Road Trip, Part III

OK, so I'm a little behind here, but that, above, was me on the steps of the Kansas Capitol on Topeka on Tuesday. This is where, in the summer of 1993, my fascination with statehouses began. As an intern at the Topeka Capital-Journal, I used to sit on those steps at sunset and write letters. The steps were as lovely and broad as I recalled, and I did sit to write some letters there, too. But holy Christ it was hot out, so the recreation of a younger self's romantic habit was sort of rushed so as to not kill my dogs. They lived, by the way, as seen here with my travel companion, Amy:

All this said, it seems appropriate that I'd discover upon my return visit to Topeka that I'd been doing the state capitols thing all wrong all this time. I chatted up the visitors reception desk lady, told her of my hobby and how it all started here, and she says to me, "Well, do you have The Book?"

Uh, what book?!?

Turns out, there's a book. And hobbyists are supposed to get them stamped when they visit different capitol buildings. Yes, there's a frigging stamp, too. See?

I kinda wish someone had told me about this, say, 18 years and 35 capitols ago. Grrr.

There are plenty of interior photos of the Topeka capitol in the Flickr slideshow for days 5 and 6 of the big road trip to Michigan, the player for which you'll find at the end of this post.

But the big revelation of this leg of the trip was the sensational Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City, which was simply so impressive. I was blown away from the entry to the gorgeous dome and meaningful artwork throughout, but then I also got sort of lucky.

You see, I always ask if there's any way to climb to the top of the dome. This worked in Providence, you may recall. And here, the word from the visitors reception folks was that you could do it only if you were escorted by "someone with a key." Who have keys? Every state representative. One fellow on an elevator -- I asked if he was a state rep! -- told me to just go into any rep's office and ask. So I stepped in here...

...and the wonderful lady who works with Rep. Mary Nichols, D-Maryland Heights, Mo., was happy to do it. That meant walking me behind the upper edge of the House chambers, which resulted in this Death Star-esque photo:

Then she unlocked a padlock, came with me part of the way to shoot this...

...and told me where to go before letting me climb up there by myself. There's a little walkway that encircles the very top, and I got some wonderful shots of Jefferson City and the Missouri River it straddles.

Many more images of this adventure are in the Flickr show. But it was interesting to spot this sign:

It was surprising to see such explicit art on the grounds of the building once overseen by ex-Gov. John Ashcroft, who had the Department of Justice cover up naughty bits of statues in DC when he was the Attorney General. Go ahead, enlarge this to see that the sculptor clearly gave this stone statue some, uh, wood:

People ask what the attraction of capitols is. I'm not terribly interested in museums, but I think I enjoy learning about history and seeing great art in buildings that continue to function and where history continues to be made. In other words, it's a living, breathing edifice. And I find out all sorts of tidbits I didn't know, such as that both Lewis AND Clark were once governors of Missouri:

And yes, I got The Stamp.

After Jefferson City, Amy and I headed east once more, this time en route to Springfield, Ill., to spent the night. We stayed almost entirely off the Interstates, which gave us some wonderful opportunities for diversions and discoveries. For instance, we headed through tiny Louisiana, Mo., a town right on Mississippi River. Before we got into town, we happened to drive past...

...a 140-year-old Jewish cemetery?!? It was an awfully unlikely find, so we stopped and browsed the 40-odd graves. As you can see in the Flickr slideshow, most of the stones are very well kept up, even though only one is even remotely new. Here's a website on this cemetery, proving we're not the only ones fascinated.

After that, Amy and I got some take-out -- it's very difficult to eat in with dogs when traveling in hot weather -- and sat in this gazebo having lunch as we gazed at the mighty Mississippi.

Idyllic.

Meanwhile, I'm getting closer to finishing my capitols tour -- down to about 14 or so left, mostly in the northeast and the mid-Atlantic states -- and I'm going to need something else. As we made our way through Kansas and I saw this...

...and realized the next thing should be Presidential Libraries. Miles' reaction was, and I quote, "Zzzzz." But who cares? I just wonder if there's a Book.

More tomorrow on the last couple days of The Trip, including Springfield and Indiana capitols. But for now, here's the slideshow. It opens in Colby, Kan., on Monday, takes us to Topeka, then on Tuesday to Jefferson City and Louisiana, Mo., before we crashed in Springfield for the night. Enjoy.

Ailing Adelson's Woes Spelling Trouble For Newt?

