mother cat and kittens

I'm not in much of a mood to write happy or frivolous today, and I probably shouldn't be writing what I feel, so instead, today's post will be a youtube video of cute little baby kittens and their mom.

Las Vegas Hilton

The husband and I have made regular visits to Las Vegas for a number of years now. We're not huge gamblers, though we do enjoy playing various of the slot machines. I only do slots and don't do table games at all. The husband enjoys craps, and he even knows how to play! We've also enjoyed looking at the architecture and decor of the various hotels/casinos as well as trying out different restaurants.

One place that we have made a point of visiting on each trip is the Las Vegas Hilton. We had originally gone to look around like everything else, but there was the added appeal of Star Trek: The Experience. They had a section that simulated the Promenade from the Star Trek television show "Deep Space Nine". They even had a restaurant named Quark's. There were a couple of stores, some with regular merchandise like t-shirts and plush, and some with the higher-end stuff. They also had an attraction where you were put into the story of a Star Trek happening. I really liked the Klingon version, but I hated the Borg version because at the end of that one, you get rescued by Voyager. Ugh, please, just let the Borg take me then.

We went on the attraction once, and it was fun (and the museum section was cool too), but for the experience and the price, it wasn't something we felt the need to do again. We did enjoy browsing around the shop, and we had dinner at Quark's once.

The other nice thing is that adjacent to the whole Star Trek area is the SpaceQuest casino, which was, to me, a little less stuffy than the main casino, and they had good music too. We always made it a point of visiting the Hilton once on each trip to wander around the Promenade and play in the casino.

Well, the Star Trek section closed in early September of this year. Our trip came about two weeks afterward, and the area was completely closed off, though nothing had been done to it yet. I'm not sure what their plans are for it. The SpaceQuest casino was still there, and the Star Wars slot machines were still there, but the Star Trek machines that the husband had found during our earlier March trip had been moved to the main casino. I actually spent some time looking around the SpaceQuest casino, but I literally did not find one machine that I wanted to play, so I ended up back in the main casino.

We had figured that with the closing of the Star Trek section, there really wasn't going to be any reason to go back to the Hilton anymore. However, since the husband found the Star Trek slots and really likes them, and for the moment, they don't seem to be anywhere else, we'll be going back so he can play them.

I played for a little bit on a machine that was new to me that was kind of fun but which fairly quickly put me in this mega-bonus round that just kept going and going and going like the Energizer bunny, and when all was said and done, I had won something like $60 on a penny machine, so I quit. And then I looked for something else to do.

I had seen signs posted in various places about something called Football Central. Well, we were there on a Sunday, and the second set of football games for the day would still be going, so I figured I'd go and see what it was like. Yes, I like watching NFL games. I followed the signs, figuring it would be some room with some big-screen TVs set up or something. And then I walked into an auditorium, with five huge giant screens. Not TVs, but more like the giant screens that are normally up in any Sports Book. Five of them, with five different games. They only had the sound from one of them on, and it wasn't the one I was most interested in, but that was ok, since I could still follow the action of the one I really wanted to watch, and the game with the sound on ended up being an amazing game. And I got to glance at the other games on the other screens as well.

As I mentioned, it was like an auditorium, not just some dinky little room. They had rows and rows of seats lined up, and it was crowded, but not packed, so finding a decent seat wasn't an issue at all. There were signs about inexpensive food and beer being sold from an adjacent room/restaurant, but I'd already had brunch so wasn't hungry.

I loved sitting in that room and watching the games, especially since I was around a lot of people who were really into it as well. The husband came into the room a bit later, and we watched the various games for a little while.

If I lived closer, I'd so be planting myself at the Hilton every Sunday during the NFL season. I guess that means it's a good thing I don't live nearby because then I really wouldn't get anything done on Sundays while professional football is on.

Here's a link to official information about Football Central, but I'm not understanding the "11 huge screens" thing. I didn't miscount - there were 5. Maybe they've changed it since that web page was first constructed. But no matter - it's still an awesome place.

So, while we thought we'd be leaving the Las Vegas Hilton behind, it looks like we'll still be making visits there, probably moreso during football season if we're in town.


This trip report from April 2002 has some information about a visit to the Promenade. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.

This trip report from March 2003 includes information from another visit to the Promenade as well as our dinner at Quark's. Scroll down to about half-way through the report.

And this little trip report is about my first ride on the Las Vegas monorail, which included a really cool feature on a particular monorail as it approached the Hilton.

