Thursday, September 10, 2009 by admin.

Sorry I haven’t been posting regularly. I’ve been super busy with school and work, and to top it all off I’ve had a headache for two weeks. When your head hurts the last thing you want to do is be on the computer longer than necessary. I bit the bullet so to speak and sought professional medical help this afternoon. I am always reluctant to go to the doctor unless I absolutely can’t take care of it myself. I don’t like using medication unless absolutely necessary. That being said, as I am now armed with prescription pharmaceuticals I feel confident my “tension headache” will soon be history. *big sigh of relief*

I just wanted to remind everyone that The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural start tonight on the CW. I trust you’ve already set your DVRs and prepared to settle in for a two hour horror fest (well at least 1 hour of scariness anyway). Can’t wait to see what happens on Supernatural! With an episode title like “Sympathy for the Devil” you know it’s going to be awesome.

Did anyone else have Twitter woes this week? My account was suspended, along with many others, because of some spam cloud attack; I was one of the attackees not the attacker. It was very disconcerting to be cut off from my True Blood updates so close to the season 2 finale this Sunday. The suspension was lifted a few hours after I filed a dispute, so I guess that was good. All of the people I was following now think I’m re-following them or something but again, it’s all good. I unlocked my account so if any of my readers here want to follow me you can reach me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/mac_jedi. Because of my guilty pleasure True Blood role players addiction I tend to Tweet more often than I blog now. I’ll try to be better with the blogging.

I missed posting yesterday on the 9-9-09 as I intended because I was feeling mucho crappy, but I wanted to post a link to a photo of Las Vegas Mayor Goodman and his wife renewing their on the momentous date courtesy of Vegas.com. Ain’t love grand?

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Sunday, July 19, 2009 by admin.

This is the first week of the year where I’ve said, “Man, it’s hot!” We were blessed with mild weather in June and now summer has officially arrived. It looks like we’re moving into a monsoon type cycle like the Phoenix area. I was discussing that with my neighbor last night because it rained yesterday. Not just a little itty bitty baby storm like we’re used to here. It freakin’ poured! Then we had lightening storms all night long. I felt like I was back in Phoenix! I wonder if blinding dust storms are just around the corner…

I’ve long blamed the humid, suffocating monsoon season in Phoenix on the artificial lakes. It used to be a dry heat, then they started building all these planned communities with water features and man-made lakes. Pretty soon July and August began to feel more like Atlanta than Phoenix and my make-up used to literally melt off my face in the afternoons. Men didn’t have that issue so much I’m sure, but we ladies did.

Now the same thing is happening in Las Vegas. We’re used to 2-5 percent humidity on average and today, for example, the humidity is 15 percent. That may not seem like much but when you’re used to 3 percent and it’s 115 degrees on top of it all…it’s a might bit uncomfortable.

That’s why I’m looking forward next week to those 80 degree days they’re having in San Diego for Comic-Con. My friend Rani and I have hashed out our panel schedule and I have all of my paperwork in order. Just have to swing by Trader Joe’s to get some more provisions, make a list of things to bring and start packing! If you’re going to the convention, you should check out Matt Goldberg’s 5 Tips for Surviving Comic-Con. Stay tuned for photos and other information for the Comic-Con convention starting next Thursday!

One other purchase I made to prepare for the con, and because they had me at “digital compass” is the new iPhone 3GS. Not that I need a digital compass, but it has a severally high coolness factor and who knows? I may need it sometime while hiking; I’m just sayin’.

I was hesitant to make the switch from my BlackBerry because I liked the convenience of using my fingernails to type. I was worried I would have too severe of a learning curve with the digital keyboard on the iPhone. My fears are allayed because I’ve only had it a few days but I’m getting proficient already.

Actually, like other Apple products I don’t know how I lived without it–I am a Mac Jedi you know =]. I can get all emails for all of my accounts on there if I so choose. I can use Facebook and Twitter using the free apps from the Apple Store. It’s an iPod too, so my little Nano will be used strictly at home to listen to music. Because the iPhone screen isn’t the size of a postage stamp, it’s actually convenient to watch shows and movies on. I can even connect to the university web site and answer discussion questions or read course material. In short, I’m glad I took the plunge and joined the iPhone revolution.