The delightful Allison Hoffman, fiance to my close friend and former Vegas gaming scribe Adam Goldman, has a fascinating piece on TabletMag.Com today about Sheldon Adelson and how the SEC investigation into his Macau dealings could further damage the already moribund Newt Gingrich For President campaign. It's interesting stuff; Hoffman reports that Adelson has funneled $7 million into Gingrich's PAC but may not be willing to pony up much more until he's out of the woods legally and the stock has popped up a bit higher. That could be too late for the desperate and flailing Gingrich effort.

But two specific things caught my eye. First, Hoffman was in L.A. on Sunday because Gingrich was speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition fundraiser dinner at which Adelson was expected to appear to receive the Ronald Reagan (of course) Award. But he didn't show up:

His wife, Miriam, told the audience that he was fighting a bad flu—“He is really suffering, leaking from every corner of the eyes, his nose. Not his ears!”

First of all, eww. Secondly, ut oh. Adelson, 77, is not a well man, hasn't been for years. In my 2008 interview with him he first disclosed his leg circulatory disorder, and every time he's in public his eyes look as leaky as she described. Not to be morbid, but if I were a shareholder of Las Vegas Sands, I'd really want to know what the succession plan is. Maybe THIS is why Steve Wynn's being so nice to him.

On the other hand, Hoffman also pointed to something fascinating that shows Adelson can still, at least for now, be in the rarest of form. Last month, the man known by Jon Ralston as Gondolier Numero Uno, rang up the editor of New York's influential Jewish Week newspaper to blow his stack over some critical piece on Newt and the Jews. After he let off that steam, he provided a 30-minute interview that showed him as a careful observer of the GOP presidential sweepstakes. He likes Gingrich and Romney, thinks Tim Pawlenty could crack into the top tier but isn't there yet. And, of course, Barack Obama will destroy Israel and giggle while doing so.

But this is the part I loved:

Adelson said that contrary to some claims, Gingrich was not a hypocrite for leading the effort to impeach President Clinton at a time when, it was later learned, the congressman was having an affair with a House of Representatives staffer 23 years his junior – she is now his third wife.

“He wasn’t going after Clinton for having an affair but because he lied,” Adelson said, adding that Gingrich wasn’t president at the time.

Yeah. That's it.

BREAKING: The Goodmans are JEWISH!

Those of you who listened to the Carolyn Goodman conversation that was posted in the podcast feed over the weekend might have wondered what my obsession was with her Jewish upbringing. Truth be told, I'm highly unlikely to ask Brian Sandoval how he takes his communion wafers or Harry Reid if he's wearing his magic underoos, so what gives? And yet, Carolyn spoke in detail about making gefilte fish, right?

Well, I don't ask anything without having a reason, and this time it was for part of a lengthy profile of Mayor Oscar Goodman that appears today in Tablet, a popular website devoted to Jewish issues. You may recall I also profiled the poker-playing Mizrachis and Rep. Shelley Berkley for Tablet last year.

There's not a lot in the piece that local Las Vegans or careful Vegas-watchers may not know, although Carolyn does debunk the myths surrounding Oscar's drinking and there are a few other tidbits therein. Check it out if you wish.

Shelley Berkley on Obama, Vegas, Israel & More

Isn't that an awesome, totally Vegas-geographically bizarre collage? To really understand all its parts, you probably ought to read my saucy profile of Rep. Shelley Berkley that's up this morning on TabletMag.Com. Tablet is the Jewish-centric Web publication edited and written by former New Yorker, Vanity Fair and others. I did a lengthy piece on the poker-playing Mizrachi brothers last summer, too.

This is the first result of my all-day jaunt with Berkley in September and is probably most notable for the fact that Berkley openly stated the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2012 is hers for the taking and for the fact that she told a constituent that Obama has "blown it" with the Jews.

This coming week's Las Vegas Weekly column will delve further into the political chatter we had, and there'll be a longer piece in, probably, December, for David Magazine, a new glossy Vegas Jewish publication, describing our entire Rosh Hashanah adventure.

Oh, and that's Berkley (right) with the stuffed giraffe she bought at the closing sale for FAO Schwarz at the Forum Shops. No, she hasn't named him. Yes, I asked.

The 4 Jewish Poker-Playing Brothers

This picture sorta says it all, doesn't it? That's Michael Mizrachi, 29, at the World Series of Poker table on Saturday, when he qualified for the November Nine and won himself at least $800,000. Behind him is older brother Robert, twin Eric and little bro Donny from left to right. They are the poker world's answer to the Williams sisters. Or maybe the Osmonds.

