Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Fortune Valley Hotel Guitar - Photo by Jeffrey V. Smith

The drive up was easy, the drive down was a bit dicey for a minute, due to the snow that hit this little mountain town last night around midnight, so I’ve heard. I actually was there but I was in the room by midnight watching the tube and eating a Brooklyn Panini ($5.95) consisting of meatballs with marinara and a slice of cheese on Panini bread, brushed with butter, and toasted in that special panini-press. Included for the $5.95 are chips and soda. I normally don’t do a lot of these but I guess it’s called Panini bread.

I received a brochure with two free-money coupons and a coupon for a free room from the Fortune Valley Hotel Casino in Central City, Colorado two weeks ago. I made a reservation for Wednesday the 30th of November. One cash coupon was for November, the other for December. So I cashed one in Wednesday night, the other the following day, Thursday the 1st of December.

This wasn’t my favorite hotel in the Central City/Black Hawk area – in fact it was one of my least favorite of the larger hotel/casinos on the mountain.

Fortune Valley has undergone a makeover.

The first clue was the slick technicolor, coupon-brochure that I got in the mail. It was first-rate, first-class. The images were crisp with vibrant colors, attractive people, lots of blue – the color – and guitars. The guitars representing the (brand) new theme of the hotel – Rock & Roll! Resplendent with dozens of guitars: hanging, in cases with other rock memorabilia and positioned here and there. Having owned an easy dozen guitars over the years, of course, guitars attract me. 60s and 70s rock posters of Jimi Hendrix, The Stones et-al, an exact replica of Peter Fonda’s “Captain America” bike from one of my favorite movies, Easy Rider, as well as other motorcycles and other hip eye-candy all work – to some degree – to create a warm(er) ambiance. Definitely an improvement over the last incarnation. Mirrors on the ceiling would raise the – somewhat stifling – low ceiling, raising the virtual headroom. Listening management? Ceiling mirrors would double the warmth/lighting factor of the casino (check out The Peppermill in Reno). If mirroring the entire ceiling would be cost-prohibitive maybe patches of mirrored ceiling would help.

My remaining problem with the casino is with the video/slot machines. It’s not easy finding a straight $.01/.05/.10/.25 Video Poker or Keno or Black Jack etc. machine. Most of the machines are of the new breed: Cartoon Video Machines. It’s not easy maintaining a serious Vegas Vibe with childish cartoon figures everywhere. But maybe that’s just me. How about more freek’n artistic machine-graphics? How about adult images? Not as in porn, but as in grown-up.

Aside from the gaming issues, my comments will address the basics. The hotel/gaming areas have a new energy. The look of that energy is warm, colorful and qualitative. The rock memorabilia, guitars, new blue lights, carpet and whatever else I might not have noticed contribute to a thumbs up for the makeover. I’ll return, but probably not to gamble. I’ll play my nickle 10-5 Video-Poker Bonus game at Ameristar, and I’ll play $.05 Multi-Card Keno at Ameristar and $.01 Multi-Card Keno at The Gilpin Hotel. I’ll return for the vibe, and try the other food outlets. In addition to the little shop where I got the Panini they have a small (one-trip, I think) buffet and a pizza area as well as what looks like a first-rate restaurant, Ardore”s “A Tuscan Steakhouse and Wine Experience” with what appears to be a vast wine store. Also the Guitar Bar seems to be a good place to hang out. There was a beauty sitting at the bar last night around 8:00 P.M. I didn’t but I’ll have to taste the video-poker machines on the bar top.

The hotel room (thanks Fortune Valley) was more welcoming than I remember from my last trip to FV. I remember that last room (from three years ago) as somewhat garish with garden green wall-paper and miscellaneous things that were off-putting. This trip, the room was nicely appointed with a basic black, grey and off-white theme with one wall and a huge matching pillow in yellow. There was a flat-screen on the wall, a small fridge, a desk and a very nice, new bathroom with a hair dryer. A little coffee machine was ready at the entrance.

Fortune Valleys Guitar Bar — Fortune Valley's Guitar Bar - Photo by Jeffrey V. Smith

Here’s a link to some more insider stuff about the new management team with more photos – From the ColoradoGambler.Com

Fortune Valley Hotel’s Official Website
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Miscellaneous

Full Moon: Nov 10, 2011. November’s full Moon was called the Full Beaver Moon because it was the time to set traps, before the waters froze over. This Moon was also called the Full Frost Moon.

