Amoeblog > Tag > las vegas

Cruise to Mexico: Part 3

Posted by Job O Brother, October 25, 2010 04:31pm | Comments (1)

Day 2

Monday. September 13, 2010

AT SEA

The boyfriend and I woke-up to the sounds of two billy-goats fighting to the death using spoons, blankets and old cassette tapes as weapons. At least, that’s what it sounded like; in actuality it was room service delivering our breakfasts.

I use the term “breakfast” lightly, as what our silver-domed trays revealed was something more akin to after-birth than food. What must have been powdered eggs had a texture that reminded me of the phlegm I used to cough up back when I smoked clove cigarettes. And the bacon? It was like really juicy, succulent, pan-fried Dr. Scholl’s inserts.

insert shoe
Chop and fry and add to omelette!

The boyfriend, too sleepy to deal quickly with the delivery, neglected to tip and felt guilty as a result.

“I’ve got a tip for them,” I growled, “Don’t bring me this garbage to eat!” We determined then and there to forgo the “luxury” of room service and take our morning meal at the buffet, where we could be discerning, from then on.

out this week 9/14 & 9/21...blonde redhead...the drums...brandon flowers...

Posted by Brad Schelden, September 30, 2010 01:41pm | Post a Comment

I really do live for weeks like this. 9/14 is a big release day! Tons of great new albums out to end your summer with! At the top of the list is a brilliant new album by Blonde Redhead. Some have been saying this album is too slow or mellow, but it is Blonde Redhead! The album will not get you out of a coma or suddenly make you have an optimistic outlook on life, but it is amazing! I have loved this band for a long time and over the years I have fallen in love with them over and over again. Each time a new album comes out and each time I see them perform live it is like falling in love for the first time. My favorite album is still probably Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons from 2000, their 5th album. Their new album is called Penny Sparkle and it's their 8th album. The new album is of course out on vinyl, and the CD comes out in two formats. There is a regular jewel case version and a Deluxe cardboard box version. No extra tracks, but the packaging is cute and blonde redhead

fancy. Inside the hard-to-open box is a drawstring cloth bag and inside the cloth bag is the CD. It also has a fancy fold out booklet that is not included with the regular CD. The Grinderman, Junip, Brandon Flowers, James, & Weezer albums also all have deluxe versions out 9/14.

Anyway, Blonde Redhead is not one of those bands meant for everybody. They have not really changed very much over their 8 albums. If you have ever loved them before then you will probably still love them now. I feel like their fans are a loyal bunch -- at least I am! This new album is dark and dreamy, weird and ethereal. It will most certainly break your heart, just like you would expect from them. I have liked all of their albums but I really have not gotten obsessed with an album this much since Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons. Blonde Redhead is Kazu Makino and twin brothers Simon and Amedeo Pace. The band first started in 1993 in New York and 17 years later I really can't get enough of them. There is just something about them that gets under your skin and they stay with you for life. I still remember exactly where I was and how I felt back when I was listening to Melody in 2000 and In An Expression of the Inexpressible in 1998. Those albums and those feelings will stay with me forever. If you are not already a fan of their music it is not too late! It would be like a treasure hunt for you, going back and discovering all their older brilliant albums.

Les Folies Bergere

Posted by Whitmore, January 18, 2009 06:57pm | Comments (1)

The Rat Pack Vegas of yesteryear is quickly fading into lore.

It was announced from Las Vegas this week that the legendary topless revue, “Les Folies Bergere” will be closing after a 49 year run at the Tropicana Resort & Casino. The final curtain call will take place on March 28th, leaving Bally's “Jubilee!” as the only and last full-scale showgirl revue left on the Las Vegas Strip.

The "Folies" originally came from Paris where it has run in one version or another since the 1870’s. The Vegas edition opened on December 24, 1959 under then Tropicana entertainment director Lou Walters, the father of newswoman / talk show host Barbara Walters.

Tropicana President Ron Thacker, in a statement released last Thursday, didn’t explain the decision but it is thought that such old school showgirl productions have fallen out of favor with audiences seeking more Cirque du Soleil kind of razzle-dazzle. The closure is part of a strategy by new management to bring in fresh entertainment as its parent company tries to emerge from bankruptcy. The statement also ended speculation that “Folies” might move to another Las Vegas casino or hotel.

As Sinatra use to say, “It's Endsville man.”

(In which we see the end of our Las Vegas trip.)

Posted by Job O Brother, March 18, 2008 11:59am | Comments (1)

This is how we.......... yaaawn.... sssstretch.... roll.

It was our final day in Las Vegas, and Corey and I were determined to sleep through as much of it as possible. Corey is more gifted in late mornings than I, so he was impressed and pleased when my peepers didn’t pop until after eleven o’clock, ante meridiem.

We ordered room service. I had the same, slimy oatmeal mentioned previously in my blog, but this time I had it in the luxury of our suite, so okay! Everything tastes better when you have live footage of a shark tank playing on wide-screen TV.

"I'm only working The Strip to put myself through college."

Our only real schedule obligation was to vacate the room long enough for the maids to magically transform it to its virginal state. While we wandered into the lobby, wondering where we’d walk, we fortunately stumbled into a serious conversation about some dynamics in our relationship. So we sat down at a patio table outside and proceeded to communicate, sincerely.

Not only did this help illuminate certain things for each other, but it totally kept us occupied long enough for housekeeping to complete, so, once we were satisfied we understood each other, we returned to the room to continue doing as little as possible. It was a success.

That night was The Advocate’s party at Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce, Mandalay Bay’s burlesque club, which, every Monday night (as it was) hosts “Stormy Mondays” – a male burlesque show.

As Corey was one of the hosts, we were on hand ahead of time to panic and prepare, which we did, more or less in that order. I observed the go-go boys practice their routines - so bored looking, so distracted without the throngs of gay dudes and fag-hags clamoring to pad their g-strings with greenbacks. It was a very heterosexual moment for me. I started drinking scotch.

(In which foul language is used.)

Posted by Job O Brother, March 12, 2008 10:02pm | Comments (3)

The author being bullied into gambling. Note the excitement in his face. Note the sarcasm in the previous sentence.

Day two of Las Vegas saw Corey and I doing one of our favorite things: nothing.

After a breakfast of oatmeal so slimy you’d think it was an accessory for your Castle Greyskull play-set…

…we returned to the artificial beach that had been so typhoony the day before. This time it was sunny, sparkling, and crowded. Tacky house music blasted from every nook and cranny, making each action seem like a dull outtake from a beer commercial. We took refuge near a waterfall, which helped to drown out the incessant oomph – oomph – oomph…

One feature I totally had a crush on was this thing they called the Lazy River, which was a stretch of pool that ran in a winding loop, with a strong current that was propelled by machines (or black magic – I didn’t actually ask). You get in this thing and you’re gently swept along with little physical effort. I decided then and there, if I’m ever a billionaire, I would buy myself a Lazy River. Then, dear reader, you and I could dive and splash and play all day, and no one could tell us to stop, because we’d just ride the current far away – safe from harm, from the voices, from the voices in our heads that tell us to kill.

Amidst all this carefree luxury, there grew in me a fear, tightening its grip, as hours past and evening drew near. You see, we had tickets to…

Cirque du Soleil.

Now, I had never seen a Cirque show, but I’d never let that stand in my way of judging them harshly. You have to keep a closed mind about things, right?

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