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First places to see on the Las Vegas Strip

With the traffic, the noise, the mobs of people and stuff as far as the eye can see, the Strip can be overwhelming. Confusing. Disconcerting.
And that's on a good day for a seasoned local. Imagine what the first-time visitor or new valley resident feels when confronted with the sensory smorgasbord along that 3.6 mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard.
Out of the hundreds of things you should do or see on the Strip, what should come first? And how do you figure that out?
You could ask some locals. But for many, it's a point of pride that they avoid the Strip entirely, rejecting it for its P.T. Barnum-like ability to sucker those fools called "tourists." But maybe it's really fear that fuels their attitude. Faced with so many things to do or see, they have no idea what should come first and are afraid of choosing the wrong thing or being out of date.
In an effort to pare down all those choices, we did a casual survey. Of course, we got the expected suggestions: Bellagio's fountains and conservatory, Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, The Mirage volcano, Sirens of TI and the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign.
But we also ended up with a few not-so-obvious suggestions that offer good places to start your exploration of the Strip. Just remember to wear sturdy shoes.
1. Big Elvis at Bill's Gamblin' Hall and Saloon, 3595 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Mondays through Fridays at 3, 5 and 6:30 p.m.
The Strip is not the Strip without an Elvis sighting. You're likely to see several around town without even trying, but you won't see one like Big Elvis, aka Pete Vallee. Once weighing in at nearly 1,000 pounds, Vallee lost hundreds of pounds and is now half the man he used to be, but still all about Elvis.
2. The Bonanza Gifts shop, 2440 Las Vegas Blvd. South, open daily, 8 a.m. to midnight
Promoted as "the world's largest gift shop" at 40,000 square feet, Bonanza is large, indeed. It has become the de facto place to buy real Vegas kitsch: dice clocks, slot machine piggy banks, Elvis Presley sunglasses with sideburns, old playing cards from various hotels and even slightly offensive gag gifts. If you want cool, fun junk, this is where you get it. Even if you go in with no intention of purchasing anything, we're betting you will walk out with something. Maybe a postcard, maybe some fake dog poop.
3. The lions at MGM Grand, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. South, open daily, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
We're not talking about the golden lion statues in front of the hotel. We're talking about the cage full of real, honest to goodness lions in the middle of the MGM casino. The walls of their enclosure are clear so guests can watch the lions as they sleep, eat, sleep, play, sleep and fight. Did we mention they sleep? The biggest challenge is being there when they're awake. Sometimes, you can see lion cubs, which are awfully cute.
4. The Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge, 2985 Las Vegas Blvd. South, open 24 hours daily
For a taste of old Vegas, Peppermill's your place. There aren't too many spots like this left on the Strip. The pink and turquoise decor, disco ball mirrored ceiling and velour booths will make you feel like you're taking in the Strip sights circa 1979. The food is said to be good and their cocktails are legendary for their flamboyance. But no one suggested Peppermill for its cuisine. No, the big draw here is the fireside lounge. Comfy couches surround a fire pit where the flames are always burning. One journalist described it as "the flaming Jacuzzi of love where every couple looks like they're in the midst of an illicit affair." You have to go to the Peppermill just to see that.
5. The statue of David in the Appian Way at Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. South
This marble statue is an exact replica of the real thing. It's 18 feet tall and weighs about nine tons, making it difficult to miss. An added bonus to checking out the statue is watching all the tourists as they point and snap photographs of the statue's genitals. Way to be mature, people. If you'd rather see a sculpture that has more of a Vegas connection, there's always the bust of Siegfried & Roy in front of The Mirage. Watch as, one by one, tourists walk up to it and stick their head in the tiger's mouth.
6. Adventuredome at Circus Circus, 2880 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Call for hours, 794-3939
The Strip boasts some neat thrill rides. There's the New York-New York roller coaster and every ride atop the Stratosphere. But if you're looking for a singular roller-coaster experience, you'll find it at the Adventuredome. It's a short ride, but it takes you through a double corkscrew and a double loop.
7. Jean Philippe Patisserie at Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South, open Mondays through Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fridays through Sundays, 7 a.m. to midnight
Jean Philippe Maury's pastry/chocolate/gelato shop near Bellagio's conservatory boasts the world's largest chocolate fountain. Watch white and milk and dark chocolate cascade into pools of chocolate, then go buy some. He usually has some chocolate sculptures on display, too, in case you need more encouragement.
8. The Statue of Liberty at New York-New York, 3790 Las Vegas Blvd. South
The statue was recently in the news when it was accidentally featured on a U.S. postage stamp. Oops. It's hard for some to imagine how that could happen, but we can understand, especially considering the prominence the statue has played on the Strip. It became a local memorial after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Tourists and locals alike made a pilgrimage to see the statue, and many left behind flowers, fire department T-shirts and other mementos. Now, there is a permanent memorial at the base of the statue.
9. The Las Vegas Walk of Stars, between Sahara Avenue and Russell Road (and a few casinos around town)
This was supposed to be the local version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but it has fallen well short of that goal (the $20,000 fee may have something to do with it). There are reportedly 42 stars that have been dedicated and placed somewhere on the Strip or nearby, such as New York-New York and Mandalay Bay. Think of it as a treasure hunt, with familiar names such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Wayne Newton, but plenty of others that will leave you saying, "Who?"
10. Secret pizza at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. South
The Cosmopolitan is unlike any other Strip property, so you can't go wrong hanging out here for a while and exploring. On the third floor, you can play a free game of billiards or some board games. There are restaurants, shops, bars, a very cool chandelier at the Chandelier bar. But one of the best spots has to be the secret pizza place. It's not advertised; it doesn't even have a name. There are no signs pointing you in its direction, either. It's basically a small pizza kitchen at the end of a long hallway. They churn out some New York-style pizza that costs about $3.25 a slice. We won't spoil the fun by giving away its location, because searching for it is half the fun. If you get frustrated, you can always ask a hotel employee. They're more than happy to show you the way.
11. CityCenter Art tour, 3780 Las Vegas Blvd. South
One of the newest Strip properties features a $40 million art collection. Twelve pieces of fine art are at the Mandarin Oriental, Aria, Vdara, Veer Towers and near Crystals, the retail center. Visitors can pick up a map from one of the participating casinos and then take a walking tour of artwork by Maya Lin, Frank Stella, Nancy Rubins and others.
12. Views, views, views, all along the Strip
One destination for any newcomer is a Strip spot with a great view. It's hard to say which one is the best, or better than the others (we're partial to Mandarin Oriental's Sky Lounge on the 23rd floor). You can take your pick of them. There's one from the Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay; VooDoo Lounge at the Rio; ghostbar observatory and Moon's deck at Fantasy Tower, both at the Palms. Then there's the view from the Stratosphere's Top of the World restaurant.

