Bonjour.

This week is moving right along…

Yesterday I got my Conde Nast Traveler with a special pull-out Vegas section.

My co-worker is heading there next month and this pull-out section of the mag made me remember how much I love and hate Vegas.

The last time I went, 2005, it was during the New Year time and it was just ridiculous.

Everything about the trip was ridic [this was also the trip were I passed out at the club and walk up on the curb outside with bouncers standing around me asking ‘if I was okay’—I hadn’t slept in 20 hours, hadn’t eaten in about 36, and had drank about 40 drinks in the course of those 20 hours…surprised I die].

At the time, the crew I was rolling with had major, major connections and basically club and bar we went to we had VIP or a table.

The time that I went out and DIDN”T have VIP or table, sucked, hardcore.

Cons:
Vegas, in retrospect, is all about exclusivity.

Which VIP room you can get into.

Which club has the strictest door policy.

Which club boasts the hottest people.

The clubs in Vegas make it nearly impossible for any ‘pedestrians’ to have a good time because of this exclusivity.

Literally, most clubs every single place to POSSIBLY sit down is fucking sectioned off for table service or VIP.

So you are forced to stand, all night, while everyone in the nice sections sort of gloats.

It’s really awful.

I remember going to Tangerine at Treasure Island and we had this special Cabana that faced the water show thing and it was awesome because you were in the best spot and didn’t have to worry about getting up or buying drinks.

I came back to TI later in the week without all the pomp & circumstance and it was the worst time, ever.

The line to get in was re-re PLUS I didn’t have a table and was forced to commiserate with everyone else while I waited forever for drinks.

It’s really screwed up out there.

Besides that, it’s retarded expensive.

You have to set aside at least an additional [easily] $300 just for going out!

Between the $20-$40 covers, plus the cost of drinks [$15 martinis at places like Body English], you’re really fucked.

It almost makes sense, if you are with a group of say 6 or more to get bottle service because it’ll usually even out in the end.

Pros:

GAMBLING—helloooo!?!?!?!

My favorite indulgent activity—booze & gambling are a perfect marriage.

The no restriction on drinking is a big factor to why I like Vegas.

You can drink anywhere, all the time, forever hahaha.

Seriously, Vegas is like an alcoholics dream because despite the hefty price tag for drinks at clubs, at most of the casinos and along the street you can find some pretty sweet deals like the Yard cups which are attached to a string that is tied around your neck, thus letting you drink without ever having to hold the Yard cub.

Magical.

The food is insane.

I was lucky enough to dine at some seriously phenom places including N8ne Steakhouse, Guy Savoy’s at Caesar’s, Wolf Gang Puck’s place Spage, and a few others.

But beyond all the fancy schmancy shit, the real winners are the Buffets—especially at Bellagio and the Venetian.

They are fantastic and endless and wonderful and pricey but worth every cent.

Another con is the deceiving distances between hotels.

Paris and New York hotels are far down the strip and to get back up to Mandalay or Bellagio you either walk the treacherous BLVD or take the monorail.

So yeah, as much as I want to go back to Vegas, it seems almost daunting—

But who knows, maybe I’ll drag my wonky ass out there sometime soon for some money-draining debauchery.

Até parece que o povo recorreu à numerologia para escolher a data da festa de 3 anos do Vegas, mas é fato: não passou de pura coincidência. Neste dia aconteceria a 2a. edição do Sónar aqui no Brasil e vários artistas que se apresentariam no festival já estavam bookados. E foi aí que a direção do clube resolveu aproveitar a deixa e fazer um festival próprio - sim, porque o line-up do Vegas V3 não deixa a desejar para nenhum grande festival do 2. semestre.

Esta é, de acordo com a direção do clube, a última grande festa do Vegas. E talvez este seja o início do último capítulo da história casa. Mas você pode estar pensando: por que um clube fecha suas portas em pleno auge, com noites lotadas, pista recém-inaugurada e público animado? A resposta é simples. Toda história precisa ter um início, um meio e um fim. E uma história boa de verdade sempre tem um final feliz.

Quer final mais feliz do que uma festa para 2000 pessoas com Glass Candy, Ewan Pearson, Efedemin, Pat Mahoney e James Murphy? As pratas da casa André Juliani, Mau Mau, Luca Lauri, Magal e Camilo Rocha fazem as honras da casa. Line-up de festival e preço de festa de fim-de-semana: 50 reais. É pra todo mundo marcar presença na Flexx, ex-Broadway, e comemorar conosco.

O Vegas como todos o conhecem ainda continuará ativo por alguns meses. Grandes nomes ainda se apresentarão na Rua Augusta até o fim do ano, podem esperar! E podem esperar, também, um segundo volume dessa história que marcou a noite paulistana nos últimos 3 anos, 3 meses e 3 dias. Uma nova história está para ser contada em "novos ares", com novos personagens, novas locações, nova trilha sonora. É esperar para ver.

