#Thomas & Mack Center

[greendayauthority]

Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV, 6 October 2005

[jtrocks]

[vintagelasvegas]

Thunderbird / Silverbird / El Rancho

Thunderbird Hotel, 1948

Thunderbird, '48-'76

'46: Marion Hicks and Lt. Gov. Cliff Jones purchase property for a planned Nevada Ambassador hotel on 3/11/46. The property was bought from Guy McAfee, Art Ham, and J.K. Houssels who had planned a hotel called Casa de Oro. Sale price is rumored $85,000.

'47: Officers of Thunderbird are a Las Vegas and Los Angeles group, Hicks, Jones, V. Sayer, J. Lane, P. Wagoner, J. Wells (Reno), and J. Kozloff. Hicks as builder. Construction begins on 46 acre lot in Oct.

'48: Thunderbird opens 9/2/48. 107 rooms, 75-foot observation tower. Signs by Graham Sign Co (RJ 8/18/48).

'53: Hicks builds the spin-off Algiers Hotel.

'58: renovation, adding new second floor over casino framed in rectangular box, new porte-cochère. New signs by Western Neon (RJ 11/24/58, RJ 12/24/58).

'59: “Thunderbird” logo changed, road sign replaced in Fall.

'61: road sign moved to the front-center of the hotel, fire-shooting stick added to both birds.

'62: new road sign and pylon.

'63: Thunderbird Downs quarter horse track opened, Oct. 5 (RJ 9/24/63).

'64: Sold to Del Webb Corp in Sep.

'65: 700-ft horizontal “Thunderbird” sign by Bill Clarke/Ad Art installed over the south rooms in Jun. (RJ 6/10/65); road sign & pylon replaced with one road sign and new neon bird.

'72: Sold to Caesars World Inc.

'73: Blue/green sign painted zigzag red/orange in summer.

'76: Sold to Tiger Investment Co (Thomas, Mack, K. Sullivan, et al), leased to Major Riddle in Dec.

Silverbird, '77-'81

'77: Reopened as Silverbird in Jan.

'78: Thunderbird signs replaced by the 190-ft sign/porte-cochère designed by Raul Rodriguez for Heath, built by AdArt. (RJ 3/29/78)

'81: Closed in 12/3/81.

El Rancho, '82-'92

'82: Sold at auction to Ed Torres in Feb; renamed El Rancho in Apr (RJ 3/18/82, 4/7/82). Opens at El Rancho 8/31/82.

'87: Tower addition.

'92: Closed Jul. 6.

2000: Tower demolished, Oct. 3. After the site was cleared the El Rancho sign remained, covered with advertised for Turnberry Place until '04 or '05.

Other sources include: “New Hotel To Be Built.” Las Vegas Review-Journal, 3/13/46 p1; Vegas as Playground. Review-Journal, 7/31/46 p5; Construction Started. Review-Journal, 10/28/47; Thunderbird Hotel. Review-Journal, 8/29/48; Martin Stern Jr. profile by P. Michel. UNLV Libraries, archived 3/10/2004.

Photos: (1) Postcard c. 1948. (2-3) Undated aerial photo of construction, by Las Vegas News Bureau. Radio station KENO west of the Thunderbird site. (4) Undated, during construction. Photo taken from the observation tower, by Las Vegas News Bureau. (5) Same models as the color postcard, from Union Pacific Railroad Photographs (PH-00043), UNLV Special Collections & Archives.

[roe-and-memory]

every time someone says cars 3 is the worst cars movie another angel punches me in the stomach and pulls my hair.

this is probably just my intense special interest in the origins of nascar, but that movie feels like such a nice send-off for the main “trilogy”, and yes people can have their own opinions but i NEED to talk about how much this movie means to me

first of all, a major misconception is that lightning quit racing - he DIDNT! this is proven by both the end of the movie (where he says hes obviously going to keep racing) and cars on the road where, in the final episode, cruz and lightning wish each other “goodbye” and say they’ll see each other on the racetrack. he was only cruz’s crew chief for that one season, presumably healing from the trauma of the crash (because lets be real his ass did not mentally recover from that in FOUR MONTHS) and also waiting for a permanent crew chief to take his place.

second.. the sheer amount of detail put into that movie is INSANE. the racing center being shaped like grandstands at a track? fireball beach being both a direct reference to the daytona beach race course and also “fireball roberts”, a 1950s racer (he was actually the reason that firesuits were mandated in the sport), we meet a bunch of 1950s racers as well and just augh.. so good. also, the detail of thomasville being in north carolina is brilliant - N.C is the “racing state”, and thomasville speedway is based off of north wilkesboro, a track that was opened in 1949, and last used in 1996 (aside from the series of races in 2010), and it fell into disrepair. (fun fact, north wilkesboro is reopening in 2024 for the nascar all star race!! they fixed my bbg)

third. cars three brings so much more lore than the first movie did. yes, we knew doc raced in the 50s when the sport was getting its start, but in cars 3? they brought in characters based off of real 1950s racers (doc is based off of herb thomas, smokey is smokey yunick, lou is louise smith, junior is junior johnson, river is wendell scott, and leroy hemming is tim flock) (another reference in the movie is “jocko flockos party supplies” as macks disguise - jocko flocko was tim flocks pet monkey that was the FIRST and only co-driver in the history of the sport. he won a race with his monkey in the car with him :) )

as i was saying, the lore we learn is insane. we learn that lou and river had to fight for their place in the sport, which is similar to what both louise smith and wendell scott experienced in the 50s, they show us accurately how racing worked back then too - they didnt have fancy pits, they had a fence and a pit member with a sign that would tell them to come in the next lap for service. all of these cars are gen 1 nascar, which means that they were strictly stock - they had much more intense pit sessions than any of the other “built for racing” generations have ever needed. i recall watching a race wherein smokey yunick had to change the radiator of one of his racers vehicles mid-race due to a crash.

