It's been a very busy week that went by very quickly; I wasn't even sure how we got to Friday so fast, and today still feels more like Sunday than Saturday.

I had to work yesterday -- with "had to" being sort of inaccurate since it was, technically, "voluntary," but with the promise of double time and a half, I went in. We had enough work to get us through, but we finished everything early and the whole crew was sent home at the end of my (the early) shift. It did feel like working on a Saturday, since there was hardly anyone there and the roads were basically empty, and then we went out to the Pacific Seafood Buffet for edgedancer's birthday celebration. I haven't actually gotten him a present, largely because I don't really want to ply him with more toys he doesn't need and a number of the things he could really use are very expensive, so I'm just dragging my heels; I did get him a large silly card he doesn't need, but sometimes such things are fun (it's one of those noise-making cards that has Homer on the cover and plays the "d'oh!" montage when opened).

ANYWAY...

Things I remembered I was going to post about in Vegas and shortly thereafter:

On Thursday morning, before the whole Michael Jackson thing started, I was at the gym at the Mirage and while on the ellipsis machine, I watched a couple of episodes of The Golden Girls. This wasn't a show I watched when it was on, but I found it was cute and funny (and created by the same team who did Soap, a show I adored and STILL need to get seasons 2-4 of), but as I watched, I found myself thinking, "These gals don't look so old." Oops. *g* Of course, it WAS twenty years ago (the show about the Cold War with Premiere Gorbachev & President Reagan was a big dating clue)... but Betty White looked pretty young. Ah, well. It does tell me it's probably time for me to actually start looking for auditions again -- I'm now old enough to play the character roles I used to get in high school. And yes, damn it, I'm comparing myself to four of the greatest comic character actresses ever. So there.

Up on Fremont Street one of the "Fremont Street Experience" shows was "A Tribute To Queen," which was basically "We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions" played over some cool graphics and lots of pictures of the band playing live, etc., etc. Until one of the final choruses of "We Are The Champions" when abruptly the photo montage changed to firemen and policemen and soldiers and the waving American flag, leaving me going "Huh? Don't these guys realize that Queen were British?" It changed my impression of the entire little show...

For some reason I have to re-log into EVERYTHING every time I open my browser. This is frustrating. The security is set to accept cookies, so I'm not sure why it's doing this. It made me miss a stripey egg, which I've been chasing for a week (I should have had it, too, but I got the "you need to register/log in before getting an egg! message...). Grump. They only drop like one an hour, but the drops last all hour anymore because there are always so many abandoned ones.

* *

Barb bought the most wonderful nectarines EVER. She just gave me a slice and while I didn't even think I cared for nectarines much, now I want MOAR.

After Wait Wait Don't Tell Me I think I'll watch Yankee Doodle Dandy and, of course, 1776.

Happy Fourth!

Whew. After some 330+ emails (mostly spam) and reading (skimming) quickly through three very newsworthy days of LJ, I'm home.

I know the world (and the Interwebs) exploded on Thursday when Michael Jackson died -- I heard the news from the lady who was selling us tickets to Ka at the MGM Grand -- she asked if we'd heard and we were absolutely shocked. I'm well aware that the man was loopy, especially the last decade or so, but there's no denying he was monstrously talented and it was hard not to enjoy his music and watch when he danced. When he performed he commanded a stage and it was impossible to not be mesmerized by him. It's no wonder his fans are still so very much in love with him, how they support him, and how much they're in mourning.

There were a number of newscasts that made comparisons to Elvis, and I had made the same observation myself almost immediately, largely because of the somewhat shady doctors and overabundance of perfectly legal prescription drugs bringing on cardiac arrest in someone who probably didn't need said drugs in the first place and would have been fine without so many yes-men agreeing to every spoiled, hypochondriac thought said subject had, either Elvis or Jacko. I loved Elvis with all my heart and always stood up for him when he was made fun of, ridiculed, or dismissed because of the way he'd lived to excess and basically killed himself (frankly, after reading a "conspiracy theory" book stating all the "proof" that Elvis had faked his own death, I came to the conclusion from these "clues" that Elvis had in fact committed suicide). So I understand Jacko's fans, even if I don't share their particular passion.

What Jacko was to me was one of the voices of my generation. His albums were the soundtrack of my college years, with Thriller coming out right as I made the move from high school to college. I watched him go through it all, every bit of weirdness, bizarre behavior, freaky ideas; it's been a part and parcel of life since I graduated high school. I remember watching the Jackson 5 cartoon when I was little; Jackson was only six years older than me.