Speaking of Facebook and Twitter you can connect to me on either site to follow me at the convention. Find me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/macjedi and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mac_jedi. If you don’t know what either of those things are let me know and I will write a novice guide to social networking. =]

By the way, I saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince last night. It was marginallly better than the last but for some reason David Yates has made Harry Potter a yawn inducing experience. There were a few good scenes and some funny parts but on the whole not as much action as the book. I used to go to see Harry Potter on opening day. I even used to take off work early to see it. Now it’s like any other film that I’d like to see but not overly excited about which is sad, really. I’ll watch the next two but I’m not going to rush to theater to see them or buy the DVDs on release day. I can wait.

On another note, the theater was packed with people so clearly the Harry Potter name is still drawing audience. Quite a few very young kids were in the theater in spite of the PG-13 rating and moments that would be scary  for younger children. More than once I heard a screaming kid and kid-size footsteps running up and down the stairs. Seriously, what are people thinking bringing a 4 year old to a movie like this?

I’m stepping off my soap box and bidding you all adieu for the day.

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Sunday, June 21, 2009 by admin.

Last night I went to the local Can’t Stop The Serenity (CSTS) screening of “Serenity” and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog. The event was sponsored by the Southern Nevada Browncoats for Equality Now. A smattering of Firefly fans showed up to the event held at The Sci Fi Center at Commercial Center in Vegas. There were some technical difficulties during the first part of the movie but once they got all that worked out everyone had a good time. They had a raffle and my good friend Rani won two out of the three prizes which happened to be a nice matching necklace and earrings set with the Serenity logo. We wished there had been more singing participation during the Dr. Horrible’s screening. I guess they should visit a Southern California Browncoats event to see what a screening is really all about. The SN Browncoats wish to build interest in our local club and I aim to help them by providing information here. The club is planning on putting on a “shindig” here in town. I’ll keep you posted on the details.

Incidentally, before the screening Rani and I stumbled upon a little known local phenomenon. Well, little known to us anyway! There is a Thai restaurant in Commercial Center called Lotus of Siam that we both remembered visiting in the distant past so we decided to meet there. We arrived at 5 p.m because I assumed they would be open for dinner by then. Silly me. The restaurant didn’t open up until 5:30 and there was quite a line that formed waiting for it to open.  Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Commercial Center but it’s located in a not so nice part of town - within a 2.5 square mile radius of the Las Vegas Convention Center that has the highest incidence of violence, robbery and rape in the entire city. I used to work in the area and can vouch for the validity of that statement. One time we were locked down in the building because there was a shoot out between the police and a guy who went off his meds. But I digress… Suffice it to say, there’s not much to look at and the area’s sort of seedy. Rani and I are of tough mettle so we braved the area for the screening and, being that we were hungry and like good Thai food, we decided to visit the restaurant. Apparently we weren’t the only ones that remember their food favorably because as soon as those doors were opened, it was standing room only. They didn’t have many tables available and we were lucky to get one in the back by the kitchen. There was a group behind us and they tried to plead their case for a table by telling the hostess they came all the way from Texas! Who knew it was such a Vegas hot spot? Apparently everybody there but us; most had called ahead for reservations. I understand what all the fuss is about and it’s worth fighting the crowd to eat at Lotus of Siam because the food is awesome. It’s some of the best Thai food I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. I think they filter their water too because it was really, really good–not that nasty Vegas water you are usually presented with that requires two lemon wedges before you can even consider consumption. Well worth a visit but remember to call ahead and make a reservation! Their number is 702-735-3033 if you’re interested.

Today I’ve been doing homework and chilling out, mentally preparing myself for work tomorrow. I have to do my bi-weekly ironing yet today. Very exciting stuff. Hope you guys are having a great weekend!

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Sunday, June 7, 2009 by admin.

I’ve been having another quiet weekend at home rewatching seasons one and two of Psych and doing mundane tasks such as laundry, ironing and homework. Wow, my life is exciting.

