Chris Carney: Freelance Writing Services

Netflix: A Screenwriter’s Best Friend

2014-02-13T13:10:00.001-05:00

Watching movies and television shows is, aside from reading scripts perhaps, the best way for novice and established screenwriters to hone their skills. As reading novels is to novelists, watching movies is to screenwriters. It is near impossible to be a competent, much less paid, screenwriter without being well versed in movies.

But for many a decade finding great movies to watch and study was difficult and costly. With the advent of Netflix, and their streaming video service, we have entered a golden age of movie access. As screenwriters we should rejoice and if you have yet to sign up, do so now. You get a one month Free Trial so you have nothing to lose.

For screenwriters not having a Netflix subscription is like a novelist not having a library card. Netflix is literally the screenwriter’s best friend. It gives you unlimited access to hundreds of thousands of films and television shows from the latest sci-fi slockfest to Academy Award winners.

So let’s make a deal. Sign up for Netflix and commit to watching, and deconstructing at least one film or TV show a week. Use whatever screenwriting method you prefer. Study how they introduce the hero, the villain and the Ordinary World. Examine how conflict escalates and twists take us by surprise. Watch great movies and watch awful ones. You can often learn more by how a screenwriter did something wrong than by how they did it well.

For you television writers, Netflix is literally a life saver. Whether you are dreaming of becoming a Warner Brother’s Writing Fellow or need to polish up your latest spec pilot, studying multiple episodes of a great show in detail will give you insights into all aspects of the writing process.

Studying an entire season or even an entire series in a short amount of time is the best method I know of to become one with the characters. As we all know, living the life of the characters is the only way to write great TV.

I recently started a new spec for a hit sitcom after devouring the entire first season in one amazing, sleep deprived weekend. Without living so intensely in their world I would likely have settled on my first or tenth idea for a spec and one I’m sure a thousand other writers have already conceived. But, as it often does, unique inspiration struck me as I watched bleary eyed and unwashed at 3 AM. By noon the next day I had an outline and took a much deserved lengthy nap. Without Netflix this simply would not have happened.

So I’ll leave you with this. There has been no time in the history of TV and movie writing when writers have had more competition. So watch, watch, watch and then watch some more and when you are ready write. Trust me, Netflix will soon join the pantheon of best buddies alongside your MacBook, the 24 HR Starbucks and that comfy chair at your desk.

Happy Watching,

Carney

Originally Written as a Memo for Secret Legion Productions.

So Ya Wanna Be A Brewer

2013-11-14T11:32:00.000-05:00

I've started a new blog project that will hopefully lead me (and you) to realize my long held dream of brewing beer for the public. It will pose questions and seek answers on all things beer.

Join me at So Ya Wanna Be A Brewer and lets hop up the world.

Please Follow my adventure on twitter @chriscarney

Five Little Known Patriots Who Will Help New England Reach the Super Bowl: Offensive Edition.

2013-08-01T21:55:00.001-04:00

In 2012 the New England Patriots once again had the most potent offense in the NFL. Anchored by future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady the Patriots racked up an incredible 427.9 yards of offense and scored 34.8 points per game, both tops in the league.

The 2013 NFL offseason has not been kind to Coach Belichick’s bunch, especially on the offensive side of the ball. With Aaron Hernandez facing murder charges, Wes Welker in Denver with Peyton Manning, Brandon Lloyd sitting on his couch and Rob Gronkowski recovering from yet another offseason surgery, the once mighty Patriots have grown vulnerable. Or have they? Here’s a look at five little known Patriots players who will rise to the occasion in 2013 and help the Patriots make yet another Super Bowl run.

Shane Vereen – RB

After double dipping at TE in the 2010 NFL draft the Patriots spent two early round picks on the running back position in 2011. At the 56th pick (second round) they took Cal’s 5’10” 205 lb. burner Shane Vereen and with the 73rd pick (third round) they selected 5’11 ¼” 225 lb. Stevan Ridley out of LSU. Both picks were called reaches by many a pundit, including ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.

We all know what Ridley did last year (1,263 yards and 12 TDs) and he looks to continue his dominating ways as lead rusher for the Patriots.

So where does that leave Vereen? Call me crazy, but when Vereen is healthy he has shown flashes of being more than worth the high pick the Pats invested in him. He is a fantastic pass catcher out of the backfield and has been effective running the ball as well. To date Vereen hasn’t been asked to produce on a weekly basis. In light of the shakeup at TE and the unproven WR corps in NE I suspect Belichick will once again revolutionize the game by playing frequent two TE-two RB sets and Vereen is a nightmare matchup regardless of where he lines up.

Bold Prediction: Shane Vereen will be The replacement for Aaron Hernandez. He’ll have more rush yards and TDs than Hernandez (I predict 753 and 6) and will come close to Hernandez’s receiving totals as well (I say 62 catches for 583 yards and 8 TDS). He will be the handcuff that keeps Ridley healthy and productive all season long and surge the Patriot’s into the top 5 team rushing totals for the 2013 season.

Jake Ballard - TE

When the Patriots claimed Jake Ballard off waivers, Giant’s fans called foul. Ballard, a 6'6", 275-pound bruiser out of Ohio State was supposed to be New York’s tight end of the future, but after tearing his ACL against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI he was waived with the hope that he could be placed on injured reserve once he cleared. Bill Belichick had other plans.

Now that the Patriot’s super TE duo has self-destructed (Aaron Hernandez faces murder charges and Rob Gronkowski is still recovering from multiple injuries) Belichick once again looks like the evil genius some have dubbed Darth Hoodie.

In 2011 Ballard caught 38 passes for 604 yards and 4 TDs. He proved he can play. In 2013 he has a chance to be a big target in the red zone for Tom Brady regardless of Gronk’s availability. He is a good blocker and has enough athletic ability to put a scare into opposing defenses.

Bold Prediction: Even if Rob Gronkowski returns to his old form in 2013, (I think he will) I have Ballard penciled in for 54 catches, 737 yards and 7 TDs. He will be the left hand jab to Gronk’s knockout blow in the Patriot’s TE corps.

Aaron Dobson – WR

It has been a long time since the Patriots had a tall receiver and with the all the chaos the offense has suffered this offseason Tom Brady may have found a new best friend in Marshall wide receiver Aaron Dobson.

At 6’3” and 201 lbs. Aaron Dobson is the kind of guy who will bring a dynamic unseen in New England since Randy Moss. His ridiculous catch against East Carolina has become legend. Just imagine the fun Tom Brady will have with hands like Dobson’s?

While a member of the Thundering Herd Dobson caught 165 passes for 2,398 yards and 24 TDs. The Patriots have a notoriously complicated offense and Dobson will have to succeed where so many other drafter WRs have failed for New England. Aaron Dobson will be the rookie wide receiver to break that trend and he will make Patriot’s fans cheer.

Bold Prediction: Wes Welker is gone. Brandon Lloyd is gone. Danny Amendola is in line for over 100 catches. Tom Brady will make Dobson a must have fantasy player by mid-year. Draft him in the late rounds and ride him to the fantasy playoffs. Dobson will have 56 catches for 1,009 yards and 11 TDs.

Zach Sudfeld – TE

While Jake Ballard will get most of the hype in the Patriot’s offseason tight end battle the name you may come to know very well by season’s end is Zach Sudfeld. This 6’7” 225 lb. undrafted rookie out of Nevada will help Coach Belichick and Patriot’s fans heal post Hernandez.

Sudfeld isn’t the athlete that Hernandez is, but his size and good route running will give Tom Brady a much needed safety valve if Gronkowski misses any significant time. Even when Gronk returns, Sudfled will have a place among Brady’s Bunch.

Bold Prediction: Sudfeld will make Pat’s fans cheer when he catches 36 balls for 435 yards and 4 TDs.

Kenbrell Thompkins – WR

Kenbrell Thompkins is the second undrafted rookie to make this list. The 6’1” 195 lb. receiver out of Cincinnati has done so well in training camp that the Patriots released offseason acquisition Donald Jones. Recently Aqib Talib praised Thompkins’s ability “to get off the line.”

He has seen significant first team reps in training camp and has huge sleeper potential. If both Dobson and Thompkins make the team, Brady could see a pair of 6’0” plus receivers, something he has rarely seen in his career.

Bold Prediction: Thompkins will catch 48 balls for 625 yards and 3 TDs. His stats will soar if he wins a starting role or sees more playing time due to injury.

Ferrarri Club of Las Vegas

2012-11-28T13:17:00.003-05:00

It may seem odd to modern-day Ferrari owners, but Enzo Ferrari, founder of the epic luxury race car company, was a reserved man. It is one of the odd dichotomies of our world that a man whose personal life was marked by quietness would create one of the most obvious symbols of wealth and excess.

Yet therein lies one of the secrets that makes Ferrari one of the most misunderstood of all brands, while equally contributing to its near century long success.

Ferraris have become a symbol of excess; a clear demarcation line is drawn between those who have and those who have not. Or so popular, jealous convention would have us believe. Ferraris, along with their Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin brothers, conjure jests involving fears of sexual inadequacy or mid-life crises.

While these cultural biases may have some basis in fact, most Ferrari owners would smile and laugh the light chortle of someone who knows differently.

For Ferrari owners, it is about the majesty of the machine and the artistry of design. Get behind the wheel of one of these machines, be it a classic 275 GTS or a modern F512 M, and you will begin to understand why organizations like the Ferrari Club of Las Vegas exist.

Originally founded 50 years ago, the Ferrari Club of America brought together “like-minded individuals to preserve the automobiles and keep them original,” says Paul Hesselgesser, president of the Las Vegas chapter of the club.

“YOU DON’T EVEN NEED TO OWN A FERRARI TO JOIN. ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS A LOVE AND APRECIATION FOR THE AUTOMOBILE.”

“We are friendly and low-key and make every attempt to limit politics,” says Hesselgesser. “You don’t even need to own a Ferrari to join. All that is required is a love and appreciation for the automobile.”

Appreciation and love for the amazing craftsmanship of the Ferrari is easy to acquire, and once the bite has taken root, it is natural and healthy to want to socialize with “like-minded individuals.”
The modest annual membership fee grants members three distinct benefits.

“First, we hold monthly socials at various restaurants around the Valley,” explains Hesselgesser about gatherings at which members can watch Formula 1 races and cheer on their favorite drivers.
Secondly, the club also organizes “technical sessions with our friends at Penske-Wynn Ferrari,” where owners can learn about their automobiles and network on all aspects of owning, preserving and caring for these stallions of the roadways.

Lastly, the organization meets several times a year for drives to Mount Charleston, the Valley of Fire and other scenic locales. After all, Ferrari’s are meant to be driven.

Members even can take part in Track Days at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, where they can drive their own cars and even drive authentic Ferrari racing cars. That perk alone may be worth the annual fee.

Golfers have their country clubs, doctors and lawyers have their professional associations and Ferrari owners have the Ferrari Club of America.

But the organization is about more than just the cars. It is about the people, and when passionate people of means gather, good things often can result.

