>> 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
June 5, 2006

Bareback Madonna, Pampas Churrascaria, The Singularity, “Headlights & Tailpipes” at Stardust, “Bareback” @ Harrahs, Bono in Mali, Africa, “Under The Banner of Heaven,” “V” at Aladdin, and more...

Madonna’s 58 Page Photo Portfolio in W Magazine. June’s issue has recent air-brushed photos of 23 year old cover matron, the wizened Madonna. The portfolio by Steven Klein has 1/3 photos of blurry horses, 1/3 photos of the back of Madonna’s head, and 1/3 near-black photos with glimpses of Madonna wearing horse hair. However, there are 2 really great photos of her muscular back. Regarding Madonna’s appearance on stage hung from a mirrored crucifix and wearing a crown of thorns, a spokesman for the Church of England asked, “Isn’t 47 a bit old for an enfant terrible?”

Pampas Churrascaria. Thank you Susan Hall for a terrific opening week! This past week was the grand opening of Pampas Churrascaria, a new Brazilian restaurant at the Aladdin’s Desert Passage Shops. Since my husband and I often go to Brazil, and will be returning in July, we know Brazilians are passionate about food. It is the national pastime that easily lasts hours. Dinner for Brazilians means “feast.”

A churrascaria is a Brazilian restaurant where meat is cooked rotisserie-style in the kitchen and then carved off of skewers tableside. The waiters constantly come by with various meats until you signal them with a red chip to stop.

I can confidently report that this is an authentic Brazilian steakhouse offering Picanha (Noble Sirloin), Frango (chicken cuts in both mild and spicy flavors), Presunto (ham) with pineapple, Cordeiro (lamb), Brazilian sausage and turkey breast wrapped in bacon. Each meal is accompanied with Brazilian rice, Feijoada (black bean stew), fried banana, cheese bread and Brazilian pastels (dumplings). There is a huge, well-stocked chilled food selections like smoked salmon, imported cheeses and fresh veggies. Also available is an array of grilled vegetables. My dinner companion, a vegetarian, also feasted at Pampas. The head chef presented us with divine cheesecake dessert.

Pampas also has eleven signature cocktails including # 7 Champanana, #9 Brazileria Batida, and #10 Café a la Pistachio, just to name a few. Private dining rooms can hold up to 100 guests for formal seating and 250 reception style. Call 702.737.4748 for reservations. www.pampasusa.com

Bono In Mali, Africa. U2 lead singer and anti-poverty campaigner Bono used his six-nation African celebrity holiday fact-finding mission to attack the U.S. stance on the African cotton trade. It was also reported that on May 22nd, Bono visited the Piroge bar in Mali’s capital Bamako and sang for 10 minutes with a local band.

I wonder if Celebrity Bully Bono stayed in Bamako where we did in a hotel with no air-conditioning, no mosquito netting, and no restaurant? I wonder if he traveled in a thirty year old truck – again, with no air-conditioning and metal seats - when he visited the cotton-growing town of Dafara, 60km from Bamako? Did he carry his own bottled water? Did he walk around in 125 degree heat all day? Did the farmers tell him that once they had enough money to feed their wives and children, they immediately marry another wife and build another straw hut for her?

Mali, an Islamic country, permits multiple wives and it is a common practice as we saw as we traveled from village to village through the country. And it’s not the rich sheiks and tribal chiefs who have multiple wives.

There are many reasons why Africa will not change and it has nothing to do with debt forgiveness, clean water, AIDS, or the cotton trade. Without air-conditioning, productivity is not a viable option. The people aren’t lazy - it’s just too hot to work all day long! Yes, it is hot here in Las Vegas, but no one was living here when it was an arid desert. Once air-conditioning came – and water from neighboring states - so did the tourists.

As soon as an African Muslim man can, given Islamic law allows up to 4 wives, he may and should take another wife. More children bring more spiritual wealth to Islam. In African culture, a woman without children is a disgrace to her husband, his family, and her family. It has nothing to do with not having access to birth control. Isn’t the second wife entitled to have 3 or 4 children just like the first wife? Islamic law decrees that each wife must be treated equally. Having more money does not mean better education, better food, or better housing. It means a man can have more children.

How much money would you need to live if you did not have a car, a mortgage or pay rent, miscellaneous stuff to care for, a cell phone, a computer, or a media center? If you did not pay any taxes, have any utility bills and did not have broadband access, how much money would you need every day?

