Happy Mother’s Day, Moms, from the Las Vegas Buffet Club.
“The history of Mother’s Day is centuries old and goes back to the times of ancient Greeks, who held festivities to honor Rhea, the mother of the gods. The early Christians celebrated the Mother’s festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honor Mary, the mother of Christ. Interestingly, later on a religious order stretched the holiday to include all mothers, and named it as the Mothering Sunday. The English colonists settled in America discontinued the tradition of Mothering Sunday because of lack of time. In 1872 Julia Ward Howe organized a day for mothers dedicated to peace. It is a landmark in the history of Mother’s Day read more from dayformother’s.com
DayForMothers.Com has everything there is to know about Mother’s Day: history, facts, jokes, poems, gifts, etc. etc. etc…
La Loma Mexican Restaurant
Photo WCarboneLA LOMA Mexican Restaurant
2527 West 26th Avenue
Denver, CO 80211-4804
(303) 433-8300
La Loma is situated at the top of a hill at the top of a [1]steep driveway, and at the top of most Denver-Mexican-Restaurant lists. It’s one of the best Mexican restaurants in the Denver area and definately one of the classiest.
“La Loma is located in a distinctive Denver home that was constructed in 1887. The home accommodates a Cantina with a large fireplace, and three unique dining rooms – The Colonial Room, The Victorian Room and The Galleria are a blend of early American and Southwestern Cultures.” [Excerpt is from La Loma’s website]
The Old House is an island of tranquility and class in an [2]old, North Denver neighborhood. Dark woods, exposed brick/beams, cozy booths, and an antique, (working) taco machine provide the background for this above average Mexican restaurant.
Their specialties include:
Green Chile, Chile Rellenos, Fajitas and Margaritas
Excellent Service & Atmosphere
From the menu: Sizzling Fajitas
(All fajitas served on a bed of onions with guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, roasted jalapenos and home made flour tortillas.)
Chicken (mesquite broiled chicken breast) $13.95
Steak (mesquite broiled skirt steak.) $14.95
Pork (mesquite broiled pork shoulder.) $13.95
Combo (1/2 each of two of the above fajita items.) $13.95
Shrimp (mesquite broiled, gulf sized shrimp.) $16.95
Fajitas for Two (choice of beef, chicken or pork) $25.25
“Somewhat higher prices are commensurate with the overall higher quality (all aspects) of this restaurant, including a large wait staff which is there to meet your every need – fast.”
LA LOMA’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE with full menu, directions, photos and more.
[1]One translation of La Loma is: The Hill – check out the steep driveway (above)
[2]Hispanic neighborhood near – what used to be – Denver’s Little Italy.
[Prices are from April 1, 2010]
I received this from the Cloud Foundation, please pass it on…BC
“For now, I’d like to be the first to tell you that this Thursday, March 25th, the March for Mustangs will take place not only by the White House in Washington DC but on the Las Vegas Strip, by the Los Angeles Federal Building and in front of the US Embassy in London! In D.C. we’re honored to have award-winning actress and advocate, Wendie Malick speak to the crowd at the rally. Wendie will be joined by long time advocate and advisor on the original 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act, Hope Ryden; author RT Fitch, Filmmaker James Kleinert and many, many more! We are especially pleased to announce that country music artist Clay Canfield will be at the rally to sing his incredible song “Wild Horses” and more before we march to the BLM office with signs and banners.”
“TAKE A MOMENT FOR MUSTANGS Please spread the word on all the March for Mustang Rallies and support all the protests with calls to your Senators and Congress people on this important issue. Wild herds, like Clouds, are being managed to extinction with our taxpayer dollars by the very agency charged with their protection. Let’s make a big push for the mustangs during these rallies. On Thursday please call your on behalf of Cloud and all the wild horses! President Obama: 202-456-1111 and Congress: 202-224-3121.”
