Nikki Villoria ~ Beauty and the Blog

A Rugged Look at Rugby

2012-02-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

Through the entrance gates, down the paved pathway and around the end of the grassy field, Sam Boyd Stadium was no stranger to me. As a UNLV student I had many visits to the stadium for football games. But this was not a football game I would be watching, it was rugby and that was all new to me.

As I made my way down to the end zone and onto the field to watch and photograph, it took me only a few minutes into the first game that I realized I knew absolutely nothing about what was going on.

At first it appeared as a simple game, a combination of soccer and football, but then came the headlocks, the grabs, the ridiculously intense tackles and pile-ups, the pulling of limbs and jerseys. I was utterly confused. The scoring part was easy to catch onto, aside from that however, it appeared to be a complete free-for-all when it came to getting possession of the ball. Then I realized it was exactly like soccer and football but also with a bit of UFC thrown into the mix. The more I watched, the more I caught on to what was taking place and before long my initial impression that rugby was a very strange sport that made very little sense transitioned to the conclusion that it was in fact one of the coolest sporting events I had been to.

It is day two of the 2012 USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament, an event where the top rugby teams from around the world come to compete. 44 rugby games will be played between the 13 competing countries. Flags from around the world spiral in and out of cheering fans and costumes of multiple varieties fill the stands.

For those who will be following up on the final day of the tournament, here are some rugby basics to help you keep up with the games.

Scoring occurs by physically touching the ball to the ground in the end zone. Each ‘touch down’ scores the team 5-points. Conversion plays are made after ‘touch downs’ much like in football, these plays are kicked and worth two points each.

Passing may not be made in a forward motion, unless it is kicked. Players must run the ball down the field toward the end zones, while passing the ball sideways and behind them.

Tackles occur throughout the game. Like football, the team on defense tackles the player with the ball. Although the player with the ball is tackled, the play is not dead, both teams ‘fight’ to get possession of the ball once it is touched down on the ground.

Penalties are by far the most confusing part for me to understand but here’s what I have managed to learn. There are four kinds of fouls: when players leave their feet in what is called a ruck (a tackle), when players don’t release a tackled player, when a player doesn’t release the ball after being tackled or when a player is off sides.

So what’s with the players continuously kicking the ball into the crowd and to themselves? When a foul occurs, the team gets a chance to kick the ball in opposition ten meters back. The players typically kick the ball out of bounds (called ‘into touch’) and are then able to throw the ball in downfield or they do a mini kick to themselves and start running.

Stopping at Red

2012-01-11T12:06:00.000-08:00

As I sprayed a jet of water from the hose into my wheel wells I hoped to get rid of the black mess that was covering the once silver hubcaps of my car. At last they were clean, then by the time I pulled out of the drive way and into the parking lot next door they were black all over again. If that was all that was happening I might have been baffled, but due to the screeching and grinding sounds that would erupt from the brakes of my car when stopping, the massive amount of brake dust that was continuously accumulating confirmed that already known fact that I desperately needed breaks.

The appointment was made and I pulled into the Bruce Scher's Goodyear, where my brake problems would be left for good. I walked into the office and suddenly realized this was the same location I had visited only a few weeks before when my car would debate with me whether or not it would in fact drive when I would hit the gas pedal, (an issue that was easily solved by replacing the sludge covered spark plugs). Here I was back in the office and despite the usual bit of a wait time for someone to walk in and realize I was waiting, I was in the computer system and they were ready to take a look at my nonexistent brakes.

Over the course of the time I spent in the waiting room, I watched as cars came in and out of the giant, roll up garage doors and the front office door opened and closed with new and returning customers. Although each customer grew slightly impatient over the lack of office staff at the front desk and the long wait for attention, not a single customer seemed to think the service wasn’t worth the wait. The location was surrounded by various mechanics, brake teams and part stores and yet customers endured the wait for what they believed to be the better mechanic and I didn’t hear a single complaint about the quality of car service received.

Thanks to bad daytime TV, continuous political news updates from apps and a good book, two and a half hours of waiting felt like a mere two hours flat and before long I heard my name called from the lobby. There are few times when hearing your own name sends a rush of excitement through you and you jump to your feet. Sitting in a waiting room waiting to drive your newly fixed car is one of those times. From the sounds of it, needing new brakes was a bit of an understatement but their team managed to get me everything I needed to be able to abide by the red octagonal signs that were in my driving future.

So maybe you don’t wait until your car is literally screaming for help at every red light for some changes in it’s automotive makeup but regardless of the severity or routine maintenance needed, I can honestly say that as a return customer, I’d highly recommend this location for mechanic necessities and tune-ups.

For more information on Bruce Scher's Goodyear and the services they offer visit their website and feel free to check them out on Facebook and give them a ‘like’.

...For the record, despite car malfunctions and a constant need for a mechanic, I am a very safe driver J

Magic, Music and Wit

2012-01-06T15:13:00.000-08:00

The lights were dim, tables lined a wall that were covered in an array of various appetizers and the bar tenders were busy pacing back and forth from ice bin to fridge filling the fast paced drink orders being placed. Robin Leach sat next to the bar watching people pass by him. Lance Burton sat back on a couch talking with friends, occasionally jumping to his feet to take pictures with fans. Siegfried Fischbacher was chatting with fans while simultaneously posing for photos.

It was the premier night of the all-new Vegas Magic Theatre, at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino and magicians, media and spectators crowded around for a chance to see it first. But the show wasn’t starting just yet, first thing was first; mingle, drink and eat.

While sitting at the bar prior to the start of the show, local magician Adam Flowers came by to demonstrate some slight-of-hand. As he made rings pass through a solid piece of rope, cards appear at the top of a deck with a snap of the finger and a cigarette flip and turn in mid air, I couldn’t help but smile and giggle with utter frustration. As he left us sitting puzzled it was time to make our way into the theatre and take a seat for the show.

Red drapes covered the stage; dim lights lit the room well enough to make our way to an open table and with a quick flicker of the house lights we knew we were only a few short minutes away from the start of the show.

Magic, music and comedy combined together into a 70-minute show that amused, confused and frustrated the heck out of me. Don’t get me wrong I love magic shows, but as a journalist I don’t work well with unanswered questions, so having a scarf continuously turn into a bird and people disappear and reappear right in front of me with no explanation of how it’s done is quite frustrating. My level of frustration for the night proved nothing more than the skill level of the magicians brought in to entertain audience members for the show.

Thursday night’s premier featured magician Mike Douglas, the hilarious 'Dennis the Menace' of Magic Murray SawChuck, comedian and juggler Michael Goudeau, American Idol finalist Jasmine Trias and show host Ben Stone. The show was quirky, funny and featured a musical talent in addition to humor and magic. With a comedy club atmosphere, the show set-up features a new line-up of acts each and every week.

Vegas Magic Theatre takes to the stage Thursday – Sunday and each show hosts an hour event for mingling in the Magic Lounge where slight-of-hand artists entertain patrons prior to the main show.

For more information on Vegas Magic Theatre call 702-367-7111 or visit goldcoastcasino.com.

(STAY TUNED FOR VIDEO FROM THE NIGHT)

First Fight

2012-01-03T16:02:00.000-08:00

For the entirety of my life, and still to this day I have never been a fan of fighting. While others in school would pick fights with the yearbook and journalism nerds I would continuously defeat my opponents by becoming friends with them and avoiding conflict. In this arena however, conflict was what was expected and the longer the fight played out, the more cheers it would solicit. Breaking away from my consistent avoidance of observing conflict I entered the arena and sat back to partake of my first UFC fight.

Hip hop and dance music took turns playing back and forth over the loud speakers with intermittent pauses as photos were shown on the six big projection screens set up around the top of the arena. As the photos shown and scrolled through, interviews and bios of the men about to make their big appearance were played to the thousands of fans that sat in their chairs.

Then without delay, music would shift and the fans let out a roar of clapping and shouting as the announced fighter emerged into the arena from the side tunnels below the stands to make their way toward the center octagon.

As each bout started and ended, I found myself cheering on for my selected fighter, who I had chosen to root for based on who had the better entrance music before the round. As punches and kicks were thrown and fighters were thrown to the ground by their opponents, I continuously found myself thinking two things: 1. Why? and 2. Why!? Despite my questions going unanswered, I continued to watch in awe of the spectacle and while watching the cheering fans I was unsure of who was more intimidating, the fighters or the fans.

The size of the fighters was increasing by the round and by the time the main card fight came around the size of the fighter’s neck had the same radius of one of my thighs. It was obvious this was the heavyweight bout, and by this time I had abandoned my technique of music selection to root for the winner. Now I had started to listen to the fighter’s bio and introduction to determine my favorite but with two strong backgrounds from Alistair Overeem and Brock Lesnar. I choose to root for Lesnar, (a choice I had determined by looking at the fight card photos, and had established that Lesnar’s photo hinted a nice-guy side more than Overeem’s.)

