#veer las vegas

[rabbitcruiser]

Veer Towers, NV

Veer Towers are twin 37-story condominium towers within the CityCenter complex, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The inclined buildings were designed by Murphy/Jahn Architects and tilt in opposite directions at a five-degree angle. Veer Towers opened on July 15, 2010, and is the only all-residential property at CityCenter. The property includes 670 units, divided between the two towers.

Veer Towers was announced in October 2006, as part of the CityCenter project by MGM Mirage. Perini Building Company served as the project's general contractor. The 37-story towers rise 480 ft (150 m), and tilt in opposite directions at a five-degree angle. Both towers use a parallelogram-shaped footprint.

Rebar errors were discovered in the towers during construction. By 2009, the issue had been remedied by wrapping fiberglass jackets around the columns. Veer Towers was originally meant to open with the rest of CityCenter in December 2009. Completion of the towers was delayed, however, opening instead on July 15, 2010.

Veer Towers was designed by Helmut Jahn and his design firm, Murphy/Jahn Architects. Lobbies and public spaces were designed by Francisco Gonzalez Pulido, an architect at Jahn's firm. The lobby design includes metal and exposed concrete walls. The lobby walls of both towers feature mud drawings, titled Circle of Chance and Earth, by artist Richard Long. He diluted mud that he brought to Las Vegas from the River Avon in England, and applied it to the walls with his hands. The corners of each tower are lit in subtle neon by an LED system, programmed by lighting designer Yann Kersalé.

Because of its environmentally friendly design, Veer Towers received a LEED Gold certification on November 20, 2009. The tower design includes yellow paneling on the glass exterior to reflect sunlight and reduce energy cost.

Veer Towers is the only component of CityCenter that is dedicated solely to residential space. It has a total of 670 units, with 335 in each tower. Units range from 500 to 3,300 square feet (46 to 307 m2). Upon opening, condominium owners had the option of renting out their units.

Source: Wikipedia

[haee-elia]

spence-tober: day 23 - sommelier

pairing: sommelier!spencer reid x fem!reader

summary: in which your friend's bachelorette weekend ends with the handsome sommelier's number in your phone

word count: 1896

warnings: alcohol, drinking, a woman (not reader) coming onto spencer

spence-tober masterlist

Unlike some of the other fellow women in the bachelorette party, you were grateful that your best friend, the bride, decided for a more classy approach for her bachelorette weekend.

Although, really anything would be more classy than renting male strippers in Las Vegas and wearing pink feather boas and fake plastic tiaras and getting hammered.

You had also agreed to take any blame for the complains of the other bridesmaids in the party for planning a chill weekend at a nice wine vineyard so your friend could get off scot free. 

Perhaps it was the bad memories of vodka and tequila in your 20s that turned the both of you off a bachelorette in Vegas, but you were glad to indulge her wishes for a ‘classier’ bachelorette weekend.

It was just this morning that the whole party had taken a small shuttle bus to the vineyard about two hours away and you were glad to see the tension of your friend’s shoulders lessen as she stepped off the bus. The wedding planning had been hectic for her and you were just happy to relieve some of the burden by taking care of most of the bridesmaids dibacles. After all, you were her maid of honor.

Today on the agenda you had planned, you’d all tour around the beautiful vineyard that stretched on for acres and acres and then have a private wine tasting before retiring for the night to your own devices.

The tour had been absolutely stunning. Seeing the grapes on the vines, just rows and rows of crops for the eyes to see. Then you had seen the large wine cellars where it ages and some of the rooms with large machinery where it was processed and actually turned into wine.

You had picked this specific vineyard because it was on the smaller scale and would be a more intimate experience for your small group. The owners, Jennifer Jareau and Will LaMontagne, greeted you as you arrived off your shuttle. They’re not too much older than you despite owning and operating a small scale wine vineyard. 

Your face burned with embarrassment when one of your fellow bridesmaids tried to flirt with Will and was glad when Jennifer didn’t seem too offended by her actions. She was soon warded off with the glimmering of the couple’s matching wedding rings and their adorable 5-year old son who wanted to help show you all to your lodgings. 

Your tour guide, however, was not so lucky to escape the flirtations and comments from the rogue bridesmaid. Poor Spencer Reid, you thought quite often as he guided your group around the vineyard. The one bridesmaid was spurned on with confidence when some of the other girls giggled at her comments which were down right dirty.

How Spencer didn’t turn as red as a tomato when she commented about the sizes of the grapes on the vine and then grabbed them in a very very weird way is beyond you. Because you certainly lit up like a Christmas tree.

After finishing the tour, you were beginning to dread the wine tasting and how adding alcohol to the risque girl would be a good idea. 

Luckily it so far seemed like she was a quiet drunk and instead left to flock to the rest of the bridesmaids’ sides for the majority of the wine tasting.

As your friends chatted over tasting a few glasses of red wine, you veer off over to the bar where Spencer, your tour guide and sommelier, was polishing wine glasses.

You understand why the bridesmaid was trying to get attention. The man was downright beautiful with his chocolate brown eyes and chiseled jawline. His scruff and wild hair only added to the handsomeness of the tall, slender, man.

“Hi,” You say, getting the man’s attention. You can feel your cheeks warming up with second hand embarrassment, “I just wanted to apologize for my friend over there.” 

You point behind yourself to the table where she sits, quietly (thankfully) nursing a glass of red wine. “What she said is completely inappropriate and I understand if you don’t feel comfortable taking care of our group for the rest of our weekend here.”

He smiles at you, gratefully, “It’s okay.” Spencer says shaking his head.

“No,” You reiterate, “It’s really not. I’ll try to keep her away from you and manage her better. That’s really just how she is, but that doesn’t excuse her behavior.” You promise.

