Man in The Moon
revised February 23, 2010
(This post was originally published by the LasVegasBuffetClub in November, 2007) and republished July 10, 2009
—THIS MONTH’S FULL MOON (THE FULL SNOW MOON) WILL BE 100% FULL ON FEBRUARY TWENTY EIGHTH (2010)—
At a time when I was making posters, I happened to take a digital (camcorder) photo of a Full Moon. This was in the mid 90s in Las Vegas, Nevada. The clip was shot from the CALIFORNIA HOTEL’S RV Park, in downtown Las Vegas, around midnight.
Many times, over the years, I’ve had the occasion to process the image with a Photoshop-type program. At some point I saw a face of “THE MAN IN THE MOON” - maybe the face I’d heard about since I was a little kid. I never quite knew exactly what the face looked like, although I thought I did. I always thought that I vaguely saw something that looked like a face. It had two big O’s for eyes (Mares Serenitatis and Tranquillitatis) and a big O (Mare Nubium) for a mouth…It seems as though everyone sees a different face - or a rabbit, dog or lion.
Seeing the moon up close and personal via the photographic image, several faces presented themselves for perusal. The following is my take on those faces in the Moon:
Turns out that, at least, one imaginative glance reveals a small chinned (or chinless) figure wearing “shades.” It sort of reminds me of Phil Spector wearing sunglasses…Actually, there are several faces depending on the quality/resolution of the image…The ears, noses, eyes and other features of these “faces” are the darker patches (flat surfaces) of the moon or “seas” (Mare - Maria.)
The aforementioned photo is represented by a reproduction (left) of that clip, pretty much as it looked that night in Las Vegas. Although is has been minimally processed the image is a good representaion of how the full moon appears on any (Full Moon) night with slight magnification.
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……….The image (on the right) is offered with exaggerated graphics to help define the first face: The figure’s right sunglass lens (the circle on the upper left) is Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity,) the circle on the upper right (figure’s left lens) is Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of tranquillity) and Mare Vaporum (Sea of Vapours) is the figure’s nose (no graphic.)
Doing a mind/sight shift, there also seems to be an image (below left) of a face that looks very much like Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse - looking down toward 8 o’clock. In this view the sunglass lenses (Mares Tranquillitatis & Serenitatis) become Mickey’s ears and Mare Vaporum is Mickey’s left eye (exagerated graphics show ears, eye and nose.)
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……….BBC image on the right is of a 14th Century fresco from Austria - click to read more…
Steamboat Willie
This is an image from Walt Disneys’ 1928 film: “Steamboat Willie” - MoMA’s website.
Watch “Steamboat Willie” on YouTube.
Next is an image of the Full Moon from SEDS’ website.
Click this to access: SEDS” website…
“LOOKS LIKE PHIL OR MICKEY TO ME.”…NOAO image credits…
There’s another image of a face just under Mickey’s eye (facing left with a protruding tongue, two eyes, a nose and a well defined chin.)
“Thus, in a very real sense, Iwerks can be called true the creator [sic] of Mickey Mouse because Iwerks, and not Disney, originated the character?” read entire story… (This fact is not necessarily relevant to the main point:) All of the faces are interesting. The Mickey Mouse face begs questioning. My question is: Did Walt Disney / UB Iwerks get their inspiration for the Mickey Mouse character from an image on the Moon?
Walt Disney Helped Wernher von Braun Sell Americans on Space…
(Another) Article on Von Braun and Walt Disney…
(If you know anything about the Mickey Mouse/Moon connection, please e-mail: www.lasvegasbuffetclub@msn.com)
Moon Names
“This is not a scientific page; It’s an artist’s page.”
—THIS MONTH’S FULL MOON WILL BE 100% FULL ON FEBRUARY TWENTY EIGHTH (2010)—
Take me to The LasVegasBuffetClub’s home page…
copyright-2010-LasVegasBuffetClub - all rights reserved.