In Jeffrey D. Sachs book, “The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (with foreword by The Blessed Bono), the author offers many reasons why we should help Sub-Saharan Africa. However, I disagree with Sachs noble efforts. I know my position is not Christian or Politically Correct. www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/endofpoverty

Sachs asks: “Saving Children Only to Become Hungry Adults?” Sachs writes that as more children survive, households will have fewer children and “mothers will find that improved economic opportunities out of the household and off the farm, the time expense of raising children (in terms of lost wage income) rises as well.” (p.325)

Didn’t Sachs see that child care was the task of 6 and 7 year old siblings? At least that is what we found all over Mali.

I know it is callous of me, and I would go back to Africa in a heartbeat, but why should we help people live in an inhospitable environment that cannot feed its people?

According to the CIA World Factbook, Mali’s “total fertility rate is 7.42 children born per woman (2006 estimate)” and “48.2% of the population is 0-14 years.” (Photo of Bono in Mali by REUTERS/Rainer Schwenzfeier; photos of typical Mali dwellings and child care from my own collection).

My friend Jeff Mishlove, who gave me the Sachs book, said: “There is empirical evidence that shows women will have fewer children when their economic conditions improve.”

Headlights & Tailpipes at the Stardust Resort and Casino. TV soap opera Lorenzo Lamas made the first of special guest appearances in ‘Headlights & Tailpipes.” Lamas was the master of ceremonies for three shows: Sunday, May 28, at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m and Tuesday, May 30th show at 7:30 p.m. Luckily, I had tickets for the Tuesday 7:30 show that included a VIP after-party with Lamas in attendance.

Lamas shared the emcee role with Jenna Morasca, the swimsuit model who won the million-dollar grand prize on TV’s “Survivor: Amazon.” I faithfully watch “Survivor.” I would employ strategies no one else has even dreamed of. However, I hate being outside in nature and I refuse to learn how to swim, dive, and unknot ropes underwater. I would learn how to build a shelter and make fire!

Although, this past season’s Survivor: Exile Island’s Cirie Fields (pictured. Cirie is proud of the fact that she was finally disciplined enough to lose 30 pounds once she learned she would be a castaway on the show), made it all the way to the end without much effort or any more weight loss. Just goes to show creator Mark Burnett knows how to cast according to all demographics.

Lamas is a part-time race car driver and motorcycle enthusiast so, since “Headlights & Tailpipes,” an adult-themed musical revue, features classic cars and cycles, he was considered a perfect choice for 3 special appearances. Lamas will soon be featured in a new version of the classic TV game show “I’ve Got A Secret.”

The Singularity. In Ray Kurzweil’s book, “The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology,” he writes the following in a section titled “The Fermi Paradox Revisited.” Kurzweil (pictured) considers that if biological evolution is measured in millions and billions of years, other civilizations should be far ahead of us in their technological progress. So, once again, “Where are they?” According to Kurzweil,

“The conclusion I reach is that it is likely (although not certain) that there are no such other civilizations. In other words, we are in the lead. That’s right. Our humble civilization with its pickup trucks, fast food, and persistent conflicts (and computations!) is in the lead in terms of the creation of complexity and order in the universe.”

“Immortality first! Everything else can wait.” Corwyn Prater

Since Kurzweil says: “…evolution favoured a short lifespan - life expectancy was thirty-seven years as recently as two centuries ago - to allow restricted reserves to be devoted to the young, those caring for them, and those strong enough to perform intense physical work,” he is adamant that he intends – and science is working on it – to live a near-immortal life. To reach his goal, Kurzweil says he takes 250 supplements a day and a half-dozen intravenous therapies a week! He is re-programming his biochemistry! www.KurzweilAI.net

By the way, Kurzweil is way ahead of the rest of us. He not only believes immortality is now readily attainable, he is also another person – when he wants to be. He is sometimes Ramona (pictured), a 25-year-old female rock star alter-ego/virtual person he created a few years ago. He told Wired magazine: “It's like you're looking in the mirror and instead of seeing what I generally see in the mirror I saw this 25-year-old woman. And I could kind of get into being her. I would speak, and I learned to sing somewhat, and my voice would come out as a female voice, and I actually had some coaches to learn how to move and talk like a young female rock singer from New Orleans."

“Bareback” at Harrahs. On Wednesday, after a fun afternoon with the “Lewis Barlow Lunch Group” at OPA!, a Greek restaurant on S. Rainbow Blvd., I went to the VIP pre-opening of Las Vegas producer Greg Thompson’s newest show “Bareback.” I spotted many local celebrities in the audience. The late-night topless show is inspired by the Big & Rich hit single that topped the country charts. Chelsea Thompson headlines the five gorgeous cowgirls, choreographed by Mistnguett. Also showcased is Thompson veteran Jim Pferschy. Two brand new singers, Gene Yaws and Tina Cool, are making their debut in Thompson´s production company. The comedian was a hysterical diversion. “Bareback” is a high energy show with a show-stopping production number called “And They Call It Rodeo.”