Enquanto isso, bora conferir um pouco do que nos espera no dia 03 de fevereiro! Ah, os convites já estão à venda na bilheteria do Vegas. Corra e garanta o seu, antes que seja tarde demais!

PAT MAHONEY E JAMES MURPHY - O som deles você conhece, né? Então vamos de entrevista - um vídeo com 8 minutos de bate-papo com a dupla.

EWAN PEARSON

EFEDEMIN FECHANDO O SONAR BCN 2008, ENQUANTO PANTHA DU PRINCE SE JOGA COM UMA MINA NA CABINE. RS

GLASS CANDY -ROLLING DOWN THE HILLS

Distance: 269.6 miles
Average Speed: 52.4 mph
Moving Time: 5 hours 8 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours 42 minutes
Average Mileage: 28.4 mpg

Getting into Vegas was quite bland, and incredibly hot. I think I saw it at about 110º F. The strip, however, is a different story. All I have to say is Las Vegas is a monster. There is definitely no other city like it. Everything is pure tourism, and pure gambling. There is nothing more, nothing less. I checked into the Excalibur and found out I was on Floor 8 and in Room 8. Yes, the lucky numbers were already taunting me from the moment I stepped into the hotel. After checking out part of the strip by myself, I picked up Nick (friend from college) from the airport later that evening. We had dinner at the Excalibur, and we stayed by the 2 cent slots to get free drinks and practically gave away our pennies in the process. Over the weekend, Nick played $5 minimum Blackjack, while I played Roulette. Rapid Roulette was the coolest. There was a roulette table in the middle, with a dealer spinning the ball, etc. However, instead of placing your bets on the roulette table, everyone has their own computer touch screen (I think each Rapid Roulette table holds about 15 or so players), and they make their bets on the screen. The minimum bet is $2.50. What was cool about this version that they let you know all the percentages. You could see how many times the ball landed on Red, Black, Odd and Even, so all the counting was done for you. They also showed which numbers were cold (how many turns went by without it being landed on), and which numbers were hot. I basically played the trends and doubled my money. I guess the lucky numbers were right, as I gambled about $10, and got $20 back. I lost $5 in slots though, which means I left Vegas $5 up! I know, I'm not much of a gambler. On Saturday, we had brunch at Monte Carlo, which took forever, because they were making my spinach and artichoke dip from scratch. Later that day we got Gelatos at the Bellagio. I got Pistachio on top of Chocolate in a waffle cone. This was an interesting experience: the lady accidentally left the paper liner from the previous cone inside my cone, and put the ice cream on top without noticing. When I finished my top scoop and got to the cone, I noticed that I was not able to eat my ice cream because of the paper lining in between my ice cream and the cone itself. I pointed this out to the lady, and asked if this was normal, and she looked at me like I was retarded, and asked me if I wanted a spoon. Later that day, we ate dinner at Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill with Janina (friend from Cranbrook), which was located at MGM Grand. The food was quite good, but a little pricey for my taste. I wanted to take pictures and to witness the fountain show at the Bellagio at night, but the last showing was at midnight, and I arrived 5 minutes after. It's a shame, because that was what I was looking forward to the most. It's also a shame that there was no "$5 Footlong" at Subway, since all the 6" subs were $6 or more. I ate fish tacos at Rubio's instead.

          Louie paced in circles around the poker table, muttering curses under his breath. 

          “Why do things always have to turn out this way?”  He said bitterly to himself. 

          At a certain point in the night, he seemed to have Lethe within his hold.  They’d been friends for several weeks and an intimate bond was forming  . . . but now all of a sudden Lethe was being antisocial and using Louie for his connections and his extra cash.

          Meanwhile Lethe tried to pretend as if he were seriously engaged in playing “Let it Ride!”, a casino poker game.  Every time Louie approached him, Lethe would say, “The game’s almost over.  C’mon, Louie, let me finish.”

          Lethe placed his final bet on the first circle and waited for the Dealer to turn over one of his cards.  Besides feigning interest in the game, Lethe dreaded going back to the Inn.  A slow queasiness bubbled up inside his gut as he was making his bets.  His eyes made a quick sweep of the floor—to see where he could run to if it came down to that . . .

          Louie crowded around the table like a peevish uncle, looking into his nephew’s cards with impatience.  “I want to get out of here,” Louie demanded. 

          But Lethe ignored him and kept his gaze leveled on the sharp-eyed Dealer.  The Dealer was adept at reading gamblers’ faces and it didn’t take him long to connect Lethe’s pained expression with that bilious, red-faced man who was indignantly planted beside the young gambler.

