DAVID

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ART in Vegas Art Community Doubles Down as It Emerges from the Great Recession

ON BEING SHORT

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MEAT ME IN VEGAS

IMPORTANCE OF BEING DAD

PASSING OF THE PEN

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THE NEW LAS VEGAS HAS ARRIVED And it’s taking shape at The Ogden

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150 N. Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Nevada 89101

Call 702.478.4700 to schedule a private presentation today.

Sales Center open daily.

ogdenlv.com

© DK Ogden LLC Unauthorized use of the images, artist renderings, plans or other depictions of the project or units is strictly prohibited. Offer subject to change without notice. See agent for details.

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FAT H E R ’ S DAY M E N U S U N DAY, JU N E 2 1 , 2 0 1 5

S TA RT E R

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Grilled Lemon Pepper Shrimp, Portobello Mushrooms and Julienne Vegetables, with Lemon Beurre Blanc and Honey Balsamic Fig Reduction $

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JOIN US for the 2015 Women’s Leadership Conference

July 13 & 14 at MGM Grand Las Vegas

Join hundreds of motivated women, along with a dynamic lineup of engaging and inspirational speakers, for a two-day journey designed to enhance your career, build your professional network and maximize your leadership potential.

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Krystal Ramirez mural at EAT Restaurant

JUNE

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20 42 36

live

think

grill

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explore The month’s event listings to help plan your day or your stay

19

devour Where to find some of the best eats, drinks and foodie happenings in the Valley

28 speak Corey Levitan and his unique perspective on life.

32 sense There are too many single mother families. Where are the Dads?

36 taste How much do you really know about your favorite protein? Where is the beef?

42 Art in Vegas The local art community navigates it’s way out of the great recession. We talk to experts.

58 Ruth Furman Mistress of the Message The month’s spotlight on someone to know.

22 discover Places to go, cool things to do, hip people to see in the most exciting city in the World

w w w.davidlv.com

46 The Most Obvious Accessory Morgenthal Fredrics eyewear for spring/summer 2015.

J U N E 2015

20 desire Sin City abounds in world-class shopping ... these are a few of our favorite things

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pulse

52 The Passing of the Pen Hobbies shared by fathers and their children instill a sense of tradition.

on the cover

ART in Vegas

M

www.davidlv.com

Copyright 2015 by JewishINK LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. DAVID MAGAZINE is protected as a trademark in the United States. Subscribers: If the Postal Service alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we are under no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year.

The publisher accepts no responsibility for unsolicited or contributed manuscripts, photographs, artwork or advertisements. Submissions will not be returned unless arranged for in writing. DAVID MAGAZINE is a monthly publication. All information regarding editorial content or property for sale is deemed reliable. No representation is made as to the accuracy hereof and is printed subject to errors and omissions.

Art Community Doubles Down as It Emerges from the Great Recession

J U N E 2 015

Big Edge, a sculpture by American sculptor and installation artist, Nancy Rubin located at CityCenter, Las Vegas

ON BEING SHORT

MEAT ME IN VEGAS

IMPORTANCE OF BEING DAD

PASSING OF THE PEN

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Publisher/Editor Associate Publisher

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Max Friedland

max@davidlv.com editor@davidlv.com

Joanne Friedland joanne@davidlv.com

EDITORIALllllllll

Calendar Editor

Brianna Soloski

brianna@davidlv.com

Copy Editor Pulse Editor Production Assistant

Pat Teague

Contributing Writers

Marisa Finetti

Marisa Finetti ZoĂŤ Friedland

E.C.Gladstone Jaq Greenspon Corey Levitan Tara Meyers Lissa Townsend Rodgers Lynn Wexler ART & PHOTOGRAPHY

Art Director/ Photographer

Steven Wilson

steve@davidlv.com

ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Advertising Director

Joanne Friedland joanne@davidlv.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS 702-254-2223 | subscribe@davidlv.com

Volume 06 Number 2 www.davidlv.com DAVID Magazine is published 12 times a year.

