NIGHT AND DAY THROUGH THE STORM’S EYES
SNOWFALL AT “LITTLE FALLS” IN MT. CHARLESTON
THE SNOW SQUALL MOVES IN
IT APPROACHES CATHEDRAL ROCK
THE HAND OF THE SQUALL COMES FROM BEHIND
IT OVERWHELMS AND CONQUERS THE MOUNTAIN
THE WHITEOUT FINALLY ARRIVES
THE MIGHTY SUN BREAKS THROUGH
The Yaga Labyrinth is named in honor of the indigenous Paiute people who inhabited the area near Death Valley, now known as Tecopa, California. The labyrinth is built on an elevated space offering spectacular views of mountains, deposits of glacial Lake Tecopa, and a riparian habitat of the Amargosa River, which is a stopping place for migratory birds, and home to the endangered Amargosa vole. -Tecopa Website http://www.tecopahotsprings.org/
The new GM bailout model coming to your dealership soon………
And here’s the new Jeep bailout model…….
On the Road to Furnace Creek………….
Near Furnace Creek
Everybody Must Get Stoned
AND NOW IT HAS HIT HOME…………….
National City Mortgage, a Miamisburg, Ohio division of National City Corporation has been sued in Federal District Court, by Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Oliva of Las Vegas, Nevada, charging the corporation and its personnel here in Las Vegas with Fraud, multiple Truth-in-Lending Violations, Breach of Contract, Gross Negligence, and other related charges. These charges center around a 3-year ARM that was sold to this local couple in May 2005, as the 7-year ARM they were expecting and wanted, but the 3-year ARM they were told to sign, used the 7-year rate of 5.625% not the lower 3-Year ARM interest rate that prevailed in May 2005. When the couple pointed out the mistake at initial signing, they were told by the Senior Loan Processor to sign the documents anyway to lock in the interest rate as it would be fixed. They assured the home buyers that “it would have never gotten by the examiner.” The broker’s office was also called at closing and the Senior Loan Processor reiterated “that the paperwork was fixed” and the couple indeed had a 7-year ARM at 5.625%. When the couple received a letter in May 2008 from National City Mortgage informing them of the 3-year ARM, they called twice and were told in essence that there was nothing National City Mortgage could do about it. When the couple then wrote a letter on May 7, 2008 and demanded that National City stop this illegal loan and contact them, which was a formal rescission letter, National City ignored them. The couple then contracted and retained The Bach Law Firm, LLC who also sent them a letter to try and resolve the situation, but they too were completely ignored. The couple is current in their mortgage payments, have FICA scores of 850 and 840 respectively, have no credit card debt or car payments and have the best of credit. The couple can only assume that National City is aware of the penalties from the automatic Truth-In-Lending Act, Regulation Z and is ignoring the federal law, forcing the couple to spend vast sums of money to defend themselves. No other explanation exists for National City Mortgage to allow the federal law’s 20 day response requirement to expire after the rescission notice or to ignore The Bach Law Firm’s letter. In the lawsuit, the couple are seeking compensatory damages, treble damages, punitive damages, statutory damages, and attorney’s fees.
For additional information or interviews, please contact Jason J. Bach, Esq. of The Bach Law Firm, LLC at (702) 925-8787.
Dedicated to the memory of Frank Peteani – January 4, 1925 to August 31, 1995
Look out of any window any morning, any evening, any day.
Maybe the sun is shining birds are winging or
rain is falling from a heavy sky…
What do you want me to do,
to do for you, to see you through?
This is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago.
Look into any eyes you find by you, you can see clear through to another day. I know it’s been seen before, through other eyes on other days while going home – What do you want me to do, to do for you to see you through? It’s all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago.
Walk into splintered sunlight. Inch your way through dead dreams to another land. Maybe you’re tired and broken. Your tongue is twisted with words half spoken and thoughts unclear. What do you want me to do… to do for you to see you through? A box of rain will ease the pain and love will see you through.
