A Pseudo James Bond Assassin Scene in Las Vegas

Last week while in "Fabulous Las Vegas" I went to dinner at a restaurant called Mixx. It's on the 64th floor of "THE Hotel",  a really nice hotel attached to Mandalay Bay Casino, where my customers were staying. I wanted to take them to a nice restaurant with a great view, and Mixx sure delivers, in spades. This one photo is from the roof top, looking at the hotel sign, at the 64th floor. You can see some of Vegas down below in the reflection of the building's mirrored windows. Everything was twinkling, it looked so serene. I just love city-scape scenes. 

After dinner we left the restaurant and walked past the lounge which had a small dance floor- it was completely empty, as the hour was still young. We looked at the light pattern on the dance floor and someone remarked at it looked sort of like a scene from a James Bond movie, or a a classic crime drama. We took turns making cracks, taking photos and telling stories as we killed time waiting for the elevator that seemed to take forever. For some reason I was inspired to take this photo, posed to look like one of those victims in a 007 movie. I sprawled out in the center of the light pattern, as someone snapped the photo. We all laughed about it and thought ourselves terribly clever. Fortunately the elevator finally arrived and away we went back down to the ground floor. I don't know why I felt so compelled to post this photo, but it still seemed funny to me, nearly a week later. I'm guessing the casting agents of the next James Bond film won't be calling me if they happen to see this photo. Not only is it cliche and over-the-top but I wasn't wearing a tailored suit, so I'm afraid I just look dead common. Oh well, so much for my big cinematic moment.

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Liberace Museum to Close its Doors

I saw this press release in Saturday's New York Times. It saddened me. Liberace is part of Palm Springs history, he lived here in the desert, in fact his beautiful home is just a stone's throw from where I live (see photo above left). Maybe we can get the Las Vegas Museum to relocate it to Palm Springs...Here is their press release:

LIBERACE MUSEUM TO CLOSE ITS DOORS OCT. 17 

 Las Vegas – After 31 years of operation, the Liberace Museum will close its doors Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010 to focus its monetary contributions on the Liberace Foundation.
 

Due to the economic downturn and the decline in the number of visitors, the Museum is forced to close the space and focus primarily on its dedication to the Foundation and the donation of scholarships.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, we feel it is important to close the Museum to ensure the future of the Liberace Foundation and to keep the legacy of Liberace alive through its continued scholarship program,” said Jeff Koep, chair of the Liberace Foundation. “Since the inception of the foundation 34 years ago, more than $6 million in scholarships have been awarded to 2,700 students, and we will continue to award scholarships to deserving individuals.”

The memorabilia at the Liberace Museum will be maintained. A national touring exhibit is planned, and details will be announced at a later time. The board will also continue to research options for a location change to make the Museum more accessible to potential patrons.

“The traveling exhibit is an exciting way to share the life and legacy of Liberace while providing an income stream for the Foundation,” said Koep. “In no way do we intend to close the doors and not continue to explore options that will allow us to reopen at a later date.” The Museum hours will be extended until the closing date, which will be announced at a later time.
 

About the Liberace Foundation:
The Liberace Museum is a non-profit organization that supports the mission of The Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts which has funded scholarships since 1976. The scholarship program has provided nearly $6 million in scholarships, touching the lives of more than 2,700 students from 120 of the nation's premier institutions. For more information, to make a donation and to become a supporter of the Liberace Foundation, call 702.798.5595, visit the website at www.liberace.org, or email info@liberace.org.
For old time's sake- watch this quick video clip of the great Liberace performing:



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Rick's Roadshow: Las Vegas, Revisited.

Last week I was back in Fabulous Las Vegas attending a pet industry trade show. I've been so busy that I've scarcely had time to write much, although I did manage to snap a few photos worth sharing here. This first photo above left is of the Luxor hotel and casino. If you've never been to Vegas, it is the city of lights and sights. On one street you can find all sorts of themes: an Egyptian style pyramid, replicas of a NY city skyline, the Eiffel Tower, St Mark's Square in Venice, and Cesar's Palce (sort of). One night I had a roof top dinner with friends and enjoyed this spectacular view of the famous strip, overlooking the Luxor pyramid. It is quite the sight to see.

The next night was sushi at a hot restaurant called Shibuya, located at the MGM Grand hotel. Regular readers know I like some types of sushi, but when it gets too wierd I stop eating. Lucky for me there were mostly more "normal" types of sushi. They had such interesting presentations in everything they served. Check out these two platters- so colorful and inviting. Too bad some of it was slimy, raw fish, I was really craving a steak.

All in all, it was a fun evening. Later we went out for a quick drink, when I took this photo below. I just like the way the lights blurred.

It seems artsy without being too psychadellic. Anyway that's all for this post. I'm in Boulder, Colorado today so busy as a bee once again. Thanks for stopping by.

-Rick Rockhill

My Fabulous Las Vegas Brief Recap

As I mentioned yesterday I just returned from a few days in Fabulous Las Vegas. It was a business trip to attend the Natural Marketplace Conference, which I've attended for the past four years. I barely had much time for myself, but one evening after a few unlucky hours in the casino I went for a stroll on the famous Las Vegas Strip. Of course I'd been to Vegas a zillion times, and have another business trip planned there in September too. With all the wonderful lights on the strip, for some reason it was the old Flamingo hotel and casino that appealed to me on this particular night. Maybe it was the angle at which I approached it. Maybe it was the sign of Donny and Marie Osmond on the marquee. I don't really know, but I did take this photo for your viewing pleasure.

The Venetian Hotel

above: With a name like Venetian, I suppose you figured out it is supposed to look like Venice, Italy. They have canals in front and inside portions of the mall area as well. Visitors can take gondola rides and enjoy the sights.

above and below: One area within The Venetian has these colorful umbrellas suspended from the ceiling over a beautiful flower garden and waterfall.

above: more umbrellas in the hotel shopping area. I'm not sure what the reference was, I was too busy to stop. You see I was headed to see the Criss Angel "Believe" illusion/magic show at the Luxor hotel, and had no time to stop and ask silly questions. Criss Angel was an interesting act. He has some obsession with white rabbits. They were everywhere. Statues, images, posters and people dressed up in rabbit costumes hopping all over the stage. His magic act was decent, although being the cynic that I am, I question everything. Unless it is real magic I guess I'll never totally be impressed. The part with birds appearing out of his sleeve was laughable, but then again he must have had a dozen birds in his shirt, so I guess that is cool enough. Not to mention that they were all trained to fly off his hand over to a stage tree. The part of his act with the nonsense of his supposed "electric shock" from a silly cage with a lightning globe voltage type zapp was so ridiculous I nearly fell asleep in my chair. My advice is to skip Criss Angel and catch something else. Where is Tom Jones when you need him?

-Rick Rockhill