Copyright 2014 by JewishINK LLC. 1930 Village Center Circle, No. 3-459 Las Vegas, NV 89134 (p) 702-254-2223 (f) 702-664-2633

To advertise in DAVID Magazine, call 702-254-2223 or email ads@davidlv.com To subscribe to DAVID Magazine, call 702.254-2223 or email subscibe@davidlv.com

DAVID Magazine sets high standards to ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable manner. This copy of DAVID Magazine was printed by American Web in Denver, Colo., on paper from well-managed forests which meet EPA guidelines that recommend use of recovered fibers for coated papers. Inks used contain a blend of soy base. Our printer meets or exceeds all federal Resource Conservation Recovery Act standards and is a certified member of both the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. When you are done with this issue, please pass it on to a friend or recycle it.

8 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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DEAN COLLINS Legal and Medical Specialist / 866.980.9585

RITA VASWANI Legal and Medical Specialist / 866.909.8764

SPECIALIZED BANKING FOR NEVADA’S EXECUTIVES AND PROFESSIONALS At Nevada State Bank, we devote exceptional attention to Nevada’s executives and professionals.

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Nevada State Bank NMLS# 561942. **Securities offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA/SIPC. Insurance products offered through LPL Financial or its licensed affiliates. Nevada State Bank and Nevada State Investment Services are not registered broker/dealers and are not affiliated with LPL Financial.

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Not FDIC Insured Not Bank Guaranteed Not Insured by any Federal Government Agency

May Lose Value Not a Bank Deposit

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contributors

Marisa Finetti is a local writer, marketing professional and blogger. The Tokyoborn Finetti has called Las Vegas home since 2005. She has written for such publications as Spirit and Las Vegas and Nevada magazines and has a healthy-living blog at bestbewell. com. When she’s not writing, Finetti enjoys family time with her husband and two boys.

Jaq Greenspon E.C. Gladstone is a Las Vegas-based writer/photographer and social media consultant. Covering the ever-growing worlds of travel, food, wine & spirits, he has contributed recently to BonAppetit.com, About.com, Thrillist, Everyday With Rachael Ray and multiple local Vegas outlets. Previously, he helped launched JLiving magazine and has held editorial positions with many websites and magazines including AOL.com, US Weekly, and Alternative Press.

His ideal day involves a busy kitchen, soul music, laughter and cask spirits. Currently he is compiling a book of his rock journalism from the ‘90s. Find more of his writing on food and beverages at nowimhungry.com and sipsavorswallow. com.

is a world traveling, dog loving, scuba diving, book collecting, writer currently residing somewhere in Eastern Europe. His words have been spoken by Capt.

Jean-Luc Picard and Robin Hood, been read by David Copperfield, and criticized by his 7th grade English teacher. He’d like to thank the members of the Academy, although he doesn’t know why. In his spare time, he’s a university professor and a kick ass uncle.

Corey Levitan is a regular contributor to Men’s Health magazine.

He wrote the most popular newspaper humor column in Las Vegas history, “Fear and Loafing,” which ran 176 times in the ReviewJournal from 2006-2011. At home, however, he is referred to as “Mr. Poopyhead” by his four-year-old daughter, and something much less printable by his wife. Follow his latest adventures here and at coreylevitan.com.

Tara Meyers a St. Louis-based writer, is the author of “Pink Chair No Underwear: 19 Confessions From One Madly In Love Couple.” A firm believer that everyone has a story worth telling and a legacy worth sharing, she also pens under MissObit.com, where she writes awesome obituaries for the living.

Lissa Townsend Rodgers moved to Las Vegas from New York City just over a decade ago. She has written for New York Magazine, the Village Voice, Desert Companion and Las Vegas Citylife, among many others.

She is currently a senior writer at Seven Magazine.