He doesn’t comment on your response but instead gives you a smile and puts down the cloth and glass in hand. “Can I get you something to drink?” He asks, gesturing his hand to the wall of wine bottles.

You shake your head, “No, that’s okay. I’m good for now.”

“You’re not a wine drinker?” He inquires curiously.

Shaking your head again, you answer, “I’d just rather stay sober. Make sure everything goes okay tonight and all.” You send him a nervous smile.

This was your first time being the maid of honor for anybody and you just wanted to make sure your friend didn’t have to stress about anything and that she would have a perfect time leading up to her wedding.

“Designated driver?” He guesses.

“More like maid of honor.” You correct lightly.

“Ah,” Spencer says, hands dipping underneath the bar, “So you planned this weekend, then?”

You nod, “Yep! I just wanted to make sure everyone had a fun time.”

Turning your head to glance back to your friend group, your cheeks burn a little in embarrassment when your friend and bride to be wiggles her eyebrows at you and throws you a thumbs up in encouragement.

Thankfully, Spencer was busy mixing up a drink in a smaller tumbler style glass for you and you hope he didn’t see the way your friend was making eyes at the two of you.

“Here, try this,” Spencer says, offering you the drink in his hand. 

The drink is a bit bubbly and has a red tint, but is transparent in color and topped with a small sprig of what you identify to be rosemary.

You take it in your hand, but shoot him an inquistive look. 

“It’s just club soda, cranberry juice, and a splash of lemon juice.” Spencer informs you, keeping his eyes on you as you take a light sip of the drink.

“Hm!” You noise in delight, looking down at the drink. “That’s pretty good. Refreshing.” You describe, “Why do you have so many mixers in a wine bar?” You question, non-accusingly.

Spencer shrugs and goes back to polishing some wine glasses, putting them back on a holding rack when done. “I used to be a bartender before JJ and Will opened the vineyard to tourists. When they book events, I can still work the bar.”

“So you’re friends with the owners?” 

He smiles, like he’s thinking back at precious memories, “Yeah, JJ and I used to work at the same bar. Then they got married and saved enough money to buy a small vineyard. I didn’t want to bartend forever, people get rowdy and wasted every night. So they offered me a job and I took it.”

“That sounds nice.” You comment, then looking back at your friend group again. “But I’m sure you’re still around rowdy drunks every now and then.”

Spencer chuckles at your observation. “Not nearly as often anymore.”

You both laugh a little.

“You know, you didn’t have to apologize for your friend back there.” Spencer tells you, although a grateful expression remains on his face.

You shake your head in disagreement, “No, I did. I booked this weekend and I’m responsible for my group. If I thought I could get her to apologize, I would, but she would likely just flirt with you again. You shouldn’t be subjected to that when you’re just doing your job.”

“Well, thank you.” Spencer says genuinely, “It’s happened more times than you think.”

“Rich wine snobs?” You guess with a knowing smile.

He nods and a grin appears on his face, “Right on the nose. How’d you know?”

“I work in event planning.” You reveal, you take your finger and roam it about the rim of the glass as you talk to Spencer. 

He’s propped up against the bar now done with polishing glasses. He’s leaned up against the tall wooden counter and you also realize you’re leaning forward as well. Spencer’s very tall, as he’s standing against the bar top he still towers over you as you sit on a bar stool talking to him.

As you are reminded of the reason you are at the vineyard, you glance once again back to the table of bridesmaids and see them having fun amongst themselves, mixing different glasses of red wine together.

You feel comfortable enough to leave them to their own devices while you talk to Spencer and feel yourself relax a bit not having to worry about the party of women.

“Oh, did you plan your friend’s wedding as well?” Spencer inquires.

You shake your head back and forth, “No, I usually stick to smaller events. Weddings are way too stressful. I’d rather deal with a rich wine snob over a bride or groomzilla any day.”

“Really?” He asks surprised. 

You nod and confirm, “Yep, you would not believe some of the horror stories I’ve heard.”

The both of you share a laugh and Spencer leans in a little closer, but hesitates at first, unsure of himself. “Do you live in the area?” He asks cautiously.

You look at him with a slightly confused expression on your face, “Sort of. Why?” You answer vaguely.

He bashfully continues on, “If you’re looking for more work, JJ and Will have been looking for someone to handle the event side of the vineyard. They wanna focus on the wine production part.”

“Oh.” You can only find yourself saying.

“We’re a really small team and don’t have a lot of people full time here, but it’s good work and you’d really only have to come in half the time.” Spencer explains a bit more. Then he leans away from you, searching around the bar for a small cocktail napkin.

He pats his pockets until he draws out a pen and scribbles on the small piece of paper napkin, then handing it to you.

“Go ahead and enjoy the rest of your weekend, but, um, if you’re interested you can contact JJ or Will or, uh, me.”

You accept the napkin from him and look at it, intrigued by the offer. Limiting yourself to smaller scale events led to you usually being busy closer to holidays so it was a good offer. You couldn’t promise him anything yet, especially without talking to the owners, but you’d think about it.

“Thanks.” You say simply.

“And,” Spencer adds on, “just so you know, I wouldn’t be averse to getting to know you outside of work and all either.”

His cheeks and the tips of his ears redden as he looks down at the bar top. You steal a glance at his flushed face and then also steel your gaze downwards when he catches you staring. 

Your rowdy friends eagerly and loudly beckon you back to the table and you leave Spencer behind the bar, but not before thumbing delicately at the corner of the napkin with his number on it.

a/n: this was hard to think of an ending but i hope this classifies as a meet cute? i originally ended this with him asking her out but thought that would be a tad inappropriate when he's supposed to be working so i changed it to be a bit more ambiguous. i have another blurb or hc in mind with this pairing so you might see it again...