I felt sad when I heard the news, and I watched a lot of CNN in the aftermath; but I'm not hit as hard as I was when Elvis died, or when Johnny Cash passed -- I think I feel mostly sad for the loss of a man who wasted so much. All the people who knew him spoke so highly of him -- not the hangers-on, not the yes-men, but his real friends and family. I was always somewhat skeptical of his "illnesses" and "hereditary disease" (largely because none of his big brothers seem to be having any problems), and I can't help but think he brought a lot of it on himself, but I am sorry he's gone.

As for the other two who passed while I was basically out of touch... Ed McMahon was an old man who lived a good long life and was loved by many people. His dead was sad, but not a shock (after all, Johnny left us some while ago). And Farrah? She's not in pain any more -- the one I feel sorry for is Ryan O'Neal, who never got to marry her; on Monday I actually saw part of an interview with Barbara Walters, where he said they'd be married as soon as she was well enough to say "I Do."

Other Vegas stuff: The Lion King on stage is MAGNIFICENT. Of course, I get teary every time I hear "Circle of Life" anyway -- but the singing, the acting, the puppetry, all amazing. I didn't care for the song they wrote for the hyenas, but the song written for Nala's solo was amazing (hell, the girl who played her was amazing; what a voice! She was mesmerizing whenever she was on stage).

Ka is a WOW of a Circe show -- "O" was the most beautiful, still, I think, but Ka is a majestic spectacle. I did a lot of gasping and "wow!"-ing.

But all in all, it's good to be home.

I never logged in at the Golden Nugget because for some asinine reason, their wireless required logging in through the television??? I didn't bother. But the Golden Nugget has the most comfortable beds in the universe, along with the best swimming pool.

We've been busy, busy, busy. Won quite a bit so far; put $50 bucks into a Double 7s quarter slot and played for nearly three hours on it (until I was staring at the word going "Doob-lee? What does that mean?"), and ended up taking $100 out at the end when we finally decided to call it quits.

We're going to see The Lion King tomorrow, and are dickering on whether to spend some of the winnings on either a) seeing Bette Midler again (Mom's choice) or b) seeing "Love" again (my choice). Or maybe going and seeing "Ka," which neither of us have seen yet.

The Bellagio's summer theme in the garden atrium is birds -- there are cages full of rainbow lorakeets and pretty crested parakeets, fountains and flowers of course, and a big ferris wheel. Very cool. Haven't done a lot of shopping yet, although kept going back to one shop on Fremont Street while Mom dickered on whether or not to buy the earrings that matched her fire topaz necklace (she ended up getting them). Found several presents for Barb, of all things. It POURED while we were in the Bellagio. Cleared up while we ate dinner at Ellis Island (if you like BBQ, and you're in Las Vegas, take a quick cab ride to a little dive out at the Motel 8 a few blocks from the Strip called Ellis Island. The menu has four choices: full slab, half slab, chicken, or sausage. The meat comes with beans, coleslaw, corn, and dense sourdough bread. It's the best meal and deal in town, and that counts the cab fare.

Everyone at home appears to be in a state of crisis. I'd comment on more friends journals but it's one in the morning and now I'm going to bed.

Fairly ordinary weekend. Got a few things done, baked a chicken, played a little Killer Bunnies, the usual boring crap.

I spent most of yesterday re-reading Watchmen, and while I found I remembered a great deal of it ("there is a circulatory system walking through the kitchen"), there was much I'd forgotten and a LOT of it sailed right over my barely-twenty-year-old-head back in '85, including the significance of Dr. Manhattan winning Vietnam for us and Nixon being re-elected for a THIRD term (making the assumption that Watergate either didn't happen or they were never caught; there's a throwaway line about Woodward and Bernstein somewhere in there) -- and as I'm fascinated now with well-done alternate timelines, I found myself far more interested in THAT aspect than the overall story. That said, the overall story DOES hold up well. I wonder what changes have been made for the movie (we haven't seen it yet) to make it relevant, as of course the spectre of Vietnam and the Cold War are long history now. From what clips I've seen and capsule reviews I've read, it sounds like they've done a bang-up job, so I'm very much looking forward to seeing it. Probably next weekend, I'm imagining, if we get organized!