As readers of this blog well know, when I come across a human interest story that fascinates me, I mine and mine and mine it until there's nothing left. That is, of course, how I pay the bills. So expect more from me on these guys, but below is the top of my piece for a very popular Jewish-interest web magazine, TabletMag.Com, that posted today that must be, as of now, the definitive story on these guys. But you can hear the whole interview with their mother -- and trust me, it is absolutely amazing -- by clicking here or right-clicking here to download it and hear it at your leisure. If you already picked it up when it posted Sunday, I apologize for the audio error and promise this version works great.

Full House
Michael Mizrachi and his three brothers are observant Jews
and champion poker players
By STEVE FRIESS

The boys were being irksome and unruly on that night 20 years ago. As their mother and her friends were playing gin rummy late into the evening, they ran wild around the table, announcing to the room what cards the women had in their hands, until, finally, they were banished to their bedrooms. With that, the house grew quiet. Susan Laufer Mizrachi had proved she could control her brood.

Except that, as anyone with young sons knows, silence is a good clue something’s up. And sure enough, at 3 a.m., when Susan’s friends went home and she checked on her four sons, then aged 4 to 12, she found them playing their own card games and keeping track of their accumulating debts to one another on pieces of paper that she still has.

“Their father would say, ‘Look what you’re doing to these kids, you’re playing cards every night and they’re just gamblers,’ ” she recalled. “And I said, well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Two decades later, those apples have grown into a quartet of Jewish card sharks who have taken Las Vegas by storm.

Read the rest at TabletMag.Com

Vegas Friday Foto Fun

[Update: A commenter noted that the KYK4FSH plate could be related to this fishing group. Totally possible!]

I don't have much time -- still laboring to get back on track after the benefit -- but I've had these images sitting on my desktop waiting for their blog moments. When better than a Friday of a holiday weekend?

First of all, someone needs to tell Google Maps...


...that the Boardwalk Hotel is no more. Isn't it odd what they have on the map and what they don't? Miracle Mile Shops is there but P-Ho isn't? Boardwalk is there but that gateway to CityCenter, Monte Carlo is MIA? Was the Boardwalk ever the most significant landmark in that area of the Strip?

Next, here is yet another reason...


...to love Holly Madison.

I had to be at the Hard Rock one Sunday recently when Rehab, the original Sunday pool party, was going on. Beyond how impressed I was by the crowds...



...I was also amused by the display case.


And as if the implants weren't enough, they have these T-shirts:


It made me wonder. Other than the sexual connotation of "I rubbed one out," I can't think of any other connotation. Am I missing something or is this simply a single entendre? Why not just write, "I spunked in the pool at Rehab" or something? Same thing, no?

I was stuck at a light up on the north end of the Strip the other day and wondered as I stared at this billboard...


...whether Arthur Weiner gets many calls these days.

And, finally, a little license plate fun. Or something. Is this...


...not offensive to Jews? What does it mean, anyway? My instinct is that's code for "Jew for Jesus," but I'm a little surprised the Nevada DMV would OK the use of a slur on a license plate.

An Extraordinary RI Statehouse Experience

Usually, these state capitol posts begin with an image like this:

...but the best photo taken at the statehouse in Providence yesterday was this one:


That's me up here...


...at the the spot where that chandelier is attached to the ceiling.

This time, I went to the Rhode Island statehouse as both a tourist and a journalist. The day before, I learned about a racino in Lincoln, R.I., called Twin River that is going bankrupt for a list of reasons that I'll get into in a later post. But I pitched a piece on it -- it was the nation's first racino and now they're trying to get rid of the racing part -- to the New York Times and the piece runs in Sunday's papers.

So when I went to the statehouse, I did so in part to check it out as is my thing but also to meet with the state officials and politicians. And when the governor's spokeswoman, Amy Kempe, agreed to take me on a private walk up a spiral staircase to the top of the dome, I could not possibly refuse.

This is what it looks like looking down:



Here's that staircase...


...and here's the first thing you see when you enter the secret door:


On the way up we were able to go outside and see the city:


That's the top of the dome of one of the two houses of the General Assembly. For some reason, I didn't take many photos of the Senate or House, but I did like these chairs in the Senate:


All in all, the Rhode Island capitol was among the most beautiful and impressive I've ever seen and I'm not just saying that because I got some nifty special access. Everything is sensational marble and design. Here's the entry landing and, yes, there was a tour group of Buddhist monks this time around. (At the Massachusetts statehouse, we ran into a gaggle of Chinese tourists!)