this isnt everything, but seriously for an animated movie about talking cars, they discuss grief and hardships and handle them so well its insane. i know cruz isnt everyones cup of tea, but (in reference to the flip scene at the end of the movie) watching cruz get shoved into the sport must’ve been insane for lou to watch. she saw herself in that girl. it wasnt some movie about lightning giving up, it was him sharing the torch with another kid who lost their way just like he had.

also i dont cry at movies but i literally bawl my fucking eyes out at the letters scene every time. its PATHETIC (its not im literally tearing up just thinking about it)

[euphorics-stuff]

𝘼 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙨 & 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙆𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣 𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪

𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮: ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶠʳⁱᵉⁿᵈ, ᴸᵉⁱˡᵃⁿⁱ ᵍᵉᵗ'ˢ ᵉˣᶜˡᵘˢⁱᵛᵉ ⱽᴵᴾ ᵖᵃˢˢᵉˢ ᵗᵒ ᵐᵉᵉᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᴸⱽ ᴬᶜᵉˢ ᵃⁿᵈ ⁱⁿᵛⁱᵗᵉˢ ʸᵒᵘ ᵃˡᵒⁿᵍ, ᵒⁿᶜᵉ ʸᵒᵘ'ʳᵉ ᵉʸᵉˢ ᵐᵉᵉᵗ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ᶜᵉʳᵗᵃⁱⁿ ᵇˡᵒⁿᵈᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ʰᵃᵈ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ˡᵒᵒᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᶠᵒʳ, ʸᵒᵘ ᵏⁿᵉʷ ʸᵒᵘʳ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ᶜʳᵃᵛᵉᵈ ˢᵉˡᶠ ʷᵃˢ ᵈᵒᵒᵐᵉᵈ.

𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩: ᴵᵗ'ˢ ᵖʳᵉᵗᵗʸʸʸʸʸ ˢʰᵒʳᵗ ʸ'ᵃˡˡ, ⁴⁵⁰ ʷᵒʳᵈˢ..

𝙍𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩'𝙨 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚: ᴵ ʰᵒⁿᵉˢᵗˡʸ ʲᵘˢᵗ ʷʰⁱᵖᵖᵉᵈ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᵘᵖ ᵖʳᵉᵗᵗʸ ᶠᵃˢᵗ ᵗᵒ ˢᵉᵉ ⁱᶠ ᵖᵉᵒᵖˡᵉ ᶠʷ ⁱᵗ, ⁱᶠ ʸ'ᵃˡˡ ᵈᵒ ˡᵉᵗ ᵐᵉ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ᵃⁿᵈ ⁱ'ˡˡ ᵉⁱᵗʰᵉʳ ᵘᵖᵈᵃᵗᵉ ⁱᵗ ᵒʳ ᵃᵈᵈ ᵃ ˢᵉᶜᵒⁿᵈ ᵖᵃʳᵗ,ᴹᵃʸᵇᵉ ˢᵐᵘᵗ ⁿᵉˣᵗ.. ⁱᶠ ʸ'ᵃˡˡ ᵃʳᵉ ᵈᵒʷⁿ, ⁱ'ᵐ ᵈᵒʷⁿ ʸᵏ. ᴬⁿʸʷᵃʸˢ ⁱ'ᵐ ᵏⁱⁿᵈᵃ ⁿᵉʷ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰⁱˢ ˢᵒ ᵘʰʰʰ ʸᵉᵃʰ.. ᵀⁱᵖˢ ᵃⁿᵈ ᴬᵈᵛⁱᶜᵉ ᵃʳᵉ ᵍʳᵉᵃᵗˡʸ ᵃᵖᵖʳᵉᶜⁱᵃᵗᵉᵈ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵉⁿᶜᵒᵘʳᵃᵍᵉᵈ! 𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪

The air crackled with anticipation as the crowd roared, a sea of purple and gold filling the Thomas & Mack Center. The Las Vegas Aces were about to take the court, and I was there, my heart pounding in my chest. I’d been a fan since the team’s inception, but tonight was different. Tonight, I was going to meet Kate Martin, the Aces’ star point guard.

My friend, Leilani, had won a contest to meet the team, and she’d generously offered to bring me along. We’d been giddy with excitement all week, planning our outfits and practicing our “cool” demeanor. As we entered the VIP area, I spotted Kate, her signature braids bouncing as she chatted with fans. She was even more stunning in person, her smile radiating warmth and genuine kindness.

Leilani, ever the social butterfly, immediately struck up a conversation with Kate. I stood back, shyly observing, mesmerized by Kate’s easygoing charm. She was everything I’d hoped for and more. As Sarah introduced me, I felt my cheeks flush. Kate’s eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled, her voice soft and melodic.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” she said, extending her hand. “I’m Kate.”

“I’m [Your Name],” I stammered, shaking her hand. “I’m a huge fan.”

“Well, thank you,” she replied, her smile widening. “We’re so glad you’re here tonight.”

We chatted for a few minutes, discussing the upcoming game and the Aces’ recent success. Kate was incredibly down-to-earth, making me feel like we were old friends. She even signed my jersey, adding a personal message that made my heart skip a beat.

As the game started, I found myself glued to the court, watching Kate weave through the defense with effortless grace. Every time she scored, I cheered louder than anyone else in the arena. It was like she could hear my cheers, her eyes meeting mine for a split second, sending a jolt of electricity through my body.

