Vegas!- The Show

Vegas!- The Show

This is a must-see! The entire show was phenomenal from start to finish. It opens up with a maintenance guy working at the Neon Museum- another must see here in Vegas, and since we have been there, we already had a personal link to this show. This show had something or someone on all levels of the builds and across the stage. Colors popped, a real band (more of an orchestra, really) was all over the sets as well. Sometimes they were on the stage, sometimes in a window cut-out, sometimes way up on a rooftop. The variety was amazing. The wide walkway was even utilized to bring some of the dancers and singers out into the crowd, engaging everyone. To see what I mean, check out http://www.vegastheshow.com/Vegas_Show_Gallery.cfm

There was the Rat Pack, the famous Vegas Showgirls (family show? It is Vegas, baby. Or was, which is the point of this show!), Sony and Cher, Elton John, the list goes on.  And being a local, and an archaeologist, some of the history tossed in here or there may have fallen on the visitors’ ears as, oh, that’s neat, and forgotten.  But I had been to some of those places, heard the history from locals, seen the old newspaper clippings. This was a great addition to the entertainment, and of course, the reason behind the who, the what, the where, and the when, including the story of segregation in the world of performance.

A few of the Variety acts were also in Vegas! The roller skating duo, the tap dancing brothers; all amazing and totally worth being a part of both shows. This was great. If a family can only hit up one show while in town, Vegas! it is.

This show was over the top and then some. The stage seemed to expand exponentially to fit the musicians and the dancers and the singers and the costume changes- cute effect with the brides, I laughed out loud. As a matter of fact, my face hurt from a full night of enjoyable entertainment. This is an excellent show and we have recommended it, just as with Variety, to everyone since.

This also had a long line to get in with general admission, a photo op, and a meet n’ greet at the end. The line was pretty fast moving but finding seating for groups was hard; the employees were running around trying to accommodate. They deserve a hearty, Thank You, you are all amazing, from management-if not more, but let’s be honest here, sometimes getting that is amazing. Being just two of us we were able to get quick seats along with wide walkway. This was maybe not so hot, we felt like missed much of the fancy foot work floor show, although we did see the feet on the tap dancers… But we will definitely be back!  And standing in line from the get-go to get the best view.

Who knows, maybe having a head in the way would have cut out more of the show. Actually, our seats allowed us the see the whole stage, at all levels, including an upfront and personal interaction from one of the dancers on the walkabout, so maybe this was a blessing in disguise. The final WOW was that as we filed out, one of the singer/dancers was walking right behind me! I told him it was a great show and we chitchatted on the way down the steps to the meet and greet section. How cool is that! We will definitely be back to Vegas!

(image from website)

V-The Ultimate Variety Show

V-The Ultimate Variety Show

The intro to this story will be shared in another blog post. Suffice it to say here, my connection, was able to get us comp tickets to the following shows. I am forever grateful for his offer and fitting around the schedule of my family. Here is the review of one show, to be followed with the other, and this same introduction.  

We did a double-feature: V-The Ultimate Variety Show first and then ran to catch Vegas! The Show. The theater for Vegas! was much larger than for Variety. Unfortunately, we had to step out to grab a quick bite (we both ran to the Strip after work and tried to find our way to the theaters after securing parking and crowd surfing across the street, flowing between vehicles stopped on a crosswalk, getting our tickets and then getting right in line at the other theater). This put us about halfway through the line to get in. This was not so hot, as all the seats were sold out, and we missed most of the fancy foot work floor show, just desserts is what we get for stopping off. So get in line early and wait, it is so worth it. As it turns out, our location put us in the perfect spot to talk to the cast! Not so bad, after all.

 But we will definitely be back!  And standing in line from the get go to get the best view.

On with the show!

The shows were both amazing! Absolutely amazing. Variety was hilarious and awe-inspiring. Vegas! was just over the top and perfectly a little bit of everything from old to new. Here is the review I sent, I hope it inspires you to see the shows also!

V The Ultimate Variety Show

This was a wonderful show in an intimate theater setting. We sat General Admission and were in the last row just before the sound and light booth but the view was spectacular given the size of the theater. We saw everything and could see each dancer and performer across the stage.

Wally Eastwood was a wonder to behold at juggling. He was the MC introducing each act and did his juggling gig in between. He had the entire crowd cheering “Faster, Wally, Faster,” and his skill was evident as the pins whirled and blurred from view. The funny anecdotes about his family kept the crowd laughing and his skill with the hats and the synthesizer had everyone in awe. The best was his completely believable chipper attitude throughout the show, culminating in the joke about having to be that happy two show a night for so many odd years. The crowd was rolling.

