Wild Hogs Las Vegas Style

For years people have complained about the smell of the "Pig Farm". People including Steve Wynn have tried to oust the Pig Farm. Builders have built brand new homes up to and almost touching the pig farm, hoping to put the squeeze on the farm and force the farm out. These people fail to realize they(R.C. Farms) have been there for 40+ years .

Well today the shoe was on the other foot. Today the people of Las Vegas needed the pig farm's expertise. You see this morning there was an accident on the 215& 15 freeways, a semi truck overturned with.....a truck load of ..........pigs!

There were 160 pigs in the semi, about 10 of the pigs got out and were running a muck on the the freeway. The NHP had to call the folks at R.C. Farms to come & help them out.

Moral of the story, be nice to your local pig farmer.... you never know when you'll need his help!

The Juice is loose

Helicopters filled the Vegas Valley sky tracking the fallen ex-football star's release from jail and trip to the Palms and finally his Maccarran Airport departure.

The circus has left town for at least a couple of weeks. OJ's family has posted bail and he is back in Florida. Hopefully, most of the media will clear out until mid October when he is due back for the next proceeding.

His attorney Yale Galanter(flown in from Florida) is not licensed in Nevada, apparently he has to obtain some sort of special privileges. It will take him at least 5 days to secure them. He does have local attorney Gabriel Grazzo as well.I wonder if the Juice thinks Nevadans are a bunch of goobers, that's why he brought in his own hired gun.

It also makes me wonder how that will play out in the courtroom. Good luck picking a jury. You'd have to have your head up your ass to not know anything about this case.
I wonder if they will try to move the case to another venue. How about Petticoat Junction? Ooops, I mean Searchlight. The courthouse/police station is in a trailer/Quonset hut. I wish I could find picture of it.That would be an excellent place for his trial.

I was watching at video of his court appearance this morning, at the very end of the video the clerk sitting on the judge's left snapped a picture of OJ with his cell phone. That should be a great story for his grandchildren, "look kids here's a picture of a man who getting with murder wasn't enough for him. He now resorts to kidnapping and burglary (allegedly) for fun." Maybe he'll put it on his mantle. Maybe it too will be considered memorabilia.

Free OJ

Las Vegas gossip columnist Norm Clarke tied his column in today with the current OJ Simpson debacle. Norm's column which is appears in the Las Vegas Review Journal, featured a piece today about our beloved Mayor Goodman receiving a call from OJ's agent (back in the day) requesting then defense attorney Goodman defend him in the double murder case. Good ol' Oscar was apparently up to his elbows in alligators at the time with his own legal problems and had to decline.

While that is a very interesting story about our Mayor, I think the bigger story was overlooked.
The bigger story is under the Scene and Heard section of his column, Norm goes on to report that the Las Vegas Motor Speedway has a "Free OJ" promotion.If you stop buy the speedway and buy tickets for an upcoming event you will receive a free serving of orange juice.

Don't believe me check it out at www.lvrj.com/news/9847211.html

Who knew that OJ pairs well with cheese.

I love Las Vegas.

I see the OJ he be lookin' might scared....

Who can forget the those famous words, especially if you're a Howard Stern fan.

Football Star/Sociopath OJ Simpson was arrested tonight in Las Vegas and is being held without bail.

Hey OJ haven't you heard "What happens to in Vegas stays in Vegas", looks like you're staying in Vegas. Instead of staying at the Palms tonight looks like he will be staying in one of the Clark County Detention Center's finest isolation suites.

Charged with 5 felonies that range from 1-30 years a piece, it looks like the Juice maybe staying in Vegas for a while.

Apparently getting away with murder wasn't enough for this guy, robbing sports memorabilia dealers is his new thing. This guy has got to be the biggest moron on the planet.

LV Metro talking to the OJ........

Las Vegas Metro Police having a chat with OJ Simpson. Local News stations are reporting that Metro did confirm that they had a conversation with OJ about a robbery at the Palace Station Casino.

Apparently, there was of break in at the Palace Station and sports memorabilia.
Metro will not confirm if OJ is a suspect or if he was a witness. Hmmmmmmmmmm I wonder if gloves were involved?

The "lady on the car"

My 3 year old neice exclaimed "Daddy look at the lady on the car! " Dad's response "that's no lady." My brother has a way with the one liners.

I used to see this every day at the corner of Sahara and Paradise, and never had my camera with me to snap a shot. I finally captured the infamous "lady on the car" this week. not a great picture but you get the idea.

I read an article about Mayor Goodman in which he mentions the mobile billboard at the corner of Sahara and Paradise. He said something like she wants to meet you, but I'm not sure what she wants to do with you.

Well, Mayor I'm sure she doesn't want to sit around and read poetry.

Only in Las Vegas.

Healing Field

Last night we stopped by the Palm Mortuary to check out the Healing Field. The Healing Field is an amazing display of 3,000 American Flags memorializing the 2,996 lives that were lost on September 11, 2001.

Each flag has a memorial card with the victim's name an a short blurb about their life. As we walked around checking out the flags and their name cards for each of the 9/11 victims, you become lost in a "sea" of flags. It almost felt like being inside a maze.