After the game, Leilani and I lingered near the court, hoping to catch one last glimpse of Kate before she disappeared into the locker room. As the crowd thinned out, we saw her making her way towards us, her face still flushed with the excitement of the game.

"Hey, [Your Name], Leilani," Kate called out, her voice cutting through the post-game chatter. "I was hoping I'd get to see you both before you left."

My heart skipped a beat at the sight of her approaching us, her smile lighting up the dimly lit corridor. Leilani flashed me a knowing grin before excusing herself, leaving Kate and me alone.

"Hey, Kate," I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper. "That was an incredible game. You were amazing out there."

Kate's grin widened as she stepped closer, her eyes locking with mine. "Thank you," she replied, her voice low and husky. "But you know, I couldn't have done it without my biggest fan cheering me on."

A playful glint danced in her eyes as she reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. The simple gesture sent a shiver down my spine, igniting a fire deep within me. Without a word, she leaned in closer, her lips brushing against mine in a tantalizingly soft kiss.

The world around us faded away as we lost ourselves in each other, the air crackling with an undeniable spark of desire. Kate's hands roamed gently over my body, tracing every curve and dip with a feather-light touch that sent waves of pleasure coursing through me.

Whimsical magic seemed to weave around us as we moved together in a dance of passion and longing, the echoes of the game still ringing in our ears. In that moment, there was only Kate and me, two souls connected by an unspoken bond that transcended time and space.

As the night grew darker, our bodies entwined in a symphony of desire, reaching new heights of ecstasy under the watchful gaze of the stars above. Kate's touch was like a spell, casting a spell of enchantment over me as we surrendered to the magic of the night.

And in that fleeting moment of radiant passion, as our bodies moved as one in a dance of love and lust, I knew that this night would be etched in my memory forever, a tale of desire and delight shared between two kindred spirits under the Vegas sky.

[therummesoccupied]

IDW'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, 2024 ANNUAL - THOUGHTS

I wanted to cover this one earlier, I really did, but the Sonic X Shadow Generations hype took me over, and for the past couple weeks I have been incapable of thinking about anything else. If you haven't played that yet, by the way, I highly recommend doing so as soon as possible. It's truly one of the most astoundingly high-quality pieces of Sonic media ever produced. Maybe I'll do a post on it, who knows. But for now, we have an annual special to cover.

This is the first one of these annuals I've discussed on here, but I really appreciate their presence in the story. Both they and the various mini-series have done a great job of sort of filling the void Sonic Universe left behind when Archie Sonic ended. It's nice getting to peek into what the supporting cast is up to and what's happening outside of the main plot.

This one is also a unique little experience since, while most Annuals have had either five or six short stories included within them, this one includes only three stories - with one of them being a full twenty pages. That's as long as a regular issue! So I'll move through the stories one at a time, and give a few thoughts on each.

I wanna start by talking about the cover, though, because this one's kind of interesting to me. In the past, the "A" Covers have always done a bit to give you at least some idea of what to expect from the stories inside. The 2019 and 2020 covers both featured somewhat generic art featuring characters making appearances from stories within. The 2022 cover showed Blaze in a sundress spending time with Cream at the beach - an allusion to the "Guardians" story that kicked off the 2022 Annual and its ending with Blaze taking a vacation in Sonic's world.

This one, though, features a nice little art piece featuring Sonic and Tails rushing through a snowy mountainscape, which... does not happen in the Annual. None of the stories in this one center around Sonic or Tails, and none of them take place in any sort of wintry tundra.

Just an odd detail I noticed. Nothing here gives us any sort of glimpse into the stories we're about to see or the characters we're about to follow. Still nice art, though.

With that bit of business out of the way, we'll move on to the real meat and potatoes of the Annual:

The Stories

Story #1: Hero's Calling

We kick things off with a good old-fashioned Ian Flynn story about Surge and Kit continuing to pursue a life of heroism following the events of the Extreme Competition and Phantom Riders arcs, and finding it more difficult than they had anticipated to live up to the reputation of a hero.

The pencils here are handled by Thomas Rothlisberger with Rik Mack tackling Inks and Colors. Rothlisberger's style is often employed for the series' lower-stakes stories, relying a lot on exaggerated expressiveness and cramming every panel as full of action and detail as possible. They're perfect for slapstick-y stories, and while that fits the bill a bit here, it doesn't fit perfectly for me since, as this story continues, it takes a turn for the quieter and more introspective toward its second half.

After "saving" a runaway trolley in the city of Westopolis (from 2005's Shadow the Hedgehog - neat to see that city show up again), Surge finds herself contemplating a difficult question. As she chases the life of a hero, she takes it upon herself to save others. But she wonders: Why do they even need saving? With this world being subject to one crisis after another, shouldn't its denizens have learned to handle this sort of thing by now? She wonders if maybe, by always being there to save the day, if Sonic and friends have made this world a little soft. Maybe the Sonic Cycle really is keeping the world from moving forward.

Maybe...

I love Kit's reaction to this. Kit has always been quick to support Surge, no matter what, but when she suggests that Dr. Starline, the man who stole their lives, used and tortured them, and destroyed everything they were, may have been right all along... For the first time, we see the tiniest hint of anger toward her flash across his face. Kit. Truly Hates. Dr. Starline.

As she talks things over with Kit, Surge... never really settles on a course of action. The only thing she knows for sure is that she believes Sonic is the problem here, and that she hopes to one day remove him from the equation once and for all.

Kit, on the other hand, arrives at a much more dangerous conclusion.