February 20, 2010
“Elvis Presley is back in Viva Elvis at Aria”
reposted from Robin Leach’s blog - VegasDeluxe
Posted February 20, 2010 • 4:55 a.m. by Don Chareunsy
Cirque du Soleil's Viva Elvis at MGM CityCenter's Aria
Photo: Julie Aucoin/Cirque du Soleil
Mr. Vegas DeLuxe Robin Leach and videographer Trent Ogle were on the 90-feet-long blue carpet (in a nod to the Elvis Presley hit “Blue Suede Shoes”) for the world premiere of Viva Elvis, Cirque du Soleil’s seventh spectacular on the Strip, last night at MGM CityCenter’s Aria watch video and read more on VegasDeluxe
February 15, 2010
Imperial Chinese Restaurant in Denver, Colorado
Imperial Chinese Restaurant
Imperial Chinese Restaurant
431 S. Broadway
Denver, Colorado 80209
Excerpt is from The Imperial’s website
“Since the Imperial Chinese Restaurant made its debut in 1985, it has become, quite simply, the standard by which all other Denver Chinese cuisine is judged. Owner Johnny Hsu, who has created a tradition of large scale, fine Asian establishments and owns the exquiste Palace Chinese Restaurant in south Denver. And while diners have remained loyal over the past two decades, so have the restaurant critics.” read more from The Imperial’s Official Website
The other night, as we were celebrating *2x’s birthday - on Chinese New Year’s Eve - I was thinking that dining at the Imperial feels more like dining in a high-end hotel restaurant in Las Vegas. The high-def energy in this place is amazing. Maybe it’s the collective brain energy of the extra intelligent people who dine here.
Quality is a word that comes to mind when thinking of The Imperial Chinese Restaurant. From the entrance and the reservations-desk to the booths, the decor, the huge fishtanks, the fresh flowers on each table, the fine dark woods and nick-nacks, everything here is first rate. Then there’s the food which is also first rate. The extra, good-looking staff and management is extra-friendly and efficient.
“The Imperial Chinese Restaurant is famous for it’s spicy Szechwan dishes. It was first to introduce the sesame chicken to Denver and it’s flavorful version is still the best. The melt in your mouth Chilean sea bass in black bean sauce, stir fired Dungeness crab, steamed whole striped bass and continous addition of new Chinese dishes keep loyal diners coming back.”
The restaurant was jammed on New Year’s Eve. Our reservation wasn’t ready when we arrived so we did a 35 minute stint in the little bar area; We were served complimentary egg rolls while we waited.
Our party ordered Szechwan Assorted Vegetables (my favorite, $10.95,) Moo Shoo Chicken (10.25,) Mongolian Beef (11.95) and a Seafood Bird’s Nest (18.95.) Everything was well prepared and very tasty.
Also on the menu - Signature Dishes, including: Nanking Pork Loin - “Bite-size pork loin marinated and cooked in our chef’s special sauce” (12.50) to Peking Duck - Fit for the Emperor “Whole duckling roasted to perfection, skinned, deboned and served with pancakes” (37.50,) Whole Dungeness Crabs “Whole Dungeness crab cut into various pieces, stir-fried with fresh scallions, ginger and Chinese five spices (Market Price,) The Imperial Dinner $21.95 per person (Minimum Serving 2 people:) Soup, Appetizers, Entree Choice and Dessert. See complete menu at The Imperial’s Official Website
. On-site and street parking available
. Full bar
* 2nd ex…
The Imperial Chinese Restaurant’s Official Website with complete menu, directions, photos and more
Visit the main pages of the LasVegasBuffetClub
February 12, 2010
Chinese New Year: Year of the TIGER begins on February 14, 2010
Tiger Makes Big Splash in 2010
photo DailyMail.Co.UK
The BIG cat who likes getting wet and wild
by MICHAEL HANLON
“Most cats do not like getting wet - as anyone who has tried to bathe a moggie will know.
But as these pictures show, there’s always the exception to the rule. For the cat in question is a large male white Bengal tiger called Odin.”
“Six years old, and at the prime of his life, Odin lives at the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Zoo in Vallejo, near San Francisco. He is about 10ft long from nose to tail, and is an excellent swimmer.” Read more and see more photos of Odin (older post from 2007)
Chinese New Year
By the Chinese Calendar
2010 is the Year of the Tiger, which is also known by its formal name of Geng Yin
Year of the Tiger
“Chinese calendar has been in continuous use for centuries. It predates the International Calendar (based on the Gregorian Calendar) in use at the present, which goes back only some 430 years. Basically, a calendar is a system we use to measures the passage of time, from short durations of minutes and hours, to intervals of time measured in days, months, years and centuries. These are fundamentally based on the astronomical observations of the movement of the Sun, Moon and stars.”