As evening set in more and more families arrived all filled with the same sense of awe. I watched a mother explain to her children the significance of the date. A toddler entertained herself, darting in and out of what seemed like the never ending rows of flags.

It's truly an amazing tribute to the people whose lives were cut short. The Healing Field will be on display through September 30th. You can sponsor a flag for $25.00 which you can pick up between October 15-31, 2007. The are also selling a Flag of Honor for $50.00 which has the names of all the victims who passed on that fateful day imprinted on the Flag. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the Salvation Army.

The Healing Field is a the Palm West located 6701 North Jones Boulevard. It will only be there for about another 2 weeks, it really is a must see.

The 2nd Annual Freedom Walk

8:00 this morning Las Vegas' Mayor Oscar Goodman led about 150 Las Vegans on a 2 mile memorial walk, honoring the men and women who lost their lives on 9/11. The walk was held at a the Kellog Zaher Sports Complex. Walk was party of a National walk that honors the men and women who protect and serve our country.


In true Las Vegas style, entertainer Clint Holmes sang America the Beautiful, an honor guard made up of members from the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, Las Vegas Fire Fighters, Las Vegas Detention and Nellis Air Force Base.

The weather was ideal. Sunny with a slight breeze, the temperature as about 90.

The event piggybacked with the Mayor's healthy initiative campagin.

T-shirts, flags and American flag dog tags were some of the give aways for participants.

Juy Duty

I finally had the privilege of jury duty. I have to tell you it started out traumatic. I arrived at the assigned parking garage only to find that the meter was not working. Some poor woman was stuck handing out parking lot tickets to the hundreds of people trying to get in there for jury duty.

Actualy, jury duty wasn't so bad. The chairs were very comfortable. It was very quiet with the few exceptions of a couple of blowhards on their cell phones trying to feel important.

I knocked out about 50 pages of my novel that only gets my attention before bed. Life is good.

Always remember life is an adventure.........You never know what's around the corner, make the most of every moment.

You have to do it yourself

Remember the old saying "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

In search for the delicious vine ripen tomato? Go out and pick yourself which is what I did early Sunday morning.

This is a picture of the first tomato I picked at Gilcrease Orchard. We picked several pounds we also scored beautiful eggplants, spaghetti squash, zucchini, cantaloupes and the juiciest watermelon.

I spotted at couple of pumpkins already in the works. I can only imagine how big they will be come October. As for now I have a few tomatoes to eat!

Nature Discovery Park's Farmers Market

This explains how I missed the Farmers Market.This was one of perhaps 3 signs advertising the market.

The Market was held at the Aliante Nature Discovery Park which is off Aliante Parkway and the 215 beltway. (This is a busy area a couple of banner signs would be appropriate.)

We arrived at 6:00 filled with hope to purchase farm fresh produce that we would create some culinary masterpiece with and instead found disappointment in a extremely small selection of produce. I purchased a tomato, a head of garlic, a red onion and 2 yellow onions. That was entire selection of produce.

A few other vendors offered barbecue, hot dogs and fruit smoothies. They even had a booth with a couple of women selling their candle creations. These things were all nice but not what we came for.

I spoke with the owner and she assured me that there would be more next week as 2 other farmers would be joining her with their produce next week.

I will give it another shot next week and see if it improves.

Wine Tasting

I managed to stop by and check out Bella Vino about a week ago. It's a great shop. I bought a bottle of French Merlot that was reasonably priced. The owner was friendly and helpful.

Bella Vino is tucked away in the newCentennial Plaza shopping center at 2745 W Centennial Parkway #120, North Las Vegas 89084. Telephone #396-8700. Major cross streets are Aliante Parkway and Centennial. http://www.bellavinowinecompany.com/

Bella Vino has Complimentary Wine Tastings on Thursday evenings between 5:00-8:00pm. Tomorrow's tasting will be Perfect Summer Reds.

Cheers!

Stop to smell the roses and the tomatoes

Sometimes I forget to stop and smell the "roses".

Years ago I can remember asking my Dad where he got the pale purple roses that were on the kitchen table. He rolled his eyes and replied "the front walk". Oops, how did I miss that! Right under my nose all the time.



I felt the same way the other morning when I picked up the newspaper and read that Aliante's Discovery Park has a Farmer's Market on Fridays. How many times do I pass that park and I missed that? Well, not this Friday. I can't wait. Produce can sometimes be kind of iffy here in Las Vegas. It seems like the Hotels and Casinos get the choice stuff.

A Farmer's Market in the neighborhood means I could possibly score a vine ripened tomato or some fresh corn on the cob for the weekend and that makes me happy.


The Farmer's Market is from 4:00 to 9:00 pm on Fridays. For more info check out http://www.ci.north-las-vegas.nv.us/DynamicContent/NewsEntry.cfm?NewsEntryID=2106.

Cross your fingers!!

Not your everyday pole dancing story..........

A guy spends most of the night drinking and watching strippers pole dance, he then gets kicked out of the Palomino club and tries to run the security guard over.
Next the drunken fool gets into a high speed chase with the police.

