LasVegasBuffetClub Blog

Here Piggy Piggy - More than you can eat in Las Vegas

William — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:00:49 +0000

Burning Man 2010, August 30 - September 6

General Post — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:00:51 +0000

The following is from “The Man’s” Website

Art of Burning Man
Illustration by Dominic Tinio

WHAT IS BURNING MAN?
Trying to explain what Burning Man is to someone who has never been to the event is a bit like trying to explain what a particular color looks like to someone who is blind. In this section you will find the peripheral definitions of what the event is as a whole, but to truly understand this event, one must participate. This site serves to try to paint a picture of the Burning Man experience to those who are new to the project, as well as to give those participants looking to keep the fire burning in their daily lives an environment in which to connect to their fellow community members. For a brief yet eloquent overview of the entire event from the time of arrival to the time of exodus, please read “What is Burning Man?”, an essay written by participant and one-time web team member, Molly Steenson. Please see archived sections for each year to read more about the art themes, art installations and theme camps for each year read more from The Burning Man Website

WHAT IS BURNING MAN?
The Burning Man Experience
By Molly Steenson

Hurtling down the road to the Black Rock Desert, the colors paint themselves like a spice cabinet — sage, dust, slate gray. Maybe you’re in your trusty car, the one that takes you to and from work every day. Perhaps you’ve got a spacious RV, your Motel 6 on wheels for the next days in the desert. Or you’re driving your glittering art car, complete with poker chips and mirroring to do a disco ball proud.

The two-lane highway turns off onto a new road. You drive slowly onto the playa, the 400 square mile expanse known as the Black Rock Desert. And there you’ve touched the terrain of what feels like another planet. You’re at the end — and the beginning — of your journey to Burning Man.

You belong here and you participate. You’re not the weirdest kid in the classroom — there’s always somebody there who’s thought up something you never even considered. You’re there to breathe art. Imagine an ice sculpture emitting glacial music — in the desert. Imagine the man, greeting you, neon and benevolence, watching over the community. You’re here to build a community that needs you and relies on you.

You’re here to survive. What happens to your brain and body when exposed to 107 degree heat, moisture wicking off your body and dehydrating you within minutes? You know and watch yourself. You drink water constantly and piss clear. You’ll want to reconsider drinking that alcohol (or taking those other substances) you brought with you — the mind-altering experience of Burning Man is its own drug. You slather yourself in sunblock before the sun’s rays turn up full blast. You bring enough food, water, and shelter because the elements of the new planet are harsh, and you will find no vending.

You’re here to create. Since nobody at Burning Man is a spectator, you’re here to build your own new world. You’ve built an egg for shelter, a suit made of light sticks, a car that looks like a shark’s fin. You’ve covered yourself in silver, you’re wearing a straw hat and a string of pearls, or maybe a skirt for the first time. You’re broadcasting Radio Free Burning Man — or another radio station read more from The Burning Man Website

Q. What is Burning Man?
A. Burning Man is an annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance. Check out What Is Burning Man on this web site for more information, read the other articles on this site and visit other web sites for a broader understanding of the Burning Man event. Before you contemplate attending, you probably want to read our Survival Guide—it’s not as easy as it looks! If you wish to truly understand and comprehend Burning Man, you need to attend the event — it’s unlike anything you’ve ever experienced!

Q. Where is Burning Man being held this year?
A. Burning Man will be held in the Black Rock Desert, 120 miles north of Reno, Nevada. The towns of Empire and Gerlach serve as guardians of the desert region.

Q. What are the dates for the event?
A. Burning Man is always held the week prior to and including Labor Day weekend. In 2010 the dates are Monday, August 30th to Monday, September 6th.

Q. What night does the Man burn?
A. Saturday night before Labor Day.

Q. What is this year’s theme?
A. Past themes have included Fertility, Time, Hell, Outer Space, The Body, The Floating World, Beyond Belief, Vault of Heaven, Psyche, Hope and Fear, The Green Man, The American Dream, and Evolution. The theme for 2010 is Metropolis.