Just a box of rain….wind and water. Believe it if you need it, if you don’t just pass it on… Sun and shower… Wind and rain… in and out the window, like a moth before a flame.
It’s just a box of rain, I don’t know who put it there. Believe it if you need it or leave it if you dare… But it’s just a box of rain, or a ribbon for your hair. Such a long, long time to be gone, and a short time to be there………
Photos by Nick Oliva (looking out my window)
Lyrics by Robert Hunter-1971
IT’S SNOWING IN VEGAS!
HERE ARE SOME PICTURES FROM ACAPULCO TO WARM YOU UP!
THAT OLD MAN RIVER KEEPS FLOATIN’ ALONG
LIFE’S A BEACH
ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET
This past weekend I went to my favorite concert venue, The Las Vegas Hilton, to see the “new” lineup of Starship, AKA Jefferson Starship, and the third generation of Jefferson Airplane. The Hilton showroom is a wonderful place to see a show as there isn’t a bad seat in the house and the big comfy chairs are a far cry from the seats that barely hold one cheek of your derriere in any other venue, and allow plenty of leg room as well.
The old Jefferson Airplane in this day and age would probably have been locked up in this Patriot Act paranoia of today. ‘Got to Revolution’ just wouldn’t go over like the old days…….for shame as the internet and keyboards have taken over from in-body protests and are far less effective……..but I digress. The addition of Las Vegas’ own Stephanie Calvert (http://stephcalvert.com/) allows the introduction of the more tame Airplane treasure trove of White Rabbit, Somebody to Love, and others that haven’t been heard by myself since I saw them in Santa Cruz at Lorenzi Park in 1994 with Jack Cassady, Craig Chaquico, and other original band members and a young woman that looked a lot like Grace Slick, but wasn’t. That was also the last time I heard “Hearts” a song that I didn’t hear at the Hilton, perhaps because of copyright reasons, as it is such a beautiful song, one of the Starship’s best written and sung so incredibly well by alumni Marty Balin and the Fender Rhodes repeating an ascending scale that raised your armhairs.
Mickey Thomas’ voice was on pitch considering the high ranges he vaults to and from, but could take a tip from Boz Scaggs and get a steam humidifier tube on his mike stand, as he cracked from time to time due to “Vegas Throat” a malady that affects every singer that comes into town…..but don’t misunderstand me; he performed with full heart and soul and brought you back to yesteryear and the days of ballads mixed with energized rock and roll.
Stephanie Calvert was a delight to hear and see and she’s quite sexy in dress, delivery, and dramatics as she belts out Grace’s legacy without the slightest hesitation. Her latex-laced legs and forceful features grabbed you and forced you to become engaged with her siren-like serenade and the audience loved her.
The band consists of:
Mickey Thomas *Lead Vocals, Guitar – Stephanie Calvert *Vocals – Mark Abrahamian *Lead Guitar, Vocals -Jeff Adams *Bass, Vocals – Phil Bennett *Keyboards, Vocals – Darrell “Pelican” Verdusco *Drums, Vocals
In case you’ve forgotten their hits here are some they performed: “Jane” “No Way Out” “We Built This City” “Sarah” “Nothing Gonna Stop Us Now” “Find Your Way Back” “Stranger” “Laying It On The Line” “It’s Not Over Till It’s Over” and the Elvin Bishop Group’s, “I Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” a song Mr. Thomas carries with him from his time as the lead singer for Elvin Bishop-a trivia fact not well known.
It was a fun 90 minute romp of rock and roll the old fashioned way……with real musicians with everyone’s ‘hearts’ in every song….now if I can just get Mickey Thomas to sing that song……..Hearts Will Be That Way.
UNCLE SAM WANTS YOUR MORTGAGE PAYMENT ON TIME!