          The Dealer turned over one of his cards and the gamblers re-evaluated their hands with self-deprecating looks.  Around them, the sweaty, overstuffed casino was teeming with members of the World Bodybuilders Association, a convention that had just let out.  High-class hookers, besotted businessmen, and Miami-style twenty-somethings navigated their way around the bodybuilders with sediments of smoky haze blending them together.

          As the Dealer turned over the last card, a rigid, short-necked gambler next to Lethe glanced down to see if he had won— 

          It was then that Lethe imagined what would happen if he obediently followed Louie back to the Inn . . .

          Lethe dropped the chips from his sweaty palms and fled from the table.  The Dealer made a swift, clandestine gesture to security.  The other gamblers watched the agile youth weave his way through the flow of bodybuilders, Chinese tourists, and party kids from L.A. and Miami.  Louie caught sight of Lethe and tried to follow him for awhile but the crowds were pushing up against him.  He had some weight to maneuver and there were throngs of people radiating backwards and forward through the congested aisles. 

          Lethe ran through the casino as if through an obstacle course; on nimble toes he skirted collisions and sped past outraged security.  But security didn’t need to track him anymore.  As long as nothing was stolen from the table and nobody was hurt, Lethe could run as fast and as far as he wanted . . .

          That’s not to say that Lethe didn’t attract any attention sprinting through the casino at breakneck speed.  But there was little need for anyone to tackle Lethe to the ground; the casino itself was a planless maze with no clear beginning or end.  The casino posed its own uncanny obstacles.  Lethe hoped to reach the end of the gaming floor, but wave after wave of gamblers kept coming at him like mounting, sizzling tides.

          His instincts were correct.  Running in a single direction eventually led him to an offshoot of the casino where the lush, burgundy carpet turned into the hard, marble floors of a luxury hotel.  Exotic flowers filled oversized pots lining the halls.  Promenade shops sprouted along a marble road, Gucci, Prada, Dior, Hermes, Louis Vuitton. . .

          . . . a glass tower of hotel suites emerged in the distance, twinkling in the high-beam lights; varicolored Dale Chihuly blown glass hung on transparent wires with glass elevators rising and falling in the background as if controlled by a magic pulley-system.

          But he was not there yet.

          Lethe galloped breathlessly through the marble hall . . . he passed the Grand Theatre where Cirque du Soleil was expected to perform tonight, large posters on gold stands displayed the mesmerizing acts . . . he passed 5-star restaurants with waterfalls and Japanese gardens inside . . . he passed more glittering shops . . . he passed a Lamborghini dealership.

          The Lamborghini dealership caught Lethe’s attention but Lethe was in pain.  No matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t escape the gnawing bitterness which drove him to run in the first place.  Through the endless hallway of gigantic flowerpots, he repeated over and over, “I must get out of here.  I must be free.  I must, I must, I must . . .”

          “I don’t want to be here anymore.  I can’t—”

          The Novel of Life had taken him to this stretch of marble road.  The Novel of Life had taken him to the anarchic gambling den.  He escaped Louie’s greedy talons.  Now what?

          At last he reached the base of the glass tower and looked up at the beguiling crystalline architecture. 

          Pressing buttons frantically, an elevator arrived. 

He's a bloodsucking freak of nature. But, unlike other politicians, Ethan Carrick is a nice guy--and a hot, casino-owning vampire. It's election year for vamps, which means he'll first have to escape his opponent's hit men adn then find a First Lady, like the smart and sweet Brittany Baldizzi. But when her protctive sister, Alexis, steps in with a message for Ethan--Bite me--he realizes it's no-nonsense Alexis who raises his stake. And as much as she denies it, she wouldn't mind a romp in a coffin with him. But can a mere mortal make a centuries-old womanizer feel something new?

Yes, I am now officially a resident of Las Vegas. Well, North Las Vegas, to be exact. In the end, I signed a lease with the exquisite and luxurious Broadstone Azure apartments.

It should be nice... From my balcony, I have a full view of the mountains and I can see the Las Vegas strip off to my left.

I was able to get a discounted rate, but it still will be more than double what I paid in Stigler. Ah... one of the downsides to moving to a city. One of the pros though is that I am minutes away from several Chipotles. On two different days, I ate there for both lunch and dinner. God bless the burrito bowl.

In fact, I might Chipotle it up right now. When you go without it for seven months after living on it in college, you really start to develop a craving for it.

I will probably make a bunch of posts in the next few days. The drive and the move have really give me some prime material. Blog entries to look out for: a) old people, b) driving a U-Haul through the Hoover Dam, c) nearly watching my car explode (twice), d) riding 50 miles through the desert on an empty tank of gas and a prayer... The list goes on.

Anyway, I am accepting any and all housewarming gifts.

My new address is: 650 East Azure Avenue, Apt. # 2071, North Las Vegas, Nevada 89081.

