5 DAYS!!

:)

Also, as predicted, Steve Forbes made it into the finals of The Contender. I thought he would be fighting Norberto Bravo, but he is fighting Grady Brewer! I love both of these guys (N and G)-really great families and personalities, so I didn't care who won, but I thought N would. This final will be great this Tuesday at the Staples Center. Wish I could fly out to LA for a day and see it.

Phoenix and Las Vegas

Phoenix is HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!! I do not know why ANYONE would want to live here. I can't believe how hot it is...people can actually work outside?! We could not avoid the set up we had to do in 110 degree weather. It seemed like this concert did not run as smoothly as El Paso. It was hard because most people just wanted to get inside in the A/C and not stand outside and Dance like Shakira. We started a little later than normal and ended at 7:30 so we didn't spend too much time on the dance tent. After we took the tent down (and sweated a lot more), Karla and I went to
watch Shakira for about 30 minutes. We went up to front row (thank you All Access pass :) ) and watched her shake her bon bon. It was so funny because Shakira kept looking at Karla for some reason...haha.

Here are some pictures that I took in Phoenix:















My Bus















The massive tent




















Shakira workin' it


Vegas Baby Vegas! Vegas is, well, awesome!!! First off, you don't even know how excited I was to hear that Justin Timberlake was performing at House of Blues the SAME night Shakira was performing. He performed at midnight, while Shakira went on at 8:30. We got lucky here because we are at Mandalay Bay and are not allowed to set up any tents so all we have to do is small promoting. It went really well because everyone was very receptive and we were able to small contents for customers to win tix, shirts, etc. After dinner, I was walking back to the concourse and Wyclef walked by, looked at me, and said "where can I get one of those shirts?" I had my Verizon Shakira tank top on...he's a very nice guy. And then, one of the Verizon Execs came up to me and asked for my Chocolate backup phone. It turns out Wyclef wanted the phone, so now he took my spare! Good thing I have his number now...haha. Karla and I went up to front row again for a few songs before heading back to the bus to relax for a bit.
After finishing up work, we headed back to the bus to get ready for Justin's concert. Elisia (my tour manager) was able to score tickets to the show for free....sweet! We arrived at House of Blues around 11:30, got settled at a standing location, and got a drink. The show started around 12:30am (late, of course) and it was AWESOME!!! He played 5 songs that everyone already knows and then he played 5 new ones which were VERY good! The show was over around 1:30, and Karla and I went to say hi to my friend, Dave Brown, Justin's tour manager. On our way, we saw Johnny Wright and the Making the Band 3 girls. They are tiny! But it was cool to see them.
Karla and I then decided to head over to Rum Jungle to dance up a storm. They played really good music and we danced until 3:30am. Our bus call was 4am and we were on our way to Los Angeles for a few days off and then Staples Center on Tuesday...

Here are some Vegas Pics:















Hoover Dam















Hand made statues at the Bellagio















Karla and I at Bellagio

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What Would Frank Gehry Do?

A big yawn has greeted the news that Marriott and Ritz Carlton will build a combination hotel/condo across from the Staples Center.

According to an article in Los Angeles Business, “Marriott Hotel Services will be the operator of the 876-room Los Angeles Marriott Marquis which will house the Los Angeles Convention Center, while Marriott International's (NYSE: MAR) subsidary Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. will run the 124-room Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Los Angeles, which will be located on top of Marriott Marquis.”

The illustrations recall the dullest corporate styles of the 1960’s, like something along New York’s Avenue of the Americas or our own Century City. How could they propose something that banal in 2006? Is Donald Trump on the Ritz Carlton board of directors?

Perhaps the hotel suits have not heard of a man named Frank Gehry. He has shown that a building must look like a piece of couture. It should flow with sensual abandon, caressing the steel structure as a silk nightgown caresses a woman’s body. It must be nipped and tucked and hemmed and taken in various places. The façade must never be rendered in right angles. It must bend and weave, whirl and gyrate so that the materials seem to be a living, breathing protoplasm.

What would Mr. Gehry do with the rigidly dull Ritz Carlton/Marriott project? Why he would put the Gehry stamp on it! It would have to be diaphanous, visionary, ethereal.

If he walked into the hotel chain headquarters and got his hands on the blueprints….

He would rip the façade of right angles right off and shake it out and when he sewed it back onto the building it would be so beautiful that it could walk down the red carpet at a Hollywood premiere.

Monday Spitoon.

It's Monday..yet again. Le sigh. With that kind of title, don't expect much from me on this post. I have only had half a cup of coffee because I ran out of my delicious Creme Brulee' creamer, which turns my normal ol' coffee into a cup of tastebud heaven. My coffee right now tastes a lot like.....well.....coffee.(yawn)

So anyways, where was I? I was suppose to regale you of my stories from this weekend. I was suppose to be excitedly typing about how I met Madonna after her concert, she fell in love with me and I'm now hired as her FWB. OH and how Guy Ritchie and Brad also fell in love with each other and have been on a "fishing trip" for the entire weekend.
Yes.
A good story that would have made indeed.

