Jimmy Butler is the master of the makeover on the NBA's media day. Well aware that his headshots from the day will be plastered to his player profile in TV broadcasts, Butler shows up with cheeky hairdos and odd fashion choices designed to make fans do a double-take. After sporting fake bleached dreadlocks in 2022, Butler arrived in glorious emo style this year with flat-ironed hair draped over his statuesque features, lip and eyebrow piercings (authenticity unverified), and black nail polish. "Yeah, laugh it up," Butler said upon taking the stage at a press conference, seemingly trying to contain a prankster's grin. When asked about the new look, he professed, "This is my emotional state. I'm one with my emotions."

JUST RELEASED PHOTOS OF THE ALIENS AT MIAMI MALL 🤯🤯👽👽 pic.twitter.com/QAPuMc7Eqv

— Brent Pella (watch CONSCIOUS BRO on YouTube) (@BrentPella) January 5, 2024

Remember in January 2024, when eight-foot-tall aliens around Bayside Marketplace triggered a colossal police response? Or was that narrative just a crock of unabashed bullshit? We're leaning toward the earthly explanation — that the cops were there to break up a crowd of unruly teenagers — though who's to say for certain. Maybe some extraterrestrial interlopers needed fresh kicks from Foot Locker or, for reasons beyond human comprehension, wanted to buy a $10 pink pencil from Claire's. In any event, conspiracy theories about the supposed otherworldly presence at Bayside gained traction, and the web was teeming with Miami mall alien memes, most of which, to be frank, were pretty damn lazy. One content creator actually put some effort into it, with a meme depicting his trademark alien-bro characters chillin' at typical mall stores and shopping for clothes. You win, comedian and MTV Wild 'N Out cast member Brent Pella. Your store names were inaccurate for Bayside, but your bit was better than the dime-a-dozen memes incorporating Giorgio Tsoukalos from Ancient Aliens.

If there's one person in Miami who you can trust with restaurant recommendations, it's the guy who's dedicated his life to sharing the best eats in town — area native George Arango of Mr. Eats 305. While many food influencers share extravagant meals full of flashy, black truffle-covered pizzas, Arango is the kind of content creator who primarily showcases mom-and-pop, hole-in-the-wall spots only true locals would know about. You can find him stopping by upwards of five different iconic restaurants, bakeries, and food trucks in a single day (and that's just his average Monday). His apparent deep love for the Magic City, its diverse culture, and small businesses is what makes his content so notable.

Kevin Escalera of Snack Eating Snacks is the TikToker to turn to when it comes to munching around the globe. He's mastered the art of sharing in-depth food reviews and documenting every little thing he has ever consumed — whether in Miami, at a Costco in Spain, or a vending machine in L.A. Although he started documenting his adventures less than three years ago, his TikToks have garnered hundreds of thousands of views. Locally, he brought his followers on a full day of scarfing down food at Miami's best Jamaican spots and has gone on the hunt for the best cookies in town. Plus, if you need travel inspo, he's your guy, offering tips on where to chow down around the world. As his name implies, he started as a snack reviewer, so his snack reviews will leave you drooling for a lowly bag of kettle chips from an old-school vending machine.

Hialeah council member Jesus Tundidor has a masterful way of maintaining his composure when people hit below the belt. Last November, former council member Bryan Calvo publicly attacked Tundidor's family about a lawsuit against the city involving former Mayor Carlos Hernández and a 2019 police raid of their Hialeah strip club. A former salsa instructor, Tundidor showed he can take it on the chin while dancing toe-to-toe, and respectfully chided Calvo for speaking about his family — a no-no even in Miami political circles. That night, others agreed, and the Hialeah Council voted 6-to-1 to formally disapprove of Calvo's "personal and political" agenda. When angry residents from Brownsville poured into City Hall last May and took aim at proposed annexation by Hialeah, Tundidor diffused tensions by letting everyone know they would work with the community. The proposal was later dropped. And during a raucous meeting last year about renaming Palm Avenue to Trump Avenue, Tundidor patiently let dissenters voice their opinions. Tundidor's favorite quote wraps it up: "Tough times don't last; tough people do."

