What Happens in ... You Know
Feb. 26th, 2012 07:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fauxkloreAs I mentioned briefly in my last entry, I went to Las Vegas last weekend. The trip came about mostly because: 1) I wanted to go somewhere warmish over the holiday weekend and 2) I had a United ecert (a discount certificate given as compensation for a problem on a previous flight) making the fare reasonable.
My flight out was delayed about 45 minutes for a mechanical problem but, as I've said before, I really do prefer that they fix the planes. I had an exit row aisle seat, so I was comfortable enough. The movie was In Time, which involves a futuristic society in which time is literally money. Everybody is genetically engineered not to age past 25 and, on turning 25 a clock goes on in their body (with a count down on it shown on their arm). They can earn or be given more time and the economic barriers become time zones. The rich in New Greenwich are, essentially, immortal, while those in the ghetto of Dayton have to live day by day. A bored rich person gives his time to a ghetto dweller, who is then accused of having murdered the rich guy. The premise is interesting enough and it held my attention, but, overall, I found the movie too violent for my tastes.
I stayed at Harrah's, which was just adequate. I'd gotten a good price, however, and it's not like I spend a lot of time in the room and awake when I'm in Vegas. I spent much of Saturday doing a Volksmarch covering the North Strip. I was surprised at how much demolition had gone on. Presumably this will lead to construction at some point. I should add that the reason it took much of the day (aside from getting a later start than I intended) was that I did stop for a few gambling breaks and a bit of browsing at expensive shops and the like.
Saturday night, I went to see Cirque du Soleil's Viva Elvis show at the Aria. Frankly, this was less impressive than other Cirque shows I've seen. There was one excellent trampoline act, involving guys dressed as superheroes since Elvis allegedly liked comic books. And there was a very impressive aerial act involving a very scantily clad man and woman. But, overall, there was less spectacle and more straightforward dancing than I'd expected or wanted.
I ventured downtown on Sunday in order to see the new Mob Museum. This was a rather mixed bag, with some general history on the rise of organized crime mixed with a lot of Las Vegas specific history. The highlight is the courtroom where the Kefauver hearings were held in the 1950's. They show a film that includes actual footage of the hearings and I found that fairly entertaining. There were also various gruesome elements throughout the museum, including very graphic descriptions (and photos) of mob hits. Overall, I thought they did a fairly good job and it was worth a few hours.
I stayed downtown afterwards, having a disappointing sushi dinner at Island Sushi and Grill and watching part of the Fremont Street light show, as well as gambling at various of the casinos. I should also mention having walked past the Heart Attack Grill, which was in the news recently for someone having actually had a heart attack while eating there. Their gimmick is highly caloric food, with a free meal for anybody who weighs over 350 pounds. And they make their customers put on hospital gowns over their clothes. It escapes me why anybody would find this a good idea. By the way, I also puzzle over the advertised "buffet of buffets," which offers 6 buffets in 24 hours for about $50. Sure, it's cheap. But how could anybody possibly eat a buffet every 4 hours? My brother in his younger days might have been able to, but I'm not sure even he could now.
I had intended to go to the Roman baths at the spa at Caesar's Palace too, but clothing optional spa-going and tampons are a pretty squicky thought, so I left that for a more biologically suitable time.
Overall, I had an enjoyable weekend away and stayed well within my budget. My flight back was actually a connection via Denver. I got upgraded on the LAS-DEN leg, but not DEN-IAD. I should also mention that the movie on that last leg was The Big Year, which I really enjoyed. I'm not a birder (though I have a couple of good friends who are) so I can't testify to the accuracy of the bird information. But I understand the obsessive pursuit of a goal that other people may find incomprehensible, so this story of three men competing to see the most birds in a year resonated with me. It's not an uproarious laughter sort of comedy, but was just warm and quirky.
My flight out was delayed about 45 minutes for a mechanical problem but, as I've said before, I really do prefer that they fix the planes. I had an exit row aisle seat, so I was comfortable enough. The movie was In Time, which involves a futuristic society in which time is literally money. Everybody is genetically engineered not to age past 25 and, on turning 25 a clock goes on in their body (with a count down on it shown on their arm). They can earn or be given more time and the economic barriers become time zones. The rich in New Greenwich are, essentially, immortal, while those in the ghetto of Dayton have to live day by day. A bored rich person gives his time to a ghetto dweller, who is then accused of having murdered the rich guy. The premise is interesting enough and it held my attention, but, overall, I found the movie too violent for my tastes.
I stayed at Harrah's, which was just adequate. I'd gotten a good price, however, and it's not like I spend a lot of time in the room and awake when I'm in Vegas. I spent much of Saturday doing a Volksmarch covering the North Strip. I was surprised at how much demolition had gone on. Presumably this will lead to construction at some point. I should add that the reason it took much of the day (aside from getting a later start than I intended) was that I did stop for a few gambling breaks and a bit of browsing at expensive shops and the like.
Saturday night, I went to see Cirque du Soleil's Viva Elvis show at the Aria. Frankly, this was less impressive than other Cirque shows I've seen. There was one excellent trampoline act, involving guys dressed as superheroes since Elvis allegedly liked comic books. And there was a very impressive aerial act involving a very scantily clad man and woman. But, overall, there was less spectacle and more straightforward dancing than I'd expected or wanted.
I ventured downtown on Sunday in order to see the new Mob Museum. This was a rather mixed bag, with some general history on the rise of organized crime mixed with a lot of Las Vegas specific history. The highlight is the courtroom where the Kefauver hearings were held in the 1950's. They show a film that includes actual footage of the hearings and I found that fairly entertaining. There were also various gruesome elements throughout the museum, including very graphic descriptions (and photos) of mob hits. Overall, I thought they did a fairly good job and it was worth a few hours.
I stayed downtown afterwards, having a disappointing sushi dinner at Island Sushi and Grill and watching part of the Fremont Street light show, as well as gambling at various of the casinos. I should also mention having walked past the Heart Attack Grill, which was in the news recently for someone having actually had a heart attack while eating there. Their gimmick is highly caloric food, with a free meal for anybody who weighs over 350 pounds. And they make their customers put on hospital gowns over their clothes. It escapes me why anybody would find this a good idea. By the way, I also puzzle over the advertised "buffet of buffets," which offers 6 buffets in 24 hours for about $50. Sure, it's cheap. But how could anybody possibly eat a buffet every 4 hours? My brother in his younger days might have been able to, but I'm not sure even he could now.
I had intended to go to the Roman baths at the spa at Caesar's Palace too, but clothing optional spa-going and tampons are a pretty squicky thought, so I left that for a more biologically suitable time.
Overall, I had an enjoyable weekend away and stayed well within my budget. My flight back was actually a connection via Denver. I got upgraded on the LAS-DEN leg, but not DEN-IAD. I should also mention that the movie on that last leg was The Big Year, which I really enjoyed. I'm not a birder (though I have a couple of good friends who are) so I can't testify to the accuracy of the bird information. But I understand the obsessive pursuit of a goal that other people may find incomprehensible, so this story of three men competing to see the most birds in a year resonated with me. It's not an uproarious laughter sort of comedy, but was just warm and quirky.
Date: 2012-02-27 01:01 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2012-02-27 10:47 am (UTC)