Kit sees Surge's frustration at the world's ability to solve its own problems, but he also sees the fulfillment she gets from solving those problems. And so, he resolves to continue making sure there are problems for her to solve, even if she is able take out what she perceives as their roots.

This... will not go well. I can already see it. Surge is going to keep solving whatever issues Kit constructs for her to overcome, feeling like she's truly making a difference, only for it all to come crashing down when she realizes she was never changing anything. This will, in turn, create a rift between her and Kit, and since Kit has become heavily dedicated to and dependent on her, it is going to destroy this poor child. Mark my words. These two are in for some sad times.

Overall, Rothlisberger does do a pretty good job at capturing this story's subtler moments, but at times the exaggerated, cartoony style and Mack's very bright, stark colors can take me a little bit out of some of the moodier moments of this story. Still, a solid bit a storytelling dedicated to these two characters who really seem to be going somewhere in the grand scheme of things.

Story #2: For My Destiny

Our second story is a chill, little character check-in on Knuckles the Echidna as he spends his days peacefully guarding the Master Emerald on Angel Island. This one boasts a script and colors by Iasmin Omar Ata, and pencils by Adam Bryce Thomas.

This is yet another case of an artist being used in an odd way, since ABT's art really shines when he gets to do big, shonen-style action scenes. But here, we just get a quick introspective of Knuckles contemplating his relationship with the Master Emerald and all of the events and people it's brought into his life.

Not much else really happens here, and the first time through, I thought this story was a bit of a waste of time. Like, we already kind of get this sort of look at Knuckles in Sonic Frontiers, why keep harping on it here? But then I read it a second time with Frontiers in mind, specifically the Prologue: Divergence animated short. I thought of how this story would be told if it could be animated, with music and performance to really nail down the vibe it's going for, and I... kind of love it now? It's dramatic in a very understated way, and I'm honestly glad its here.

Story #3: Shattered Diamonds

This one. This right here is the real showstopper of the 2024 Annual.

Here, we get a script from Gigi Dutreix, Pencils from Dutreix and Mauro Fonseca, Inks from Matt Froese, and Colors by Leonardo Ito and Valentina Pinto. Everyone here brings their A-game for... a backstory comic about Mimic the Octopus. This is nuts to me. A comic-original side-villain, getting his own full-issue length story exploring his background, and it's... so good.

Dutreix has explained on their social media that they put a lot of work into researching real-life sociopaths, and the commonalities in their worldview when determining how to handle Mimic's backstory. We learn that he was once an actor (hey! I'm one of those!) and that his time in the fiercely competitive industry quickly taught him not to trust anyone. He learned to use whatever means necessary to achieve his goals, even going so far as to stab others in the back to get what he wants.

Then the Eggman War we see in Sonic Forces happens, and Mimic's ugly worldview seems to be proven true, and the means he uses to survive appear justified for a while, further strengthening this idea he has to that no one but him is honest with themselves, and that one mustn't trust or dedicate themselves to anyone else if they hope to survive.

Then. Something happens.

Mimic meets a group of people who seem.. genuine. People who care for each other. Care for him.

And he panics.

He convinces himself that they must be fakes. That they wouldn't care about him if they really knew him. All they have to do is see him for who he really is, and they'll stab him in the back just as he's done to so many others before.

He starts to view the Diamond Cutters as a means to an end. And he fears becoming attached to those means, fears letting those means change him.

So... he disposes of them. Or tries to. From there, we all know how it goes. But now, we have a far more thorough understanding of why someone who claims to be pragmatic and driven by self-preservation continues to engage in this dogged pursuit of revenge against Whisper. He views her as the last remaining evidence of a memory that almost changed who he is. And he worries that he will never be comfortable being himself again until she is gone.

The story ends with a quick little scene of Mimic stalking the New Diamond Cutters as they make their way toward the Eggperial City at the beginning of the Urban Warfare arc, and there's one little bit of weirdness here.

See, in this story, the Diamond Cutters are waiting to meet up with Sonic and Tails before proceeding to the City, but when they storm the city together in Issue 57... Tails isn't there. Tails isn't part of the Urban Warfare arc until Issue 58, after Sonic has reached out to Jewel and asked her to send backup. After that point, Tails arrives with Amy, Silver, and Blaze to lend Sonic a hand. So why is he here with Sonic before he and the Diamond Cutters even make their way to the city?

I actually got a chance to ask Dutreix about this directly, and they provided a fairly similar answer to the conclusion I was already considering: Tails had simply accompanied Sonic to rendezvous with the Diamond Cutters before splitting off to go do something else on his own, returning to regroup with Sonic after Jewel put out the call for reinforcements.

Continuity weirdness aside, though, I loved this story. It was explorative and complex, dark and moody, and it all had such a clear sense of direction. This is the kind of quality storytelling I would never, in a million years, expect to be devoted to a character like Mimic. And that fact just makes it all the better.

Wow.

Massive props to Dutreix and crew for putting together one of the most compelling Sonic stories I've had the pleasure to read.

It might be easy to complain about the smaller amount of stories in this Annual, or about how many of the stories are connected to events that have not yet happened in the comic, but I tell ya, the quality and care put into the stories we got makes it all worth it. This is exactly what these Annuals are for.

Anyway, I think Issue 74 dropped about a half hour ago, so I'mma go read that, and get a review written sometime in the distant future, for sure.

Thanks for reading!