Lynn Wexler has been a feature writer and contributor for magazines and newspapers, locally and nationally, for over 20 years. She writes a monthly online column entitled Manners in the News, which comments on the behavior of politicians, celebrities and others thrust in the public arena. She is the Founder and President of Perfectly Poised, a school of manners that teaches social, personal and business etiquette to young people.

She is a former TV Reporter and News Anchor. Of her many accomplishments, she is most proud of her three outstanding teenaged children.

10 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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from the publisher

Debate rages as to the origin of Paris’ nickname La Ville-Lumière, or the “City of Lights.” Its claim to the sobriquet may derive from the central part Paris played in the Age of Enlightenment, or

as one of the earliest cities to employ electric street lighting. One thing’s clear: She’s not alone in either distinction anymore — welcome to the City of Lights West. Our improbable trail stop in the Mojave not only matches the Parisian illumination, but raises the stakes with thousands of miles of incandescent neon, mega-digital signage and a light shaft that pierces the heavens. All this electric mayhem plays to the crowds under the desert’s majestic multicolored dome.

In “Art in Vegas,” Lissa Townsend Rodgers explores the challenges facing local artists who work in our unique milieu. The temptation always exists to look to the larger art centers in the country for inspiration. This imperative is reinforced by the fact that those art markets are available to Vegas art buyers. Hard economic times have reshaped this community and unleashed the liberating realization that there’s

Your Child’s

BAR/BAT MITZVAH MEMORIES Can Live on in Israel …

JNF’s B’nai Mitzvah Wall • Your $1,800 donation will support Israeli campsites and scholarships • Your child’s name will be inscribed on the wall and they will forever be linked to a child who perished in the Holocaust • The Bar/Bat Mitzvah child will receive a plaqued certificate

jnf.org/store • 800.542.8733

something special about living and creating art in Sin City.

My family often nudges me for my self-indulgence. The publication you now hold in your hands, or the digital version you read online, graphically reflects this tendency. A cursory review of June’s Table of Contents has me considering a name change for this month’s magazine. Were I to go all in and remove the title DAVID from the cover and replace it with MAX, I could use the same open “A” letter style, colors and layout. Backlash notwithstanding, at least it would be honest.

Jest aside, it’s important to recognize the subjective nature of the creative process, and the need to avoid the paralysis brought on by excessive self-consciousness. I’m often asked to explain the niche-plus nature of DAVID, more specifically how and why Jewish content fits so well within a Las Vegas city lifestyle magazine format. This line of inquiry has led me to the simple realization that what we make reflects who we are. If I had published a flyfishing magazine instead of a city pub, it doubtlessly would have become the nation’s pre-eminent Jewish fly-fishing journal.

Back to June’s Table of Contents: I am a vertically challenged man; I am NOT an absent dad. I carnivorously dig steakhouses, I grew up in the art world in a family of artists and art dealers; I sport cool shades, I have collected stamps and pens (a bar mitzvah collection circa 1963), and, oh, yes, Ruth Furman is a friend. I think the time has come for me to hire someone else to edit this magazine. Any takers please email me.

Happy summer, keep cool and see you on the racks.

Max Friedland max@davidlv.com

12 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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Amanda Searle

pulse explore @ 14 devour @ 19 desire @ 20 discover @ 22

EDDIE IZZARD 5.22

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eXplore L A S

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BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL NETWORK AND MEN’S MACCABEE SOCIETY PRESENTS - A NIGHT OF COMEDY AND COCKTAILS: 6:30 p.m., $50. Cili at Bali Hai, 5160 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. RSVP to Marni Unger at marni@jewishlasvegas.com jewishlasvegas.com FOLIAS FLUTE AND GUITAR DUO: 1 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org ADL JURISPRUDENCE LUNCHEON: Time and cost TBA. For more information, contact Jolie Brislin at 702-862-8600. http://sites.csn. edu/artgallery/index.html