Art East: experience in Spain inspires 'guapa' artwork

Culture, as it relates to ethnicity, encompasses the experiences of a specific set of people. It influences how people within that set may act, believe and think. Culture is the defining determinant of a people; yet, when another's customs are embraced is when we can also come to understand ourselves.

For Scott Cooley and Esther Ramos Rodriguez, America's southern culture and Seville's Spanish culture has formed a bond of respect and understanding in their 11-year-marriage. They met when Esther was fulfilling University of Seville requirements for her master's degree in neuropsychology. She was working at a rehabilitation clinic in New Orleans, for patients with brain injuries. Scott also worked there, in records and documentation management.

When their relationship became serious, he traveled to Seville, Spain, to meet her family. The visit was during Holy Week, the Semana Santa, and that's when he first witnessed a procession of the life-sized pasos, or floats, that depict events of the Easter Passion.
He recalled, "An exuberant crowd of elegantly dressed Spaniards stood shoulder to shoulder along a dark, narrow street facing the high arched entrance of the Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza. Some waited outside for hours. Every square inch of street and sidewalk was occupied, standing room only at 2 a.m. When the church bell rang out, the crowd fell silent as the massive double doors of the church jostled and slid to one side.

An intoxicating cloud of incense wafted out as the Virgin of Hope, enshrined in her towering paso of gold and silver with hand-sewn tapestries appeared, all illuminated by immense candles and surrounded by fragrant white blossoms."
Amazingly, a crew of costaleros, who are crouched below the embroidered skirt of the paso, rise to smoothly hoist it and inch slowly out of the church through a tight fit in the church doorway. It is a movement of great precision and reverence that will continue throughout the night and into the next day. The crowds witness the custom in the ancient alleys and streets of Seville.

Many of the pasos are very old and valuable, made by master craftsmen. Each float is met with the cry from the crowds of "guapa," meaning ‘beautiful."

They are the property of the cofradias, a brotherhood that originated from medieval guilds. Members were pillars of society. Today the membership has a broader base with the larger ones having over 2,000 participants.

As the floats go by, white roses and carnations are tossed onto the tops of each paso, and the costelaros, who are all hidden under the skirts of the paso maneuver through spaces under the direction of the capataz who walks in front beating a stick to the ground to keep pace and give the signal of when to put it down for a brief rest. When they lift it again, one can hear their grunts under the heavy burden.