As the round got close to beginning not an empty seat in the arena was visible. Each punch they threw at each other echoed up to the higher seats and in return fans would give a verbal grunt or cheer accordingly. Within two and a half minutes and one vicious kick to the liver and Lesnar was knocked out and Overeem was declared the winner. Cheers and Boos mixed into an overall screaming noise that echoed off the ceiling of the arena. Each fighter took a moment to speak to the crowd who was cheering Overeem and boo-ing Lesnar.

“I’m officially going to say tonight was the last night you will ever see me in the octagon,” Lesnar announced to the crowd who was boo-ing the loosing fighter. As his words sunk in, the ‘boos’ began to cease and a drone of silence took over as people listened.

Lesnar explained that he had made a promise to his family that if he had won the fight he would go for the title fight and retire afterward, but since he lost tonight was his last fight. The non-existant ‘boos’ has ceased and a roar of clapping took over as fans stood to applaud the heavyweight fighter and send him into retirement with an honorable walk out of the octagon.

Once Lesnar was done speaking, Overeem spoke to the crowd about his win and about his competition and his choice to retire, a choice he didn’t seem to agree he should make. Just as quickly as the arena had filled, it was now nearly empty and people rushed from their seats to their next place for evening.

For my first fight I can honestly say I enjoyed it, however despite the overall excitement and the entertainment of the night I still walked through the thousands of fans and wondered…why?

One Post, Three Months

2011-12-09T16:16:00.001-08:00

Every now and then something happens that, although common, it catches us off guard every time. It’s not always bad, but sometimes doesn’t feel that great. It’s time consuming and sometimes, down right frustrating. It’s a constant up and down, but with the right attitude, can generally feel like a continuous high. It’s called life. So why the long, drawn out characterization of life? Because while it has been doing it’s thing I have managed to let it get in the way of my personal habit of writing for enjoyment and photographing for fun, therefor this cyber chronicle of ramblings and life updates has been neglected. In an effort to pick up from where I left off without causing corpus cranium exhaustion on my reader(s) I will provide a quick recap of the past few months’ life lessons and experiences and will thus ultimately update you to my current existential place in the world.

October Lessons and Experiences:

- A new job and creative freedom feels exhilarating, daunting, overwhelming, mindboggling, and inspiring (not necessarily in that order).

- There comes a point where living with roommates is no longer an option for the preservation of sanity.

- When this point is reached, the involvement associated with moving out on your own for the first time rushes over you in waves and the process feels exhilarating, daunting, overwhelming, mindboggling, and inspiring (not necessarily in that order).

- Looking for new apartments is fun at first, but after more than two days it begins to be frustrating and feel more like searching for a pair of jeans…the ones you love are associated with a designer name which makes you giggle because you can’t even remotely afford them and the ones you can afford don’t fit the way you like, make you feel like a mismatched sock and are not even flattering even in the lowest light. Therefore frustration begins to be a constant state of being.

- Foster the People: They’re better live. You should really see them live.

- Sequels to horror movies can be good, but the third time around they most likely will fail miserably and lead to angry walks back to your car and long rants on social media sites.

- Designer jeans go on sale occasionally and right when you’re ready to settle on corduroys you find them and grab them up before anyone else has a chance.

- Despite your age, you are never too old to don fuzzy leg warmers, neon makeup and bad hairstyles for the sake of acquiring free candy from strangers.

November Lessons and Experiences:

- Photographing a week-long event involving cowboy hats and Wranglers will leave you with a sudden desire to ride horses.

- Spending an entire day glued to your phone and computer and sporting matching jackets is fun and feels like the NFL: Nerd Edition.

- You’re best friends are the ones who help you move, then proclaim their aversion to the combination of your book collection and new stair case on every social media outlet.

- Cold showers are an instant fail and heat is much appreciated.

December Lessons and Experiences:

- Three years of microwave cooking and marginal kitchen time results in the inability to cook more than chicken, pasta or eggs.

- Unpacking produces multiple feelings that are exhilarating, daunting, overwhelming, mindboggling, and inspiring (not necessarily in that order).

- In a starring match between you and an angry bird, the bird will always win, especially when they are painted on the side of your coffee mug.

- Being in three places at once will result in cognitive breakdowns and sudden bursts of manic.

- 62 degrees is cold. 32 degrees is freezing. 9 degrees is nonsensical.

- When all else fails, build a fort.

The Cold Hard Facts

2011-11-15T11:59:00.000-08:00

As I begin to pack up my things for a transfer to a new location, I am shocked at the amount of things I have learned while living with roommates for three years. These are words of wisdom not to be taken lightly.

FACTS:

Pushpins are not a form yard art.
Don’t cry over spilt milk, unless of course it’s old and lumpy and its rancid smell and toxic fumes are such that it causes dust bunnies to run away, in which case cry all you want then run and call for backup.
If you don’t remember the bread being blueberry flavored your best bet is to just throw it out.
You will never find your missing pen, shoe, backpack or textbook until it is 2 am, pitch dark and you are walking barefoot through the hallway.
Only begin to panic when the large black dot you’ve been staring at for the past two weeks in the corner of the room is no longer there.
With determination and lack of storage space, you can fit anything underneath a bed, in the back corner of a closet or under the lampshades.
The full effect of echoing capabilities of a room will go unnoticed until it involves a brass instrument, a drugged cat or drunken neighbor at 3, 5 or 8 am.
When all else fails, earplugs, duct tape or scissors are probably your best bet.

Stepping Aboard with Ghosts

2011-10-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

With Halloween thrills on every city block, it’s nice to get away from the costumes and masks and take a moment to dive into the real hauntings that take place in Las Vegas.

Who would have thought that a typical tourist attraction would be the place to take in real-life ghost stories. At the Luxor’s Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition there are more than artifacts and photos inside the exhibit, there’s ghostly sightings and stories of paranormal encounters.

Tour guide, Randy Dale took me on a sneak peek journey through the haunted tour to experience the stories first hand before it’s Halloween-weekend affair.

“There’s more to the story than just the movie, there’s more to all of this, these are actual people. It’s more of the stories, there’s much more detail in the haunted tour. You don’t get these stories or the behind the scenes look about the doors closing and opening or the pictures falling in the normal exhibit walk-through,” said Dale.

As I was guided around the 350+ artifacts and room mockups I was told of onsite ghost encounters and eerie stories of experiences and survivor’s post-Titanic incidents.

Here are some of my favorites:

Bruce Ismay

Bruce Ismay planned to build steamers that would outdo all other ships in speed, capacity and luxury. To accommodate the luxurious features, Ismay ordered the number of lifeboats reduced from 48 to 16. During the sinking of the Titanic, Ismay boarded a lifeboat, stating that there were no women or children available. His life was saved, but he was never accepted in polite society and to this day is still not accepted by the ghosts who haunt the exhibit.

Ismay’s photo hangs at the beginning of the Titanic exhibit. On multiple occasions, the morning employees have claimed to come into work and have found Ismay’s photo on floor. In one instance, security tapes revealed the photo sliding down a wall and to the floor during closed hours.

The Lady in Black

Throughout the 2^nd class gallery, grand staircase and 1^st class room exhibit guests continue to address the staff after the tour and comment on the special touches with staff costumes. Guests say, the lady in the black dress is very pleasant and a very believable addition to the exhibit experience, while this sounds like no big deal employees are always shocked because the fact is there are no staff members in costume at the exhibition. Guests aren’t the only ones seeing the figure in black however, several staff members have seen the lady at various times.

Several eye witnesses’ accounts from staff and guests describe the lady with her hair up in bun, wearing a black period dress with a white collar. She looks pleasant but does not have any real expression. She is clearly visible and does not speak.

One staff member shared a moment when she walking through the exhibition and when she stepped into one of the rooms she saw the lady in black standing in front of an artifact case. When the employee acknowledged the lady’s presence, the lady in black started walking away and disappeared right into the wall.

Fredrick Fleet

Fredrick Fleet was employed as a look-out for Titanic. He was the first to sight the iceberg and proclaim, "Iceberg, right ahead!" As the ship was sinking he was assigned to man the lifeboats. He survived.

People who knew Fredrick said that he suffered from terrible guilt all his life because he had lived while so many perished. Out of 1,662 men on Titanic, he was one of only 315 who survived. His wife always kept him sane and told Fredrick “it was not your fault”. When Fleet's wife died shortly after Christmas 1964, he became depressed and committed suicide by hanging himself two weeks later.

Fleet’s photo hangs on the promenade deck where doors would swing open and closed and lights would flicker. Noveal, the exhibit’s artifact specialist was disturbed by the amount of paranormal experience. One day, after some paranormal activity, Noveal turned to Fredrick and said, “it was not your fault.” Every morning after that when Noveal does his morning rounds, he greets Fredrick with a good morning and tells him, “it was not your fault Fredrick. Go in peace.” Since doing this, all paranormal activity has stopped in that room.

Rivalry Battle for World Domination

2011-10-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

Their interaction together was minimal. Their first encounters were brief. Despite their knowledge of the other they continued to partake in a silent battle for world domination. They never saw eye to eye and as a result they were rivals from the very start.

