Dezerland

Posted on by Thor

I heard about a game night at Gods and Monsters called Tipsy Tabletop. I had sketched in Gods and Monsters in the past and they were located in the former Artegon Marketplace on International Drive. I typed Gods and Monsters into my GPS and headed out. When I got close the GPS started giving me unexpected directions. I ignored the directions and parked near the Cinemark Theaters which is where I usually park when going to Gods and Monsters. The Cinemark was active but when I turned into the Market there was a high metal fence set up blocking access to the inner market area. I knew that Bass Pro shop was open on the west side of the mall, so I figured I might be able to get to Gods and Monsters by walking around the exterior of the building.

Dark storm clouds with lightening loomed on the horizon. When I got to this front facade of the mall I stopped in my tracks. The huge letters used to spell out Artegon but now spelled Dezerland. What is Dezerland? The mall had been empty for over a year. Did it mean Deserted land? I decided to sit down and sketch to ponder the possibilities. Gilson’s Brazilian Restaurant with a large black limousine parked in front was open to my right but Fudruckers looked closed.  Also to my right was an automobile museum that didn’t look like it was open yet.

Artegon had been sold to a business associate of Donald Trump named Michael Dezer for $24 million dollars. Mr Dezer was converting the interior of the mall into an action park. I remember that Artegon had installed an indoor skyline course where people could walk tightropes several stories up. On the first week it opened a tourist fell to his death since he had not been harnessed in correctly. I wonder if Dezer will remove that skyline or keep it?

The city of Orlando had put a stop work order on Dezerland since the proper permits had not been filed. Cars were being painted inside without proper ventilation. Interior walls were altered and electrical work done. Dezer is being fined $200 a day until the paperwork is filed. He had planned to open the park as an auto dealership and theme park early this year. That would explain why the place looked so deserted.

The auto museum is supposed to house one of the largest collections of cars in the country. When I peaked in the closed entrance I just saw a few child’s toy sized cars. A map of the plans shows that the car museum would be much larger that I was able to see peaking in the front windows. The museum is supposed to house the largest privately owned collection of cars in the world, including the James Bond Cars, the Bat Mobile and the Ghostbusters Hearst.

The theme park includes, a retro
pinball machine palace an arcade game room, bumper cars, various virtual
reality rooms and experiences, trampolines, a bowling alley, laser tag,
and Florida’s longest straightaway go-kart track. Future plans include an apartment complex on the south side of the former mall. The Dezerland website lists the opening date as Spring of 2019. I’m not sure what to expect but it could be a sketch opportunity when it is up and running.

Just as a footnote I found out that Gods and Monsters had moved a few blocks away. I will eventually find my way over there again.

Artegon is Long Gone

Posted on by Thor

I did a series of sketches when plans were made to open Artegon Market Place on International Drive. I was fascinated by the idea of a thriving market similar to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul Turkey. What appeared in the first weeks were a series of cages filling the empty space of a former mall. Those cages were eventually replaced with mini themed store fronts but the place felt fractured and cut up. I had been toying with the idea of renting a space in the market to sell my art because they promised low cost rents for artists to start. RV, a local artist rented a large gallery but soon left because of broken promises by the management.

Being across from many of International Drives Premium Outlet malls where tourists spend plenty of money before heading back home, I thought there might be a ready market. For whatever reason, the market place never thrived. The center first opened in 2003 as Festival Bay Mall, but that only lasted until 2011. Artegon opened in 2014. The place seemed cursed. In the open inner court area a large Aerial Adventure Course was built with rope bridges, zip lines, suspended disks. The first week the course was opened, Robert Belvoir, 52, fell 30 feet to his death.

Lightstone Group ended its two-year experiment to take the
“property in a new direction.” Bass Pro Shop and Cinemark Theaters remain open since their buildings aren’t owned by Lightstone. Artegon’s owner recouped its $25 million investment, selling
the properties for Bass Pro Shops and Cinemark Theaters for a combined
$30 million. In the Noor Salman trial, footage was shown of Pulse Nightclub shooter Omar Mateen buying ammunition for the rifle used in the Pulse Nightclub attack along with some candy from Bass Pro Shops in the weeks before the massacre.

A Tech Trail leading up to Mass Murder

Posted on by Thor

There is some sensitive content and disturbing details included
within. If you feel you may be affected, please do not read this post.

 Kim Rosencrans is an FBI Information Technology Specialist. He is part of the computer response team called CART. He analyzed the date recovered from Omar Mateen‘s Cellphone. Starting on May 20, 2016 he noticed Google searches for ISIS. On May 21, 2016 there was a search at 6:27 PM for ISIS Spit Face. This article urged Muslims to “Spit in their face and run over them with your cars.” On May 22nd, Omar viewed a video in which an ISIS spokesman urged Ramadan attacks in Europe and America. On May 27th he was searching for firearms, at the online Brass Pro Shop. he also did a search for the Saint Lucy Shooting Center and he read about the Paris Terrorist attacks. On May 28th he went to LiveLeak.com and looked at an Orange Jump Suit ISIS video. In that video ISIS put people on Orange jumpsuits and executed them. He searched for cheap flights to Istanbul, Turkey. He also began researching the FBI along with Disney live Web Cams. He read an article about a terrorist who deliberately shut off his phone for several hours to drop off the FBI’s radar right before an attack.