[hooked-on-elvis]

Want to read yet another story of Elvis being generous?

How Elvis' friendship with Tom Jones gathered the King with The VOICE

[1] Elvis wearing the 1973 Arabian jumpsuit. Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas. August, 1973. [2] Donny Sumner, letf, Shaun "Sherrill" Nielsen* and Tim Beaty of the Voice, a pop-rock-gospel trio, warm up before their performance at The Villa at 1711 Hayes St. in Nashville on March 1, 1975. They are still recovering from injuries causes by when their van veered off the highway and rolled down an embankment a month before.

LATE JULY - EARLY AUGUST, 1973 Elvis was in Vegas to rehearse for his second 1973 Las Vegas engagement (Las Vegas, Season 9 - From August 6th to September 3rd 1973) While in Las Vegas Elvis had the opportunity to help out his friend Tom Jones, who was facing the possibility of having to replace his vocal group the Blossoms on his current show. When Elvis heard about his predicament, he thought he might do Jones a favor by presenting him with a substitute group. One of the members of his entourage, Kenny Hicks, knew that former Statesmen Sherrill Nielsen and Tim Baty and J. D. Summer’s nephew Donnie had formed a new Nashville vocal group called Voice. Elvis knew all of them well; he had worked with Sherrill in 1966 on How Great Thou Art, and once introduced him to an indifferent Las Vegas audience as “the greatest tenor in gospel music.” Why not fly their new group out to Las Vegas to help Jones out?

#FYI

On the picture above, Elvis is leaving the Anaheim Royal Inn to perform his evening concert on April 24 1973 at the Convention Center in Anaheim, CA (8.30 pm). EP is with his entourage, some of them known Memphis Mafia guys, and his father, Vernon Presley. Kenny Hicks is the one guy on the left, next to Red West. There's not many pictures of them together. Kenny worked as a valet/aide to Elvis, between 1973-1975. In 2010, Hicks published the memoir book, "Elvis, As I Knew Him" (photo 2, book front cover). Kenny is told to be the one letting Elvis know about the Voice group has been formed.

Transported by private jet, the nervous trio arrived at Elvis’s suite, only to be put on the spot to sing for Elvis, Tom Jones, and country singer Bobbie Gentry. Jones was impressed with the group, and he was touched by the offer — but as it turned out, he told Elvis, he had an unbreakable contract with the Blossoms. It may have been the opening Elvis was looking for all along: After giving the group the bad news, with a flourish he produced a piece of paper for them to sign — a year-long contract, he explained, guaranteeing them $100,000 to serve as his backup group and sing with him in private whenever he felt like hearing them, while signing them to his new publishing company. They couldn’t help being shocked, but they gratefully accepted. Before the group left the suite Elvis called his father to announce the news; Vernon, though, was less than enthusiastic to learn of his son’s latest whim, which only supported his constant fear that his son’s indulgences would someday leave them all bankrupt. Excerpt: "Elvis Presley: A Life in Music" by Ernst Jorgensen. Foreword by Peter Guralnick (1998)

Cool, isn't it? EP didn't need to do this, he was in no need for another gospel group (he already had signed The Stamps Quartet to back him in concert for a while now - since 1971), but he signed the Voice, aside from admiring their talent, clearly just to make up for something that went not quite as expected — something he was actually doing to help another one of his friends.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FURTHER INFO

"Sherrill" is Shaun Nielsen's birth name, and it is the name all Elvis fans best know him with, but he changed it to "Shaun" at some point. He said that after enough instances of hearing himself paged 'Phone call for Miss Sherrill Nielsen', he thought changing his name would be a good idea. (Source: elvisoncd.com). Sherrill is a gender-neutral name but, since is not very common for a male, people currently take it as a female name right away.

[mitchipedia]

Trump threatens to jail adversaries in escalating rhetoric ahead of pivotal debate.

The Associated Press, via the Las Vegas Sun:

Trump’s message represents his latest threat to use the office of the presidency to exact retribution if he wins a second term. There is no evidence of the kind of fraud he continues to insist marred the 2020 election; in fact, dozens of courts, Republican state officials and his own administration have said he lost fairly.

Just days ago, Trump himself acknowledged in a podcast interview that he had indeed “lost by a whisker.”

While Trump’s campaign aides and allies have urged him to keep his focus on Harris and make the election a referendum on issues like inflation and border security, Trump in recent days has veered far off course.

On Friday, he delivered a stunning statement to news cameras in which he brought up a string of past allegations of sexual misconduct, describing several in graphic detail, even as he denied his accusers’ allegations. Earlier, he had voluntarily appeared in court for a hearing on the appeal of a decision that found him liable for sexual abuse, turning focus to his legal woes in the campaign’s final stretch.

Earlier Saturday, Trump had leaned into familiar grievances about everything from his indictments to Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election as he campaigned in one of the most deeply Republican swaths of battleground Wisconsin.

“The Harris-Biden DOJ is trying to throw me in jail — they want me in jail — for the crime of exposing their corruption,” Trump claimed at an outdoor rally at Central Wisconsin Airport, where he spoke behind a wall of bulletproof glass due to new security protocols following his July assassination attempt.

There’s no evidence that President Joe Biden or Harris have had any influence over decisions by the Justice Department or state prosecutors to indict the former president.

…

Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika responded to his comments with a statement warning that, if Trump is reelected, he will “use his unchecked power to prosecute his enemies and pardon insurrectionists who violently attacked our Capitol on January 6."

…

As Trump was campaigning, Harris took a short break from debate prep to visit Penzeys Spices in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, where she bought several seasoning mixes. One customer saw the Democratic nominee and began openly weeping as Harris hugged her and said, “We’re going to be fine. We’re all in this together.”