“In celebration of the Ferrari Club’s 50th anniversary, we have made a push to get more involved with charitable organizations,” says Hesselgesser.

The organizing principles behind the club offers proof that stereotypes and popular beliefs often cloud reality. Far from being snobby and exclusive, the organization is a place to share and learn, a place to express passion and discover the thrills and joys of life.To that end, the Las Vegas chapter of the Ferrari Club of America has chosen the Ronald McDonald House as its charity.
Despite his quiet life, one has to believe that Enzo would be proud.

Positive Attitude

2012-11-28T13:14:00.003-05:00

POSITIVE ATTITUDE

Nov 2012

Life is not always fair. As adults, we accept this bitter truth. We have lived our lives through loss and triumph. Most of us, if we are honest with ourselves, can trace our current circumstances to past actions. In many ways, we have made the life we are living. Random chance and misfortune may enter our lives, but for the most part, we are the product of our past decisions. We have made the world we live in.

But for the children afflicted with life-threatening diseases, such as cancer, sickle cell anemia, AIDS, immune disorders and blood diseases, their lives have become the victim of extreme injustice. Through no fault of their own, they have become sick, and the devastating truth is that some of them will not get better.

The Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation does not cure the cancer or beat the immune disease. That job is left to the amazing doctors and nurses of the various hospitals that dot the Las Vegas Valley. But what the foundation does do is equally as important and critical.

The NCCF “works side by side with the medical community to help children and their families emotionally, financially, socially and through education,” says Jeffrey Gordon, president of the NCCF.

“Medical science has made great strides in the past 15 years. Cancer and other diseases that once had a 53 percent cure rate now have an 80 percent cure rate,” Gordon says.

Studies have proven “how important attitude and the stress level is in getting better.” These factors play an incredibly powerful role in healing and help create an environment in which the amazing can occur.

“IT’S THE ATTITUDE WE BRINGTO LIFE THAT SERVES AS THE CATALYST TO MIRACLES HAPPENING.”adds Gordon. “A positive attitude is more important than facts, money, failures and successes and the past.”

But for families devastated by the news that their child is sick, a positive attitude is not easy to achieve. That is where the work of the NCCF comes in.

“WE LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY ARE PART OF OUR FAMILY,”
According to Gordon, within 24 to 48 hours after a life-threatening diagnosis, the child and their family are shown that they do not have to tread “the troubled waters on their own, and that there is hope.”

“We let them know that they are part of our family,” says Gordon. “We see where they are financially, and our programs never cost them a thing. Many families survive on two incomes, and when a child gets sick, one parent must quit their job.”

Through its 35 programs and services, the NCCF provides the children, as well as their moms, dads and even siblings, with counseling and educational services to help bolster a positive attitude, so that the healing can begin.

While the work the organization does is unquestionably amazing, it does not come cheaply. To help spread the word and raise much-needed funds, the NCCF has numerous events throughout the calendar year. The most important of these is the Profiles of Courage Gala being held on Saturday, Nov. 17, at the Bellagio Las Vegas.

Held annually “to celebrate courageous children fighting a daily battle against disease, special adults touched by cancer and members of the community who help provide hope and triumph in the fight against disease” the Profiles of Courage Gala is responsible for much of the NCCF’s annual operating budget. “In life, we cannot always do magnificent things,” Gordon says, “but we can do small things with great love.”

As the old saying goes, love (and some great medical care) can cure all ills. Help give these kids some much-deserved love and choose to do a small and wonderful thing.

Apollo Jets

2012-11-09T15:58:00.001-05:00

You own your own company, or perhaps you run a fortune 1000 firm. You’re a jetsetter, traveling across the country and the world to make business deals and create the future. You need the ability to get from Las Vegas to London, New York, Sao Paulo, Brazil, or Hong Kong at a moments notice.

To make this all possible you must own your own private jet. That’s the conventional wisdom at least. But you know that to succeed in business and in life sometimes you must buck convention.

The people at Apollo Jets are here to help you think outside the box by providing you with all the benefits of private jet owner ship without the cost, hassle and liability. Sure, owning your own jet brings a level of prestige unmatched by any other purchase and grants you the freedom to come and go at will, but it comes with significant costs.

The amount to purchase, house and maintain a jet alone can be staggering. Add in the numerous costs related to hiring a pilot, the grounds crew and a support staff, and the outlay of capital be comes hard to justify, especially during unstable economic climates.

That’s where on demand flying comes into play.

“If you are flying 400 to 500 hours a year, then a private jet is often a wise idea,” Andrew Drykerman, executive vice president of Apollo Jets says.

“But if you fly less than that, or if you need supplemental lifts when your plane is in for maintenance or your pilot is in recur ring training, then an on demand carrier like Apollo is the way to go”

Private on demand flying has numerous advantages that are unavailable to those who either own their own plane or belong to a fractional ownership program. They can all be summed up in one word—flexibility.

Perhaps you and your family want to fly to Park City for a long ski weekend. Apollo can provide you with an eight seat Citation Encore and get you to the slopes in hours.

Then, the following week you and your board of directors need to be in Singapore to close a big deal so you fly in luxury aboard a 13seat Falcon 900B. Having your own jet, you are bound by the limitations of that aircraft. With on demand flying you have options. Better yet, you pay only for what you need.

As Drykerman went on to say, “It (owning your own jet) is like buying a boat. Your two happiest days are the day you buy the boat and the day you sell the boat.”

All the costs aside, the truly great thing about on demand flying is the level of service. Companies like Apollo Jets know that you can take your business elsewhere whenever you please. With fractional ownership programs or outright private jet ownership, you are locked into a monthly recurring bill. It all comes down to incentive versus disincentive. If a company already has you money it doesn’t need to work as hard to earn it.

“With Apollo you’re not locked into anything, “explains Drykerman. “I work my butt off to win your business every time.”here whenever you please. With fractional ownership programs or outright private jet ownership, you are locked into a monthly recurring bill. It all comes down to incentive versus disincentive. If a company already has you money it doesn’t need to work as hard to earn it.

“Whatever your mission is we will get it done,” he says.

“Private, on demand flying is the ultimate luxury,” Drykerman says. “Once you fly our way you’ll never—provided you have the means—fly commercial again.”

So maybe you’re now thinking about having a happy day of your own and maybe you’ll sell your own jet and enter the world of on demand private flying. Happy globetrotting.

Julie Murray: Making a Difference

2012-09-19T12:05:00.006-04:00

Making a Difference

Aug 2012

When I first hear Julie Murray’s voice as she answers with a hello, greeting me like the oldest of friends, I instantly am awash in a sense of wellbeing. I feel safe. She cannot know my worries; the big and small things that allow stress to injure my day, but somehow it seems that she does. Instantly, I am aware that she is one of those far too rare individuals who have a real ability to inspire. I want to know more about this woman, and I want to know what I can do to help her make the world better.

“Just do one thing,” Murray tells me when I ask what the average Las Vegas resident can do to help. Too often when confronted with the massive social problems facing Southern Nevada and the country at large many of us freeze. There’s nothing I can do about (insert social issue here).

This attitude is easy to understand. Childhood hunger is a massive and difficult problem in America. Access to quality healthcare, despite or perhaps because of Obama care, remains an issue that can destroy families and devastate lives. The education system in the United States has sunk considerably in world rankings, coming in as “average” in one recent study. Any one of these problems alone seems staggering. Combine them into a fierce juggernaut of social destruction and they seem positively insurmountable.

Yet Julie Murray doesn’t see it that way, and for a woman who has been a fierce social architect for over two decades, building and guiding numerous charitable and philanthropic organizations, her vision deserves attention. She provides a glimmer of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel and she strives daily to bring that illumination closer. She provides hope. She will be the first to tell you that she has not done this alone. In truth, she emphatically states that it is impossible to do alone. Throughout her career she has been blessed to work with some amazing and diverse people who all share in her desire to leave the world a better place than she found it. To her, this is the core of charity and philanthropy.

A native of Apple Valley, California, Murray’s family moved to Las Vegas when she was just six years old. In a city that has become famous for its transiency that more than qualifies her as a lifelong resident. She counts her parents and grandparents as her earliest and most strident mentors. It was through them that she first got the hunger to improve the world around her. She quickly learned that she was good at it, and that she could inspire people and rally them to come together.

One of her earliest endeavors was the I Have A Dream Foundation, which “adopted” 55 at risk children and “committed to stay involved in their development through high school and beyond.” Over $225,000 was secured annually by the efforts of Murray and her team. The program has also seen an 83 percent graduation rate—three times higher than their peers. It has been lauded as one of the most successful K-12 education models in the country.

She was also heavily involved with the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation and helped secure $36 million in funding for the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a K-12 charter school that gives Las Vegas students from the city’s most at risk neighborhoods a great education.

While Murray remains involved with both groups in an advisory capacity, she moved on to co-found a truly revolutionary organization in Three Square that would become a model for food bank organizations across the country. Conceived at her dining room table, Three Square (as in three square meals a day) reinvented the food bank concept by approaching previously untapped sources, such as grocery stores and hotel chains. With the help of these businesses, she was able to take food that otherwise would have been wasted and used it to feed the estimated 210,000 Las Vegas residents that do not get enough to eat.

Just five short years after conception, Three Square now distributes 16,000,000 meals a year through 600 partner programs.

It was through Julie Murray’s fundraising acumen that Three Square was able to grow from a simple idea to the model for food banks nationwide.

Recently, she has taken on what may be her biggest challenge to date with the Moonridge Foundation, a consulting firm that partners charitable organizations with philanthropic donors in order to “get the biggest impact for their philanthropic giving.” Murray understands that to be truly effective, a charity doesn’t just need money or volunteers, but a passionate partnership between those who do the daily work of change and those capable of funding it. Murray even went so far as to suggest that if philanthropists begin to look at their giving as an investment, the rewards will be greater with a monetary outlay that will have a more positive impact on their communities.
That is what it is truly all about. If a sense of community can be built where we all feel like we are home then we may all find ourselves inspired. “It has been difficult in Vegas to build a culture of community,” Murray says. There are few longtime res

When I ask her about her proudest achievement thus far she immediately says her children. “When somebody tells you that your children are compassionate, smart human beings it is difficult not to feel proud,” Murray says. This proves one of Murray’s core beliefs, that if you start small and can inspire just one other person to make a difference, the world will grow better.idents, and many people come and go without ever really calling Vegas home. If those who simply live here can come to call it home then the first step toward improving not only our city, but also our country and our world, will have been taken and our world will have been taken.

t is a surprise to no one that one of her core philosophies can best be described as pay it forward, and that she is particularly proud to see those she has helped do just that. “I recently ran into one of my Dreamers who started in the projects and now is on her way to be a teacher,” Murray tells me.

With the Moonridge Group, Julie Murray hopes to create new ways to connect and engage philanthropists to help solve the biggest social ills this country has. “Healthcare and education are the two biggest social problems we face today,” Murray told me.

“If you can give people the means to feed themselves and help keep them healthy, especially at an early age, then the problems of hunger and crime will be reduced.”