Find tickets, photos and more information at The Official Burning Man Website

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See Jersey Boys for Free

General Post — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:00:27 +0000

Originally posted August 20, 2010 - See Jersey Boys for Free, story after this preface and photo.

This is an album of tunes from the early days. Most of the songs are from the early days before the [1]British Music Invasion and before the Beatles knocked The Four Seasons off the top rung of the hierarchy of the rock n’ roll music-business - when The Four Seasons were arguably the most popular “rock band.” The Vocal Group Hall of Fame has stated that “it [The Four Seasons] was the most popular rock band before The Beatles.” [2]It was also at a (brief) point on the timeline of American music when young Americans with Italian surnames occupied a sizable portion of the airwaves. [Perhaps the term Rock Band should be replaced with Vocal Group. The Beach Boys were certainly in the running: "from 1962 to early 1964, only the Beach Boys matched the Four Seasons in record sales in the United States" - Wiki. [Elvis is another story, he was in a class of his own. The first Number 1 rock n' roll record was Bill Haley & His Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" topping the charts around July of 1955. Elvis' first number one hit, "Heartbreak Hotel" was in 1956.]

This is just one person’s take.
“When the British Music Invasion’s initial - first few years - bombardment was over, the Italians - much to the delight of Chef Boyardee-America - were sent back to the streets of Philadelphia, New Jersey and other Italian, East Coast strongholds.” “The “I Did It My Way” dream was over.” “From that point on, if they wanted to play, many had to do it “someone else’s way,” or so it seems.” “A few groups and individuals survived - the crème de la crème.”

There’s a Denver Connection to The Four Seasons (at the end of this post.)] Some of the aforementioned is derived from a sociological theory that deserves much more depth and discussion. The LasVegasBuffetClub’s blog pages will present such an in-depth post in the future.

The Very Best of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
Photo is from StoneWallets.Org

Story from LasVegasAdvisor’s Anthony Curtis
“See Jersey Boys for Free: The story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons will celebrate its 1000th show at The Palazzo at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 28th. To celebrate the milestone performance, Jersey Boys will host the “Walk Like a Man” shoe drive, where fans can bring a pair of new children’s shoes to the theater lobby between noon and 5 p.m. on the day of the show and receive a complimentary ticket to that night’s performance in exchange. A maximum of two pairs of shoes per person will be allowed and up to 1,000 tickets will be distributed to fans who participate in the drive. All shoes will be donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas.” Story from LasVegasAdvisor’s Anthony Curtis
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From The Palazzo’s Official Website

JERSEY BOYS
Las Vegas welcomes the musical phenomenon Jersey Boys to its exclusive West Coast home at The Palazzo!

This super-hit blockbuster takes you up the charts, across the country and behind the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Discover the secret of a 40-year friendship: four blue-collar kids working their way from the streets of Newark to the heights of stardom and experience electrifying performances of the golden greats that took these guys all the way to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “My Eyes Adored You,” and more. As the New York Times says, “The crowd goes wild!”

“An Electrifying Seismic Sensation!” – LA Times
“A Bona Fide Mega Hit.” – San Diego Tribune
“A Cheering, Stomping, Hats in the Air Triumph!” – Toronto Star

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There’s a Denver connection to The Four Seasons.
Denver’s Jerry Corbetta joined The Four Seasons in 1980. Corbetta was in the Boulder, Colorado based rock and roll band, Sugarloaf, in the 1970s. Boulder’s Corbetta and Sugarloaf (named after a mountain in Boulder) are best known for two songs, both of which hit the top 10 charts in the United States: “Green-Eyed Lady” in the autumn of 1970 (their biggest hit, reaching #3 on the Billboard chart) and “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You” in 1975 (US #9.) - Wiki

Another Boulder connection:
Around the early 1960s an early incarnation of the Four Seasons was called “Frankie Valle and the Romans” - not to be confused with the Boulder-based band “The Romans” with members: John “Skip” Laguardia-manager/guitar, Dave Mariano-bass/vocals, Tommy Moore-drums, and Bill Carbone-guitar/vocals. Other occasional players with The Romans were: Doug Dolph-guitar, Paul Longo-saxophone and Frankie Reno-vocals.