Here's information about a really cute t-shirt that I'd found in the Promenade during our March trip.

television show updates

This article has an update on the status of a couple different shows.

NBC has ordered a few more episodes of "Knight Rider". The show has been doing just ok, but they're hoping to give it a chance by having additional episodes.

CBS has also ordered more episodes of the new show "The Mentalist", which will make the husband happy because he's been enjoying that show.

The article also says that full seasons have already been ordered for "90210" (which I am watching, so I'm happy about that) and "Fringe" (which I gave up on, so I don't care).

"The Express" - spoiler movie review

The inspirational sports movie, whether fiction or based on fact, is nothing new to movies. For a time, there was a glut of them, but that seems to have died off of late.

When the trailer for "The Express" first started, it was obvious it was another one of those. But as the trailer went on, it was also obvious that this wasn't just an ordinary inspirational sports movie. And the movie itself played out as much more. Yes, it wasn't just about a kid from the wrong side of the tracks making it good. Not only did he have to fight a disadvantaged childhood, but he had to fight something even worse - racism in the late 50s/early 60s.

The film is about Ernie Davis, who was known as the Elmira Express. He was recruited to Syracuse University the year after Jim Brown graduated - without winning the Heisman Trophy. The color barrier was definitely still in place.

Ernie Davis was amazing on the field, but his success didn't translate into an exemption from the then-current status quo - he was stared at on the campus of Syracuse University because he was one of very few black (they still used "negro" back then) students, and his coach made it clear to him that it wasn't acceptable for him to show any interest in white girls.

Ernie encountered even more racism when playing in the south - a January 1, 1960 Cotton Bowl game in Dallas against the University of Texas turned incredibly ugly, but Syracuse managed to win the game, earning them their first national championship, and Ernie was named MVP of the game, and two years later, he was nominated for and won the coveted Heisman, the first black athlete to do so.

After Syracuse won the game and Ernie had been named MVP, the coach informs the team that the trophy presentation ceremony is going to be held at a country club - one that has their color barrier firmly in place. One of Ernie's teammates speaks for the team by saying they'd rather have barbeque, and the team instead adjourns to a local restaurant where all colors are welcome, and the celebration is mighty. Heck, I'm sure they had a much better time there than they would have had at some stuffy country club!

There are parts of the movie that are incredibly difficult to watch. I've always had a problem with the incredible abuse that one person can heap on another, especially for something that I find as inconsequential as the color of one's skin. I cringed in the beginning of the movie when the kids were taunting Ernie and calling him names - I can imagine how difficult it was for those young actors to play that scene. There's a game where the team is leaving their tunnel - and the fans are throwing bottles and dumping popcorn on them, and the opposing players are tackling Ernie and throwing punches and kicking him while he's laying on the ground, and the officials are doing nothing to stop it and even calling non-existent penalties on Ernie. That kind of mentality is just so incredibly alien to me. To think that such things went on so recently - and continue to this day, though on a smaller scale - is something I don't think I can ever understand.

I'd not heard of Ernie Davis before, so I didn't know his story. From the trailer, though, you pretty much knew that he was going to end up being the first black Heisman trophy winner. In mid-September, I accidentally heard about the real-life outcome of Ernie Davis. He ended up with a disease that killed him before he ever had the chance to play in the NFL. Knowing the outcome of his life, it made it a bit harder for me to see some of the events that unfolded, knowing that his hopes and dreams were going to come to nothing. But in the scene when he had the press conference announcing that he was sick, it took me several minutes to stop crying in the theatre. That repeated itself at the end of the movie when on-screen titles listed the date of Ernie's death. I think my reaction was two-fold. It was just tragic for him to have gone through so much, to have endured so much, to have such dreams that were within his reach - only to be cut down so quickly, at the age of 23. The second reason was a bit more personal. I knew that Ernie had died of an illness, but I didn't know what exactly, until the scene of his press conference, when he said the word "leukemia". I have a very good friend who recently was diagnosed with leukemia, and it is in fact a terrifying word. That this strong, healthy young man was cut down so quickly and easily by leukemia just hit home even more with me. My friend is fighting the disease ok for the moment, thank God, but I don't think I would have reacted quite as strongly to the ending of this film had I seen it several months ago.

The performances in this film were stellar all around.

Rob Brown plays the title role, and he is electrifying. He doesn't appear to have done much yet, but he's definitely going to be around for a long time if people are smart and give him more opportunities. There are so many nuances to this role, and he hits each one dead on.

