I went Hanukkah shopping at CRYSTALS MALL in CITYCENTER last week. Didn't find much within my price range, but I did find a $440 paperclip. I mean, technically it was a paperclip shaped money clip...but doesn't that just make it a paperclip? The mall was very pretty, though, and the space was unlike anything I've ever seen. Kinda reminded me of an MC Escher picture. Anyway, you can read my REVIEW OF CRYSTALS MALL by clicking RIGHT HERE. 

Pete's Dueling Piano Bar opened at Town Square this week. I went on opening night and had a really fun time. Those piano players have more shtick than a Liberace impersonator doing a kids party. And the audience ate it up. Hopefully I'll get a chance to audition to be a piano player there before I leave for Chicago/Michigan next week. What a fun, fun job that'd be....

(Photo Credit goes to J. Ludwig at Night Vissions)

Wow...photoblogging is much easier than real blogging...

Okay, okay, I know this looks like we're just having fun (pictured is my roommate and my friend Sylvia from Chicago), but I'm actually hard at work here.  I'm writing a story about Pickup Artists, and we followed them into Tryst at Wynn to watch their game.  And now it's time to write about it. 

This week I wrote about the world's biggest tattoo convention. The photo is of me & Mario Barth, the guy who singlehandedly brought 1,000 tattoo artists from across the country together last weekend. So did Mario give me a tattoo?  You'll have to find out by clicking HERE.

Okay, I wasn't REALLY evicted from Town Square...but I did get my first cover story in Las Vegas Weekly. I'm really proud of this, 1) cause I think the piece came out well (thanks to all who helped, by the way! lots and lots of you on this one...), and 2) cause Las Vegas Weekly is such an awesome publication. Its the only magazine that I read nearly front to back/look forward to reading every week. (And I was reading it several months before I started writing for it.) So, yeah, it feels cool to be part of something bigger than yourself that you're really proud of. (Hmmm....I think the last time I got this feeling was in Negotiations class, when we had this team assignment, and my team really, really kicked ass....the Prof was almost embarrassed for the other team... Okay, you can read the story by clicking HERE!

Yesterday I got 'recognized' at this diner, by my waitress. (I.e., "Are you Rick? Don't you write for the paper?") Second time that's happened (arguably the first, 'cause the first time around it was a friend of a friend). The point is, it was a much bigger deal for me than it was for her.

And then I ordered coffee, and 30 minutes later I noticed an ant on the table, and another 30 minutes later I noticed one crawling up my saucer. But I was so pleased that she'd recognized me and I didn't want to do anything to damper her day that I didn't say anything.

I’m out of commission for the next 24 hours; I just got back from a private absinthe tasting at Bellagio….and the absinthe tasted good.

Distiller Bryan Obsello shared with us (a group of 15 or 20) his wormwood & chlorophyl-infused Verte Absinthe. Great with root beer (“Root of All Evil”), even better with egg white (“Absinthe Fizz”).

If you live in Las Vegas, try out Mr. Obsello’s absinthe at Bouchon or at the more recession-friendly Cathouse…a little green fairy told me to tell you that…

(Joking; I didn’t really have any Moulin Rouge style hallucinations. Maybe I should have had another couple shots…)

Last week I did a photo shoot for Las Vegas Weekly that involved getting a spray tan. Problem was, after the shoot, as I was driving home, my car's AC broke. (Black exterior, black interior.) Oh, it was 114 degrees that day.

The above pictures show what my spray tan, in combination with my sweat (and the half-bottle of Evian water I poured on myself), did to my beloved Salute Your Shorts/Camp Anawana T-shirt.

Fortunately, it all washed off.

These photos were taken just two hours apart, and have not been digitally retouched in any way. They're for a story I wrote that exposes how Before & After photos can be faked. You can read the whole Las Vegas Weekly story by CLICKING RIGHT HERE, ON THESE VERY WORDS--YEP, ANY OF 'EM.

...but here's a preview:

Trick No. 1: Suck in your stomach

If you exhale and suck in your stomach, you’re going to look thinner. This is particularly true for men, who store a lot of their body fat around their bellies. Remember to inhale and push out your stomach when you take your “before” photo.

Trick No. 2: Flex your muscles

Take a page from the professional bodybuilders’ competition-pose playbook; you’ll look stronger and more muscular if you flex your muscles. Be careful not to flex your muscles in your “before” shot, though.

Trick No. 3: Pump it up

Lift some weights immediately before you snap your “after” photo. Like flexing, anaerobic exercise will temporarily increase the size of your muscles.

Trick No. 4: Fix your posture

If you stand up straight and roll back your shoulders, your chest will stick out more, and your waist will look smaller by comparison. So find a mirror, and align your ears, shoulders and hips.

Trick No. 5: Fix your face

A smile is your best bet. A smile won’t make you look thinner or more muscular, but it will imply that you’re enjoying your new healthy lifestyle (your Sunday afternoons playing flag football at the park, your six-pack-bearing weekends on exotic ports of call …). And don’t grimace in your “before” photo—that’d be too obvious. Instead, go for a blank expression or one indicating slight depression.

Trick No. 6: Shave and bronze

Removing your body hair and tanning will better showcase your muscle definition.

Trick No. 7: Get a mini-makeover

Put on some better-fitting clothes, fix your hair and slap on some foundation.

If you don’t believe that simple tricks like these can be used to simulate weight loss, take another look at the “before and after” photos on this page. They were taken just two hours apart, and they have not been digitally altered in any way.