“When you reach your Representative and Senators, please ask to speak to the aide on the wild horse and burro issue. 1) Wild horses are being mismanaged in cruel waste of taxpayer dollars that is destroying the last of our wild herds in the West. 2) Vote NO on supplying funding for wild horse “preserves” in the East and Midwest– already there are now far more (36,000) wild horses in holding than in the wild where there may only be some 15,000 remaining. 3) Keep up the call for a moratorium on roundups and let everyone know that you love wild horses and burros in the wild and you vote! Or find and email your Senators and Congress person here on votesmart.org”
MARCH FOR MUSTANGS
WASHINGTON D.C. – Lafayette Park 1-3pm… [*details]
LONDON – US Embassy 1- 3pm… details
LAS VEGAS – Walk the Strip 12:30- 3pm… details
LOS ANGELES – Federal Building, 11:30- 1:30pm… details
I’ll be back in touch soon with more news from my trip up to Cloud’s mountain home and a visit to our rescued “Freedom Fund” bands… some of the mares will soon have foals in those bands and on the mountain.
revised February 23, 2010 (This post was originally published by the LasVegasBuffetClub in November, 2007) and republished July 10, 2009
—THIS MONTH’S FULL MOON (THE FULL SNOW MOON) WILL BE 100% FULL ON FEBRUARY TWENTY EIGHTH (2010)—
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At a time when I was making posters, I happened to take a digital (camcorder) photo of a Full Moon. This was in the mid 90s in Las Vegas, Nevada. The clip was shot from the CALIFORNIA HOTEL’S RV Park, in downtown Las Vegas, around midnight.
Many times, over the years, I’ve had the occasion to process the image with a Photoshop-type program. At some point I saw a face of “THE MAN IN THE MOON” – maybe the face I’d heard about since I was a little kid. I never quite knew exactly what the face looked like, although I thought I did. I always thought that I vaguely saw something that looked like a face. It had two big O’s for eyes (Mares Serenitatis and Tranquillitatis) and a big O (Mare Nubium) for a mouth…It seems as though everyone sees a different face – or a rabbit, dog or lion.
Seeing the moon up close and personal via the photographic image, several faces presented themselves for perusal. The following is my take on those faces in the Moon:
Turns out that, at least, one imaginative glance reveals a small chinned (or chinless) figure wearing “shades.” It sort of reminds me of Phil Spector wearing sunglasses…Actually, there are several faces depending on the quality/resolution of the image…The ears, noses, eyes and other features of these “faces” are the darker patches (flat surfaces) of the moon or “seas” (Mare – Maria.)
The aforementioned photo is represented by a reproduction (left) of that clip, pretty much as it looked that night in Las Vegas. Although is has been minimally processed the image is a good representaion of how the full moon appears on any (Full Moon) night with slight magnification. ……….……….The image (on the right) is offered with exaggerated graphics to help define the first face: The figure’s right sunglass lens (the circle on the upper left) is Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity,) the circle on the upper right (figure’s left lens) is Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of tranquillity) and Mare Vaporum (Sea of Vapours) is the figure’s nose (no graphic.)
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Doing a mind/sight shift, there also seems to be an image (below left) of a face that looks very much like Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse – looking down toward 8 o’clock. In this view the sunglass lenses (Mares Tranquillitatis & Serenitatis) become Mickey’s ears and Mare Vaporum is Mickey’s left eye (exagerated graphics show ears, eye and nose.) ……….……….BBC image on the right is of a 14th Century fresco from Austria – click to read more…
Next is an image of the Full Moon from SEDS’ website.
Click this to access: SEDS” website…
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“LOOKS LIKE PHIL OR MICKEY TO ME.”…NOAO image credits…
There’s another image of a face just under Mickey’s eye (facing left with a protruding tongue, two eyes, a nose and a well defined chin.)
“Thus, in a very real sense, Iwerks can be called true the creator [sic] of Mickey Mouse because Iwerks, and not Disney, originated the character?” read entire story… (This fact is not necessarily relevant to the main point:) All of the faces are interesting. The Mickey Mouse face begs questioning. My question is: Did Walt Disney / UB Iwerks get their inspiration for the Mickey Mouse character from an image on the Moon?
Imperial Chinese Restaurant
431 S. Broadway
Denver, Colorado 80209
Excerpt is from The Imperial’s website
“Since the Imperial Chinese Restaurant made its debut in 1985, it has become, quite simply, the standard by which all other Denver Chinese cuisine is judged. Owner Johnny Hsu, who has created a tradition of large scale, fine Asian establishments and owns the exquiste Palace Chinese Restaurant in south Denver. And while diners have remained loyal over the past two decades, so have the restaurant critics.” read more from The Imperial’s Official Website
The other night, as we were celebrating *2x’s birthday – on Chinese New Year’s Eve – I was thinking that dining at the Imperial feels more like dining in a high-end hotel restaurant in Las Vegas. The high-def energy in this place is amazing. Maybe it’s the collective brain energy of the extra intelligent people who dine here.