[endlich-allein]

Till, Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, USA, 21-05-2011 © Sam Morris

[retropopcult]

April 5, 1984: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks NBA scoring record

On this day 40 years ago, the Los Angeles Lakers played the Utah Jazz in front of 18,000 fans at the Thomas & Mack Center at the University of Nevada. The game had a lot of hype because the Lakers’ star center, 36 year old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, was on the verge of breaking the all-time scoring record held by the mighty Wilt Chamberlain. Sure enough, with less than nine minutes left in the game, Magic Johnson passed the ball to Kareem and the 7′2″ center made one of his famous “sky hook” shots to score his 22nd point, and the 31,420th point of his career.  It broke the record the many thought would stand forever. After he made the shot, the crowd erupted and the entire Lakers bench cleared to run and congratulate their teammate. The game had to stop while referees tried to regain control. Los Angeles went on to win the game 129-115.

Abdul-Jabbar held the NBA scoring record for 39 years, finishing his career with 38,387 points. That total was finally surpassed by LeBron James last season.

[six-costume-refs]

2022-23 Broadway Wigs

Starting off by mentioning that all the Six wigs are individually designed for their actors, with exact colors/textures/styles decided by what’s most flattering on the individual queen. That means that any new cast (especially in the US) could have totally new designs, new elements or colors/shades, or pre-existing elements but in a new combination. There are also times when wigs are totally standardized with the only change being the colors to match the individual queens’ hair (this is most commonly the case for Howard). And when I refer to US wigs or what’s typical for each role, I’m exclusively referring to mainland US (Broadway + tours). NCL is a totally different team and set of wigs.

There have also been quite a few changes between opening and the present. Anything that changes the overall look or design I’ll note, but anything in the vein of minor thinning or a very minor trim that isn’t particularly influential I won’t. Just know those things always happen a fair bit with new wigs.

Hailee Kareem Wright

Hailee has a full ombré wig in shades of dark browns. Middle part with Dutch braids on either side. It’s longer and with a flatter back and sides than many Aragon wigs.

US Aragon wigs have some of the most variance depending on the queen. This wig is definitely noticeably individualized for her (and I have to give the design team props for this, it’s definitely one of my favorite Six wigs). The basic design is near-identical to Bre Jackson’s wig with the ombré and Dutch braids, but it pretty significantly differs from Adrianna Hicks’, who had primarily black wigs with very dark brown highlights and no braids.

Leandra Ellis Gaston

First of all, a moment for the braids!!!! Truly was not expecting this and it was SUCH a welcome surprise.

Leandra has a full wig with hip-length box braids that are narrower at the front of the scalp but chunkier in the center back. Color mix is primarily black but has some very dark brown in there. Other than the braids(!!!) the middle part and space-buns are standard for US wigs.

Bella Coppola

This wig is actually very interesting. At first glance it’s a very typical Seymour wig but it’s a pretty significant departure from US Seymour wigs and more in line with UK: the beehive has only really been seen in UK (which I talked about here), both the US and UK used to use center parts but this past year the US has been using side parts, and US has typically shifted towards a shorter wig than Bella’s. Color is more unique too; most of the US (+NCL wigs) have had a little bit more of a red/strawberry/warm brown tone, while this one is more in line with the blondes popular in the UK (lot of factors here at play that I’ll get into another time). There’s still more of a golden tone than the more platinum that UK usually goes for, but it is overall more in line with UK.

They’ve also changed the wig slightly over time: the size of the beehive has been increased and it seems like there’s been a shift towards tighter curls rather than the usual looser curls it started with (which are more in line with we’ve been seeing from other US casts lately).

Nasia Thomas

Nasia’s wig has braids coming up from the sides and back to swoop into the top section that’s been left loose and to the right. Red highlights as (almost) always. It has been significantly thinned down with time (opening bottom right as opposed to top row from their performance a few weeks later).

The style is a significant change from Brittney Mack’s hair, who had her own braids with bleached highlights but no loose section and red added in only some of the time. The tour principals have had more of a mid range - braids up the sides/back and red highlights like Nasia, but the top section is still braids centered on the head rather a loose section to the side. The tour alts’ wigs all vary quite a bit with nothing identical but some similar elements.

Zoe Jensen

Very standard US Howard ponytail with nothing particularly new or notable. Pink dyes differ a bit from queen to queen but that’s really the only variance for her!

Taylor Iman Jones

Alright, here’s the one everyone’s been asking about. Taylor has a full black wig with some warm dark browns mixed in. She debuted a totally new hairstyle for Parr, completely different from anything we’ve seen before. At opening, the hair on the front right of her head was pulled over to the side and back, with all the hair on the left side of her face + the entire back bottom half down or to the side in loose curls. Since then they’ve thinned it out very substantially; the section on the left side of the face functions more like a ponytail (more like we’ve seen with Roxanne Couch’s old side ponytail wig or Sydney Parra’s wig) and the amount left loose at the bottom has been slimmed down.

A post on the alts (including Marilyn Caserta) will come a bit later - they haven’t all debuted and a few wig designs have been changing around.

—————————————————

Top-bottom, L-R:

Hailee: 5 Dec 2022, Daniel Rader; 19 Dec 2022, Today Show; 5 Dec 2022, Jennifer Broski; posted 9 Dec 2022, @/sixthemusical

Leandra: 5 Dec 2022, either Michaelah Reynolds or Daniel Rader (credited as Reynolds by Leandra but Rader by Six); 19 Dec 2022, Today Show; 5 Dec 2022, Michaelah Reynolds; 5 Dec 2022, Daniel Rader

Bella: 5 Dec 2022, Jennifer Broski; posted 8 Dec 2022, @/bella_coppolala; posted 9 Dec 2022, @/sixthemusical; posted 22 Dec 2022, @/sixthemusical

Nasia: 19 Dec 2022, @/taylorimanjones; 19 Dec 2022, Today Show; 5 Dec 2022, Daniel Rader; posted 25 Dec 2022, @/nasiathomas

