Mark Evanier's Blog, page 199

Race Cards

My pal Tom Galloway, who knows almost everything about almost everything, fills me in on a few things relevant to our mention of Formula 1 racing in Las Vegas next month…

1) Chicago's race wasn't Formula 1 like Vegas' will be. Believe it or not, it was a NASCAR (which had this Western North Carolina where NASCAR originated from drivers carrying moonshine outrunning the revenooers [sic] born person raising an eyebrow. Should've been in Charlotte) race, and they have a contract for two more years. Unfortunately, it was marred by heavy rains, cancelling the last 25 laps/quarter of the race and associated concerts. Much more affordable than Formula 1; tickets were only $269.

On the other hand, this was at least in part where people actually live, so it seriously inconvenienced the population. Also to my disappointment, since there was no mention of it, I have to assume the pace car was not a replica of the Bluesmobile from the last major street car race on the streets of Chicago in the closing act of The Blues Brothers movie. Writeup of the race and aftermath here.

2) From what I've read, Formula 1 has a ten-year race contract with whatever the appropriate authority is in the Vegas area. I phrase it that way since, as I'm sure you know but most folks outside of the Vegas area don't, despite that iconic "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign just past the Mandalay Bay on the south end of the Strip, the Strip itself is not in Las Vegas, but rather the unincorporated town of Paradise.

Paradise was created in 1950 to counter the actual city of Las Vegas (i.e.. for most tourists, downtown Las Vegas/Fremont Street. If I'm recalling correctly, the Vegas city limits on Las Vegas Blvd aka "The Strip" is Sahara Ave, such that Sahara the casino is in Paradise and the Strat casino a short bit down on the other side of the street is in Las Vegas) from annexing and taxing the Strip casinos. It's governed by the Clark County Commission and a town Advisory Board and also contains the airport and UNLV. F1 is confident enough about its Vegas adjacent events to have built a significant operations and paddock/pit building across from Ellis Island Casino.

All very interesting. By the way: In racing, the "paddock" is where the racers store their transporters…kind of like temporary headquarters and garages. But in the Formula 1 event in Vegas, every effort is being made to refer to that as "The Pit." Why? Because the name of the guy who committed that mass shooting in Vegas in 2017 was Stephen Paddock. We don't do much in this country to stop mass shooters besides trying to avoid saying their names.

Much at Steak

Speaking of Las Vegas, as I was: Peter Luger's Steakhouse has finally opened at Caesars Palace. I'm a longtime fan of Peter Luger's in Brooklyn but my last few trips east, I haven't had the enthusiasm to make the long cab ride out to it. That long drive is part of the reason but another is that I've become less of a fan of very, very expensive steakhouses. There's a limit to how wonderful a steak can be and more and more steakhouses are exceeding that limit in this country.

Spending money, when one spends it the right way, can be fun. Feeling fleeced of it is not.

In Beverly Hills, steak seekers used to have their choice of Ruth's Chris, Fleming's, Wolfgang's, Morton's, The Palm, Mastro's and one or two others. I've had great meals at all the named places but in just the last few years, all the named ones except Mastro's have closed and I don't believe it's just that people are eating less red meat. All of these places offered fish and chicken. I just think that for many folks, "steakhouse" has become a synonym for "clip joint."

In Vegas, your basic Peter Luger's steak runs $72 for one, $149 for two, $216 for three, and $286 for four. That's just for the plate o' meat. Early reviews say it's a great steak but like I said, there's a limit…and it also bugs me that the price for two is more than double the price for one. i wonder what they'd charge if you said, "Bring us two orders of the steak for one."

Add an appetizer, a side dish and a dessert and you're looking at $117 per person and that's without tax, tip or beverages. Those tariffs are a little above the current prices at the two Peter Luger'ses in New York, by the way.

You may remember some excitement from me when it was announced that Peter Luger's was coming to Vegas. Imagine! There would be one only 273 miles from me instead of 2,787 miles away! Now, I'm feeling like it's not my kind of place. I don't feel like I'm part of the target audience for it or a lot of places in Vegas lately. The prices of hotel rooms, shows and other forms of entertainment are just alienating me as are the offers I'm getting for package deals. I have a problem with "package deals," as I'll explain in another post shortly.

Years ago, there was a great Chinese restaurant not far from my home. I wrote about it in Story #3 in this article which I wrote way back in the previous century. You don't have to go read it. In that tale, I told how I took a lady named Valerie there for dinner on many of our dates. We both loved the food there.