What makes her so good at her job is her deep understanding of the interconnectedness of all people. When children are hungry, lack medical care and have no access to education it damages not only the child, but also all of those around them. She is passionate about helping to create systems that will ensure that these problems disappear one small, inspired step at a time.

“Just do one thing,” Murray tells me. “Whether it is volunteering an hour to feed the hungry or a million dollars to help build a school, we are all capable of inspiring others.”

Good Deeds: Volunteers in Medicine

2012-09-19T12:01:00.001-04:00

Good Deeds: VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE

Sep 2012 Article by: chris carney | Photography by: lucky wenzel

The amazing people that run charitable organizations all have the same major issue: lack of awareness. In a world where there is so much need, where there are so many worthy causes and deserving programs, the most difficult task facing these organizations is awareness.

It was this hurdle that Dr. Florence Jameson, founder and CEO of Volunteers in Medicine, stressed to me above all others. She didn’t focus on the crippling difficult organizational processes or the massive stress involved with acquiring funding or the heartbreak volunteers face when they realize how much still needs to be done. It was awareness. In a sea of amazing causes Dr. Jameson’s cites Volunteers in Medicine’s main problem is “making the public aware we are here.”

“Volunteers in Medicine is about bringing together two groups of people: the medically needy that desperately need access to healthcare, especially those with chronic illnesses, and those possessing the expertise and great desire to run a clinic.”

In January of 2010 the very first Volunteers in Medicine free clinic opened in Paradise Park in Southeast Las Vegas. Before then, this valley of nearly two million people was devoid of a place where the uninsured in desperate need of medical care could turn. “It is such a duh, a no brainer that every city needs a clinic like this one,” Dr. Jameson tells me. Before Volunteers in Medicine that type of clinic did not exist in Las Vegas. And before Volunteers in Medicine awareness of the need was also non-existent.

To make Las Vegas stand up and take notice, Volunteers in Medicine holds an annual Volunteers in Medicine Ball to raise both awareness and funding. “The Ball raises almost two thirds of our annual operational budget for the upcoming year,” explains Dr. Jameson. Without the Volunteers in Medicine Ball the clinic would have remained a wisp of a dream.

This year’s festivities will be held at The Palazzo on Saturday, Oct. 6. Not only does the Ball bring together those capable of giving with those who do the organization’s work, it is also a place to “honor three shining stars who work tirelessly to make an impact on health care in our community.”
The Community Service Honoree, Aurora Wong, is an attorney by trade who “leads the charge” of the HepBFree community outreach program that provides screenings, vaccinations and treatment to Asian Pacific Islanders who are at highest risk for the disease.

The Volunteerism Honoree is Mary Adler. Adler has been with Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada as a volunteer since its inception. As unit secretary for the clinic, Adler processes numerous patient assistance applications. “She is an all-round hero to the success of VMSN.”

This year’s Lifetime Achievement in Medicine will be awarded to Dr. Jerry Cade, an immunologist, currently serving as the Director of Viral Treatment Specialty Service at UMC. For over two decades, he’s been active in the Las Vegas community helping those affected with HIV/Aids. “When others were afraid to lend a hand, Dr. Cade was there.”

At Volunteers in Medicine “750 volunteers create a beautiful symphony of loving acts of kindness.” For Dr. Jameson awareness leads to action, both in the donation of desperately needed funds, as well as the volunteering of time, equipment, medications and skills.

I’ve been lucky enough to interview numerous influential people in the Las Vegas philanthropic community, and I have found the one trait they all share is gratitude. Dr. Jameson is an amazing, giving woman. At the end of our interview she thanked me—a simple journalist—for giving her my time. These astounding words of heartfelt gratitude truly bring home the main issue that organizations like Volunteers in Medicine face: awareness. Perhaps, in a small way this article will help to raise that awareness and inspire action.

Good Deeds: Warren Moon

2012-07-18T20:53:00.001-04:00

Good Deeds: Warren Moon

By Chris Carney

For record setting quarterback legend Warren Moon, it has always been about dreams. He dreamed of playing quarterback in the NFL. He dreamed of one day joining the ranks of the legendary in the Hall of Fame. He dreamed of making something of himself. He dreamed of giving others the helping hand to do the same.

Now, dreams are not uncommon. We all have them. They come in different forms, take varied paths and result in wildly different returns. Some dreams fail due to lack of effort, some fail due to lack of ability, but most tragic are those that fail due to lack of opportunity.

To help bridge the gap and help give a boosting hand of opportunity to those without it, Moon and some of his business partners at Sports 1 Marketing created the Sports Dream Bowl. The annual event benefits the Urban Scholarship Fund that awards higher education scholarships for deserving kids who have demonstrated the character, dedication and ability to pursue their own dreams, but whose financial situation makes a higher education otherwise unlikely.

On June 22nd and 23rd the 12th Annual Sports Dream Bowl, a celebrity bowling tournament that occurs each year in Las Vegas, took over the hardwood at Texas Star Lanes at Texas Station in North Las Vegas and The Cosmopolitan to raise money for the Urban Scholarship Fund and to honor the students who won this year’s awards.

Proving his business acumen as well as a deep understanding of human nature, Moon set his sights on Las Vegas for the annual fundraising event. What better city to attract top name sports starts like rookie sensation quarterback Cam Newton, soon to be Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, sure handed wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and a host of other current and former NFL, NBA and movie and television actors?

“Las Vegas is an exciting place, with great restaurants, shows and clubs,” Moon stated, and is a natural draw for people at the top of their game.

The event also drew past scholarship winners who have gone on to highly successful careers, as engineers for top companies, highly successful real estate agents and even established a foundation that helps to fund other charitable foundations.

For Moon, the achievements of these past scholarship awardees are the most satisfying gift. For a man whose accomplishments include being one of only two men to have been inducted into both the NFL and Canadian Hall of Fame and who has gone on to a highly successful and influential post football career, these are high words of praise.

This year’s event celebrated the ten deserving kids who have proven their worth both through academic achievement and community involvement. Winners were awarded scholarship money to use at a higher learning institution of their choice.

“This year’s event was one of the most successful we’ve ever had,” said Moon. Moon believes in paying back those communities that give, and this year’s crop of deserving scholarship winners
feature four young people from the Las Vegas area.

The four young women from Las Vegas who were selected this year by Moon and his associates share many common traits. They all excelled at academics, were the recipients of numerous awards for community involvement, refused to let their own dreams be derailed by adversity and, in an application essay, all proved their dedication to improving the lives of those around them.

Ours is a world built on dreams and when people with the ability, drive and courage to pursue those dreams are given the assistance needed to achieve them we are all better off.

“I believe that those who have more than they need should help those in need,” Moon said. “I believe we should all pay it forward.” With the annual Sports Dream Bowl Warren Moon is doing just that.

Originally Published in the July 2012 Issue of Diamond Cake Magazine .

Mark Twain In Nevada

2012-05-31T16:10:00.002-04:00

Mark Twain

The writer, curmudgeon, social commentator, and humorist we all know was born in Nevada.

By CHRIS CARNEY | November/December 2011

Photo:

In a very real way—tossed with a healthy dose of ironic hyperbole—Mark Twain, the writer, legendary curmudgeon, social commentator, and humorist—was born in Nevada. While it is a historical fact that Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri, the nom de plume for the man many claim is the greatest of American authors was first used in February 1863 in Virginia City.
Clemens had come to Nevada to find his fortune, whether it came from silver, timber, or political largesse. Had these ventures not failed spectacularly, Mark Twain may never have been born, grown rich, become poor, and then grown rich once more. Nor would this country, which had no assurance of surviving the Civil War intact in his time, have been blessed with one of its defining voices. Many say that Twain represents the spirit of America in the 19th century. Without the individualistic, frontier spirit still embodied by Nevada, Clemens would be a mere historical footnote and Twain nothing but a glint in the muse’s eye.
While his youth spent in Hannibal, Missouri, as well as his oft-documented adventures in San Francisco, Connecticut, and in the larger world abroad, are well-told tales, Clemens’ time spent in Washoe, as the Nevada Territory was often referred to in those days, has strangely received far less attention. Like Athena bursting forth from Zeus full-grown, Twain emerged from the mind of Clemens in Nevada. Yet even in 1861, his destiny as the greatest of American writers was far from a certainty.
It was not the written word, but a need for freedom and wealth that brought Clemens to Nevada. While he claims to have published numerous letters during his time on the Mississippi, he was in no way a professional writer when he crested the hills into Carson City in 1861. That would come nearly a year later when he accepted a reporter position for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. For now, Clemens was running.
Back in St. Louis he had “somehow found himself” a member of an improvised militia known as the Marion Rangers. Unaffiliated with any official Confederate unit and stuck between his Southern heritage and a love of the Union, Clemens soon resigned citing that he was “incapacitated by fatigue through persistent retreating.” As it did with many Americans of his time, the Civil War refused to leave him to live his life. Under continued threat of conscription by both Union and Confederate forces due to his highly valuable skill as a riverboat pilot, Clemens felt the need to escape.
Fate, or luck, in the form of his older brother, Orion, stepped in and provided Clemens with just the opportunity he needed. Through connections with Lincoln’s cabinet, Orion had secured the prestigious position of Secretary of the Nevada Territory, under Tammany Hall politico Governor Nye. Orion, a notoriously honest man and terrible businessman, was in need of Clemens’ funds, and Clemens needed to get away.
Sam and Orion journeyed 20 days by stagecoach and arrived in “the insignificant village of Carson” City, a journey detailed in Twain’s travelogue/fictional narrative Roughing It. Sam was unimpressed with the 1,500-person mining provincial capital but believed that he would strike it big within three months and head back home laden with Nevada silver.
From September 1861 to April 1862, Clemens heartily undertook the backbreaking and laborious life of a miner and nearly claimed his long-sought-after wealth in a rich mine dubbed “Pride of Utah,” before losing the claim due to jumbled communication between he and his partner, Higbie, to whom he would later dedicate Roughing It. By April, the physical labor took its toll, and, as historian Fred Kaplan details in The Singular Mark Twain, “he took frequent opportunities to sharpen his poker skills, practice his penchant for swearing and cultivate a western swagger, including carrying a pistol, which he had no skill at using.” Wealth from a vein of silver seemed forever lost to Clemens.
Once more providence stepped in, and Clemens moved to Virginia City to replace an Enterprise reporter off to visit his family. The job paid $25 a week, hardly a fortune, but a job that sent 27-year-old Clemens on the road that would see him earn more wealth and fame than any silver mine could ever provide. Photo: Virginia City today
It was at the Enterprise that Clemens first took the pen name Mark Twain, from “the Mississippi leadman’s call meaning twelve feet.” In a town whose chief recreational activities were “drinking, card-playing and fighting,” (Kaplan, pg. 105) the pen name, inspired by fellow reporter Dan De Quille, offered Clemens some protection from the controversial, and often fictitious, claims made by Twain.
By 1863, Clemens and Twain had essentially become one man. Sam began referring to himself as Mark, and the mustache that would become his trademark first took root. While his reporting would most certainly not hold up under the rigors of modern-day journalistic ethics, his time at the Enterprise, coupled with Nevada’s individualistic nature, “were formative in his development as a writer and in the emergence of a distinctive personality.” (Kaplan pg. 108)
It was this distinctive personality that soon got him into life-threatening trouble when on May 21, 1864 he rashly challenged the editor of a rival paper to a duel. A man was not able to “thoroughly respect himself so long as he had not killed or crippled somebody in a duel or been killed or crippled in one himself,” Twain wrote. When the challenge was accepted, Twain, who was a notoriously inept shot, felt death staring down on him. He rose early the morning of the duel and spent time “in practicing with the revolver and finding out which end to level at the adversary.”
Despite extensive practice on a fence rail that was “to represent Mr. Laird…who was longer and thinner than a rail.” He missed every shot and was shown up by his second Stephen Gillis, who shot a bird dead at 30 yards.
Only subterfuge and luck allowed Twain to avoid the duel, as Mr. Laird arrived right at the moment while they were examining the dead bird and was told that Twain had made the shot. Mr. Laird flatly refused to duel and Twain “won.” His prize, and ours, was a long life well lived, replete with many successes and a few failures.
While the duel had been avoided, word came to Twain that he was to be the first victim of a newly passed anti-dueling law demanding a minimum two-year prison stay. Twain felt it was time to move on. Clemens had come to Nevada to find freedom and earn a fortune and now, to once again find freedom, he fled Nevada for San Francisco. From then to the years of his death in 1910, Twain found his fortune, lived as free as any man can, and became the most famous American of his generation.
Twain once described Nevada “as the damndest country under the sun,” and, while he spent less than three years here, it is a surety that without Nevada, Sam Clemens would never have become Mark Twain.
The Mark Twain Cultural Center at Incline Village
In Roughing It, Mark Twain details his first view of Lake Tahoe as “surely the fairest picture that the whole earth affords.” It is easy to appreciate Twain’s take on the wonders of Lake Tahoe. From the mirror sheen of the water to the crown of snow-capped peaks, Lake Tahoe is one of Nevada’s true treasures.
He charms the reader for several more pages before confessing, like a guilty child head hung low, to being the accidental architect of a hellish forest fire. “Within half an hour all before us was a tossing, blinding tempest of flame!” Twain wrote from the relative safety of a small canoe on the lake.
Twain and his cohorts watched for hours in horror. When the “crimson spirals” and “tangled network of red lava streams” had burned themselves out, untold acres of pristine woodlands had been destroyed in a “conflagration” of a “reflected hell.”
It is with an appropriate sense of irony that the Mark Twain Cultural Center at Incline Village on the north shore of Lake Tahoe, may just be built upon a faint layer of ash, a geological reminder of the folly of man.
Within the modest building the Ghost of Mark Twain is kept alive in the person of McAvoy Layne. “It’s like being a Monday-through-Friday preacher, whose sermon, though not reverently pious, is fervently American,” Layne says.
Featuring readings form Twain’s works, the center transports us back with a puff of cigar smoke, the twist of a mustache, and a southern drawl to the very beginnings of Twain’s legend and is a unique celebration of a man who without question can lay claim to the title one of a kind.
CONTACT
The Mark Twain Cultural Center
760 Mays Blvd., Incline Village, NV 89451
marktwainculturalcenter.org
ghostoftwain.com
775-831-2820
Editor’s Note: The Mark Twain Cultural Center closed on December 30, 2011, citing financial factors.