I tend to think of Dennis Quaid more from his movies of some time ago, when he was mostly in lighter movies. He did a terrific job in "Vantage Point", but he is even more spectacular in this role. He is gruff without coming off too mean, cool and detached without seeming cold, and his turn at Ernie's words makes complete sense because you can see it on his face.

In a supporting role, Charles S. Dutton is fantastic as Ernie's concerned grandfather. I especially liked the exchange where "Pops" wants to know what kind of man the coach is because he wants to know what kind of person is going to be teaching his grandson for the next four years.

These are the stand-out performances, but as I mentioned, performances all around were stellar, including the actors who played Jim Brown, Ernie's teammate JB, the coach's assistant, owner of the Browns and Ernie's girlfriend/wife Sarah.

There are people who might be turned off of this film because of the football aspect, but I hope they can see past that and see that it's not just about football.

The movie is based on the biography of Ernie Davis. I'm interested enough in the real story that I'll probably pick up the book to see what actually happened versus what was changed for the movie.

"Igor" - spoiler movie review

The trailer for "Igor" looked cute, and when I noticed that John Cusack (who I like) was the voice of the lead character, I decided it was something I wanted to see. We didn't get around to it for a while and only had the chance to see it today.

I thought the movie was ok, but it was pretty light and really something aimed mostly at kids. Igor longs to be an evil scientist but his physical appearance made that almost impossible. His monster creation turns out to be much different than he expected, and a desperate attempt to make her evil only results in her turning into a prima donna actress. Oh, and she adopts the name Eva, but not to be confused with Wall-E's girlfriend. Stuff happens, and everyone (ok, most everyone) ends up happy in the end.

I liked a lot of the bits about the cat who couldn't die (and Steve Buscemi voiced it very well), but otherwise, I was often bored by the story.

Both the husband and I were amazed at how much the mayor of Malaria looked an awful lot like the mayor of Halloweentown. I really kept expecting his head to spin around.



Malaria's mayor.


Halloweentown's mayor.


Can't really recommend the movie. It might be ok as a rental at home.

"Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" - spoiler movie review

"Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" is a bit of an odd title for a film, but the quirky title is actually an accurate representation for the quirky film itself. It reminds me somewhat of "After Hours" in that the events take place during the course of one night and involve a number of weird and off-beat things that happen, minus the plaster of paris bagel and cream cheese paperweight.

Nick (Michael Cera) is in a band, and he's having a difficult time getting over ex-girlfriend Tris (Alexis Dziena), but circumstances arise where Nick meets Tris' schoolmates Caroline and Norah (Kat Dennings) and Nick's connection to Norah arouses a jealousy in Tris. Nick and Norah spend most of the night together, partly trying to locate Caroline, who got really drunk at a party and who Nick's three gay male bandmates had volunteered to take her home but then lost her en route, and they also spend part of the night in search of the performance venue for the elusive band Where's Fluffy? Hilarity, miscommunications and mixed messages ensue, but in the end, Nick and Norah find that their connection is stronger than anything else.

I really liked this movie, especially the awkward and weird banter early on between Nick and Norah. And how frickin' funny was it that Nick drives around (very proudly too, I might add) in a Yugo?!?!?!? I loved the bit of them driving around looking for Where's Fluffy?, and the side note that Norah had pretty much already fallen in love with Nick, sight unseen, because of the mix tapes that he made for Tris was pretty cool. I also liked the set-up where Norah is let immediately into every club she goes to, and Tris makes some reference to her famous father, but it's not until almost the end that we find out her father is a very famous and very rich owner of an amazing record label/studio - Electric Lady Studios, which is apparently a real entity.

It was funny to watch the meters go crazy when Nick and Norah were having sex. Hope it wasn't being recorded or someone's gonna have a real surprise the next morning!

The bandmate's reference to Norah's "uniboob" was also funny - and why did they have all that women's clothes in the back of the van? And Nick didn't say anything about her going into the van and then coming back dressed in something else?

Loved Norah's referring to the group as a fistful of assholes. Yep, great name for a band!

But can I just tell you how disgusting that whole thing with the gum was? Ewwwwww TO THE MAX!!!!