Here's my favorite part....he wipes out and hits a truck with his SUV.....and then a pole!

I swear its true. This is what I woke up this morning on the news.http://ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6891532

I love the irony. Only in Las Vegas. I love Las Vegas.

The Champs Decatur

No, this is not the Champs Elysees, it's Decatur and Grand Teton in Las Vegas. The Mountain range is Sheep Mountain Range. There were about 20 cyclists in this group.
I took this shot on my way home from Starbucks Sunday morning. I was watching the finale of the Tour de France and ran out for a latte before the peleton entered Paris.

I was glad I had my camera with me to snap this shot!

Gilcrease Orchard, Las Vegas NV

So you thought nothing but cactus grows in the desert. Well I'm here to tell you that is not the case. Around for years and little know to Las Vegans is Gilcrease Orchard.

The orchard is situated in northwest part of the Las Vegas Valley. The 50 acre orchard is located at the corner of Whispering Pines and Tenaya. They are open the end of May until November. The hours are 7:00 am until 12:00pm Tuesday through Sunday.

The admission price is $2.00 for Adults and $1.00 for children over 3. You have to pick your own produce.

Right now there are tons of zucchini waiting to be picked, apples, tomatoes were green last Sunday but should be ready this weekend. I even picked my own watermelon. I bought a ripe cantaloupe that didn't make it past breakfast that morning.

It really is fun and reasonable morning activity. Though, I tend to get carried away and end up with way to many zucchini. I then spend my time researching new zucchini recipes and the rest of the day stalking my neighbors trying to get them to take some off my hands.

I am interested in any zucchini recipes that anyone is willing to share. Please leave me comment if you have a favorite.

And what kind of orchard would they be without fresh apple juice? Make sure you buy some on the way out.They have it by the pint, quart and gallon.Be sure and buy the gallon, the quart goes much to fast.

Wipe out Graffiti Day Saturday June 23, 2007

The citizens of Las Vegas are being called on the carpet. The City of Las Vegas is supplying paint and supplies to residents who are willing to help end graffiti in their neighborhoods. To receive their free supplies please call 229-5406.

As we all know our beloved Mayor Goodman hates taggers and how they deface our beautiful city. He has been know to suggest cutting off their thumbs as punishment. While, we do understand his love and respect for this city, Oscar does understand that it will take community awareness to address the graffiti problem.

To Turn in a TAGGER 385-5555 the number for the S NV Graffiti Hotline is: 455.4509.

There you have it life in the big city.

See what $125 will get you in Vegas this weekend

Here's an interesting fact, Nevada is home to 50% of the nation's wild horses and burros. I grew up in NY an hour north of Manhattan so, the concept of wild horses and burros is new to me. Our idea of the "wild" was occasional rogue raccoon in the trash on a summer night or worse yet a skunk.

Red Rock Canyon National Park in Vegas is home to wild horses an burros. Yes, wild horses and burros in Vegas. By wild I'm not referring to the horse/donkey "show " that we all have heard about but, have never seem to meet the "guy" actually witnessed it in Tijuana. So when I say wild, I mean wild; like the wild west.

The Red Rock Loop (route 159) is a scenic 2 lane road that has some awesome views and is very popular with people who enjoy riding their bikes through the park. They all claim to always see the "donkeys". Well, I am here to tell you that I have driven through there at least 40 times and I have yet see one. I don't believe they exist.

Even though there are signs along the road that to alert motorists to beware of the "wild burros". Yet, Mojay has never seen one so therefore they don't exist

Well, that may soon change Saturday the BLM is auctioning off wild horses and burros. the bidding starts at a mere $125. That's it for a measly $125 you can own a real wild mustang. This will all take place at the Horseman's Park 5800 East Flamingo Road where I hope to see the wild burros with my own eyes, once and for all.

Lucky 7 7 7

7 has always been a lucky number. 7 is a natural number, roll a pair dice several times and 7 is most likely to come up more a than any other number just ask any craps player.

Las Vegas is betting that July 7, 2007 will be the Luckiest Day This Century. Wedding Chapels are offering special packages and are filling up fast.

Here's 7 wedding chapels here in Las Vegas that won't strain your budget.

http://www.alittlewhitechapel.com/
http://www.gracelandchapel.com/
http://www.alvgardenoflove.com/
http://www.ahollywoodweddingchapel.com/
http://www2.blogger.com/www.chapelofthebellslasvegas.com
http://www.aspecialmemory.com/

http://www.702wedding.com/

Most Hotel and Casino's have wedding chapels that are very nice as well.

You can obtain for marriage license info here:

www.accessclarkcounty.com/clerk/marriage_information.htm

I recommend you go a day or two before your wedding day to get your license. The bureau tends to get pretty backed up around special occasions. It used to be open 24/7 but that is not the case anymore.

Sweat in the City

This morning I woke up to hear on the 5am news that my City, Las Vegas ranked #2 on the Old Spice Top 100 Sweatiest Cities Report. Yes, folks Las Vegas is #2 on the nation's sweat-o-meter.