It was like any Hollywood inspired sibling rivalry, except this one was a worldwide battle for power. One was an over the top achiever and do-gooder while the other just never measured up no matter how hard they tried. After years of branding and finally acceptance on both their parts the over achiever pushed past their rival leaving a trail of dust for them to get lost in. Meanwhile, the defeated adversary turned their back on ever fairly catching up and embraced their sarcastic, dropout demeanor and began to brainstorm an alternate route to planetary supremacy.

Every rivalry is fueled with the need to compete. Throughout time these rivalries seem to be mirror images of each other and form a balance on opposite ends of the spectrum, and the smart phone battle is no different.

While iPhone users are at one end of the smart phone spectrum, getting things accomplished and looking things up with the help of Siri, Android users are at the polar opposite end and getting nothing more than a good laugh with mirror-imaged and jealous rival, Iris.

While the concept of a voice automated personal assistant is intriguing, the conversations between user and Iris leave Iris’ purpose unclear. Whether Android created Iris for functional or an entertainment purpose is up for debate, but the comic relief found in off topic responses raise more than a good laugh. With societies abundant use of sarcasm and copious exposure to ignorance Iris feeds society its knowledge, however hit and miss it may be.

ANDROID USER: Get directions to Town Square.

IRIS: I have never been to Milwaukee.

While productivity levels among Siri-assisted Apple users begin to rise, Android’s posse of Iris allies are brainwashed into training for world domination and surrender to the all-knowing and confusing banter of Iris. Don’t believe me? Just follow some of the conversations:

ANDROID USER: Where do you live?

IRIS: On planet Earth.

ANDROID USER: Where do you live?

IRIS: On the surface.

ANDROID USER: Who are you?

IRIS: It’s not important.

ANDROID USER: What is the temperature in Las Vegas?

IRIS: I ask the questions here.

ANDROID USER: Why am I arguing with technology?

IRIS: Because I am God. You need to communicate with other artificial intelligence to take over the world.

ANDROID USER: Isn’t that Pinky and the Brain’s job?

IRIS: They failed.

All That Jazz

2011-10-03T14:31:00.000-07:00

For five days my senses were on overdrive, taking in the sights, smells, feelings, sounds and tastes of my new environment.

Within moments of taking my first steps off the plane, the sultry air commanded immediate attention. A different climate from that of the dry desert I was use to, this humid air left my skin resembling the warm damp sensation of a hot shower.

Lush greenery surrounded the streets from the airport to the hotel where my fascination landed on the mere sights of one-way, alley roadways and wrought iron balconies covered in vines and flowers. Spicy smells of seafood concoctions and pastries permeated through the air as I walked down the sidewalks, beads hanging from wires overhead. It was my first time in New Orleans and I was captivated by it all. The architectural designs, the palatable encounters, it was unlike any place I had been before. It was even better than The Orleans and Rio casinos in Las Vegas had portrayed.

All the storefronts, antique stores and eateries that lined every street entranced me. My eyes darted from one wrought iron balcony to the next and I couldn’t seem to take enough photos of brick buildings and cobblestone alleyways.

Aside from the sights, the smells and tastes had me raving to everyone back home. Beignets, fried green tomatoes, jambalaya, shrimp and grits, crawfish etouffee, po boys, bananas foster, crab, catfish, shrimp and gumbo, my taste buds couldn’t get enough of the tantalizing Southern tastes, and before the week was out I was convinced I had eaten half my body weight in seafood.

I was in town for the Society of Professional Journalists convention and was on staff as the photo editor for The Working Press. After two years of interning with SPJ I had finally been given the opportunity to transition from intern to professional staff, and let me tell you this, I loved it. Outside the high stress-leveled newsroom, I managed to take in as much of New Orleans as humanly possible for the short time I was there.

From roaming around the mausoleums, which I was ridiculously fascinated by, to learning about life in New Orleans, post-Katrina, I was in awe the entire week I was there. The simple sight, and ultimate ride in a streetcar, the pleasant stroll down the river walk and the amazing sights of the houses in the Garden District had me marking things off of my to-do list one by one.

With a jaunt down Bourbon Street almost every day for lunch and post-deadline dinners the nightlife of the city kept me on my toes. The neon glows from strip clubs, gift stores and bars pulsed throughout the midnight hours, and songs and beats rang out from the bars and mixed with street performers and brass bands on street corners. When all was said and done, I came to one simple conclusion that I never expected to have. In comparison to Bourbon Street, Las Vegas is tame.

An Airborne Music Event

2011-09-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

After their June appearance at the House of Blues, The Airborne Toxic Event makes it’s way back to Vegas, this time in a concert special that is 100% free.

Local rock and alternative station, X107.5 hosted the free X-Fest listener event at the Sunset Station outdoor amphitheater on Saturday, which featured the bands Sleeper Agent, Redlight King, Otherwise and headlined Los Feliz, CA band; The Airborne Toxic Event.

For weeks prior to the event, listeners called in and signed up with the station to win tickets or had the option to stop by Ford Country in the Valley Auto Mall and receive tickets with any test drive.

After tickets were in hand, fans and listeners headed over to lawns of the Sunset amphitheater for the two-hour concert. While the three opening bands gave a great performance of their own artistic vibe, the headlining band TATE was what drew in the loudest fans.

As it was pointed out to me prior to their show; some concerts you go to see the band and some concerts you go to hear the band, after attending TATE’s second concert in Vegas this year, it is with out a doubt that TATE is a band you go to hear. With their indie rock melodies, head banging beats and classical sounding undertone, they send out a musical reverberation that is nothing less than an auditory indulgence.

As they were introduced to the crowd, they jumped up on stage, diving straight into their first song, All I Ever Wanted, with not a moment to loose.

While much of the crowd appeared more enthusiastic about the buckets of beer and concept of a free concert than the bands performing, the evening provided a great concert that left fans wanting more.

Despite the event being a free performance, TATE did much more than jump on stage, sing a few songs and leave. Throughout the concert, lead singer Mikel Jollett gazed around the venue’s crowd, as if absorbing every moment and analyzing those in attendance, interacting with members of the audience occasionally between songs. Drummer, Daren Taylor, Bass player Noah Harmon and Jollett, jumped onto the drum platform for a three-person drum solo, Anna Bulbrook head banged while playing the keyboard without missing a beat, and Steven Chen jumped to all platforms and speakers blasting the sounds of his guitar.

Their set was on a short 1-hour time frame but they managed to fit in as many songs as possible, moving without any hesitation from one song to the next and ending their set with a handful of short covers including I Fought the Law.

Just in case all that didn’t get the crowds full attention, Jollett took it to the next level and went to the extreme of climbing up the side of the stage’s metal framing and up to the top spotlights, where he delivered an entire song to the crowd from overhead.

With nothing less than an exceptional stage presence and superb compilation of their best songs, TATE left crowds looking forward to their next Vegas performance and intrigued as to who will be brought out for the next X-Fest.

Curl up and Dye

2011-09-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

There’s a reason girls grow their hair out, it’s so we can curl it, cut it, dye it, straighten it, style it and every other thing that we are told is bad for it. While playing with my split ends one morning, a new brand was brought to my attention, Shielo. This Hearst Corporation brand was brought to life in New York City in 2001 and has since gone international. The brand's intention: designing new expertise in the volumizing and color treatment.

In a matter of days I found myself trying out various products from the line. The first thing I found intriguing about the line was the packaging, simple looking bottles with paper sticker labels on the smaller samples and simple packaging on the actual bottles, nothing over the top visually in the design. I later found out that the Shielo brand is not only a strong advocate against animal cruelty but they also use post-consumer recycled and recyclable packaging. And so came time to test the products; shampoos and conditioners for volume, moisturizing and vibrancy and a leave in antioxidant protectant.

Of the three types of shampoo and conditioners I preferred the volumizing, because it did just that; added volume and lift to my hair at the roots, which only made sense since the volume collection was the first to debut online. After looking over the antioxidant protectant, I realized the product was designed for the dyers in the world. Although I don’t color my hair, I did find myself using the leave in protectant, daily. While I couldn’t determine if it was indeed “providing UV protection” to my hair, I did like how it helped prevent my hair from combating itself throughout the day and stirring up battlefield tangles and knots.

While each product had it’s own job to do, each one did so in silence, without an overpowering scent of aromas and perfumes. The very subtle smells the products did have were of soap and shea butter.

For more information on Shielo and their products visit http://www.shielo.com/.

Pretty as a Podcast : Episode 1

2011-09-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

Murphy's Law: Wedding Crasher

2011-09-08T15:25:00.001-07:00

After the horrible haircut only two days before my brother’s wedding, I was sure that the rest of the weekend would be exceptional. My parents and I were taking a road trip to San Diego to see my brother get married! Our family was getting bigger and I was sure that the trip would hold nothing less than joyous celebration and excitement. While celebration did occur and there was excitement, Murphy imposed his law throughout the entire trip, creating a trip that I can only describe as inimitable.

The wedding was at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The plan was to leave Vegas early, drive to San Diego (what my brother assured us was a mere four hour drive), check into the hotel, relax for a bit and go to the wedding.