Zoe: @/lanazoejensen, @/carrington_spires

Taylor: 5 Dec 2022, @/peachez.nyc; 5 Dec 2022, Jennifer Broski; 5 Dec 2022, Michaelah Reynolds (Six credits as Daniel Rader but on Reynolds’ page); 5 Dec 2022, Jennifer Broski; @/hausofiman; 19 Dec 2022, Today Show; 19 Dec 2022, @/nasiathomas; posted 4 Dec 2022, @/sixthemusical

[vodkaandsnakes]

On this day, June 28, in Type O Negative history:

Type O Negative play the Cellaris Amphitheatre with Queensryche in Atlanta, GA (1995)

Type O Negative play the Roskilde Festival in Roskilde, Denmark (1996)

Type O Negative play Ozzfest at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV (1997)

Type O Negative play A Summer Day in Hell in Bologna, Italy (2003)

Type O Negative play Terminal 5 in New York, NY (2008)

Type O Negative play Terminal 5 with 3 Inches of Blood in New York, NY (2009)

[theanticool]

I don’t really follow the BJJ scene. But this is interesting. In an effort to drive up competitive pay for international BJJ, Craig Jones started his own tournament - the Craig Jones invitational. It will be the same weekend as ADCC and held in the same city - August 16-17, 2024 in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

The CJI offers each competitor a $10,001 base pay with the two winners to taking home $1 million. They’ll be doing the men’s -80 kg and +80 kg divisions as well as a women’s super fight featuring AADC champ Ffion Davies.

[asunsetgrace16]

☀︎ ▴ ｔｈｅ ｋｉｄｄｏｓ ▴ ☀︎

main masterlist ⎥ au masterlist ⎥ navigation

I felt it was necessary to more formally introduce you all to the offspring of the Fantilli clan and a little about how I imagine their lives to play out.

ᴛʜᴇᴏ ᴀᴅᴀᴍ ꜰᴀɴᴛɪʟʟɪ

Born: August 6, 2031

he has brown eyes and auburn blond hair

Theo has an easy smile and a kind heart, always wearing his heart on his sleeve

he is a protector, always looking out for his little siblings and standing up for kids. He also was always a natural born leader, even when he was little and playing with his siblings. It translated into his hockey

he inherited his dad and Uncle Adam's hockey skills, in addition to being quite the academic. He thrived in math and the sciences and quickly became a star center on the ice

he was torn between entering the OHL draft and college hockey, but in the end it was entirely his decision to make

Theo committed to Boston University to play on the Men's hockey team in 2048 and entered as a Biology major and a highly touted NHL prospect

at BU, he met Lana Thomas-Lu in their freshman year General Chemistry class. Theo's teammates went overboard with the chemistry puns after they got together

Theo went on to get drafted in the 2049 NHL draft, 2nd overall to the Calgary Flames, where he spent his entire 20-year career

Theo and Lana stayed together and got married in 2055

Theo and Lana have 3 kids - Lucy, Arabella, and James, and still reside in Calgary where Lana works as a Lab Tech and Theo joined the Flames organization as executive to the GM

ᴄᴏʟᴛᴏɴ ɢɪᴜʟɪᴀɴᴏ ꜰᴀɴᴛɪʟʟɪ

Born: September 19, 2033

he is 4 minutes and 56 seconds older than Caroline

he has light brown hair and his eyes are blue

Colton has the devilishly handsome looks and is more guarded than Theo

he has the most spunk out of his siblings, he thrives on adrenaline

he played hockey early on before transitioning into football, which earned him a scholarship to Yale and took a Sports Medicine degree

Colton played college football for 5 years before leaving the team to finish his degree, deciding not to enter the NFL draft. Instead, he turned his sights towards opening a sports medicine clinic

he quickly became known through the sports world, seeing dozens of professional athletes, including his big brother Theo and twin sister Caroline

he met his eventual wife Melanie as a kid, they were thick as thieves until high school when they grew apart. They rekindled their relationship at Yale, coincidentally, and have been together since sophomore year

they got married in 2060, and have made a home and built Colton's business in Toronto. Mel is a high school teacher for biology, chemistry, physics, and English

they have 4 kids- Mack, Jill, Alex, and Poppy

ᴄᴀʀᴏʟɪɴᴇ ɢʀᴀᴄᴇ ꜰᴀɴᴛɪʟʟɪ

Born: September 19, 2033

Caroline had dark brown hair and blue eyes

she has the same personality as Madelyn, but she is all Luca's athleticism

she is quiet, preferring reading to parties. She was a whiz in the classroom, graduating at the top of her class along with Colton, and Theo before them

Caroline is known as the gentle one of her siblings, kind and pure-hearted and sweet, a complete 180 from her on-ice fierceness

Caroline played hockey from the time she could walk, honing her skill with hours of practice with Theo, her dad, and Uncle Adam.