There was plenty of quirk. This was a nice sentiment... (click on image to enlarge)



...but why was it in the men's room?



This piece of artwork was from the people of Liberia...

...who thank Rhode Islanders in that little tag for their assistance during a civil war there. What did the Ocean Staters do, one wonders!

There were statues all over honoring the military, but this one honoring the Navy was one of the gayest looking things I've ever seen...


...and this one for the Air Force looks female even though it was gifted to the state years before women could be in the branch.


In one of the old meeting rooms, this sign was found:


One wonders if Dana gets a lot of calls from people unsure how to get out without opening the door!?!?!

And finally, I would agree with this book title, "Rhode Island: A Genial History,"...


...especially given that this is a state on the forefront of religious liberty and was the first place for Jews to live free in America as you can see...


...except that then I noticed that the Legislature is about to put a referendum on the state ballot to ask voters whether they ought to -- get this -- change the state's NAME. You see, the full official name of Rhode Island is...


"Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." Why? Because apparently Rhode Island is made up fo two former British colonies. One was called Providence Plantations because, uh, it was sort of a clearinghouse for the slavery trade.

Who knew, huh?

BREAKING: Criss Angel Show To Open Oct. 10

I just got official confirmation from Cirque du Soleil that the gala opening premiere date for Criss Angel's "Believe" show at Luxor has been moved back a day to Friday, Oct. 10. No, no, no, it's not because of show delays or any such thing. Rather, it's because nobody in Montreal realized when they picked Oct. 9 that it was the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. Or, rather, more technically, it's Kol Nidre, which is when Yom Kippur begins at sundown. To have a massive gala that night would be at least as offensive as doing so on Good Friday. Now they'll be holding the she-bang after sundown and after the holiday is over.

So, good call on that for the Cirque gang. And, so I hear from my Cirque spies, the woman who complained about being jerked around in the comments section of this previous post has been satisfied with free seats and an apology.

Meanwhile, someone needs to fix this countdown clock on the show's site which continues to point to the show's earlier gala opening dates in September...

What is a Jewish Atheist, You Ask...

Strange the little things I jot that prompt emails and questions.

Tom wrote:

"OK is it just me or is "jewish atheist" an oxymoron. Just a thought."

Not really. I have come to a place where I don't believe in God, but I still have a great deal of affection for my Jewish heritage, culture, history and traditions. One does not need to believe in God to understand the righteousness of moderation, frugality, philanthropy, intellectual curiosity and love that Judaism teaches. And I find my own meaning in many of the rituals.

The Passover story of the Exodus from Egypt, for instance, is a real historical event even if I'm dubious of the notion that Moses turned a staff into a snake or parted a sea with his underarm odor. (Tidal shifts seem far more likely.) But the notion of an oppressed people being forced to save themselves is universal, and one of the most beautiful moments of the whole story is the one that is routinely overlooked, that "God" scolds the Israelites for rejoicing when the Egyptian army drowns in the Red Sea. The idea of having compassion for your enemies and even your former oppressors is a lovely sentiment, one that would improve the world tremendously if taken seriously.

The Jewish New Year, too, is full of serious sentiment in which I find great meaning. For one thing, it makes a lot more sense to me to celebrate a new beginning at the start of autumn than in the arbitrary dead of winter. New school years, relationships and jobs have always marked this part of the year to me for some reason. And the idea of spending a week contemplating how to be a better person is laudable and spending a full day not eating to immerse in a more intense consideration of personal mistakes and flaws has always been worthwhile and replenishing.

Mostly, though, I adore the traditions of my youth, the family gatherings, the ceremonial trappings and even the special foods, with the exception of gefilte fish and chopped liver but my grandmother learned to accept that so who are you to judge? My family was not an overtly religious one, there wasn't a lot of talk about sin and piety. My dad was the one who taught me the Bible stories are allegorical at best by pointing out to me that it doesn't make sense for Cain to walk the Earth showing his mark to the "other people" when we've just been told that his parents were the first two humans. "Where did all these people come from?" my father would say. I think that was the same killer argument that slayed fundamentalism in "Inherit the Wind."

But these cultural and spiritual -- yes, you can be spiritual without believing in God -- events nonetheless tie us together and tie us to the historical Jews whose survival ensured our existence.

L'Shanah Tovah

I'm about to head out to Congregation Ner Tamid for Rosh Hashanah services and just wanted to quickly say Happy New Year to all of you. Jewish or not, there is something about this time of year that does always make people feel like new beginnings are upon us. September and October has always been a time of starts for me, including several jobs, school years and even my relationship with Miles.