I has cricket:

Stalking the wily cricket:


Soon, the hunt will end and there will be nomming.


Unfortunately, the flash wouldn't go off (somehow it's set to "no red eye" so there's a delay; I still need to figure out how to operate this camera) and I missed a great shot of said nomming. But the cricket battle was won.

( Meme swiped from evil_little_dog: )

As usual, when I sit down to post, I forget everything I was going to preserve for posterity. I have a general rant about the state of things, but I'll see about doing it later. I'm trying to catch up on reading things for people (I'm shamefully behind on this task), and work was pretty busy this week.

So, since I can't remember what it was I was going to say, I'll finally post some of the ( promised pictures from Vegas )

And, naturally, a glimpse of my babies:

Needs a name:



Phrick & Phrack:



And last, but not least, Pequeno Verde:



Clickies all around! And don't forget the eggs/babies of cornerofmadness, nutmeg3, ishte, evil_little_dog, mjules, and of course melvh; I hope I haven't forgotten anyone!

Vegas week, again.

My mother is a deeply exhausting person to be around. But we had a good time. She won almost $5,000 - just some awesome winning (Treasure Island, for those who like to know the good-paying casinos). We spent a few days hanging out at the pool, did some walking, some shopping, all the usual jazz. Never really logged in, just 'cause the hotels charge for wireless use PER LAPTOP, and since Barb was with me, we didn't want to pay that much. It was only five days, after all. Does mean I'm a bit behind on friends, but I'll see if I can catch up with folks.

I came home to find it's "Blog Like It's The End Of The World" day, so I figured I'd best post something, even useless gobblygook; I haven't anything really exciting to talk about - I know everyone's heard me ramble on about Las Vegas (I don't think Barb really enjoyed herself, but it was nice to have her along!). I figured out I do a LOT better if I drink more water and remember to stretch - after Vegas Fatigue set in, the second day (!), I realized that every time I go, I walk everywhere, miles & miles, and I drink a LOT of alcohol. Duh. So I did some stretching routines daily and drank water, and viola! I feel pretty good. And we have the weekend to relax, hooray.

Is it just me, or it is suspicious that just when the TSA determines we can't carry liquid through security many airlines decide to stop serving complimentary beverages? Fortunately our flight was short AND it was Southwest, who will still give you soda and peanuts, even when the flight is only 40 minutes.

Came home, found all was well (blessings upon sillymagpie!), but Cuervo indicated his displeasure in our absence by checking the litterbox I just cleaned and then pooping on the bed. *SIGH*

The other cats seem happy we're back, especially Cairo, who is very insecure and needs constant reassurance.

Wheee, free internet at McCarran Airport, and it's a STRONG connection! Take that, Luxor!

Because apparently this weird thing called "Daylight Savings Time" happened last night, I am not going to lose the hour I gained when I came here. Weird rest of the country. [/cranky sleep deprived Arizonan]

No big wins, but had a good time. Probably spent more money than I should have, but what the heck. I could spend a great deal more at the M&Ms World store alone, but I bypassed a number of things I wanted desperately because I was trying hard to be good (and I don't have that much money anyway, at least until my darned tax refund shows up... at least I'm getting one!).

It's after 8 already, although it does feel earlier, DST notwithstanding, and I should oughta head over to the gate here shortly (my flight leaves, knock wood, at 9:05).

Important things to note about the South End of the Strip: They all serve Pepsi. Bleah. (No offense to the Pepsi drinkers, but I will walk around the Food Court twice to find the place that serves Coke, no matter what I might want to eat.) The demographic skews about twenty-six (I have reached an age where I'm too old for that crowd but not old enough to be as interested in it as Mom has become) - we walked across to MGM and sat down, and the first thing I noticed was they were playing Tom Petty's "Running Down A Dream." Ah, my demographic. Upcoming acts to Las Vegas: Van Halen, Bon Jovi, and Rush. My demographic, indeed. Of course, it's the twenty-something crowd that's now attracted to the retro-chic of the Wayne Newtons...

Is not as exciting as one might expect. Once you get used to the "ooo, it goes sideways," it's not any different than any other elevator (I thought it at least had glass walls so you could see out or something).

On the other hand, the Pyramid is kinda cool, if somewhat early 90's primitive - this internet connection, for example, is wireless, but I can't get it at night (which is why I didn't post this last night) and the signal strength is always "very low." There's no hookup at all for a wired connection, and the table I'm sitting at is the bathroom vanity 'cause there's no desk. There is a "business center" downstairs, but who wants to truck down there to make LJ posts?