The show opened with an amazing hula-hoop act. The beatbox group, MO5AIC, was truly amazing. They did a variety of songs and medleys. The Skating Aratas is what I wanted to see from the get-go. They were phenomenal. I was so nervous they were going to skate right off the tiny platform. But just like figure skaters on ice, they seemed to be flawless. Sean and John, the tap dancing brothers, were so entertaining. The choreography brought me back to my childhood hearing stories of my father tap dancing, when it was the “in” thing to do. The surprising thing about the brothers dancing was that it just kept going. It wasn’t a short stint and done. It was all over the stage, all kinds of moves: sometimes just feet, sometimes with arms, sometimes whole body movements. They had parts together, pauses to showcase one then the other, or what seemed like different foot work that then came together.  

The First Lady of Magic had my full attention. Her story about her life touched me, being a woman, a wife, and trying to balance family and a career. It was so nice to hear a real life story about someone living in Vegas and what it means to be in show business, any business really, and how it doesn't always fit with family life. Now that I am a local, her story seemed more like reality than just something made up to tell the crowd. Having watched plenty of behind-the-magic shows I tried to find the secrets in hers, to see where they wanted our eyes to go and look elsewhere. But I didn't see any of it coming; the whole show was a total surprise. The best part was the box of swords. One dancer was in, then it was Melinda in her blue cape and blond long hair- but no! Once the sheets came down it was one of the male dancers, pulling off the wig and cape as he stepped out of the box! Amazing.

Crowd pleasing and nervous at the same time were the balancing duo, Aerial Expressions?. These guys had a great floor act on stage but then they were swinging out over the crowd! Everyone was turning in their seats to get a better view. They seemed to swing up so close to the stage ceiling and then so low the crowd got nervous, however those on the wings could see there was no danger at all. This was my husband’s favorite part. Amazing, astonishing, remarkable, and incredible.

I had read up on some comments available on the various travel and general review websites. The negatives were just that, negative, and even in some there was something great that they felt they had to share. Negatives included the price of a drink or lacking strength of the alcohol. Its Vegas, baby, you are going to pay for quality, deal with it.  One thing not lacking in quality was this show. Many commenters said kids from ages 6 to teens found a part of this show that was good- now that says something. A variety show is just that, a variety. There is something for everyone, so of course not everyone is going to be pleased with everything-some commenters even liked the show better than the Cirque shows. Woot woot! But we are both so glad we went and saw this show. 

We have both recommended it to anyone looking for options, especially family-friendly ones. One downside was the long lines for general admission, but it’s a price saver for sure. They take pictures of your family and have them available for purchase, at a pretty good price considering its Las Vegas (and yes, I do keep track-though we never buy them I might start since it is hard enough to get both of us in a picture at the same time). The coolest thing is that some of the performers are available after the show as a meet and greet and photo op. A great way to recap a great show. 

For pictures of the acts, theater location, and to purchase tickets visit http://www.vtheshow.com/

Every Light in the House is On

(uncredited picture published on article page of SpouseBUZZ)


Every Light In The House Is On


My publishing credit: credited as “Guest Blogger” “Christina” (see bio below) (I am going to frame my acceptance email!)

Published by SpouseBUZZ of Military. com on November 30, 2012, in Deployment, Military Life by Guest Bloggers.

Everyone has weird quirks, some are weirder than others. One of my biggest quirks, which hurts in the pocketbook, is leaving our holiday lights on all night long. I’m talking 5 p.m to 5 a.m.; our house can probably be seen from space when it’s decked out for the holidays.

My husband sees those lights and he sees dollar signs.  He thinks winter is a time when we can recoup from the languid, unbearable Florida summers of non-stop air conditioning.

I see those lights and see comfort during long deployment months — something that is vital at a time when, traditionally, families are coming together, not being split asunder. While our military operations abroad might be drawing to a close, I will continue to fight this battle at home.

I fight the good fight with Christmas lights. Because I was alone during our first Christmas as a married couple. It was hard to come home and destress about work or traffic to no one. As many spouses know, talking out loud can sometimes make the room seem so much more … empty.

Due to the nature of the mission I could talk to my husband only about once a month.  I was holding my breath in dread, weeks on end with every news report that came out. I never knew how my husband would be described if his time was up. Would it be just a number of casualties, would they mention his country of origin, his branch of service, his rank, his age, his name?

I was most assuredly jealous of my fellow spouses who complained that they couldn’t deal with the multiple calls a day from over there:  doesn’t he/she understand?

Oh, I understood the need to make those calls; I would be the one calling every other hour if I was over there. So much for being the strong, independent one.

To fill the void in the hours after my solitary dinner and before report-time for work the next day, I went out the door of what had become my narrow life and into the greater world to search for the light. Holiday lights.