Harris said she was honored to have endorsements from two major Republicans: former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, Liz Cheney, the former Wyoming congresswoman.

“People are exhausted, about the division and the attempts to kind of divide us as Americans,” she said, adding that her main message at the debate would be that the country wants to be united.

“It’s time to turn the page on the divisiveness,” she said. “It’s time to bring our country together, to chart a new way forward.”

Trump held his rally in the central Wisconsin city of Mosinee, with a population of about 4,500 people. It is within Wisconsin’s mostly rural 7th Congressional District, a reliably Republican area in a purple state.

During his speech, he railed against Harris in dark and ominous language, claiming that if the woman he calls “Comrade Kamala Harris gets four more years, you will be living (in) a full-blown Banana Republic" ruled by “anarchy” and “tyranny.”

Trump also railed against the administration’s border policies, calling the Democrats’ approach “suicidal" and accusing them of having “imported murderers, child predators and serial rapists from all over the planet."

Many studies have found immigrants, including those in the country illegally, commit fewer violent crimes than native-born citizens. Violent crime in the U.S. dropped again last year, continuing a downward trend after a pandemic-era spike.

[twistedtummies2]

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 26

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “Truth brings closure.”

Number 26 is…Gil Grissom, from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Perhaps it’s just me, but it feels like a lot of modern mystery shows today tend to veer more towards “crime drama” than your more classic “detective story.” These are shows that feature a more or less ensemble cast, rather than focusing primarily on a single chief investigator. Oh, there may be one or two characters more important than the rest, but at the end of the day, it’s less about one man or woman putting the pieces together, and more a group of people who all have different jobs, working together to stitch the greater puzzle into one solid whole. They try to focus more on “real” detective work (and I use the quotation marks because, even then, there’s usually some romanticization involved), rather than the old-fashioned ideal of the singular sleuth.

I’m not saying this as a complaint, by the way; there are many great shows that have come out of this, and lasted for long periods of time, because something about this formula is as appealing as any other. One of the most popular and long-running examples – as well as one of the first I remember seeing a lot growing up (perhaps more than was healthy, given the nightmares I remember occasionally having) – is “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” The series, as its title implies, focuses on the adventures (if that’s an appropriate choice of word for them) of the CSI operatives of the Las Vegas Police Department. The show had a revolving door of cast members over the course of fifteen seasons (and, fittingly, fifteen years). While many characters came and went, for the first eight-and-a-half seasons of the program, if there was a main character to be found, it was this one: team leader Gil Grissom, played by William Petersen.

My biggest problem with CSI, to be honest, has always been its characters: with only a few exceptions, a lot of the members in the cast I just don’t feel were very interesting. I remember their faces, but I can’t tell you much when it comes to a lot of their personalities, and some characters I probably wouldn’t even remember by name if you asked me. I say all this because this was NOT the case for Gil Grissom: he is genuinely a really interesting, fun, unique character, and probably one of the best leads any crime series of this nature has ever had.

Grissom is a certified genius, who is known for being highly intellectual, and slightly eccentric. He’s fascinated by insects, being a passionate entomologist, but also has many other interests: history, literature, theatre, and art, among others. He speaks in a frequently poetic fashion, making references to various bits of trivia and offering moments of philosophical wisdom here and there. Ironically, he’s not that well-versed in a lot of pop culture references, despite all this. (I can relate.) Throughout the show, Petersen creates a wonderful character that is both detached and sensitive at the same time. On the one hand, Grissom isn’t made of stone; he can be irritated or unsettled by things around him, and he does sympathize with people and feel sorrow about situations beyond his control. He’s even got a spiritual side to his personality. However, he’s also a very logical and practical person: he’s a scientist, before all else, and believes in hard facts and evidence above all. He also doesn’t have many social graces, and will do bizarre and seemingly deranged things for the sake of proving a theory or testing a hypothesis. In short, he’s a bit like a modern day Sherlock Holmes…except maybe a bit less rude.

Part of the way through Grissom’s tenure, it was revealed that he was starting to go deaf, which signaled a change in his character. While he eventually got surgery to save his hearing, this paved the way for the character’s departure about halfway through Season 9. Later lead investigators would enter the series: first came Laurence Fishburne as Ray Langston, who had probably one of the most wild departures from the series to his credit. Following him was Ted Danson as D.B. Russell, who to HIS credit got an episode with an “Alice in Wonderland” theme. (For me, that’s always a plus.) Neither were bad characters – all three leads were the most memorable ones in the show, for me – but I never felt as attached to them as I did Grissom, possibly at least partially because they just weren’t around for as long as he was. For me, whenever I think of this show, I always think of Petersen as Gil Grissom before anybody else.

Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 25!

CLUE: “How did people survive before there were pattern-recognizing sparse representation algorithms?”

[meatcrimes]

Nineteen years. That’s almost two thirds of my life you’ve been gone. I’ll never forget the hot pavement on that sunny, unusually humid July day. I forgave you for this years ago, but if you had known your death would have been a catalyst for so much trauma and pain for your entire extended family, would you have been more careful?

Look at us, those of us who are left. Look at your brother, your daughter, your surviving son. Look at what they’ve overcome in the past nineteen years. Look at me, your niece, and my brother, your nephew who you never got to meet. Look what we’re still trying to overcome. I no longer blame you for the actions of other people done in the wake of your death, but the timeline shifted that day, and whatever track we were on before veered into the wrong lane at 100mph and ever since we’ve been picking up the pieces. I can’t say we would have been better or worse off if we hadn’t lost you, but I can say we all wish you were able to walk your daughter down the aisle at her wedding. Walk your foster son down the aisle at his wedding, because it became legal in 2015 for him and his husband to marry. You had no idea he was gay, did you? Neither did he for many, many years. And the trauma he experienced from your death influenced his own death in his early thirties. Now, you both left widows behind. You have more in common now than you ever did in life.