Very busy yesterday. The main reason Mom wanted to come out here this month is because of the new show at Caesars - Bette Midler has taken over Celine Dion's position at the Colosseum and Mom LOVES Bette. She paid an OH-MY-GOD amount for tickets on the floor and, to be honest, Bette does an AWESOME show. In a few months Cher will be joining her (I think they're going to be alternating shows), and as I sat there waiting for the show to start, I thought to myself, "Wow, Bette Midler, Cher, and Elton John. Can Caesars BE any gayer?" and lo & behold, Bette herself did the same joke early in the show, even projecting a picture of the three of them taken back in the 70's, all in full Elton regalia. She'd called out to the audience, "where are my people, the Jews?" and got applause, then "and the Christians? They love me!" and got more applause, then "and where are the gays?" and the room positively exploded. I thought I'd seen more than a few gay couples strolling around here yesterday.

In short, it was a gloriously good show, and she does her level best to give folks their money's worth. I certainly couldn't have afforded it, but I sure enjoyed it.

Also got taken to see the "Big Elvis" show at one of the little casinos on the Strip, what used to be Barbary Coast (and is now "Bill's Casino"). I'm of two minds about this guy. On the one hand, he does a pretty credible job of singing the part, and he kinda looked it, too... except the man weighs about 400 pounds. Now, I know all the Fat Elvis jokes - but as Mom asked, since the backdrop show being projected on the screen was "Aloha From Hawaii" (see icon), "When was he in Hawaii?" to which I replied, "'73, '74." "But he was so skinny! I thought he was fat by then." Wrong. It was only the last year or so of his life when he got so heavy and all the jokes started; plus, Elvis really never got that fat - certainly not by today's standards of heavy. And he was very sick. Astounding that it still bothers me this much after all this time... but as impersonators go, not too bad.

Now I am VERY sore after trooping all over Vegas yesterday. I really need to consider the shoes I wear when I come here, the trouble is, my foot is still sore enough that my good gym shoes (which I never broke in before the surgery) are still a bit rough on them and I can only wear them for a short time (say, the amount of time for a workout). Fortunately, we have a massage in a few hours, and then I will sit in the hot tub/steam room for a while.

Of course, then I expect Mom to be fully refreshed and ready to start again.

I only have this weak connection for one day (they still charge for it), so I probably won't be back until I get home Sunday, unless I hit a hot spot at the airport (I didn't try at the Phoenix airport). And speaking of the Phoenix airport, I finally had one of those problems that everyone talks about - my flight was supposed to take off at 7:00 (and, due to the time difference, also land at 7:00), but our plane was late getting in from wherever it had been, so we didn't actually board until about 7:10, and then, about 7:30 or so, after everyone was finally on board and ready to go and our drink orders taken, they said there was a problem with one of the windows in the cockpit and there would be a twenty minute delay. I should have gotten my phone out and called Mom to let her know, but it was up in the overhead compartment, which were all closed, and buckled in, so I just dealt with it. We didn't land in Vegas until after 8:00, and Mom couldn't hear her phone ringing anyway, so while I called several times after I landed, I was actually standing in the Luxor before we found each other (oddly, I didn't hear my phone, either, although I have a loud ringtone and had it on my belt so I could get to it easily; I opened it to make another call and there was a voice message).

But there it is.

I fell down this weekend and I could tell at the time it had irritated my old rotator cuff injury - as of this morning, I KNOW it has. Ow. My arm hurts doing simple things, like putting on socks.

Do cats know instinctively that you have to go back to work the next morning? *yawn*

( Some pictures from Vegas )

That seems to be it for this one - next entry will have the rest.

And so ends another Vegas Vacation. And quite the busy one, as well.

( Some observations, cut for longwinded rambling )

Oh, boy, am I tired!

I cannot believe my 72-year-old mother. She's still going strong, while I was wiped last night and collapsed around 9:30. I have blisters and stiff legs and I thought - I THOUGHT - I was in pretty good shape. I did have to change from my Converse to my gym shoes. More padding.

We just got back from shopping at what was Desert Passages and is in the process of turning into the Planet Hollywood Miracle Mile of Shops - most of it is still Desert Passages, pretty and Arabic looking, while the renovated half is just a plain shopping mall. Weenies. I understand change is the thing here in Vegas, but still. Anyway, it's a cool mall, and right across the street here.