Sometimes I bundled up and walked around the neighborhoods. Other times I drove around to the more affluent areas and basked in glory and appreciation for the lengths these people went to: single color, multicolored, flashing, strobe, ropes, net lights, minimalist, circus-worthy, wreaths, vehicles, characters, deer, polar bears, menorahs of all sizes, colors, and quantities, lighted fake palm trees, manger scenes of various sizes, cultures, and ethnicities, toy soldiers and purple hippopotami.

I was especially thankful, and made the point to silently thank, each and every time, those who left their lights on all night. Some were surely forgotten, others, it seemed, left them on just for me. Perhaps they actually did.

So last year I was dead-set on leaving my lights on all night long. One night, my husband and I had another round about why the lights needed to be on even after we had gone to bed and why we couldn’t take them down until the end of January. I stepped outside to enjoy my lights. I saw the two candles I had placed in the windows–part of that age old sign of welcome–were not lit.

I wondered if I could replace them without my husband noticing. Because I will leave the lights on for that one person who may be searching for solace and healing the wound of the missing other.

Christina is a proud war bride, military “dependent,” writer,and volunteer. She met her husband while working two jobs and he stuck with the despite the long and crazy hours away from each other. And so began her experience with the military. Scrapping the wedding for a long and dangerous deployment, she fully embraced being a military spouse. Christina reaches out to all available networks to learn and take advantage of what the military has to offer its family.

Read more: http://spousebuzz.com/blog/2012/11/every-light-in-the-house-is-on.html#ixzz2FAZTUC4q
SpouseBUZZ.com

What is an Apheresis Donation?

What is an Apheresis Donation?

Christina M. Callisto
Freelance Writer
Published in Military Voice & Community News May/June edition, 2010

Every other week, I chose to leave comfort of my home to endure a slight inconvenience for a little over an hour in order to save the life of a stranger I will never meet. One more day of life will be given to locals in my area who will never know who I am or why I helped them. After a tragedy, my gift may even be shipped around the world.

An apheresis donation is similar to a whole blood donation. Your blood has four parts: red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma. The red cells carry oxygen around your body, white cells fight infections. Platelets allow your wounds to clot, while the plasma is the fluid that caries all of these cells and more. The apheresis process draws your blood just as with the whole blood cycle. However, the blood is spun in a self-contained, sterile, single-use packaging within a machine. The donation is separated and collected while the rest is returned to you.

Apheresis usually collects either plasma, platelets, or both. I donate platelets. After registering, reading over the medical and travel restrictions, answering a health history questionnaire, and having my blood pressure, temperature, and iron count tested and recorded, I can relax on a comfortable recliner in front a TV offering endless channels or a collection of movies to entertain me. Speakers are even built into my chair so I can listen without headphones if others are also watching a TV. I opt to turn on the heating pad and grab a blanket. Nice and cuddly as I would be in my house, I can enjoy a few shows and save a few lives. Then I am treated to a drink and some sweets. If it’s during a meal time, you might be lucky and able to grab a donation of food brought in from local restaurants. Locations usually have free stuff to choose from as a thank you. I have gotten gas cards, movie tickets, t-shirts, and restaurant vouchers, all donated by local merchants and other sponsors.

I won’t lie; the last thing I want is to be stuck with a needle. I was lucky enough to be blessed with wonderful veins, so I opt for a two arm draw. This also means two needles. Find a comfortable position, a needle prick, and it’s over. Squeeze a squish ball every few seconds to keep the blood flowing and get lost in your movie. Many people chose to use one arm, which takes longer, but allows them to read. I have seen men in business suits reading over memos, Airmen in uniform flipping through military and local newspapers, college kids studying notes before a test, and grandparents taking a break from retired life and enjoying a novel.

You could say such donations are in my blood. My mother and father are lifelong blood donors. Both hate needles, but endure it to help others. I find apheresis much less draining (no pun intended), and I am able to donate more often, two weeks as opposed to 56 days, as the body can replenish the platelets faster than all of the parts which are included in a whole blood donation. Whole blood is able to last slightly longer than platelets, which must be used within five days before they are no longer healthy. I chose apheresis over whole blood because, when the call goes out after a tragedy, many people find the strength to donate blood. But who hears the silent call of a mom suffering with cancer or a child who cannot play with friends because of a debilitating blood disease? Burn victims, leukemia patients, bone marrow transplant recipients, the list is endless.

There are so many personal calls that go unheeded. This is why I make an apheresis donation. I also chose this because so few people know about it or are willing to take the time to help those who suffer every day. Please consider this the next time you are thankful for all that you have.

Northwest Florida Blood Center www.nfbcblood.org/
American Red Cross www.redcross.org/

May 1, 2010 at 3:17 am