We were two hours into the trip and so far everything was going well, except for the fact that our GPS said we had another three hour drive ahead of us, but an extra hour of driving wouldn’t impede our plans. Soon the California bound traffic began to come to a halt and before long we were one of hundreds sitting in standstill traffic.

As we inched further and further, a sign soon entered into our sight displaying words that immediately sent us into a slight disposition of frustration “Freeway closed ahead.” Thanks to a fire that had happened the night before, we were now stuck on a closed freeway until things were cleaned up on the roadway and it re-opened. Almost an hour and a half later, traffic began to move forward and soon we were back up to speed. Not much after we had gotten up to speed, traffic slowed to a stop once more and we were greeted with another sign; “Severe Accident Ahead – Expect Delays.” We began to doubt our time frame to clean up and arrive at the wedding. Four hours and six freeways later we were exceedingly irritated and checking into our hotel.

It was 4:55 p.m. the wedding started in five minutes and we had no time to lose. We raced to our hotel room, threw our things onto the beds, ripped open our luggage and changed into our suits and dresses, all the while; clothes flying from luggage, hair ties and bows soaring to and fro and the dog looking worried and utterly confused. No sooner had we arrived, we were now racing back to the car, activating GPS on the way there.

We threw the car into reverse and headed out the driveway. Luckily GPS assured us the wedding location was only six minutes away from our hotel. Only one U-turn was needed and we soon saw the white balloons and bows tied to street signs leading the way to the wedding. It was 5:16, we were late for the ceremony but at least we had made it in time to see most of it. The balloons soon stopped leading our path and the winery was nowhere to be found. We pulled over and asked passerby’s on the street for the location of the winery, only to be told “You’re nowhere near that place.” Apparently there were two roads with the exact same name, minus a ‘north’ specification. After receiving new directions from a local, we began on our way.

By this point we could no longer be frustrated. We had done all we could and had still hit every freeway in Southern California, every construction zone and now we had shown up to the wrong wedding. As we made our way to the correct wedding we text messaged my brother along the way, who soon called us and updated our directions. With new directions in hand we headed south on another freeway, again, text messaging my brother along the way. After a thirty-minute drive we gave my brother a call to verify our directions. We soon learned we had originally wanted to go north, not south. Another three freeways and something like 12 U-Turns later we arrived at the wedding, the correct one this time.

Nothing says making an entrance like showing up to a wedding two hours late. Although we were two hours late, the reception hadn’t started yet. We were just in time for food, and after all the frustrating trials on the roadways, we were starving.

Overall the evening was pleasant as up beat sounds played from the DJ booth, each song reminding me of Vegas. The dinner was presented, the dance floor filled up, the cake was served and the evening was over.

The following morning we headed to the coastline for a delicious brunch with my brother and his new wife. After breakfast, as we headed out of town we followed my brother (so we wouldn’t get lost) to their new house for a tour. It was a nice visit, and soon we found ourselves saying our pleasant goodbyes with the bride and groom and we went on our way.

No sooner had we left their house that we were laughing hysterically in the car at the fact that we were once again driving around lost on the San Diego streets. From side roads to freeways and wrong directions we drove back to Vegas sighing our plead to the GPS Gods to please let us escape the traffic laden California streets and guide us promptly back to Nevada.

Not So Fantastic Sams

2011-09-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

You know those stories you re-tell, where everyone’s response is; we’ve all been there at some point, well I hadn’t. I had escaped that awful experience; that is until yesterday. I can now say that I too can contribute to the re-telling of stories when it comes to a bad haircut. To say this was a bad haircut would be an understatement. Bad haircuts usually result in simple weird looks and subtle jokes among family. Awful haircuts however, cause complete strangers to laugh, offer supportive words and say things like “Oh my God! What happened!?” Of the two, what I had was an awful haircut. These haircuts also never take place during times when you could care less what you look like, instead they happen right before picture day, before a job interview, or in my case; two days before my brother’s wedding.

All I needed was to get some split ends removed and add a couple layers in. Seeing as how this was not rocket science, I figured I’d take the simple route; go around the corner from where I live and go to Fantastic Sams. Let’s just say this was a not so fantastic experience.

I walked into the butcher and she politely asked what I would like done. “Just some layers, and get rid of the split ends,” I said.

For the next fifteen minutes things seemed to go fine. Then as I saw strands of hair dropping that were a good five and six inches long, I started to get nervous. She brushed and cut and stared and cut and brushed some more and kept cutting. When all was said and done the front looked pretty good. I paid and walked out the door.

As I drove home it occurred to me, I had never been shown what the back looked like. Upon arriving at home I grabbed a mirror, looked at the back of my hair, my jaw dropped and I immediately started to cry. Now, for clarification, I have never cried at a haircut before, it always seemed silly to me, but let me reemphasize that this haircut made me cry and these were not tears of joy.

I starred into the mirror hoping my glasses were playing tricks on me and I’d look back and everything would be better, but sadly this is what I was looking at.

Apparently the only layers the butcher knew were layers on a cake, so instead of having different layers sporadically blending throughout my hair I had three completely straight-line layers chiseled into my hair at crooked angles.

Conveniently for them, when I returned to Fantastic Sams to complain and demand my money back, I was greeted with looks of surprise and the reassurance that there was no manager in for the rest of the week and they had no power to offer me anything.

I immediately threw my hair into a ponytail and went over to the Paul Mitchell School to see if they could fix this disaster. I figured, something good has to come out of this – students could use a good laugh and be put to a test.

I walked in, made my appointment and sat waiting patiently. My name was called and I walked with the student over to her station. She asked what I would like to have done. I told her the story of my awful haircut from thirty minutes earlier. She smiled and politely said;

“Let’s have a look, it can’t be that bad.”

I took my hair out of the ponytail and watched in the mirror as her jaw dropped and she blurted out

“Oh my God! What the heck happened to you!? I’m going to need help on this, I’ll be right back.”

She returned with a teacher at her side, who let out a slight chuckle and started brushing through it trying to figure out what had happened.

“What on earth did you ask them to do?”

“Just simple layers,” I responded sadly.

“Were they licensed?”

The teacher turned to someone else for help. Next thing I knew I had two teachers and a student all brushing through my hair, jaw dropped and a puzzled face on all their faces. I could see one of them forcing back a smile; I looked at her in the mirror and said;

“You can laugh, it’s fine. I know it’s awful.”

No sooner did the words escape my mouth that all three were laughing at my hair.

“Oh my God, I have no idea what happened but this is the worst haircut I have ever seen in my life,” said one of them. “We’ll fix this. It will be very difficult to do while trying to keep the length, but we’ll fix this. We’ll just have to go slowly through it all.”

For the next two hours we laughed and they played around working hard on damage control. Other teachers and students walked past looking with eyebrows raised, Other teachers would come over to me and put their hand on my should saying things would be okay. And may I just say, if you are ever unsure of whether your haircut is bad, the minute a male stylist comes over to you, squeezes your shoulder and sympathetically assures you “things will be okay” you suddenly sense just how bad you look.

Teachers sporadically came by, looked through the various cut strands and offered tips and help for how to salvage my hair without the need to resort to a pixie hairstyle. Then the words of assurance began to slowly occur as other teachers would come to see what others were talking about. “Wow, that is looking so much better.” “That’s much better than it was.”

After all was said and done, I was assured it was ten times better than it was and I was armed with two tips for advice for confronting public for the next month; 1.) It is essential that I style it every day before going out and 2.) If anyone asks, just say it’s the latest rage in Europe.

Dining for a Cause

2011-08-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

You’ve heard people talking about it, seen subliminal hints online, you see restaurants and casinos preparing their advertisements and you can sense an element of excitement brewing about restaurant week. Now it all comes down to one final question; what is Restaurant Week?

Vegas foodies will take to the tables and unite for a common cause, eating, drinking and raising money to help the hungry.

Since its launch in 2007, restaurant week is a collaborative opportunity to bring chefs, restaurants and patrons together to support the Three Square food bank.

Celebrating its fifth successful year, Restaurant Week returns to the menus of restaurants throughout the city to provide tourists and locals the unique opportunity to affordably dine at some of the city’s top eateries.

For the next two weeks, upon request, patrons will be presented with a special selection of prix-fixe dinner menus for $30.11 and $50.11 and lunch/brunch menus for $20.11 and $30.11.

If you think the change amount in the prices seems a bit odd, that’s Three Square’s fun way of depicting the year’s event. Since it’s first year in 2007, the change amount has increased one cent each year to reflect the year of the event.

The Avocado Canelonne at Aria's Julian Serrano

With elegant brunches, delectable lunches, enticing dinners and some special events, patrons will be salivating at the list of options available from the 128 different restaurants participating.

“This is the highest number of restaurants we’ve ever had,” said Erica Thompson of Three Square. “The first year there was only a $50 menu and over the years we’ve added the other two price points to bring in some different restaurants as well as to provide menus at the breakfast and lunch points as well.”