By way of Updates and Honesty, I should tell you that that not long after that restaurant got bad and lost my patronage, it went out of business. Obviously, I wasn't the only one who doesn't like peas in my fried rice. Also, I should set your mind at ease and tell you that I've found an even better-than-that-one-ever-was Chinese restaurant that my current lady friend also loves. And I should tell you that in the above-referenced story, I changed that lady friend's name to Valerie. It wasn't really Valerie.

One evening, I took the lady who was not named Valerie to a very fancy and expensive steahouse in Beverly Hills for a wonderful meal. Later, she found a gentle, kind way to tell me that though she loved her dinner, she was uncomfy when she peeked at the bill and saw what it had cost me. I told her I didn't mind. She told me that she minded. It was a little under $100 which at the time was a lot of money to spend on dinner for two people, neither of whom ordered alcohol. It would probably be twice that today.

She asked me what it cost me when we went to the Chinese eatery we both loved. I told her it was around $25. She said, "How about this? Every time you get the urge to take me to a place where dinner runs $80 and up, we instead go to the Chinese restaurant and you give me $20 to spend on something I really need for my life? That way, you'll be ahead and I'll be ahead. Because frankly, while I enjoyed our dinner tonight, I didn't enjoy it any more than when we eat at the Chinese place."

I thought for a second, decided I couldn't see anything wrong with that and agreed. We did that for the rest of the time not-Valerie and I dated, which was another six months or so. It never occurred to me to continue that policy with subsequent companions but I may reinstitute it with regard to steakhouses.

Or if she doesn't want the money, maybe I'll send it to Operation USA or some cause that can put it to better use. I've probably been eating too much beef anyway. The policy may not apply any time I'm on an expense account and someone else is paying.

From the E-Mailbag…

"Bud in Cincinnati" wrote to say…

I have to disagree about Trump's goal. I believe that Donald Trump's main goal after the 2020 election is to con(vince) as many people as possible to send him as much money as possible. Note how Trump demanded that Trumpists send the money to him and not the Republican Party, way back in idk when. I believe that every claim to have won is in service to this goal.

Okay, I don't really disagree with that. "Follow the money," as they say. My point was that I think all his odd behavior during the trial is consistent with the notion that he and his team are resigned to losing. You don't keep calling the judge names if you're holding out hopes he's going to rule in your favor. Trump is playing to his base. That's really all he does.

Here's a message I received from Joseph Finn about the upcoming Formula 1 race through the streets of Las Vegas…

They did this in Chicago as well this summer, blocking off a lot of the lakefront and museums for a month, and you better believe how much the locals hated it (not to mention the business owners who had access to their stores blocked). I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the big reasons that former mayor Lori Lightfoot is the former mayor as of a few months ago is that she pushed for this deal to have F1 in Chicago and the constituents were, "Hell no."

Unfortunately, in Vegas, the concerns of the "locals" don't hold much clout against the concerns of the hotel-casinos. The hotels are, after all, the major employers and at least that part of the city gives 'em what they want. Someone smells an awful lot of revenue if this race becomes an annual event. Nothing short of it turning out to be a huge flop is going to stop this from being part of every November on Las Vegas Boulevard.

And lastly, here's one from "A. Fan." That's how he wanted to be identified…

You're telling us who you're glad you're not certain people. Is there someone you would like to be?

Yeah: A better Mark Evanier. There's so much room there for improvement.

Today's Video Link

As longtime readers of this site know, I used to spend large chunks of my life in Las Vegas. I went there to write, to see shows, to count cards in Blackjack, to chase showgirls, to hang out with comedians and other performers, to get away from Los Angeles, to just walk around and see tourist attractions and tourists…and there were probably half-a-dozen other reasons.

Almost none of those apply anymore and the town — I'm talking about the casino part of it, obviously — just doesn't seem that appealing to me. Everything I see about Vegas these days makes me feel that I am no longer its target audience and it's especially true when I receive e-mail offers to go there next month and experience the first — and some Vegas residents seem to be hoping the last — Formula 1 race through that casino area.

There's some evidence that instead of being really, really, really, really lucrative for business there, they've lost a couple of reallies and it will only be really, really lucrative. It's not sold out and prices are dropping from really, really, really, really outrageous to just really, really outrageous.