Published in Nevada Magazine Nov/Dec 2011

The 10 Most Influential Acts in Las Vegas History

2010-12-27T17:55:00.000-05:00

Nevada Magazine | Issues | influential acts

influential acts

These 10 entertainers have left—and some continue to leave—an indelible Las Vegas legacy.

By CHRIS CARNEY | January/February 2011

Photo: Joey Bishop, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin of The Rat Pack

Las Vegas has long been synonymous with great entertainment. From gambling to burlesque, magic to impersonation, Las Vegas has a long and steady history of producing laughter, smiles, and yelps of joy. By most measures, Las Vegas can claim Entertainment Capital of the World. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the city’s incorporation, Nevada Magazine has compiled a list of the 10 most influential acts in Las Vegas history—in no particular order but alphabetical. We have purposely chosen entertainers that span a wide range of styles, eras, and personalities so that readers can come away with a better understanding of the history, heart, and soul of this city in the desert.

Celine Dion
Celine Dion’s presence on this list may engender doubtful mutterings and irritated scowls from some Las Vegas purists who pine for the days of Old Vegas, but a short look at her domination of the Strip in the 2000s makes her influence undeniable.
In 2003, the Canadian songstress began a residency at Caesars Palace that would, over the next five years, gross a staggering sum and dominate the Vegas landscape. Not only did “A New Day” shoot the bar for Vegas shows into the upper atmosphere, it altered the way entertainers worldwide performed. To really entertain, Dion implied, performers needed an extravaganza of lights, dance, and sound.
It was in Las Vegas that she went from performer to entertainer, and on March 15, she returns to the Colosseum that Caesars originally built for her. Her legend is sure to grow.
Cirque du Soleil
Another relative newcomer to Las Vegas, Cirque Du Soleil has—from “Mystére,” through “O” and “Zumanity,” and culminating with the recent unveilings of The Beatles “LOVE” and “Viva Elvis”—come to dominate the Strip as no other entertainment entity has before.
From its humble street-performer origins in Montreal, Cirque has grown into an entertainment juggernaut with nearly $1 billion in yearly receipts. It has been estimated that on any given night, five percent of Vegas visitors attend a Cirque show.
The production company’s influence is so pervasive that visitors now plan trips to Vegas around Cirque, and the premiere of such a show draws a cavalcade of movie stars and other notables.
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
Some consider 1950s Las Vegas the city’s heyday. Sin City was edgy and hip, glamorous and hedonistic, and populated by mobsters and starlets. It was on the stage of the legendary Copa Room at the Sands where the hottest acts of the day performed. Few acts can be said to be more Vegas than the musical comedy duo of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
Vegas made Martin and Lewis, then it broke them. In 1989, after decades of animosity, the original dynamic duo of the Strip reunited during one of Martin’s last run of shows. While other entertainers made more money, earned more fame, and had longer runs, Martin and Lewis can rightfully claim to be among Vegas’ founding icons.
Elvis
It is 1956, and 21-year-old Elvis Presley has just performed his first show on the Vegas Strip. Though it may be impossible to imagine today, Vegas pundits of the day dubbed the crooner a “bore.”
This kid from the South wouldn’t return to Vegas for 13 years, and when he did, it wasn’t to perform, but to film the hit movie, “Viva Las Vegas.” The town that had snubbed him came to adore him as it adopted the film’s theme song as its own.
Vegas embraced Elvis, and he repaid that love with more than 800 straight performances at The International in the 1970s. Legend has it that when Elvis was in Las Vegas, half of the visitors to the city took in his show. That makes Elvis Presley not only the King of Rock, but also the King of Vegas.
Frank Sinatra and The Rat Pack
Call it the “swingers effect,” but there is something about Frank Sinatra that transcends generations. Old Blue Eyes is as cool, suave, and hip today as he was in the 1960s when he was The Rat Pack’s Chairman of the Board.
All the rave when they descended on Las Vegas in 1960 to film “Oceans 11,” The Rat Pack would grab a hold of Las Vegas and not let go for the better part of a decade.
Comprised of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop, The Rat Pack was famous for impromptu guest appearances at each other’s gigs. So beloved were these shows that fans would flock to Vegas, often sleeping in their cars, just to catch one of their performances.
Les Folies Bergère
No act in the history of Vegas has been more responsible for popularizing the naughty nickname Sin City than “Les Folies Bergère.” This infamous burlesque show, wherein dozens of beautiful, topless women pranced and preened onstage, may seem tame today, but in the late ’50s, during the height of the Red Scare, it truly made the “better folk” of the country see crimson.
Imported from Paris two years after the Tropicana opened its doors in 1957, “Les Folies Bergère” was, until its sad demise in 2009, the longest continually running show in Vegas history. It titillated, embarrassed, and opened the minds of millions. No trip to Vegas was complete without a visit with these high-stepping beauties.
Liberace
Glitz, glitter, and gaudy costumes have long been a staple of Las Vegas, but no entertainer in the city’s history of flamboyant excesses comes close to matching Liberace for sheer extravagance.
Revered as Mr. Showmanship, Liberace was the highest-paid entertainer in the world from 1950 to 1970. His residencies at Riviera and later the Hilton set the bar for the city’s future performers.
Despite critics’ harsh evaluations of his musical ability, fans adored the over-the-top performer. He played for President Harry Truman, Queen Elizabeth II, and millions of fans worldwide all while dressed in costumes so garish as to make a matador blush.
While the world seems to have moved on—Las Vegas’ Liberace Museum closed in October, and Liberace impersonators have joined the endangered species list—his indelible influence can be seen on stages across the world.
Merv Griffin
By the time Merv Griffin came to Las Vegas, first in the 1960s and permanently from 1970 into the 1980s, his singing and acting careers had become dim memories. His mark on Vegas would be made in other ways.
One of the first media moguls, Griffin’s résumé shames others who claim the title. Among his brainchildren were “Jeopardy,” “Wheel of Fortune,” and “The Merv Griffin Show.”
At the height of his popularity, Griffin brought his talk show to Caesars Palace, where a rotating stable of Vegas notables became frequent guests. These daily visits into the homes of millions created a fascination among Middle Americans for all things Vegas, and tourism to the city soared. Other entertainers may have dominated the box office, but without Griffin, their showrooms and wallets would have been a lot emptier.
Siegfried and Roy
Say the words entertainment and Las Vegas, and invariably images of Siegfried and Roy and their magnificent white tigers dominate the imagination. While other legends can lay claim to the nicknames the Chairman, The King, or Mr. Las Vegas, few can compete with this magician duo’s longevity, popularity, and influence.
These German born émigrés were an inseparable team for 50 years, performed 5,750 shows together, and in 2000 were a notch below Steven Spielberg as the ninth highest-paid celebrities.
Siegfried and Roy seemed eternal until that fateful day of October 3, 2003, when their tiger, Montecore, attacked Roy onstage. Miraculously, Roy survived. In 2009, the duo performed one last time, capping a career unlike any Vegas has ever seen, or will likely see again.
Wayne Newton
Only one man has earned the nickname Mr. Las Vegas. And that man is the incomparable Wayne Newton.
Best known for his hit “Danke Schoen,” Newton has entertained millions from many generations. From the time he first stepped onto a Vegas stage at age 16 until today, nobody has performed more times than Newton. Truth be told, with 30,000 solo performances to his name, it is unlikely that any entertainer will ever come close to surpassing him.
So iconic a figure is he to the culture of Las Vegas that the city named the road serving McCarron International Airport after him

HONORABLE MENTION
Numerous deserving entertainers were invariably left off this list. Here are a few close calls that deserve a shout out:
Cher
Clint Holmes
Danny Gans
Don Rickles
Lance Burton
Penn and Teller
Tom Jones
Tony Bennett

LASTING LEGACIES
Although most of these icons are no longer performing, their spirit lives on in Las Vegas in these attractions and shows:
Big Elvis—Bill’s Gambling Hall & Saloon
“The King” starring Trent Carlini—Hilton
“The King Lives!”—Hooters
“Liberace Music & Memories”—Saxe Theater
“The Rat Pack is Back”—Plaza Hotel
“Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack Show”—Riviera
Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat—The Mirage
“Sinatra Dance With Me”—Wynn Las Vegas
“Viva Elvis” by Cirque du Soleil—Aria Resort

Elvis impersonator Trent Carlini currently performs nightly (dark Tuesday) at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Originally Published in Nevada Magazine

A Hauntingly Ghoul Time

2010-10-13T13:48:00.000-04:00

Circus Circus 7 p.m.-midnight Oct. 10, 14-17, 21-24 • 28-31, $34.95, $49.95 VIP express pass. 702.794.3939

Fright Dome transforms theme park into supernatural spectacle

By Chris Carney

Las Vegas has long been known for doing things better than everyone else. Spend some time in the desert city and you’ll likely gamble in one of the most luxurious poker rooms on the planet, enjoy a juicy steak prepared by one of the world’s best chefs or rest your head on a Egyptian cotton pillow at one of the world’s largest hotels.