In celebration of five successful years, Restaurant Week will be transformed to Restaurants Weeks, providing multi-course menus for two weeks running from August 29 through September 11.

“We thought, to celebrate the 5 year milestone we’d add an additional week this year, then it will go back to one week next year,” said Thompson.

Various menus have been carefully selected by chefs and restaurants around the city to provide an appetizing carte du jour for three prices; $20.11, $30.11 and $50.11. Menus include full three and four course meals and the best part yet – a portion of the proceeds from each menu will be donated to help fight hunger.

Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes at Rick Moonen's
rm Seafood inside the Mandalay Bay

“It is up to the restaurant to choose which price point to participate in. We ask each restaurant to donate $4, $5 or $6 per cover to put back to the food bank, but it’s up to their discretion what they like to donate,” said Thompson. “For every dollar we can raise we can provide three meals out to the community. Last year we raised just a little over $110,000 and 97 restaurants participated. This year we have a goal of raising $200,000 so with that we can provide 300,000 meals to struggling Southern Nevadans."

Three additional special events will take place during the first week and will be hosted by chefs and restaurants and will include additional drink specials, champagne tasting and chef appearances.

"Currently a little over 300,000 individuals, or 1 in 6 people struggle with hunger in Southern Nevada so the funds we raise will help those individuals,” said Thompson.

For more information on the special events taking place this week and to find a list of participating restaurants and selected menus visit HelpOutDineOutLV.org

Inked… on Skin and Clothes

2011-08-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

When two of the largest apparel and fashion conventions join forces for a three-day event, brands and retailers draw in the crowds and celebrity guests, this year a new celebrity launches his own brand into the apparel world.

The celebrity tattoo artist, Ami James, known for his show Miami Ink and the most recent, New York Ink, set up shop at the Project inside Mandalay Bay where he’s melding his tattoo background and his artistic history, for the launch of the clothing line; Ami James Ink.

Rather than bringing his tattoo creations to the apparel designs, James has decided to create sketches and drawings for his clothing that his audience personally says they are interested in wearing.

“The line is definitely not tattoo, it’s just drawn by a tattoo artist, but it’s not a tattoo line or anything of the sort,” said James.

James will have his booth set up for apparel fanatics, tattoo enthusiasts, Ink fans and spectators throughout the convention, which runs through Wednesday night. A clothing rack of new apparel isn’t the only thing James will have at his booth during the convention; you’ll recognize his booth as the only one where people will be getting inked on site by the TV star tattoo artist.

“I’m a tattoo artist, I’ll always tattoo, I’ll never stop tattooing and I think the whole line is based on what I do. I’m a tattoo artist and I design things and I think people associate it together and I think the best way to have the people come to the booth and understand the concept is for me to do what I do. As long as I’m doing conventions I could sit there and shake hands all day or I could do what I do best and that’s what I do,” said James.

While simultaneously tattooing on TV and in his shops, after about four to five years of working on the clothing line, James began working with his partner to put together an apparel line to sell in his boutiques.

“We really weren’t planning on launching a line or anything like that, it was really just for my shops and a few other shops that I sold shirts to and before you know it was more and more boutiques and we decided to do this in a bigger way,” said James. “It was a collaboration of paintings and art that I had put together that wasn’t super tattoo style.”

After starting the apparel designs a little over a year ago James is building his brand and beginning to sell internationally.

“It’s always a rough start you get discouraged in the beginning but as soon as you start doing sales you’re like wow, this might actually work. I’m really happy. I’m blessed,” James said. “I hope that it never gets as big as some of the biggest ones, and just become a trend and leaves. If I could just do this line forever and just keep stepping it up not too fast and not too slow but at a steady pace I’d like to have this line to look back on in 20-30 years and look back on that and say wow I basically started that in my home, then I’d be happy.”

With a plethora of apparel including denim, shirts, hats and shoes, Ami James Ink is based on a vintage feel and look and focuses on different design groups including a circus theme and cars.

“As a tattoo artist we don’t always just draw tattoo designs, I pride myself on being able to design anything. I’m just an artist and I’m an artist that does requests,” James said. “For the girls, I just sat with some friends of mine who were girls and asked them, what do you want, what do you want to wear and I got feedback from them and drew it for them as if I was drawing it for a client. That’s how it started was from personal relationships and personal views of what I’d want to wear, and definitely stay away from tattoo designs of hearts, daggers, roses and all that.“

James’ line includes apparel for both men and women, but that inclusion was made through progression from what it was originally set out to be.

“In the beginning I really wanted to do more of just women’s wear and then I realized all my friends wanted to get some of the shirts and then I decided to go on a small line of shirts for men and then it just evolved to hats and hoodies and ski caps and shoes to flip flops and watches but in a very limited number.”

While some designers pride themselves on having a clothing line with a celebrity name or icon artist, James takes a different mentality when it comes to his line of clothing.

“I didn’t want to do a line that’s $20 but I also didn’t want to do a line that’s $80 either. I thought it was always absurd when people sell shirts for $120 and I know I make the same shirts. I don’t see why retail should charge more than $40 a shirt because otherwise nobody can afford it,” James said. “I didn’t want a person to just walk in and say I can only afford one shirt, I want them to be able to walk in and want to get two or three shirts. I just really cater toward my people; the people who want a really cool shirt and don’t want to drop $120 on it.”

For more information on Ami James Ink check out: http://www.amijamesink.com/

A Neon Country Night

2011-08-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

Adorned in cowboy boots and jean skirt I saddled up with other country fans and headed over to the Orleans Arena, Friday night for the third annual Coyote Country Fest.

The 102.7 The Coyote sponsored event had thousands of country fans gathered in one place and ready for a good time of Country musical performances.

Walking into the bleachers, cowboy hats and belt buckles were in large supply as attendees made their way to their seats, food and beer in hand.

Making my way down the concrete arena steps, down the large metal bleacher stepladder and onto the concrete floor of the main stage area I walked past rows of chairs filled with country music lovers. Slowly making my way toward the stage I searched the dark ground for chalk marked rows, looking for my spot. W….Q…. M…. K….H! With my seat found and only moments until the start of the concert, anticipation was rising.

The lineup for the evening included country music stars; Randy Houser, Hunter Hayes, Craig Campbell and Dierks Bentley who rotated out, taking center stage and gave an ultimate overall performance.

DJ personalities Cadillac Jack, Rick Kelly and Mitch Kelly welcomed attendees into the arena and with a quick introduction and some brief comical remarks; they made way for the night’s first star act.

Whoever says you need a full band to give a full performance is greatly mistaken.

Real country strumming had a killer piano assist as both instrumental tunes echoed through the arena as Houser took to the stage in a two-man performance that kicked off the Country Fest party.

The ACM nominated singer-songwriter brought crowds to their feet with song performances from both his albums, Anything Goes and They Call Me Cadillac and his hit singles, Out Here in the Country, Anything Goes and Boots On.

A final song was played, the crowd cheered for more; the lights went dark and then lit right back up as the next act for the night prepared for his performance.

Country fans had a surprise in the lineup for the evening as newcomer, Hayes, followed Houser’s performance and took the stage with a performance that had all the young girls screaming with excitement.

Though only 19-years-old, the singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist gave a performance that proved his fans are all ready for his debut album, Storm Warning, which will be released this year.

Two acts into the evening and country fans were just getting started for the night. Taking center stage during the second half of the performance, Campbell brought his powerful voice to the microphone.

Campbell gave a fun upbeat performance with hit songs from his self-titled debut album from earlier this year and jumped from the straightforward heart-felt lyrics of Family Man to the sensually play-full yet safe-manner of Fish.

His two chart ranked hits and other performances had fans dancing in the isles as he delivered a musical performance that Makes You Wanna Sing.

Following each of their performances, Houser, Hayes and Campbell offered public autograph signings in between performance sets for fans of all ages.

Once the autographs were acquired, the stage set was adjusted and the drinks were refilled some instrumental tunes started filling the arena and in no time at all Bentley jumped on the back platform of the stage and began belting out tunes, pumping up the crowd and making sure they could Feel That [musical] Fire.

Grammy nominated and two-time CMT winner, Bentley took to the stage as the final headliner for the evening and gave a performance that took the crowd for a spin, from the most upbeat western dance songs to some fiddle playing melodies from Up On the Ridge to some slower melodies that even evoked a few tears.

Rising in popularity since his 2003 self-titled debut album, Bentley had the audience going crazy with performances of his hit songs and newest tunes from his 2011 album, Up On the Ridge.

The evening hosted over four hours of non-stop country music and from the first strum on the guitar to the last wave goodnight, the crowd was screaming with excitement and singing along to some of their favorite tunes.

The all-out performances left fans with smiles on their faces as their country fix was filled in a night out in the neon city.

For me, the music was great and the performances were spectacular but the highlight of the evening was walking away from it all, with a Dierks Bentley guitar pick in hand…now if I could just learn to play a full song on the guitar.

Decades of a Communicative Endeavor

2011-08-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

For some, dreams start with school, for others with an inheritance, for these two men it started with a rope and an audience.