I did watch the premiere of Burn Notice, albeit late because of a DVR malfunction. I saw my DVR was recording at the proscribed hour but when I went to view the show, Burn Notice was mysteriously absent from the list of recorded shows! I, of course, yelled at my poor cable box, to no avail, took a deep breath and then prayed that USA would show it again. I discovered they have a 6 a.m. replay on Saturday mornings. This time my DVR played nicey-nicey and I got to watch. I thought it was a strong start for the season and it had high ratings. Of course there’s not much competition right now, mind you, but kudos to USA anyway.

The real reason I’m writing tonight is because I wanted to let Firefly fans know about the Can’t Stop The Serenity (CSTS) screening for charity. In case you don’t know about CSTS, screenings of “Serenity” are held around the world in honor of Joss Whedon’s birthday (June 23) and the proceeds go to Joss’ favorite charity, Equality Now.

The Las Vegas Event is going to be held Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 7 p.m. at The Sci Fi Center, 2520 State Street (near Sahara and Maryland Parkway). Tickets are $5. You can get more information by contacting our local Southern Nevada Browncoats (of which I am a member) at SNBrowncoats@yahoo.com or by calling The Sci Fi Center at 702-792-GEEK (4335). This year’s screening will include prizes and raffles as well as a showing of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog, which is always great fun. Come out and join us!

If you’re interested in joining the Southern Nevada Browncoats visit http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/VegasBrowncoats/.

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Wednesday, May 27, 2009 by admin.

I haven’t forgotten about all of you! I swear! I’ve just been swamped at work and school with catching up from my vacations this month. I went to Brian Head, Utah the weekend after my trip to Palm Springs and I just haven’t caught my breath yet. Whew!

I plan on writing a longer post tomorrow with a list of the returning summer TV shows and discussing the shows that were renewed (and canceled for that matter) in the official announcements last week.

For now, I will leave you with this tidbit of information for Vegas locals and our summer visitors…

The Regal Texas Station Stadium 18 is offering a Flashback Features series this summer each Wednesday at 6:30 p.m for $5 a ticket. The schedule is as follows:

For more information contact:
Regal Texas Station Stadium 18
2101 Texas Star Lane, at Lake Mead & Rancho in North Las Vegas
702-631-2206

Tonight they were showing Top Gun but I didn’t get the email in time. I think it would be cool to see some of these movies on the big screen again. I am definitely a child of the 80s!

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009 by admin.

Howdy, everyone. I’ve posted the photos for the Celtic Festival and Highland Games held this past weekend here in Las Vegas. I guess nagging does work because I didn’t watch TV tonight so these photos would be posted and I wouldn’t have to eat crow tomorrow. That’s right, I missed “Lost” and “Ghost Hunters” for you, Tina and Lisa. Thank God for DVR. Click here to view the photo page.

Just a few other things of note. There’s a rumor going around that there is lawsuit against Twilight series writer Stephenie Meyer from her college roommate claiming that Twilight is based on a short story she wrote in college at BYU. Rest easy because the lawsuit isn’t true and the hoax is certainly not affecting the filming of the next movie in the series, New Moon. In other Twilight news, SciFi posted a photo of the new members of the Quileute wolf pack on their web site (see below).

Photo from SciFi.com. Pictured left to right: Paul (Alex Meraz), Sam (Chaske Spencer), Jared (Bronson Pelletier) and Embry (Kiowa Gordon).

Wow, I definitely cannot wait for that movie to come out now! New Moon will be out in November closely followed by the next installment in the series, Eclipse. They are wasting no time making preparations.

In other vampire news, SciFi has posted a teaser clip for season 2 of “True Blood“, starring Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer. If you haven’t seen “True Blood” and you love the genre, it’s time to get on the bandwagon! It’s a great series, not kid-friendly or for the faint of heart mind you. “True Blood” is so great I even forgive writer/producer Raelle Tucker for leaving “Supernatural“. =]

I’ve read all of the Sookie Stackhouse novels and I can’t wait for the adventure to continue on HBO. I’m not usually into blondes but I have to say, I love the norse vampire character, Eric Northman, who is played by Alexander Skarsgård on the show. Charlaine Harris‘ next Stackhouse novel, Dead and Gone, comes out May 19. I’ve already pre-ordered on Amazon.