There's a fine line between cringe and cute — and unlike most TikTok couples, Braxton Berrios and Alix Earle are the latter. Berrios is a Miami Dolphins wide receiver, and Earle is a University of Miami grad who skyrocketed to TikTok fame with her Get Ready With Me (GRWM) videos (she currently boasts a whopping 6.6 million followers). A conventionally attractive, model-looking couple, it's easy to see why people obsess over them. They're like real-life Barbie and Ken dolls. But aside from being easy on the eyes, Berrios and Earle also seem to have an incredibly wholesome relationship, which they made official in November 2023. Earle often posts about quality time the duo spends with loved ones, like Berrios hosting the TikToker's family and friends at his home for barbecues and sleepovers with Earle's young siblings. Maybe it's a big saccharine, but in a chaotic world, there's nothing wrong with enjoying a bit of light, hopeful, eye-candy content.

The makings of a good flack are simple. You have to actually read the papers, consume media, and know what the publication — or writer — is interested in and what they typically cover. Don't cold email a writer with a pitch for something like "Hey! Did you know Miami was ranked as one of the cities with the most cracks on the sidewalk?" Enter Gino Campodonico, senior director of communications at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Campodonico is a class act in the public relations business. He not only tailors his pitches to the right reporters but is wicked fast with his replies and coordination of anything you need for a story. Plus, he's personable and always at the Arsht Center for opening night performances, ready to greet his reporters with un besito.

When Miami Herald photojournalist Al Diaz reaches for a long lens, odds are the stunning images that follow will tell stories that words cannot. Diaz has been on multiple Herald teams that have won Pulitzer Prizes, including one in 2022 for coverage of the collapse of the Surfside Champlain Towers South condo that evoked horror around the nation. Diaz's portfolio illustrates the impressive scale of his work and includes celebratory shots from the 2024 Super Bowl, helmet-crushing plays by the Dolphins, and a smile from Pope Francis. His work is also powerful, like when he captured an image of a person waving an upside-down American flag during a George Floyd protest in downtown Miami with a police cruiser in the backdrop in flames. When he isn't working, Diaz takes life one click at a time. Last February, he spearheaded a two-day Chasing the Light expo in Miami that drew world-renowned photographers. And last year, Miami Dade College invited Diaz to be the guest of honor at the Kendall campus newsroom of the school newspaper, The Reporter. Immaculata-La Salle High School holds an annual student photography contest in honor of Diaz, a '76 grad. Students who email Diaz increase their shutter speed when he replies. His signature line reads: "May the best shot be yours."

We figured it was about time Sarah Blaskey was recognized with this honor. Blaskey, who joined the Herald in 2018, quickly became a household name for topnotch investigative journalism in the Sunshine State. Since then, she and her colleagues have turned over figurative slimy rocks to uncover muck involving local public officials. (Take a bow, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez; your penchant for pricey parties and junkets and lucrative side gigs — including image-scrubbing for the Saudi Arabian government — make you the proverbial gift that keeps on giving to an investigative reporter.) Blaskey was part of the reporting teams that won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the Champlain Towers South condo collapse in Surfside and a George Polk Award in the political reporting category for an investigation into the migrant airlifts to Martha's Vineyard orchestrated by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In journalism, though, it seems every silver lining has its cloud: As we were preparing this issue to go to press, Blaskey announced she would be leaving the Herald to take a job at the Washington Post.

Since 1980, WDNA has been airing "serious jazz" for South Florida audiences at 88.9 FM on the radio dial. You no longer have to be within the proximity of their antenna to appreciate the width and breadth of their programming, because they stream worldwide on their website now, wdna.org. They spin blues records, world music, and their bread and butter, all that jazz — from bebop to fusion to Latin. The public radio station provides a welcome relief to local airwaves dominated by Clear Channel crap and pop songs stuck on repeat. WDNA does so much for this city. It opens minds to a diversity of sounds, keeps us updated on the local jazz scene, and lets us know about touring artists that make it to our neck of the woods.