“Days are measured by the duration of time of one self rotation of the earth. Months are measured by the duration of time of rotation of the moon around the earth. Years are measured by the duration of time it takes for the earth to rotate around the Sun.” read more from ChinaPage.Com / print calendars…
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FROM WIKIPEDIA
“Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is sometimes called the “Lunar New Year” by English speakers. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. Chinese New Year’s Eve is known as chú xī. It literally means “Year-pass Eve”.” read more from Wikipedia
“NO, THIS IS NOT THE YEAR OF THE SKUNK.”
February 10, 2010
My kind of sport: Brookyln Decker, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover
Story is a repost from the NY Daily News
Brookyln Decker - Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover, 2010
photo Sports Illustrated
[Unless you're from the Right Coast, you will find this article a bit esoteric - LVBC]
Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover girl Brooklyn Decker passes namesake test
BY Stephanie Gaskell and Bill Hutchinson
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Wednesday, February 10th 2010, 4:00 AM
Sports Illustrated babe Brooklyn Decker proved Tuesday night that she knows more about her namesake than just how to spell it.
The 22-year-old swimsuit cover girl was quizzed by the Daily News to see how much she knows about the borough where she has set up house with her tennis-playing hubby, Andy Roddick.
“Forgive me if I mess up. I’ve only lived there three weeks,” said the blue-eyed beauty, who wore a skin-tight pink minidress.
Decker, raised in North Carolina, didn’t know Borough President Marty Markowitz, but she sure knows the specialty at Junior’s.
“Cheesecake,” the 5-foot-9 stunner answered correctly. “Of course the model knows the cheesecake answer!”
She didn’t know that Brooklyn is known as the Borough of Churches, but she displayed her knowledge of local geography when asked to name four Brooklyn neighborhoods.
“What’s the largest park in Brooklyn?” she also was asked.
Breathing a sexy sigh of relief, she said confidently, “Prospect Park.”
“I didn’t do too bad,” Decker said of her 3-for-5 score.
Decker revealed her parents were not thinking of Brooklyn, N.Y., when they named her. She said she was named after a horse named Brook
read more from the New York Daily News, and see more…
February 6, 2010
Walt Disney Meets Salvador Dali: “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus”
First published January 21, 2010 - revised 1/25/10, 11:00 pm
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - Flixter.com
Director/Writer Terry Gilliam must have channeled both Salvador Dali and Walt Disney to create this film.
I don’t know if it’s partly because I know one of the players, but I say “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus” is one of the best movies I’ve seen.
Plot synopsis from IMDb: “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a fantastical morality tale, set in the present day. It tells the story of Dr Parnassus and his extraordinary ‘Imaginarium’, a travelling show where members of the audience get an irresistible opportunity to choose between light and joy or darkness and gloom. Blessed with the extraordinary gift of guiding the imaginations of others, Dr Parnassus is cursed with a dark secret. Long ago he made a bet with the devil, Mr Nick, in which he won immortality. Many centuries later, on meeting his one true love, Dr Parnassus made another deal with the devil, trading his immortality for youth, on condition that when his first-born reached its 16th birthday he or she would become the property of Mr Nick. Valentina is now rapidly approaching this ‘coming of age’ milestone and Dr Parnassus is desperate to protect her from her impending fate. Mr Nick arrives to collect but, always keen to make a bet, renegotiates the wager. Now the winner of Valentina will be determined by whoever seduces the first five souls. Enlisting a series of wild, comical and compelling characters in his journey, Dr Parnassus promises his daughter’s hand in marriage to the man that helps him win. In this captivating, explosive and wonderfully imaginative race against time, Dr Parnassus must fight to save his daughter in a never-ending landscape of surreal obstacles - and undo the mistakes of his past once and for all… ”
From the opening scenes and throughout most of the movie there’s a “dream-imagery” which evokes the inner-fantasy part of a cozy opium-den (not that I would know) or a Daliesque landscape with bright blue-skies, rowboats and a bovine carcass floating in the water. The water scene reminds one - of the clips in Dali’s Un Chien Andalou when “the woman’s left eyeball is sliced-open with a straight-edge razor,” or “the piano/horse scene.”
The warm reds, golds, maroons, purples and whatevers of the living-quarters of Dr. Parnassus’ horse-drawn wagon A.K.A. *The Imaginarium are so soothing that I wanted those scenes to go on and on without end. Another memorable scene reveals artistic excellence when a “wall of reality” is peeled open.”
This is a streeetch, however there is a little coffee-house, in one of my favorite cities, Santa Ana, California called The Gypsy Den. I first discovered it when I was living in Santa Ana - Right, just like Columbus.
