GRAY MATTERS

The Mexican government has caused a furor in U.S. civil rights circles over the distribution of a stamp with racially offensive cartoon characters—one has black skin, thick lips and is named Memin Pinguin; the other bears a resembles to Aunt Jemima. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has demanded that the Mexican government discontinue the stamp. Dean Ishman, president of the Las Vegas NAACP branch, had this to say about the controversy:

"When I think of what the Mexican government is doing, the old expression, 'Crazy like a fox,' comes to my mind. This is just one more reason why so many Mexicans are desperately trying to leave Mexico. This is a disturbing mind-set, especially after the recent derogatory statement made by (Mexican president) Vincente Fox. Racially insensitive attitudes like this are the things people-of-color coalitions are trying to eliminate in the U.S. Here in Las Vegas, there are a number of such collaborative efforts going on.

Some good examples of these efforts are the combined Chambers of Commerce (Urban, Latin and Asian), the Unity Council of Nevada and the Worker's Rights Coalition. These are just a few examples of people coming together to focus on common issues that dramatically impact our community and quality of life."

Trouble often follows rap mogul and convicted felon Marion "Suge" Knight, but every now and again he demonstrates a bit of restraint. Last Sunday, around 4 in the morning, Knight and his entourage were in town hanging out at the Palms. One of his buddies, 22-year-old Bo Pedersen-Rogers, allegedly was causing a ruckus at the hotel and was asked to leave. Pedersen-Rogers got into a cab, and was about to "regurgitate," in the words of Rob Stewart, PIO of the Nevada Taxicab Authority, which investigated the incident. When the cabbie asked her to lose her lunch outside his cab, she assaulted him, punching him 10 times and ripping his shirt. He called taxicab authority police, and Pedersen-Rogers was arrested for assault on a taxi driver, a gross misdemeanor that carries with it the possibility of jail time.

As she was being arrested, Knight and other members of his group came out of the hotel and saw her struggling. Knight himself managed to quickly calm her down, and that might have been that, until a cab supervisor showed up and got into a stare-down with another of Suge's people, which escalated into a verbal throw-down. The lone taxi cop left on the scene suddenly felt nervous and called for backup from Metro. Once the sirens were heard, Suge and his crew left the scene.

Driving south out of town on I-15, there's evidence that our standards of decency have indeed fallen by the wayside. It's not a KOMP billboard with ample neathage; it's not a Hard Rock billboard with ample innuendo. Instead, it's an ARCO billboard that says, and we quote, "Last chance to pee." We love it that ARCO recognizes what's really important in a gas station; we anticipate backlash from the decency police: "Can't we just say, 'Clean Restrooms'? Well, at least it's not, "Last Chance to Evacuate Your Colon."

Two, Four, Six, Eight, How Do We Make Theater Great? Workshops! Workshops! Yeaaah, Workshops! ... Or Perhaps Not.

Why does community theater so rarely catch fire in Vegas? Maybe it's the often invisible enthusiasm level. On the Vegas chat board of talkingbroadway.com, a news release announced the return of a "Two-Day Power Acting Workshop" July 23 and 24, featuring actor Louis Mandylor (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), sponsored by the company formed by Mandylor and Vegas producer/agent Jack Campbell. The last one was in April, and the pair hope to expand their workshops in Vegas to quarterly this year and bimonthly next year. (It costs $225 and is held at Las Vegas Little Theatre.)

Sounds encouraging, until you read the conversations on the local chat board:

• "I was involved with the last one. And all I can say is while both Jack and Louis are very pleasant, don't waste your money."

• "How many people went to this?"

• "About 3 to 5."

• "WOW. 3 to 5 people. Does that mean there was a child present, and there is a good reason that they need to do it again so soon? I wish them well. This has been tried in the past with much bigger names (but usually agents and casting directors) and it usually fails. The people in Vegas first off don't think they need training and secondly there are very few that have any intention of moving to LA and NY to pursue the business so why bother."

At least one chatterer saw a reason to bother:

• "Any serious actor, no matter what level of training, should be at this workshop."

For any other interested actors or actor-wannabes, you can fill out an application at www.hollywoodwayacting.com or call 387-7264.