Look at your daughter, you probably won’t even recognize her, and not just from the weight loss. She’s now a devout Catholic, in a loving marriage with a man who values and respects her, with five beautiful step daughters that call her “mom”. It wasn’t easy for her to get there. She went through far too long of believing herself unworthy and unloveable, and far too many boyfriends who saw her the same way.

Look at your biological son. He’s in the national guard now, making something of his life and what has been left behind. He simultaneously never grew up and grew up all too fast, a lot like me. He doesn’t remember what your voice sounds like, and I wish I could transfer my memory of your voice into his mind. It isn’t fair that I remember your voice and he doesn’t. Really, none of this is fair, never has been, never to anyone. Your generation may have said “Life isn’t fair” with the connotations of “so there!”. Often a justification of their mistreatment of others. But us, we hear it in a different pitch. We hear “life isn’t fair” with “but with compassion and community we can bridge the gaps, even if we can’t close them”.

I don’t remember where I was going with this. I’m sitting in my old room at my dad’s house that he owns, that he bought with money he earned in a career that didn’t exist nineteen years ago. We live in a small town thousands of miles from our ancestral land, in a climate my body will frankly never get used to. I was built for the desert, biologically designed for the Great Basin region. Last time I went back, my anxiety was nearly gone, my acne cleared, my hair didn’t need any styling or products beyond a brush and shampoo. My thyroid condition was getting better at a faster rate than it was before. I thrived in Nevada. I am a Western Shoshone woman. You were a Western Shoshone man, no matter how much you or anyone else ignored it, or explained our genes with ancestry we didn’t share. Las Vegas is haunted ground now. My father plans on never going back, because it reminds him so much of you. And me? No matter how badly I want to return home, it’s not home anymore. It hasn’t been since we lost you. And I don’t think I can rebuild what was destroyed.

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"...HE FOUND ITS STREETS DESERTED, AND ITS EMPTY SHOP FRONTS BATHED IN A HOT AFTERNOON LIGHT."

PIC INFO: Resolution at 1500x1227 -- Spotlight on a photograph titled "Entire Family," undated (possibly '83), shot by Wim Wenders, published 2011.

OVERVIEW: "Wim Wenders is a celebrated film director who won the Palme d’Or in 1984 for his film "Paris, Texas." He is also an artist and uses photography as his medium. "Entire Family" was shot during his travels to Las Vegas, a small New Mexico town far away from its more famous namesake in Nevada. He felt compelled to see this sister city. Upon arrival, he found its streets deserted, and its empty shop fronts bathed in a hot afternoon light.

The framing veers slightly to the left to reveal a sign that reads "ENTIRE FAMILY"; adding tension to the scene as it heightens the sense of solitude and hints at the notion of disappearance. Wenders describes this work as "one of my favourites.""

-- SEDITION ART

Source: www.seditionart.com/wim_wenders/entire_family.

[azspot]

During his speech in Las Vegas over the weekend, for example, Trump suddenly veered into a bizarre fantasy involving sharks and boats and batteries and MIT.

Trump's unhinged shark story should've been major news

[nwonitro]

"FAMILY" DEPART WWE

Drew Gulak, Valentina Feroz, Gable Steveson, Ezekiel Balogun, Julian Baldi, Trey Bearhill, Emmamaria Diaz, Keyshawn Leflore, Darrell Mason, Vlad Pavlenko, Kiyah Saint, Boa, Jinder Mahal, Xyon Quinn, Xia Li, Veer Mahaan and Sanga. WWE COO Brad Blum resigned his position after 18 years of service.

Plus Ethan Page has been released from AEW.

WRESTLEMANIA 41 LOCATION

WWE WrestleMania 41 is announced to take place in Las Vegas's Allegiant Stadium on 19th & 20th April 2025.

[space-cowboy-101]

✈️ Our resident alcoholic pilot dad trying to survive the nuclear apocalypse ✨

-for the new people seeing this, this is a part of my fallout au that’s currently written and i’ve posted seonghwa and hongjoong’s pictures already-

so. yunho. 🥸 shit kinda went down for him ngl. he got shot, thought he was dying, only to get picked up and nursed back to health and finds out there’s a good chance he’ll never see his family again. clearly hongjoong got the better end of the stick 😭

i don’t want to spoil too much about his side of the story (mainly because i’m still fleshing it out and working on it) but it’s quite obvious that he DOES end up joining the brotherhood of steel. but to be honest with y’all, i have no idea what the fuck they’re on about over yonder in their parts 💀 i’ve got hours in the fallout games but hell if i know about the bos aside from them being a little kooky.

the brotherhood was started by a soldier and with yunho’s background as an air force pilot, it only makes sense, right? (i just want to write him flying again, but most importantly, flying a vertibird)

which means i’ll probably veer a little off script and write the brotherhood as best as i can based off what i know of them. idk, it’ll go how it goes i guess 😅

but once again, i’m here to preach about the little fucking vault boy pictures 😭 LOOK AT HIM HUGGING THE BOTTLES! the best part of making them is finding those damn things i swear.

while thinking of yunho’s story and his time with the brotherhood, i can just imagine him meeting a tech/engineer guy!mingi who’s trying to tell yunho that the bos is actually shit and them becoming friends—yunho teaching mingi to fly? bruh. love it.

like in my head, hongjoong’s out in the wastelands scavenging for the vault and he hears a plane or something and sees a vertibird in the air and goes back to tell them about this craft he seen. then he finds out about the brotherhood and shit and when he runs into it again, it’s closer and he actually sees yunho in that cockpit and is like 😶 my man? the father of my son? loml?

