George’s slightly off-center view of the world
What amused me
Since the days of Bugsy Siegel, Las Vegas has attracted revelers looking for the freedom to gamble, pay for sex (if you’re not famous) and, of late, dine in ostentatious “gourmet” establishments promoting their celebrity chefs. Now another freedom is threatened. Free parking is going the way of the free buffet.
“Even the mob didn’t dream of charging people for parking on the Strip.”
— Steve Sebelius, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Did you enjoy your various Solstice-holiday meals? Gathering with relatives and friends and neighbors for good cheer and good food. Avoiding too much political discussions, we hope. We’ve compiled on-line reviews of Poppa and Gram’s family Christmas feast. How did your holiday repast compare?
Poppa and Gram’s Christmas Dinner ★★★☆☆ (10 ratings)
In the 1986 movie “Top Gun,” Tom Cruise played the part of an ace fighter pilot. Cruise’s character was based on Randy “Duke” Cunningham, a genuine ace, highly decorated for his exploits in the Vietnam War. Following the war, he was an instructor in the Navy Fighter Weapons School, known as TOPGUN. Cunningham parlayed his twenty-year Navy career into election to the U.S. House, representing California’s 50th Congressional District in San Diego County.
Among the many things that Portland, or Portlandia if you prefer, claims to have originated or is the leader of, is Santacon. Supposedly inspired by the “Santa Rampage” in San Francisco, the first “Santacon,” a pub-crawl of revelers dressed as Santa Claus crowded the sidewalks and streets in 1996. The initial event ended in a standoff with police who barred their entrance into the Lloyd Center shopping mall. Santacon was organized – if ‘organized” is the right word – by a group called The Portland Cacophony Society.