With its background in great shows and extravagant sets, it is little wonder that the annual extravaganza known as Fright Dome continues to rank among the scariest Halloween attractions in the nation.

Housed in the Adventuredome theme park at Circus Circus, Fright Dome first opened in 1993 and has terrified and entertained thrill seekers ever since. Upwards of 60,000 souls venture through Fright Dome each year, seeking to be scared to near death by macabre villains from the worst nightmares that film and literature have to offer.

The brainchild of entrepreneur and businessman Jason Egan, Fright Dome has surged to ever-increasing heights of terror, while employing upwards of 300 actors to ply their talents.
Fright Dome’s blood, gore and creepy theme music can turn what may be the most kid-friendly place on the Strip into a chill fest that will continue to infect dreams and engender nightmares long after visitors head home.

Even those who have patronized the Adventuredome will be hard pressed to see the junior-friendly Frog Hopper ride or airplane carousel of the Thunderbirds ride underneath the layers of fright at the “Hillbilly Hell” or Saw-themed attractions.

In some ways, Fright Dome simply zeroes in on one of the primal emotions that many Vegas gamblers feel every time they hit the casino. Wait the few seconds that become hours as your dealer reveals the card that will make or break your blackjack, or stare across the table at a poker fiend you just know is bluffing, maybe, and you’ll know the heart-stopping, sweat-inducing fear-turned-thrill that has long made them question that high limit poker lounge.

Featuring five haunted houses including My Bloody Valentine, the previously mentioned Saw and the all new zombie-inspired Flesh Feast, Fright Dome dredges fears from the roots of our unconscious.
Live shows top off the entire experience. Merlin Award-winning magician Dixie Dooley, whose mystical illusions have wowed Las Vegas for more than 30 years, takes a haunted twist. Marilyn Manson double Dan Sperry, the Anti-Conjurer, combines the surreal, the macabre and the just plain odd into an extravaganza that was born for this time of year. Finish the evening off with a visit to Roby Cody, whose devolutions into the odd just may make him the coolest magician on Earth.

If you’re looking for anything gory, twisted and terrifying, take a jaunt over to Fright Dome, and pray that you escape with soul and sanity intact.

Comedy Without Shame: No topic is taboo for Chelsea Handler

2010-09-25T02:18:00.000-04:00

By Chris Carney

It would be far too easy, and quite condescending, to suggest that Chelsea Handler is a man trapped in a woman’s body. Sure her humor is crass, filled with vulgarities and topics traditionally associated with men on a guy’s night out. She blatantly professes her numerous sexual conquests in a manner that requires a high five from her nearest bro. She even relishes a deep affection for drinking and other habits traditionally deemed unladylike. Yet, none of these “manly” traits take away from her inherent femininity and womanly appeal. In fact, these traits combine, like a well-portioned cocktail, to make Handler one of the coolest chicks on the planet.

Women love her. Men want to be her. Women and men alike want to be with her. Handler defines the term “Renaissance woman,” even though she’d likely berate you for calling her such while sipping on the dirty martini she stole from you.

Raised in Livingston, N.J., Handler is the youngest of six children parented by a Jewish father and a Mormon mother. This melding of cultural and religious influences birthed a unique worldview that is both at odds with tradition and all inclusive of it. No topic is immune to her sarcastic rants, visceral diatribes and self-deprecating banter.

Handler began her professional life on the comedy circuit that has introduced us to some of America’s funniest people. From there she made the rounds on shows such as Girls Behaving Badly, The Tonight Show and The View. She became so sought after that she was able to turn down a gig on Dancing With the Stars. Her memoir, My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands brought her national acclaim. Her second book, Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea, secured her fame. The books, coupled with her top-rated E! show, Chelsea Lately, have pushed her onto the A-list. She even won a Bravo A-List Award to prove it.

It is her consistently hilarious skewering of celebrity culture, current events and general nonsense on Chelsea Lately that has cemented her place as a dominant force in late-night television, a realm traditionally dominated by the men she so ably manipulates.

Is it any wonder that America is fascinated with Handler? In an age where equality is deemed to be a given, why do her antics upset some and thrill others? Perhaps because she exposes a hidden truth, that despite our progress there are still avenues to be explored and stereotypes to be torn down.
No one seems more capable of shining the light on these hidden areas of modern-day life than the woman who once said, “I think we can all agree that sleeping around is a great way to meet people.”

Beginning to Fly: Vampire Weekend’s rapid ascent powered by multifarious inspiration

2010-09-25T02:11:00.002-04:00

By Chris Carney
Formed in 2006 while expanding their minds at Columbia University, Vampire Weekend took their name from a short film made by singer Ezra Koenig. While the film appears clunky, amateurish and typical of college-made films, the band it helped spawn defies easy classification.
Heavily influenced by African pop music and American classical, Vampire Weekend’s sound is nearly impossible to categorize. Each measurement, opinion or label attached is quickly exposed as unfit or insufficiently wide.
Referring to their sound as “Upper West Side Soweto,” after the Johannesburg neighborhood, the band inspires emotions that run the gamut from happy to odd to bewildered. Listen to their self-titled debut and you just may feel like wrapping yourself in a tiger-print Snuggie while sipping some West African coffee.

Despite, or perhaps because of, their oddly varied influences, Vampire Weekend has been lauded with accolades—Spin named them the Best New Band of 2008 even before their debut hit the shelves. Christian Lander, infamous for his website Stuff White People Like, dubbed them the “whitest band” and Australian music magazine Triple J included four songs from their debut in their Top 100 for 2008.

Despite their sudden fame, the boys of Vampire Weekend haven’t let their accomplishments cloud them. Their second album, Contra, surged to the top of the Billboard charts, and just like that, they had gone from an obscure indie foursome to serving as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. They were now a band everybody either knew, wanted to know or was purposely ignoring with a “too cool for school” attitude.

Everyone has friends that wanted to hate Vampire Weekend, just as they’d previously done with fantasy football, Facebook and Pandora. One wonders just how long it’ll take before their iPods are blaring the joyous pop music of these Ivy League grads.

Vocalist Ezra Koenig may just be a reincarnation of Buddy Holly. His quick, staccato vocals and adrenaline-filled delivery are ultra-reminiscent of the horn-rimmed spectacled legend of the ’60s.
Like Holly, Vampire Weekend has reached the peak of fame very quickly and to date the burden of fame has been well worn. They’ve toured extensively with the likes of the Shins, are managed by the same group that helped the White Stripes dominate the world and have been featured in the Will Ferrell movie Step Brothers, the BBC show The Inbetweeners and on both Guitar Hero 5 and LEGO Rock Band.

Yes, Vampire Weekend has made it. They’ve crested the charts, become the darlings of the indie music crowd and likely been proposed to by innumerable hipster girls in every town they’ve performed in.
Not at all bad for four guys from the right side of the tracks whose musical career started with a humorous hip-hop band. Fans worldwide await their next push towards fame and fortune. Come along for the ride.

Five Reasons Why Fantasy Football is Dungeons and Dragons for Sports Nerds

2010-08-22T21:21:00.000-04:00

Fantasy Football is now played by nearly 25 million Americans according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. Fantasy football owners gather with like-minded comrades spending upwards of half a day “drafting” imaginary teams that they obsess over for the rest of the year. The ultimate dream of any fantasy football owner is to end the year as champion, hoist a cheap plastic trophy and revel in the accolades and jibes of their friends.

What they don’t realize is that they have become what they once mocked. What they don’t see is that fantasy football is really just Dungeons & Dragons (or World of Warcraft for you younger folks) for sports nerds. Doubt this theory? Here are five reasons why this theory will soon be accepted as law.

Both Are Obsessed with “Imaginary Beings.”

Okay, I hear what you’re saying. NFL players are real people and a Mind Flayer is the mental offspring of D&D creator Gary Gygax the long reigning king of all nerds. While any rational being knows fantasy from reality, your average fantasy footballer has as much chance of meeting Arian Foster as they do a Mind Flayer and at least Mind Flayer would show interest in meeting you, if only with the intent of slurping your brain out of your skull.

Yet this does not prevent a fantasy footballer from reveling in Foster’s 140 yard and two TD torching on Sunday. The bylaws of the man code state that this feat of skill allows the Foster owner to gloat and temporarily claim Alpha Male status.

Both Have Insider Lingo That Outsiders Don’t Understand.

PPR, HP, IDP and DMG are just a few of the innumerable acronyms that fill the hallowed halls (and alternate worlds) of fantasy football and Dungeons & Dragons. This lingo becomes like a second language to the initiated members of these subcultures. They converse, often at socially inappropriate volumes, around water coolers and in comic books shops with all the intensity of a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

These secret languages act as a bonding device and make devotees feel that they are part of a bigger picture that may or may not have designs of world domination. Tread in these realms without this secret knowledge at great risk.

Both Allow Participants to Vicariously Live Like Action Heroes.

Your average Dungeons & Dragons players were the outsiders who found in the imaginary sword and sorcery roleplaying game a place where they could be the well-muscled hero who saved the princess. In many cases this is the only time these dice wielding heroes get the girl.

Fantasy footballers however, may once have been star athletes, but time has taken its toll and the only way they can taste the glory of old is to dominate their fantasy football league. They rest beer cans on well-developed guts while high fiving friends when Calvin Johnson crushes that poor defensive back enroute to yet another TD. And like Al Bundy they may exhaustively retell their moment of glory story before slipping their hand into the waist band.

Both Pastimes Call for Congregating in Caves.

Dungeons & Dragons players often find themselves descending into caves in pursuit of treasure. In the deep bowels of the earth they are forced to battle everything from trolls to giant spiders. If they have chosen well then they will come out of the cave with experience, riches and perhaps a +1 mace.