ugh the drama in this is gonna be MESSY, especially when yunho comes into play later, but it’ll solve itself 😏 for the kids, of course.

honestly i recently got new vegas and i lowkey kind of want to write a story in vegas? like all the cliches; casinos, gambling, mafia, gangs, you know? i actually started a csi ateez story but it got changed from las vegas to miami because of an episode that i liked and now i‘m kicking myself for that 😭 oh well, i can always write a fallout new vegas au i guess.

anyways, if you haven’t already, feel free to check out my ateez dragon age au if you think this is interesting 🥹 it’s mainly seongjoong but yungi will be in it (and a spin-off of them will later be posted because that’s what spawned this damn beast of a story 😩) and eventually other relationships will come into play.

thanks for taking the time to read this if you made it this far and happy scrolling if you found this in a tag or something ❤️

[buddieisgoingcanon2024]

Ok the Vegas brief trip. R and C were going to Vegas and last minute he invited the couple (who got married at the end of September) along with. It seemed like maybe he needed a buffer or something. It was an extremely short trip.

The Valentine’s post… hold on and let me grab the SS I have.

Here is some of the caption

And it's a challenge! Allowing your partner to veer from the person you met into the person they're meant to be is a struggle sometimes! We grow apart, we fight, but one thing that stays consistent more than anything is our core values. You value family, freedom, creativity, challenges, growth and THAT is what brings me back to you every time. Who you are at your core. That human is unique and irreplaceable. My human. Growing pains are real but you push me to be better.

For those of you wondering. This really sparked the “something isn’t right” conversation even if it was by a few people.

Thanks for the replay of events of Las Vegas.

[rabbitcruiser]

Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas

The Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas, formerly the Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas, is a 47-story luxury hotel and condominium building in the CityCenter complex on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is managed by Hilton Worldwide as part of the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand. It is owned by Tiffany Lam and Andrew and Peggy Cherng.

The hotel was originally owned by MGM Mirage and Dubai World, and operated by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group as part of its luxury chain. It opened on December 4, 2009, occupying the former site of the Boardwalk hotel-casino. It was rebranded under the Waldorf Astoria name in 2018, following a $214 million purchase by Lam and the Cherngs. The hotel has 389 rooms leading up to the lobby on the 23rd floor. The upper floors contain 225 condominium residences.

Source: Wikipedia

Aria Resort and Casino

Aria Resort and Casino is a luxury resort and casino, and the primary property at the CityCenter complex, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by The Blackstone Group and operated by MGM Resorts International.

Construction began on June 25, 2006, with a design by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. Aria received LEED Gold certification for its environmentally friendly design, and is the largest hotel in the world to achieve such a feat. It was also among the most technologically advanced hotels in the world at the time of its opening on December 16, 2009. It was developed as a joint venture between MGM and Dubai World, before being sold to Blackstone in 2021.

Aria's hotel includes two curvilinear glass towers, rising up to 50 stories. The hotel has 4,004 rooms and suites, and is a recipient of the AAA Five Diamond Award and a five-star rating from Forbes Travel Guide. The resort also includes the only casino at CityCenter, with 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) of gaming space. Other features include an 80,000 sq ft (7,400 m2) salon and spa, 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m2) of convention space, and numerous restaurants, as well as artwork and water attractions.

Source: Wikipedia

[buildinggsr]

Chapters: 3/13 Fandoms: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | CSI: Vegas (2021) Relationship: Gil Grissom/Sara Sidle Rating: General Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Time to leave Vegas again has come. But let's not do it so fast, things has to be done first. Set during and after CSI:Vegas 1x10, the fic narrates the events of the rollercoaster night.

The ride on the roller coaster was a blast, but the night is not over yet.

"It's the least we can do," Sara replied warmly. She did not wait to be prompted. "We haven't been to Vegas in years. Not that being here makes much difference, if you know what I mean, but...I think it's only fair to pay a visit before we leave…right?" The question sounded like a jumping-off point for a new subject, but the expression on her face, hitherto outlined by a pride-filled cheerfulness, veered to bashfulness. "I always came here whenever leaving Las Vegas I knew I wouldn't be back for a while." Despite the dimness, Grissom could see her eyes shining. And he felt at peace.

READ ON AO3 | EDIZIONE ITALIANA

[beardedmrbean]

The man behind the wheel of a rented U-Haul truck that plowed into multiple people on streets, bike lanes and sidewalks of two Brooklyn neighborhoods, incriminated himself during statements to police, saying he was looking to be the subject of police gunfire, law enforcement sources said.

The driver, a 62-year-old man police identified as Las Vegas resident Weng Sor, is believed to be the lone actor in the puzzling rampage. Sor was charged with one count of second-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder in the attack, which unfolded over a harrowing 48 minutes over a large swath of Brooklyn’s bustling Bay Ridge and Sunset Park neighborhoods. Police eventually pinned the truck against a building after a miles-long chase.

One person was killed and eight people were injured as the U-Haul truck veered onto sidewalks and plowed into bicyclists, moped riders and at least one pedestrian, hitting people at various points along a circuitous route. The truck also rammed a police car, and the officer inside was among the injured.

Although the motive was not totally clear, the NYPD commissioner stated no evidence currently suggests any terrorism involvement in what she called a "violent rampage." Instead, police said Tuesday that the driver was suffering from an apparent mental health crisis and said he started mowing people down after seeing an “invisible object” coming toward him.

Sor, a troubled man with a history of violence and mental illness, told police seeing that "invisible object" set him off, Chief of Detectives James Essig told reporters Tuesday. Sor's family said he'd stopped taking his medication, Essig said.

"He states when he’s driving his van he sees an 'invisible object' come towards the car. At that point, he says, ‘I’ve had enough’ and he goes on his rampage," Essig said. "There was no object."

