>> 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
January 29, 2007

The Amaz!ing Meeting 5, Monty Python’s Spamalot, “Renegade” Gordon Novel, Hay House Conference, Moonview Sanctuary, The New Christ Has Been Named!, NLGJA-Las Vegas Panel Discussion, “Blind Items, Supermodel Not A Witch, and more...

“He’s enterprising, aggressive, outgoing, young, bold, vicious. He’ll do”.
From “A Clockwork Orange”

The Amaz!ng Meeting 5. Again this year a group of over 800 skeptics met in Las Vegas to extol the virtues of atheism and bemoan the decline of science in the minds of many Americans. This year’s “The Amaz!ng Meeting 5” theme was the role media plays in perpetuating popular myths. Philip Plait, who is the author of “Bad Astronomy,” did a superb job of destroying the myth that the U.S. never put a man on the Moon. The National Geographic Channel is running “Conspiracy Moon Landing” about this theory that will not die. Several years ago the Fox Network ran a special that gave viewers the impression that NASA had faked the moon landing. Dr. Plait debunked the many rather implausible theories quite convincingly.

Our favorite speaker was John Rennie (pictured), the editor of Scientific American. After his presentation, John and I approached Rennie. John was attacked in the April 1994 issue of Scientific American in an article titled “Bang! Your Alive!” written by John Horgan. Rennie was gracious and welcomed the opportunity to follow up with John in the near future. Perhaps there will be another – more objective and fair – article about John in Scientific American?

New York Post’s “Page Six” Blind Items: “WHICH shaggy-haired rocker with a perky pop-star girlfriend has the nightclub circuit buzzing that he's been taking guys home with him late at night? . . . WHICH famous athlete isn't as interested in women as his fans believe? He has been able to keep his sexuality under wraps, but the question is for how much longer.”

Project Camelot Interviews Gordon Novel. My friend for over ten years, Gordon Novel, who had dinner at our house two weeks ago, has given an explosive 1½ hour interview that you can view on Google Video. It’s called “Renegade: Gordon Novel on Camera.” The notoriously secretive Gordon reveals his involvement in the JFK assassination (he’s got an alibi), Waco, ETs, UFOs, Majestic, and Watergate. Gordon says some very startling things. One teaser - his participation in Watergate (he heard all the 4,004 Nixon tapes) and his wiring of the Oval Office!

Gordon talks about his love for the CIA and his CIA partnership, his dislike of dress-wearing J. Edgar Hoover, and our mutual friends Kit Green and Hal Puthoff. I’ve also read the treatment for his movie “Kingdom’s Come” and its good! Interviewed by strangely flirtatious, provocateur Kerry Cassidy (who at one point asks: “Did you ever kill anyone?” After Gordon said “No,” she then asked: “Did you ever order anyone’s killing?”), Gordon answers every question with the kind of dynamic zealotry all his friends know well. Everyone who knows Gordon admits he is extremely likable and fascinating.

Gordon would never have been an apostle, but he would have likely been one of the many wandering Claimant-Messiahs. In this no-holds-barred interview, Gordon gives conspiracy-enthusiasts, who continue to find him a sinister shadow figure behind every plot, an intimate look into his volatile character. They will be especially pleased to hear Gordon’s opinion on our government’s role in UFOs and his ownership of secret back-engineered alien technology. Inexplicably tied to the some of the most explosive mysteries in the U.S., Gordon comes across as charming, forthright, but clearly not someone to be trifled with. This interview is priceless. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8497192163273725900&q=gordon+novel&hl=en

Monty Python’s Spamalot Press Conference. Last Monday I went to the media party and press conference for “Monty Python’s Spamalot” at the newly designed Grail Theater at Wynn Las Vegas.

After the terrific party, Eric Idle took the stage for a hilarious introduction to a Monty Python video. He introduced his writing partner (not his life partner, but they did have sex once), the band, sang, and then called to the stage the newest Las Vegas headliner, John O'Hurley, who will star as “Spamalot’s” King Arthur. Steve Wynn joined Idle and O’Hurley doing a sly Monty Python “Ministry of Silly Walks – Las Vegas Style” and then proceeded to sing along when they performed “Spamalot’s signature song, “Always Look On the Bright Side of Life”!

Mr. Wynn confirmed that he decided to keep the ticket prices as reasonable as possible. The price of Strip shows, while worth every dollar, does limit 3 night/4day tourists to only seeing one $150 show. With “Spamalot” ticket prices kept as low as possible, and the new theater has 1508 seats, more people can enjoy the show.

