extinguishing pockets of fire in the massive amount of debris.
Earlier in the day, FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said authorities were investigating the possibility that the explosion was the result of a suicide attempt.
“We’re still investigating that, talking about the potential for suicide,” he said.
A law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told the Associated Press that Bartha recently sent out an e-mail to his ex-wife in which he contemplated suicide:
“When you read this ... your life will change forever. You deserve it. You will be transformed from gold digger to ash and rubbish digger. You always wanted me to sell the house. I always told you I will leave the house only if I am dead.”