This year marks the 6th Annual report to be published by Old Spice. Yes, Old Spice the crappy after shave that you ran down to Kipps Pharmacy every December to get the Christmas gift pack for good old Dad. When did Old Spice become the sweat experts? I guess since they started making the "Red Zone" line of antiperspirant/deodorant. If the sweat report was written by Right Guard, Mitchum or even Secret it might hold water.

This changes everything. I have this feeling that my conversations with family and friends back east will become awkward at best. Will I still get the easterner's standard "but it's a dry heat" response to the "what's the temperature" question.
For year's I've been getting away with the old "stick your head in the oven" routine when I get hit with the "dry heat" comment.

Will I instead be peppered with sweat questions? How will I respond?

Looks like this girl has got to come up with all new one liners. Maybe, Sweat in the City or Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. OK, OK I'll work on it. Until I do remember "Never let them see you sweat".

Uncorked in Vegas

While channel surfing last night we came a across a channel with an interesting name that caught our attention MOJOHD. (Yes, it is now programmed as a favorite in the remote)

We watched comedian Billy Merritt's show Uncorked. Uncorked documents Billy's wine experiences. Here's the twist, Billy Merritt is your average Joe who is a self proclaimed beer & football kind of guy. He doesn't know squat about wine.

Last night's episode was filmed here in Las Vegas. Not afraid of the "Master Sommeliers" he fires away some great questions. Billy even doubles as a "wine angel" at Mandalay Bay's Aureole.

You have to check out this show. It's on channel 706 HD on Cox cable Las Vegas. It will be on tonight10:30 pm et and tommorow 1:30 am et . Can't stay up that late, set your DVR's and be ready to be amused.

If you like deadpan humor don't miss Billy Merritt's Uncorked. Info on other episodes and about Billy Merritt can be found on this page: http://www.mojohd.com/mojoseries/uncorked/episodes/lasvegas.jsf

5 Things you could do if you were in Vegas this Weekend

woooohooo ! Another weekend in Fabulous Las Vegas. With so many shows and things to do here I thought I would share 5 things you could do inVegas.



The Police Reunion Tour will be playing at the MGM tonight at 8:00 pm

Saturday at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater The Wailers (yes, of Bob Marley fame) will play the Reggae in the Desert Festival. This starts at 2:00 pm

CineVegas will wrap up tomorrow evening at The Palms.

Chaka Khan takes the stage at the Luxor 9:00 pm Friday and Saturday night.

Take in one of the Blue Man Group's shows at the Venetian.

Planet Hollywood's the Beauty of Magic.

This is the reason why we do what we do.


The bed's too big withouth....The bed's too bi withoou...

Hot Time Summer in the City

Last week I polled my coworkers to find out what they liked best about living here in Las Vegas. I was shocked by the overwhelming response..."the weather". I had expected that response from the transplanted Alaskans I work with but not from the rest of the gang.

Today will be the hottest day this year. Weather forecasters are predicting the tempature will soar to 112. When I recite the tempature for friends and relatives back east I get the standard rebuttal "but it's a dry heat". Stick your head in the oven and see how that feels. "A dry heat," is that somehow supposed to make me feel better about the fact that when I go outside I feel like my brain is going to explode? A dry heat, does that mean that Las Vegans don't have to endure as much in the summer due to the lack of humidity?

I wonder how people the people I recently polled will respond to that same question in about two weeks. You see most Las Vegans suffer form short term memory, by mid July you begin to hear the usual weather related comments, 'it's hotter than hell", "it's friggin' hot out"and "its too hot".

Mid July we start to defend our life here in the desert. We start to get the inevitable question, "how can you stand living in that heat?" I will tell you what I tell everyone else. "It's really not that bad you go from your air conditioned house , to your air conditioned car, to your air conditioned office or air conditioned store (repeat).

So there you have it, another (repeat) summer in the desert.

It's a Boy, for the Duchess of the Strip

Las Vegas has a new citizen, Friday night June 8th Duchess gave birth to a 25 pound dolphin at the Mirage Dolphin Habitat.

Mother and baby are doing well. The "baby" or calf has not been named yet. There Mirage will is planning to hold a contest in which children of the Vegas Valley will compete to name the young calf.

Dolphins born in captivity are uncommon and survival can be difficult at best. However, all things considered it is going well.

The Dolphin Habitat is open daily to the public summer hours Memorial day until Labor day 10:00 am- 7:00 pm. Cost for adults $15.00, children 1-12 $10.00, children 3 and under are free.

For the ultimate dolphin experience, the Mirage Dolphin Habitat offers a trainer for a day program for $500 you can work along with the Mirage's Dolphin trainers. The Mirage Dolphin Habitat website is http://www.miragehabitat.com/pages/index_flash.asp . If you have any questions you can call 792-7889 for more information.

Atomic Todd

Infamous burlesque star Liz Renay's artwork and belongings are part of Atomic Todd Gallery's show running until July 14th. The Gallery is located at 1541 S Commerce St open Wednesdays-Saturdays 12-5pm.