If you miss me, catch up on my latest output:

* My piece in the New York Times on 9/11 about the crappy beacon on Fossett's plane is here. I was amused this morning to start reading it in the Las Vegas Sun, which uses NYT wire, before I noticed it was my own piece.
* My piece for Wired News on the 50,000+ people searching for Fossett via Amazon.Com is here.
* Appeared on Jon Ralston's Face To Face on LV1 on 9/11. Video is available in three segments if you scroll down a little bit on this site.
* The Peter Frampton episode of "The Strip" can be heard here, or you can right-click here to download it and listen to it whenever.
* Episode #102 of "The Petcast" is online now, too. It's called "Duck Poop and Reptiles Happen," and our guest is a woman from the Colorado Reptile Humane Society. Hear it here or right-click here to save it.

Cheers!

A Very Vegas Bar Mitzvah

Norm had a fantastic piece today about something really, really terrifying that is fated to become the next reality series, "My Super Bar Mitzvah."

Get this: Some Vegas JAP's parents rented out the entire Fashion Show Mall last Saturday night. They hired actors to pretend that they're paparazzi as the 100 tween guests entered on a purple (?) carpet. The guest of honor, Erica Jill Fieldman (that's her above), got to direct a fashion show with professional models, family and friends walking the mall runway. There were confetti cannons, more than 300 guests total and "prominent designers." The child got to direct the fashion show, playing "the bitch fashion designer."

Read all about it here and note the most pathetic part of all: It was Erica Jill's mommy, Amy Fieldman, who apparently told all to Norm, including being proud of her "bitch" daughter. She brags about this outlandish indulgence! Her daughter now knows that over-the-top conspicuous consumption to the tune of $500,000 is A-OK in a world of such poverty and loss, surely a lesson her rabbi would be proud of. Heck, throw a nice party for $50,000 and take the kid to Kansas to have her see what $450,000 can do to put back together the shattered lives of those folks flattened by thoe tornadoes this spring.

Full disclosure: My own Bar Mitzvah back in 1985 was a black-tie, lavish affair at a Long Island country club that featured a crew of actors dressed in bizarre costumes to dance with the 200 guests (only about 15 of whom were my friends) and lead me through a weird dance number for the crowd. that's me to your right. Like the Fieldmans, my folks were caught up in this uniquely Jewish race to throw the best BM party among their peers.

That doesn't make it right. What it does is raise spoiled brats with an outsized sense of entitlement and no concept of charity. It took me years to discover that there were poor and disadvantaged people in the world and that I can help if I live less extravagantly.

I'm off this weekend to my niece's Bat Mitzvah in the Philly suburbs. I can assure you it will be a pleasant but unspectacular affair, except that it will be spectacular because we'll all be proud of my niece.

The News From Mel Brooks

OK! My interview is now online as a special edition and with a full transcript on TheStripPodcast.com. You can hear it here or right-click here to download it and listen to it whenever you want. (FYI, Brandon Flowers of "The Killers" is next week's guest.)

The Newsweek piece should be up by mid-day Friday, but here are some of the news highlights, some of which won't make it into that version because of space and will only be found via "The Strip" podcast:

* "Young Frankenstein": "Desperate Housewives" guest star Roger Bart will play Dr. Frankenstein, Christopher Fitzgerald is Igor, Cloris Leachman was not cast because she's too old and not because they were trying not to repeat any actors from the 1974 film. Andrea Martin will play Frau Brucher. The role of Elizabeth, small in the film, has been greatly expanded. The show will open around Halloween at the Hilton Theater. Brooks expects it to play Vegas eventually. There will be 17-18 songs, including "We're The Happiest Town in Town" and "There's Nothing Like The Brain." The workshop will take place in Seattle this summer.

* "The Producers" in Vegas: Brooks believes the show will close next March after one year. He also expects Tony Danza to replace Brad Oscar when Oscar leaves the cast later this year, which confirms a rumor reported by Norm Clarke in the R-J last month.

* Hasselhoff: Brooks says the management never knew about his drinking issues and denied Hasselhoff's daughter's videotaped warning that he could be fired from "The Producers."

* Personal: Brooks explained (for the first time that I've seen anywhere) that he goes by "Brooks" because the former Melvin Kaminsky was going to use his mother's less-Jewish maiden name, "Brookman" but it wouldn't fit on a set of drums he wanted to write it on, so he altered it to "Brooks."