November 9, 2011 William Carbone

Full Moon coyote - cosmicallychic.wordpress.com

From The Old Farmer’s Almanac
Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.

Full Moon Names
The Full Beaver Moon: November’s Moon Guide
November’s full Moon was called the Full Beaver Moon because it was the time to set traps, before the waters froze over. This Moon was also called the Full Frost Moon.

[DOES THIS MEAN THAT WHEN THE BEAVER MOON IS FULL THAT THINGS CAN BE TRAPPED IN THERE (IN THE FULLNESS OF THE MOON?) AND WHILE IT’S IN THERE BEING TRAPPED OR WHATEVER, IT HAD BETTER GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE BEFORE THE FULL FROST SETS IN AND THE WATERS FREEZE OVER, LEAVING THE SAID FULL BEAVER SHUT AND IN A STATE OF FRIGIDITY?]

The Moon will be 100% full Nov 10 at 12:18 P.M. Las Vegas time.

From Western Washington University
“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. Here are titles most closely associated with calendar months.”

Two Native tribes are mentioned here – click the WWU link to access more information.

OUT WEST
Arapaho, Great Plains
The Arapaho phrase for November’s Moon is “when the rivers start to freeze”
No information is given for the phrase in the native language.

Back East
Abenaki – Northeast, Maine
The Native term for November’s Moon is “mzatanos” or “freezing river maker moon.”

May the Bluebird of Happiness arrive to save you from the precipice 13 seconds after the fall.

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Colorado Information, Entertainment, Miscellaneous

Spooky Halloween Greetings from LasVegasBuffetClub.Com

October 31, 2011 William Carbone

First posted October 26, 2010 at 11:00 PM

This video is from LasVegasBuffetClub.Com. The screaming ghosts and bones in chains video was produced in a cold basement – Halloween 2008.

The classic tune is Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s Monster Mash, from 1962. “The “Monster Mash” single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 20 of that year, just in time for Halloween. It has been a perennial holiday favorite ever since.” – Wiki

*”When I was in high school cruising in my ’58 on a Saturday night, I was knocked out by the drumming in this tune; it still holds up after all these years!” WC

Pickett was an aspiring actor who sang with a band called The Cordials at night while going to auditions during the day. One night, while performing with his band, Pickett did a monologue in imitation of horror movie actor Boris Karloff while performing The Diamonds’, “Little Darlin'”. The audience loved it and fellow band member Lenny Capizzi encouraged Pickett to do more with the Karloff imitation.[]

Pickett and Capizzi composed “Monster Mash” and recorded it with Gary S. Paxton, Leon Russell, Johnny McCrae, Rickie Page, and Terry Berg, credited as “The Crypt-Kickers”. The song was partially inspired by Paxton’s earlier novelty hit “Alley Oop”, as well as by the Mashed Potato dance craze of the era.[] A variation on the Mashed Potato was danced to “Monster Mash”, in which the footwork was the same but monster gestures were made with the arms and hands. *Mel Taylor, drummer for The Ventures claimed to play on this, and that fact is repeated many places, including Taylor’s N.Y. Times obituary.[]

The song is narrated by a mad scientist whose monster, late one evening, rises from a slab to perform a new dance. The dance becomes “the hit of the land” when the scientist throws a party for other monsters. The producers came up with several low-budget but effective sound effects for the recording. For example, the sound of a coffin opening was imitated by a rusty nail being pulled out of a board. The sound of a cauldron bubbling was actually water being bubbled through a straw, and the chains rattling were simply chains being dropped on a tile floor. Pickett also impersonated horror film actor Bela Lugosi as Dracula with the lyric “Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?”[] Wikipedia

The next video includes the entire Monster Mash song (with a few minor embellishments) by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt Kickers. The accompanying video from YouTube is from SoulRocket’s channel.

This link will open the “Halloween Greetings from LasVegasBuffetClub.Com” video on Youtube
The Official Monster Mash website
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Miscellaneous

Take Easy Action for Nevada Wild Horses: Submit your own comments for the Pancake Complex herds

October 22, 2011 William Carbone

The following is a copy of an email I received from The Cloud foundation.

Dear Wild Horse & Burro Supporters;

Nevada wild horse herds are on the chopping block in FY 2012 with roundups scheduled to begin in the dead-of-winter… again!