Liz Renay was convicted of perjury in a money laundering trial of her boyfriend Mickey Cohen. 3 paintings in the showing were painted during her 27 month incarceration at California's Terminal Island. Check out http://www.atomictodd.com/ ot call 386-8633 for more info.

Spamalot

Friday night I had the opportunity to take in Monty Python's Spamalot the 10 o'clock show at the Wynn Las Vegas. True to Monty Python it was quite funny and over the top.

John O'Hurley was excellent as King Arthur, however I thought Harry Bouvy as Sir Robin stole the show with "You won't succeed on Broadway". And you don't have to be a Monty Python fan to get a kick out or the Black Knight scene!

Seats range from $49 for rear mezzanine to $99 for Center orchestra seats. We sat in center orchestra and a fantastic view. Although, I can't imagine there is a bad seat in the theater. I would recommend splurging for center orchestra seats if they are available.

The show is 90 minutes of laughter and entertainment. A must see for tourists and locals alike.

CineVegas Officially Underway

Last night's red carpet opening at the Palms did not disappoint. Fans arrived early and lined up to catch a glimpse of Ocean's Thirteen cast members as they arrived for the Las Vegas movie premier.

The premier doubled as benefit for the "Not on Our Watch" humanitarian group.

Tonigh the Golden Nugget will host The Grand a mockumentary about professional poker. The Grand was filmed here in Las Vegas.

Ocean's Thirteen to premier at the CineVegas Film Festival

The Ninth Annual CineVegas Film Festival will open tomorrow night a the Palms Hotel and Casino with this summer's expected blockbuster movie Ocean's Thirteen. The red carpet affair will benefit Not On Our Watch, a organization supporting Darfur humanitarian efforts.

CineVegas will mark its 9th year tomorrow. Tickets are $10 per screening, tickets are available on line at http://www.cinevegas.com/ , by telephone 888-883-4278 or at the Palms box office.

Two films that have piqued my curiosity this year are "The Grand" and "You Kill Me". Lets see how they do.

The festival runs through June 16th.

Monday's are for fear and loafing

Every Monday in the Las Vegas Review Journal is Fear and Loafing day. Fear and Loafing is a column written by Corey Levitan. Corey tries out a new job a each week and puts his spin on it. Readers are encouraged to suggest a new profession for Corey to try out and report on. At the office on Monday's we always look to see what he's up to.

This week Corey was a pyrotechnician, in the past Corey has been a Gospel Singer, Bounty Hunter, Female Impersonator, Chippendale's Dancer and my favorite Escort Card "Distributor" (Card Hander-outer). There are videos of his adventures and you can of course check out his column at http://www.reviewjournal.com/columnists/levitan.html

Get a taste of what it's like to work in Las Vegas through Corey Levitan.

Ooops!! Planet Hollywood Goofed Again

Friday night during Pamela Anderson's new show "The Beauty of Magic" there was a small pyrotechnic fire. The audience was evacuated and offered a refund or tickets for another performance.

It was almost 2 weeks ago when Magician Nathan Burton was inside the Giant "M" ice palace for what was supposed to have been for 24 hours. Melted after 7 1/2 hours. Someone forgot to tell Planet Hollywood that May in Las Vegas is not a good time for ice in the desert.

It seems like Planet Hollywood has been having there share of mishaps. Is it just me or is the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino built on some sort of pet cemetery?

Going once, going twice

New York Based Guernsey's Auction House is here in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino to auction the personal belongings of the Jackson Family. The 2 day auction is being held inside The Joint, where more than 1,000 items are on the block.

If you are unable to attend the auction they are accepting Internet bids. You can watch the live at http://www.liveauctioneers.com/ at 1pm and at 7pm.

Now remember,these are the items that Michael Jackson tried block the sale of. His argument was that there might be some embarrassing things. Well, I'm here to tell you after viewing the items I'd be embarrassed too!! There's a bunch of old clothes and costumes up for sale that if they came out my closet GoodWill would reject them. Not to mention the gifts from other famous people that are up for sale. Now that's embarrassing I bet there won't be any autographed baseballs or jerseys in Mike's near future.



Apparently, the Jackson's never had to declutter before. They obviously haven't heard of the "if you haven't worn it in a year get rid of it rule".

Universal Express the company who owns these items will donate a portion of the proceeds to charity.

Day 5 Bellagio....

Friday night in Las Vegas, doesn't get any better (final night with family). We had a delicious dinner at Noodles in the Bellagio toured around the casino.

No visit to the Bellagio is complete without a stop in the elegant lobby. You have to admire the 2,000 blown glass flowers on the ceiling. Pretty amazing.

The Bellagio Botanical Garden and Conservatory has unique displays of plants an flowers. The current theme is Old Route 66. If you're looking for something to do between slot machines I highly recommend it (and it's free!)

Ocean's Eleven made the Bellagio Fountains famous. The fountains are another must see free show. I recommend viewing the Fountains at night for the most dramatic effect. In the evening on the weekends the Bellagio Fountains can be viewed every 15 minutes between 8:00 and 12:00pm.

Check out the Bellagio's page for more information http://bellagiolasvegas.com.

Sugar,Sugar

Day 4....

