"We're off to see the Wizard..."

P, E and I left for Las Vegas on Mon. Am trying to decide on the tone of this blog. Tim Powers's novel, Last Call seems appropriate:

One of Powers's characters take on Vegas:

'"So what's it like," he asked quietly, "Vegas?"

Crane inhaled deeply on his own cigarette. This section of desert was far bleaker and more humbling than the stretch before Baker had been, without even any broken glass along the shoulder, and the small smells and sounds and glows inside the truck were precious. "I haven't been in twenty years."

"What you remember."

"It's … pure," Crane said. "It's self-indulgence with no … no marbling."

"Sounds like a lean steak, no marbling."

Crane leaned forward to tap off his ash, but it fell to the floor. He leaned back. "Yeah. Yeah, did you ever read about that chicken heart that scientists took out of a—a chicken, and kept alive? The heart's been alive for like fifty years now, and it's grown to the size of a couch. Las Vegas is self-indulgence with every other part of life trimmed away, and it's grown to a size that's freakish. Not just grown like a city, you know, buildings and suburbs and all, but … grown to fill all the space, psychically. And what you get, the result—probably like the chicken heart—is—is blandness, with a kind of burnt aftertaste."

"How do they treat you? The casino people."

"Oh, everybody's real cheerful, real helpful. The cops see you walking down the sidewalk with a drink in your hand, they just smile and nod. Everybody's that way around the casinos, which is to say downtown around Fremont Street and out on the Strip. They don't have to say 'screw you' because they already are screwing you, in more ways than you know, and in more orifices than you knew you had."

Mavranos took a gulp from the can of beer that had been catching ashes between his thighs. "Sounds like fun."

For a while Crane watched the monotonous pavement rushing at them and tumbling away under the humming wheels. "It is, actually."'


P raced to LV at 80 mph. It was exhilarating, but you could feel the Lexus engine sucking down that gas. Lexus is a luxurious car, but you can feel the increased weight. The trip was uneventful otherwise; the cell phone I got turned out to be only somewhat useful for finding other people--I mean, you can talk to the person you're trying to find, but, if their directions are hurried or vague, good luck in finding them in a crowd.


Relatives all look fine, and in good health.