Sor, who lived in Las Vegas with his mother, came to New York earlier in February after spending time in Florida and was pulled over twice in the U-Haul in the days prior to the attack, police said. He may have been living out of the truck.

He was walked out of a police station in handcuffs, shouting words about "war" and was expected to be arraigned by Wednesday. Court records did not list a lawyer who could comment on his behalf.

The U-Haul struck three people on mopeds, three people on bicycles, one person on an e-bike and one person who was on foot as the truck moved through a busy section of Brooklyn, just north of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge along New York Harbor, police said. The victims ranged in age from 30 to 66.

A senior law enforcement official told News 4 that Sor said in a statement that he "only ran over bad people — not good people."

A 44-year-old man riding a moped died later on Monday from a head injury after he was hit by the truck roughly a half hour after it struck the first victim. Mayor Eric Adams said the man, who was identified by family as Yije Ye, was a single father “raising those children on his own.”

The victim's cousin told NBC New York that Ye had moved to the U.S. from China nearly two decades ago. He lived in Bay Ridge, according to neighbors, as was delivering food when he was struck. He later died at the hospital.

Yije Ye leaves behind three teenage children, and the family said that the "tragic accident shattered their American Dream."

The scope and length of the destruction led to questions about the NYPD's response and whether the pursuit — which at one point involved a police car speeding after the U-Haul up onto the sidewalk as a man dove to safety — put more people in harm's way.

[occasionally-good-authoring]

Lockpicks- Chapter 1, Rex

@indigothemuse

If there’s one thing Rex had learned, it was never trust anyone willing to pay you millions to destroy a man. But here she was anyway, a million dollars in his pocket and another job on her roster. 

“I need someone of your skills, Björnen. Three million dollars, half a million on acceptance,” he had said. 

The man had practically been shaking when Rex stepped closer.

He placed her left hand on his shoulder. Milton Drake tried not to cower. It didn’t work. She could feel his heart pounding.

Good. They listen when they’re afraid. 

“One.” 

She got one million dollars. 

The job was cut and dry, at least to her. All she had to do was steal Timothy Doherty’s life. With help she didn’t need. All he knew about the others were their names, Veers, Chessboard, and The Backdoor. She’d heard of Veers before, even almost running into them working for Andy Foer. 

Anyone else was news. 

Milton had given him an address in the middle of the worst part of town. All abandoned warehouses and people in alleys waiting for you to step closer so they could slip their spiderleg fingers into your pockets. 

Perfect for breaking. Snapped just like twigs in the fall, and felt just as good when they did. Perhaps even better. 

The skeletal frames slipped into the shadows when she passed by. Fading into the corners from which they came, scared of the bear on the streets. Scared of Björnen. She feels the smile on lips, a snarl that keeps the skeletons away. His are the only footsteps heard on the sidewalk, heavy and loud. Boot treads inches thick, making her even taller. 

The bear on the streets will not be forgotten. Björnen will be remembered. He will be the face in their dreams, the forever aching in their spiderleg limbs if they slip those fingers into his pockets.

She dares a skeleton to scurry forward from the shadows. Dares the spiders to leave their webs. But they’re scared of the bear on the streets. 

Too scared to be any fun. It almost makes him miss the Las Vegas streets from her first job in America. The skelett’s were fearless there, fearless until Björnen wrapped his thick fingers around their thieving little wrists.

But then one skeleton stares too long, fingers dancing on their leg. A spindel has made their choice.

Come little spindel. Leave your web, liten spindel. Think me a fly. 

Rex slows his pace, letting the spider creep closer, its footsteps joining hers in time. They are quite, nearly silent. Not quiet enough. Björnen hears them coming. The spindel is one of the better ones, she can barely feel her wallet leave their left jacket pocket. 

The spindel’s wrist is bony when his fingers wrap around it. Rex drinks in the look of terror, sweeter than any godis she’s ever eaten. 

“Please,” the spindel whispers. Björnen smiles, a grisly snarl perfectly tailored for liten spindel’s. “I’m sorry.”

The joint snaps nicely in Björnen’s hand. His hand flies quickly to cover the spindel’s scream. Rex is the only one who gets to hear this lovely scream. It is hers to hers to drink. His to cherish. 

“Do not scream. Quiet.” She takes her hand away. The skeleton whimpers, but does not scream. He lets go of the spindel’s wrist. Wide eyes stare up at him, knees buckled to the ground.

Someone laughs from above, someone has drank in the pain of this skelett. Rex looks around, but no one is there. 

The spindel is still staring when she looks back. 

“Hej då, skelett,” he growls. 

The skeleton scrambles away, feet and hands scraping on the ground. Back to its web the liten spindel goes to wait for another fly.

Rex keeps walking, fast and heavy on the broken concrete. She wonders how far until the address Milton gave her.

The walk is no fun if the skeletons are too scared to lurk. 

There’s only towers of dust-covered boxes inside the warehouse. Wooden crates threaten to fall with a constant slight creaking. Cardboard wilted with age and mold are littered around the floor, leaving the room a haze of mildew and dust older than Rex is. 

In the center, there’s a card table. Four chairs, shining and new. He’s not the first one here. Milton Drake would never set foot in a place like this. Italian leather doesn’t agree with mothballs and stained floors. 

Neither do cups of hot coffee. It’s not on the table.

The coffee is strong, drifting down from somewhere. It smells just like the coffee Mamma used to make. He breathes past it, letting the smell of old rot fill his lungs again. She looks up, then around. There’s a cup of coffee, still steaming, on the very top of a tower of crates. 

He stiffens, hands in fists, ready for whoever she has to work with. But the room is empty for everything but that cup of coffee and the card table. 