Thursday am... a trip to Little Pastry Chefs. At Little Pastry Chefs you can take your children in and buy a cake and all the fixings in this case butter cream icing, sprinkles and what masterpiece would be complete without jelly beans!

The blue and green icing also doubling as Goth lipstick for a 5 year old! The kids had a great time. My only disappointment was the lack of chef hats and aprons. I think that would have made the experience much more memorable. To check out the calendar of events go to www.LittlePastryChefs.Com

Discovery Park and a Movie

Day 3...

We found ourselves at Aliante's Discovery Park. We spent the morning with dinosaurs and their eggs, swinging on swings, climbing towers and escaping down the tunnel slides. The highlight of our day was spent in the water park; running through sprinklers, dodging water spraying palm trees and frogs.

After lunch we took in a movie Shrek The Third. Not as good as the other movies but never the less a fun "chic flick" for us.

Bonnie Springs, NV

Today is day 2 of our adventures (family in town). Today we went to Bonnie Springs. Everyone always told me how quaint it is and how much my nieces would like it.

The drive through Red Rock Canyon was beautiful as always, the anticipation grew the closer we got to Bonnie Springs. We were going to see real cowboys and ghost town. Well we arrived there paid our $20 (carload).

We made our way through the ghost town and souvenir shops only to emerge with a cowgirl hat, vest and the ever trendy black and white cow print visor. We decided to skip the show and go to the petting zoo instead.

We were greeted by a peacock which instantly sent my sister in law into a panic. She told her daughters not go near the bird because it would "peck your eyes out." It was all downhill after that, we were all to afraid to touch anything for fear of Ecoli or God knows whatever else. Fortunately, I have been carrying anti-bacterial hand spray which we all used over and over.

We got home and showered, laughed about another botched Aunt Mojay outing. It seems this excursion is right up there with the infamous Oatman, Arizona outing.

Stay tuned for more family adventures in Sin City.

Ice to meet you

Today we witnessed magician Nathan Burton in 15 tons of ice in the shape of a giant letter M.
Nathan Burton will be camped out in his ice house for 24 hours he will be joined by 96 showgirls 4 showgirls at time. Nathan will be in his palace until 10:00 am tomorrow, at which time they will use a chainsaw to remove him. This is all taking place outside of the new Planet Hollywood Casino. The M is promoting the Miracle Mile shopping area.

Get Movin' with Oscar G

This morning several hundred Las Vegans joined our beloved Mayor, Oscar Goodman for a walk. This morning's 2.5 mile walk kicked off the Mayor's Healthy Lifestyle Initiative.

Currently, Las Vegas is ranked the 42nd healthiest city to live in. ( I'm not sure about these rankings, remember just 2 weeks ago Las Vegas was the number 1 fattest city in America!)

Mayor Goodman's Healthy Lifestyle Initiative 3 point plan is to Get Smart, Get Up and Get Out. He wants to educate Las Vegans about proper diets and exercise. He wants Las Vegans to use and enojy our city's parks and recreation areas to help achieve their fitness goals.

Today's event was held at Kellog Zaher Park. The walk started at promptly at 8:00 am, before the temperature gets out of hand. The route included several water break stations for participants and their 4 legged friends as well.

To learn more about the Mayor's Initiative go to http://www.gehealthylasvegas.org/

What the hell???

Here we are saying what the hell! So what does that mean?? So what the hell are we saying?
We are saying "HELLDORADO Days"

Helldorado days celebrates our Western Heritage. You can''t beat that.

63 Million Dollars Later

What's got all of Las Vegas a buzz? Is it the sale of the New Frontier? Horse drawn carriages downtown? Perhaps it's the up and coming Movin' with the Mayor walk? No, its bigger than that! Not even 7 footer Beas Hamaga can eclipse this one.

Believe it or not its the I95 /Rancho interchange! Yes it's true you can enter and exit the I95 at Rancho!! (63 million dollars later) Life is good again. Closed since January this year the Rancho short cut is now open and we are back in business. The opening ceremony was 11:00 am today.

UNLV Basketball Progarm

Could the combination of Coach Lon Kruger's recent contract extension until 2012 and the addition of Beas Hamga be just what UNLV's Basketball program needs? As a loyal Rebel fan I can't wait to find out.

7 footer Beas Hamga is coming to UNLV to play for the Rebels. The 18 year old is already thinking ahead like a franchise player...."I have the chance to have the team built around me." (sounds like an NBA player already!)

Hamga was heavily recruited by Kentucky, Iowa and Indiana but chose to come to Las Vegas.

Could Beas be UNLV's Shaq?

Just in time for Mother's Day.....

The VH1 Rock Honors are in town the show is being held at Mandalay Bay. The honorees are Genesis, ZZ Top , Heart and Ozzy Osbourne. The show will air May 24th on VH1 9pm. Ozzy Osbourne was interviewed yesterday by KOMP radio's Carlota. You can listen to it at http://www.komp.com/home.php Ozzy is of course very entertaining (what you could understand!)


