McCain's VP pick

I may get sued by Parker Bros., but I have a feeling I won't be the last person to make this joke.

In response to a Republican friend's email, extolling the virtues of Sarah Palin, I couldn't resist using Google Image Search along with MS Paint to slap this together:



I have to believe we have heard the last of McCain's attacks on Obama as being "inexperienced."

Best. Graffiti. Ever

Indeed.

BTW, Cher covered this song in her Vegas show, which we saw at Caesars a couple weeks ago. I thought it was an odd choice among several other odd choices, including "Walking in Memphis." For the "Battlefield" song, they brought out this very elaborate set piece ala Beyond Thunderdome, and her nubile dancers had a "dance off," fighting for Cher's attention and affection. Then they all changed costumes and the set was never seen again. Odd. Reminded me of the bondage dance scene in Showgirls, and that is probably not exactly the sort of association Cher wants us to make.

Going home

Well, the weekend is over, and leaving Las Vegas means coming back to reality. I didn't win ANY money, but my losses were kept to minimum. At the airport, even THIS guy wasn't winning. Sadly, made me feel better.

More importantly, I had a wonderful weekend with my wife and our friends, got to see my brother, ate amazing food, saw an idol in concert, and met Jesus.

Not a bad weekend.

Walk of shame

The view from the MGM as I head back after yet another loss in a poker tournament.

Good picture, bad streak.

Unreal

Going into this morning, I haven't won a DIME in Vegas. Time to put my coworker's dollar into a slot machine.

Take a wild guess what happened. Three spins, three wins, and ten bucks leaves Vegas...with me...for someone else.

Sigh.

Me & Jesus

Seeing Cher: pretty amazing.

Meeting Chris "Jesus" Ferguson after the show? Completely frak-tastic!

This is one of the shots; on the left of the shot, you can see The Wife snapping more photos on her iPhone. Quite the paparazzi moment.

Chris could not have been more gracious, and this chance meeting made a great trip even better.

Frowned-upon Cher photo

Had tix to see Cher at Caesars. Watching a more-than-half naked 62 year-old woman belt out 40+ years worth of songs? Impressive AND entertaining!

This shot was taken during the opening. Although it appears that Cher is on fire, I am happy to report that is merely the lighting. No Divas were harmed in the taking of this photo.

Quote of the year

"First you take my chips, then you take my life."

- Curtis, after the "tropical" gazpacho incident.

Maybe you had to be there.

Step two

Try something different.

Step one

Play the morning tournament.

Goldilocks says...

...this bed is TOO soft!

Proof!

My brother happens to be in Vegas this weekend as well. This is him and Herself at Buzio's, in the Rio.

I promised my Mom he would eat...

Our room

Our oasis from the stink, which only serves to remind us how much WE stink. I love Vegas so much that apparently I always block out my memory of how much cigarette smoke there is, and how you WILL smell like an ashtray about 15 minutes after you land.

Nice room, though.

Peter wins! Almost.

After a highly controversial play that will likely have repercussions for the remainder of the trip, Peter fought back from the brink to take second place. Yours truly saw very few playable cards, but went out on a respectable straight flush draw that didn't pan out. Blurgh.

First tournament...the Luxor

Just bought in to my first poker tournament of the trip; this one goes fast, so lots of all-in action expected. Wish me luck.

The adventure begins!

We are at the airport, ready to go to Las Vegas! Peter brought a chip from last time, so we can hit the ground running.

I'll live post for the rest of the trip; check back often to watch the shenanigans unfold.

The line...four weeks later...

We're at the mall (blurgh), and I'm in awe that there is STILL a
line. I wonder if Apple is shooting themselves in the foot, rationing
out the iPhones like this?

Will check the stock price on Monday and see.

Things the Coinstar machine decided not to count

Coinstar rejected the following items; the machine and I were both surprised to find these things in my coin jar:

A Hello Kitty keychain fob, a paperclip, a five peseta piece from Spain, a Darth Vader collectible coin from 7-11, and a button.

Just so you know, I've never been to Spain, I am not a thirteen year old girl, and I have no idea when I was last in a 7-11. The mysteries of the coin jar continue to elude me.

If Christ leaves Bethlehem traveling 60 MPH...

Standing here on the train, getting a little creeped out. When people read their Bible, that's one thing. When they highlight and underline as they read? Yikes.

What are you studying for? Is the Rapture your (very) final exam?

The WildMan Cometh

I am very excited to see that Thomas "WildMan" Denny will be fighting on national television this coming Saturday in the Elite XC "Saturday Night Fights" on CBS. Now, if you are a regular reader of this blog, or if you know me at all, you may be saying to yourself, I had no idea Brendon was a fan of mixed martial arts fighting? You would be correct; I am not a fan of the sport. But I am a big fan of the WildMan. He is the star of one of my favorite poker stories. Here it is.

A couple years ago, I was playing a poker tournament at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. We had been playing long enough that the opening jitters were gone, we had lost a table or two, and we were at that stage where people were starting to relax and talk a little more. I had a decent chip stack, so I was more than happy to loosen up and chat. However, there are two consistent questions at Vegas poker tables that I am not a big fan of answering, mostly because of the perception that comes along with both.

Question number one, where are you from? And question number two, what do you do for a living?

When I tell people I am a lawyer, you can imagine the grief that usually comes along with that. When I tell people I live in San Francisco, you can equally imagine the grief that comes with that. Put the two together, and it's a non-stop laugh riot.

So the questions were working their way clockwise around the table, and were fast approaching. Do I lie, and take a chance? Hell, I've been bluffing all morning...what's a couple more? Or do I tell the truth, and let the fun begin?

The guy to my right had been keeping the hood of his sweatshirt up most of the morning, giving him a vaguely Phil Laak-type table presence. He was playing pretty well, mixing up his play and getting aggressive when he needed to. The "what do you do for a living" question got to him, and I'm thinking I need to decide whether to lie or not, when this guy pulled down his hood, revealing a neon green mohawk, along with crazy sideburns shaved to make him look like the devil. He looked around the table, and very calmly said,

"I'm Tom...and I'm an Ultimate Fighter."

The questions never got to me.

For the rest of the morning, every guy at the table sat in child-like wonder as "the WildMan" talked about what it's like being an Ultimate Fighter (not much money until you get a real name for yourself), what his training regimen was like (brutal and regular), whether he would beat up people in real life (no money = no punchy), and so on. He was a real gentleman, patiently answering question after question, and I think he even signed an autograph or two. My favorite moment was when he and I got involved in a big pot; I ended up taking it down after some semi-bluffing that let me catch up on the river, and he acknowledged the bluff. My response was simple: "This felt is the ONLY arena where I have a prayer against you!" He seemed to get a kick out of that.

I had a great time chatting with the WildMan, and I am very excited about his getting national, network television exposure. Good luck on Saturday, Tom, and best of luck in the future as well.