Angels Perched

Angels descent from a child's dream - "I will catch you if you fall." Franco Dragone, from Cirque Du Soleil's "O"

While dining out at our old neighbourhood in Glebe, saw these two angels perched on top of Manors Cafe against the raining city skyline background. Across, we were having a quiet time in this nice Thai restaurant called Thai Space (as against our usual haunt - Thai Spice).

Glebe is one those Sydney neighbourhood famous for small cafes and eateries. Before dining, we had a stroll in the rain and saw of the old landmarks. Unfortunately, a number of establishments closed down for some reason or another.

We vowed to go back in the very near future to have another stroll and dine in another restaurant lining Glebe Point Road, maybe when it is not raining and gloomy.

Happy New Year to all!

12 December 1981.

Merry Christmas 2008!

Another Christmas gone forever and only left are the memories, the joys and toys etched in the smiles of kids - both big and small.

Here's hoping that you have a Merry Christmas and all the joys that goes with the holidays.

And if you need a drink (and won't be driving) try my Red Oz Holiday Mojito... it's been a hit in my parties.

8 Days to Act: Project 551

Been to Seaworld at San Diego and managed to get this shot at the Shamu Show. I was reminded of my photo submissions [also here, here, and here] to International Fund for Animal Welfare's IFAW] Project 551.

Watching these so-called "killer whales" in action again; after more than ten years at the same venue, gave me a renewed appreciation of the fine rescue and scientific work Seaworld is doing for these and other animals.

By the way there is only eight days to act and support IFAW's Project 551.

Mandalay Bay and Luxor

"On December 31, 1996, the Hacienda was imploded to make way for the Mandalay Bay. During construction engineers discovered that one side of the tower had sunk about two feet (600 mm) stopping construction. Construction was delayed while a solution was designed and tested. Eventually they were able to add material below the structure to carry the weight. Since then, there have not been any reports of this problem recurring.The gold colouring of the hotel is a result of gold leaf used on the windows.

Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is a 39-story luxury hotel casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas. It is owned by MGM Mirage. The top five floors (floors 35-39) of the main hotel building are used by the five-star Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas.[1] It is connected by the free Mandalay Bay Tram to its sister properties, Excalibur and Luxor.

In keeping with the resort's tropical theme, it features a saltwater aquarium, the Shark Reef Aquarium, which contains the third largest tank in North America. Shark Reef Aquarium contains numerous other exhibits, including two tunnel-shaped, walk-through aquarium. Another popular attraction is the House of Blues, a venue for live music and a restaurant, with a capacity of approximately 1,800. On the top floor of the hotel is the House of Blues Foundation Room, featuring a dining room, private dining rooms, and a balcony looking down the Las Vegas Strip.

There are 24 restaurants and cafés at the resort.[3] Michael Mina, Charlie Palmer, Hubert Keller, Wolfgang Puck and Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger (Too Hot Tamales) are all associated with restaurants on the property."

[Source Wikipedia.]

MGM

"The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip, which opened as a Hollywood themed resort. The MGM Grand Las Vegas is the second largest hotel in the world and second largest hotel resport complex in the United States behind The Venetian[1][2]

Originally, the main entrance on the Strip was inside the mouth of a giant cartoon-like version of MGM's mascot, Leo the Lion, but this entrance feature was changed to a more traditional entrance; many Chinese gamblers avoided the casino or entered through the back entrance, due to the feng shui belief that entering the mouth of the lion was "bad luck." [8] In 1998, a large bronze statue of Leo was added above the entrance to keep with the MGM Lion theme, while not scaring away their more superstitious guests. The statue weighs 50 tons, and at 45 feet (14 m) tall, on a 25-foot pedestal, is the largest bronze statue in the U.S. [4] (Source wiki)"



Above is a detailed photo of one of the numerous statues in front of the MGM Grand. Pictures taken hand held [no tripod], no flash, just cropped to show more details.

Le Reve at Wynn

This is one of the very few (a couple at most) pictures I took before this show started: Le Reve or The Dream. The show was one of the best I've seen ever, see a youtube snippet here - obviously this low resolution version does not do justice to the whole production. I was not game enought to contravene the usual directive of "no photography or video" rule, as this will also take away the experience of being in a "series of imperfect dreams".

We paid half price as you can get tickets at half price of the normal retail amount from various outlets (we got ours from my nephew who is a US military retiree). The seats were the best as the theatre was arranged, as you can see from above picture; in a circular pattern. The higher I guess the better as you can see better the production from that vantage point.

How can I explain the experience? Like a dream - It is so theatrical with hints of magic, dancing, acrobatics, synchronised swimming, etc. - much like the genre that Cirque du Soleil pioneered. Obviously with Franco Dragone one of the creators of Cirque, hence the "Cirque-ness" production similarities.

"Le Reve was created by internationally acclaimed director Franco Dragone and you will noticed the similarities to a few other shows in Las Vegas. (Celine Dion’s A New Day, 'O', Mystere), Le Reve, takes place in the spectacular aquatic in-the-round dome theater conceptualized by Dragone and it gives you a sense of feeling involved in the show. You will feel as if you are in fact a part of the show instead of the show happening in front of you." 1

According to Dragone: "My aim with Le Reve is to create an entirely new universe, to transport everyone into a world where the theater, performance and audience become one and the same reality." 2

If we had enough time (and money!) in Vegas, we would have seen more shows in this genre plus the usual Vegas revues and less time on the poker machines!

The Cloud over Vegas