The Pancake Complex which includes the Sand Springs Herd Management Area HMA), Pancake HMA, Jakes Wash Herd Area (HA), and the Monte Cristo Wild Horse Territory is an enormous 1.2 million acres in northeastern Nevada south of Ely. Helicopters are scheduled to swoop in, driving terrified wild horses for 10 miles or more in January—the coldest month of the year.

We’re asking that you submit comments in response to a truly shocking Environmental Assess (EA) that calls for the elimination of all wild horses in the Jakes Wash HA. In the remaining HMAs, 70% of the horses would be removed, PZP-22 would be given to any mares released back onto the range, and 200 stallions would be released back into the HMAs only after they have been gelded, operated on in either make-shift temporary corrals or in short-term holding facilities. Only 361 truly wild horses would be allowed to occupy 1.1 million acres (acreage without Jakes Wash) in addition to 200 neutered males who no longer qualify as wild horses as they no longer have any role to play in the once rich and complex society from which they came.

Comments must be submitted by Friday, October 28th, no later than the close of business at 4:30 PM Pacific Time. If you feel like a little light bedtime reading, you can read the EA here.

Comments can be submitted via mail at:
Pancake Complex EA Comments
BLM Ely District office
HC 33 Box 33500
Ely, NV 89301

Or via email at: PancakeComplex@blm.gov — with “Pancake Complex EA Comments” in the subject line.

REMEMBER: Please be sure to use your own words when writing your comments.

Dear Sir;

I do not support the removal of wild horses from the Pancake Complex. Allowing only 361 (and 200 geldings) to live on their legal wild horse areas, even though they roam over 1.2 million acres of public lands, is unfair to the mustangs still living free, and to those of us who enjoy seeing them in their natural environment in Nevada.

Gelding stallions and releasing them back into the HMAs violates your legal responsibility of managing for sustainable herds. No research exists on how this radical policy. Regardless, you threaten the social dynamics of wild horse society and ensure chaos and the eventual extinction of the herd.

Removing all the horses from Jakes Wash is illegal. They were legally designated by the Wild Horse and Burro Act to live in this area. How can you justify allowing privately owned cattle and sheep in this area, while calling for the elimination of every single wild horse?

Running wild horses with helicopters in the dead of winter is inhumane and dangerous. Over 140 horses died at this same time of year in the Calico round up of 2009-2010.

I ask that you issue an Environmental Impact Statement before taking the drastic actions outlined in this EA. And, in the meantime, I encourage you to select the No Action Alternative.

When you write your own letter, be sure to include some of the following points:
Increase the appropriate management levels (AMLs) and allocate a fair share of forage to wild horses over livestock.
Do not remove all wild horses from the Jakes Wash HA, it is a legally designated range as established in the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971.

– Strongly urge BLM not to put back out geldings onto the range. The effects on herd dynamics has not been researched.
– Push for an accurate census using the most up to date technology, not the outdated aerial headcount used now[.]
– Do not conduct a helicopter removal during the winter. If removals are justified, opt for bait and water trapping.
– Consider predator management as a viable population growth. Work with the local fish & wildlife divisions to urge the reduction of hunting tags permitted for mountain lions.
– Point out that taxpayers could save over $535,000 in contractor fees as well as millions more from holding costs by not conducting this roundup!
– Allow for a truly genetically viable herd in each HMA, HA, and Wild Horse Territory with a 50/50 sex ratio.
– Reconsider the use of PZP-22, as it is an unvetted drug. Opt for the one-year drug.
– Protest the cruelty of removing older horses! Older horses are targeted for removal second only to animals under 4 years of age.
Sincerely,
[Your name]

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Miscellaneous

Stuck in ‘Food Desert,’ Pine Ridge Locals Look to Subway to Meet Nutrition Needs

October 17, 2011 William Carbone

Two Subway restaurants on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation are thriving.

From ABC News.Com
By ASTRID RODRIGUES
Oct. 14, 2011

When entering the vast 2.2 million acre expanse of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, it’s hard to miss the picturesque surroundings of windswept plains and sharply eroded foothills. But go deeper and prairieland too arid for farming and poverty that rivals that of the third world becomes apparent.

There is not a single mall, nor a movie theater, a big business, nor a bank on the South Dakota reservation. But in downtown Pine Ridge, a Subway restaurant franchise is busy all day long.

“We focused on Subway mainly because of the opportunity it offered in healthy eating,” said owner Bob Ecoffey, who opened his business in 2008.

