Photo by Jae Song.
Monthly Archives: November 2012
TACOS
Joe, Jae’s New York roommate, told us we should check out Tacos El Gordo, a place on East Charleston he’d discovered on a recent visit to Las Vegas. So we did.
The results were most satisfactory. Above, Jae studies the menu board in preparation for ordering another round of tacos.
The spicy pork tacos were considered especially fine.
We left in a cheerful mood, heading home to watch the Notre Dame/USC game, on which money had been wagered.
THE BRIGHT SIDE
. . . of Black Friday — today was also Record Store Day, on which record companies release limited edition vinyl discs to independent record stores exclusively. I snagged this 7-inch edition of “Duquesne Whistle”.
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AN LP COVER FOR TODAY
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CHRISTMAS IN THE HEART TRACK BY TRACK
Track by track commentaries on one of the greatest of all Dylan albums, one of the greatest of all albums by anybody:
O, Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fidelis)
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
FIRST SPIN
. . . of the season. Tomorrow . . . egg nog!
Click on the image to enlarge your Christmas spirit.
CRUISING
The coroner’s 24-hour disaster response vehicle, just driving around looking for Thanksgiving casualties.
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MOM
. . . looking good on Thanksgiving, with terrified dog.
THE FEAST
. . . was a great success. The turkey took about two hours longer to cook than it was supposed to, but emerged from the oven a thing of beauty.
The rest of the meal was fine, too — Jae’s garlic mashed potatoes, the chorizo stuffing, some peas, a store-bought but excellent pumpkin pie, and way too much Beaujolais Nouveau.
I crashed immediately after the pie — Jae went off to join a poker tournament and afterwards stayed up all night gambling. Youth in action, while old age dozes — comme il faut.
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DELIA IN LAS VEGAS
An audio-only version of “Delia” from Dylan’s concert in Las Vegas last month:
My sister Lee, PZ and I had the joy of hearing it live.
PLATTERS
A selection of cheeses and some paté to stave off hunger while waiting for the turkey to cook, as other platters spun merrily in the background . . .
Photos by Jae Song.
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AN LP COVER FOR TODAY
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CONCENTRATION
Intent on . . .
. . . the chorizo, for Jae and Lloyd’s traditional chorizo turkey stuffing, now just awaiting the meat.
It won’t be long now . . .
Photos by Jae Song.
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LLOYD’S MODERN LIFE: DOWN ESCALATOR
. . . featuring the saddest man in Las Vegas.
ON THE TOWN
Shopping for the Thanksgiving feast completed, Jae and I headed to The Strip.
Dinner first on the terrace at Mon Ami Gabi.
Yes, that is a bottle of Tavel on the table in front of me, to go with our oysters, mussels and sea scallops.
Then it was off to Bill’s Casino for a poker tournament. Note the hopeful gleam in my eye in the picture above, as we waited for the tournament to begin. Jae got knocked out early, holding two pair and getting his massive bets called by a guy on a flush draw, who put Jae all-in on the turn. He made his flush on the river.
I reached the final table and got knocked out in fourth place. Only the top three places paid, making me, officially, the saddest man in Las Vegas.
You can see in the picture above that I’m holding up manfully after the devastating loss — I got knocked out by a woman from Kansas who only plays in a home game with her lady friends. On my last hand, down to just a few chips, I went all-in with a pair of fives. She called me with a pair of queens, which held up. Oh, those ladies!
Jae meanwhile had wandered around the casino playing recklessly at various table games — and winning. He left $70 up for the night — I left $30 down. That’s Las Vegas, brother.
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