"Monty Python's Spamalot," begins previews March 8 for a March 31 grand opening at Wynn Las Vegas. The biggest surprise to go with the confirmed dates announced Friday may be the ticket prices: $49, $69, $89 and $99, which includes the entertainment tax many shows add on top of the advertised price. Tickets go on sale at the casino; phone orders can be placed at (888) 320-7110 or 770-9966. All tickets will be discounted 25 percent for preview performances March 8-30.

“He was a cruel man, but fair.” Monty Python’s Flying Circus: The Piranha brothers.

Hay House “I Can Do It” Conference. On May 5-7, 2007, the Hay House is holding a conference at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas. The annual Hay House “I Can Do It” Conference is designed to support new levels of personal growth. The opening Keynote Speaker is Dr. Wayne W. Dyer. There is an interesting list of speakers: psychic medium John Holland, shamans, past lives hook-ups, and soul retrieval. Hay House, Inc. | Lectures & Events

We all know people who are walking around without their souls.

I am interested in Alberto Villoldo’s lecture: “Mending the Past and Healing the Future with Soul Retrieval” since psychologist and medical anthropologist Alberto Villoldo studies with the Amazon and Inka shamans. If your soul is wandering around aimlessly and ruining your destiny, Villoldo will offer insights on how to heal events that occurred in your past. His workshop promises: “The time to recover your soul is now!”

Since long ago I took a weekend course with the esteemed Dr. Michael Harner himself(!) in New York City (this was before Dr. Harner built his “Foundation for Shamanic Studies”) and ran around the room dancing like my spirit animal, I’d be interested in attending Steven Farmer’s lecture: “Power Animals: How to Connect With Your Animal Spirit Guide.”

In this workshop, author and shamanic practitioner Steven D. Farmer will guide participants through a meditation journey to discover and connect with their power animal. Steven will also demonstrate how to use the newly released Power Animal Oracle Cards and do a few random power animal readings with audience members.

But the most interesting speaker will no doubt be Stuart Wilde who will reveal “The Secrets of Life.” Next week I will tell you all about Stuart Wilde and his Redeemer’s Club! Back in the day when Jesus walked the Earth he gave freely (and let us also opine, “Did Buddha charge?), but now it costs $4500 a year to join the ultra-exclusive world of Stuart Wilde’s “The Morph”! Single occupancy charges apply. Wilde gives you a secret magical word to enter The Morph! Welcome to StuartWilde.com

If you want to get into The Morph, you are going to need discretionary cash. So why not spend an hour listening to Stuart Wilde on the “Mastery of Money.” http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-196036638744860567&q=stuart+wilde

Moonview Sanctuary. It’s not for you. What do you do after sucking every dollar you can out of millions of captive cable subscribers with ever-spiraling rate increases during your tenure as CEO? Gerald Levin was once the highest paid media executive in the U.S. In 2000 Levin made $164,387,897 in total compensation. As chief executive of AOL Time Warner, Levin drove the company into a downward spiral that wiped out some $200 billion in shareholder value.

Levin quit as chairman and CEO of Time Warner in December 2001, after spearheading the disastrous merger of Time Warner with AOL, widely seen as the worst merger in corporate history. Time Warner employees still blame Levin for the subsequent decimation of the company's 401(k) plan and speak bitterly of his Machiavellian reign.

Ha! Levin skipped away with a few dollars in the bank and a very nice compensation package.

Having no “poetry” in his life made Gerald Levin a very bitter, revengeful man who capriciously destroyed a company’s value. If only his mother had loved him.

So now what does Levin do to assuage his personal burn-out and guilt? Does he give back to all the nobodies whose 401(k) plans tanked? What about the fools who saw their Time Warner stock plummet? Levin, who said he wanted to bring “the poetry back in my life”, opened a sanctuary – there is a $175,000 a year membership fee - to heal obscenely wealthy people who need to have their aura’s fluffed.

Gerald Levin is the “Spiritual Advisor” of Moonview Sanctuary.

The February 2007 issue of W Magazine has an article – the second major glossy piece I have read - about the ultra-spiritual haven “Spiritual Advisor” Levin and his new wife, “Founder” Laurie Perlman Levin have built called Moonview. The super secret New Age Center for the fabulously wealthy is somewhere in Santa Monica. It is so secret it has no address. If you do want to join, you must sign a confidentiality agreement not to disclose its location. (Photo credit of the surgery-improved Gerald and Laurie by Stephen Shore from “W” magazine.)

