Vegas,Baby!

Top 10 Sex Symbols of Las Vegas

+Jack Colton, "Mayor of Las Vegas"
+32 Most Beautiful People in Las Vegas

Surviving Vegas Nightlife

What Hosts and VIP Hosts Actually Do in Las Vegas

What to Wear to a Las Vegas Nightclub

The Most Expensive Las Vegas Hotel Rooms

The Hard Rock Hotel Pool Suites

Nobu

+Nobu review
+Extravagance Unleashed
+The Lotus and the Lever
+Where to Eat and Stay in Las Vegas

Joël Robuchon review

Newport Lofts LV

+Vegas Condo Scene
Aaron Auxier recently received national press for setting the top-three residential price-per-square-foot records in the history of Las Vegas by selling multiple penthouses to clients 'in the music biz'. [VIPGolfVacation.com]

+CityCenter Interactive Guide
+CityCenter details (vid)
+ARIA Resort and Casino ad (vid)
+Louis Vuitton at CityCenter (vid)

+Luxury Las Vegas magazine
+Closet Confidential
+The Spa at One Queensridge Place

Las Vegas photo gallery

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS...
+High Rollers Bring Baccarat Boom to Las Vegas
+High Roller Suites (slideshow)
+Debt Topples Las Vegas High Roller
+Las Vegas Caters to Asia's High Rollers

+Sarah Larson's Sin City Secrets
+"GayGamer Eat Your Heart Out"
+Fave Vegas Moments
+10 Things Not to Do in Las Vegas

+The Palomino
+About
+Sunset at the Palomino

Vegas Retro

The Movable Buffet - blog
To me, the key to covering Vegas is to know when to leave the party and get back to work. More than that, as a writer, I also try to always remember that I am not actually an invited guest to this party (metaphorically or literally) that is Vegas, but rather am a paid observer of the town's business model: sell the world on a place with a manufactured and marketed permanent party where regular rules of etiquette and in some cases law do not apply. And, at core, that invention of Vegas, that image, collectively is Sin City. [...]


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NEW POSTS
Design Moment
Design Moment
Felix Cane
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Oscar Buzzzzzz...

Ever wonder why the Oscars is such a snoozefest? Check this out: Sacha Baron Cohen Pulls Out of Oscar Ceremony - Because of James Cameron?
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Today's Tip

Sunflower sprouts

Eat your greens.

Admit it. You don't like to eat greens, do you? Most of us don't. Did you really think the lettuce in the double-decker cheeseburger you had last night counts? It doesn't. I, myself, used to subsist on a lot of take out and frozen dinners. I used to joke about how salt, fat and sugar were the three most important food groups. Believe me, I ate enough of that stuff to kill a horse (ok, maybe a small dog). Then, I got hit with a godawful food allergy (gluten) and now I have to watch what I eat. I know that for most people, fresh greens are an acquired taste if they aren't slathered in cheese, salty/sweet sauces or accompanied by something that used to have a heartbeat. I used to feel the same way. I won't lie, greens are bland/bitter as hell and it takes a while to grow accustomed to eating them relatively unadorned. Also, most of us - including high end restauranteurs - don't know how to prepare them in an interesting manner while retaining their nutritional value. Biggest mistake we make is oversalting or - *gasp* - overcooking them. There's nothing worse than a plate of limp, grey broccoli or asparagus. If you grew up on that shit, it's hard to get past it as an adult.

Still, you have to try. No other type of food quite matches greens in terms of the benefits they afford, and they act as a natural buffer between disease and health. Think of them as the world's cheapest pharmaceuticals. Yes, I know they're a pain in the ass to prepare, especially if you're busy, lazy or suffer from a deficit of culinary skills. How come grocers don't get that not everyone needs 5 lbs of kale in one shot? Even if you like the occasional salad, most of us have lettuce wilting in the fridge right now. This is why the true purpose of this post is to introduce you to the wonderful world of sprouts.

Don't give me that face. Sprouts are awesome. They're nutrient dense like dark, leafy greens (kale, mustard, collard etc.) but they're not as bitter and don't require cooking which means they retain all of the beneficial enzymes that aid in digestion. If you buy them fresh, they'll keep up to two weeks in the fridge and you can grab a handful of them whenever you want. If you're really dedicated to eating well, you can take a bunch to work in a Ziploc bag and toss them into a pre-made soup, salad or sandwich (lunch spots usually only carry brownish alfalfa that's way past its prime). I haven't tried them all, but my faves so far are garlic, onion, pea and sunflower. Sunflower sprouts are mild with a hint of sunflower seed flavour, aren't prone to mold like some of the other, more densely-packed varieties aaand are 300 times more nutritous than spinach. How about that? One day - when my inner Martha finally wakes up - I'll grow my own, but for now I buy mine at Whole Foods. Some guy named "Uncle George" grows them, clips them and packages them for me; I trust he knows what he's doing.

