Matthew O'Brien's Blog, page 11

Fade Sag Crumble book info

More info on the book I contributed to, Fade Sag Crumble: Ten Las Vegas Writers Confront Decay.

http://fadesagcrumble.com/

Blue Angel Motel update

An update on possible changes at the Blue Angel Motel and surrounding area, with quotes from your favorite former Blue Angel tenant. I was worried that I came across as insensitive when quoted as saying, "There is clearly a market for that kind of clientele." (Of course, if that's how I worded it, I simply meant Hispanics.) Then I read the comments at the bottom of the story and was, once again, appalled by how ignorant and insensitive some folks can be.

http://www.lvrj.com/news/developer-has-plans-for-latino-music-venue-downtown-132873418.html

Hall of Fame and Silver Pen news release

Here's the news release for this year's Hall of Fame and Silver Pen Award ceremony:

http://newsroom.unr.edu/2011/10/26/university's-"nevada-writers-hall-of-fame"-honors-cowboy-poet-waddie-mitchell/

Book launch follow-up

All-around solid event: well-attended, smoothly moderated and some great readings. Thanks to everyone who was there (and apparently missed one of the most exciting World Series games ever).

Fade Sag Crumble on the radio

The local NPR affiliate's State of Nevada program featuring me, Fade Sag Crumble editor Scott Dickensheets and two other contributors, Lynnette Curtis and Andrew Kiraly:

http://www.knpr.org/son/archive/detail2.cfm?SegmentID=8291&ProgramID=2350

Short story writer for hire

My good friend (and one of my favorite writers from the old CityLife days) Saab Lofton is looking for work. Check out this description of what he does:

http://emilypothast.wordpress.com/2008/12/18/last-minute-holiday-gift-idea/

Fade Sag Crumble book launch

I contributed an essay to the book Fade Sag Crumble: Ten Las Vegas Writers Confront Decay. My essay, "The Sky's the Limit," tries to make some sense of the section of Las Vegas Boulevard between Sahara and Fremont, which I've long been fascinated with and where I've lived since the beginning of the year. The opening of the piece is posted below.

To launch the book, the editor (Scott Dickensheets) and contributors (Andrew Kiraly, Jarret Keene, Stacy Willis and others) are participating in a panel discussion at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, at the Clark County Library Theater (on Flamingo Road just east of Maryland Parkway). The event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a book signing and reception.

See you there!

"The Sky's the Limit"

1.

On this stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, a pawnshop is the star. Many of the buildings are "Available"—and so are many of the men and women. People, typically supported by cables, throw themselves off the Stratosphere tower. Heirlooms are passed down not to a son or daughter, but a silhouette at the night window.

For a few years, Helldorado was held on this stretch of the Boulevard; now, a much more somber parade marches up and down it. The procession has some baggage, literally and figuratively. It's tough to tell who's talking to their headsets and who's talking to themselves. There's crazy … and then there's downtown crazy.

This street is "unique as a peacock," said the EZPAWN salesman—and at least as colorful. It's an outstretched arm reaching for modern Las Vegas, said journalist John L. Smith, but can't quite touch it. It's a reality check, said a man renting scooters to tourists just north of Sahara Avenue (the line of demarcation).

It's the wrong side of Sahara. Our Land That Time Forgot. A blind spot of local historians. Terra incognita. This is where the 9/11 terrorists stayed. This is where underground gambling dens become dry cleaners, and wedding chapels become art galleries run by the disabled. This is where 100-year-old men marry 32-year-old women.

Here, you can meet the love of your life (Downtown Cocktail Room), buy a wedding ring (Ace Jewelers), propose (top of the Stratosphere), get a prenup (John Peter Lee Ltd.), marry (Little White Wedding Chapel), get his-and-her tattoos (Precious Slut), consummate the marriage (Oasis Motel), spice up your sex life (Talk of the Town) and, if all else fails, file for divorce (Callister + Associates).

Elvis scored drugs here (of course, that can be said of a lot of places in town). If there's a Homeless Elvis—and I'm betting there is—he hustles on these swastika-scarred sidewalks. He wakes at 9:30 a.m. on a newspaper bed in a lot formerly occupied by an hourly motel, blue suede shoes tucked under a soiled pillow. He runs a comb through his hair, cracks a crooked smile, then falls back asleep.

Books and a guitar follow-up

We got the books to Mike awhile back. Finally got him the guitar. Special thanks to Alison in Kansas City for paying for the guitar, which Mike and I picked out at a pawnshop.

Nevada Review Q&A

A Q&A with the Nevada Review about my background, books, the Silver Pen award and my plans for the future:
http://www.thenevadareview.com/an-interview-with-matthew-obrien-winner-of-the-silver-pen-award

Thanks, Rich!

For two and a half years, Rich Penksa, a case manager anddirector of homeless services at HELP of Southern Nevada, has been an integralpart of the Shine a Light community project. He braved the underground floodchannels, offering housing, medical attention, mental-health care and otherservices to the people he encountered. He case-managed clients who used to livein the tunnels. And for the last year and a half or so, he oversaw the programthat housed or helped (IDs, bus passes, etc.) hundreds of tunnel dwellers andformer tunnel dwellers.
On several occasions, I saw Rich encounter someone in thedrains, help them pack their stuff and then drive them directly to a group homeor apartment—their lives changed in an instant. (It's one of the most heroic thingsI've seen in person.) Many of these people are now clean, healthy, reunitedwith family and working or looking for work.
Rich's last day at HELP was Sept. 15. (I won't go into thedetails of his departure.) And while he's no longer with the charityorganization, and is unsure of what he's going to do next, the work he didaboveground and underground will reverberate for years to come.
Thanks, Rich!