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KENNY ALLEN BAND: Through June 6, times vary, $5-$20. Treasure Island, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-894-7111. treasureisland.com WHITESNAKE: 8 p.m., $35. Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas. 702-6935000. hardrockhotel.com LAURIE BERKNER: 10:30 a.m. & 6:30 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org LAS VEGAS STORIES - THE MOB’S HIDDEN HAND IN LAS VEGAS: 7 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org YOUNG ISRAEL AISH GRATITUDE GALA: 6 p.m., cost TBA. World Market Center, 495 S. Grand Central Parkway, #2203, Las Vegas. For more information, contact Amy Henry at 702360-8909. yiaishlv.org

NEON TREES WITH SPECIAL GUEST ALEX WINSTON: 9 p.m., $20. Cosmopolitan, 3608 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-698-7000. cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

June 1

ALLYN STEWART - UN-MAPPING THE LANDSCAPE - NEW WORKS ON PAPER: Through June 27, times vary, free. CSN Cheyenne, 3200 E. Cheyenne Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-651-4146. http://sites.csn.edu/ artgallery/index.html GABRIELLE ST. EVENSEN - ‘TIL DEATH DO YOU PART — MARRY YOURSELF: Through June 7, times vary, free. Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-698-7000. cosmopolitanlasvegas.com CLUB READ: Through Aug. 15, free. All Clark County Libraries are participating in this year's summer reading program. Visit your nearest branch to sign up. lvccld.org

DIVE-IN MOVIES - VIVA LAS VEGAS & VIEWER'S CHOICE: 7 p.m., $5. Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-6987000. cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

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BUSINESS OUTREACH EVENT: 8:30 a.m., free. Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth Street, Las Vegas. 702-229-6231. lasvegasnevada.gov/business TUESDAY AFTERNOON AT THE BIJOU ESSENTIAL CARY GRANT SCREWBALL COMEDIES: Tuesdays through June 30, 1 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org

MOVIES IN THE SQUARE - BIG HERO 6: Time TBA, free. Town Square, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-269-5001. mytownsquarelasvegas.com

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CIARA: Time TBA, $20-$30. Drai's Nightclub, 3595 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-7773800. draislv.com THE KIDS IN THE HALL: 9 p.m., $49.95.

Treasure Island, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-894-7111. treasureisland.com GARY PUCKETT AND THE UNION GAP: Through June 7, 7:30 p.m., $25. South Point, 9777 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-7967111. southpointcasino.com THE MARIO BATALI FOUNDATION PRESENTS SWING SESSION LAS VEGAS CELEBRITY GOLF CLASSIC: Through June 6, times vary, $3,500. To purchase tickets

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LIPSHTICK COMEDY SERIES PRESENTS ROSEANNE BARR: Time and cost TBA. Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas.

702-414-1000. venetian.com

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A.R. RAHMAN: Time and cost TBA. Planet Hollywood, 3667 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas.

877-333-9474. planethollywoodresort.com LAS VEGAS BRASS BAND SUMMERTIME CONCERT: 2 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-5073459. lvccld.org

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9 Allyn Stewart 6.1-27

visit mariobatalifoundation.splashthat.com. http://sites.csn.edu/artgallery/index.html CARNIVAL OF CUISINE: 6 p.m., $100.

Palazzo, 3325 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas.

702-602-7777. palazzo.com RAINBOW COMPANY YOUTH THEATRE ENSEMBLE SHOW (W)RITES OF PASSAGE: Through June 6, 7 p.m., free. Sammy Davis Junior Festival Plaza in Lorenzi Park, 720 Twin Lakes Drive. 702-229-6553. artslasvegas.org RON WHITE: Through June 6, times vary, $59.99. Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-791-7111. mirage.com MICHAEL GRIMM: Varying dates through June 30, time TBA, $19.95. Hard Rock, 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas. 702-693-5000. hardrockhotel.com

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THE LENNON SISTERS: Through June 7, 7:30 p.m., $29.95. Suncoast, 9090 Alta Drive, Las Vegas. 702-284-7777. suncoast.com