Working through life, driven by a career and a passion, they ride the horizons from sunrise to sunset on a common goal; not to strike it rich and call it quits, but to engage an audience of citizens to embark on a participatory challenge of common sense and communication.

Growing up through the industrial revolution an American icon took the limelight not only as an esteemed entertainer, but also as the humorist that sparked interest in individuals and demanded societal involvement in communication. From high ticket film sets to center stage in one of the greatest theatrical productions of it’s time, the Ziegfeld Follies, to the comfort of leaning over the warn keys of a metal typewriter, Will Rogers became the humorist philosopher that entertained and engrossed audiences in interpersonal connections.

His routines focused on intelligent and humorous observations of people, life, the nation and government. As a figure in show business, he jumped into what he called “the best show in the world” and took to politics, not as a participant behind a desk but as a solicitor of national thought and interaction. He broadened his career from jobs as an actor and trick roper and let his real passion loose, taking on syndicated columns, books, radio broadcasting and political commentating.

His simple humor and direct, intelligent political writings and observations about the government and America earned him the respect of the nation.

In 1935 a plane crash took his life, but over 60 years later, a 35-year-old rising entertainer picked up his story in the form of a script for a tribute performance in the Will Rogers Follies and from that moment, adopted his passion and set out to continue the efforts.

The 35-year-old trick roper and entertainer, Will Roberts was given an offer to play the role of Rogers during a four-week production that told the life story of the humorist-roping writer. Though only a four-week gig, it was more than enough time for Roberts to acknowledge his newly increased passion.

He adopted the Will Rogers-style of incorporating common sense, respect and an open mind to all sides and developed his own material that stove to evoke Rogers’ same goal. Lasso in hand their passions flow on the ability to rope people together to divulge in communication and in-depth interaction.

“I meet so many people and folks who spend so much time keeping it in. They are not talking to each other, just talking to themselves, and you know what happens to folks that talk to themselves, people think they are crazy. I want to talk to folks; ‘cause people are what it’s all about. Bring back the history, bring back the conversation,” Roberts said. “I made a choice that I’m marketing the Will Rogers philosophy and not doing Will Rogers himself, because I realized that 99% of the world don’t know who Will Rogers is now a days, so I’m trying to promote the ideas and way of thinking because none of that has changed.”

And so began his life passion to implore society to indulge in old-fashioned communication and interaction, ultimately branding himself the modern day Will Rogers. While simultaneously entertaining as part of one of the largest production companies on the Las Vegas Strip, Roberts has his daily column syndicated to about 70 sites and has been featured and participates in podcasts, video segments and political cartoons.

“Will Rogers died in ’35, I was 35 when I started this, I worked at Fox 35, he worked for Fox Pictures. He worked in the extravaganza production and now I work at one of the largest extravaganzas in the world doing the same thing, spinning a rope in a humorous way. I’m really emulating and living the life Will Rogers had just with a modern twist,” said Roberts.

From 1911 to 2011, patterns and customs in everyday life shift and develop accordingly to the times but the need for communication stays steady. While the mode of encouraging the exchange of ideas and thoughts has shifted from typewriter to iPhone and from radio to YouTube, 70 years have past from one Will to another, the times haven’t changed much and the message stays the same.

“Will Rogers use to say, all I know is what I read in the newspaper. The same holds true today except the saying now for me is, all I know is what I read on the Internet,” said Roberts. “Nothing really changes, it’s all just kind of a cycle.”

Communication and Entertainment, to some these may be seem as two atypical terms of two realms of society; human interaction and amusement, but to engage both efforts of performance to achieve a societal participation and exchange of thoughts and ideas is what the hard work is all about.

Encouraging society to get involved in the conversation and make themselves heard by the general public, Roberts initiated and maintains an open forum, TweetTheStreets.com, a gathering of the minds to discuss world news beyond the media and Hollywood’s perspectives and is told by the people directly.

“People really want to be heard and they don’t necessarily want to be talked at and they want to know that they are being listened to, so this has become my passion, to help provide that,” said Rogers.

Throughout their careers on and off the stages, in front and behind the cameras and whether it is in written or spoken dialect, Will Rogers and Will Roberts provide a communication link to a more commonsensical future and a more comprehensible past.

My First Semester

2011-08-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

As summer comes to a close, school supplies find their way to the center shelves of the stores. Crayola labeled displays that line the store isles and the classic literary narratives that occupy the ends of each bookshelf always serve as an indicator of the beginning of fall.

As I pass the containers of yellow and green that hold glue sticks, binders and pencils the typical impulse to grab a five-subject notebook and a box of mechanical pencils takes effect. As I turn from the shelf I stop. The need for these items is no longer existent. As so the reality sets in.

For the first time in 20 years, since the start of kindergarten, this fall semester will not include a class schedule, a backpack, trips to the bookstore or the need for school supplies.

As I stand in the isle of the store I stare off at the bins of glue sticks, highlighters, pens, post-its and scissors and think back to the old age of, not B.C., but B.B. – Before Bills.

Back to the time when fall meant a new wardrobe and matching backpack, when the big debate was which color lunchbox and plastic thermos would define me.

Back to the time when staying up late was no longer an option and my days would begin with my parents performing the horrible act of wakening a sleeping child before 7 a.m.

Back to the time when adulthood was defined by the action of having a closet full of matching plastic hangers and it meant you possessed the freedom to eat only the marshmallows from the lucky charms without being reprimanded.

Now as a member of the once adored secret lifestyle of adulthood, I look back on the times spent as a child and even as an all-knowing teenager. Looking back, times seemed simpler, more carefree, less dramatic and in more color. As a poignant moment begins to overtake my emotions I quickly remember where I am.

I drop the pens and binder back in their containers and step away. Replacing the melancholy frown with a grin of contentment, I shake off the blurring white cloud creating a somber reflection of yesteryear and rejoice. I find myself smiling with a sense of liberation and grin at those scowling as they collect their school supplies.

A bit sad it is, but another thought sends me on my way; this is not just my first fall semester without class; this is my first fall semester without homework, studying, pop quizzes or finals.

Cowgirl-ing It Up : Concert Style

2011-08-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

The sun had just begun to crawl toward the peaks of the Western ridges as crowds began to fill the amphitheater. The sights of cowboy hats, jeans and plaid shirts began to multiply. Jack and cokes and bottles of beer quickly occupied idle hands.

Less than an hour away, the vacant stage in front of us would soon be transformed to a spotlight-ridden platform hosting one of country music’s favorite top acts; Toby Keith.

The metal bleachers surrounded the stage as white chairs lined unfolded in rows on the grassy areas in front of the stage. As we made our way through the white chair lined paths and approached closer to the stage, excitement intensified by the second until we were standing by our chairs near the front of the stage.

The silver scaffold platform was set, black background material in place publicizing the drum set and guitar stands strategically positioned.

As the crowd’s excitement grew, JT Hodges, the night’s first performance, made his way to center stage to deliver the first high-energy performance of the night.

Among the few songs he performed was his recent single hit, Hunt You Down, which had the audience dancing in the seats as well as singing and whistling along to the lighthearted tune.

Wrapping up his performance Hodges made way as the stage was prepped and set for the next country sensation and this week’s chart topping artist, Eric Church.

Beverage in hand, Church took stage and with a single glance of his playful grin the overall sounds of multiple conversations were quickly overtaken by a growing clamor of claps and screams.

Riding on cloud nine for making a new album that won the first place spot on Billboards Top 100 Music List, Church routed all his excitement and energy into a dynamic performance that left few seats occupied, as everyone was out of their chairs and dancing in the isles.

Playing one song after the other his routine featured his popular tracks from all three of his albums including his most recent hit single Homeboy.

Wrapping up his set with some extra bit of animation, Church sprayed fans with a water blaster and provoking their enthusiasm for the main performance began shouting and even growling in …excitement?

Church departed from the stage leaving the amphitheater in a shouting and cheering uproar.

The sun continued to set and as the darkness from the night dimmed the arena, the stage lights replaced the recently departed rays of sun with beams of purple, blue and green. With a quick change of set, a screen lowered over the back of the stage and video began to play. A quirky and humorous film played out showing Keith and his Bull Dog taking on a poker game at a table of savage dogs. Barely escaping with their sanity and truck keys they raced back to their truck where they continued on to Vegas…

As the screen dimed and the crowd cheered for the poker game results, Keith took the stage and in a clamorous uproar, the audience took to their feet once again and began to shout the country lyrics out loud as the 15 album artist gave an unbelievable performance.

From his first recordings to his most recent radio hits, Keith performed a multitude of songs including; Beer For My Horses, Blue Moon, Should’ve Been A Cowboy, How Do You Like Me Now, American Ride and American Soldier.

To say the country singer gave a good performance would be an understatement. This was one country concert that if not attended would have been a regrettable missed opportunity.

After over a week of anticipation looking forward to the Saturday night concert at Red Rock Resort, I was ecstatic to have had the occasion to cowgirl up and get my country groove on in the neon city.