Time to walk the dog and go to bed. Talk to you soon.

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Monday, April 20, 2009 by admin.

It is a happy Monday for me. Today marks the end of the first class of my Master’s degree. Yeah! Only nine more classes to go! The next one starts tomorrow. If I don’t take any breaks in between I should be done by mid May 2010. This class didn’t wipe me out too much so I think I can make it.

I’m downloading pictures from my camera as I type so I may actually post some of last year’s travel photos here this week. I haven’t down loaded my photos in a while so there were 1121 to download! iPhoto’s been chugging along for a few minutes, so I think I’m going to have to keep up with that better in the future.

I took a bunch of photos at the Las Vegas Celtic Festival and Highland Games yesterday so I’ll have to post some of those as soon as I get them ready. I had a great time. There’s something serene and wonderful about bagpipes. I’ve always liked the sound of them. There was some good food too. I had the best lamb stew on the planet at the McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon booth. Okay, I concede may be exaggerating just a little bit, but it was really good. McFadden’s is located at the Rio Resort and Casino in case you want to sample some for yourself. I didn’t get to do the mead tasting. It was just as well considering it was 87 degrees. I’m a lightweight anyway, so blistering heat and inebriation would not have mixed well for me.

On another note, I wanted to let you guys know that I’m participating in the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s Southern Nevada Race for the Cure® on May 2. If you’re feeling charitable or just want to check out more info, visit my race page at
http://race.komensouthernnevada.org/goto/alexandria.harper. I’ll be doing the 5K walk–no runnin’ for me. I leave that to my more adventurous friends.

Just a quick follow up to my previous post Is Vegas Bust?… The unemployment rates are in for March and Nevada’s rate went up .1 points to 10.4%. I hope this economic hailstorm clears up soon because Nevada’s getting pummeled!

Last, but not least, I know that the last couple of email notification didn’t include the link for my blog post. I’m going to blame gremlins. To attempt to alleviate this issue I’ve switched the notifications from Plain Text to HTML format, which give you the whole post anyway. If you don’t like this format let me know and I’ll change it.

That’s all for tonight. Catch you later!

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Thursday, April 16, 2009 by admin.

These two things are not directly related, unless Gerard Butler decides to show up at CineVegas. We can only hope!

The Las Vegas Celtic Society is sponsoring their annual Celtic Gathering and Highland Games this weekend, April 18-19, 2009 at Floyd Lamb State Park in Tule Springs. There will be games, entertainment, booths and, best of all, men in skirts. Ah, there’s nothing like watching a burly kilt-wearing Scot toss a caber (that’s a wooden pole for those of you non-Celts).  A few friends and I plan to be in attendance on Sunday. Come on out and join us!

The CineVegas Film Festival has posted the 2009 festival lineup. I wasn’t able to attend last year. Maybe I’ll find some time to check out a couple movies. There are a few that look interesting including the opening night film Saint John of Las Vegas.  It’s got a great cast including Steve Buscemi, Sarah Silverman and John Cho. Mercy, Patriotville, 500 Days of Summer, Adam and Moon look like they’re worth checking out too.

It’s Thursday so I’m going to go watch some TV. Catch you later!

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Wednesday, April 15, 2009 by admin.

As you well know, today is last day to file your tax return without penalty. All you procrastinators get online and file your return or shoot on down to the Post Office and snail mail that puppy before midnight tonight or the government’s gonna come a-knockin’.

Speaking of procrastinators, did you know that Las Vegas is the number 10 city for tax procrastinators? As if we don’t have enough dubious honors. For the record, I am not one of them. I filed way back in February. I knew I was getting money back so why wait? Of course it went straight to my credit card bill. I’m still paying off the air conditioner I had to buy when my out-of-warranty decades-old unit died last July. Perhaps the reason why Las Vegans are so reluctant to file their taxes early is most of them owe Uncle Sam. I don’t blame them for waiting if that’s the case!

On to some TV news…

There’s been some more speculation regarding TV cancellations in past few days. Entertainment Weekly’s web site has stated that “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” is terminated. There’s still no official word yet from Fox.