Along their route, they will stop and defer to the sound of a saeta, or singer, who spontaneously chants a cappella. The procession stops so that the silent crowd can enjoy the song.

For Cooley, the experience touched his soul and provided inspiration that he later turned into a piece of art that he gave to his wife for her most recent birthday.
Each year, for her teacher vacation, she returns to her native Spain to spend time with her family.

"While I am gone, Scott does something new for me. Once, it was a patio in the style of Spain, and this time, he amazed me with this beautiful replica of the paso. I sent pictures of it to my family, and they were as amazed by its accuracy and beauty as I was.
My late father was the president of our church's cofradia, and as a little girl I paraded in costume with his group. So, this gift is very meaningful to me."

To create it in the secrecy of his workshop, Cooley gathered bits and pieces of what he thought would fit into the final product.

"I designed as I went, after studying our own photographs and images I researched online of real pasos. The construction was trial and error with different attempts, some working and some not. I found parts at Rouse's, Hobby Lobby, Hancock's Fabrics, and bid on the golden lights, crown and emblems made of special buttons on eBay. The costelaros' legs showing underneath the skirt are made from little army men toys that I covered in white cotton fabric and painted their shoes white."

Romance in full blossom

IN the end, it was the Rose of Tralee that changed Mary Slattery's opinion of her husband Frank. While he was very keen on her and had been pursuing her for a while, she wasn't that fussed about him at all, until she saw the former chief escort walking down the street with a Rose on his arm.

"Maybe that's when I woke up," she says, laughing. "The thing was that I was interested in someone else at the time, but looking back, I definitely made the right choice when I married Frank."

They had regularly seen each other out and about, particularly in the Mount Brandon Hotel, which was the epicentre of the social scene in Tralee in the Seventies. "I fancied her because she looked very sexy and was very French-looking with tight hair," says Frank. "She was snooty, though, and I got nowhere for a long time, but I was persistent. Mary always says that persistence is my strong point."

The petite and funny Mary recalls how she always wore such high shoes that the genial Frank had no idea of what height she really was. Then 22, she was working in banking, and had transferred from Dublin back to her home in Kerry, where she was initially employed as relief staff for various branches. As it involved travelling, her father decided to buy her a car, and her parents brought her to look at Chrysler cars in Daly's garage in Killarney, where Frank was working.

"The minute I saw him, my head went down, and I said to my father that I didn't like the cars," she says. "When we came out, my mother said, 'Mary, how come you were so rude to that man?'"

So it came as a surprise to her parents when a year later,

Mary came home and announced that she was engaged to "that man".

As Frank had continued to pursue Mary, she relented and agreed to go out on a date with him. Feeling that she was a bit "cocky," he left it for a few weeks to arrange a second date, to give her time to "cool off". Then she saw him with the Rose, and realised that she was interested after all.

Frank got down on bended knee and proposed a while after that, and Mary accepted. She had her heart set on having a ring made that was a replica of a dress ring from Woolworths that she owned, so it was decided that they wouldn't say anything until the ring was made, after which Frank would ask her parents for permission to marry her. However, when she went to collect the ring, her best friend Margaret caught her trying it on, and the cat was royally out of the bag. Hence her announcement to her bemused parents that she was engaged to "that man". She knew that her mum, a staunch Clare woman, would be pleased however, because former army officer Frank is from Liscannor.

Frank and Mary were married in 1977, and had their first big row in Paris because Frank forgot his driving licence. This left Mary in charge of their hire car, and having to deal with a left-hand drive and driving on the wrong side of the road caused her to almost declare that the marriage was over before it had even begun.

They weathered that storm, and are now married 34 years, with three children Claire, 30, Kate, 29, and Peter, 27. The girls both live and work in Cork, while Peter is off in Australia, "having his fling", according to his amused mother.

Over the years, Frank and Mary have owned and run several businesses, including an Opel dealership, and a bar and restaurant called Slatt's. Frank's ultimate dream was to have a country house and restaurant, which came true when he and Mary bought the beautiful Carrig Country House and Restaurant on Caragh Lake in 1996.

Originally built circa 1850 as a hunting lodge, its previous owners include Lady Cuffe, Lord Brockett Senior, Sir Aubrey Metcalf and Senator Arthur Rose Vincent. Situated four miles outside Killorglin on the Ring of Kerry, it is set in some of the most breathtaking and unspoilt scenery in the country. Its four acres of gardens sweep down to its own jetty on the lake, offering spectacular views across still waters to the wildness of the MacGillycuddy Reeks.