Hard working, all but forgotten and now seemingly invisible small-town-band “The Romans” played the Denver/Boulder area’s so called 3.2 Circuit which referred to Denver’s liquor law permitting 18+ year olds, access to clubs that served only 3.2% beer. The age limit for hard-alcohol/6% beer clubs was 21. Most of these 3.2 clubs were owned by 60s premiere club owner, Nate Feld. Feld was from the family presently affiliated with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. Nate Feld was also a partner of Denver rock impresario Barry Fey.

The Romans band also played fraternity houses in Boulder as well as other nightclub venues in Denver, Colorado Springs, Ft. Collins, Greeley, Pueblo and surrounding areas. One of the more popular gigs at the time in Boulder (before the drug culture) was the infamous TOGA PARTY, made famous by the movie Animal House.

“I remember The Romans playing at a very hot Toga Party on the Hill in Boulder.” “They did a rousing version of the Kingsmen’s song “Louie Louie” that must have lasted for twenty minutes with a ten minute guitar solo on a Cherry-Red Guild Starfire.” “Everyone was dressed in bed sheets - for togas, beer was flowing from kegs of Coors, and everyone was going absolutely crazy.” Psychedelics were just on the horizon.

*The 60sOfficialSite.com says
[1]Though generally not credited with starting the “Invasion”, Dusty Springfield was one of the first British artist[sic] to have significant success in the U.S., with her hit single “I Only Want to Be with You”, released in November 1963.

I spent half of my life in love (as a fan) with Dusty Springfield and still am, I agree and I’d like to add:
“In 1962, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was “Stranger on the Shore,” by Mr. Acker Bilk. It was the first British hit to make the top of the U.S. charts” - PugetSoundRadio.com

I’ve always realized the irony: (British) Stranger on the (American) Shore. This was the shot heard ’round the world.
[MUSICAL NOTES INSERTED HERE] How lo—ng - - - - has this bee’n go—ing on???

[2]Strong in the 1940s and 50s, continuing into the 60s, starting to fade by the 1970s.

Some of this information was written by an artist-type individual. He makes no claims to intelligence nor does he claim any degrees of higher education. And the professors say, Uh, You really don’t have to tell us that.

Visit The Palazzo’s Official Website
Visit the main pages of the LasVegasBuffetClub

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Here are a couple of interesting paragraphs from Wiki pages:

Influence
“The British Invasion had a profound impact on the shape of popular music. It helped internationalize the production of rock and roll, establishing the British popular music industry as a viable centre of musical creativity,[] and opening the door for subsequent British and Irish performers to achieve international success.[] In America the Invasion arguably spelled the end of such scenes as instrumental surf music, vocal girl groups and (for a time) the teen idols that had dominated the American charts in the late 1950s and 60s.[] It dented the careers of established R&B acts like Fats Domino and Chubby Checker and temporarily derailed the chart success of surviving rock and roll acts, including Elvis Presley.[] It prompted many existing garage rock bands to adopt a sound with a British Invasion inflection, and inspired many other groups to form, creating a scene from which many major American acts of the next decade would emerge.[] The British Invasion also played a major part in the rise of a distinct genre of rock music, and cemented the primacy of the rock group, based around guitars and drums and producing their own material as singer-songwriters.”[]
“Though a majority of the acts associated with the invasion did not survive its end, many others would become icons of rock music.”[]

Criticism
“That the sound of British beat bands was not radically different from American groups like The Beach Boys, and damaged the careers of African American and female artists,[] have been the subject of criticism of the invasion in the United States. American singer Willy DeVille said the invaders played a watered down version of American music and pushed aside talented American artists such as Ben E. King and Smokey Robinson, adding that Americans, by favoring “anything that fucking glittered”, fell for a “big money complicated political con game”.”[]
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All rights reserved.