Quality is a word that comes to mind when thinking of The Imperial Chinese Restaurant. From the entrance and the reservations-desk to the booths, the decor, the huge fishtanks, the fresh flowers on each table, the fine dark woods and nick-nacks, everything here is first rate. Then there’s the food which is also first rate. The extra, good-looking staff and management is extra-friendly and efficient.
“The Imperial Chinese Restaurant is famous for it’s spicy Szechwan dishes. It was first to introduce the sesame chicken to Denver and it’s flavorful version is still the best. The melt in your mouth Chilean sea bass in black bean sauce, stir fired Dungeness crab, steamed whole striped bass and continous addition of new Chinese dishes keep loyal diners coming back.”
The restaurant was jammed on New Year’s Eve. Our reservation wasn’t ready when we arrived so we did a 35 minute stint in the little bar area; We were served complimentary egg rolls while we waited.
Our party ordered Szechwan Assorted Vegetables (my favorite, $10.95,) Moo Shoo Chicken (10.25,) Mongolian Beef (11.95) and a Seafood Bird’s Nest (18.95.) Everything was well prepared and very tasty.
Also on the menu – Signature Dishes, including: Nanking Pork Loin – “Bite-size pork loin marinated and cooked in our chef’s special sauce” (12.50) to Peking Duck – Fit for the Emperor “Whole duckling roasted to perfection, skinned, deboned and served with pancakes” (37.50,) Whole Dungeness Crabs “Whole Dungeness crab cut into various pieces, stir-fried with fresh scallions, ginger and Chinese five spices (Market Price,) The Imperial Dinner $21.95 per person (Minimum Serving 2 people:) Soup, Appetizers, Entree Choice and Dessert. See complete menu at The Imperial’s Official Website
First published January 21, 2010 – revised 1/25/10, 11:00 pmThe Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - Flixter.com
Director/Writer Terry Gilliam must have channeled both Salvador Dali and Walt Disney to create this film.
I don’t know if it’s partly because I know one of the players, but I say “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus” is one of the best movies I’ve seen.
Plot synopsis from IMDb: “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a fantastical morality tale, set in the present day. It tells the story of Dr Parnassus and his extraordinary ‘Imaginarium’, a travelling show where members of the audience get an irresistible opportunity to choose between light and joy or darkness and gloom. Blessed with the extraordinary gift of guiding the imaginations of others, Dr Parnassus is cursed with a dark secret. Long ago he made a bet with the devil, Mr Nick, in which he won immortality. Many centuries later, on meeting his one true love, Dr Parnassus made another deal with the devil, trading his immortality for youth, on condition that when his first-born reached its 16th birthday he or she would become the property of Mr Nick. Valentina is now rapidly approaching this ‘coming of age’ milestone and Dr Parnassus is desperate to protect her from her impending fate. Mr Nick arrives to collect but, always keen to make a bet, renegotiates the wager. Now the winner of Valentina will be determined by whoever seduces the first five souls. Enlisting a series of wild, comical and compelling characters in his journey, Dr Parnassus promises his daughter’s hand in marriage to the man that helps him win. In this captivating, explosive and wonderfully imaginative race against time, Dr Parnassus must fight to save his daughter in a never-ending landscape of surreal obstacles – and undo the mistakes of his past once and for all… ”
From the opening scenes and throughout most of the movie there’s a “dream-imagery” which evokes the inner-fantasy part of a cozy opium-den (not that I would know) or a Daliesque landscape with bright blue-skies, rowboats and a bovine carcass floating in the water. The water scene reminds one – of the clips in Dali’s Un Chien Andalou when “the woman’s left eyeball is sliced-open with a straight-edge razor,” or “the piano/horse scene.”
The warm reds, golds, maroons, purples and whatevers of the living-quarters of Dr. Parnassus’ horse-drawn wagon A.K.A. *The Imaginarium are so soothing that I wanted those scenes to go on and on without end. Another memorable scene reveals artistic excellence when a “wall of reality” is peeled open.”
This is a streeetch, however there is a little coffee-house, in one of my favorite cities, Santa Ana, California called The Gypsy Den. I first discovered it when I was living in Santa Ana – Right, just like Columbus.