Frank and Mary set about renovating and meticulously decorating the beautiful Victorian residence, and picked up furniture and accessories on their travels all over the world. For example, the bed in the presidential suite was discovered in India, when they stayed with Bibi Baskin in Kerala. They now have 17 bedrooms and a 50-seater restaurant, and pride themselves on offering guests a very welcoming, personalised service, as well as adventure and pampering. As a testament to their excellence, they have been rated as four-star, and are highly recommended by Ireland's Blue Book and Lucinda O'Sullivan's Little Black Book.

Running the business together from March to November means that they are "joined at the hip," says Frank, while Mary says that she understands her husband far better than she did in her 30s and 40s.

"I'm not as fiery as I was," she smiles. "Frank is very caring and treats me like a princess. He's a real perfectionist and is brilliant with customers. I find that my own personality has developed so much since we started the business, as I'd run away from people when I was younger. It has changed my life."

Frank says that while neither is afraid to argue and they can have a "good blow-out" every now and again, he and Mary never stop talking and always know what the other is thinking.

"Mary is very brave and resilient," he says, "I listen to her opinions because I think she's quite wise. She can come across as being tough, but she has a heart of gold and is very soft behind it all."

It's So: ‘Shoeless' Joe Jackson's great-great-great nephew is Citadel's catcher

Citadel catcher Joe Jackson simply shakes his head and grins when he hears the call from the stands: "Take your shoes off."

"I can't even imagine playing that way," says the great-great-great nephew of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. "It would really hurt."

Jackson is finishing up his freshman year with the Bulldogs, hoping to live up to his uncle's on-field baseball legacy. He is third on the team with a .313 average heading into the Citadel's final regular-season series at Western Carolina.

He wants to avoid the off-field controversy.

"Shoeless Joe" was involved in the 1919 Chicago "Black Sox" scandal that earned him permanent banishment from the game.

Joe Jackson — named for his grandfather Joseph Ray Jackson, the nephew of "Shoeless Joe" — wasn't fully aware of his lineage until he made his famous uncle the subject of a fourth-grade book report at Bell's Crossing Elementary in Simpsonville.

Jackson stuck to the facts without advocating his uncle's guilt or innocence. "I was in fourth grade," he said.

As he got older, Jackson looked deeper into the player's life the way any teenager might after discovering a famous relation in the family tree.

Jackson knows the story well.

"Shoeless" Joe Jackson was born in Greenville and became one of the game's greatest talents in 13 major league seasons with the Philadephia Athletics, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox. His career batting average of .356 remains third-highest in Major League history behind Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby.

But Jackson's career ended when he was entangled in the scheme to throw the 1919 World Series. Jackson was banned from the game by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis despite his acquittal by a jury.

"He loved the game and even after he got kicked out, he went around playing for semipro teams, small teams," Jackson said. "I can't imagine how he felt."

Jackson's father, also named Joe, said his son really took to baseball in middle school.

Jackson's family has a picture of their teenager's batting stance as a freshman at Mauldin High. Father Joe thought it resembled family pictures of "Shoeless," blew it up and set it side-by-side with the famous ballplayer. "It is strikingly close," said Jackson, the dad. "My son's hands are just a bit higher."

"Shoeless" Joe Jackson's life wasn't a regular topic among the Jackson family.

"It wasn't something that was always on our minds," said Jackson's father. "As family, we thought about the person, not what they did or didn't do."

There's no debate about Jackson's legacy in his hometown or among the Citadel catcher's family.

The Jacksons have participated in ceremonies when the house of "Shoeless Joe" was dismantled, moved three miles and turned in a museum three years ago. It is located across from Fluor Field, home of the minor-league Greenville Drive. A statue of "Shoeless Joe" stands in the city's West End, his grave site several miles away where visitors often leave baseballs in tribute.

The Jackson family has a replica of his glove, his "Black Betsy" bat and several photos and sketches in their living room. They don't feel he did anything wrong.

"We're proud of him," said the catcher's father.

Mike Nola is the official historian of "The Shoeless Joe Jackson Virtual Hall of Fame Web Site" and works for the player's reinstatement and spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

"I don't say that anybody that supports Joe Jackson has given up on the cause, but I don't see (Commissioner) Bud Selig ever doing anything about it, to be honest with you," Nola said by phone.

Selig has been reviewing Jackson's case in full, MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said. "It's still under advisement," Courtney said.

The Citadel catcher has his own idea about took place: "Shoeless Joe" was duped.