The moon will be full Tuesday, August 24, 2010

William — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:10:55 +0000

Just the Full Moon

The moon will be 100% full Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 10:05 A.M. Las Vegas time.

From Western Washington University:
“American Indians gave names to each of the full moons to keep track of the passing year. The names are associated with the entire month until the next full moon occurs. Since a lunar month averages 29 days, the dates of the moons change from year to year. Here are titles most closely associated with calendar months.”

Back East

Creek Children
Western Washington University

The Native American Creek (Southeast, Alabama, Georgia) refer to the August full moon as: “big ripening moon.” No name is given for the August moon in the Creek language. (Nor is there a name given for the tea-house.)

From The Old Farmer’s Almanac:
Full Sturgeon Moon
Some Native American tribes knew that the sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this full Moon. Others called it the Green Corn Moon or the Grain Moon.

Out West

Hopi Children
Western Washington University

In the Hopi (Southwest, Arizona) language the name for August’s full moon is: “paamuya” or “moon of joyful.”

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All About the Moon, by Bob Berman - Source: The 2005 Old Farmer’s Almanac.
Here are some interesting facts from The Old Farmer’s Almanac:

“With plans in the works for man to return to the Moon by 2020, what better time to review some Moon facts about our favorite celestial body?”
Diameter: 2,160 miles
This is about the distance from Washington, D.C., to the Rocky Mountains.
Average Orbital Speed: 2,287 miles per hour
This number is very close to the Moon’s diameter, making it the only known celestial body that moves through space at its own width per hour. This motion is readily visible from Earth, even to the naked eye, as the Moon shifts its position against the background stars.
Synodic Period, or Lunar Month: 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 2.8 seconds
This is the average period from one new Moon to the next. read more from The Old Farmer’s Almanac

Some information is from Western Washington University and The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
Hello Linda…

Native American Reservation Customer Tech Support

William — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:00:43 +0000

Originally published on July 26th, 2010.

Sioux Chief Red Cloud

Red Cloud (Lakota: Maȟpíya Lúta), (1822 – December 10, 1909) was a war leader of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux)

The other night I was watching one of those BIO channels on the tube, maybe it was The BIO channel or The History Channel, it doesn’t really matter.

Anyway, the show was about extreme poverty at the Pine Ridge Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. The program also focused on gangs and gangsters on the reservation.

I got to thinking (sorry ’bout that “got to”) and some thoughts came into being. I might be late to the table and if this has already happened, so be it. I’d like to, at least, plant a seed and see if it blossoms.

Here’s the deal: I don’t really have anything against customer support East Indians or customer support people from other foreign countries, but I probably have a bias for our Native American Indians. Long story short: Why aren’t we utilizing Native Americans on the Reservations for outsourced Customer Support for American companies?

In other words, why doesn’t Microsoft, Bill Gates etal step up to the plate and outsource Customer Support work to the Native American Reservation peoples. I’m not aiming an arrow at Bill Gates and Microsoft, just using that example for obvious reasons.

The computer companies etc. could pay for the training, the government could kick in a few bucks and the Native Casinos could provide a few grants. The loop stays within the USA. How could this not be a WIN-WIN .

I’m not so naive as to think that I have come up with a totally new idea, but regardless of who thought of it first, I think it’s an idea that has to get some Etime. Please pass it on if you agree.

New York times article from December 13, 2009
Gang Violence Grows on an Indian Reservation
PINE RIDGE, S.D. — Richard Wilson has been a pallbearer for at least five of his “homeboys” in the North Side Tre Tre Gangster Crips, a Sioux imitation of a notorious Denver gang.

One 15-year-old member was mauled by rivals. A 17-year-old shot himself; another, on a cocaine binge and firing wildly, was shot by the police. One died in a drunken car wreck, and another, a founder of the gang named Gaylord, was stabbed to death at 27. read more from the Times

THE PALLBEARER Richard Wilson, left, has carried the coffins of five gang members from Pine Ridge, S.D. At right, his half-brother, Richard Lame.

The photo of Chief Red Cloud was used to honor the past in general.