Here's a preview of the event from Norma Geli, the dominant force among the countless folks now doing "What's happening in Vegas" YouTube videos. I'm not thinking anything in here will entice you to go. It certainly won't if you're like me and not the least bit interested in auto racing, excessive drinking, partying all night, sleeping in a room for a few nights that costs you more than your monthly rent or mortgage at home, and wading through massive crowds. But just watch it and see what kind of tourist Vegas is now looking to attract. That sure ain't me…

P.I.G.I.N.

Except where it will be noted, my Person I'm Glad I'm Not for the forseeable future will be Donald Trump, who just endured a very, very bad week in court…or at least he did if you think the goal of him and his attorneys is to win the case or at least minimize fines. The following is the view of someone who is thousands of miles from the courtroom and isn't even following everything there is to follow online.

I'm thinking Donald and his legal team have decided he can't "win" (in any sense) in this proceeding. The prosecutors have him dead to rights. So…

His goal after the 2020 election was to convince his base that his loss was because Democrats rigged the system against him. I think that's all that's possible for him with this trial and probably some or all of those ahead of him. And in that sense, he may be doing okay…but I'm still glad I'm not in his position and so are you.

Images I Found on My Computer #3

Click on the pic to make it grow.

This is for folks around my age who grew up in Los Angeles. It's a group shot of Los Angeles kid show hosts from when I was ten, give or take a few years. If you click to make the photo bigger, you'll see I've added their names. Some additional info…

Walker Edmiston (B) was probably my favorite, though he rarely appeared on camera. Usually, you saw one or more of his puppets, especially R. Crag Ravenswood, who is to the right to Engineer Bill. You (or I) never saw the face of Vance Colvig (E) because it was hidden behind Bozo makeup that his father had once worn when he was the first Bozo the Clown. Jimmy Weldon (F) passed away recently. Jimmy, seen here with his little buddy, Webster Webfoot, was the last surviving member of this fraternity…and the job of Los Angeles kid show host.

This was taken on the set of an afternoon movie show which Tom Hatten (G) hosted on KTLA years after he stopped hosting his own kid's show running Popeye cartoons on that station. The major omission for me in this gathering is Charles Runyon, who played Chucko the Birthday Clown on KABC for many years. By the time this group was assembled, he'd moved to Oregon. If you feel like using the Search function on this blog, you can read more about most of these men. When I was a kid, they were TV stars just as much as anyone on the networks.

Today's Video Link

Since "gag orders" are now in the news a lot, Devin "Legal Eagle" Stone explains all about them and the laws around them. This YouTube video ends with an ad but the subscribers' version (I'm a subscriber) has no ads and ends with Mr. Stone explaining that this story is changing so rapidly that after they recorded it but before they posted it, they had to go back and shoot and edit in some update footage — which is why his haircut changes back and forth during the video. I hadn't noticed…

Real Early Friday Morning

At 2:10 AM, I received an e-mail from Holly, a reader of this site who was worried that I was still standing outside my home waiting for the poison gas to dissipate. I appreciate your concern, Holly, but no. I got in about ten minutes after the previous post and immediately got busy closing windows and drawers, putting all my food items back in their proper places and, in general, making my house my home again. Thanks to my incredible housekeeper Dora and my amazing assistant Jane, everything was returned here to normal quicker than I could have imagined.

In fact, things are so normal here now that I'm up in the middle of the night writing so I saw Holly's worried message as soon as it arrived.

Right after I posted that message, a neighbor came by to ask me how things were going. I pointed to a worker who was up the roof of my house letting down the last of the tarps and I said…

An exterminator on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But in our little village of West Hollywood, you might say every one of us is an exterminator on the roof, trying to scratch out a simple, pleasant development deal without breaking his neck…

My neighbor didn't get it but you do, right? Sigh.

Today's Video Link

Here — I'll post this for you while standing outside my house waiting for it to be aired out. They have to expel all the Vikane® gas and I'm hoping it doesn't take the smell of old comic books with it.

I picked this because there are some scenes you just can't see too many times. I hope the SAG-AFTRA negotiations aren't going like this…

From the Front of My House

The tent just came down and, indeed, the house is under it. As I stood watching the crew about to untent, I was reverse-engineering a David Copperfield trick in my head…how to make it look like the house is still there but when they remove the tarps — Presto! — it's gone, moved somewhere next to the Statue of Liberty and that train car from The Orient Express.

But it was there. In a way, I was almost disappointed because I'd figured out such a neat magic trick.