"I do think there's a chance that he really didn't know what was going on," Jackson said. "Obviously, he wasn't highly educated."

Jackson, a 50th-round draft pick by Kansas City last June, hopes to make the majors one day and perhaps get those certain of his uncle's guilt to re-examine the facts.

"Not many people are related to people like that with that kind of legacy, whether it's good or bad," he said. And since the discovery, "I've always wanted to restore the family name."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Something Old

A wedding signifies different things to different people, including cherished memory, awkward intersection of family and friends, or the only time you've been to church in the past decade. When Kerry Jessica Brown Richards and Robert Ramsey Richards designed their wedding, held last December at the French Quarter bar Pravda, they added another item to the list: conceptual art project.

"(Our wedding) was definitely a reflection of how we feel about each other, how we feel about our friends, and our aesthetic," Kerry says. "We were very particular with everything — we wanted it to look a certain way, we wanted it to have a certain ambience."

Ambience is probably the first quality one could ascribe to Pravda, a dimly lit space decorated in intense maroons and Depression-era furniture. It is also a meaningful space for the couple. When the bar opened, Kerry helped create its design, and she met Robert there in 2007. These connections made it a natural choice for a wedding reflecting the pair's unique sartorial sense, which Kerry describes as a "dark-inspired vintage with a twist of theatrical."

"My wonderful partner in crime (and I) have the same aesthetic. ... I'm more flamboyant, he likes to wear old suits," she says.

Kerry, a costumer at Biloxi, Miss. costume shop Josette's who previously worked at Fifi Mahony's in the French Quarter, spent six months searching for her 1930s-era wedding gown. After acquiring and restoring it, she and Robert looked through Josette's collection of 1930s replica men's suits to find the perfect complement.

"One of the things that was pivotal in the wedding was ... what we were wearing," Robert says. "It was a really good contrast between me and her." The contrast and coordination shows in the details. Kerry's formal dress was offset by red-hued jewelry, crimson lipstick and the fascinator (a small headpiece popularized in the 1930s) adorning her long, dark dreadlocks. The groom's pinstripe suit appeared sober and elegant against her ornate accessories.

The couple made and installed most of their own decorations, using a beige, white and red color palette to tie in with the venue's color scheme and their outfits. Kerry says this saved money and granted them complete artistic control over the ceremony. When designing the ceremony's layout, they also emphasized something important to them: the inclusion of family and friends.

"(At some weddings) there is this great distance between the family and friends and the people getting married," Robert says. "We didn't want that at ours. We love our family and friends very dearly. We wanted them to be just as much a part of the wedding as we were. When you look at the seating arrangement, they were ... feet from us."

Deciding on these common values proved to be an important part of planning the ceremony. For a couple who desires an unconventional venue or wants their wedding to project a unique aesthetic, Robert suggests having straightforward conversations about functional and stylistic goals. Also, couples should know what elements they're willing to give up.

"(It requires) absolute honesty on both people's parts. (Fortunately) we both came to the table with the same kind of idea in mind. We had a very open dialogue," he says.

When considering atypical venues, Kerry recommends approaching the owner or manager as soon as possible because many businesses may not be able to accommodate such a request at short notice. Also, consider the needs of the establishment. At Pravda, the couple held their wedding during the week at a time the bar wasn't typically open, so lost business wasn't an issue.

Family resistance also can be a challenge when stepping off the beaten aisle. For this problem, Kerry again suggests honesty, paired with a healthy dose of tact.

"Be forceful but always polite," she says. "The parents mean well. (The) wedding is such a big part of our society; it's such a traditional thing. They feel like that's just how it has to be, and it's not."

Holocaust Museum opens at Miramar school

It is intentionally dark, hot and uncomfortable in Portable 520 at Everglades High School in Miramar. Over the past three months, students have turned the portable into a permanent Holocaust Museum, and they want all senses to be affected when guests walk in.

“We want the atmosphere to be exactly what it was like during the Holocaust,” said Bruce Klasner of Davie, who teaches a History of the Holocaust course at the school.

The Everglades High School Holocaust Museum and Tolerance Center was officially dedicated May 9 during a ceremony that included Holocaust survivors and poetry readings by students. The museum was built to educate students throughout Broward County about the atrocities of World War II. The museum is filled with projects and exhibits created, donated and made entirely by the students.

The museum will be open to all students in Broward County.

“I wanted to learn how to prevent this cataclysmic event from happening again,” said Kyle Ali, 16, a 10th-grader who wore a version of the striped uniform many victims were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps, including the yellow Star of David.