Make a donation to The Pine Ridge Reservation thru the Friends of Pine Ridge website.
Pine Ridge Chamber of Commerce Official Website.

Double your Kellie

William — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:00:47 +0000

Frivolous Friday The 13th

Double your Kellie
Original photo is from Denver’s TV Channel 2, The DEUCE

Since a post the LasVegasBuffetClub did on Denver news chick Kellie MacMullen created so much interest, I thought I’d Double your Kellie. Here’s the original photo from that post and the mirror image, side by side. Thanks to Photoshop, I just flipped the original and uploaded it along with the mirror image to a double wide canvas.
(The original is on the left)

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Cosmopolitan Hotel Casino Las Vegas

General Post — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:00:50 +0000

Cosmopolitan Resort Las Vegas, artist's rendering from GreatLasVegasCondos.Com

The following is a press release from The Cosmopolitan Hotel Casino Las Vegas, the new resort is just south of The Bellagio on Las Vegas Boulevard.

THE COSMOPOLITAN OF LAS VEGAS OPENING DECEMBER 2010 SETS NEW STANDARD AMONG LAS VEGAS RESORTS

New Luxury Resort Will Feature Inspired Designs, Original Collection of Diverse Dining Experiences and Expansive Private Terraces Overlooking the Las Vegas Strip

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (May 2010) – The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas pairs stylish design with an adventurous and welcoming spirit – delivering a decidedly different kind of Las Vegas experience. The new 2,995-room resort will feature oversized residential style living space with expansive one-of-a-kind private terraces and spectacular designs by acclaimed interior architects David Rockwell, Jeffrey Beers, Adam D.Tihany and the Friedmutter Group. Guests will enjoy diverse dining experiences from the country’s top chefs - all new to Las Vegas, unprecedented services and amenities, innovative new membership offerings, three distinct pool environments, a 110,000 square foot casino and breathtaking views of the Strip at every turn. The resort will first welcome guests in December 2010.

Situated at the heart of the Strip, The Cosmopolitan’s uniquely vertical multi-tower design on just 8.7 acres of land boasts sweeping views of the Las Vegas skyline, allowing guests to feel that they are truly at the epicenter of the vibrant city while maintaining a boutique style footprint. “The Cosmopolitan is about creating a resort experience that is truly different than anything that exists right now in Las Vegas,” says John Unwin, CEO of The Cosmopolitan. “When you combine spacious suites, high design from talent like David Rockwell, a curated award-winning dining collection, unparalleled service and gaming, we know we are giving guests an experience that’s been missing in Las Vegas and harkens back to an era when guests felt connected, inspired and engaged by their resort.”

The Cosmopolitan will offer culinary concepts from some of the country’s top chefs and restaurant brands, each opening for the first time in Las Vegas. To date, the prestigious roster will include: Jaleo and China Poblano, a new Chinese-Mexican fusion concept, both by Chef José Andrés, Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill by restaurateurs Bruce and Eric Bromberg; Comme Ça by acclaimed Los Angeles chef David Myers; New York City’s Estiatorio Milos by restaurateur Costas Spiliadis; Scarpetta and D.O.C.G., a new casual wine bar, both by award-winning chef Scott Conant; and popular steakhouse STK from The One Group.

The 50-story East and West towers will be comprised of oversized hotel and condominium-style rooms ranging in size from 730 square feet to over 5400 square feet in addition to ten three-story bungalow-style suites adjacent to the west pool deck. Contemporary bespoke room décor by David Rockwell will feature spacious living areas, luxurious bathrooms, a hundred small but unique touches, and many with expansive terraces overlooking the heart of the Strip. Each room features state-of-the-art technology control panels, plasma-screen televisions, entertainment system, wireless internet and a custom in-room bar. The oversized bathrooms offer moments of unexpected tranquility combined with breathtaking views - Japanese soaking tubs, rain showers and marble floors complete the guest bath experience.