The Bellagio is still just one of the nicest places on the Strip; most things are upscale, but it's still reasonable in an upscale way (the buffet is cheaper here than at MGM, including the fancy gourmet weekend one). Okay. We stopped at a little gelato stand in the middle of Caesars Forums, each got one medium scoop of gelato, and it cost freakin' $24 bucks (including tax). We have since priced gelato everywhere else, and here at the Bellagio you can get two scoops, with waffle cone, for about $6 - two people, $12. We haven't found one gelato stand even CLOSE to that one at Caesar's.

Other observations later - Mom is agitating to get moving again. Ay yi yi.

After checking out a few more places, we have determined that the MGM Buffet is by far and away the most expensive on the Strip.

Sunday night the Lion Habitat at MGM has the male lions brought in (usually they have females) - these were a pair of two-year-old boys who were full of playful and romped around their habitat to the delight of the crowds like a pair of house cats, tossing their toys around and chasing each other and generally behaving like a couple of, well, adorable little kitties. It was totally of the cute, but I was never in a good place for pictures - I got a few okay shots, I'll have to see how they download.

The best thing about the gigantic, sprawling icebox which is MGM is we always win something - Mom got something I thought I'd never see, three Double Diamonds hit. She won $1,600. Of course, she hasn't hit anything big SINCE, but it was totally cool. I haven't won diddly, but we're having a good time.

Why is it that no matter when we come, SOMETHING is under renovation? The Spa/fitness center here at the Mirage is closed - fortunately, the Mirage has sister-hotel Treasure Island (ti, bleah) and their spa and fitness center is open to Mirage guests, so we will go there. MGM's spa is more expensive, too (even more than the Bellagio), but it's a very nice one. We're about to go to Treasure Island, we'll have to see how it is.

The vending machines here have Diet Coke with Lime. I'm happy, even paying $3 a bottle - it's either that or go out into the muggy heat (big monsoon storm yesterday) and walk a half mile or more to get them for $1.50 at Walgreens or the ABC Store in the mall.

I REALLY need to do Vegas with friends rather than Mom. I love mom, but there are just things she doesn't want to do, like the roller coaster at New York New York. (And she doesn't want to see Spamalot!, either....)

Here I am in Las Vegas, in our room at the MGM, trying to get both connected and plugged in because the battery on this old laptap is quite shoddy. The little piggyback plug on the desk wasn't working, but plugging direct into the wall seems to.

I have a lovely view of the rooftop of MGM, the domed part of something I haven't figured out yet, and across the street, New York New York. My 72-year-old mother is already running me ragged. Of course, I CAME tired, so it's my own fault, I suppose. I should have done something about getting more sleep during the week, but I didn't.

Now because I played, I must pay:

Gleefully stolen from nutmeg3:

PIF meme: I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet, but you will receive it within 365 days. The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making a similar agreement on your blog.

Note: The "gift" you send doesn't have to be handmade or even concrete. It can be fic, icons, whatever.

I like the note, because of course the original paragraph DOES say "handmade." *g*

I'm not the world's greatest icon maker, but I enjoy doing so, and if anyone has ever wanted to make me write fanfic, well, now's the time.

The MGM Grand Buffet on Saturday nights is very expensive (it was $64 for two), but it included sushi and cracked crab, both iced and hot, as well as all the standards, plus mashed potato pancakes hand-decorated with stuff to one's specifications and some truly yummy desserts. I ate until I could pop at around 5, and did not eat again until, well, now. (Getting ready for breakfast.) There were these sticky peanut butter sticks which I THINK are sort of like mudpies made without the cocoa and flour instead of oatmeal, but I'm not sure. I ate two, which I shouldn't have done, just trying to figure out what they were made of...

The more Bollywood pictures I see, the more I like 'em. Every time I see a new one, I like it better than the last (and I don't stop liking the previous ones, either). The trouble is remembering the Hindustani titles...

Today we went to the Science Center and looked at preserved dead bodies done up as artwork masquerading as science. It was absolutely fascinating stuff. The preservation is marvelous and the displays stunning. Spent about two hours in there and came home to a lovely roast with mango chutney by my lovely significant other with oatmeal cookies for dessert (the cookies were made by me on Thursday night, using steel-cut oats rather than your standard quick-cooking ones; makes for a nice chewy texture, even on the ones that didn't rise properly - there was a tablespoon of water in the recipe and pure butter, which is what I think made them flatten and spread out like they did; after batch one came out of the oven, I repaired the rest of the batter with some lard, more glutenous flour {bread flour} and another egg. The rest of the cookies pluffed up nicely).