Fantasy football drafts also occur in caves. Dubbed man caves, they are most often the one room in the house that the wives have allowed them to “decorate” as they please. Man caves are usually in basements and are often dingy, damp and inhabited (at least in the case of my fantasy football draft) by at least one hairy beast with suspect hygiene that could legitimately be mistaken for a troll. If players perform their task well they will emerge from the cave with the elixir of a great fantasy football team.

Both Have Online Communities Dedicated to Their Widows.

Like Dungeons & Dragons ( and World of Warcraft), fantasy football can quickly grow from hobby to obsession, which has led to the recent proliferation of websites and online support groups dedicated to offering solace and advice to the women who get left behind.

Birthdays are missed. Anniversaries are forgotten. These WoW widows and Fantasy football widows often fail to understand the greatness to which their husbands strive and in fits of anger often banish them to their man caves, to live among the filth and the squalor.

Chris Carney is a freelance writer and longtime fantasy football fanatic. He is a proud, former Dungeon Master and earned many guffaws and a few angry comments when he first suggested this theory at his last fantasy draft, which true to form was held in a dingy man cave.

Originally Published in the August 2010 Issue of Drink Magazine.

Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz: Battle Born

2010-07-27T19:12:00.002-04:00

By Chris Carney

Boxing and Las Vegas have long been comfy bedmates. When Las Vegas was still in its infancy, boxing was king, and in the decades since, boxing’s presence has continued a steady affair.

So it shocks nobody that the rematch of one of the best fights of the year comes to the ring at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz was a furious nine-round battle in 2009 that left 26-year-old Diaz bleeding and dazed on the canvas.

Now Diaz seeks redemption against the decade older Marquez. It’s youth vs. legacy—and what a fight it will be. Dubbed as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, Mexican-born Marquez (pictured fighting Joel Casamayor in 2008) has fought Manny Pacquiao, been slated to battle Floyd Mayweather and, if he beats Diaz again, will go against up-and-coming phenom Michael Katsidis.

Since being taken down, Diaz has trained for redemption, but much more rests on his shoulders in this rematch. A win and Diaz can claim stardom. A loss and he may just enter the ranks of the almost-were. Marquez vs. Diaz II ups the drama, the sweat and the power.

http://lasvegasmagazine.com/

Lyle Lovett: Large and In Charge

2010-07-19T09:25:00.000-04:00

By Chris Carney

Lyle Lovett may not be the most famous country singer ever, but his longevity and influence have far outstripped short-lived fame. Born in Klein, Texas, where he resides today, Lovett took to music early in life and began his career writing for others. It wasn’t until 1986 that he began to focus on his own music with the release of his self-titled debut.

Since then he’s recorded 14 albums, won four Grammys and began an acting career. It was his friendship with legendary film director Robert Altman that led not only to his second job, but also to a much-publicized, if short-lived, marriage to actress Julia Roberts.

Since then Lovett, who always seems to operate better personally and professionally outside the spotlight, has quietly continued to influence an entire generation of musicians. His life has unfolded at his pace and by his design, and it is these values that he’ll showcase when he brings his Large Band to Vegas.

http://lasvegasmagazine.com

The Real Tracy Morgan

2010-07-01T17:09:00.008-04:00

By Chris Carney

“So, here’s some advice I wish I woulda got when I was your age: live every week like it’s Shark Week.” So says Tracy Jordan, the fictional star of a fictional variety show on NBC’s hit sitcom 30 Rock. The Emmy-nominated actor who delivered this suspect advice is Tracy Morgan, and despite the initial sense of absurdity engendered by the statement, it holds a core of wisdom shared by character and actor alike.

This is not to suggest that Tracy Jordan is a wise man. In truth he is a bit of a buffoon, who has lost touch with the world that made him famous. Thankfully, even with numerous successes and accolades, Tracy Morgan has never lost sight of the reasons he does what he does.

“It’s all about family for me,” says Morgan. “My kids and my family keep me grounded. Everything I do is for them.”

This dedication to family is not just lip service. It is both the heart of his success and the barometer that keeps him in check. Born in the heart of what he calls Ghetto, USA, the Bedford—Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn in 1968, Tracy’s early life was surrounded by a combination of love and violence.

The second of four children, Tracy, known as Tray to his family and friends, was named after a red headed Irish army buddy of his father Jimmy Morgan. Jimmy met Tracy on an Army transport en route to Vietnam for the fi rst of what would be fi ve tours. Tracy and Jimmy hit it off. They were two men from very different backgrounds whose lives had crossed, forever changing both of them. For Jimmy, Vietnam would lead to a heroin addiction, night Terrors, and AIDS. For Tracy, Vietnam lasted a mere 24 hours before a land mine ended his life.

Like many kids of the 80s, Tracy is the child of divorce. While Jimmy and Tracy’s mother, Alicia, loved each other, Jimmy’s heroin addiction became a very real danger to the children. The resultant split created a great and lasting anger in young Tracy. He eventually learned to turn the anger into a fierce dedication to comedy. A craft he deems “his bulletproof vest,” and credits with literally saving his life.

In his book, I Am the New Black, Tracy states he does not want our sympathy. “I don’t feel like any kind of hero. I’m not God’s gift, but my life wasn’t dumb luck either. I made a series of choices—some bad, most good—that led me here.”

Here is a pretty damn good place for Tracy Morgan these days. He is the star of the hit sitcom 30 Rock, he is a Golden Globe winner, an Emmy nominee and recently returned to host an episode of his old stomping grounds Saturday Night Live. He’s starred in several movies, including Cop Out with Bruce Willis and the recent comedy gem Death at a Funeral, sharing the screen with his old buddy and mentor Martin Lawrence.

He has finally taken control of his health, which was severely damaged by years of neglect and ignorance of his diabetic condition. He’s even found love once again after a recent divorce from long time wife Sabina. Indeed, here is pretty good for Tracy Morgan.

Enroute to his success Tracy learned and relearned a most important lesson. “Don’t believe the hype,” his father told him. “Everyone is going to tell you you’re great until you’re not great. Until the day you let them down. And on that day they’ll hate you.” Despite the accolades, the success, the wealth, Tracy remains humble and has finally become grounded.

Tracy’s success was never a guarantee and even a cursory examination of his life suggests it may just be a miracle. As a young man Tracy was on a path all to familiar to many poor African American men. Few opportunities and a deep-rooted anger combined with the need to be a “baller” and Tracy soon found himself dealing on the street. Yet even then comedy was his defense mechanism and his primary method of survival. Starting with weed and eventually moving on to the new plague known as crack, Tracy used and developed his comedic skills on the street.

“I took to crack like it was an open mic night, and I was pretty good at it. I had people laughing, even when they were jonesing for a fix. It was like comedy—they were paying me for a good time.”

But soon the luster of the life began to tarnish. One night his buddy Spoon, who Tracy says was ”funnier than I,” was murdered. By sheer luck Tracy was with a girl. Otherwise, he says, “I’d probably be dead right now.” Spoon’s death was the reality check Tracy needed. If he stayed on the streets, they would kill him, probably sooner than later.

While Spoon died, Tracy kept his memory alive in puppet form as Spoonie Love on Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla’s Crank Yankers. This was just one of numerous characters, comedy bits and skits Tracy dredged up from his childhood and it set the stage for his variety of very open and extremely personal style of comedy.

It was about this time, with the support of his first love Sabina, that he made the choice that would eventually lead him down the road of fame and fortune. He decided to become a stand up comedian. While most wives would demand a stable income from their man, Sabina believed in Tracy and was the rock that pushed him.

“I’ve got you,” Sabina told him,” but you’ve got to keep at this no matter how hard it gets. You’ve got to keep at it until you make something of yourself.” Tracy started appearing at open mic nights and comedy clubs across the Bronx. Eventually he landed a gig at the Apollo, the legendary comedy club in Harlem responsible for launching innumerable careers.

From there he heard riotous laughter and choruses of boos on Uptown Comedy Club and the Def Comedy Jam, where he met Martin Lawrence.This chance encounter led to Tracy’s first sitcom gig, as Hustle Man on the hit sitcom Martin.

Eventually Saturday Night Live came calling. For most comedians, this would seem to be the pinnacle, the dream job, the nadir, but Tracy, in an uncharacteristic display of insecurity and nervousness was resistant.

“I can’t do it,” he told his agent Barry Katz. “That’s where Eddie [Murphy] came from. I can’t go up to Eddie’s house. No way, I can’t do it. I’m not good enough, man.” Yet, Barry, like Sabina before him, did believe and in a classic bit of subterfuge told Tracy that the SNL producers were begging to see him. In truth Barry had to bludgeon the producers into giving Tracy his shot. From their perspective it was a long shot indeed.

Terrified, Tracy took that fear and used it. He took his anger and used it. Today his audition tape can be seen by the world on the Saturday Night Live: The Best of Tracy Morgan DVD. While he was a bit huskier, a bit more disheveled, he was, even at that early date, still very much Tracy Morgan.

He did a bit of Biscuit, the propeller beenie topped kid that had long been a classic Tracy Morgan character. “Biscuit is me as a kid. He’s the character most like the real me out of all that I do.” The producers liked what they saw and Tracy became an increasingly important fixture on SNL for the next seven seasons. During these years Tracy immortalized characters as diverse as Brian Fellow, the gay, self-centered and paranoid host of an animal talk show, Dominican Lou, the overzealous building super based on a guy Tracy knew from his days in the Bronx and pervy, folk singing space adventurer Astronaut Jones.

It was during these years that he and soon-to-be SNL head writer Tina Fey really hit it off. “She’s my sister, Tina Fey,” Tracy says. “Tina understands who I am as a person and what my strengths and weaknesses are as an actor and a comedian more than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Though he couldn’t have known it at the time, this camaraderie would eventually lead him to the greatest role of his life. As is often the case in the entertainment business, as in life, Tracy needed to fall before he could climb to even greater heights. In 2003, well into his seventh year on SNL Tracy decided to leave the show and move on. The decision wasn’t easy. SNL was lucrative, it was a sure thing, but Tracy didn’t want to be the one who held on too long. It was ultimately the prompting of his younger sister Asia that pushed him to take the leap. “You’ve got to promise me something,” Asia told Tracy. “ Don’t be there [SNL] too long. Keep challenging yourself and try new things. Don’t get too comfortable.”

As luck would have it he didn’t have to wait to long for the next new thing. NBC commissioned The Tracy Morgan Show, which Tracy originally envisioned as a Sanford and Son meets All in the Family with stories and characters based on Tracy’s childhood. The producers changed the show into a modern day Cosby Show that limped through one lackluster season and ultimately died a mostly unseen death. “In the end the show that aired wasn’t even my show anymore,” Tracy laments.

After his show was cancelled Tracy began to extensively tour once again, and as the road began to take control his personal issues came to the fore. Alcoholism, loneliness and frequent appearances by his dark side alter ego he dubbed Chico Divine started to damage him in subtle yet serious ways. Chico was fun, crazy and was slowly killing Tracy. Tracy and Sabina began having the issues that would eventually lead to their divorce. He talks about it freely. “Once that love turns, believe me, you’re done,” Tracy writes. “When a good woman’s love goes cold, it never comes back.”