Purchased by Deutsche Bank in August 2008, The Cosmopolitan consists of 2,995 rooms, nightclub and ultra lounge, 150,000 square feet of convention and banquet facilities, restaurants, 50,000 square foot spa, salon and fitness center, retail and three pool environments. The Cosmopolitan will operate under the direction of John Unwin, CEO, with more than 30 years of management experience in the hospitality industry after serving most recently as general manager of neighboring casino giant Caesars Palace for more than five years.

“Deutsche Bank concluded that building a new brand, with a unique identity and guest experience, was central to the overall vision for The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas,” says John Gallagher, Director in Deutsche Bank’s media relations group. “As a result, rather than partnering with a existing hotel brand, the Bank brought on some of the best executives in the gaming and lodging space to form a highly experienced management and operations team, led by John Unwin. We’re confident that this team will help The Cosmopolitan become a premier feature of the city’s business and entertainment landscape. “

Situated at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is located at 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. South directly between CityCenter and the Bellagio. The resort’s uniquely vertical multi-tower design offers spectacular views of the vibrant city. The new 2,995-room resort features oversized residential-style living spaces with expansive, one-of-a-kind private terraces. Resort features include 100,000 square feet of casino space; 60,000 square feet of world class shopping; 43,000 square feet of spa, healthclub and salon offerings; three unique pool experiences and multi-level integrated nightclubs. Signature restaurants include: Jaleo and China Poblano restaurants by Chef José Andrés, Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill by restaurateurs Bruce and Eric Bromberg; Comme Ça by Los Angeles chef David Myers; New York City’s Estiatorio Milos by restaurateur Costas Spiliadis; Scarpetta and D.O.C.G. by award-winning chef Scott Conant; and popular steakhouse STK from The One Group.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Hotel Casino Official Website

10th Annual Colorado Dragon Boat Festival

General Post — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:00:50 +0000

Colorado Dragon Boat Festival
July 24-25 at Sloan’s Lake Park in Denver
Story and photographs are from the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival’s Official Website
July 25 Full moon information at the bottom of this page.

Flag Catching Dragon Boat

Colorado Dragon Boat Festival:
Celebrating Colorado’s Asian Pacific American Communities for 10 Years

The Colorado Dragon Boat Festival (CDBF) has become, in 10 years, the most recognized and celebrated Asian American/Pacific Islander cultural event in the Rocky Mountain region. From an audience of 15,000 in its first year, 2001, the Festival has grown to over 100,000 spectators from throughout the region. Since inception, it has received many accolades and awards. For example, Westword anointed the Festival “Best New Festival” of 2001. The Rocky Mountain News called it the “Best City Festival” in 2003. And, in 2007, 5280 magazine describes Dragon Boat as “One of Colorado’s greatest festivals…”

Dragon Boat drummer

There have been other Asian Pacific American events in the Denver metro area, but none with the scope and scale of CDBF. The Aurora Asian/Pacific Community Partnership with partners Denver Film Society and the City of Aurora hosted the Aurora Asian Film Festival, a showcase for recent theatrical films with Asian themes for many years. The film festival is currently on hiatus. The Asian Pacific Development Center mounted Passport to Asia which included Asian American entertainments and vendors. At its peak, Passport to Asia drew 10,000 The Cherry Blossom Festival at Sakura Square has been a Denver tradition for over 35 years. Sponsored by Tri-State/Denver Buddhist Temple, the still-thriving Cherry Blossom Festival draws 25,000 spectators to celebrate Japanese-American culture, food, music, dance, arts and crafts.

CDBF Dancer

Planning for a dragon boat festival began in 2000. Ding Wen Hsu, then president of the Chinese American Council of Colorado, had heard that John Chin, then president of the Denver Chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans, was working with Howie Solow, founder and chief instructor of the Shaolin Hung Mei Kung Fu Association, on developing a dragon boat festival in Denver. She contacted John Chin to discuss collaboration as she was interested in doing such a festival