I have been interviewing my characters, which is fun. The finished interviews are on the laptop, so I'll transfer them over to this machine tomorrow.

I have some more pictures of Las Vegas. This is the Bellagio's Conservatory/botanical garden, which is always done up for the season. I've seen it made up for the Chinese New Year and for summer, and this was the first time we'd been there in the spring. There was a little hot house filled with real butterflies, as well as the pretty glass ones:







And the water garden, with cranes (made of flowers):







It's been a pretty good day.

So, why is it so hard to find this in America? And yes, I'm a big ol' geek who wants it. I know I could just go over to Fry's and get a plain, ordinary USB hub... but... but...

The Gold Nugget, Las Vegas, has the coolest pool in the world. See, here:




That's me, swimming with the sharks. I went down the water slide (that goes right through the tank!), too. Neat!!! I had a very relaxing weekend, as trips with Mom go. We did a little walking out, spent a goodly part of Saturday at the spa, and lazed Sunday by the pool. Late Friday night we went out on Freemount Street for a walk and to watch the Experience, when I started to notice a lot of rainbow things - necklaces, pennants, feather boas... and drag queens. And gay couples holding hands. Walking. Waving rainbow flags. I wormed my way through the crowd to find the Pride Parade Vegas 2007 had just ended! I was very sorry to have missed the fun - and that I wasn't there with my wife instead of my mother, who was not exactly understanding of the hoopla - she's fine with me, but she was dismayed at the very public shows of affection... especially in front of the weird, lone freaky protester who stood on the street corner a block or so away from the parade with a horrible sign about how Jesus hates gays (I can't remember the exact wording, but I DID want to go explain to her that Jesus never said anything about gays, but he said plenty about hypocrites who preach on street corners). Of course it would inspire a number of couples to kiss and grope in front of her. The skies did not open up.

I am reading a wonderful, poignant, pithy, hilarious book with intense lead characters, interesting supporting characters, filled with biting commentary on today's society (internationally, not just America), television, politics, people - it's so well written that sometimes it blasts me out of the story as I marvel at the simple ease with with the words are placed. It's Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson - yeah, the comedian/talk show host - and I have to agree with the reviewer blurb on the back that says, "After reading, you will know Craig Ferguson is not a talk-show host moonlighting as an author - it might be the other way around."

Some fun bits:

It was hard to be the minister of a snake-handling cult, after all. Other religions promised community and togetherness and the solace of communal worship, just like the snake handlers but without the rather unpleasant devotional duty of handling icky creatures that might well inject you with a highly toxic venom.

He had to get his snakes under the counter, you can't just buy a deadly snake in America, someone could get hurt. Anyway, if you really need something dangerous, get a gun. It's easy, it's cheap, and it's the American Way.

Then the music started again and the Reverend got down from on high and got a sleepy-looking snake out of a cardboard shoe box that had holes cut in it. He danced around, holding the snake in the air, trying to make it look more evil. (This was the snake's favorite part of the whole deal; if it had had vocal cords it would have gone "Wheeeeeeee," but like all good actors, it internalized the wheeeeee. Less is more.)

Brainyism was the latest funky religion that was catching on with the privileged and bored in the entertainment business in Los Angeles. A bit like the way Christianity caught on with upper-class Romans. Brainastics, or Boondtists, as they called themselves, were members of a cult that had built up in Hollywood around the teaching of a bankrupt ex-carnival roustabout who had died in the 1970's.

Like many people, mostly politicians, Vermont confused the legality of a substance with its addictive properties, forgetting always the biggest killer of all, alcohol, was legal, white, and sanitized for your convenience.

There's tons more great ones, but it would take hours to re-read the whole book and find them all (and I'm still a few chapters from the end; but I devoured this book).

So I got in at close to midnight and still had to get up and go to work today. It was a very fast day, though, thankfully, and I'll hit the hay as soon as Heroes ends.

Yay!

Three days & nights in Las Vegas with Mom went by very speedily!

Things I saw:

Two fellows from Scotland win nearly $2,000 on a single hand of Blackjack (they also lose that much without really blinking an eye).