The Gypsy Den is on First Avenue and Broadway, if I recall correctly. It is anchoring a corner in the Hispanic area of Santa Ana. For me that is part of its charm. The interior is authentic Gypsy: old stuffed divans, couches and sofa-chairs, old oil-paintings, posters, old pictures and books. I recall scarves, candles, brass, a coffee-bar with pastry cases, giant coffee cups and California girls pouring coffee and serving cinnamon roles A.K.A. rolls.
There’s an old cigarette-burned piano in a stage-like area, and tables near windows which let in California sunshine. There’s a garden-of-eden patio on the North, in a bit of heaven – an old Santa Ana coblestoned town-square. Three blocks north on Broadway, you’re in Mexico, USA.
There is a point to all this, The Gypsy Den is a bit of Dr. Parnassus’ Imaginarium.
Paloma Faith - Flicker.Com
All of the actors shine: Christopher Plummer’s Dr. Parnassus is as powerful as a Star Wars character. The team effort of Johnny Depp, Heath Ledger, Jude Law and Colin Farrell (listed in order of appearance,) all playing the character named Tony is interesting and seamless. Tom Waits as Mr. Nick, the devil should get top kudos for best performance of a devil. Lily Cole’s (Kewpie-Doll) Valentina, the good Doctor’s daughter-in-peril is sexy-sweet-charming, and Paloma Faith is stop-cold stunning [see photo.] She is Mr. Nick’s flashy, diamond-girlfriend, Sally. Verne Troyer is magnificent as Dr. Parnassus’s diminutive assistant.
If I were giving out awards I’d give Christopher Plummer an award for best actor; I’d give an award to Tom Waits for best supporting actor, or to Verne Troyer for best supporting actor. I’d give out awards for set design, art design/direction, costumes, music and more. Lily Cole is very believable as Valentina. Andrew Garfield deserves a mention. His character, Anton is the Imaginarium’s barker and Valentina’s love interest. Tony (The late Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell) should get an award for being able to wear the same suit.
*Yeah, I realize that the phenomenon of the Imaginarium extends far beyond the boundaries of the wagon.
by Adobe Moon In The City Poster
c. 2010 LasVegasBuffetClub
Reprinted from The National Geographic Website
Story by, Andrew Fazekas
for National Geographic News
Published January 29, 2010
The biggest full moon of 2010 will rise in the east tonight, and it’ll appear with a bright sidekick: Mars will cozy up just to the left of the supersize moon.
January’s full moon is also called the [*]wolf moon, according to Native American tradition associating this month’s full moon with wolves howling in the cold midwinter. (Take a moon myths and mysteries quiz.)
The 2010 wolf moon will appear 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than any other full moon this year, because our cosmic neighbor will actually be closer to Earth than usual.
The moon will be at its closest perigee—the nearest it gets to our planet during its egg-shaped orbit—for 2010 at 4:04 a.m. ET Saturday, reaching a distance of 221,577 miles (356,593 kilometers) from Earth read more from National Geographic.
“American Indians gave names to each of the full moons to keep track of the passing year. The names are associated with the entire month until the next full moon occurs. Since a lunar month averages 29 days, the dates of the moons change from year to year.”
Moonrise 4:56 P.M. – Moonset 6:40 A.M. Las Vegas time.
The [c.2010-LasVegasBuffetClub – Adobe Moon in the City] poster is available for purchase. The full moon in this poster was photographed in Las Vegas in the 90s. The image was inserted into it’s “frame” with a Photoshop type application. The poster is 24″x36″.
On December 30, 2009 a German Shepherd called Buddy was dragged to death in Colorado. A Facebook group has responded – to “Demand Justice for Buddy.” Evidently a petition goal of 100,000 signatures has been met, however, you still might want to be a part of this.
“We the undersigned urge the court in Grand Junction, Colorado to give Steven Clay Romero, the man charged in the dragging death on December 30, 2009 of a German Shepherd named Buddy behind his truck for three miles the maximum penalty of three years in federal prison, $100,000 fine and one year probation for this horrific crime. Do not let this crime go unpunished for the horrible death of an innocent dog. Given Mr. Romero’s past criminal record, we feel he is a menace to society and this dragging death is only the beginning of what could lead to future unimaginable and tragic consequences.”
Update January 27, 2010 Two indicted in dog’s dragging death
“Two people were indicted late Monday by the federal grand jury in Denver for the death of a dog and subsequent cover-up. Buddy, a German shepherd mix, was dragged three miles up a steep, snowy road at the Colorado National Monument.”