DIVE-IN MOVIES - LAND BEFORE TIME & JURASSIC PARK: 7 p.m., $5. Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-6987000. cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

WHEELS OF SOUL SUMMER TOUR 2015: 6:30 p.m., $63. Palms, 4321 W. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-942-7777. palms.com THE BIG USED BOOK BLOW OUT SALE: 10a.m., free. Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-507-3686. lvccld.org

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JEFF DUNHAM: Through June 14, times vary, $72. Planet Hollywood, 3667 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 877-333-9474. planethollywoodresort.com

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA - SYMPHONY OF THE GODDESS - MASTER QUEST: Time TBA, $50. Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-414-1000. venetian.com AMY GARTRELL AND PATTERSON BECKWITH - CHROMOPHILIA: Through July 12, times vary, free. Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-698-7000. cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

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THE CULT AND PUBLIC ENEMY: 8 p.m., $45.

Hard Rock, 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas.

702-693-5000. hardrockhotel.com

RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY PRESENTS CIRCUS XTREME: Through June 14, times vary, $20. Thomas and Mack Center, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas. 702895-3761. thomasandmack.com

DYNAMIC TROMBONE QUARTET: 2 p.m., free.

Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush Street, Las Vegas. 702-229-6383. artslasvegas.org

COFFEE WITH THE MAYOR: 8 a.m., free. Dougie J’s Cafe, 603 Las Vegas Blvd., S. Las Vegas. http://sites.csn.edu/artgallery/index.html

JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS: 5 p.m., $29-$89. Sunset Station, 1301 W. Sunset Road, Henderson. 702-547-7777. sunsetstation.sclv.com

AUSTIN LAW: Through June 13, 9 p.m., $5-$20. Treasure Island, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-894-7111. treasureisland.com

Wishing all Dads and Grads Happiness and Success 301 N. Buffalo Drive 255-3444 www.thebagelcafelv.com

WhereTheLocalsEat.com www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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MOVIES IN THE SQUARE - FROZEN: Time TBA, free. Town Square, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-269-5001. mytownsquarelasvegas.com

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STEVE TYRELL: Through June 13, 7 p.m., $39. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-749-2012. thesmithcenter.com SIMPLY ELLA — CELEBRATING THE ERA OF JAZZ: 7:30 p.m., $35. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-7492012. thesmithcenter.com NEON TREES WITH SPECIAL GUEST ALEX WINSTON: 9 p.m., $20. Cosmopolitan, 3608 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-698-7000. cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

IN ITS ENTIRETY — JOURNEY’S GREATEST HITS PERFORMED BY JOURNEY UNLIMITED — THE TRIBUTE: 7:30 p.m., $15. Red Rock Hotel, 11011 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas. 702-7977777. redrock.sclv.com EDDIE IZZARD: Through June 13, 8 p.m., $53. Palms, 4321 W. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-942-7777. palms.com

Public Enemy 6.6

ROMANTIC MOVIES IN THE SQUARE SIXTEEN CANDLES: Time TBA, free. Town Square, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas.

702-269-5001. mytownsquarelasvegas.com OPERA LAS VEGAS - MADAME BUTTERFLY: 7:30 p.m., June 14, 2 p.m. $55. UNLV Judy Bayley Theatre, 4505 S. Maryland Pkwy., Las

Vegas.702-895-3011. unlv.edu/pac/tickets

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THE FAB FOUR - THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE: Through June 14, 8 p.m., $19.95. Orleans, 4500 W. Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas. 702284-7777. orleanscasino.com

FR

Grace. Strength. Artistry.

CELEBRATION.

OMPAC ONKAG LY ES

$1

29

NMLS 335665

Nevada Ballet Theatre and Cirque du Soleil® Present

A CHOREOGRAPHERS’ SHOWCASE October 11 & 18, 2015

Refinance Purchases Reverse Mortgages

CINDERELLA

February 13 & 14, 2016

A BALANCHINE CELEBRATION: Serenade / Slaughter on Tenth Avenue / Who Cares?