In conclusion, eat the damned sprouts. They play well with others, so that even though you may think they don't taste as good as a burger, they taste great in a burger. See how that works? Now let's talk about organic beef and ethical animal rearing practices...

+Types of Sprouts
+How to Grow Sunflower Sprouts
+Secret Super Foods
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NEW POST
Paul Walker
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Fuck Fashion

Sizing Up the Fashion Industry
"I can open up any magazine or pick any show and tell you what girls are taking Adderall, how many girls are taking Vicodin, how many girls are throwing up, how many girls are carrying flasks," he said. "Girls are really resorting to incredibly dangerous things."
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NEW POST
Runway: Spring 2010
Jak & Jil - blog
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Hey, it's Missdelite here. I feel I need to qualify the title of this post. When I say "Fuck Fashion", I refer to an industry that supports the phenomenon of the ever-shrinking model - not the creation, manufacture and enjoyment of beautiful clothes. Yes, there's a definite body conscious / sportswear trend in the spring looks this year, but a woman with curves can rock the shit out of them if she's confident and fit. In fact, I think a healthier woman would look better in the clothes I feature than the emaciated models you see wearing them. Unfortunately, fashion designers, editors and buyers shy away from body fat / muscle on female models as some sort of sick projection of their own weaknesses. Have you seen some of these people? Their expanding waistlines could no more fit into designer clothes than their egos through a standard-sized doorway. No wonder they get herded into tents!

GOLD!

Their Game, Their Gold: Crosby's OT Goal Gives Canada Win Vs. USA

Chocolate T.O.

SOMA
55 Mill St.

+Reviving a Dying Chocolate Art
+Boston.com review
+The Best Chocolate Shop in Toronto
+Green Tangerine, Where Have You Been?
+Sugarholic review
+Yelp reviews
+Chocolate Banana Bread - recipe

+Chocolate with a Social Justice Twist

+The Sweetest Thing

VID

I'm Not a Whore

She's such a fucking disaster.

Last week, I spent time with a guy who really pissed me off cause he was so damned pushy. Just in case you're wondering, yes, it's different for "civilians" when it comes to being with an escort in a non-client capacity. I wanted to take things slow and get to know him better. He wanted to shove his tongue down my throat from the get-go.

True, I wasn't physically attracted to him, but he seemed pleasant enough from the outset and hinted at having connections to important people. I thought maybe this guy could help me get out of "the life" and onto something better. Sex was an option, if not a guarantee.

But he turned me off. He oozed sleaze and his cloying personality made me want to drown myself in bleach. The more I thought about him, the less I liked him, which is why I cancelled tonight's dinner plans. You see, even though I'm willing to be with someone in exchange for a shot at self-advancement, I'm not willing to spend time with someone I can't stand. Even if I don't have two nickels to rub together, I just can't do it.

Anyone with a modicum of self respect knows there's a line they can't cross. They know that if they do, they won't be able to sleep at night, or wake up in the morning not feeling dirty. They also know they won't be able look people in the eye when they talk to them or get rid of that knot in the pit of their stomach that tells them things aren't quite right.

I'm not saying whorish acts are irredeemable. People make mistakes and do things they regret; shit happens. But that's how we learn where our boundaries lie and what not to do the next time an opportunity with a hefty price tag comes along. We either negotiate a fair price or walk away. That's called integrity.

A whore, on the other hand, gets down on all fours and sucks like they've never sucked before - be it for a bump of coke or a job promotion. They feel no regret cause they believe they're not worth any better. Their motto? Anything. Anytime. Anywhere. Whores do things that turn other people's stomach with nary a backward glance. They sully everything they touch and anyone who has anything to do with them looks guilty by association. They've no dignity, self respect or class. Ethically, whores are the bottom feeders of society, although ironically, many of them occupy lofty, coveted social positions. What does it say about us that we promote people like this? Are we all whores, after all?

Well, I'm not.
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NEW POST
Design Moment
David Regan
Knight's Pugh
GYWO
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Speed Tweeting

This little birdie can fly.

Conan's on Twitter

If anyone has any doubt about Twitter being the next powerhouse communication tool, consider this: Conan O'Brien posted a single, solitary tweet 5 hours ago and now he has 174,006 followers. Talk about an ego boost. How long, do you think, before he breaks a million? It's no secret we're all waiting for the next Conan project - be it on TV or the Internet - but in the meantime we've got his tweets to keep us going. I hope he keeps it up, cause you know he'll make even walking the dog sound funny. Yes, he's back! And I just want to say, Thank you, NBC, for firing Conan and saving comedy.