She pulls a chair, and sits. He pulls a sketchbook from her right jacket pocket, and pencil with it. 

The only sound in the warehouse is the scratching of his pencil. And the creaking of the crates. 

“Hello.” She did not hear footsteps, only words spoken with skratt sewn into the simple greeting.

Rex flinches, a thick line ruining the sketch of her old anka. 

She turns quickly, out of his chair. The scraping fills her ears, and the figure behind him steps out of Rex’s reach. 

“Björnen, nice to meet you,” a smirk grows. They take a step closer, looking up with damm green eyes. 

“I say the same, Veers.” 

Rex holds out his hand, Veer takes it and shakes.

“En kopp kaffe?” Veer’s Swedish is that of a nine year olds. But the offer is genuine and Veer’s smirk has turned to a godis sweet smile.

“Ja.”

Veer’s coffee is black, sugar and cream lacking from this mildew warehouse. Veer sits above Rex, perched on the creaking boxes, en liten fågel. Xer laughter floats down from above. Light as a fågel’s call.

[praeyrp]

Name: Ren --- Age: 1000+ Species: kitsune Job: chef, baker & moonlighting cleaner & possible hitman Group: dawn court or rogue Relationship: complicated™, best friend, confidant, co-worker & possible LI Personality: disciplined, cautious, strong-willed, calm, quiet. Divided between cold-blooded & kind. Notes: FC & surname are open, pls keep Asian (technically Japanese)! (Lee Dong Wook is shown; Tony Thornburg, Gong Yoo, Will Yun Lee, Jaeuck Kim, or anyone over 40, would also work!) Connections: Mei, Bastian Vega, Alexis Belmore, Demetrio Dimas, Gwendoline Bryker, Vincent Hawkins, Chinatsu Saito Link: Here

This is a very long, slow burn story, about two very disciplined and strict idiots and their complicated, unrequited (but are they?) feelings. I have no qualms with this going either which way, it’ll likely be played by ear a lot, but in the end they can either stay as just friends and colleagues, or they can finally and eventually, cross their very well maintained lines. Again, I’m fine with whatever direction they veer towards!

Mei and Ren met in Thailand a few centuries ago when Mei and her second hand, Renaud, were traveling through Asia learning about Eastern specific baking techniques and flavor profiles to bring into their future bakery. Near the end of their time within Thailand they’d stop by a restaurant in which Ren was head chef, and it was this night that the trio of like-minded foodies, wined and dined, and became fast friends over a shared passion. Mei’s view of the world was expansive, a fact Ren would latch on to, where Mei rather latched onto what Ren was; kitsune, a species she found kinship within.

They were quickly inseparable, and would spend the following centuries in some form of contact, whether it was physical, or via other correspondence; they were never all that far from one another’s ear.

Ren and Mei have drifted apart and come back together countless times over the years, though since the opening of her bakery in LA, he’s moved and settled back in at her side. Renaud is also still around (NPCed) and while he probably knows about their unrequited BS too, he’s much like Hanako in that he doesn’t care, and frankly, finds them both ridiculous lol.

Up until the present their lives have largely been lived as colleagues, and this is mostly all they know of each other, allowing the other to live their own life as adults often do. Mei however, has a lot of hidden facets that stretch well beyond the realm of her bakery, in which Ren works alongside her, and much like Mei, so too does Ren have his hidden parts.

The biggest for them both, is that they actually run in adjacent, overlapping circles, which bloodies their hands without the other ever knowing.

Mei has worked as an assassin/escort (a black widow) for as long as she's been a spellbinder; this is a facet of her that none but her father-figure, and those she works with and for, knows. It was what she was raised and trained into by her demonic fathers (Matthias and his brother Loki), and something she keeps very compartmentalized from the world around her. Not even her second closest confidant, her coven's supreme, knows anything about this life. Oddly, so too does Ren work within this world. His ties have always been to the Yakuza, where he's moonlit for centuries as a cleaner and occasional hitman, though since moving to the US, those ties have slackened and become complicated.

Missing this piece of himself I'd love for him to brush up against, and eventually cross over to join the same company Mei works for; the Syndicate.

The Yakuza's presence within the US is weak, and the Syndicate isn't kind to anyone toing into their territory, so he'd never make it under their hand, in LA; hence his joining the Syndicate.

I'd love for this to be without them having any prior knowledge of things, or each other within this world. Just drop them right into things head first, which should help shake up their overly strict views of life and how cautious they are with everything. Very much Mr & Mrs Smith vibes (the movie), where they're dropped into a situation that forces them to reveal things they've kept hidden for so long.

Additionally, Mei is actually the mother of the spellbinder species as a whole, another facet of herself that only a few people know about, and Ren isn't one of them. I do suspect that he suspects there's more to her than she's ever really told him, but he's not the sort to push, as pushing opens him up to being pushed back-- and they have their secrets that need to be kept secret. Once their common second job is revealed however, it should lead them into a confrontation where Ren questions more of Mei, and vice versa (would LOVE for him to have more secrets to uncover, but that's up to you!!)

Mei's kinship with kitsune is quite a literal one, as it was a kitsune's blood that finally birthed the spellbinder species within her, so her blood is half mortal, and half kitsune, a fact that I think Ren would likely latch onto as a reason he's always fallen in beside her so seamlessly. I do see them, both and in their own very odd ways, as two romantics who've simply compartmentalized that portion of themselves. All this uncovering of things however, would likely bring this to the surface, allowing them to admit hard truths about themselves, and where they stand within their tie to each other.

Again, where they wind up in the end, is completely open, and I’m more than happy to brainstorm stuff and see where we land! On a whole though, I’m just looking for someone close for Mei to confide in, and open up to, and keep her secrets, while she keeps theirs. Something she doesn’t currently have and needs desperately~