It was about this time, when Tracy was at his lowest, that his old friend Tina Fey offered him a hand up. What a hand it would turn out to be. Tracy Jordan, the character on 30 Rock that would earn Tracy Morgan an Emmy nomination was hand crafted for him. Tina Fey has said that “Tracy Jordan is Tracy Morgan if Tracy Morgan was insane.” One wonders if she knew Tracy’s current state of mind when she made the offer.

Tracy Morgan has pushed through the bad and the good to surface a better man, a better father and a better actor and comedian. By any measuring stick his life can be deemed a triumph. He’s even returned to the comedy circuit that gave him his start and almost ended his career, with an upcoming show at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas June 5th.

So take Tracy Jordan’s advice and live every week like it’s Shark Week. When your opportunity comes a knocking, take it. Do everything all the way. Learn from the past, but look to the future. Keep your family close and never miss a chance at reconciliation, because in this crazy world of ours you never know when you’ll get another chance. There are sharks around every corner, and when they strike nobody can help you, except you.

Tracy Morgan has lived his life by this mantra. It has led him to never be satisfied, never stop working and even though he has achieved more than he could have ever dreamed as a kid in the Bronx, he remains forever hungry, forever unsatisfied. For our sakes, let us hope that he always remains so.

Published in Hard Rock Hotel Magazine Summer 2010

Cheap Trick: Never Surrender

2010-06-30T15:02:00.003-04:00

Sgt. Pepper Live is the latest chapter to Cheap Trick’s enduring legacy
By Chris Carney

There is a long held maxim in the music world that the truly great bands make their mark on the stage and not in the studio. Whether it was the operatic crescendo of The Who, the smoke and grime haze of the Grateful Dead or the present-day masters of mass musical hypnosis, My Morning Jacket, every truly great band killed it live.

Perhaps more than any other band, American rockers Cheap Trick owe their career to their raucous, humorous, adrenaline-pulsing live shows. Formed in Rockford, Ill., in 1975, Cheap Trick toured the numerous bowling alleys, dive bars and warehouses throughout the Midwest. These shows led Epic Records’ Jack Douglas to sign them, after the prolific producer had seen them perform in Wisconsin, perhaps between strikes of the bowling ball. In 1977, they released their critically lauded but commercial dud self-titled debut. Their next two albums, In Color and Heaven Tonight, also failed to earn them a huge American following, despite featuring future hits “Surrender” and “I Want You to Want Me.” Cheap Trick had taken its three swings at stardom and a return to the well-worn bench of the never-were seemed imminent.

Then something strange happened. Japan came calling. While Cheap Trick had failed to muster the legions of fans they would soon be able to lay claim to in the United States, the Japanese had made all three albums gold records. In reward Cheap Trick traversed the ring of fire and filmed two of their shows at the Nippon Budokan, the Madison Square Garden of Tokyo. The resultant double live album, At Budokan, became the breakthrough Cheap Trick had prayed for.

At Budokan was the essence of what the Japanese knew and the world was about to learn: Cheap Trick rocked. Their mishmash of humor, melodic vocals and hard rock riffs worked brilliantly onstage. Robin Zander’s vocals melded perfectly with Rick Nielsen’s guitar cavorting, especially when Nielsen attacked his peacock feather-inspired five-neck guitar.

Cheap Trick had hit it big on the backs of a one-time import-made-multiplatinum domestic release. From there they toured ceaselessly, released a further 14 studio albums, At Budokan II and contributed to numerous soundtrack albums.

Cheap Trick has endured the decades when other bands have faded like background radiation from a dying star. They continue to innovate, entertain and occasionally illuminate.
For Cheap Trick it ends where it all began, on the stage. They return to Las Vegas together with the Sgt. Pepper Symphony Orchestra for a series of shows at Paris Las Vegas, June 22-23 & 25-26, to perform a complete live rendition of The Beatles’ legendary album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

This full-length homage to this seminal 1967 record features a full orchestra, lights, sounds and video, plus some of the band’s very own hits. Cheap Trick is live once more. Rejoice.

http://lasvegasmagazine.com

One Republic: Independent Spirit

2010-06-30T15:00:00.004-04:00

By Chris Carney

One Republic cheerfully straddles the border between the sovereign musical genres of pretty boy pop crooners and hipster alterna-rockers so well that their live shows at first suggest some kind of first contact scenario. Few other bands could draw teens unwittingly imitating their grandmother’s emotional outbursts at Elvis and tight pants-wearing twenty-something lads forcibly sulking their way towards counterculture credibility, all in one venue.

But One Republic has never been just another band. Owing much of their success to social media pioneer MySpace, One Republic earned a monstrous fan base that eventually led to them being signed by Mosley Records in 2006.

2007 saw the release of their debut album Dreaming Out Loud and its single “Apologize,” which would top the charts in sixteen countries via Timberland’s remix.

Often slotted into the Fray/Coldplay genre by fans and critics alike, One Republic insists that they are “not trying to be a British band.” Good thing for these Colorado Springs (that’s in the U.S.A, folks) natives, and a good thing for fans, too. Nothing screams “we’re irrelevant” more than one band actively trying to be another. Thankfully, One Republic remains true to their individual musical identity.

http://lasvegasmagazine.com

The Backstreet Boys: Smooth Moves

2010-06-30T14:59:00.003-04:00

The Backstreet Boys still larger than life
By Chris Carney

Back in 1992, an unknown, overworked and likely underpaid worker at the Orlando Sentinel filed another entry in the crowded sea of classified ads. What couldn’t be known at the time was that this request for “Singers and Musicians” to audition would lead to one of the best-selling recording groups in history.

Thus, in the massive confines of a blimp hangar, was the boy band supergroup The Backstreet Boys spawned. Hundreds auditioned. Five were chosen. Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson, cousins from Lexington, Ken., joined Orlando, Fla., natives A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough and Nick Carter, and the second age of the boy band began.

Their success was by no means a guarantee. America was still gripped in the throes of the grunge movement. Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were kings, selling millions of albums, playing arenas and massive festivals like the groundbreaking Lollapalooza Tour and defining a musical generation.

It seemed that the Backstreet Boy venture was doomed to fail, but then something odd happened. Their first single, “We’ve Got It Goin’ On,” surged to the top of music charts across Europe. And the group did survive and begin to thrive, and then in 1997 their self-titled debut album hit the American music scene and would go on to sell 14 million copies in the U.S. alone. From then, their rise was nothing less than meteoric.

Few bands in American history can lay claim to the achievements of the Backstreet Boys. Starting from that newspaper ad, the Boys went on to sell 75 million albums worldwide, had 13 Billboard Top 40 hits and earned a staggering $533 million in concert receipts.

They singlehandedly brought the boy band back to the forefront of American pop music, a spot left dormant since their musical forefathers, The New Kids on the Block. And while the whims of the music buying, concert going public moved on, the Backstreet Boys eventually busied themselves with other ventures. Littrell has gone on to a successful Christian music career. Carter battled addiction, starred on a reality show and began to act in film. McLean and Dorough began a television career. Even the elder statesman Richardson has gone on to a modeling and composing career.

Throughout the ups and downs of their careers, legal wrangling with former manager Lou Pearlman and the departure of Richardson, the Backstreet Boys proved to be survivors. They surged to the top of the pop charts and held off would-be pretenders to the boy band crown, with the possible exception of brother band ‘N Sync.

They went on to survive the demise of teen pop in the early 2000s only to recently resurface with a new focus on live instruments, a more adult sensibility and a sixth album, Unbreakable, released in 2007. They began touring again, first internationally where they had scored their initial successes and now back home in the States.

http://lasvegasmagazine.com

Disney For Adults (AOL Travel)

2010-05-12T03:11:00.002-04:00

Walt Disney World may be one of the most popular destinations for families in the world, but believe it or not, hundreds of thousands of adults visit the parks, hotels and attractions without children each year. While some may be Disney aficionados, most have come for the great restaurants, amazing hotels and the world class golf courses.

The Disney Imagineers may focus on children, but the park is also chock full of activities for the over-eighteen set. If you have a grown-up Disney vacation on the horizon, here are some of the events, attractions, and destinations you won't want to miss.

Quite possibly the best golf course on the Disney property, the Palms has seen many a competitor come onto the scene since it opened in the 70's and, in spite of it all, has remained top dog. The pro-level course is home to central Florida's oldest PGA Tour Event, the "Children's Miracle Network Classic," yet remains friendly to players of all ages and abilities.

The setting is idyllic - crystal blue lakes and lagoons surround emerald greens that are surprisingly lush despite the occasionally heavy traffic. So make a tee time, grab their optional GPS and spend a sunny Florida day on the links. Just leave the metal spikes at home as the Palms doesn't allow them.

Palm Golf Course

Walt Disney World Resort
Lake Buena Vista, FL
(407) 939-4653

A short jaunt on foot from Epcot brings you to the Disney Boardwalk. Opened in the mid 90's and inspired by the seaside boardwalk towns that dominated the Eastern seaboard during the last century, the Disney version successfully captures the waterside charm of those bygone days.

The quarter-mile strip overlooks Crescent Lake, where boats from all over the Walt Disney World Resort disembark. The waterfront space shelters an amazing 9,000 square feet of shops, restaurants and clubs - enough to get lost in for an entire afternoon or evening. Whatever you do, don't miss Jellyroll's club - the piano show they put on is famous for off-the-wall requests and audience participation.

Beer lovers will want to stop by the Big River Grille & Brewing Works, Disney's only functioning brewpub. Other classics include an ESPN Club and, not surprisingly the Boardwalk Character Carnival.

Disney Boardwalk

2101 North Epcot Resorts Boulevard
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
(407) 393-5100

The Rock N' Roll Roller Coaster is a raucous combination of music (all recorded specifically for the attraction by Aerosmith himself), kinetic energy and speed.

Strap into the stretch limo, blare the tunes and get zipped about with the force of a jet fighter. On the way you'll scream past dozens of Southern California rock stars while accelerating from 0-60 miles an hour in a heart-swallowing 2.8 seconds.

Rock N' Roll Roller Coaster staring Aerosmith

Disney's Hollywood Studios Theme Park
Sunset Boulevard

You'll want to catch Epcot's spectacular nighttime laser, light and fireworks show at least once before you leave. Dominated by the massive Earth globe at the center of Epcot's lagoon, the 30-minute narrated and music-laden show is as impressive for its visuals as it is for its storytelling, which lays out the history of the earth from its molten creation to our arrival on the planet. Who knew that education could be so romantic?

Three of the best spots to watch the show are: the Gondola Landing at Italy, the second story deck in Japan, and the Waterfront Promenade ear Germany. Stake out your spot at least 20 minutes before the show (check with park workers for show times).