“Steven Clay Romero, 37, of Grand Junction, did “knowingly torture, needlessly mutilate and needlessly kill” the dog, according to the indictment” read more from The Denver Post
“Romero will go before the Judge Thursday 1/27/10 at 3pm. He will be officially charged and held for trial. His sister was also arrested and is currently out on bond.”
Originally published January 14, 2010
As the cold-train of winter is pulling away and non-natives are taking down Christmas decorations too soon, the National Western Stock Show is capping-off the holiday season.
In years past, before the Broncos, or the Nuggets or the Rockies or the AVS (whew!) brought in big revenue-bucks to the City and County of Denver, the National Western Stock Show was Denver’s only big, yearly, draw. The City and County of Denver received a tremendous financial boost from the Stock Show. Denverites welcomed the cattle-folk with open arms – and Christmas decorations that lasted through Stock Show.
The National Western Stock Show and Rodeo is basically a meat-market with a Champion Rodeo to boot.
The following information is from The Cloud Foundation Website and an email I received from The Cloud Foundation
“Read the new People Magazine Article & then call for immediate Congressional hearings on BLM”
“Dear Supporters, the excellent People Magazine article by Helin Jung starts out: Willie Nelson wants to know: “Why are there more horses asses than there are horses?” The country legend’s gripe comes from his concern for the American West’s wild horses and burros, which are being rounded up by the thousands and placed into holding corrals by the federal government’s Bureau of Land Management. The capture of 2,500 horses started in the Calico Mountains of Nevada last month, but the agency expects to round up a total of 12,000 of the estimated 37,000 horses on BLM land by the end of this year…”
“Read the whole article here on the People Magazine website, and then take action!
Protests continue: join the New York City protest on Sunday, the Reno protest on Monday and/or the Sacramento protest on Thursday the 21st! Click here for details.”
“Ruby Pipeline: The Real Reason Behind BLM’s Push to Remove Wild Horses? ”
by Makendra Silverman
Makendra@TheCloudFoundation.org
Tel: 719-351-8187
“The Real Reason Behind BLM’s Push to Remove Wild Horses: Is Ruby Pipeline the Smoking Gun?
“Wild horse advocates rally in Denver to stop roundups, ask Senator Udall for help in BLM investigation”
“Denver, CO (January 7, 2010)—The Cloud Foundation asks the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to reveal the truth behind removing healthy wild horses from the Calico Complex of northwestern Nevada. It does not appear to be coincidental that the multi-billion dollar corporate project, the Ruby Pipeline, would run through the Calico Complex—site of the controversial roundup of more than 2,500 mustangs and the Buckhorn Wild Horse Herd Management Area. BLM removed over 200 wild horses at Buckhorn in December 2009 without public notice” read more
“Call for Hearings on the BLM & For An Immediate Moratorium on Roundups”
“Take a moment for Wild Ones! We are making a difference”
“Write your Senators and Congress people, ask that they call for hearings on the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro program, immediately.”
Eagle Roundup of 550 Nevada Mustangs
“The BLM plans to leave only 100 wild horses on 670,000 acres of public land in Nevada that Congress set-aside principally for their use. They are now proposing to roundup and remove 550 “excess” wild horses in yet another inhumane winter roundup planned to begin February 7th.”
Sacramento Protest: A protest is scheduled for the California State Capitol following large protests in San Francisco and Los Angeles. This is another locally organized rally supported by The Cloud Foundation, In Defense of Animals, Return to Freedom all the other American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign member organizations.
When: Thursday January 21st
Where: Capitol Mall, at 10th and L Streets (map)
Time:11:00am -1:00pm
Tucson Protest: Tucson is joining the national movement of Wild Horse enthusiasts along with the Cloud Foundation and local horse rescue Equine Voices.
When: Friday January 22, 2010
Where: Senator John McCain’s Downtown Tucson Office 407 West Congress Street Suite 103, Tucson Arizona 85701
Time: 10am – 12PM
Phoenix Protest: If you are interested in helping further plan this protest, please contact info@thecloudfoundation.org
When: Saturday, January 30th
Where: BLM Phoenix Office, One N. Central Avenue Suite 800
Time: TBA
by 
……….The image (on the right) is offered with exaggerated graphics to help define the first face: The figure’s right sunglass lens (the circle on the upper left) is Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity,) the circle on the upper right (figure’s left lens) is Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of tranquillity) and Mare Vaporum (Sea of Vapours) is the figure’s nose (no graphic.)
……….