We here in Las Vegas are in the top five areas of foreclosure, sub-prime, and abandonment of what was high-priced housing. It looked like we might dodge a bullet with the employment opportunities of the new construction of MGM-Mirage’s City Center, Boyd Gaming’s Echelon, and Steve Wynn’s Encore among other large projects. MGM’s project got snagged-up in a financing problem but is now on track and Encore is getting ready to open as well. Boyd Gaming cancelled Echelon until further notice and the unemployment rate is now over 8% here-a record never seen in Vegas before.
These problems resonate beyond Vegas-throughout the country and the world. The deleveraging of trillons of dollars locked up in real estate losses sends stock sales scorching the indexes as the cash needed to unwind and divest indiscriminately throws out both the baby and the bath water. So you ask, “Why bring this up, Nick, don’t you think we are already depressed enough for the next 20 years?” Well, here comes the back end of the problem that no one has addressed yet.
If the government sets up a mortgage relief fund to bail out homeowners, the government is the holder of the note or mortgage. If the people who are obligated to pay that mortgage lose their jobs or simply walk away from the home, unlike a normal foreclosure where the city and state still assess taxes (and the new buyer or mortgage holder must pay them)-Uncle Sam does not pay taxes. Let me repeat that: Uncle Sam does not pay taxes, no way no how, zilch, zero, verkact, nada, nothing. Ergo, if this phenomena continues in a downward spiral, tax bases will erode even further than they have now and less money will flow into state and city government, and even at the federal level as people lose jobs.
I hope we don’t get to that point, but if we do, Newton’s Third Law of action and reaction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton’s_laws_of_motion) will show itself in full force. Printing money will go into hyperdrive (Not that is hasn’t now) and it could take many years to heal these wounds. Hopefully, it will not get that far, and my red flag isn’t relevant, but right now…………
I am a part of it, as you are, as we are all together………………..see how they fly like pigs in the sky see how they run.
We will get through this as well!
On the 56th floor of The Palms Casino on Flamingo Road, the Ghostbar has become the ultra-slick social spot for celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Ashlee Simpson, the Kardashian family, Mario Andretti, Kid Rock or Pam (never at the same time), Avril Lavigne and more. The modern furniture outside and the incredible view of the city from all points is breathtaking. If that’s not enough, walk over and stand on the glass floor and look 55 stories straight down. It’s a rush whether you’ve had a few or not. The fun part is you, yes little old you, can go there and hang with your friends and enjoy yourselves drinking the special “Ghostini” to prepare you for an enchanting experience.
The name of the joint derives from the ceiling over the lounge by the bar, that has an intended ghostly appearance. You might see Bruce Willis or Halley Joel Osment without a ’sixth sense.’ It’s a hip place that fills up on the weekend so if you are not into crowds go during the week, however the ‘stars’ come out at night and one will never know who you will see. Across the street, the Rio’s Voodoo lounge was the hotspot years ago, but the change in ownership years ago turned a hot property with many firsts (first dance club, first wine bar, first ‘Show in the Sky,’ and many others) into a ho-hum sorta place. The Palms is the new hot spot, but no matter where you go here in Vegas, there are so many deals with vouchers for food, gaming, and hundreds of dollars for return trips, the time to come here is now while they are discounting everything because of the credit crunch. Just go online to Vegas.com and they are all there. If you’re in for a vacation no matter what the economy is doing, this is the place for value for your dollar. And one last word; if it really is the end of the world, well this is the place to party into oblivion. Hopefully, it will just be fun and worth the trip without the angst of reality.
It the words of Jeff Spicoli; Party on, Dudes!
INTERVIEW WITH SARAH PALIN
Photo by Eric Salmonried
Kevin Kissass is a Las Vegas television reporter and hosts his own weekly show. He was selected by the Palin team after her tour of Carson City September 13. The interview took place in her suite at the Summit Casino in Reno.
Kevin Kissass: Many of us are wondering who the real Sarah Palin is. Are you the wolf-killing, hockey mom pit bull mayor of a town of 5,000, or are you a national pin-up poster like “Rosie the Riveter” in the 40’s?”
Ms. Palin: Well, I like to think of myself as a reformer, you know, I want to go to Washington and reform things, and make this country a better place to live.