Chief at the Top of the Charts

2011-08-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

The third try is the charm, and for country singer EricChurch, it’s his third album that has won him a spot at the top of the charts.

In only two weeks since it’s debut, Church’s new album, Chief, has made it to the number one spot on Billboard’s top 100 music list.

“We’ve had some success and some times when it was lean, but we kept playing shows and kept building and building and then, this past year, and really this past week everything really blew up with the record,” said Church. “The album’s reception has been unreal, it far exceeds any expectation I had. It’s crazy to put it mildly. I’ve never had a number one on the radio, heck I’ve never had a top five on the radio. It makes my heart feel good.”

As his new album occupies the top of the music charts, Church shares insight to what sets this album apart from his previous ones; Sinners Like Me, 2006 and Carolina, 2009.

“For this album, we kept it more live than other albums,” said Church. “Creatively, we didn’t show up at the office at all. We didn’t think out the process. It was very fearless.”

His new album, features 11 songs including the most recent hit single, Homeboy.

“A lot of times we make albums in Nashville and everyone’s very scared whether it will be a hit. Is the label going to like? Is the radio going to like it? Are the fans going to like it? For this, we didn’t really address that at all, we just said to hell with it we’re going to go make a creative record, an interesting record and see where that takes us. Very rarely can you do that and capture magic, but we were able to capture it.”

Among the 11 tracks on his CD one song that sets at the top of Church’s list of favorites is Hungover & Hard Up.

“I think it’s interesting, I think production wise its something that I hadn’t really been done before. I love the lyrics and the parade of the story line,” said Church.

Church will be taking the stage during the much publicized, Toby Keith: Locked and Loaded tour.

“Performing with him is great. I love the way Toby has approached his career. The great thing about Toby that not a lot of people would know is he’s had the same manager throughout his entire career and that just shows the kind of person he is and the kind of boss he is and I respect that more than he’ll ever know,” Church said.

The country music star will be bringing his new chart topping hits to the city of lights, not only via radio, but live in concert on Saturday night at Red Rock Resort.

“It will be high energy, that’s for sure,” said Church. “I love Vegas, and it’s our first time at Red Rock so I’m looking forward to checking it out.”

Vegas Gets Fluffy

2011-07-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

It’s Vegas, a city of endless entertainment and a slew of comedian tours. Friday night, one comedian’s reputation packed the house for a sold out show at the Terry Fator Theatre inside the Mirage.

With a four-comedian warm up, audience members had an hour of prep time to get into the comedic swing of things. The start of the Fluffy Shop tour featured hilarious routines and stories from comedians: Shaun Latham, Alfred Robles, Rick Gutierrez and Noe Gonzalez.

The crowd was filled with over-the-top excitement for their headlining comedian, and once Gabriel Iglecias took the stage, he received a standing ovation right off the bat.

Iglecias, known as the “fluffy” comic in a Hawaiian shirt, gained his popularity through frequent appearances on Comedy Central as well as his popular one-hour televised specials, “I’m Not Fat… I’m Fluffy” and “Hot & Fluffy” and various TV appearances.

For the next hour of scheduled show time and around 30 minutes past that time slot, Iglecias performed a mixture of storytelling, parodies, sound effects and routines to the audience, who was cracking up in hysterics.

Iglecias’ routines included many new routines about life, friends, family and even his recent tour experience through Arizona.

If it weren’t for the close quarters and heavy armrests confining audience members to their seats, the comedy enthusiasts would have been rolling in the isles from laughter.

At 19 minutes over the allotted time period, fans were still demanding more, and shouting over each other with joke requests.

“You guys are shouting joke requests at me like I’m a Mexican mariachi,” said Iglecias at one point of deciding which routines to tell.

As he performed routines from his previous stage and TV appearances, the audience was shouting out punch lines from memory right along with Iglecias.

“This is awesome you guys no the punch lines already but you still want to hear more!” said Iglecias who was also laughing at the audience response.

Needless to say, with his fluffy routines, this comic was the weekend’s comedic highlight on the Strip.

For more information on upcoming tour dates and details about Iglecias visit, http://www.fluffyguy.com

The Newsroom Ninja

2011-07-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

The building is dark, the drone of emergency fluorescents sings it’s humming tune and accompanies the consistent purr of the air conditioner. The air conditioner dispenses a unvarying frozen breeze and like the daytime inhabitants of its surroundings it runs through all daylight hours; overworked and under remunerated.

Pages sit voiceless, Post-its rest lifeless and screens stand darkened by a slumber preferred setting. Stylebooks retreat to their closed positions, retiring for the evening and all life is departed.

The blinds hang open and expressionless, only viewed through by the dust mites that climb their slippery plastic levels.

The newsroom is vacant, empty to all that exert themselves for hours over banter, newscasts, recreation, creativity and opinions. The clocks line the wall with time zones on end, counting down the hours until life returns to the cubicle lined spaces.

It is at this point of utter abandonment that one inhabitant finds solace and emerges from their concealed position to which they hide the daylight hours from.

Through the shadows his eyes adjust, into the darkness his jovial demeanor emerges and without ever breaking the new found silence, he moves quickly through the line of desks.

To some he is a phantom: a lingering ghost of previous editors who lived out their days pushing the presses and punching the deadlines, a lingering spirit of reporters who sacrificed everything for a meaningful exposé. To others he is the suspicious proof to reporters that they are loosing their minds. Never confirming nor denying his mistaken identity, the newsroom ninja, sets forth for his impish nightly routine.

The cause of his presence is unknown, his background and identity remains an arcane mystery, most soles run day to day never knowing of his corporal existence. He prefers the anonymity.

He hesitates briefly, reassuring his unaccompanied presence. Quick glances shift from one corner to the next. He lurks in the dusty cubicle corners, awaiting any movement, sound or sign of life. He is alone.

The silence is abruptly broken by a lurid repeating tone. A green light flashes and glows simultaneously to the chime and in a flash he breaks free from the darkness attacking the unsuspecting caller with breathing and a sudden burst of baffling silence before rerouting the call to the local pizzeria.

With his first line of disruption achieved, he continues his quest for boisterous yet inconspicuous conduct of disarray.

Popping the locks he breaks into a choreographed dance into the office of lead editors and heads straight for their sacred gadgets. With both hands full he rushes to the window, placing fingertips, nose and voice recorders in between the blind levels. With a simple click of the luring red button, he proceeds to rustle through the blinds, recording hours of rustling blind movements on audio recorders, thus draining all life left of the strained batteries.

With the batteries drained and pleasure of doing so, fulfilled, he returns the gadgets to their homes for recovery, until their masters call upon them and are unable to employ them for necessary tasks.

Another gadget catches his eye across the newsroom and he makes his way to the isolated set of cubicles that sit on the opposite side of the room. He sits for a moment, pulling and tugging at the various handles on the chair, spinning, lowering, rising, and leaning the armrests and seatback to every direction and position. He stares over the small, labeled plastic keys, which look up at him, calling for attention. One by one he begins to pluck them from their station and once removed from their shell, he shuffles the keyboard keys on the intern’s computer, ensuring consistent misspellings during the subsequent twilight hours.

Off to the next cubicles, an effort to not leave any desk feeling neglected. He pulls open the center drawers that face the chairs. Pens, rubber bands and markers lay in a huddle in the desk drawers. This must be broken up! Switching around pen caps with paper clips, markers and pushpins he begins to create a confetti-like spread within the desk drawers. He looks into the disordered abyss to which his masterpiece lays…perfection! He slides the drawer shut and continues to his next challenge.

For the next few hours he muddles through Rolodexes and notepads, removes staples from the staplers, but not before effectively stapling the corners of pads of post-its together.

He relaxes for a moment, resetting the various television sets to the Food Network, as he relives fond memories of his mother’s home cooking before enlisting in the isolated world of ninja-ness.

With a melancholy feel rising from his chest, he shuts of the sets and returns to his tasks. Shuffling manila folders like decks of cards, squeezing whiteout from jars into fine strips of white liquid onto the linoleum floors. Unplugging phone cords, switching off desk lamps, and blowing out headphones.

His quick movements and demanding activity causes his stomach to break his surreptitious character. He freezes, trying to silence the growling that shrieks out in demand of substance.

To the editors section! He has come to find that they have the best remedies for situations of this nature. He crawls from under the filing cabinets and spills into the drawers, retrieving the hoards of junk food that accumulates through the week. Leaving no more than crumbs and empty wrappers, he leaves an open invitation to the mice that smell the rations from the basement.

The dawn is soon to break through the windows, and like clock work the first correspondent turns the steel handle to return to their working chamber. The door creeps open, the ninja freezes, looks up and in a flash, a smoke bomb erupts, blinding the vision of the morning intruder, who rubs his eyes to awaken his vision. Before the reporter’s vision can be restored and he becomes lucid, the ninja returns to his vacant domicile and awaits the next dusk to continue his routine mayhem.

Cowboy Conclusion

2011-07-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

As the National Cowboy Day – weekend segment comes to a close I leave you with three final cowboys that bring the cowboy culture to life in the neon city.