Moonview offers an array of 60 specialists, offering Western and Eastern medicine, traditional psychiatry, psychopharmacology, talk therapy, neuro-feedback, high-tech scans that study brain waves, chiropractic services, yoga, acupuncture, reflexology, art therapy, equine therapy, sex therapy and more. The practitioners include shamans and psychics.

Perlman Levin's specialty is talking to the dead. She lured Levin into her vision of Moonview with claims of having spoken to his son Jonathan, who, as a 31 year-old high school teacher living and working in one of the toughest neighborhoods in The Bronx, New York, was murdered in 1997 by one of his own students. Couldn’t Levin have found him a job in a private academy somewhere in NYC?

Moonview also offers specialized services for those in legal trouble and their families. Does this mean judges can forego prison sentences if a celebrity spends a year making occasional visits to Moonview?

Perhaps we should be thankful Levin is the “Spiritual Advisor” and not the “Financial Advisor” of Moonview.

NLGJA-Las Vegas “Celebrity Journalism in the Digital Age.” My friend Steve Freiss, through his thestrippodcast.com, joined with the Palms and the N9Ne Group, in hosting a special panel discussion at the Palms ghostbar on January 28 at 8 PM. Featuring Perez Hilton, Robin Leach, Norm Clarke and ExtraTV's Carlos Diaz, the panel chat was called "Celebrity Journalism in the Digital Age" to benefit the National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association- Las Vegas. Current members of NLGJA-Las Vegas were admitted free and guests were asked for a $10 donation. After the panel there was a “Party with Perez” from 9 to midnight at ghostbar.

Perez Hilton's must-read blog has altered the landscape for celebrity gossip scribes. I had quite a blunt and enlightening talk with Robin Leach at the Spamalot press conference.

Tom Cruise “the Christ of Scientology.” The U.K.’s The Sun, “Victoria Newton’s Bizarre” column has this article written by Emily Smith: “Tom Cruise is the new “Christ” of Scientology, according to leaders of the cult-like religion. The Mission: Impossible star has been told he has been “chosen” to spread the word of his faith throughout the world. “And leader David Miscavige (pictured) believes that in the future, Cruise, 44, will be worshipped like Jesus for his work to raise awareness of the religion.” A source close to the actor, who has risen to one of the church’s top levels, said: “Tom has been told he is Scientology’s Christ-like figure. Like Christ, he’s been criticized for his view. But future generations will realize he was right.”

“Cruise joined the Church of Scientology in the ‘80s. Leader L. Ron Hubbard claimed humans bear traces of an ancient alien civilization.”

Miscavige is officially described as “the highest ecclesiastical official of the Scientology religion,” and he is the effective leader of the religion. This newest avatar acknowledgment that Cruise as the New Messiah should send Madonna, who has her very own cult religious affiliation, into a jealous rage. What title can Rabbi Yehuda Berg, co-director of the Los Angeles Kabbalah Center, bestow on his No. 1 patron-promoter Madonna?

Supermodel Not A Witch. It has been widely reported that vicious maid-beating supermodel Naomi Campbell has embraced Candomble. Wouldn’t it be great if Naomazi Campbell had to clean her houses herself because no one would work for her?

IMDB.com posted this: “Campbell Denies Witchcraft Claims”. “Naomi Campbell has quashed reports she has signed up to a witchcraft-like religion - insisting she was only linked to the faith by association. Last weekend, news reports claimed the supermodel was joining Brazil's African-based Candomble faith, but Campbell is adamant she has no interest in switching her religious allegiances. She tells the New York Daily News, "I'm Church Of England. Protestant. I was christened that. I went to a party for a guy whose birthday it was (Candomble priest Tuca Franchini). I don't discriminate against what religion people have. That's what he (Franchini) does, but it doesn't mean I have to be involved in it." (Photo of a Quimbanda altar to Exu)

As you know, I have an altar to Exu and his mate (Photo of my Candomble altar). I make frequent offerings of whiskey, incense and tobacco to them. Exu is the owner of the roads and doors in this world. He is the repository of ashe. The colors red and black or white and black are his and codify his contradictory nature. In particular, Exu stands at the crossroads of the human and the divine, as he is the divine messenger between the two worlds. In this role, he has a very close relationship with the orisha of divination, Orunmila. Nothing can be done in either world without his permission.

Exu is always called first before any other orisha as he opens the door between the worlds and opens our roads in life. He recognizes himself and is recognized by the numbers 3 and 21.Exu fulfills the role of the divine messenger who translates the language of nature into the language of humans and the language of humans into the language of nature.

I’ve been counseled: Exu is also to be feared (hence the frequent offerings).

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