www.foldschool.com

neato!

another piece of LV history destroyed

if you notice, the photo used on my profile here is a photo i took of the stardust sign. that sign no longer exists.



LAS VEGAS (AP) -- From Stardust to just dust. The Las Vegas Strip's first mass-market casino-hotel was imploded early Tuesday in a hail of fireworks to make way for Boyd Gaming Corp.'s $4.4 billion megaresort Echelon.

Hundreds of people partied beneath tents and on makeshift patios before Boyd chairman Bill Boyd's four grandsons pushed a plunger to detonate the former Stardust casino. The blast generated a massive dust cloud that chased the revelers into cars, buses and nearby casinos.

''It hurts. We cried,'' said Sheila Navarro, 51, a school supplies buyer from Oxnard, Calif., who took shelter in the nearby Frontier casino-hotel. She came with three sisters, her mother, an aunt and a brother-in-law to say farewell to the casino she's gambled at for more than 30 years.

''It's very hard for me to find another casino to go to,'' she said. ''Maybe in two years, three years, I'll have different feelings, but right now, my heart is broken.''

The casino opened July 2, 1958, billing itself as the world's largest resort hotel with 1,032 rooms. It was credited with being Las Vegas' first mass-market casino, thanks to cheap rates and loss-leading food and drinks.

Bob Boughner, Echelon Resorts' chief executive, said while the Stardust was a favorite of the nostalgia crowd, it was missing out on younger patrons and those who come to Las Vegas for conventions.

For many, the Stardust represented the most accessible place to stay in a city that gives VIP treatment to the biggest gamblers. But the concept of discounting rates to keep people coming is rapidly fading from the Las Vegas Strip as many casinos nowadays make more revenue from hotel rooms, clubs, shows and cuisine than from gambling.

''There was this implicit idea that invisible high rollers came in and funded everything, so that Mr. and Mrs. America could have a steak for $2 and see Frank Sinatra for the price of a drink,'' said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

''Now you can build a 7,000-room hotel and charge $300 a night for rooms,'' he said. ''With slots being so big, it is all the people losing $200 per trip that are driving the growth.''

The implosion turned a 32-story tower, gutted to its barest concrete and steel over the past three months, into the tallest building ever felled on the Strip.

LVI Services Inc. used 428 pounds of explosives to destroy the casino's two towers. Twenty water cannons sprayed the dust cloud, which blanketed the area in gray ash, and the main drag of the 24-hour gambling mecca was temporarily shut down.

The clean up of the site was expected to take up to two months.

The Stardust became as famous for its stellar, 188-foot sign and marquee as its mob connections. The Strip institution was the inspiration for the 1995 movie ''Casino,'' in which Robert De Niro played a character inspired by Frank ''Lefty'' Rosenthal, who ran the casino-hotel in the mid-1970s.

But as regulators cracked down on skimming in later years, Boyd was brought in as an operator in 1983 and bought the Stardust in 1985 when the owners lost their gambling license.

In the next two decades, the property's luster began to fade. ''Lido de Paris,'' the showgirl extravaganza that starred illusionists Siegfried and Roy for more than a decade, wrapped up in 1991 after a 32-year run.

Crooner Wayne Newton brought nostalgia back to the aging clientele in 2000 but called it a wrap in April 2005.

And in each of last year's three quarters before its official closure Nov. 1, the Stardust made less money than the previous year.

The Echelon is to open in late 2010 with more than 5,000 hotel rooms, a production theater, concert venue, shopping mall and more than 1 million square feet of meeting space.

bye bye, CDI

friday was my last day at CDI, the design firm that I have worked at for over a year. i got oddly emotional as i was trying to make it out at the end of my last day. brian presented me with a special gift, a red pen, with which he graced many of my designs with - ALWAYS making it better somehow. he encouraged me to be my own editor. yes. dan came over to talk with me and i had that horrible feeling you have when you think you are just about to lose it right there. eddie carried my things out to my car. it is a tight little group, not without its issues here and there. but its a family i had to leave. i got in my car and cried all the way home. what a dork i am.

i will miss all of them.

Rules and Tips for Those New to Las Vegas

zach sent this to me today. its very true but am disappointed in the lack of comment on the mass amount of vanity license plates.


1. You must first learn how to pronounce the city name. It is: Loss Vay-gas,

2. The morning rush hour if from 5 a.m. to noon. The evening rush hour is from noon to 7 p.m. Friday’s rush hour starts Thursday morning.

3. The minimum acceptable speed on most freeways is 85 mph. On U.S. 95, your speed is expected to match the highway number. On I-15, your speed will match the highway number.

4. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Las Vegas has its own version of traffic rules. For example, cars/trucks with the loudest muffler go first at a four-way stop; the trucks with the biggest tires go second. However, SUV-driving, cell-phone-talking moms ALWAYS have the right of way.

5. If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear-ended, cussed out and possible shot.

6. Never honk at anyone, for any reason. Ever. Seriously, it’s another offense that can get you shot.

7. Road construction is permanent and continuous in Las Vegas. Detour barrels are moved around for your entertainment pleasure during the middle of the night to make the next day’s driving experience a bit more exciting.