Beginning last Friday, “Bareback’s” shows are at 10:30 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays; Saturdays; 10 p.m. and midnight Fridays; 7:30 (covered) and 10:30 p.m. Sundays; dark Thursdays. Harrah's Clint Holmes Theater and tickets are $49.95. For more information call Harrahs at 369-5000 or go to www.harrahs.com.

X-MEN De-Aged by 20 Years! In “X-Men: The Last Stand” Ian McKellen's Magneto and Patrick Stewart's Prof. Xavier are rendered 20 years younger for a flashback. It is shockingly perfect! It is the result of the latest advancement in computer generated digital effects that convincingly reverses the human aging process. As McKellen raved to reporters in Cannes about the technique ("It's as brilliantly done as airbrushing in a magazine. You cannot tell the difference."), X-Men director Brett Ratner (pictured below in his very own X-Men costume) fretted about how the powerful technology could possibly change show business forever. He said:

"I'm scared for Hollywood, because A-list movie stars are going to be putting that in their contract. `I want 10 years taken off me.' This technology is unbelievable. It's like painting the lines out of your face. Why do people have to have plastic surgery, anymore? Just be in a movie and look flawless and perfect."

Does this mean that we will have to suffer more movies starring a computer-airbrushed twenty-year old Demi Moore? Is this why Sharon Stone didn’t look 60 in “Basic Instinct 2”?

“Under The Banner of Heaven.” Since my trek through Tibet to Mount Everest base camp, I am a big fan of Jon Krakauer’s “Into Thin Air.” I am now reading Krakauer’s 2003 book on Mormonism. Here are some facts from the book: “Mormonism is the fastest growing faith in the Western Hemisphere. On the planet as a whole, there are now more Mormons than Jews. It is on its way to becoming a major world religion - the first such faith to emerge since Islam.”

Mormon Fundamentalists (FLDS) practice polygamy, one of the most sacred credos of founder Joseph Smith’s church. The main purpose of women is to have as many babies as possible. FLDS high-ranking men typically have 10-20 wives. It is common that a man’s multiple wives and children are supported by public assistance.

Brigham Young, the man who succeeded Joseph Smith as the head of LDS “took at least twenty women as wives, perhaps as many as fifty-seven.” Young has over 1,000 direct descendants. I have one.

It is my conclusion that the Church of the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) will, in the future, reinstate Section 132 since it is one of Smith’s divine revelations. Under intense pressure, the LDS Church condemned their prophet Joseph Smith’s Section 132 of The Doctrine and Covenants in 1890. Outlawing Section 132 - one of Mormonism’s primary scriptural texts demanding plural marriage - would be like The Pope throwing out Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

In fact, I was recently told by a friend whose Utah neighbor has 17 wives that Utah’s Mormons generally look the other way accepting that their taxes are supporting the true followers of their religion. According to Krakauer, Rulon Jeffs (pictured), polygamist fugitive Warren Jeffs father, “married an estimated seventy-five women and has fathered at least sixty-five children; several of his wives were given to him in marriage when they were fourteen or fifteen and he was in his eighties.”

The slave-breeding young wives of FLDS old coots are forced to have many children that are not allowed an education. These women have no skills other then breeding.

Perhaps we really need to look at the “poverty” of our own citizens.

V the Ultimate Variety Show. On Friday we went to Aladdin Hotel for the second anniversary party of David Saxe’s “V the Ultimate Variety Show.” Saxe’s next production – he’s the most successful entrepreneur in Las Vegas with the most shows continually running on The Strip – will be “Stripping 101” at the “V” theater. During the day, shoppers will be able to stop by and learn pole “dancing” from a former stripper. Ten poles will insure that there will be ample pole-lessons for young mothers, bachelorette parties, and just bored housewives.

As for “V,” Jeff Hobson is a naughty host teasing audience members with stream-of-consciousness comedy. Our favorite act – there are many in this quick-moving revue – is Iouri & Nikolai, an impressive acrobatic act. Iouri Safronov is a former member of the Moscow State Circus and Nikolai Meinikov is a former member of the Cirque De Soliel production “Mystere.” Together they have developed an act as a stunning hand balancing duo. Several tricks in their act are so difficult that only Iouri and Nikolai can perform them. http://www.vtheshow.com

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