Steve Fey's Live From Las Vegas!

It still wouldn't be this good. If you don't normally care for ballet, here are a few points:

1. Swan lake has cool music.
2. These guys really are better than the folks in Cirque.
3. It's only six minutes or so.
   
4. It's free, for gosh sakes.

Labels: Info, Reviews

Over at Living Las Vegas, Tami has just posted a review of The World's Largest Gift Shop, so I'm not going to waste space reviewing it. I am going to waste space posting some of the pictures that I took but Tami didn't use. It's an interesting shop, although, at 40,000 square feet, it's a lot smaller than, say Wall Drug, which boasts 76,000 square feet. Still, they have a copyright on the phrase, so they can use it all they want.

Here's a view of part of the place, that Tami left out. It's not as good as the shot she used, but hey, she used it.  The General Store has some gift items, but mostly it's a place to buy convenience store stuff, plus there's a liquor store attached to it. Believe it or not, there aren't that many actual liquor stores in Nevada, because grocery stores can sell the stuff. Of course, there are no restrictions on hours of operation, either, so you can go to the local supermarket and get a case of booze any time you want one. So, the liquor store at Bonanza Gifts is a slight oddity.

You can also see a bit of the front of "Naughty Town," which is where bachelorette parties can be stocked with the naughty stuff that such a party requires. It isn't a full-blown adult toy store, which we do have a lot of in Vegas, but it is risque enough that they keep anyone under eighteen outside.

What you can't see is the Minnetonka Moccasin shop (yep) or the large gift shop that is just behind me in this photo. Try looking behind your monitor, maybe. It's humongous. To the right is a picture of a portion of the T-Shirt wall. This is just next to the CSI merchandise, which you can find pictured on Tami's posting.

A lot of what they have is pretty cheap, but not everything. For instance, a plastic replica of the iconic Welcome sign is over forty bucks, but I got one at Walgreens for thirty. Still, where else are you going to go for your bacon flavored mints? Your gag gifts? Your foul-mouthed parrots? Your seemingly infinite selection of Las Vegas themed merchandise? You can even get your picture taken with the King. You can't touch him, though. Being dead obviously makes one delicate.

The shop is on the Northwest corner of Sahara and Las Vegas Boulevard, on the North end of the Strip. If you want to read more, read Tami's post, or click the title of this post to go to the store's website.

Later, y'all

Steve

Labels: Las Vegas, Reviews

Actually I'm not writing this one. I'm just pointing you to an article by Megan Edwards over on Living Las Vegas about charity work by the Variety Club Tent 39, which is located in Las Vegas. It's a different side of Vegas, and maybe even of some of our, um, less than upstanding founders. Check it out!

Steve

Labels: Info, Las Vegas

If you've followed me over on Living-Las-Vegas you may have read my report about running the Pittman Wash. Even if you haven't read that article (although you really should, of course) you might be interested in the existence of the Las Vegas Track Club. That there would be a running club in the blazing Mojave desert is probably a surprise to some. But, like any people who live in a less-than-hospitable climate, there is a determination amongst valley residents to soldier on with the run even when it's too hot to take a walk. It's sort of like the Winter Carnival in St. Paul, Minnesota: to Hell with the weather, we're gonna have fun, dammit!


Here, for instance, is a picture I took of a fellow club member running along a trail called the Pittman Wash Trail, in Henderson. I know, I've moved to the big city, but I still return to Henderson every Sunday morning to run this very trail. Of course, there's no thermometer visible in this picture, but I can assure you that the Pittman Wash experiences temperatures in excess of 110 degrees during the summer. Yet, my friend, and I, keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

The track club sponsors a number of events during the year. As I write, for example, the web site is advertising the annual "Forest Run Challenge" on Mount Charleston. That's one way to get by in the desert heat, of course: escape it by going up. I've run a race on that mountain, on a July morning when it was chilly as all get out. Trust me when I say that the cold alone is worth the entry fee. That race was the annual Notch Run, a four-mile grueling ascent at altitude that should be experienced if you want to believe it. (They used to run it downhill, until multiple injuries persuaded them to reverse the course.) They also sponsor a regular series of training runs, from informal to marathon level, that many runners take advantage of simply to stay in condition for a race now and again. 

So if you're a runner looking for some companions for our essentially lonely hobby, or if you're considering moving to our valley and wondering if you can keep up your routine of sprints and fartlek, you may rest assured that the Las Vegas Track Club is here to serve you.

A hairy me, I mean. I noticed this phenomenon the first time I trained for a marathon run, in 2006. This year I'm running the Las Vegas Marathon for the third time, and back on the street for many miles per week. Seventeen miles next Sunday morning is what the schedule calls for, for instance. There are weekday runs, too. That first year, just about this time of the training program, I noticed that I looked more hairy than I had. In fact, I wasn't more hairy, but the hair that I had was regaining it's color. The first thing I noticed that time was that my lower legs looked like they belonged to a chimpanzee! Well, last year I didn't run, and apparently I faded out again, because now I again notice that all the little hairs on my arms and legs have darkened up wonderfully. Eeekah, bro!

Now the odd thing is that it's not just dark again, but it's darker than it ever has been. I have no idea what is happening internally to cause such a thing. I do know that I was a tow headed little kid, so maybe it's just part of an ongoing process of darkening hair that's been interrupted by age-related bleaching. It's odd, I'll tell you that. Even my beard is back to being more grizzled than white as the dark strands are coming to dominate. Somebody told me once that exercise stimulates human growth hormone (HGH) so that may be the reason. Under the title of this post is a link to an article about a study that found that running keeps older people healthy longer. I think I read a few years ago, but can't find it just now, that intermittent heavy exercise has an effect on the signs of aging.

So, if you are a member of my age obsessed generation, how willing are you to jump up out of the recliner and pound pavement for your health? A little bit? I started running again when my doctor threatened me with another half-century of life, when I was already fifty-six. I had no intention of living so long, but I figured that I might as well stay healthy if I was stuck with being here. I mention that just to say that I had no intention of looking younger than I am, nor any idea that I would. Still, it's a nice bonus, innit? So come on, you aging, youth-obsessed boomers out there: get up and do something!

There, that's telling 'em.

Labels: Running, Social Commentary

Last night I took both daughters and one boyfriend down to Fremont Street for one more look at the Summer of '69. The elder daughter had never seen the place, that she could remember (she had, really) and she was tremendously impressed with the show. I said the last time how the shows this summer were the best they've ever presented. One reason is the new, higher definition screen, of course. Also, I actually paid attention to the show about Don McClean's American Pie this time, and I'm impressed with the amount of research and work that went into the production. That particular show will still be playing for a couple of weeks yet, I believe. You can check the schedule on the experience site, under the title of this post.

The picture above is of my daughter Kate watching the show. Here below is a sample taken from the middle of the production. The images are of actual menu pages from Las Vegas restaurants of the 1960s. The resolution is better than my cell phone picture would indicate. You can actually read the selections. The original Las Vegas is coming back, and if we keep getting productions like this summer's "Summer of '69 Returns," it will come back even better and faster. Kudos to the Experience for a great production!

Labels: Vegas Life