She committed to the University of Calgary Women's hockey team when she graduated high school, with aspirations of making the PWHL

she played for U of C for her freshman year in 2051-52, before signing with the Minnesota Frost, where she was drafted in 2052. She played for Minnesota for 8 years before being traded to Toronto in 2060 before free agency. She retired in 2068 after a shoulder injury

Caroline met Francisco "Cisco" Hernandez during her time in Minnesota. They met during her rookie year and got together in 2053. Cisco is a sergeant detective. They still live in Toronto

they got married in 2058, opting to elope with Theo and Lana as witnesses, and both of their parents were in attendance. They threw a party after getting back from their honeymoon

Caroline and Cisco decided to not have kids, instead being the doting aunt and uncle

ᴅᴀᴘʜɴᴇ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ꜰᴀɴᴛɪʟʟɪ

Born: July 2, 2037

she got Madelyn's red hair and Luca's brown eyes

Daphne is the most relaxed, go-with-the-flow of her family

she was also an athlete, playing high school volleyball and basketball and she was on the Track team in the 4 x 400m relay, 1500m, triple jump, long jump, and discus. She runs half-marathons regularly and has dreams of running the Boston Marathon

like her siblings, Daphne is a brilliant student, and the most all-around student of the four. She excelled in all her classes, and decided to pursue her passion for learning

her primary interests are around history and languages, with the majority of her books being historical fiction

she is a big foodie, always experimenting with fusion flavours and hosting dinner parties

Daphne plays the piano and has a beautiful singing voice

she met Jake in 2055 during her first year at Harvard. He was in his sophomore year of a business degree and they shared a music elective. They got together the following year

Daphne is now an accredited professor with PhD's in three different fields - History, Archeology, and Languages and Linguistics. She teaches 20th Century History at Harvard and Jake is an accountant

they adopted two kids, 3 year old Caleb in 2068 and 4 year old Jamie in 2070

[jtrocks]

[vintagelasvegas]

Sands Hotel & Casino '52-'96

Sands, December 1952

Kit Carson Club ('46-'50) Kit Carson Motel ('46-'63) La Lue nightclub ('50-'51)

'46: Kit Carson Club opened by H. Bynum, D. Anderson, G. Frisbee on US Hwy 91 outside of Las Vegas, adjacent to Kit Carson Motel. The club will later become LaRue nightclub, then the Garden Room of the Sands Hotel.

'50: Kit Carson Club reopened as LaRue nightclub opened by Billy Wilkerson, Nola Hahn, 12/23/50.

'51: LaRue closed by summer. Mack Kufferman buys LaRue, and hires architect Wayne McAllister to build around the existing club. Kuffman and partners apply for gaming license. The project is called Sands by 12/51.

Sands ('52-'96)

'52: Kufferman gaming license denied in Apr., sells to Jake Freedman (RG 4/9/52, RG 6/13/52). Partners running the Sands are B. Barron, E. Levinson (casino manager), S. Wyman, J. Entratter (showroom & restaurants). Hidden partners are believed to include J. Stacher, M. Lansky. Sands road sign designed by McAllister, built by YESCO. Sands opens 12/15/52 with 200 rooms in five buildings arranged in Y-shaped layout. The guest wings are named after race tracks: Arlington Park, Belmont Park, Haileah, Rockingham Park, Santa Anita. Three other wings of equal size were added circa ’53-54 (two were named Churchill Downs, Hollywood Park), another by ’58, and larger wing by ’60. The total room count in ’60 was 465.

'53: Frank Sinatra plays his first engagement at the Sands and becomes two percent owner in Oct; Carl Cohen joins the Sands as shareholder and casino manager in Oct.

'54: Sign modification: Second reader board added below the main board, Feb or earlier. Antonio Morelli joins the Sands as musical director for the Copa in Jul.

'55: Sands partners assume control of the Dunes in Sep. They sell the Dunes in four months later.

'58: Jake Freedman dies 1/19/58; Jack Entratter becomes Sands president.

'59: Sign modification: Attraction board attached to the sign, Feb or earlier. Baccarat begins at the Sands. Sands acquires the former Orinda Motel, property to the south, used for expansion of the Sands parking lot.

'60: Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop (the "Rat Pack") are first billed together in the Copa in Jan-Feb. during the filming of Ocean's 11. Senator John F. Kennedy visits during the Democratic primary campaign.

'63: Opening of Aqueduct hotel wing (83 rm) in Apr. Julius Gabrielle, architect (RJ 4/28/63). Sinatra surrenders ownership 10/7/63.

'64: Sands acquires the former Kit Carson Motel; Belmont and Arlington buildings (base of the Y) moved southward to accommodate construction of a hotel tower.

'65: Second sign in Aug; tower completed late in the year and officially opened Jan. ’66. Martin Stern Jr, architect.

'67: Howard Hughes buys the Sands, 7/23/67. Sinatra leaves his Sands residency after confrontation with Cohen, 9/11/67.

'69: Dean Martin leaves Sands to join Riviera.

'71: Entratter dies, 3/8/71.

'73: Cohen leaves the Sands, Jan. '73.

'80: Inns of America buys the Sands from Hughes heirs Summa Corp in Oct.

'82: Third sign, new porte-cochère, marking the completion of remodeling effort including new Copa room, 1/15/82.

'83: Summa Corp reassumes control of the Sands, 4/5/83.

'88: Kirk Kerkorian buys the Sands in Jan. Kerkorian sells to Interface Group led by Sheldon Addison in Apr.

'90: Sands Expo and Convention Center opens.

'94: Remodeling of the casino.

'96: Sands closes 6/30/96. Tower demolished 11/26/96.

Photos of the Sands

Sources include David G. Schwartz. At the Sands: The Casino That Shaped Classic Las Vegas, Brought the Rat Pack Together, and Went Out With a Bang. December 1952 photo courtesy of Slidetreasurehunt.

Construction of the sign, 1952. The pylon sign pedestal was 56’ high, 21’ wide, with the S at 34’ tall. Design by Wayne McAllister, fabricated and installed by Young Electric Sign Co. Photo: YESCO Corporate Records (MS-00403), UNLV Special Collections & Archives.

Opens Dec 15. Danny Thomas, Connie Rusell, Lou Wills Jr, Ray Sinatra Orchestra. Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas, 0007-0345.

