Community Forums => General Chat => Topic started by: Svevan on September 06, 2008, 03:25:21 AM
Title: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Svevan on September 06, 2008, 03:25:21 AM
Any NWR-ers here?
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 06, 2008, 03:51:25 AM
Bet $100 on Black for me, I'll pay you later.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Svevan on September 06, 2008, 04:08:02 AM
This sounds like a good idea! ....which game?
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 06, 2008, 04:19:15 AM
How can you be in Vegas and not know that if you're betting $100 on black then you're playing Roullette? You should know that I have no intention of paying you, though I will take a cut if you win.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Svevan on September 06, 2008, 04:58:46 AM
Contrary to what you may think, I'm not dumb. Ergo, I'm not gambling.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: bustin98 on September 06, 2008, 12:24:27 PM
I was there a few years ago for CES. I didn't gamble either. Yay! I'm not dumb!
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: wandering on September 06, 2008, 12:51:06 PM
I recommend Star Trek: The Experience, if you like Trek even a little.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: nickmitch on September 06, 2008, 02:12:18 PM
I heard the buffets are awesome.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Svevan on September 06, 2008, 03:14:43 PM
I like Trek more than a little, but the price tag is a little steep, and my time is severely limited.
Already I've gone to the top of the (half-scale) Eiffel Tower, seen the beautiful indoor decor of The Bellagio (where much of Ocean's 11 was filmed), The Venetian, and The Paris, and gone to an art show in The Bellagio called "American Modernism," where I got to see some beautiful Georgia O'Keeffe and Max Weber paintings up close. Today I may visit the Art Museum and see some Basquiat, Warhol, et al, visit The New York hotel/casino, maybe visit a Salvador Dali exhibit, and maybe see The Blue Man Group. Tomorrow I'm hoping for the Hoover Dam, and some relaxing times on the lake.
Last night I spent 45 minutes just watching the Bellagio Fountain show, which is really, weirdly, beautiful.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: ShyGuy on September 06, 2008, 03:25:34 PM
No, but I was at PAX last week, Mr. Too-broke-to-vacation!
Going downtown to see Freemont street is worth it.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Svevan on September 06, 2008, 03:42:44 PM
AHEM, I'm staying with my mother who is living here temporarily, so my flight and "hotel" (really an RV) are free. I'm just paying for some exhibits.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: ShyGuy on September 07, 2008, 02:40:36 AM
The Venetian is my favorite hotel down there, but I haven't been in about 4 years.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Svevan on September 07, 2008, 03:43:03 AM
Yeah I dig it! Everything here is posing as classy, which is good enough for me. Where I come from we don't take the time even to pose.
Just saw Blue Man Group. That show is crazy.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Maverick on September 07, 2008, 03:47:30 AM
I turn 21 this month, who wants to take me to Vegas and pop my gambling cherry?
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: DAaaMan64 on September 07, 2008, 03:52:12 AM
lol 21 to gamble. lol
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Maverick on September 07, 2008, 04:05:43 AM
I don't get it.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: wandering on September 07, 2008, 04:39:22 AM
I saw Blue Man Group in Orlando. Pretty fantastic. Watching that show is like....how to describe it without giving anything away? It makes you feel a bit like you do when you look up, and imagine walking around on the ceiling. Watching that group of blue aliens, who react to everything strangely, is like looking at the world upside down. Although, some of our party didn't care for the the show. It's very weird and doesn't click with everyone.
The show was great at involving the audience. First of all, the performers asked us to do alot of crazy (and awesome) things.
But more impressively, when audience members did unexpected things, the performers always dealt with it perfectly. (This is a very hard thing to do!) When the blue men were putting on a rock concert, a man yelled out "Free bird!" And they played it! When a blue man was walking through the audience, a guy gave him a chocolate. The blue man looked at it curiously. Then he chewed it up, and spit it out into the man's hand!
edit: added spoiler tags
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Svevan on September 07, 2008, 04:49:28 AM
I totally loved the show, quite a lot of fun and very interesting post-postmodern concept (or anti-postmodern, don't know).
