Lifestyle

Experience the Time of Your Life in Northeast Florida Words By Carmen Macri and Ambar Ramirez As the world continues to navigate through uncertain times, many people are opting for staycations over traditional travel. Fortunately, Northeast Florida has plenty of opportunities for a perfect staycation with its pristine beaches, state parks, museums and nightlife. It’s the ultimate staycation that will leave you feeling rejuvenated and refreshed without ever having to leave the state.   Come explore the Flip Side of Florida In search of a staycation filled with lazy beach days or kayaking adventures through marshes? Maybe you’re craving a …

Words by Su Ertekin-Taner As the outdoor season climbs to its climax in these coming spring and summer months, nature too reaches its peak in Jacksonville. Birds flirt and taunt with their spectators, trees warm themselves in hot temperatures, and flowers bloom happily in rays of sunshine. For us at work and home, nature calls and these once-undiscovered, untraversed paths become frequented by outdoors adventurers. Walk, bike, explore and bask in the natural beauty of Jacksonville with these six Jax-centric parks, trails and gardens.   Spanish Pond Trail Begin your environmental adventure with the boardwalk-paved paths of Spanish Pond Trail …

May 2 Sunshine Showdown: UF vs. FSU Baseball  121 Financial Ballpark   May 3-7 St. Augustine Food + Wine Festival  World Golf Village, St. Augustine   May 6 Combat Night MMA 2023  Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center   Unidos en la Música: A Latin American Festival  Francis Field, St. Augustine   Pints & Poses for Pride  Fishweir Brewing Company   Book Signing: James Ponti  The BookMark   Light Up the Night Citywide Prom  Murray Hill Theatre   May 7 Jacksonville Armada vs. Southern States FC  Bishop Kenny High School   Jax Filipino Chefs Pop-up Dinner  Abstrakt Filipino Essence   …

By Carmen Macri and Open AI Chat GPT Chat GPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) technology that enables virtual agents to have natural conversations with users through text or voice. It is based on natural language processing and machine learning algorithms that allow the agent to understand user intent and autonomously generate relevant and meaningful responses. With Chat GPT, virtual agents can converse with users in a conversational style, providing accurate and personalized responses. This technology can be used to create virtual customer service agents, virtual sales agents, and virtual assistants.   I was always fascinated by the power of …

Words By Carmen Macri, Ambar Ramirez and Tysen Romeo   We arrived at the quaint neighborhood of Whispering Oaks around 9 a.m. and were greeted by one of the many friendly residents. After a quick introduction and a few firm handshakes, we were escorted on a quick walk across A1A Beach Boulevard to Ocean Hammock Park Walkway. The walkway is located on a city-owned, 18-acre parcel of wetlands and dunes leading directly to the beach, one of the few public accesses in the area. It is about one-third of a mile long, and the sights along the way are what …

March 2 Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation Wine Tasting Gala Venue 841 Riverfront Weddings & Events tcjayfund.org    March 3 Jacksonville Icemen vs. Adirondack Thunder  VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena jacksonvilleicemen.com   March 3-5 Jacksonville Home + Patio Show Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center jacksonvillespringhomeshow.com   March 4 Gate River Run Jacksonville Fairgrounds gateriverrun15k.com   Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp vs. Savannah Bananas 121 Financial Ballpark milb.com/jacksonville   Jacksonville Icemen vs. Adirondack Thunder VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena jacksonvilleicemen.com   Menorcan Heritage Celebration Oldest House Gardens, St. Augustine menorcansociety.net   March 5 Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp vs. Savannah Bananas 121 Financial Ballpark milb.com/jacksonville 3K …

Does pheromone spray actually work? By Ambar Ramirez and Carmen Macri   Carmen: Ambar and I have been working together for seven months and within those seven months we realized … We are the exact same person. We aren’t the only people who had this ah-ha moment. Our coworkers confuse us all the time. So we decided to take our combined minds and create a column where we are going to be talking about everything.   Ambar: Literally everything. From social experiments to conspiracy theories. Music, art and entertainment. You name it, and we are going to talk about it …

Words by Shelton Hull and Folio Staff   Jan. 9, 2023 was an even busier Monday than usual for John Phillips, attorney, TV personality and the now-former publisher of “Folio Weekly.” Phillips filed to run that morning, then formally declared himself a candidate for City Council District 7 at a press conference at his office in downtown Jacksonville that Wednesday. It would have been hard to imagine how Phillips could find a way to actually make himself busier, but somehow he did. It was long speculated that Phillips might be running for office at some point. Many politicians are lawyers, …

Words By Ambar Ramirez   If you’re thinking about planning a romantic dinner and movie night for Valentine’s Day, think again. Valentine’s Day is a great day to show the person you love how much you really love them (though, you should do this consistently), but how much does it really say about your relationship if you go on a basic date that you probably have gone on a million times?    Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.    Candle Making at Wick: A Candle Bar Planning a candle-lit dinner, why not make the candles yourself? At the Wick: A …

Best Ramen: Domu There are only a few of its kind: two in Orlando and one in Jacksonville near St. Johns Town Center. With homemade sake and unique dishes like Cheezus (that, quite literally, tastes like it was sent from the heavens), it’s no wonder Domu is so popular. But it’s those homemade ramen noodles that made it Jacksonville’s choice for Best Ramen. The homey, neighborhood restaurant started in the year 2016 in Orlando by chef/owner Sean “Sonny” Nguyen. His goal was to provide a restaurant and bar that combind traditional Japanese techniques with modern-day methods. Needless to say, he …