The students said they are hopeful that the museum will serve as a format to preserve and protect the world from future genocides and atrocities. It is laid out in chronological order of Nazi history, beginning with exhibits on Nazi policy and law, the Nazis rise to power, the Hitler Youth and then moves through atrocities like Kristallnacht, the Warsaw Ghetto and the deportation of Jews in cramped and airless train cattle cars. The doors slide shut on the train exhibit, giving guests a sense of the suffocation and isolation victims felt.

Further on are exhibits of shoes, clothes and suitcases the victims were forced to remove when they arrived at the camps, a wood-slatted concentration bunk bed and a replica of a gas chamber, with the shower heads that dispensed the gas and fingernail scratches on the walls.

“When they would gas people, it was lethal and the people would scratch the walls because they were desperate to get out,” said Laura Gonzalez, 17, of Miramar.

Joe Sachs, Klasner’s cousin, is a survivor of the Holocaust. The 85-year old was just 13 when most of his family perished in Nazi death camps. He spends his time going to schools, and talking about his experiences so younger generations never forget.

“I do it to make sure these youngsters create a better world, a world that I did not experience," said Sachs, who lives in Sunny Isles. “I want them to learn it not just from the books, but from the experience of individuals who were there.”

Paul Fetscher, principal of Everglades High School, spoke at the dedication and said he was most impressed by the diversity of the students who worked on the museum.

“I want everyone to look at the faces of the kids. They are all different and they are all here,” he said.

Klasner said it is that younger generation that can best carry on the message of tolerance.

“I want our students to understand they have the responsibility to change the world,” he said.

Depreciation Lands Museum Brings History to Life

Imagine cooking dinner over an open fire, changing your horse's shoes instead of your car's tires, or crafting your own eating utensils. That was life in the North Hills 200 or so years ago.

This Sunday, May 15, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., you can step back into time and see firsthand how our pioneer ancestors lived during Friendship Day at the Depreciation Lands Museum.  Admission is free all day.

Friendship Day features a number of special programs for visitors, including classes in the schoolhouse, blacksmithing demonstrations, concerts featuring songs popular in the Pittsburgh area during the mid-1800s and many other displays and reenactments.

The museum is located in Hampton, but a number of Richland residents are involved as volunteers and re-enactors, including Karen Parsons and her family. Her husband, Kevin, demonstrates beekeeping; her son, Tim, is a blacksmith; and she and her daughter Kelly demonstrate the day-to-day lives of women of the era.

Richland artist Dave Hughes, a silversmith and early American craftsman, will also demonstrate calligraphy and display his work.

As Parsons points out, the Depreciation Lands Museum is part of the history of all of Western Pennsylvania, as the Depreciation Lands encompassed the entire North Hills up to about 4.5 miles north of Butler.

"Most people don't know what the Depreciation Lands are, and many people don't know the museum exists," says Parsons.

For those who've never heard the term "Depreciation Lands," here's a brief history lesson, courtesy of the museum:

During the Revolutionary War, the dollar, originally backed by gold, depreciated to about 1/72 of its original value. In 1780, the state of Pennsylvania began issuing “Depreciation Certificates” to soldiers to make up the difference in pay. The certificates could be used as cash to purchase land anywhere in the state.

Realizing that available land was limited, however, in 1783 the state purchased 720,000 acres -- about 1,125 square miles -- of Indian territory in Western Pennsylvania from the Iroquois Nation in a treaty with its leader, Cornplanter.  This land, bordered on the south by the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers, extended north 33 miles from the Point in Pittsburgh, to 4 1/2 miles north of the present city of Butler.

The area encompassed parts of Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Lawrence and Armstrong counties. The land was surveyed into lots of 200 to 350 acres, and the lots were offered for sale at auction in Philadelphia.  When sales flagged, the land was opened for homesteading in 1792.

Hampton Township created the Depreciation Lands Museum in 1973 to preserve and interpret this early history. The site includes the Pine Creek Covenanter Church, built in 1837, and the associated cemetery. It also includes the Armstrong log house, built in 1803, an herb garden, a replica school, circa 1885, working blacksmith shop, wagon house that houses a Conestoga wagon and displays, and a meeting building.

The museum is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday from May to October. It is located off Route 8 at 4743 South Pioneer Road. General admission is $3 adults and $1 children, but everyone gets in free on Friendship Day.