Ok, make that 180,567...

UPDATE 1
[02.25.10]
Has my point about Twitter sunken in yet? No? Well then, look at it this way: If Conan had posted a message on his Facebook "wall", there's no fucking way it would've reached over a quarter of a million people in less than 24 hours. None. When it comes to outreach, Facebook's exclusivity bites it in the ass. It's great for organizing parties, but not for organizing events - especially major ones. Let's face it, on the Information Superhighway, Twitter's a bullet train to Facebook's rusty shopping cart with the squeaky wheel that's always veering left.

So, if Conan and his crew put out a casting call for their next project, which medium would get the word out faster and to more people? Facebook or Twitter? And if you - as a writer/comedian/agent - want to get the jumpstart over everyone else, then which medium are you going to monitor more closely? Facebook or Twitter? If you chose the former, then you just lost your place in line, and possibly your shot at the opportunity of a lifetime. These days, who can afford to wait?

Let's make that 340,394...

UPDATE 2
[02.26.10]
Conan on Twitter: 377,647 followers and counting... (after 2 days and 2 tweets)
Conan on Facebook: His largest fan group has 41,709 fans (search results)

From the numbers above, you can see that when it comes to crowdsourcing capabilities, Twitter blasts Facebook out of the water and into outer space. If Conan's smart (and we all know he is), he's working on a project right now with the intent of promoting it no later than the summer. By firing him, NBC gave him the best publicity money can't buy, and he'll want to capitalize on the momentum of public interest before it runs cold. After all, in the age of Twitter, popularity has a shelf life of days, if not hours. I'd say Conan's lucky the entertainment world - in particular comedy - is a stale environment right now. It takes Herculean efforts to launch something on TV and on the Internet there's what? Funny or Die videos? C'mon, he's in the perfect position to blow our minds, and if he's half the "genius" people say he is, he'll do just that (before fall 2010).

UPDATE 3
[03.02.10]
Looks like Conan and his writers are getting ready to tickle our comedy tastebuds once again. From the comments: Are you really going to do a live show? When and where? Boston I hope!

+Conan O'Brien Eyeing Live Tour

UPDATE 4
[03.03.10]
Conan's number of followers has surpassed the half million mark. He now has 503,497 followers after 7 days and 8 tweets. Jay Leno who??
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NEW POSTS
Japanese Bullets
Funki Porcini
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Wild Man
NO B.O.
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Crap Over Cool

Meh. I've seen better.

Like this one. Basically, it's a landscape similar to the one above, but the colours "pop" in contrast to one another and it looks more alive than the example above, which lays flat and looks like a whole lotta blah.

I left the following comments over at Selectism, a blog I never visit but just happened to check out the other day. The first two weren't published and I expect the third won't be either, but I derive great satisfaction from knowing that someone - hopefully the asshat who rejected the first two comments - will read it. The post's subject was some crappy photog they lavished praise on just because he's shot a bunch of celebutards. No, I won't name him here cause he doesn't deserve a mention. Needless to say, if Mary Jo Whackadoodle from Salt Lake City had taken the pics they featured, no one would've given a fuck.

COMMENT #1
Name: missdelite
Zzzz...Christian Schmidt kicks this guy's ass.
http://christianschmidt.biz/

Rejected! Ok, so snark didn't work. They don't have a sense of humour - or a sense of the Internet - do they? How about a little syrupy sucking up to fall in line with the other brown-nosing comments in an attempt to temper my blatant act of promotion?

COMMENT #2
Name: missdelite
Oh, awesome!
He and Christian Schmidt should do a co-project.
http://christianschmidt.biz/

Rejected again! Whattup with that?? Do they have something against vision, heart and soul in art work? Cause this guy Schmidt has it in spades. Well, now I'm pissed.

COMMENT #3
Name: MediocreArt
Fine, don't publish my comments.
Loser.
Obviously, you've got the market cornered on the IKEA crowd but you wouldn't know fantastic art if Picasso arose from the dead and pissed you a masterpiece. My 4-year-old niece takes better pics with her Fisher Price camera - maybe you can feature her work?
"Selectism"? Bwah! I crown you the king of selecting crap over cool. Be proud of your achievement and celebrate your mediocrity. You've earned it.

This comment's "pending approval" but I'm not holding my breath. I wrote it purely for the purpose of venting my frustration at someone who simply can't see something good when it's staring at him/her in the face. I liken it to wearing foggy goggles that afford only 10% visibility, and feeling comfortable doing it, not knowing how much access is being denied to better stuff out there. Screw Selectism. I won't be returning to that site for awhile and they've probably blocked my IP anyway.