Although, heh, Wandering, uh, hate to break it to you...but those two things are very scripted events. Both happened at my performance as well. YET I do agree with you, that the Blue Men are quite adept at dealing with the audience members' natural reactions (as when they pulled a girl onstage and ate "dinner" with her. She could not in any way have been an actor. She was truly awkward but desperately trying to play along, to make sure she got it right. At least, if she was an actor, she was the best actor I've ever seen ever. EVER.).
edit: Wandering guilted me into spoiler-tagging. Whatever.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on September 07, 2008, 05:04:09 AM
Sadly Star Trek the Experience closed last Monday, perhaps for good since many of the larger sets are being destroyed and the others are being moved back to the studio. It is too bad because I think you would have enjoyed it if you like Star Trek:(
I gambled in Vegas, I spent $4 and came away with $6, so yeah for me.
Title: I hate liberals
Post by: The American on September 07, 2008, 05:26:45 AM
Sveven must be a real girly man if he's afraid of gambling. I bet he's also scared of family values and victory in Iraq.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: wandering on September 07, 2008, 05:52:18 AM
Blue Man Group spoilers....
Quote
Although, heh, Wandering, uh, hate to break it to you...but those two things are very scripted events. Both happened at my performance as well. YET I do agree with you, that the Blue Men are quite adept at dealing with the audience members' natural reactions (as when they pulled a girl onstage and ate "dinner" with her. She could not in any way have been an actor. She was truly awkward but desperately trying to play along, to make sure she got it right. At least, if she was an actor, she was the best actor I've ever seen ever. EVER.).
What!? At the end of the show, we asked the band if the free bird thing was planned, and they said no.
Also, the girl who ate dinner in our show was equally awkward.... Spoilers end.
Quote
Sadly Star Trek the Experience is closing either this Monday or closed last Monday. :(
WHAT WHAT WHAT!!!???
DO NOT WANT
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: bustin98 on September 07, 2008, 02:37:48 PM
I don't spend alot of time in bigger cities but I'm sure this is not an unique experience. Under the big 'tv' in old vegas there is (was?) a free-hand spray paint artist who does an amazing job of painting requests on the fly. He was always busy and selling a number of paintings. I'd imagine he walks away with some dough each night. The mentions of the art show reminded of him.
I went to the Hoover dam. Its not as impressive as I thought it would be. (And no sign of cracks from that Superman movie ;)) Once the bypass is completed I bet there will be some awesome views from up there.
The Valley of Fire State Park is a sweet spot to climb around. I could have spent several days looking around.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Svevan on September 07, 2008, 06:41:37 PM
Although, heh, Wandering, uh, hate to break it to you...but those two things are very scripted events. Both happened at my performance as well. YET I do agree with you, that the Blue Men are quite adept at dealing with the audience members' natural reactions (as when they pulled a girl onstage and ate "dinner" with her. She could not in any way have been an actor. She was truly awkward but desperately trying to play along, to make sure she got it right. At least, if she was an actor, she was the best actor I've ever seen ever. EVER.).
What!? At the end of the show, we asked the band if the free bird thing was planned, and they said no.
Also, the girl who ate dinner in our show was equally awkward.... Spoilers end.
Yeah, I was sitting in prime seats right in front of the control booth (in the Venetian Hotel's "Blue Man Theatre," specially designed for this show), and I'm pretty sure I heard the guy yell "Freebird" from inside the control booth. Or else it was a recording played from a speaker in the nosebleed section, specially timed. Dunno. I suppose it's possible that your show (wherever you saw it) was the very first time someone ever yelled Freebird at the band, and they incorporated it into the show every time after, but it's much more likely that the band was lying to you.
Here's how the "guy with chocolates" thing worked at my show. First, the Blue Man took the box of chocolates from one guy, who was AFAIK a real audience member, gave them to another guy, and had the second guy throw them into his mouth (as had been done earlier in the show). Then the Blue Man put all the chocolates from his mouth onto the second guy's hand, and returned the box to the first guy. THEN, while the other Blue Men began to do something else, two members of the Blue Man Crew came up and took the box of chocolates away from guy one, and gave a napkin to guy two. So the chocolates, it seems to me, were planted, but the two audience members were not. Makes me wonder if the people in the "late arrival" gag were plants, or the girl at dinner, or wathavyu.