Get Involved: How to Help the Children of the Plains

An area the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined, the reservation is considered a “food desert,” defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a low-income community without ready access to healthy and affordable food. Ecoffey, who is also the Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent for the Pine Ridge Agency, tells ABC News that healthy foods like fresh fruits and vegetables are unavailable because of what he says are limited resources.

“The opportunity just doesn’t exist for many people across the reservation,” he said.

Ecoffey said Subway offers that opportunity.

Tashina Banks, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, is the hiring manager at the Pine Ridge Subway. She shared with ABC News the story of an elder woman from the community who was moved to tears during the store’s grand opening week.

“She came in here and literally was crying because of what having this kind of a store or food restaurant in the community meant,” Banks said. “Not only because you see people investing in our own community, but also because, she said, ‘I haven’t eaten a cucumber in years because they’re so expensive.'”

There’s only one large supermarket and typically the price of staple items across the reservation are more expensive because of its remote location. read more…

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Miscellaneous

Travelocity customers choose their 10 favorite Las Vegas hotels

October 13, 2011 William Carbone

A view of casinos on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada September 16, 2011. STEVE MARCUS — A view of casinos on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada September 16, 2011 - STEVE MARCUS

By VEGAS INC staff

Wednesday
12 October 2011
11:44 a.m.

Las Vegas is home to more than 300 hotels and motels stocked with almost 125,000 rooms. Choosing the right one can be daunting.

Travelocity tried to make the task easier by culling through customer reviews to compile a list of the city’s top 10 hotels, based on visitors’ feedback.

The list may surprise you:

1. Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas: Customers said they enjoyed the hotel’s views and location. It “allows you easy access to all that Vegas has to offer, but also allows you to retreat into a tranquil space,” one customer wrote.

2. Encore at Wynn Las Vegas: One guest described the customer service at Encore as “over the top.” Another said he enjoyed the “spacious room with wonderful views, adding that “the bed was so comfortable, it was difficult to get out in the mornings.”

3. The Signature at MGM Grand: “The bathroom! Wow…the bathroom!” one customer wrote.

4. Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa: Guests said they enjoyed the amenities at Red Rock. “This hotel looked nice from the outside, but the inside was gorgeous,” a customer wrote. “If you’re looking for a resort a short ways away from the Strip but with all the amenities then this hotel is the one,” another added.

5. THE hotel at Mandalay Bay: “The immaculate lobby area and the serene aroma was truly a warming inviting welcome,” a guest wrote. Another called the pool the “best in Las Vegas.”

6. Bellagio: Customers described the Bellagio as “luxury at its finest.” “The hotel, staff service, room quality, cleanliness and convenience to everything in the heart of Vegas was superb,” a guest wrote read more…

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Miscellaneous

Full Moon – October 11, 2011

October 11, 2011 William Carbone

The Moon will be 100 % full October 11, 2011 at 7:07 P.M. Las Vegas time.

From The Old Farmer’s Almanac

Your Moon Today
Moon Phase
Full Moon 7:07 P.M.
Moonrise 5:46 P.M.
Moonset 6:25 A.M.

Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.

Full Moon Names
October is the month of the Full Hunter’s Moon.

This was the time to hunt in preparation for winter. This full Moon is also called the Travel Moon and the Dying Grass Moon.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac
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Colorado Information, Miscellaneous

Columbus Day – Monday, October 10, 2011

October 8, 2011 William Carbone

US History Encyclopedia Article from Answers.Com

Italian influence on American history can be traced back to the navigators Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci. America’s founding fathers, especially Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, were familiar with the Italian language and culture and with Roman history. Jefferson was a supporter of the Italian physician and merchant Filippo Mazzei and encouraged him in the early 1770s to bring Italian vintners to Virginia. Though not successful in that venture, Mazzei became actively involved in the colonists’ struggle with England. Writing in the Virginia newspapers as “Furioso” he was one of the first people to urge Americans to declare independence and form a unified constitution to govern all thirteen colonies. Some of his phraseology later found its way into Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. William Paca, an early governor of Maryland, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Read more:

Italian Americans in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries a number of Italian-named missionaries such as Friar Eusebio Kino and Friar Samuel Mazzuchelli operated in present-day Arizona and in the Wisconsin-Michigan area, respectively. Though the presence of Italian individuals in the United States was sparse before 1850, Lorenzo Da Ponte, who wrote librettos for Mozart, taught Italian language and literature at Columbia University. In 1825 he produced his Don Giovanni in New York.