For those nostalgic people out there, please take notice of my apartment number. In college, for three consecutive years, I lived in Apt. # 207. I think it's a good sign of things to come...

Un hombre de traje te invita a pasar...

Kiteboarding session, originally uploaded by jendroszczyk. ]]> http://airingdirtylaundry.wordpress.com/?p=147 Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:32:56 +0000 airingdirtylaundry http://airingdirtylaundry.wordpress.com/?p=147 This past week included a trip to Vegas, a red-eye back to Pittsburgh, 13-15 hour workdays, a big event that I've been planning for months, dealing with the antics of an active (and still ringworm-ridden) kitten, and no more than 3-4 hours of sleep each night.

I survived on protein bars and energy drinks.  On Friday night I crashed.  I'm still alive, just comatose and groggy and now coping with an ear infection.  After I recover by catching up on sleep, I'll catch up on everything else . . .

Check it out:

Okay so I feel a little guilty about not referencing some media angle on this post so I will say that Vegas Extreme Skydiving (VES) is doing themselves a great service by offering the DVD's to people.  Not only do they make sure to start the video with a good few seconds focused on their contact information but when I uploaded mine to YouTube I noticed a bunch of others from VES as well.

If you search for skydiving on YouTube you are bound to come across a few from VES and possibly be influenced to do your jump there.  I think they should even offer to upload your video to YouTube for you.  I'm sure some less computer savvy people would love to be able to embed their video on a blog or email a link to a friend without all the hassle of doing it themselves.

That way friends and family could see your jump immediately after your done instead of waiting for you to come around with your DVD.  

"Free YouTube upload with purchase of DVD!!"

Makes sense to me.

What do you think?

Yeah because Vegas is not hot enough! Kim Kardashian joined the famous Pussycat Dolls on stage yesterday at Pure Night Club. Finally we get a star that looks good on stage with the girls. Does anyone remember the nightmare of Denise Richards? Blech, she looked nasty but then again when doesn't she?

More importantly, when are Kim K and hottie Reggie Bush gonna get married?

Having come from Anime Expo and Comic Con this was a much different environment, a lot more networking, a lot less costumes.

Once inside I met up with LA New Media Group, my new friends and family. We hung out for a little while and then I started walking the floor. I had the most recent trailer on an iPod Touch and went around showing it people. I spoke to people at Sony, Panasonic, Mackie, Wizzard Media, Tubemogul, Podcastertuneup, etc. I think I made it to every booth in the hall.

Two amazing booths were there. Wizzard Media was incredibly helpful and had a lot of great ideas for the future. Check out their site, it's really interesting.

The other amazing booth was Tubemogul. This concept is absolutely genius. They act as an intermediary to 20 major video hosting sites and aggregate all the statistics to one single site. I'm in the process of signing up tonight. I will keep you updated as it goes, but I would recommend everyone setup an account. It's free and a massive timesaver.

I met a ton of other great podcasters, hosting sites, asset providers, etc. Handed out some posters and stickers and shirts as well.

Oh...and I met this girl

Didn't really take a lot of pics

Oh, and BTW, Vegas is not a lot of fun during the day. There is a reason it's always dark in Twinkle's city (which is soon to be officially named)

Barry Manilow
“Ultimate Manilow: The Hits”
August 27, 29-30
September 3, 5, 6, 24-27
October 1-4, 22-25, 29-31
November 1, 12-15, 19-22
December 17-20, 29-30
8 p.m.
Tickets On Sale Now

Terry Fator
August 15-17
September 15-17
October 13-15
November 16-18
December 21-22
8 p.m.
Sunday shows at 7 p.m.
Tickets On Sale Now

Johnny Mathis
October 17-18
8 p.m.
Tickets On Sale Now

Amanda Miguel and Diego Verdaguer
September 13
8 p.m.
Tickets On Sale Now

Tony Bennett
September 19-20
November 28-29
8 p.m.
Tickets On Sale Now

George Lopez
November 7-8
8 p.m.
Tickets On Sale Now

Gino Vannelli
November 9
7 p.m.
Tickets On Sale Now

Tickets Available At http://www.NationalShowTickets.com

1 Cher - Buy Tickets
2 Bette Midler: The ShowGirl Must Go On - Buy Tickets
3 Elton John: The Red Piano - Buy Tickets
4 Cirque du Soleil "O" - Buy Tickets
5 Jersey Boys - Buy Tickets
6 Cirque du Soleil: The Beatles: LOVE - Buy Tickets
7 Blue Man Group - Buy Tickets
8 Le Rêve - Buy Tickets
9 Cirque du Soleil: Zumanity - Buy Tickets
10 Barry Manilow - Buy Tickets

Tickets To All Shows And Events in Las Vegas Are Listed At Click2Vegas.com