Pan Visits Las Vegas

Frequent visitors to this blog no doubt noticed that there were no new posts for a few days. That is because it was time for a little vacation. Pan loved it in Las Vegas. For a vacation to be truly restful, I do not check email or do any kind of work when I vacation. It was all fun & games.

Yes, I played a little blackjack and my luck turned when I won a couple of goddess themed tokens at a casino called the Four Queens, an older casino in the old downtown. Of the newer fun places, there is much to like about the art and design of the Venetian and the Luxor. Next trip, I want to see Caesar's Palace. I played a little at the really upscale places like Bellagio, but won the most at the Hooter's Casino. Drinking, dancing and groups of partiers cheering each other on around the gaming tables gave some of the rooms quite a festive atmosphere.

Of the shows, there is one to heartily recommend: Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity, a show that revels in bawdy humor, and featuring stunningly beautiful acrobats, all in celebration of sexuality and sensuality. In a less well known show featuring up and coming performers, there were some excellent magicians, acrobats, jugglers and comedians in a variety show called V. The Cirque group is quite prolific. They currently have five different shows running.

Walking was a great way to see all these things, since much of the entertainment area is clustered together. The streets are always thronged and of course, being Vegas, you see some very interesting people.

One surprising thing is the lack of solar panels on the roofs of all those huge buildings, and there are many more under construction. The middle of the desert would seem to be a perfect place to transform some of that sunlight into energy to power all the adult amusement parks.

That one observation pertains to our country as a whole, it just caught my attention because there is such a beehive of activity there. If we really put a lot of planning and creativity into developing alternative energy, our quality of life can really improve by making ourselves more energy self-sufficient with sources like wind and solar power generation. Not only are they abundant and easy to access, they are also non-polluting. All it would take is some modifications to the current grid system. If the politicians will demonstrate the will to source more of our power this way and facilitate cooperation, the engineers can easily upgrade our grids.

Vegas was a great place to have fun for a few days. Illusions are the specialty of the whole town, from the magicians to the elegant replicas of ancient cultures as theme parks to the opportunity to make a lot of money playing games, it was a great place to simply play for a while.

Notice how many landmark casinos have themes and designs that evoke mythic periods and places of the past? Camelot, Venice, Rome, Paris, Egypt, Monte Carlo, New York. There were even a couple of indoor malls that had the ceilings painted like the sky, and it was done so well that it looked real. A very soothing illusion when it is 107 degrees outside and you can see blue skies with wisps of clouds in air conditioned comfort.

Look at all the beauty we can create when we decide to focus our energy that way.