I thought the show was great all around, but lemme just say that there was a bit too much product placement (though the show is slightly critical of advertising and consumerism) and a bit too many mouth gags. If I were the second guy in the chocolate sketch, I would have thrown up right there on the spot. People catching things in their mouths is fine, but spewing them out, even onto a canvas? Yuck. And the Cap'n Crunch that they spit everywhere, ugh. A bit gross. I know that this is just me, but I HATE spit and things that were once in your mouth but now are out again. I suppose it is funny that Blue Man Group, while ostensibly being a performance art revue, is very critical of the stuff that passes for art today. Actually, I think I'll blog about this.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: ThePerm on September 07, 2008, 10:44:41 PM
I went to the Hoover dam. Its not as impressive as I thought it would be. (And no sign of cracks from that Superman movie ;))
Yeah. On a trip we went on when I was 12, we went to the Grand Canyon one day and the Hoover Dam the next. The latter paled in comparison to the former. The Grand Canyon is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, and the Hoover Dam is just an ugly white wall. God: 1. Man: 0.
Quote
Makes me wonder if the people in the "late arrival" gag were plants
Did the late people arrive when the blue men were about to do something with a human slingshot?
Quote
Wandering guilted me into spoiler-tagging. Whatever.
When I said your post had spoilers, I was thinking about the fact that you reveal the show has scripted events that are designed to look spontaneous. But I guess that's not a huge spoiler, and I don't want to scare people away from this thread, so I removed my warning about your post.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: DAaaMan64 on September 07, 2008, 11:56:54 PM
Best postl. That's like going to Atlantic City to see the beaches!
What else is there to do in Atlantic City? Anything?
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: The American on September 08, 2008, 06:50:17 AM
This may be a good time to bring up my online petition (http://www.petitiononline.com/iPatriot/petition.html).
Quote
To: President George W. Bush
We, the undersigned, demand that you (George W. Bush) use your presidential powers to change the name of North America to "North Larry". Also, we want South America changed to "South Larry", and the United States of America changed to "America". We are tired of citizens of lesser countries claiming they are "Americans".
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Stogi on September 08, 2008, 09:57:00 AM
Dude, how could you not gamble at least once?!
Roulette is the ****! Try it sometime; it's really not that hard to get money.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Svevan on September 08, 2008, 02:59:41 PM
Maybe next visit, when I roll in with my homies, my bling, and my dollar dollar bills. This year I was budgeted for museums, shows, and lots of fucking walking.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on September 08, 2008, 03:39:01 PM
The restaurant in Eifel Tower will serve you Coca-Cola in a fancy (small) glass for $4.
And a $14 grilled cheese sandwich.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: matt oz on September 10, 2008, 12:08:19 PM
I love gambling. One night at the Casino Royale (the one in Vegas, not the one in Montenegro), I won $255 playing Blackjack. It was awesome. I think I could become addicted to it though, so I'm careful about how much I play whenever I go to Atlantic City.
Anyway, don't go to Madame Tussaud's wax museum. The celebrities are crappy, and the admission is way too high.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: vudu on September 11, 2008, 02:35:26 PM
I've seen Blue Man Group twice in Chicago, but not in a very long time. Do they still do the toilet paper thing at the end?
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 11, 2008, 02:46:23 PM
I've never liked that Blue Man Group, it's a total ripoff of the Smurfs.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Svevan on September 11, 2008, 10:02:06 PM
I've seen Blue Man Group twice in Chicago, but not in a very long time. Do they still do the toilet paper thing at the end?
yes
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: vudu on September 12, 2008, 02:03:52 PM
Kind of disappointed that their show hasn't changed much (if at all) in the past 7 years.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: Svevan on September 12, 2008, 03:55:39 PM
Yeah, AFAIK it's pretty much identical no matter where you see it. I think when they do their big tour (instead of these "permanent" big-city shows) they do new stuff, or at least that's what I read on Wiki.
Title: Re: I am in Las Vegas
Post by: IceCold on September 13, 2008, 02:36:24 AM
Which episode? I haven't seen a good Simpsons episode since 1999.
You haven't been watching then. They're fewer and farther between and they don't hit the same heights as the classics but there are at least a couple good ones every year. The episode I quoted is called Trilogy of Error, epsisode 18 of season 12, first broadcast in 2001.