8. Watch carefully for road hazards such as drunks, skunks, dogs, barrels, cones, cows, horses, cats, mattresses, shredded tires, squirrels, rabbits, crows, vultures, roadrunners, and the coyotes feeding on any of these.

9. If someone actually has their turn signal on, wave them to the shoulder immediately to let them know it has been “accidentally activated.”

10. For summer driving, it is advisable to wear potholders on your hands.

11. If you are in the left lane and driving only 70 in a 55-65 mph zone, you’re considered a road hazard and will be “flipped off” accordingly. If you return the flip, you will be shot.

joshua tree national park

we headed back out to pioneertown this weekend. saw a show at pappy and harriets and stayed in the ole 'ricky lee jones' room at the lodge. the next day we stopped through joshua tree national park on our way home. it was a beautiful day. we were able to see palm springs and even across the border at some mountains in mexico from keys point. we climbed all over skull rock. yes, i could go on and on, but it is way past my bedtime.

a perfect rainbow

i saw the most AMAZING perfect rainbow i have ever seen in my life this morning. i left my house noting that it was freakishly windy out. debris everywhere. no way that zach would be able to ride his bike to work in this weather. i was rounding the corner out of my neighborhood and a bright colorful light caught my eye. i followed its perfectly symmetrical and bright curve to its other end. I could see each end in perfect detail. the light was so bright, like someone was at each end, shining brightly colored spotlights from the ground. one end started in front of the red mounain and the other seemed to end right into zach's building. the entire thing was perfect. i hope it is a sign.

Penn & Teller PSA for AIDS walk

This is a PSA that will air on local channels here in Vegas. Something our studio (CDI Studios) did to promote the AIDS walk that is coming up.

30Sec PSA on AIDS Walk

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BARACK and the HOFF

I managed to see both of these people in person back to back. Barack (we took some photos above) delivered an uplifting speech about what he is going to do with the country while I got sunburned. It is early in the race, but it I had to vote on the spot right now, he has my vote. I like him. oh, i like his logo too.

David Hasslehoff (so unfortunately not pictured here) was even more entertaining playing a very gay man in the Producers. Another comped ticket (Paris Casino is a client of Zach's Ad Agency) took us there. It really was not nearly as bad as I had hoped. He is not that attractive in a dress.

NBA All Stars in Vegas

I just had to share what I saw driving down the street the other day. Someone has fabricated giant jerseys and dressed the statue of liberty in front on NY NY casino and the gigantic lion guarding the front of MGM grand. hilarious!

Dad performs at the 2007 Grammys

Dad is to the right of Carrie playing a bright orange guitar. Great job DAD!!

microsoft word

must die.

my logo in action

www.threesquare.org

vegas isn't bad when

you can spend a sunday afternoon lounging comfortably on a lawnchair outside in the middle of january.

THE GOWN

has been purchased!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

our new friend Bruce

Bruce is our new friend. Bruce seems to have nothing to do in life. he drives around our cookie cutter neighborhood and pauses in horror in front of our house. he goes home and excitedly writes us a letter about how we have a few strands of grass growing back near the side of our house. the kind of grass where you have to stop, get out of your vehicle, investigate and have your day ruined at the sight of the greeness. we sprayed it with weed killer and again got distracted with our busy lives. today we got an especially fond love letter from Bruce saying he will fine us $100 if the matter is not resolved in 10 days and included a blank sheet of lined paper on which we are to explain ourselves and send back to him. ah, Bruce, what an exciting life you have. I will say that i had not even noticed the "overgrowth" of the grass strands. i have noticed, however, the infestation of dirty pigeons that live in the front yard of the neighbor across from us and the house on the corner that still has full-on xmas decorations up. maybe they are friends with Bruce too. I sure hope so.

nose-picker

today i laughed harder than i have in awhile. i heard my art-director say, "you gotta take a look at this." what i saw was beautiful. some guy was outside our office facing the building next to us VORACIOUSLY picking his nose. he was using the window as a mirror, somehow not realizing? that there was a woman sitting at her desk RIGHT there behind the window. and he didn't stop. he kept going and going. pushing his nose up with one hand and digging with the other. head tilted way back. at one point he walked away a few steps but quickly returned to do some more digging. little did he know that our whole office, and most likely, the entire office of the building he was using as a mirror was staring in awe/amusement. wow. gave me my second wind to finish the work day.

pilates

seriously.
i'm having trouble moving.

molly on millionaire

our friend molly had a party at a local bar last night where we all watched the airing of her appearance on "who wants to be a millionaire".

she walked away with $100,000. yeah, our drinks were free.
unfortunately the lady that went on right after her walked away with a big, fat $0. sad . . .

CONGRATULATIONS MOLLY!!

molly is the 3rd person recently I have known to be involved in some kind of reality TV situation where she is sworn to secrecy. the craziness.

pilates

ouch.

this melts my heart

angie and ren