Check out The VH1 game Ozzy's Bat Bite
http://http://games.vh1.com/gameinfo.php?gid=96

In honor of Mother's day here's the 1st verse from Mama I'm Coming Home

Times have changed and times are strange
Here I come, but I ain't the same
Mama, I'm coming home
Times gone by seem to be
You could have been a better friend to me
Mama, I'm coming home

From the Land of the Buffets......

Driving home today I kept thinking about how to follow up on my last post about Las Vegas being the America's fattest City. I then spotted the $6.99 all you can eat buffet billboard which gave me inspiration. I then made a stop at Walmart which confirmed we were America's fattest city.

I t made me think back to the days when I was a just a tourist here on the weekend trying to make back all the money I had lost gambling, attempting to ensure that Caesar's Palace didn't turn a profit on me. (I saw David Hasselhoff and his Ex there once)

I then came across the LVRJ's page that has this great photo of the Palms Marquee "Free Paris" first thought is free Palms party girl Paris Hilton but it is actually a promotion for the Palms new Bistro Buffet. Check out the Marquee at http://www.normclarke.com/

I guess I will still have to investigate how and why Las Vegas is America's fattest city.

Fattest City in America

This is a strange post especially as my last post was about Dunkin' Donuts.

I was watching TV tonight Extra was on and they said that Las Vegas is the fattest city in America. I got to thinking, just why are we the fattest city? How could that be? Did everyone quit smoking since the smoking ban in restaurants went into effect and now their taste buds have gone wild? Is it the endless buffets? Could it be the thousands of people who man our slot machines consider that to be their upper body work out?

I will have to investigate this further and let you know what I learn.

Time to make the donuts.....

One more great reason to live in Las Vegas, Dunkin' Donuts will be here in August. They will be opening in 62 stores through out the Vegas valley. They have good reasonable coffee and the donuts are great. Sure to be a hit with all east coast transplants.

For years starting in '82 Dunkin' Donuts had Fred the baker as there front man. He was the face of Duncan Donuts, kind of like the Maytag repairman. Two ad campaigns come to mind when I think of Fred the baker one is time to make the donuts, the other is Fred dressed as a blond woman spying on a competitor with his full mustache asking the question "like Dunkin' Donuts?" Fred of course concealing his mustache with his index finger.

Donuts are not a regular part of my diet but I will be certain to have a chocolate kreme filled donut for old times sake.

I want my...I want my... I want my MTV

More to look forward to at the Palms' new Pearl concert arena... the MTV VMA's will be hosted here in Las Vegas. The awards show will be held on September 9th. This show will be the 24th annual. The show has historically been held in New York City, twice in Miami and Los Angeles. Las Vegas will be the fourth city to host the event.

It's hard to imagine that MTV is turning 26 this August. ( I feel another rant about the 80's coming on!) Back in '81 that was the only reason to sign up for cable television.We always watched it or had it on in the background. We knew all the VJays. Hell, I even went to high school with Martha Quinn. Who could forget videos like Pat Benatar's "Love is a battlefield", Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Madonna's "Borderline". I even had a friend who worked on a couple of MC Hammer's videos. (How cool was that.)

Whenever I channel surf it seems like the only thing on MTV is bunch of reality shows. I never see any music videos. Do bands even make them anymore for MTV?

Hoorah,Hooray its the 1st of May and smoking starts outside today!

Last November Nevada voters passed Question 5 which prohibits smoking in public places which mainly effects restaurants and taverns that serve food. Bottom line you if your serving food you can not smoke.

Many Pub owners have had to make a choice to either abide by the new law or stop serving food. There are some Pubs that are challenging the new ordinance. Business' that violate the new law face a $200 fine.

Smokers who are caught will be subjected to a $100 fine for each offense. I don't know about you but that's an awful lot of my just for a ciggy butt. I smoked for years so I understand the nicotene addiction. I think I would just step out side if I really need a drag that bad!!

The Blue Seats

With the New York Rangers in the play offs got me thinking about the old days back in New York the 80's. We were young and went to as many games as we could. We were crazy for the Rangers. Trish and I went all the the games we could.

Mike Arco (the gas station guy) used to skate with them. Trish's brother Boulder used to detail their cars. We used to go to their open practices at Rye Beach Playland. We all owned a copy of Thin Ice "a season in hell with NY Rangers". ( I bet my brother still has a copy of it.)

Three players made a Sassoon jeans commercial oooh laa laaa sasson. Ron duGay, Phil Espisito and Dave Malone. I can still hear the song. Those were the days.

Playboy ran article about the die hard Rangers Fans.... Wild in the stands the Blue Seats. The infamous Blue Seats, these seats were cheap and at the very top of the garden. To say the that fans in the Blue Seats were hard core is an understatement. There were almost as many fights in the Blue Seats as there were on the ice. Forget about rooting for the other team they would let you know that MSG was the Rangers house.

We took my sister in law to her first hockey game and sat in the blue seats. She didn't run off and is still married to my brother.

I read that MSG no longer has color coded seats. They are now the 400 seats, but to those of us from back in the day they will always be the Blue Seats. The Blue Seats were not just a section but a state of mind. A New York state of mind.