I've only seen Michael Cera previously in "Juno", and I thought he was good in that, but he had a supporting role in that film. He doesn't have the normal look for a leading man role, but his quirkiness and charm really make him quite appealing in this film. I absolutely loved when Tris was trying to seduce him by dancing seductively to "You Sexy Thing" (but I have to admit I was surprised they'd know a song that old considering all the music they knew and was included in the film was all new hip stuff), but he realizes that he's thinking more of Norah, and he drives away, washing away her lipstick mark on his windshield to show that he's through with her.

I've loved Kat Dennings in everything I've seen her in so far - "Charlie Bartlett" and "The House Bunny", and this film continues that streak. She definitely has a quality about her, and I'm eager to see what other choices she will make in her career. I'd love for her to tackle something a little darker because I think she can pull that off too. She would actually make a great film noir femme fatale. She's played quirky, but with her longer hair and look this time, I think she's the prettiest in this film out of all three.

I recognized Alexis Dziena when I'd seen the trailer, but I couldn't think where I knew her from, and it wasn't until I looked up her credits that I realized she was the daughter in the television show "Invasion". I really liked her in this film, and she played a perfect bitch, and her delivery of some of the more biting lines to Norah were terrific and dead on.

All the supporting players were very good too, from Caroline to Nick's three band mates to Tal.

Definitely recommend this movie. I actually really liked all the music too, nothing I'd ever heard before, and I'm considering getting the soundtrack.

more people will be surviving a Japanese game show

Variety is reporting that ABC has ordered a second season of "I Survived a Japanese Game Show", due to air next summer. Here's a link to a report that doesn't require a subscription, which Variety does.

I'm happy to hear that the show will be returning because I really liked it! I wonder if they'll have green monkeys and yellow penguins again or if they will have other characters. I *still* want to be in the audience!!!!

Everybody - hai, majide!

"America's Toughest Jobs" - October 10, 2008 episode

The six remaining contestants end up in Port Angeles, Washington, where their job will be logging - cutting down trees and preparing them for processing into lumber. The first thing they do is watch a controlled tree fall, which amazes them. They are then taught to climb a tree using a rope and spikes on their shoes. Most do well, but Rommel has some trouble.

Next, they are taught to cut down a tree using a chainsaw to cut a chunk out of the front to control the direction of the fall, and then to cut a straight line out of the back and then use an ax to hammer in a wedge until the tree is pulled down by gravity. Bryce has a hard time, Steven's tree falls too fast which potentially puts him in danger, and Rommel is struggling, partly because of his shoulder injury from the prior job.

The contestants then have to haul a cable across from one end of the camp to the other so that a wire can be set up, but Rommel falls behind. Bryce also injures himself from a fall, so Bryce's banged-up knee and Rommel's shoulder prove hindrances to each of them.

The next job is to attach cables to the trees so that they can be hauled for processing, and then they have to be cut into the right sizes for transportation. Most of the contestants are falling a lot, and their bosses are yelling at them. When Ben and Rommel are going to the processing site, they both cross under the zip wire, which is the biggest safety transgression there is, and they are both reemed out for having completely forgotten everything they've been taught. Rommell doesn't fare any better when he's in the processing camp, and he repeatedly tries and fails to even start up his chainsaw.

The best of the group is deemed to be Sandy, and the bottom two are Rommel and Bryce. The final challenge is to climb a tree, undo a hook, climb back down, and then chop the tree down. First one to finish wins. As with before, Rommel has a very difficult time making it up the tree whereas Bryce races up, so Bryce is already on his way down when Rommel still has a bit of climbing to go. However, Bryce falters when it comes to cutting the chunk out of the tree. His cuts don't match each other, so he can't get the chunk out, and Rommel ends up making up all the time he lost in the tree climbing, and Rommel cuts his tree down first, eliminating Bryce. I'm glad that Bryce is finally gone since he's been such a pain, but at least in this episode, he took his lumps and didn't complain as much, and at the end, he knew he had screwed it up and said that Rommel deserved to win. Rommel was being called out by everyone else for complaining so much about his injuries and pain when everyone else was in pain and bruised as well and just sucked it up and kept on going.

The show moves to Saturday next week. I'm wondering if that means the ratings aren't doing well, since it started on Monday before moving to Friday and then is now moving again. Definitely not a way to keep an audience, but I love the show, so I'll be following along.