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

Walt Disney World Resort
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
(407) 939-1289

Looking to let off a little steam after a long day? How about burning some rubber on the race track? The Richard Petty Driving Experience, located in the shadow of the Magic Kingdom, gives anyone 16 and over with a valid driver's license (14 and over for the Drive Along Experience) the opportunity to strap on some racing gear, climb in a real NASCAR stock racing car and zoom around a track at speeds up to 120 MPH.

Prices vary and spots fill up quick so make your reservations in advance.

The Richard Petty Driving Experience

3450 World Drive
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
(407) 939-0130
(800) BE PETTY

Housed in its own freestanding theatre at the western end of Downtown Disney, La Nouba by Cirque Du Soleil is a must. Equal parts circus, carnival and opera, the spectacle mixes it up with stunning acrobatics, over-the-top orange-and-fuschia costumes complete with orange plumage, and heart-thumping music.

Perhaps the most stunning display is the aerial ballet, in which performers twist, tumble and fly through the air held aloft and safe by mere strips of silks. Watching the performance, it's hard to believe that only six musicians and two opera trained singers are required to perform the soundtrack live every night.

La Nouba by Cirque Du Soleil

1478 East Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
(407) 939-7600

Long known as the most adult of the Disney theme parks, Epcot is literally a world unto itself. Featuring numerous sit down restaurants, pubs and bars, Epcot has more places to enjoy a beer, a glass wine, or even a flight of tequilas than any other Disney park. For the especially thirsty, there's a culturally themed bar hop "across the continent" which incorporates as many culturally inspired culinary dishes as it does tasty regional brews (just be sure to take advantage of Disney's on site hotels and free transportation at the end of your evening).

Annual activities are geared toward the over-21 set too, with everything from the International Flower and Garden Festival in the spring to The Sound Like Summer Concert Series and the International Food and Wine Festival in the fall.

Epcot – Walt Disney World Resort

Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
(407) 939-1289

Hidden amidst the rides, hotels and restaurants of Disney, ESPN's Wide World of Sports is a thoroughly modern sports facility where avid and casual sports fans alike can enjoy sporting events.

The events vary depending on the season (the complex has welcomed everyone from the Harlem Globe Trotters to the Disney marathon). This year the Yankees, Phillies and Mets will all come to town for some big league action and another season of the Atlanta Braves Spring Training is set to debut soon.

Sports lovers should purchase tickets as soon as they have their travel plans set as seats sell out fast.

ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex

700 S. Victory Way
Kissimmee, FL 34747

A vacation isn't really a vacation without some true pampering, right? Almost all of the Disney hotels have a spa on property, but our favorite is the Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. Channeling Saratoga Springs, an area that some consider to be America's first spa, the airy Niki Bryan Spa has built their entire menu of services around the philosophy that water heals and specializes in hydro-massage therapy (though regular massage treatments are also available for those who prefer the classics).

You don't need to be a guest to take advantage of the spa's services, but it certainly simplifies things if you're staying on property, plus, then you'll also be able to take advantage of the resort's other health-inspired offerings, which range from the impressive work-out center, tennis courts, golf course, and jogging paths.

Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa

Downtown Disney Area
1960 Broadway
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
(407) 939-7675

A short jaunt by boat from anywhere in the Walt Disney World Resorts, Shula's Steakhouse, like its founder Miami Dolphin's head coach Don Shula, is a legend. Consistently rated as one of the Top Ten Steak Houses in America, the location at the Dolphin Resort is the place to finish off a fun filled day at Disney.

Try one of the signature Shula Cut steaks, including the monster 48 oz porterhouse or the perfectly portioned 12 oz filet. Perfect for a romantic dinner or business gathering, Shula's also offers foodstuffs for the non beef eater.

An experience that will have you hungering for more Shula's recommends reservations, especially during peak times.

Shula's Steak House at the Dolphin

Shula's Steak House Orlando at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
1500 Epcot Resorts Blvd
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
(407) 934-1362

Originally Published on http://travel.aol.com/disney

The Only Honest Holiday on the Calendar

2010-03-11T16:38:00.000-05:00

St. Patrick’s Day may be the only truly honest holiday. Although it has roots in the misty history of Ireland and remains an official holiday of the Roman Catholic Church, the true meaning of the feast day has evolved (some will argue devolved) into a universal holiday of drinking and merrymaking.

You heard it debauchery, drunkenness, slovenly behavior and emerald hued crimes against the fashion gods have all become “just part of the charm.” Not only are these activities encouraged, nay required, on St. Patrick’s day, they are the only thing people remember (depending upon the number of beverages) about this truly Irish day of celebration.

St. Patrick’s Day the only honest holiday!? How dare thee? Before you arrange for my excommunication, prepare the gibbet for a hanging or arrange a nice pile of wood for a soul cleansing stake barbeque, give this heathen a chance to explain.

While the United States alone has Ten Federal Holidays (St. Patrick’s Day sadly not one of them), the world at large has literally thousands of days of celebration. And some of them honor the truly bizarre (Japan’s Kanamara Matsuri celebrates the joys of the penis every Spring) wondrous (Sept 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day, Arr!) and in some municipalities illegal (February 1st is Working Naked Day).

Therefore it must be the height of arrogance to suggest that St. Patrick’s Day tops the chart for holidays that pretend to be what they are. But I suggest an honest assessment will shine a light on the self-evident truth of my statement.

Christmas has morphed into a retailer’s dream where many kids recognize Santa more that Jesus. President’s Day Weekend has become the most beloved three days of the year for automobile pimps of all kinds, from mega-mall car retailers to Johnny’s Craptacular Car Depot. Even New Year’s Eve, a study in amateur depravity, remains burdened with unlikely, and mostly unfulfilled, resolutions to improve oneself in the coming year.

Yet a quick Internet search for the “True Meaning of St. Patrick's Day” uncovers several bizarre parables involving a bearded Romano-British monk by the name of Patricius who lived sometime in the 5th century AD (or CE for you egalitarian sticklers), killed a bunch of snakes and, oh yeah, brought Christianity to the heathen Fey Folk worshippers of Ireland. Even the Shamrock, a symbol not only of St. Patrick’s Day, The Boston Celtics and House of Pain, but of the very essence of Irishness, was empowered by St. Patrick who used its three leaves to teach the locals about the Holy Trinity.

While little remains today of the religious holiday (even the Republic of Ireland officially endorsed the party by the 1990s) the secular version of St. Patrick’s Day has done something few religions, political parties or pseudo scientific, new age movements have. St. Patrick’s Day is all-inclusive. Everyone is can join. Everyone is welcome. Whether thee be Irish, Inuit or Samoan, Russian, Jewish or Somali, St. Patrick’s Day welcomes you all, with just one caveat, “Enjoy Yourself.” As the saying goes “everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.”

Sadly we Central Floridians have no river to dye green like our Irish brethren in chilly Chicago, cannot lay claim to 400,000 revelers like the folks in Savannah or march in a parade older than our beloved country like the Celtic loving Bostonians.

Yet, despite our Gaelic handicap there are plenty of places in Orlando to kick up your boots, swig a pint of Guinness and dance a jig with you best lass. Here’s where you’re likely to find me.

I find I have a hankering’ to see old dudes in fezzes drive wee cars, so I shoot up the few miles to Winter Park for their annual St. Patty’s Day parade. Since the sad demise of Orlando’s own parade, this jaunty, joyous, if small parade, is the only one we have in the Metro. After a brief lunch of Shepherd’s Pie at Fiddler’s Green I head downtown.

A short jaunt from my front door and I’m sitting across from the lovely, and authentically Irish, lassies at Lizzy McCormack’s. These off the boat imports, wondrous redheads all, welcome me with the clarion call of Irish hospitality, “What can I get ya’ darlin’?” A minute later a Smithwick’s mustache crest my upper lip and I am satisfied.

From there I hit The Harp & Celt on Magnolia for a pint before heading to my newest fav, The Lucky Leprechaun located in the tourist mecca (hell?) of I-Drive. From here on out the night may get fuzzy, but at least it will match my green felt Mad Hatter chapeau.

So this March 17th grab your favorite green apparel, whether it be green plastic Bowler hat, fuzzy chaps style britches or Shamrock plastered thongs (St. Patrick would likely disapprove), and jaunt down to any number of local watering holes that for at least one day are Irish too.

Drink, make merry and celebrate a holiday that exists for celebration. Erin Go Bragh.

Published in the March 2010 Issue of Drink Magazine.

Laughter as Medicine

2010-02-27T15:14:00.000-05:00

Laughter as Medicine

George Lopez at the Las Vegas Hilton

By Chris Carney

Photo by Carlo Dalla Chiesa

George Lopez
Where: Las Vegas Hilton
When: 8 p.m. March 5-6
Cost: $75 and up
Info: (866) 80-SHOWS

It is often said that humor is a defense mechanism against a crappy world. Take a small sampling of the early life of George Lopez and you'll come to realize just why he is so popular, enduring and hilarious.
While still an infant, his father abandoned him, and at the age of 10 his mother followed suit. Lopez could have used his life as an excuse, but instead he chose to use his experiences as the basis for his extremely popular comedic career.
He has toured the country for decades, had numerous stand-up specials, his own sitcom and, the Holy Grail for any entertainer, his own late-night show, Lopez Tonight on TBS.
Although much of his comedy is based on the Mexican- American experience, he has used this backdrop to examine the human experience. He pokes fun at family dysfunction, language confusion and stereotypes with a wit that speaks truth without demeaning.
Since beginning Lopez Tonight his comedy has morphed a bit. It has become more all-inclusive while still being rooted in the world of that young Mexican-American boy who once wondered if the American dream were true. As Lopez found out, it can be.

Sailing Back Into Stand-Up

2010-02-14T16:46:00.000-05:00

Sailing Back Into Stand-Up

Sinbad at Treasure Island

By Chris Carney

Sinbad
Where: Treasure Island
When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19
Cost: $45 and up
Info: (866) 80-SHOWS

To us normal folk, the ticket-buying public and the comedy-special-watching folk, the world of stand-up comedy seems vast and foreign. But for those who've slogged their ways upward from the trenches to comedy fame and fortune, the roads taken are often quite similar.

This is as true for ever-present '90s comedy powerhouse Sinbad as it is for many of his comedy brethren. Born in a small town in Michigan, the man who would become Sinbad had numerous career dead ends, including a stint in the Air Force, which didn't quite go as planned.
It wasn't until he went on Star Search, where he defeated fellow comedian Dennis Miller, that his career really got the boost it needed. From there he had a recurring role on A Different World, was part of the cast of numerous Hollywood films and eventually earned himself the comedian's crown jewel, a self-titled sitcom, The Sinbad Show.
While the show earned some accolades for its positive portrayal of African Americans, it eventually went the way most comedian-based sitcoms go: off the air.
But Sinbad persevered. Numerous film roles, including Houseguest and Jingle All the Way, followed. Sprinkled throughout his silver screen work were HBO specials and extensive touring.
Sinbad surged to the top of the stand-up circuit, bartered that success into a successful acting career and eventually saw the fickle public move on to the next new flavor, and he has returned to his first love. And we are better for it.

Published in Las Vegas Magazine 2-14-2010