Joss Whedon was interviewed at the Paley television festival in L.A. this week. First, let me give a shout out to my friends from Whedonopolis who are attending the event. Now, on to what Joss had to say…

He’s hopeful Fox will renew “Dollhouse” but because of what he calls “soft” ratings it doesn’t look good. I don’t know if you heard but Fox decided not to air the 13th episode of “Dollhouse”, opting to add it to the DVD release in July as an exclusive bonus feature. I’m sort of bummed about that because I just learned that Felicia Day from “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog” is a guest star in the episode titled “Epitaph One”. If the show does get cancelled, maybe they should just rename the episode “Epitaph” and call it a day.  Fox is counting on we loyal Whedon fans will shell out the money and buy the DVD set just to see the lost episode. What they don’t realize is we’ll buy it anyway; there’s no reason to pull a cheesy stunt like that. It’s akin to Sci Fi splitting the Battlestar Galactica seasons up and naming them like they’re a software update; or worse releasing one of the made-for-TV movies on DVD and then including them with the next season release six months later. Argh!

Now all we have to look forward to from Joss is the release next February of his foray into the horror movie genre The Cabin In The Woods. He says it’s about halfway through filming and it’s “going to be gorgeous”. I hope so, brother… I hope so.

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Sunday, April 5, 2009 by admin.

1. We’ve got the space for any sized event
Las Vegas is home to 9.8 million square feet of exhibit space and three of the top 10 convention centers in the United States are right here. The Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) alone has 2.3 million square feet and is home to some of the biggest convention events in the country, including the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and construction industry convention CONEXPO/CONAGG. If the LVCC doesn’t strike your fancy, there’s always the Sands Expo and Convention Center (1.8 million sq. ft.), Mandalay Bay Convention Center (1.7 million sq. ft.) or countless other hotels and casinos that offer meeting rooms for conventions great and small.

2. Experienced staff
Conventions are big business for Las Vegas. An average of over 22,000 meetings and conventions are held here every year. That means the staff at all of the venues in town know how to help you make your convention or meeting a success.  Many of the major players in the convention industry have corporate or district offices in town, which means corporate office staff knowledgeable of local information and hands-on customer service at your venue of choice.

3. Plenty of places to stay
Need a room? No problem, we’ve got over 140,000 of them, most of them are in hotels that resemble small cities and offer every accommodation you can imagine. Now is the time to book too. Many of the hotels are running great specials now  to lure back the tourism and convention industry. For instance, The Orleans Hotel and Casino, one of my favorite local casinos is offering $34 a night May 25-28 if you book online. The Red Rock Hotel and Casino (I see A LOT of movies there) is offering a Dinner and a Movie package that includes one night of deluxe accommodations, two movie tickets, two buffet passes for around $100. And when they say deluxe, they aren’t kidding. I’ve stayed at the Red Rock and was extremely impressed with the accommodations. Swanky and affordable!

4. Beautiful weather
With average temperatures in the mid-60s, super low humidity and 320 days of sunshine a year, Vegas’ is a great place to hold a convention. No worrying about rain delays! The winters are mild and the summer weather is tolerable. Las Vegans love their weather and it’s one of the major reasons why we live here. Make it one of the reasons you visit us!

5. We can get you where you’re going
Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport is one of the busiest in the nation, with flights from over 130 cities, many of them non-stop. And once you’re here, you can get around town by taxi, bus or monorail. Many of the larger conventions offer shuttle bus services from major hotels to the convention centers for the convenience of the convention attendees.

6. Activities galore
The nightlife in Las Vegas may have given the town a bad rap but there is plenty of other things to do in town that are less lascivious. If you’re traveling with your family, check out the Lied Children’s Discovery Museum (it’s fun for adults too), The Springs Preserve or the Adventuredome at Circus Circus. There are great places to explore near Las Vegas too. Visit Hoover Dam, Bonnie Springs, the Valley of Fire State Park or the Red Rock National Conservation Area or even take a drive to Death Valley National Park. Not everything is expensive, either. You can come to Vegas and stay within your budget. Check out this list of 25 Free Things to Do in Las Vegas.

Statistics courtesy of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority.

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