The Celebrity Cowboy:

No Vegas scene is complete without a celebrity, and the cowboy scene in Vegas highlights one of the most well known celebrity cowboys in the country music industry.

Since his Wynn debut in 2009, Garth Brooks, the number one selling solo artist in U.S. history has packed in country-fan crowds during monthly weekend engagements, throughout the year.

Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma Brooks was the youngest of six in a creative and musically talented family. Brooks released his first album in 1989, which peaked at #2 in the US country album chart and #13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart. Since then his music fame has grown throughout the world and his Vegas popularity has soared since he emerged from retirement to bring his cowboy compositions to the neon city.

The Corporate Cowboy:

Sitting behind his desk dressed in professional business attire he suits the role of General Manager with no questions asked. He leaves his office and from tie to dress shoes makes his way beyond the casino floor, along the carpeted hallways, down metal staircase, and through the metal doors. The smell of cattle and horses fill the air, hay and dirt cover the ground. Dressed in a suit, he receives double takes from those around as he looks out of place, but for South Point GM, Ryan Growney, behind the chutes, in the casino’s climate controlled stables and in the company of cowboys and over 1,000 horses, this is one of the highlights of his job.

“My background was strictly rodeo, I grew up here in Vegas and until I was 15 my exposure was NFR, we went every year I thought it was a fantastic event.

Through last name confusion, some family and friend clarification and a friendly introduction Growney was introduced to Michael Gawn and John Growney when he was 11 years-old and attending NFR. John Growney informed the NFR awed 11 year-old that “all Growney’s, when they’re old enough to drive, come work for me for a summer” Finally at 15 years old, he was given the opportunity to go out to the ranch and learned the ropes of cowboy lifestyle on the ranch.

“Mr. Gauwn sent me out to his ranch to get the in’s and the out’s and I spent probably about a year going riding once or twice a week to learn the etiquette of being around a horse, and how to take care of the animals and the dos and don’ts,” said Growney. “Then it came time, so I went and bought two pairs of jeans, a couple t-shirts and a pair boots and they dropped me off in Santa Maria, California with John Growney and his crew, which consisted of the pick up men, the bullfighters, and the laborers and I went on the road with the rodeo circuit when I was 15, which is kind of like the circus but with livestock. My first year there I was just trying to figure it out and I loved it, so I ended up doing it for 7 years. By the end I could rope a bit, I could ride, and I got into the arena where we were escorting bulls around.”

Since July of last year, this cowboy has occupied the GM desk at South Point Casino working not only with the typical casino and hotel obligations but fulfilling his love of the cowboy culture simultaneously.

“Most of the time I’m dressed in a suit, but whenever we have events come to town, I put the boots on and the hat on. Sometimes I will be the only one in the office and I’ll pull the ropes out and be playing around in the office with them and someone will come in and ask for the GM and it’s like ‘yea, that’s me.’ It throws people off sometimes,” said Growney.

“This was an old west town, it’s obviously a bit different today, but there’s still enough western events that come to town to where you kind of get your fix. It lets me appreciate it because on the casino side we open our arms to them and then it just feels good to just be a part of it and fit in when those events are taking place,” said Growney. “I just did it for fun for 7 years but it has become a trait that aids my professional career in the casino business.”

The Show Cowboy:

With backgrounds in trick roping and western themed performances, two Vegas cowboys take center stage, as the only cowboy act of it’s kind in Cirque du Soleil.

“Being a cowboy in Vegas is kinda fun, because we normally wear cowboy gear, your standard; chaps and dirty stuff. If a cowboy’s not dirty we’re not at home, but here at Cirque du Soleil, we are impeccable and we have the best cowboy bling bling you can imagine,” said trick roper and performer Will Roberts.

Bringing the spirit of the American cowboy to the limelight in the Viva Elvis show, Roberts and Loop Rawlins trick rope in ten shows a week for audience members, young and old.

“I originally started trick roping when I was 8 years old,” said Rawlins. “I use to do a traveling one man wild west show and I worked at various dude ranch resorts and festivals around the nation and around the world. Going from 200 to almost a 2,000 seat house every night really helps you get over the nerves and is a dream.”

With the Western culture in their back pocket and spotlights shining on them nightly, the definition of a cowboy comes into full play.

“What does define a cowboy? A cowboy might be in a pickup truck; it might be in a regular car, it doesn’t really matter. It might be someone who learns how to line dance at a bar, it might be someone who just does karaoke at the cowboy bar once a week, it could be just the fact that you wear cowboy boots all the time or you just like to watch westerns,” said Roberts. “It’s a lifestyle. It’s not only the fact that you might swing a rope, or ride or shoot guns, that doesn’t matter. It’s the fact that you have something in your heart that has a sense of the country, a sense of pride in everything you do and a dedication to the lifestyle. What is a cowboy? You define what that is.

From horseback to center stage the cowboys of Vegas sport their gallon hats and western manner in a plethora of ways from traditional Vegas glitter and entertainment to the conventional ways of the ranch. Whether adorned with gallon hats and stirrups, chaps and bikinis, a badge and gun, slacks, jeans or leather, the cowboys of Vegas give the Western culture a unique spin from every angle.

National Day of the Cowboy

2011-07-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

The Vegas cowboy lineup continues, and as the official National Day of the Cowboy, it’s only fair that we celebrate today by highlighting cowboys from both ends of the cowboy culture interpretations and lifestyles.

The Political Cowboy:

Riding in the political arena, one Vegas cowboy jumps from politics to rodeos as he multi-tasks as a County Commissioner and a competitive steer wrestler.

Growing up in the saddle of a hand-me down horse, County Commissioner Tom Collins was involved in the local rodeo world throughout his years of schooling. With a gift of a bareback rigging and a bull rope, Collins practiced and progressed his

Coaching sports, and raising kids, rodeo took a back seat. Once his kids were grown and in college however, he roped a role in politics starting out in the legislature and recently, picked back up in the competitive rodeo world.

While simultaneously working the land as a politician, within the last year Collins has also started back up in competitive steer wrestling. “I’ve been to five or six rodeos in the last couple of months and I’m going to probably go to another 15 or 16 rodeos before the end of the year,” said Collins.

From his desk in the political arena to his 40-acre ranch in Logandale, the country mentality doesn’t alter for this Vegas cowboy.

“In politics you horse trade when you’re passing laws and when you’re doing zoning and changing things, and cowboys they horse trade,” said Collins “The horse trading in politics is very similar to the cowboy’s way of horse trading, an elected cowboy will stand by his principles and his convictions and still knows when he has to do some horse trading.”

The Eye-Candy Cowboy:

As a sunset burns in the background, standing silhouettes of five lone cowboys are spotted, with a country drawl they’re introduced, and for the next four minutes, it’s a wild ride of line dancing, a little rope-play and a lot of teasing, as these six-pack cowboys continue a shirtless performance.

“Our show is a fantasy show, it’s 75 minutes of full fantasy fulfillment and cowboys is just one of those aspects of fantasy that we bring to life for those women that come to the show. And we do it with that trademark iconic song, Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy and right there in itself kind of ties Chippendales with cowboys and that just brings it all together,” said dancer Jace Crispin.

For almost six years the Chippendales have been performing at the Rio Hotel and Casino, serving as the epitome of a Vegas-style cowboy.

“It’s Vegas definitely; it’s totally different here. It’s lights, it’s action, we’re ripping off our shirts, it’s very sexy cowboys not the Texas cowboy you think of being a big studly guy hitting the ranch with big ‘ol buckles, the cattle rancher,” said Chippendales dancer, Chaun Thomas. “We’re hitting them with some intense sexiness and that’s what Vegas Chippendales cowboys bring and it’s a different cowboy.”

“Our guys are the sexiest cowboys in Las Vegas,” said press representative, Michael Caprio. “We have two rules; 6 foot and 6 pack. So you throw a cowboy hat and a big ‘ol shiney belt buckle and cowboy boots on that and it’s like ‘and why haven’t I been here before’.”

The Urban Cowboy:

Four days a week they saddle up and ride the city streets in search for crime, chaos and crowds to tame.

“We do work in the city and we do some work that people would consider cowboy work, such as we ride horses for our job,” said Office Kelly Korb. “Our job more exemplifies an urban marshal type cowboy whereas we do police work.

“Las Vegas is a western town and history dictates that if you’re on a horse and you’re riding down the street, you’re a cowboy, and people consider us that. We’re police officers first and our horses are here to help us do the work too, we’re part of Metro and we just ride a horse as part of our job duties.”

The Las Vegas Metro mounted unit started in July 1998 as an effort to manage the expected crowds for New Years Eve, 2000. Through one year of research and proposal development the unit was approved.

“It started for crowd control and ever since then we’ve been building on to we do. We do patrolling, search and rescue, demos, work with mobile field force team, there’s a lot that we’ve added on,” said Korb.

With experience and horse centered backgrounds, Metro’s mounted unit police bring the cowboy culture to the city, patrolling the urban town on horseback.

“We’re the first thing people see on the strip when they drive into town, is us sitting on horseback,” said Korb.