When the three festival founders met, they found that they shared a common festival vision. All three believed that the festival should be a Pan-Asian event celebrating all of Colorado’s Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Moreover, they felt that the festival needed to be “community-owned” with local AAPI communities guiding the goals and direction of the festival. They also envisioned three key elements as fundamental to the success of the festival: dragon boat racing using traditional dragon boats; an entertainment stage featuring local Asian Pacific American groups; and a marketplace with the foods, crafts and other merchandise of local AAPI businesses. read more from the CDBF Official Website

CDBF Food Vendor

One of the ongoing highlights of each year’s Colorado Dragon Boat Festival has been the opportunity to eat your way across Asia and the Pacific Islands — bite by bite. Over the years, Taste of Asia has featured vendors serving up the cuisines of China, Korea, Vietnam, Philippines, India, Japan, Hawai’i, Laos, Thailand and oh yes, the good ol’ USA (and Mexico!).

2010 Colorado Dragon Boat Poster

Colorado Dragon Boat Festival’s Official Website
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The Moon will be 100% full on July 25th, 2010 at 6:37 PM Las Vegas, Nevada time.

Was the “Mel Gibson tape” redone?

William — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 05:00:14 +0000

The following image is a screen shot of a generic, music sound file. It is not the Mel Gibson vocal, audio file for the tape that has been in the media for the past several days. A vocal file has clusters of peaks and valleys with more white space in between “sounds.”

I’m not a bona fide audio engineer, however I’ve been way down in the bottoms of audio files and I know what can be done with a few strokes of a computer keyboard or mouse. I’m going to weigh in on the Mel Gibson tapes.

When I first heard the tapes I thought that he sounded like an animal in a trap, screaming in vain, not fully cognizant of the fact that he is trapped in the futility of trying to best a vindictive? woman.

Now I’m wondering (after hearing more of the tape) if the tape was edited. I’m thinking: is it possible that someone removed Oksana Grigoriev’s dialogue from the tape (either by erasure or by just lowering the volume handles,) re-recorded her “part” then mixed it into the original audio file containing gibson’s voice? In other words “a mixed overdub.”

Is it also possible that Grigoriev’s words were provocative on a (the original) sound track which was later altered to present a softer speaking voice (and words) which were more defensive than provocative?

It’s not that tough to do. Nor would it be that tough to find someone who could do it, especially in Hollywood. There seems to be just too much difference in the sound quality of the two voices. I realize that the difference could be due to the microphone’s close proximity to Grigoriev.

There’s just something about the woman’s (too) calm, collected, easy manner of speaking that doesn’t ring true. If I’m totally wrong I apologize to the woman.

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Casino owner Riviera Holdings files for Chapter 11

William — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:00:49 +0000

Associated Press 07.13.10, 02:58 PM EDT

Apparently the Riviera, Black Hawk Casino in the Colorado (made over) gaming town of Black Hawk is filing for Chapter 11 backruptcy along with it’s older sibling, The Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas Nevada. The parent company is Riviera Holdings.

Here’s a story from Associated Press 07.13.10, 02:58 PM EDT

LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas and Colorado casino owner Riviera Holdings Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

Company subsidiaries Riviera Operating Corp. and Riviera Black Hawk Inc. also filed Monday for reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Las Vegas. They own the 2,075-room Riviera hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip and the Riviera Black Hawk in Colorado.

The filings say the planned restructuring is supported by holders of more than two-thirds of nearly $248 million in debt under a June 2007 senior credit facility.

That could let Riviera Las Vegas and Riviera Black Hawk continue to operate during the bankruptcy process.

The company reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late last year that it was trying to restructure debt to avoid filing for bankruptcy.

Yea, probably a Chapter 11 Bankruptsy for the RIV. (YAWN)

Casinos rise and fall, make a lot of money, go bankrupt then miraculously reappear, feeling all better now.

In the meantime the small investors loose all their money, the employees get screwed and the fat cats at the top meet at steak houses and smoke cigars after dinner. Nothing wrong with steak houses or cigars (other than the obligatory PC reasons, like this) it’s just in the way they do it.

The RIV ain’t going anywhere unless it’s just to roll the properties over for new construction, or a fatter cat buys them out.

That’s just my opinion.