>> The Switch
>> Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
>> The Other Guys
>> Salt
>> Inception
>> Cyrus
>> The Last Airbender
>> Grown Ups
>> Toy Story 3
>> The Human Centipede

Opening 9.10.10
>> Resident Evil: Afterlife (R) [trailer]
>> Bran Nue Dae (Limited) (Not Rated) [trailer]
>> Heartbreaker (Limited) (Not Rated) [trailer]
>> I'm Still Here (Limited) (Not Rated) [trailer]
>> Legendary (Limited) (PG-13) [trailer]
>> Lovely, Still (Limited) (PG) [trailer]
>> The Romantics (Limited) (PG-13)
>> The Virginity Hit (Limited) (R) [trailer]

Coming To DVD/Blu-Ray 9.7.10
>> Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season [buy]
>> The Office: Season Six [buy]
>> Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season [buy]
>> Jillian Michaels: Shred-It With Weights [buy]
>> Criminal Minds: Fifth Season [buy]

Las Vegas: Satan Vacations Here
by Victoria Alexander
October 10, 2005

“Fashionistas” at Krave Nightclub, The Hard Rock Hotel’s Astonishing Anniversary Weekend, The Killers and Motley Crue Perform, Prophet Bush Speaks to God, The Cruise-Holmes Immaculate Conception Baby, SpaceShipOne, a Condoleezza Rice-Lauren Green FoxHarmony Hook-Up?, Diogenes, and more...

Fashionistas. Las Vegas wants to indulge every unchristian predilection. Our city invites hedonistic bad behavior. So why the snickers when a pornography kingpin with the moniker “Buttman” ventures into town to put on a show? Last year we got Krave, an “alternative lifestyle” nightclub, right off The Strip at the Aladdin Resort. Krave has a restaurant, E.A.T. (Enjoy Appetizing Tastes), and Monday through Saturday at 9:30 P.M. hosts the erotic show “Fashionistas.”

On Tuesday night, L.V. journalist and publicist Bobbi Katz assembled the usual VIP suspects for the one-year anniversary of John Stagliano’s highly personal erotic stage production, “Fashionistas.” The show is based on Stagliano’s award-winning four-and-a-half-hour porn film that, he states, financed his dream. I saw the show when it opened. The show was sexy. There have been strong tweaks and some changes. Now it is terrific. The show is even more erotic. You leave knowing a lot about what stimulates, and is important to, Stagliano.

His doppelganger is “Antonio,” a bored fashion designer who wants to bring fetishism into his creations. It’s all here: the domination of men, the S&M, the obsession with female buttocks (I am not familiar with Stagliano’s legendary career as star of more than 50 “Buttman” films but the name must say it all), and men as slaves. The show is a sensual experience filled with, for a show of this size, a large number (20) of fantastic dancers. Music is primary to “Fashionistas” and I especially appreciate Stagliano having a live drummer enhancing the soundtrack. By the way, after seeing “Fashionistas,” I went out and brought a Lords of Acid CD and a Tool CD.

My favorite vignette still is the Dance Class. Aerialists are always sensational but Stagliano takes it one step further by using 4 “silk and ribbon” performers in his show twice during the show. A pair of aerialists are “women in love” on the tissue ropes. It is also the first time I have seen aerialists use hoops. “Fashionistas” is Stagliano’s dream and he is willing to plow all his hard earned cash into it. Congratulations to making your dream come true but could we hear from Mrs. Stagliano sometime? What a revealing interview that would be! (Photo of the Dance Class by Stephen Thorburn of theflickchicks.com)

Body English One-Year Anniversary at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Friday started off with the Perini Green benefit for “The Shade Tree,” a shelter for homeless and abused women and children, at McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant. Then it was mob warfare at the opening weekend extravaganza at Peter Morton’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. A huge outdoor stadium was erected for the 8 PM show featuring Las Vegas’s breakout band, The Killers.

