Sunday, November 26, 2006
Death Valley
We drove over to California the way some early settlers did, approaching out of Nevada to try and find shortcuts to the 49 gold rush. Most of them didn't make it across this barren desert and as the remaining wagon left they said "glad to make it out of that valley of death". The name stuck but on Thanksgiving weekend death valley was actually a pretty pleasant e from Las Vegas.
The old church steeple here has a prospector and his mule for a weathervane.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Cesar Pelli Tower Hotel
The other day a young intern, a high school student actually, doing cad drafting and estimates, passed me some recent aerial photos of the job site. The City Center project is the largest privately funded construction project in the US ever. It will be environmentally classified LEED silver and thats my job. Cool. A very few people know that I started the league of alternative builders in 1976, worked with Glenn Harcourt and the steeprock co operative in 2002. Now this. Fun. We are like ants, each doing a job that is part of the whole.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Hiking in Red Rocks
Red Rocks conservation area is about twenty minutes from the strip and is a great hiking area. Lots of climbers go there to boulkder as the rock cliffs are full of natural handholds. No doubt when the warm weather comes this will be a veritable oven ( although possibly cooler than the city) but right now its perfect. Another surprise about this part of the world, to find such a beautiful natural area so close to the city.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
First glimpse of City Center
Inside the Bellagio, after passing the water fountain show , the Cirque de soleil and the Casino, we see this glass encased model of the new city center project. Since I will be writing a lot about this it was an appropriate place to encounter my first view. People gathered around the model with a very interesting fascination and talked about it. Create a buzz?
Musical mnemonic Ice Cream man
While looking around some of the older in town neighborhoods I heard the sound of the Ice Cream truck bell. As a boy, this bell was my first experience of the mnemonic device. click here to read about this phenomenon " Audio Logos "
As soon as I heard the bell I began to salivate for ice cream and sugar. The instant gratification mechanisim is thus planetd, later to find gambling, sex and everything else Vegas stands for. A moment after I took this picture a young Latina mom carried her little boy over to the truck for his fix. My theory is that this is where consumer culture gets started. Sorry.
As soon as I heard the bell I began to salivate for ice cream and sugar. The instant gratification mechanisim is thus planetd, later to find gambling, sex and everything else Vegas stands for. A moment after I took this picture a young Latina mom carried her little boy over to the truck for his fix. My theory is that this is where consumer culture gets started. Sorry.
Geraldo's Classic Barber Shop
As soon as I arrived at Las Vegas I knew I had to get cleaned up for my first day of work. Where to get a haircut without dropping sixty bucks ? After searching for "Barbers" as opposed to "Hair Salon" I called Geraldo. He answered the phone with a thick Spanish accent and gave me directions that sounded like Valley View. After a few more phone calls I found him by the "China Building" and inside I discovered my first authentic place in Vegas. A traditional, old barber shop with boys and their Mom's, old men telling stories, cool magazines and a "mise en scene" that looked like Jean-Pierre Jeunet invented the place. I also got a good haircut cheap, and felt for the first instant that I might like Las Vegas after all.
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