In June, 2016 he read an article about 9 ways that people are being spied on every day.

1, License plate readers.

2. Sidewalk Cameras

3. Public transportation.

4. Credit and Loyalty Cards.

5. On the phone.

6. While watching TV.

7. Sitting at your computer.

8. Sending and receiving e-mails.

9. Surfing the Internet.

You might think Omar would leave no trail given his research, but he was lazy leaving behind a clear road map of his every move.

In June he began researching how the FBI was entrapping suspects in the ISIS war. In a shocking revelation in court it was uncovered the Omar’s Dad was an FBI Informant from 2005 to 2016. Omar was questioned by the FBI in 2013 for bragging to co workers at his security company that he had ties to ISIS. The FBI gave up on him as a suspect perhaps because his father was an informant. In one of the “scouting” videos at Disney Springs, Noor can be seen holding Zac on her hip and then the defense pointed out another man in a blue shirt. That man was Omar’s dad who was also “scouting” the location. He thumbed through shirts hanging on a rack, while Noor took photos of her son. 

Noor texted Omar…

N.  I told your parents you are paying for Cali with points from PNC and your job.

O.  K

N.  I’ll be waiting. 😊

On June 11, 2016 Omar had plenty of ISIS searches on his phone. He powered off his phone going dark until just before the Pulse Nightclub attack. Noor texted…

N.  She (Omar’s mom) asked where you were. XOXO

N.  What time does everyone go to Mosque.

N.  If your mom calls say Nemo invited you out and Noor wants to stay home.

N.  Call your mom she is worried.

N. Love you.

N. Sabrina stopped by.

N. Getting my food to go.

N. Told mom I didn’t have the car.

N. Wanted to stay home LOL.

N. I’m home XOXO.

Omar was Googling Disney Springs on the evening of June 11, 2016 and could be seen on security footage at Disney springs. There was a large police presence at the Disney shopping area that night. Just past midnight Omar took a 17 second phone call from his mom. Omar left Disney and started searching for Downtown Orlando Nightclubs.

Noor sent Omar a text…

N.  Omar call me. We are so very worried. Please call me.

N.  Habibi where are you?

N.  Where are you?

O.  Everything OK?

N.  Your mom is worried and so am I. You know you have to work tomorrow right?

O.  You heard what happened?

N.  ????

N.  What happened?

O.  I love you babe.

N.  Habibi what happened?

FBI Counter Terrorism Information Technology Specialist Stephen Boise discussed information found on Noor Salman’s cell phone. He habitually reached up to touch the knot of his tie when he answered questions. On the evening of the Pulse Nightclub attack she was at home shopping for leather jackets. Omar had lavished many gifts on her in the weeks leading up to the attack running up over $26,000 in credit card dept. The family usually spent $1,556 on credit cards each month.

It was noted that Noor and Omar were friends on Facebook. I am amazed that this is considered important information in a mass murder trial. but Facebook photos of Noor were helpful to show that she had a wedding ring although Omar spent over $7000 on another ring in the days before the attack. Noor deleted messages on the night of the attack. Charles Swift on cross examination of Boise, asked the agent if Noor regularly deleted texts. Of the 2000 pages of texts he had researched, he couldn’t decide if she regularly deleted texts. He did not want to conceded that she might do this as habit rather than s a sure sign of guilt. There were no Islamic extremist posts from Noor no political posts. There were no searches for Pulse, guns, Disney Springs or the FBI on her phone. 

Artegon then and now.

Posted on by Thor

Artegon is an artist market set up in the former Festival Bay Mall. Festival Bay had only a few merchants who were long term, one was the Bass Pro Shops, Ron Jon Surf Shop. Unfortunately the rest of the mall was usually half empty. Artegon came in with an exciting concept to convert the mall into an artist market. I liked the idea, having been to a number of exiting markets around the world like the bazaar in Turkey. Rent for artist vendors started at a cheap rate of $6 a day, so I went to several of the early pitch meetings to consider the idea of setting up a shop for myself.

After the pitch we all got a chance to tour the new facility. All of the inner courtyards had been given alleyways of cages for vendors to set up shop. Each cage was about 10 feet square. The effect as we walked through the dark space was much like an insane asylum or Thunder dome from Mad Max. One artist had invested in a huge retail gallery space for his own vanity gallery. When I re-visited Artegon several months later, he had moved out. Unfortunately the cages are never more than half occupied.

A metal zip line elevated aerial adventure  had been constructed in the largest courtyard. Within one month of the opening, a tourist fell to his death from the attraction. There is no safety net, but I imagine tourists must sign a waver before they climb up to the heights. The Daily City, another Orlando News site set up shop for the opening of Artegon, but that store also closed. Walking around recently I didn’t recognize and local artists as vendors, although local B-Side artists collaborated to create some decent murals.

Driving from the airport to Orlando on the Bee line and on I-4 I noticed billboards for Artegon. They hope to bring in tourists to the market and travel destination. Despite the marketing efforts the place still has a lonely vacant feel. Gods and Monsters, a comic superstore just opened, and at the opening day the market was finally bustling with costumed superheros. Perhaps it will take a superhero to save this artist market ideal. Right now the place seems to have an identity crisis.