The Killers performed all the songs from their CD “Hot Fuss”. They opened the show with “Jenny was a friend of mine.” After a five-minute break, they came back for a terrific rendition of David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream.” Singer/keyboard player Brandon Flowers got the overflowing crowd screaming when he said: “People say Las Vegas is the City of Sin. We call it home.” Then the audience started to chant: Paris Hilton is here!” (with Current Best Friend Kimberly Stewart and actress Bijou Phillips.)

I had VIP tickets and an “All Access Pass” to Beacher’s Madhouse’s 10PM show, but it was IMPOSSIBLE to get in – there was so many people crammed inside they promised me a table Next Week. Okay. So we put on our orange VIP wristbands and went to the HRH’s exclusive club Body English (where you can order a $2,000 martini. If you paid the $25,000 VIP annual membership, you could hang out in “The Parlor,” a hidden room in the floor level with a two-way mirrored wall. For $300 any partygoer can spend the evening in a VIP section.)

Saturday night at the Hard Rock was like a stampede with accompanying loud music. There must have been a HRH decree: No families with strollers or people over 30 allowed on the property. Motley Crue performed and following their concert they hosted the official one-year anniversary of the cavernous underground space known for its vaulted air of debauchery, the aforementioned Body English. Motley Crue upset the capacity crowd by not coming back for an encore after some “technical difficulties” ended their set “prematurely.” So, rather quickly we hightailed it over to Body English with our now white wristbands on. It was also Tommy “Hellraiser” Lee’s birthday, though we never caught sight of him (he was probably in The Parlor).

The Cruise-Holmes Immaculate Conception? The New York Post front page headline read: “Mission: Impossible.” Defamer.com called the news of a pregnant Katie Holmes the “Cruise-Holmes Miracle Baby.” Why? Well, let’s run down the Internet rumors: (a) Tom Cruise is sterile (former wife Mimi Rogers had 2 children after divorcing Cruise; (b) apparently Cruise told Barbara Walters he was sterile on the set of TOP GUN); (c) Tom and Nicole adopted 2 children; and (d) those ugly persistent untrue gay rumors. This latest news certainly puts the lie to the media’s mocking of the romance as a paid union of a mega-star and a virginal former TV actress promoting summer movies. And as far as the question being raised: “Who’s The Daddy”? Photographs – if the pregnancy proceeds without a sorrowful PR-induced miscarriage - will reveal all.

What does Tony Danza know? Talking about the Miracle Baby news, he said on his TV talk show: "I'm happy for them, but we're going to send them to Maury Povich's show for a DNA test."

Fox News Correspondent tries to fix up Condoleezza Rice with a female colleague? Fox correspondent James Rosen “lobbied” hard to match up never-been-married Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with Fox & Friends anchor Lauren Green. In an on-air interview, Rosen was talking to Rice in Port-au-Prince, Haiti about President Arisatide and Iran’s nuclear ambitions. However, Rosen was more intent upon setting Rice up on a date with his colleague. Green is obviously a big fan and wants a phone call. Rosen even had Green’s CD at the ready and told Rice that Green was expecting to hear from her. You make the call: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/54081.htm.

Our Prophet President talks to God (thereby making his advisors useless). President George W. Bush told Palestinian ministers that God had told him to invade Afghanistan and Iraq and to create a Palestinian State, a new BBC series reveals. In “Elusive Peace: Israel and the Arabs,” a major three-part series on BBC TWO (at 9:00 pm tonight and on October 17 and 24), Abu Mazen, Palestinian Prime Minister, and Nabil Shaath, his Foreign Minister, describe their first meeting with President Bush in June 2003.

Nabil Shaath says: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, "George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan." And I did, and then God would tell me, "George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq …" And I did. And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, "Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East." And by God I'm gonna do it.'" Abu Mazen was at the same meeting and recounts how President Bush told him: "I have a moral and religious obligation. So I will get you a Palestinian state."

According to Abbas, immediately thereafter Bush said: "God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them."