Sharks! Lots of sharks! I could spend all freakin' DAY at the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. And now there's sharks up at the Golden Nugget, too. I hope some of my pictures came out; I forgot to bring the digital and as a result only have a cheap disposable.

I won $900 on the dollar slots; we won $300 on the penny slots (seriously!).

I bought a lot of keychains for my collection. And some designer shirts for reasonable prices (whoo!).

Apparently King Arthur has/had a son named Christopher (although I can't remember a single "King Christopher" in English history). Mordred isn't his son (or that's not mentioned at Excalibur), just an evil magician. Merlin, though, asked me to be his dinner companion. 'Tis fun to eat with one's hands. It's the only show we made it to.

We also somehow managed to continually miss out on eating at Nine Fine Irishmen, although I kept wanting to (it was closed two nights in a row for private parties). There was a construction convention in town, so lots of concrete dealers.

I missed all the news, the State of the Union, etc. Paid no attention to what was going on in the greater world.

I never bothered to sign onto the innernets while I was there, but I did manage to do a little writing, including while waiting at the airport - until the battery died, which it did suddenly and without warning. The first thing I had to make sure of once we checked in was that my portable drive wasn't damaged (it wasn't). So the upshot is, I'm behind on the ol' Flist, but I was skimming here this afternoon.

Something that must stay in Vegas: I laughed at a Carrottop routine. (hangs head) I am shamed.

Came back to town, bought Cinnabon at the airport, then rahirah and I stopped at an Estate Sale on the way home and found lots of little Phoenix Bird china things for her mom's upcoming birthday. Cool!

Cairo's scimitar-like back claws cut my finger on the Monday before I left and now it's swollen, sore, and infected. I need to wash and anti-biotic it now.

And now I have a weekend!

Joy.

I want to do some of the memes I saw running around. I'll get to it. And updates on writing. Oh, and I finished The Prestige. WAY awesome book. Very, very, VERY different than the movie.

( Vegas Vacation )

( And then Saturday night honky-tonking )

And now a lazy Sunday afternoon meme, gakked from a few places...

So, the instructions:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that cool or intellectual book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.
6. Tag three people

( Behind the cut )

And now it's back to the mundane everyday (and sometimes good stuff); a trip to Costco for pet food (and some other stuff, natch), laundry, garbage, cat box, and work tomorrow.

Ah! Corn milk is the white, milky stuff and the kernelly bits you get when you scrape the ears. Seasonal dish, it appears.

Sorry, I never can remember how to say it properly in Chinese. I so totally suck at languages. But here we are in 4704, the Year of the Dog. And how arbitrary calendars are. I bet the Chinese didn't worry when the year 2000 came around, back before our current calendar even started.

I always so enjoy Las Vegas, although I seem to have come home tired and sore and either catching something or just feeling icky. Not sure. The plane trip back was way better than the one going. the Phoenix-to-Vegas was packed to the gills, but coming back the plane was almost empty. Very relaxing. I got my bag and found rahirah at the baggage carousels, and was home before two on Thursday. I did a few things, took a little nap, and then Friday went to volunteer at the State Farm booth at the Chinese Cultural Center, bought some rice crackers, did some errands for my Mom (See's Candies aren't sold on the east coast, so I'm the supplier for the transplanted Westerners and other See's converts back there), and got my review for BR549 done. We watched the week's shows I'd missed (at least Boston Legal and Scrubs). I baked "cheat" cookies (ready-made dough from Nestle) and made pasta with meatballs (Trader's Joes, not from scratch) and sauce. Pretty tasty.

Saturday was some shopping and taking Barb's mom out to lunch, then back for some Baldur's Gate and then later watched one of the NetFlix shows for the week, the amusing Dead and Breakfast, a campy little zombie flick that was good because it knew exactly what it was. Besides, some good actors (and really good music). More Baldur's Gate today, and now relaxing while waiting for the pork chops to bake.

I did re-gain a little weight (oops!) in Vegas, but it's back to the counting with tomorrow. I really didn't think I'd done too badly; I managed to get in a workout and a half at the Bellagio spa, not to mention miles and miles and miles of walking (my mother NEVER stops -- she's 70 years old and has more energy than anyone I know), but a few rich and heavy meals, even so.

It was a good week.

If you have a chance, go see this show. Really. Trust me. (The internet is for porn.)

Okay, three major chefs down.