McQueen armadillo shoes for $25? YES

To celebrate the MET’s Alexander McQueen retrospective, Savage Beauty, the good people behind the exhibition have released some AWEsome replica McQueen armadillo shoes at a bargain-tastic price of $25. Totes amaze, yah?
Now, there is a SLIGHT hitch here, in that you’ll need to be able to squeeze your feet into a 10cm high resin ornament order to join Gaga and Daphne in getting any wear out of the iconic design. But if that’s no obstacle, then consider yourself a VERY lucky person who owns pair number 22 of Armadillo shoes (the design never went into production, so there are but 21 precious samples currently in existence).
At Grazia Daily, though completely dedicated to The Cause of fashion, we are currently mulling over other options for our mini-armadillos – Barbie shoes? A micropig accessory?

(FYI, the ornaments are currently "temporarily back ordered" which we guess is museum-speak for "out of stock’" Double boo.)

Emperor needs new clothes

TODAY is Friday, or more specifically Office Casual Dress Friday, the most stressful day in the working week.

As a young man, oh how I heckled the females in my life who complained bitterly of the daily decision-making process about what to wear to work.

I found it difficult to relate to their problem, for my own daily routine in suiting up for work was a lay-down misere; attire for Monday to Thursday consisted of one generic business shirt, one generic pair of business pants, generic black socks and black shoes. Dressed for work in 20 seconds.
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Casual Dress Friday was then met with a spring in my step as I had the time, financial resources and relative physique to align my casual attire to the fashions. Brand-name jeans accentuated my pre-sagging gluteus maximums; fitted shirts did not subconsciously ride up over my pre-expanding man-belly; my leather shoes were bought from a high street boutique, not an orthotic clinic. In short, I could confidently mix it with my female co-workers on the office runway.

Fast forward 20 years - and 20 pounds - and the thought of Casual Dress Friday sends me into a fashion conniption.

Previously I could never understand how my partner could stand in front of a wardrobe, a virtual clothes store in itself, and gaze blankly for hours with no solution in sight.

Fast forward 20 years and that person is now me. I have become that father whose fashion sense makes his daughters cringe with embarrassment whenever I set foot outside of the house.

There is no smart casual in my wardrobe. Instead it consists of clothing from two extreme poles of fashion: beige business shirts and beige pants to accentuate my appearance as a beige accountant, bookended with holding-on-to-my-youth articles of clothing such as an old football tracksuit and a prized 1984 Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA replica T-shirt.

As for polo shirts and chino pants, there will never be a better example of mutton dressed as lamb than if I tried to squeeze my bones into anything bearing a designer label.

So what am I wearing to work today? I have put together a casual ensemble consisting of one generic work shirt with one pair of generic work pants. And the casual item? A panicked, desperado accessory in the form of dull grey PVC sneakers which, viewed from a distance of 30 metres, could be mistaken for dull grey generic work shoes.

Oh, how all the females in my life now heckle me on Fridays.

For online shoe store Zappos, culture is a top seller

Michelle Lalonde beamed in the manner of a Vegas tourist about to polish off a yard-long margarita. Only there was no tequila - or neon or showgirls - in sight.

She and her business partner, Adriana De Luca, had arrived at one of the Las Vegas area's more offbeat, and increasingly popular, attractions: an hourlong tour of cubicles. Oh, and a lunchroom too.

The online shoe and apparel retailer Zappos leads as many as 1,200 visitors a month through its suburban Las Vegas headquarters, translating its quirky customs for the overworked, underpaid suit-and-tie masses. "Culture guides" (no tour guides here) offer witticisms, some history and a shot at modeling a samurai helmet.

Like many tourgoers, Lalonde and De Luca were fans of "Delivering Happiness," Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh's bestseller. The back cover hints at the company's offbeat appeal. No. 1 on a list of 10 reasons to buy it: "This book makes an excellent fire-starter."

Zappos, which fellow Internet retailer Amazon scooped up in 2009 for about $1 billion, represented the alt-indie vibe that Lalonde and De Luca wanted for their skin-care company, Tiber River Naturals.

So the women, who employ about 30 people in Winnipeg, Canada, recently ducked out of a small-business conference, hoping to learn a few tricks.

Company tours - of auto plants, glass factories, candy makers, a kazoo factory in Eden, N.Y. - are nothing new. But groups touring Zappos don't see craftsmen assembling stilettos and loafers. They don't see the warehouse; that's in Kentucky.

They don't even gawk at much footwear, though the company's name riffs off "zapatos," Spanish for "shoes."

Instead, they weave through cubicles bedecked with streamers, faux foliage and Mardi Gras beads. And a life-size cutout of a Jon Hamm-lookalike whose T-shirt says "I (heart) Shoes Bags and Boys."