Kevin Kissass: I was assuming you are running with John McCain as a Vice-President. VP’s aren’t known for being able to do much politically and it would be Mr. McCain’s administration not yours.
Ms. Palin: Yes, you’re correct, but your assumptions are based on extremist unsubstantiated liberal views and the fact that I’m there in the White House gives me the ability to reform Washington.
Kevin Kissass: That makes no sense at all.
Ms. Palin: You just don’t get it, do you? I’m a reformer, as a reformer is a reformer. Like Lincoln only without the log cabin. After he chopped that cherry tree down, the country changed for the better and that’s what I want to do, lose these damn cherry trees in Washington. I mean look what Lincoln accomplished. He had God on his side and sent his troops out there after talking with the Almighty….and he won, HE WON! How can you argue with that? Russia’s a piece of cake once we just have Jesus on our side. You still don’t believe me do you?
Kevin Kissass: mmmmmphhhhhhhh (gagged)
Ms. Palin: Look I know my history. King Constantine looked up in the sky the day before he attacked Rome and he saw a cross. The next day he conquered Rome and made Christianity the only religion of truth. That’s real history Kevin and people will just have to deal with that this country has a hotline to God. (sips some water)
Look, a lot of women want to think I’m just like them, or they want to live through my actions because they themselves have no lives…..what’s wrong with that? I’m tapping into that vacuum of American culture. The men love me and it’s because the typical American woman drones on relentlessly about her body, the true nature of feminism, what the sun is doing to her skin, how she can do anything a man can do, the necessity of fulfillment, the equal division of household chores, how sand and palm trees make her look fat, how her last boyfriend respected her opinion and treated her nicer than they do, and how her relationship with her mother is the root cause of all her problems, and why didn’t she get her nails done and go shopping instead of watching this interview. Men like the idea of a dominatrix VP that whips them in high heels with no questions asked instead of bothering them with needless talking about things that don’t require solutions. Sex sells. Sex rules. I am the Maytag of sexual spin. Christ, I made a career out of it, are you that stupid not to see that?
Kevin Kissass: mmmmmphhhhhhhh (still gagged)
Once I’m in the White House, whenever I want something, after a couple of flashes of my bountiful northern acreage, Johnny will be like soppy moose gizzards in my hands. If that doesn’t do it, then he risks a heart attack once I expose the barrels of my lower reserves. He will do my will, fight my fights. You men just don’t understand the power of the……
Kevin Kissass: Okay, Okay! I think we get the message there, hold on while I get this gag completely off. (Struggles and gets the gag off)
….your handlers are telling me to end the interview…. (Video cuts to 5 hillbilly types with shotguns and high powered rifles pointed at him)
Kevin Kissass: Is there anything else you’d like to say before we wrap this up?
Ms. Palin: Like I said, I’m a reformer and to vote for my ticket will insure that we overturn Roe vs. Wade, keep attacking the 9/11 masterminds in Iraq, and cut entitlements for every state but mine. We need to keep the conservative movement in power, but reform it and make it better like double-thick Oreos.
Kevin Kissass: But President Bush has been in power for the last eight years…. (Cut off, someone punches him in face)
Ms. Palin: Well, see that’s just it. The last eight years just didn’t happen. This is America Kevin. When I became a beauty queen winner back in the 80’s, didn’t you see that episode of Dallas where Bobby Ewing appears in the shower after everyone thought he was dead? Well, that’s what happened and if you don’t believe me, then what can you believe about America? I’m a reformer; I’m going to reform Washington, once I figure out where that is.
Kevin Kissass: (holding his jaw) Thank you Ms. Palin, and please untie me now.
The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday gave unanimous approval for the Sussex Corporation to hand over operational control of bankrupt Tropicana Entertainment to a four-person board eliminating the owner William Jung III from all operations and ownership status and while the new board members undergo investigation for licensing in Nevada. Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, Pete Bernhard said, “This particular structure at this particular time under these particular circumstances justify us approving (this deal),” “It’s not something we would do with any company at any time that’s in financial distress.”