Unfortunately, the box office thwarted my plans and security at the Staples Center "cocked blocked" me. Long story short.. I got "okay" floor seats (box office told me they were GREAT), I saw my girlfriend again (after I stood up on a chair to look over 4 rows of people who were NOT short) but she couldn't see me because security refused to let anyone stand by the barrier this time around (I spit upon Staples Center security.. PATOOEY!). Oh well. You win some, you lose some. On a more positive note, I WAS entertained by the people I sat by. On my left were drunk Barbie girls who spent the first half of the show looking for their equally drunk friend, then the second half on the floor looking for their purse, camera and their balance. Two of the drunk girls saw me standing on my chair and thought.. "what a good idea!" Yeah. Not so much when you've had a few too many margaritas. One girl immediately hit the floor after the first attempt, (she forgot that "folding chairs" do indeed, "fold up"..even when you don't want them to. Those sneaky chairs.) the other girl soon followed and hit the floor HARD, after getting a little too jiggy with it during "Ray of Light." I think they sustained a few bruises and concussions from the concert, but because of the numbing beauty of alchohol, they got up and kept right on dancing. Another guy behind us decided, "Hey, what's a Madonna concert without lighting up a doobie?" NICE! So we all got a free, second hand highs and danced the night away with happy sloppy grins. Good times. Good times. I was a tad disappointed with my seats, but I couldn't help but have a great time anyways, with the crazy people I was sitting by. The sad part about the whole situation is that I realized that the farther back you get from the stage, the more you'll find the real fans, who scrimped and saved for seats that require binoculars yet, they're still having the time of their lives. The people in the front (like Uma Thurman who was there that night) decided they were just going to sit down and enjoy their hotdog. Its a bit unfair that the people who love the woman have to fight for seats from people who have the money but could really care less. (except that chick from the 70's show, Mila Kunis, who was (I heard) dancing her ass off the entire time).
But in the end, I'm just happy I got to see her THREE times! I am SO ready for my official Stalker Card!

So, much to the relief of many readers (and Brad), the Madonna worship will now cease on this blog. She's officially done with her L.A. dates...sniff...I will miss you Mrs. Ritchie. And in honor of this momentous finale..I leave you with a few verses from the Book Of Ciccone,(that's Madonna's maiden name for those of you not in the know):

Travis Takes On Capps

PLEASE NOTE: I made a huge mistake which you'll see outlined by several anonymous commenters -- TV stations do have to give out this information...I'm keeping this up here as I am not afraid to say I made a mistake and the comments herein are still valuable.

ORIGINAL POST:
Travis Armstrong took on Lois Capps today adding another woman to his hit list -- the article which talked about political spinmeisters "touting poll results to help their causes but won't give you the actual data." -- do you think he's been reading BlogaBarbara? We've been talking about these ghost results for at least a week.

It is not necessarily common for a congressperson to spend so much money on a local race -- I'll give Travis that much. I won't touch his unrespectful attitude towards Capps as this is not news when it comes to women office holders and the News-Press editorial department. I do have to question though how he actually got KEYT-TV (I assume) to show him a copy of the check her campaign wrote. What right does any local TV station have to share that kind of information? Yes, it will be made public soon anyway -- but does that make it right?

Is it anything like the big TELCOS giving our phone information to NSA without our permission? Maybe not, but you've got to wonder why our local television station is sharing their client information so easily. Travis wonders out loud why a member of congress is interjecting themselves so heavily into a local race -- I wonder why our community newspaper is interjecting themselves so heavily in several local races (see the Valley Voice endorsement of Guzzardi and Secord, as well as their own) to such an extent that they are getting sensitive client information....did he threaten them with a law suit? Why was the information handed out so freely?

Much like Skybox tickets at Staples Center -- I couldn't go to a "local TV station" (read TV Hill?) and get this kind of information on my own...is this the pot calling the kettle black? Did he use his position and the paper's attorneys to find out how much was spent? He's got some 'splainin to do.

Cinderella Run?

I rarely get to watch basketball games on TV anymore; normally, I just check the scores on the Net. Yesterday, however, I got a chance to watch Game 4 of the Suns-Clippers best-of-seven series in the National Basketball Association (NBA) second round playoffs.

Prior to this game, the Suns had a 2-1 advantage over the Clippers, and were looking to push the Clippers to the brink of elimination.

In this series, it’ll pretty much boil down to whoever controls the tempo of each game. If the Suns are able to run and shoot the ball consistently, it’ll be bad news for the Clippers. However, if the Clippers’ big men, particularly Elton Brand and Chris Kaman, control the boards, the Clippers will gain the advantage.

Aspects of the above were most apparent in Game 2, when the Clippers out-rebounded the Suns 57-26, en route to a 122-90 thrashing of the Suns. I’m not sure what happened in the Suns’ wins, not being currently connected to the Net, but I guess they were able to run and shoot.

In Game 4, I saw shades of both teams’ styles emerge. The Clippers, even without Kaman, who suffered a shoulder injury in Game 3, were able to out-rebound the Suns. This was especially telling on the offensive boards, because it gave the Clippers a passel of second chance points.

I tuned in during the third quarter, when the Clippers led by double figures for most of the way.

Then, the Suns came roaring back, running the ball down the court, and shooting it in for quick points. Key shots were a booming 3-pointer by Raja Bell, and an awesome alley-oop from Shawn Marion (I think) to Boris Diaw, paring the Clippers’ lead all the way down to a single point, with about a minute remaining in the game.

But, Brand hit a looping jumper, and Sam Cassell shot a 3-pointer, expanding the lead once more. In the end, the Clippers prevailed 114-107, tying the series at 2-2, and placing the pressure back on the Suns, who will be home for Game 5.

It looks like the predictions of many that this series will go the distance will come true. However, I’m hoping that the Clippers can maintain the momentum of this win, overcome the home-court advantage of the Suns in Game 5 and close out the series in Game 6, at home in the Staples Center.

It’s been a wonderful season for a team so long mired in mediocrity. Here’s hoping that this season is just the first of many a good one in the future.