Vegas: A Retrospection

VIP bottle service: $3000

Tips to the bouncer and waitress: $400

Pretending you're a highroller, if only for 1 night: priceless

Flying into Las Vegas is a strange experience. From the air, the Nevadan desert looks almost Martian, a desolate array of craggy peaks jutting out of scorched red rock. Surely nothing can live out here. This God-forsaken hell is just a fly-over on the way to Cali. Then you look out the tiny plane window and far below you see what must be a lake. Water? But if there’s water… Looking across the aisle and out the other side of the plane you see what resembles a series of motor homes, at least from 30,000 feet up. But didn’t the pilot tell us to prepare for landing? Where am I flying to…You look back out the window, and then you see it. Vegas. Rising up out of nowhere, Las Vegas is a literal oasis in the desert. It’s no mistake there’s a hotel called the Mirage, because if the pilot didn’t know any better, and I flew Allegiant Air so who knows, they easily get confused and fly right on by. I must have drank too much today. And who would blame them? It’s Vegas, baby!

As Sarah Palin would say, it’s like putting lipstick on a pig, or something like that. (I try my best to ignore her). After the millionth slot machine promising a million dollar jackpot, at some point the glitz and in your face glamour begin to feel like some sort of alternate reality. And that’s when it’s time to pack up your things and fly home to your quiet cul-de-sac where you don’t stay out to 5 in the morning drinking $600 bottles of vodka or wake up at 10 the next morning to do it all again. (Not saying we did all that…) Because when Vegas rears back and opens wide, and you can either go all-in or call it a weekend and escape with the dignity and checking account still intact, you gotta what you gotta do. It’s an ugly monster, that Vegas. But boy is it fun.

Lebron: Stay or Go?

The biggest question of the summer, right behind 'will the entire Gulf turn to oil?' and right ahead of 'OMG who will win American Idol, Lee or Crystal?', is for which team will LeBron James be playing come July 1st. At the stroke of midnight July 1, the best basketball player in the world becomes a free agent and can sign a contract with any team. LeBron has been noncommittal up to this point, dodging questions about his future the way he does defenders on the way to the hoop. While every team in the NBA would want a player of his caliber, there are only a select few with a realistic chance of signing him. Allow me to evaluate these contenders chances and emerge with a chosen team for the Chosen One.

Every Country is #1 at Something

This infographic was fascinating - it shows what each country on Earth has more of than any other country. Good or bad, every country needs a claim to fame.

Some highlights -
USA - Serial killers - Seriously? That's creepy.

Slovakia - Overweight women - Cancelling my trip to Slovakia.

Qatar - Men - And also my trip to Middle East.

Finland - Female doctors; Latvia - Women - Hello Baltic!

Adventures of Bo SuperDog Episode 6

Bo, typically surrounded by giants in the Young household, is exceedingly confused when he encounters a human with whom he can see eye-to-eye.

VEGAS!

I'm headed to Vegas in a few hours for a friend's bachelor party. Hello nickel slots - wish me luck!

Oil Still Spilling

This is disgusting. Drill, baby, drill?

'Liquid Mountaineering' - Jesus wannabes or clever viral ad?

This MAY be fake, but pretty funny nonetheless.

Recent Environmental Disasters

Ranging from the man-made to the acts of God, there seem to have been an unusually high amount of environmental disasters. From devastating earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, and China (which 5 letter country is next?) to the oil leak crisis persisting in the Gulf of Mexico, these catastrophes remind us of how fragile the ecosystems in which we live really are. These wake up calls have been exceptionally loud, and hopefully they get the right people's attention.
Breathtaking imagery after the jump.

Rest in Peace Ernie Harwell

Detroit Tigers' legendary broadcaster Ernie Harwell passed away yesterday at the age of 92. The voice of the Tigers from 1960 to 2002, for millions in Michigan, Harwell's friendly baritone crackling over the radio signaled the end of a dreary gray winter and the coming of the long, warm days and nights of summer. Summer means baseball, and for many baseball meant Harwell. The Hall of Famer was known as one of the friendliest people in the game, quick with a laugh and a wrinkled smile that reminded you this was a game, America's pastime, and meant to be enjoyed.

I heard on SportsCenter this morning a story about Harwell. When asked what memento he would be taking from the old Tiger Stadium before it was demolished, he answered, 'the urinal in the visitor's clubhouse'. And sure enough, he cleaned it up, and made it into a planter for his wife Lulu. His reasoning was that the best players in the history of the American League had all used it, and that made it something worth cherishing.

He missed only 2 games in the entirety of his 55 year broadcasting career. He was a great ambassador for the sport and a beloved figure around the country, and his quirky, cheerful, and always memorable commentary on baseball and life will be missed.

New Video!

Despite it's grainy, unprofessional look, don't worry, this is not security camera footage.