Italian style and Italian artisans heavily influenced the design of buildings in Washington, D.C. Constantino Brumidi painted numerous frescoes in the Capitol between 1855 and 1880. There was a modest migration of Italians to California during and after the gold rush. Many in this group became prosperous farmers, vintners, and business leaders, including Domenico Ghirardelli (the chocolate maker), the Gallo and Mondavi families (wine producers), and Amadeo Giannini (the founder of Bank of America) Read more:

Twentieth-Century Trends

The social mobility of Italian Americans was steady throughout the twentieth century. In the early years group members were likely to be the object of social work in settlement houses like Jane Addams’s Hull-House. They were likely to be victimized by sharp politicians and labor agents. The 1920s were prosperous times for most Americans and many Italian American colonies received infusions of capital derived from the near-universal practice of breaking Prohibition laws. Hard hit by the Great Depression, Italian Americans reacted by becoming part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Democratic coalition. The full employment of the war years and general prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s brought the vast majority of Italian Americans safely into the middle class. More precisely, a strategy of underconsumption, the pooling of extended family resources, hard work in small family businesses, and entry into unionized skilled and unskilled jobs earned middle-class status for the vast majority of Italian Americans. By the mid-1970s Italian American young people were attending college at the national average. Read more:

Art from Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa — Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa

Interesting photo/story from the Official American Indian Movement Website

Churchill McKiernan FBI and AIM — Churchill, McKiernan, FBI and AIM

click photo for the rest of the story.

Churchill was an organizer/participant in the ongoing Columbus Day protests in Denver Colorado. The yearly protests have been attempting to shut down the Columbus Day Parade in Denver.

Information about Ward Churchill’s “Academic, Literary and Indian Fraud” from the Official American Indian Movement’s Blog.

AIM

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Miscellaneous

The Full Harvest Moon: September 12, 2:27 A.M. Las Vegas time

September 10, 2011 William Carbone

The Moon will be 100% Full Monday * September 12, 2011 * 2:27 A.M. Las Vegas time.

From Western Washington University
“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. Here are titles most closely associated with calendar months.”

Two Native tribes are mentioned here – click the WWU link to access more information.

BACK EAST
Mohawk, Eastern Woodlands
The Mohawk term for September’s Moon is “seskhoko:wa” or “time of much freshness.”

OUT WEST
Kalapuya, Pacific Northwest, Oregon
The Kalapuya term for September’s Moon is “atchiutchutin” or “after harvest.”

From The Old Farmer’s Almanac
“Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.”

“Each full Moon name was applied to the entire month in which it occurred. These names, and some variations, were used by the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.”

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, September’s Moon is called: Full Corn Moon “This full Moon corresponds with the time of harvesting corn. It is also called the Barley Moon, because it is the time to harvest and thresh the ripened barley. The Harvest Moon is the full Moon nearest the autumnal equinox, which can occur in September or October and is bright enough to allow finishing all the harvest chores.”

“The Harvest Moon is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. It can occur in either September or October. At this time, crops such as corn, pumpkins, squash, and wild rice are ready for gathering.”

Notable Native American daughter’s
“Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the 1970s and 1980s, she charted hits on Billboard’s Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.” more from WIKI

Coolidge was born in Lafayette, Tennessee. She is of Scottish and Cherokee Native American ancestry.

“In 1997, Coolidge was one of the founding members of Walela, a Native American music trio, that also includes Coolidge’s sister Priscilla and Priscilla’s daughter Laura Satterfield. The trio released studio albums in 1997 (Walela) and 2000 (Unbearable Love), a live album and DVD (Live in Concert) in 2004 and a compilation album (The Best of Walela) in 2007.[7] Walela means hummingbird in Cherokee.” WIKI

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Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Fortune Valley Hotel in Central City, Colorado: Mini Hard Rock Rocking in the Hard Rocky Mountains

Full Moon: Nov 10, 2011. November’s full Moon was called the Full Beaver Moon because it was the time to set traps, before the waters froze over. This Moon was also called the Full Frost Moon.

Spooky Halloween Greetings from LasVegasBuffetClub.Com

Stuck in ‘Food Desert,’ Pine Ridge Locals Look to Subway to Meet Nutrition Needs

Travelocity customers choose their 10 favorite Las Vegas hotels

Full Moon – October 11, 2011

Columbus Day – Monday, October 10, 2011

The Full Harvest Moon: September 12, 2:27 A.M. Las Vegas time

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