25th Annual Laughlin River Run

Their back!!! The 25th annual Laughlin River Run is under way. Even with Laughlin is a 2 hour drive from Vegas we get out share of bikers passing through. It's pretty cool to see the different clubs riding together on the freeway. I was on my way home and watch about 20 Harleys coming in from Utah heading to the Strip.

This year organizers are expecting 60,000 people. That's quite a few for a small town like Laughlin. Rooms are all sold out.

The 5 day event began Wednesday and ends on Sunday. For more info on events check out www.laughlinriverrun.com/events.php,

Far out casino comps

Zero Gravity Corp. is betting Las Vegas casinos will "comp" their big time gamblers with $3500.00 weightless flights. The company took several Las Vegas movers and shakers on a flight to experience the thrill of zero gravity.

The modified 727 took 28 people on a 90 minute flight which had roughly 7 minutes of zero gravity. Passengers included a casino resort president , Teller the silent magician (of Penn & Teller fame) and Astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

Zero Gravity estimates the company will be profitable by the end of this year. They made the front page of the Las Vegas Review Journal today http://www.lvrj.com/news/7183296.html
they may very well be on their way.

Only in Vegas

Driving to work this morning on the southbound I 15 a billboard on the left caught my eye. It said "Pull your head out of the asphalt". This play on words was enough to get my attention during my early Monday morning commute. I must admit this billboard piqued my curiosity.

My first reaction was wow ,this has got to be one of the those public service announcements that will soon be as popular as the "don't be a dusthole" or "call before you dig." Was the Nevada Department of Transportation behind this? How cool is this? You've got to love Vegas.

The website was listed in the lower right hand corner http://www.fixnvroads.com/ when I saw that it was a dot com address I immediately knew it wasn't the Nevada Department of Transportation. Still I had to know who was behind the billboard.

The group behind the billboard is the Nevada Highway Users Coalition (NHUC). This group was formed "to advance the rights of Nevada's residents and visitors to travel on safe, reliable public roads; for the efficient transport of goods and effective public safety; and to hold government accountable for ensuring financing is transparent, motivated by public good and dedicated to transportation purposes."

You see living in Vegas is great but ask any Las Vegan about driving in Vegas and you will get a resounding "it sucks." 10 years ago you could get anywhere in the Vegas valley in a 1/2 hour now that time has doubled. With our population exploding, we don't have the infrastructure to support it. I have met many people who won't even drive on the freeways they only use streets. Yes, these people do exist.

NHUC got my attention, I hope that they will be able to help push through new projects that will make driving the freeway a little less frustrating. I will "pull my head out of the asphalt". I will check their website often and I will contact my legislator with my concerns.

If you have a Nevada highway horror story you can contact them at tellus@fixnvroads.com and get your head out of your asphalt.

The Pearl

The Maloof brothers have done it again... Tomorrow night the Pearl the Palms' new concert theater will open with Gwen Stefani. The Palms will have 160 skytracker lights to mark the sold out Gwen Stefani Show. They will attempt to break the world record for skytrackers to gain entry into the Guinness Book of World Records.

According to reports local Las Vegans should be in for quite a show tomorrow night! Let's see what happens.

Rudy can't fail...

Anyone remeber this one?

Sing, michael, sing-on the route of the 19 bus

Hear them sayin

How you get a rude and a reckless?

Dont you be so crude and a feckless

You been drinking brew for breakfast

Rudie cant fail (The Clash 1979 London Calling)

I decided to take advantage of the getting the opportunity to see one of my favorite New Yorkers up close this early evening. Rudy Gulliani was in town for a little fund raising today. My husband told me he was making a trip to the Summerlin Target. I caught up to him as he was wrapping up his shopping spree. I got a chance to snap a couple of photos. He posed for quite a few pictures. I was pleased to see that he was charismatic, personable and approachable.

When he was checking out a person standing to the left of me said " I wonder if there going to ask him if he wants to open a Target credit card to save 10%." We all had a good laugh.

I think he should make Rudy can't fail his theme song.....

Sunday in Vegas

Sunday morning in Las Vegas... One of my favorite times during the week.the traffic is all heading south on the 15... What could be better than that. (If you want to see the Strip attractions this is one of the best times I find to go.)The weather has been absolutely woderful in the 80's.I took my Mother to Mass last night. The Priest compared St Lazurus with Rebels coach Kruger. I thought" how great is that.!" (Too bad he could not give odds on the final 4!)Let's see what tomorrow brings.
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Rebel Red Day

UNLV Rebels got knocked out of the NCAA tournament last night by Oregon. The Rebs had a great season and were not expected to make it this far. It was nice to watch everyone all over town dressing in Rebel Red. Mayor Oscar Goodman had declared yesterday Rebel Red Day to support our team. How cool is that? I hope that everyone still supports the Rebels next year we will see.

I love Las Vegas!!

Baby Steps

Remember the game mother may I? Mother may I ??? Yes you may take 3 baby steps.. Lets see if we can't move up to taking giant steps... That's what this feels like.
Not sure where to begin but we all know it all starts with the first step. Here's to the first step
Let the adventure begin.
Let's see where this takes us.