In the same way Disneyland's Main Street imagines a town center without graffiti and homeless camps, Zappos imagines a workplace without the corporate-clone ethos mocked by "Dilbert" and "Office Space." The persona, and the company's reputation for first-rate customer service, has ginned up publicity, though they couldn't ward off recession-related woes. In 2008, Zappos laid off 8 percent of roughly 1,600 employees.

The tour lures mostly Zappos fanatics about 10 miles off of the Las Vegas Strip, to a taupe office park near a Claim Jumper restaurant. Visitors are offered popcorn, ice cream and a copy of a book in which employees muse about what the company's culture means. "Situational comedy," one wrote. "And yellow bananas."

Joe Bruzzese, 41, of Santa Barbara, Calif., dragged along his wife, their two children and his parents when he took it a second time. "I wanted the kids to see what work could be like. Most offices are so sterile," said Bruzzese, an author who focuses on school bullying issues. He won over his less-enthused wife, Kim, by promising, "Well, you'll see some shoes."

Zappos says it didn't set out to create another tourist trap. Las Vegas already offers the Atomic Testing and Erotic Heritage museums. (Alas, the Liberace Museum closed.) The company launched the tours a few years back for vendors attending fashion industry conventions on the Strip. Word spread.

Zappos now offers at least four free tours a day, four days a week. Want more? The "Tour Plus" costs $47, and the two-day boot camp - in which participants learn "new age effective management techniques" and more - is $3,997.

Angeline Close, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, said Zappos was dabbling in "experiential marketing," a form of promotion that's more intimate than a TV ad and can more tightly bond company and customer.

With the tours, she said, Zappos can show off the "brand personality" it's worked hard to build.

"You tend to like things or people you know more about," she said. "You're more likely to trust a company and trust a brand, especially online, when you see the people behind the website."

Tourgoers also might post kudos on Twitter or Facebook - as the culture guides repeatedly encourage - or provide other word-of-mouth advertising.

This spring afternoon, Lalonde and De Luca's tour began with a video that zipped through Zappos' history. A guy named Nick Swinmurn couldn't find Airwalk Desert Chukka boots in the size and color he desired and eventually launched the company. It moved to Nevada in 2004, partly because the 24-hour culture accommodated graveyard-shift workers.

Investor-turned-CEO Hsieh fostered an office with the tousled casualness of a college dorm, where some employees call themselves "Zapponians" and a top executive named Fred Mossler refuses to accept a title. "Just Fred," the video explained.

The tourists headed to a cubicle maze bedecked with Christmas lights, posters of the Periodic Table of Elements and a stuffed raccoon's hindquarters. Some conference rooms were named for casinos, including New York-New York and Monte Carlo.

A dangling name tag with "Tony" marked the CEO's cubicle.

"Does Tony come in every day?" someone shouted.

"You never know when you might see him," said the group's guide, Rocco DeBenedictis. Or what else you might witness.

One day near a sign for "Monkey Row," where Hsieh sits, a female tourgoer proclaimed on a bullhorn that she loved her life. Her boyfriend replied, "Will you marry me?" They returned to get hitched by an Elvis impersonator.

Today, there were neither Hsieh sightings nor marriage proposals. But Zappos teams livened up the tour as DeBenedictis marched onward - past cubicles cluttered with hiking boots and photos of party hat-wearing cats.

"I couldn't work in that environment," Lalonde said later. "I think it would make me nuts. I need clean space."

Even so, Lalonde, 41, and De Luca, 39, snapped pictures with an enthusiasm tourists usually reserve for the Bellagio fountains.

When they reached the team for Zappos sister website 6pm.com - it sells clearance shoes and clothing - they were greeted with tambourines. A bit later, the apparel team tinkled triangles. And when they got to human resources, the team did not disappoint, with a sign comparing the group to a mullet ("Business in the front ... Party in the Back!!!") and a recording of "Eye of the Tiger," accompanied by Shake Weights.

DeBenedictis then guided the group to the call center, where workers murmured into headsets. They're encouraged to follow up with customers, perhaps with notes ("Have a Rock Star birthday!" said one on display) and sweets.

At the tour's end, DeBenedictis led the group downstairs to a replica of the company's Royalty Room, which includes an intricately carved throne and an array of headgear. De Luca chose the samurai helmet.

"I feel power," she said before DeBenedictis snapped her picture.

Back in Winnipeg, De Luca and Lalonde decided some Zappos traits were worth copying for their Tiber River skin-care firm: sending thank-you notes to customers, defining what the company stood for and making decisions based on that.

They'd already started their own culture book. "Tiber River is like Cheers," said the first entry, which De Luca posted on the company blog. "Everyone knows each other."