My Summer Vacation

This summer, I followed in Open Bar's footsteps and went to Vegas. It was so fucking surreal. Of course, I didn't have the experience that he did, as he went as a single guy and I went with my wife. Nevertheless, it was something to behold.

I won't bore you with a bunch of pictures of the various sights. I'm sure you'll ask if you want to know more details. I will mention a couple of random things...

- The sex industry in Vegas is out of control. I've posted before about how silly it is that this kind of stuff is "illegal" in this country. Well, Vegas takes it to a new level. It is extremely unregulated. Here's a picture illustrating this. There are many billboards like this, guys handing out cards on every corner advertising "girls to your room", etc...











- This guy my mom is dating is real tight with the uncle / driver / manager of Phil Ivey, the poker player. I was supposed to meet Phil Ivey while I was out in Las Vegas, if Phil was around. It turns out... Phil was not around. However, his uncle managed to drop off some merchandise for me. It's for the best. What the hell am I going to do with Phil Ivey, or talk to him about? I was hoping Phil would say, "Hey, man, here's $5,000. Let's play a little together. I'll stake you." Somehow I don't think that was happening. So, here's me posing with my consolation prize (Phil is a part-owner of Full Tilt Poker.)












We also went to see Miranda Lambert perform in Atlantic City. Her opening act, John Eddie, was awesome. If you're looking for a change of pace in your music, they're both a lot of fun.

I also made my requisite trip to Cape Cod for a little while. Here's Walt Clyde with his brother and father on the deck overlooking the bay in North Truro.

New Things That Are Dope

Since I just mentioned WALL-E as being dope, here are some things that are new and dope as well that I've been enjoying recently...

Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: I wanted to hear some good country music and came across this album. If you either enjoy or are curious about country music this is a modern, fun country album.











Radiohead, In Rainbows: This was originally available through Radiohead's somewhat gimmicky "pay what you want" download thing, but now it is available on CD. It is a fantastic sounding album, if you're into the electronic-yet-musical Radiohead sound. One song, "Nude", especially stands out for me.

(Also, Gnarls Barkley briefly covered a Radiohead song in concert. It's only worth mentioning because I am into both of them. Click here to watch.







Nintendo Wii: My wife and I broke down and bought a Wii last week, after playing other places and enjoying it immensely. Yes, we're 31 and don't have kids yet. However, it is truly for all ages. It's neat how the feel (so far, at least) seems intuitive and how people who are not experienced video gamers can compete on the Wii. So far we are very impressed with the ingenuity and design of it. We have the Sports package that comes with the system, and Guitar Hero III. I now understand why South Park poked fun at the Guitar Hero craze. A local South Jersey bar has Guitar Hero nights. This is not uncommon apparently.

Anyway, Wii is dope so far.