"Heroes" - October 6, 2008 episode

It's revealed that Tracy is actually one of triplets, which included Niki, who were separated when their parents died, but not before DNA manipulation was performed on them. Jessica appears to have been a sister that Tracy had in her adoptive family, so who's the third triplet? Tracy is outraged that experiments were performed on her, and she is having a lot of trouble dealing with her "gift". She calls the police and tries to report that she's the one who killed the reporter, but she can't bring herself to it, freezing the phone receiver in the process. After being MIA for a while, she goes into Nathan's office and hands in her resignation. She is about to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge, but after she jumps, she's saved by Nathan. Back at her apartment, since Nathan has admitted that he can fly, she shows him her freezing power. They kiss. It's revealed that four years in the future, Nathan is president, with Tracy (or maybe the third triplet) as his wife.

Matt is still in Africa, and he puts on what are apparently magic headphones because they make him have a vision of the future, in which he is married to Daphne, they have a baby together, and they're also parents to Molly. Daphne is in the vicinity of an explosion when it happens, and she gets away fast enough to show up at her own doorstep, but not fast enough to outrun the blast, as we see that her entire back is scorched open, and she collapses into Matt's arms, seemingly in death. When Matt wakes up out of his vision, he is told that he needs to find his totem, so he ends up following the turtle that he thought had talked to him.

Future-Peter takes present-Peter four years into the future, where the formula has given special powers to everyone who can afford to buy it, but people with the powers are abusing them, using the abilities to commit crimes. Future-Peter says that man cannot control himself and that someone in present-Peter's time is making the formula, and present-Peter needs to stop them. Just then, future-Claire shoots and kills future-Peter but misses present-Peter. Future-Peter is revealed to be regarded as a villain in his time, where future-Claire, future-Daphne and another guy are hunting him per orders.

Mohinder is having his own issues as the serum he created is having more side effects, including increased rage showing in Mohinder. He knows that he is changing, but he also knows there is nothing he can do to stop that now.

Present-Peter is still in the future, and he goes to find Sylar, looking for answers. He finds him in Claire's house, with an apron on, making lunch for his young son Noah. Sylar says that he goes by Gabriel, and when present-Peter says that he wants Gabriel's power, Gabriel says that it creates a hunger in you and turned him into a monster. He says that he fights to control it every day, for Noah, and he doesn't wish it on future-Peter. He also reveals to future-Peter that they're brothers. When future-Peter insists, Gabriel gives him his broken watch and says that if he can fix it, he can figure out Gabriel's power. Future-Peter telekinetically manipulates the watch mechanisms and fixes it, and apparently, that somehow magically gives him Gabriel's powers. No, I have no idea either.

Future-Claire and future-Daphne track down present-Peter with Gabriel, and they hold Noah hostage in exchange for present-Peter. Gabriel tells him to teleport out, but present-Peter refuses to leave them in that bind. In the ensuing fight, Noah is accidentally killed, and with his reason for controlling himself gone, Gabriel gives in to a murderous rage and explodes, taking out several miles of surrounding city with him.

Present-Peter and future-Claire both survive (presumably because both have the power of regeneration), and future-Claire is torturing present-Peter by cutting him when future-Nathan interrupts. After dismissing everyone from the room, he lets present-Peter go, but present-Peter decides he needs information and more from future-Nathan, and in Sylar style, he cuts open future-Nathan's head. Present-Peter then comes out of his trance, is horrified by what he's done, and flees.

Hiro and Ando have been held captive in Level 5 and have been fighting with each other, but when pushed by Angela, Ando says that Hiro will not stop until they get the formula back. They are then seen digging up a grave, presumably Hiro's father's grave, but instead, Hiro and Ando have dug up a very-much-still-alive Adam instead.


I've given this show a chance, but I just cannot get into it anymore. There are just too many characters, too many storylines, too many time periods, and just way too many questions, with almost zero answers. This is exactly what pissed me off about "Lost" and led me to stop watching that show. Giving me no answers doesn't make me more interested and eager to find out the answers - it just irritates the hell out of me. I'm out.

Are you made out of Legos?

Have you figured out yet that I love Legos?

I was listening to the radio yesterday morning, and they were talking about the new Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog which had just been released, and how in these increasingly-difficult economic times, a catalog of really expensive, totally unnecessary luxury items was a great thing to have.

But one of the things they talked about caught my attention.

Got a spare $60,000? Now, mind you, that's the price for one. If you want to, oh, I don't know, say, buy for friends of yours who are a couple, you'll have to pony up $120,000 for a pair. Oh, and that doesn't include shipping. And heck, if you want to do the whole family, you're going to have to save up a bit more money.








But if that's not to your liking, there's an entire Christmas book worth of stuff to choose from.