So, I ask why would you do it at all? The owner chased after the stock bidding up beyond $50 a share when no fool would have bought it for more than $35 a share, and then leveraged everything, laid off thousands of workers, pissed off the Culinary Union, and then defied the New Jersey Casino Control Commission by not setting up internal audit structuring that is required by New Jersey law.
All of this stupidity, directed by Mr. Yung himself, fell back into his lap when the Commission declined to give him a permanent license and placed the casino in the hands of a conservator while waiting for bidders. At this point with the credit crunch they may have a very long wait for someone to want to pony-up 3 billion dollars for someone to buy an aging casino in New Jersey while Pennsylvania is opening up huge gaming halls and cannibalizing New Jersey’s gambling business.
While all this is happening, less than enlightened journalists in Las Vegas are writing articles about how the big bad New Jersey Control Commission is practically communistic in their decision, regardless of the fact that Casinos were created under a referendum in 1978 that included in its charter – one of the purposes for allowance of those casinos – the purpose of the creation of employment for New Jersey residents. Nevada could care less about that, the employment-at-will laws and the disregard for the working class has long been ingrained in the once small circle of millionaires, and now billion-dollar multi-national corporations with mostly the same management personnel, that rule the roost here. One particular journalist even stated that if a casino wants to allow it’s toilets to overflow and its rooms to be dirty then that is their choice. That had to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen or heard. The business of this state reflects the image of this state, whether it is in New Jersey or Nevada, California-if you allow shitty operators to run shitty businesses, then you get a shitty perception of what your state stands for and allows. Then this guy who actually gets paid to write this crap, states he thinks the Culinary Union is sabotaging the Tropicana and bedbugs were “planted” by those horrible union employees (statements the owner and management originally made). And you wonder why this guy lost his license there?
So, here in Nevada where the good old boys are still the good old boys, Scott Butera a very good executive that I know from my days at Donald Trump’s Empire in Atlantic City, is placed in charge with this new board that has ex-communicated the owner. Why is this happening I must ask? Why is this hotel getting special treatment here in Nevada when it is so upside down, the sale of all the assets could not come near what Yung paid for the Tropicana Corporation. In this supposed laissez-faire atmosphere here in Nevada (for employees at least) , why are we allowing an inept operator/owner to give up his ownership and control and stand in the corner on “time out” while someone else bails him out for all his stupidity? Since when have we become a socialistic business state? Hypocrisy abounds between those that have, and those that have not in the city of Las Vegas and the State of Nevada. I’m happy those that are still at the Trop here and in AC still have jobs-and each person doing the work of three people - but the reality is they would be better off allowing someone to buy the places for thirty cents on the dollar, knock this one here in Vegas down eventually and make room for a world class resort, something this state should demand of every casino project.
Scott should know that, Donald paid the bondholders thirty-three cents on the dollar when he went bankrupt back in the nineties in the days of Ivana and Marla and out-of-control Trump Taj Mahal executives that spent his money like sailors on shore leave. And by the way, he paid that thirty-three cents on the dollar in notes that would convert to stock in 5 years, and I believe over 120 businesses went bankrupt on the deal, some that had been in business for over 30 years. He forgot to read his own first book “The Art of the Deal” and then Steve Wynn did almost the exact same thing years later allowing a shrewd Kirk Kirkorian to create the comglomerate MGM-Mirage. Buy low, sell high………you have to sell high to make it work though, not buy high.
There’s no tellin’ what varmints get away with here in the ole’ West……let‘s not even talk about that fancy 10 billion dollar water pipeline that’s gonna suck out the North’s underground water for Vegas yet……………..Whoa Nelly! Talk to the Knappster! (George Knapp Vegas’ investigative reporter par excellence) He’ll give you an earful on that subject better than I could.
-Should have taken a left, what was I thinking?-James Reed (leader of the Donner Party)
nick oliva