President Bush speaks off-the-cuff? Nah. Everything he says is written down for him. In this nasty religious war we are fighting, our leader has got to start preaching about his God’s supremacy and the favored status he enjoys. Like Moses, President Bush talks directly to God. Remember, God was very influential and tough in smiting the enemies of His Chosen People. God did a lot of meddling and I, for one, am glad Bush is listening and obeying the Lord. “The Lord said to Moses, “Treat the Madianites as enemies and crush them, for they have been your enermies by their wily dealings…” (Numbers. 25:16-18).

It is not the lust for oil or for an American colony occupying position in the Middle East. It is not about military contracts. It is the will of God and President Bush is just I AM WHO AM’s personal instrument.

Osama bin Laden sees himself as a prophet of Islam. He is no longer a gun-toting cave dweller with a grudge. He gave us the proper Islamic warning. President Bush is using the language of religion as psychological warfare and as an overt taunt. Al Qaida has got the message: God calls the American president “George” and George is doing exactly as commanded. What choice does George have? As a clear slap to al Qaida, expect a reprisal.

Ha, Osama! A bird flu will kill 1.9 million Americans [though only 60 Asians have died years ago from it] and 8.5 million Americans will be hospitalized. This pandemic flu will become the worst disaster in our nation's history. A new report, the Pandemic Influenza Strategic Plan, says we are not ready for an outbreak of this magnitude. Let us all consider that while an avian virus has decimated chicken and other bird flocks in 11 countries, only 100 people have been infected. Only about 60 people have died. Nearly all of these victims got the disease directly from birds and an epidemic is only possible when a virus begins to pass easily among humans. It is probably a good idea to stay away from live chickens and bird droppings. You thought traveling on the NYC/DC subways was dangerous now? Just wait until everyone is coughing and blowing their noses.

Congratulations to Burt Rutan. Last week our friend, SpaceShipOne's designer Burt Rutan, and the space ship’s financier, Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen, gave the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum the 28-foot star-spangled spacecraft. We were invited by Burt to Mojave, California for SpaceShipOne’s rollout in April 2003. A year ago, Rutan and Allen captured the $10 million Ansari X Prize when SpaceShipOne dashed to the edge of space twice. The prize was aimed at encouraging space tourism through the development of low-cost private spacecraft. Burt has a deal with British entrepreneur Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, to build a fleet of five spacecraft. The new company, Virgin Galactic, will take passengers on 2 1/2-hour trips into space for $200,000 each. (Photo on right is SpaceShipOne; on left is John Alexander with special guest astronaut Buzz Aldrin.)

One Hell of a Guy! Greek philospher Diogenes of Sinope was born 412 BC and died in 323. His father, Icesias, a money-changer, was imprisoned or exiled on the charge of adulterating the coinage. Diogenes was included in the charge, and went to Athens with one attendant, whom he dismissed, saying, "If Manes can live without Diogenes, why not Diogenes without Manes?"

Attracted by the ascetic teaching of Antisthenes, he became his pupil, despite the brutality with which he was received, and rapidly excelled his master both in reputation and in the austerity of his life. He inured himself to the vicissitudes of weather by living in a tub belonging to the temple of Cybele. The single wooden bowl he possessed he destroyed on seeing a peasant boy drink from the hollow of his hands.

On a voyage to Aegina he was captured by pirates and sold as a slave in Crete to a Corinthian named Xeniades. Being asked his trade, he replied that he knew no trade but that of governing men, and that he wished to be sold to a man who needed a master.

As tutor to the two sons of Xeniades, he lived in Corinth for the rest of his life. At the Isthmian Games he lectured to large audiences who turned to him from Antisthenes. It was, probably, at one of these festivals that he met Alexander the Great. The story goes that Alexander, thrilled at coming face to face with the famous philosopher (in his tub), asked if there was any favour he might do for him. Diogenes asked him not to stand between him and the sun, to which Alexander replied "If I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes."

In another account, Alexander found the philosopher rummaging through a pile of human bones. Diogenes explained, "I am searching for the bones of your father but cannot distinguish them from those of a slave." (from Wikipedia)

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