Todd English (Olives): Very impressive, fantastic food, high scale service (they hold your chair and place your napkin on your lap, bring water and bread and all before taking drink orders). Lunch for two ran us around $50.

Wolfgang Puck (Chinese Fusion): I give the ambiance an A (especially for being in a mall, technically, although The Forums are pretty upscale, mall-wise), the service an A+++, the tea (special blends of hot tea, served in individual presses) A++, and the food... well, it was VERY good, however, it wasn't any better, really, than any "gringo Chinese" you can get at the local China Village, for about twice the price. Steamed white rice, sesame chicken, and hoisin pork; very good, delicious, more than we could eat (sadly, and no place to heat it up, so we couldn't take it with us); but too expensive for that. The teas and bottled water -- they did not offer free water -- alone was more than the price of the meal, though, and even so it was another $50 or so for lunch.

Emeril (Emeril's New Orleans Fish House): Oh, Emeril! The food was fantastic, but I have a lot of complaints about the ambiance, especially at those prices. We were seated in the "Cafe" side, which is spare and the places aren't set; there were holes in the table cloth, and the busy staff RACED around in a tearing hurry. We were seated without menus and when we said we weren't ready to order drinks until we looked at the menu, we never were asked again and made due with water. Mom ordered soup and a salad, and was not served bread until she asked for it; because I ordered a sandwich, I did not get a spoon and had to borrow hers to try her soup (wonderful). The rock shrimp po'boy was magnificent, but because we live a few blocks from one of the finest Cajun restaurants in the West (Baby Kay's), I was deeply spoiled. Shrimp was plentiful and the bread was good, but at Baby Kay's they serve you with extra remoulade sauce and their chips are home made, fried to order. Emeril's po'boy came with... a BAG of Kettle Chips, and no extra sauce. Emeril's shrimp po'boy: $18. Baby Kay's: $6.

Hmmm.

They rushed us in and rushed us out, and it wasn't THAT busy. You could see the dining area (for dinner) was lovely by comparison and had all the place settings and everything, but I think at those prices you can treat the lunch guests JUST as well as the dinner guests.

Now I need to find Bobby Flay's restaurant.

Avenue Q? Go. Laugh. Enjoy. (The internet is for porn.)

Yesterday we just walked around and looked at things. It's a LOT further "down the block" to the Rio than it appears from the Strip. Ate lunch at Todd English's "Olives," which is high-toned Mediterranean, and VERY good. Checked the prices and menu at Emeril's, which isn't too bad for lunch (around upper Olive Garden), but today we're going the other way to see "Avenue Q" at the Wynn, so not sure where we'll eat today.

Airport Madness: When Mom wasn't waiting at the gate for me, I hung out up at the gates for a brief bit, then, not wanting to miss my luggage, decided I'd run down to the baggage carousels and grab my bag, and hope Mom would meet me down there. She was not there, but having sewn a patch on my bag, I saw it from a distance on the carousel and grabbed it instantly, then waited at the information desk, a nice central location where one MUST pass before leaving. And waited. And waited. And waited. And worried. Had Mom paged. Started to worry more. If something had happened, there was no way to get in touch with me (ah, sometimes not having a cell phone does make a difference, I see); I didn't have any money to speak of, and my plane back doesn't go until Thursday. Paged again. Waited. And then, suddenly, there she was! She'd been waiting up closer to the gates, instead of waiting at the carousel (despite having told me on the phone she wasn't planning on checking, she had; and we're apparently some of the last people on earth who do so, since on my flight every single bit of space in the overheads was taken and they had to check things into the back), where she saw my plane was unloading right after hers (don't ask me how my mother's mind works).

The Wi-Fi connection at the Bellagio doesn't appear very strong. I kept losing it last night, and even now it's giving me a "low connection" warning, but at least it's working. I suppose they really want me to buy the no doubt overpriced ethernet cable that's in the mini bar...

Bellagio: Best hotel beds EVER. I see now the joy of really, really, REALLY high quality feather pillows. Ah.... Not to mention chocolates on the pillows and all that stuff. Very nice room. Amazing bathroom. The indoor flower garden ("Conservatory") is all made up for the Chinese New Year with very cool fountains and statues made of flowers and a big dog (Year of the Dog, and all) that barks and wags its tail. Behind there is a little dessert place with designer chocolates and beautiful pastries, gelato, and the World's Largest Chocolate Fountain, which flows from the ceiling with two different colors of chocolate (light and dark) and is really lovely.