The Gypsy Den is on First Avenue and Broadway, if I recall correctly. It is anchoring a corner in the Hispanic area of Santa Ana. For me that is part of its charm. The interior is authentic Gypsy: old stuffed divans, couches and sofa-chairs, old oil-paintings, posters, old pictures and books. I recall scarves, candles, brass, a coffee-bar with pastry cases, giant coffee cups and California girls pouring coffee and serving cinnamon roles A.K.A. rolls.
There’s an old cigarette-burned piano in a stage-like area, and tables near windows which let in California sunshine. There’s a garden-of-eden patio on the North, in a bit of heaven - an old Santa Ana coblestoned town-square. Three blocks north on Broadway, you’re in Mexico, USA.
There is a point to all this, The Gypsy Den is a bit of Dr. Parnassus’ Imaginarium.
Paloma Faith - Flicker.Com
All of the actors shine: Christopher Plummer’s Dr. Parnassus is as powerful as a Star Wars character. The team effort of Johnny Depp, Heath Ledger, Jude Law and Colin Farrell (listed in order of appearance,) all playing the character named Tony is interesting and seamless.
Tom Waits as Mr. Nick, the devil should get top kudos for best performance of a devil. Lily Cole’s (Kewpie-Doll) Valentina, the good Doctor’s daughter-in-peril is sexy-sweet-charming, and Paloma Faith is stop-cold stunning [see photo.] She is Mr. Nick’s flashy, diamond-girlfriend, Sally. Verne Troyer is magnificent as Dr. Parnassus’s diminutive assistant.
If I were giving out awards I’d give Christopher Plummer an award for best actor; I’d give an award to Tom Waits for best supporting actor, or to Verne Troyer for best supporting actor. I’d give out awards for set design, art design/direction, costumes, music and more. Lily Cole is very believable as Valentina. Andrew Garfield deserves a mention. His character, Anton is the Imaginarium’s barker and Valentina’s love interest. Tony (The late Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell) should get an award for being able to wear the same suit.
*Yeah, I realize that the phenomenon of the Imaginarium extends far beyond the boundaries of the wagon.
February 5, 2010
Super Bowl Props, Live Betting offered by Las Vegas Sports Books
This story is from EyeOnGambling
Super Bowl Trophy - Eye On Gambling
written February 5, 2010 By Jeff Haney EOG.com
Two of the three latest developments on the Las Vegas gambling scene earn enthusiastic plaudits. The third, not so much.
All Lucky’s sports books have joined the roster of those offering bettors a chance to wager on games while they are in progress. Bettors will be able to bet on the Super Bowl point spread and the over/under throughout the game Sunday. The lines will be updated, and betting reopened, during commercial breaks.
Lucky’s has 13 Nevada locations including the Plaza and Terrible’s in Las Vegas.
In addition, as part of their 24 standard-size pages of Super Bowl propositions, Lucky’s oddsmakers are featuring some imaginative cross-sport props, great for generating attention and starting conversations among fans, if not necessarily serious bettors.
Following is a sampling of the more creative “which will have more” props at Lucky’s:
– Phil Mickelson’s fourth-round score in the Northern Trust Open (-3.5) vs. Joseph Addai rushing yards (plus 3.5). The consensus on Addai’s rushing yards is sitting around 65. At first, there is no reason to assume Mickelson will shoot a 68 … until you consider that in winning last year’s Northern Trust, Mickelson shot 63, 72, 62, 72.
– Penguins-Capitals goals scored vs. Super Bowl touchdowns. This one also is trickier than meets the eye. The two most likely numbers for combined touchdowns are 6 and 7. Last time the Penguins and Capitals met, the posted over/under was (drumroll, please) 6.5.
– Daytona 500 cautions vs. Dallas Clark receptions. The most likely number for Clark receptions is 6. The past two Daytona 500s have yielded 8 and 7 cautions, which suggests that playing the cautions and waiting a week (the race takes place Feb. 14) for the result is the way to go.
– Rajon Rondo assists (plus .5) vs. Saints-Colts first-quarter points (-.5). The consensus first-quarter total is 10.5 points. Rondo has recorded 14, 12 and 12 assists in the Celtics’ past three games, and with nothing appearing out of the ordinary about Boston’s game with Orlando on Sunday, it’s tempting to stick with his hot hand.
– Fumbles lost in Super Bowl vs. Chelsea goals against Arsenal.
– UNLV plus UNR points in their games Saturday (-5.5) vs. Drew Brees first-half passing yards (plus 5.5) read more from EOG
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