Aerial view of Kit Carson Motel and the Sands, '62

[killed-by-choice]

Dawn Ravenell, 13 (USA 1985)

Dawndalea Ravenell, who went by Dawn, most likely would have had a bright future. She was a 13-year-old musical prodigy on the honor roll at school. She loved to sing —especially gospel music— and sang with her school’s glee club. Her parents were the pastor and minister at their church and had a family singing group. With her love of music, Dawn was the lead singer. She had parents who loved her dearly and was very close to her family. She had 3 biological siblings and 2 adopted siblings. The family of 8 was very happy together. Dawn’s mother remembers that Dawn would help with the cleaning and helped take care of her younger siblings.

Up until her death, the only real issue between Dawn and her parents was her relationship with her steady boyfriend for the last part of her life. He was 15 years old. Mrs. Ravenell was concerned about their relationship, which seemed more serious than she would expect from a couple at that age, but Dawn thought her mother was being old-fashioned. Eventually, her parents dropped the subject because there didn’t seem to be any problems with the two teenagers.

But when she was in 8th grade, Dawn got pregnant. She was too embarrassed to tell her parents, so she turned to a school counselor. Under New York laws, the counselor was not even allowed to give a student an over-the-counter pain medication without written permission from their parents, but it was legal for the counselor to secretly arrange for a 13-year-old girl to have an abortion.

Dawn was 21 weeks pregnant when she and her boyfriend took the subway to an abortion facility called Eastern Women’s Center (EWC also killed Dawn Mack and Venus Ortiz). The young couple didn’t know the danger Dawn was in and did not have informed consent for the risks. They were two minors alone in New York City, their parents didn’t even know where they were and Dawn was about to have an invasive operation.

Dawn’s boyfriend used a relative’s credit card to pay the hundreds of dollars to the abortion facility. Apparently nobody cared that a teenage boy was using someone else’s credit card to pay for an operation. Even though Dawn was terrified, the abortionist inserted laminaria dilators and told the children to return the next day. When they did, the abortion facility didn’t bother to record her weight or age. Despite the fact that Dawn was 13 years old, they made her sign a consent form to be put under general anesthesia and have a second-trimester abortion. Dawn was also not told in advance not to eat or drink, which is crucial for anyone about to be put under general anesthesia. As attorney Thomas Principe suing for Dawn's estate, later told the jurors, "This child was just another piece (of meat) on the assembly line."

Dawn’s abortion began at 1:10. She was given only half of the anesthesia needed for a 10 to 15 minute operation. Only 5 to 7 minutes after the abortion started, Dawn woke up on the operating table.

The poor girl was terrified. Because she was not given any instructions on what to do before the anesthesia, her stomach was full. She choked on her own vomit, which aspirated into her lungs. The abortionists quickly gave her a higher dose of anesthesia and shoved a 75 cent plastic tube down her throat. It would later be discovered that body parts from Dawn’s baby were left inside of her after the abortion.

At 1:25, Dawn was placed in a recovery room and left completely unattended. Nobody even bothered to remove the plastic tube from her throat.

Soon, Dawn woke up again. She was once again left choking and gagging on the plastic in her throat and the stomach acid in her lungs. This time there was nobody there. The terrified 13-year-old choked on her own vomit, literally drowning in it. In the process, she suffered cardiac arrest and extreme brain damage from oxygen deprivation.

Eventually, a nurse noticed what was going on and called 911. It was much too late.

Dawn was rushed to the hospital and put on a respirator. Then she was transferred to St. Luke's Hospital, which contacted her family.

Dawn’s parents were never even told that she was pregnant until the hospital called them and told them that Dawn was in the ICU. The family rushed to see her. At St. Luke's they encountered Dawn's boyfriend, who was scarred for life and sobbing uncontrollably. The traumatized 15-year-old had not had any warning that Dawn could be killed.

Even though Dawn was placed on a respirator, it was too late to save her. She was brain-dead. After 18 days without the slightest response or brain activity, she was removed from her life support.

Her heartbroken family sued for Dawn’s painful death. The trial was painful for the Ravenells. One of the more horrible bits of trial testimony occurred when a lawyer cross-examining Klein(one of the abortionists), asked whether Dawn's age bothered the abortionist. Klein callously replied, "Oh, no. I've done 13-year olds before. When they're 10, maybe I'll notice."

Although the Ravenell family originally asked for a verdict in the amount of $1,000,000 against defendants Klein and Augente (the two abortionists who killed Dawn and her baby), the jury declared Dawn's death "an abomination," and returned a verdict of $1,225,000. Klein was held liable for 20% of the award and Augente for 80%. The jury award was also the highest amount ever won in the state of New York for a wrongful-death abortion case, eclipsing the previous record by more than a half million dollars.

Unfortunately, the trial judge felt the amount was excessive and reduced the award to just $400,000, which the bereaved parents decided to accept instead of enduring another trial. Unlike the abortion clinic itself, Klein and Augente both carried malpractice insurance and their insurers paid the damages.

Dawn Ravenell was killed by an abortion done without her parent’s knowledge or consent. Parental consent laws and restrictions on abortion could have saved this bright young singer from an excruciating death choking on her own vomit.

[judyreppart]

RUNNIN’ REBELS PLAY AT HOME FOR FIRST TIME IN 28 DAYS SATURDAY   UNLV hosts UC Riverside in final non-conference game of the season at 12 p.m. at Thomas & Mack Center   Full Game Notes vs UC Riverside (PDF)  |  2024-25 Schedule 2024-25 Statistics (PDF)  |  2024-25 Statistics (Web) @TheRunninRebels  |  @runninrebels Purchase Tickets   The UNLV men’s basketball team (5-5) ... Read more