05.27.10 · 4:19 PM

That yellow is in your imagination

Sulu is messing with my mind. Possibly with yours, too. I mean, have you seen Sharp Electronics’ new TV commercial? The one starring Star Trek alum George Takei? The one promoting the new Aquos Quattron television? The premise of the commercial is this: Most TVs don’t have yellow. I listened as Takei said, “Introducing Quattron quad-pixel technology—it adds a fourth color, yellow, to the standard RGB color system.” As he said it, I kid you not, I was looking at ... Read more...

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05.24.10 · 9:40 AM

The $10 haircut debate

Since moving to Vegas, I’ve only paid more than $10 for a haircut on one occasion. (I had a wedding coming up, so I splurged and went to the salon in Wal-Mart. It cost me $13 or $14.) I’m not cheap. Recently, I paid seven bucks for a bubble tea, but I am fiscally discerning. Allow me to explain… Do I get bad haircuts for $10? Sure, sometimes. But back in Michigan, back when I got my hair cut at ... Read more...

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05.22.10 · 11:51 AM

How to throw the perfect ‘Lost’ series finale party

I’ve spent the past few days wondering how, in just one episode, Lost could possibly answer all the questions its raised over the past six seasons. And here’s what I’ve realized: it can’t; there’s going to be a surprise seventh season. Accordingly, hosting a Lost series finale party on Sunday will probably just serve to make you look gullible in retrospect. But if you think I’m wrong, if you’re confident that Abrams, Lindelof and Cuse can really wrap things this ... Read more...

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05.20.10 · 10:44 AM

Before, after and what happens next

Last year I wrote a story about how before and after pictures can be faked (without using Photoshop) to simulate weight loss and muscle gain. Well, last week somebody posted my before and after pictures on Reddit.com, and then somebody reposted them on Break.com. Out of context, of course—under the heading “Before Being Drunk and After Being Drunk.” Clever. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people on both websites left a lot of nasty comments. For instance, Llnkn0wn wrote, “Why is that ... Read more...

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05.18.10 · 3:46 PM

A journey through the not-so-friendly skies

Recently, I flew from Detroit to Chicago. The two-and-a-half hour delay was the highlight of my night. The worst part was the flight. It was supposed to take 50 minutes, but it took two hours. There was wind, there was rain, there was lightning, there was circling, and there were ups and downs. One down in particular scared the hell out of me. It wasn’t just the sudden drop; it was the flight attendant’s reaction to it. She rushed for ... Read more...

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05.16.10 · 11:12 AM

Musings from Michigan

When I got home, my mom had this new candy called Pür sitting on the kitchen table. Before I popped a piece in my mouth, I asked her about the flavor. Good thing I did: it wasn’t candy; it was makeup. What’s up with body products disguising themselves as food? Have you been inside a Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics store? The soap looks and smells like ice cream. When a Lush sales clerk told me the product wasn’t edible, I ... Read more...

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05.14.10 · 4:08 PM

Midnight workout

If you drive past one of our city’s 24-hour gyms at midnight, you’ll see something shocking: a filled parking lot. Why do so many Las Vegans work out in the early hours of the AM? Let’s ask Bret Fitzgerald, Las Vegas Athletic Club’s VP of Corporate Communications: Who works out at midnight? Generally, younger people do. 20-35-year-olds. And at 3:00 a.m.? At that time, it’s swing shifters and people who have to be at work by 6 a.m. LVAC does ... Read more...

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05.12.10 · 11:28 AM

Sem-involuntary nostalgia

Two weeks ago, I got a Kodak Pulse digital picture frame. The Pulse has wireless Internet access, and it steals pictures off my Facebook photo albums and displays them to everybody in the apartment. My roommate, my roommate’s boyfriend, the plumber—they’re all forced to view the never-ending digital slideshow that is the past five years of my life. Like any professional narcissist (i.e., memoirist) worth his weight in self-portraits, over the last five years, I’ve posted hundreds and hundreds of ... Read more...

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05.9.10 · 6:13 PM

That’s what you get for going out in Vegas

I started the night off with a fish sandwich and a mojito from Café Bellagio, the restaurant next to the botanical gardens. My dad (who visits Vegas a few times a year) refers to this kind of restaurant as a “coffee shop.” (Is that a Midwestern thing? An old-school Vegas thing? Really, what kind of coffee shop serves mojitos?) My visiting friend, Samir, had never seen the gardens before. “I didn’t know Vegas had this kind of stuff,” he said. ... Read more...

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05.7.10 · 5:28 PM

Benihana is frozen in time

The Benihana chefs impress me. It’s not their knife flips or their behind-the-back shrimp tail hat catches; it’s their jokes. They tell the same ones again and again and again—thousands of times per year, perhaps—and their delivery never weakens. Disney’s Jungle Cruse Tour Guides could learn a thing or two from these guys. As a kid, Benihana was my favorite restaurant. It think it was the ginger salad dressing—that stuff is like orange crack. Well, last weekend I visited Benihana ... Read more...

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05.6.10 · 12:41 PM

Ron Popeil and the palace of sweat

That’s not a palace; it’s the lobby of the Encore gym and spa. The weight machines inside are equally fancy; you can tell by their adjustment pins. Allow me to explain: Most leg extension machines have two adjustment pins (one for the seat back, one for the ankle bar). The leg extension machine at the Encore gym has six. I couldn’t even figure out what some of the pins adjusted. S., my gym buddy for the day, used the treadmill ... Read more...

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05.4.10 · 3:20 PM

Tomorrow’s news right now

A few years ago, it was trendy to complain that the 24-hour cable news channels delivered immediacy at the cost of substance. The full argument, if memory serves, went like this: “Americans have no patience. We’re a nation of instant gratification! And when it comes to reporting, we’ve all but done away with accuracy and serious analysis.” I never bought into the whole “patience is a virtue” thing (I think that saying glamorizes passivity), but I do think the cable ... Read more...

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05.3.10 · 10:54 AM

Muslim bachelor party

My friend Samir is getting married in June. When he told me he was going to be in Vegas this month for a medical convention, I suggested a bachelor party. Just one catch: Samir is a religious Muslim, so no drinking, no gambling, no strippers and no sin. That left one thing: matching t-shirts. I picked the brightest, most obnoxious, most embarrassing shirts I could find: neon orange “Las Vegas County Jail” souvenir shirts. Clearly these shirts are fake (i.e., ... Read more...

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05.1.10 · 5:17 PM

KFCatastrophe

The media is obsessed with KFC’s Double Down. Apparently the all-meat sandwich is, to date, the clearest sign of the coming apocalypse. But in terms of KFC food-crime, the 2XD (can I trademark a sandwich nickname?) is nothing compared to this: Last night, I ordered two pieces of KFC grilled chicken (a drumstick and a thigh), and I asked for honey mustard and sweet & sour sauce… and, well, look how much sauce the guy gave me. Three tubs per ... Read more...

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Featured Cocktail

Cocktail of the Week May 15, 2013
by Sabrina Chapman

The Golden Pillar: An architectural cocktail built for XS

This Sunday, XS nightclub celebrates the grand reopening of its after-dark pool party, Night Swim. Along with the bash comes a new offering of signature cocktails served by the pitcher, ...
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