From Tchaikovsky to Rodgers & Hart to Gershwin

THE NUTCRACKER December 12 – 20, 2015

November 7 & 8, 2015

THE STUDIO SERIES March 31 – April 3, 2016

ROMEO & JULIET May 14 & 15, 2016

Ira Epstein President

NMLS 308738 Nev. Lic. 2749

1401 Hillshire Dr. #150 Las Vegas, NV 89134 Tel:702.8717800 Cell:702.561.5444 Fax:702.871.7808 ira@statelinefundinginc.com

NEVADA BALLET THEATRE

2015-2016 SEASON ON SALE NOW (702) 749-2000 NevadaBallet.org

Photos by Virginia Trudeau. Cinderella photo by Yi Yin, courtesy of Oregon Ballet Theatre. Serenade Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust. Programs subject to change.

16 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com Ira Epstein sixth page 03.15.indd 1

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NEVADA BALLET THEATRE — DAVID MAGAZINE AD — 5.25” X 4.8125” 2/17/15 10:00 AM

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LIPSHTICK COMEDY SERIES PRESENTS LISA LAMPANELLI: Time and cost TBA. Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-4141000. venetian.com KEEP MEMORY ALIVE’S 19TH ANNUAL POWER OF LOVE GALA PRESENTS AN EVENING WITH ANDREA BOCELLI AND FRIENDS: Time TBA. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit keepmemoryalive.org/ pol. http://sites.csn.edu/artgallery/index.html SUMMER BLOOD DRIVE: 11 a.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org SATURDAY MOVIE MATINEE - SELMA: 2 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org

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RAINBOW COMPANY YOUTH THEATRE CHILDREN’S SUMMER CONSERVATORY 2015: Through June 26, times vary, $225. Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush Street, Las Vegas. 702-229-6383. artslasvegas.org RAINBOW COMPANY YOUTH THEATRE TEEN SUMMER CONSERVATORY: Through June 26, times vary, $225. Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush Street, Las Vegas.

702-229-6383. artslasvegas.org LAS VEGAS RESTAURANT WEEK: Through June 26, times vary, costs vary. For more information, visit helpoutdineoutlv.org. http://sites.csn.edu/artgallery/index.html DIVE-IN MOVIES - THE CARE BEARS MOVIE & SIXTEEN CANDLES: 7 p.m., $5. Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-6987000. cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

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HELP OF SOUTHERN NEVADA 21ST ANNUAL GOLFERS' ROUNDUP: 7:30 a.m., $375. Cascata Golf Course, 1 Cascata Drive, Boulder City. 702-294-2005. golfcascata.com

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JEWEL JUNE HAPPY HOUR - FIZZ: 7 p.m., $10. Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. RSVP to Marni Unger at marni@ jewishlasvegas.com. jewishlasvegas.com

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BRIAN LYNN JONES: Through June 20, 9 p.m., $5-$20. Treasure Island, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-894-7111. treasureisland.com

MOVIES IN THE SQUARE - SPACE JAM: Time TBA, free. Town Square, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-269-5001. mytownsquarelasvegas.com

Paula Poundstone 6.19-20

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SAMBA EXOTICA — THE ASSAD BROTHERS WITH ROMERO LUBAMBO AND SPECIAL GUEST CLARICE ASSAD: Through June 20, 7 p.m., $35. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-749-2012. thesmithcenter.com 15TH ANNUAL JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL: 5 p.m., free. Sammy Davis Jr. Festival Plaza in Lorenzi Park, 720 Twin Lakes Drive, Las Vegas. june19lv.com KOTTONMOUTH KINGS: 9 p.m., $25. Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas.

702-693-5000. hardrockhotel.com ROBERTA FLACK: 8 p.m., $29-$69. Green Valley Ranch, 2300 Paseo Verde Parkway, Henderson.

702-617-7777. greenvalleyranch.sclv.com PAULA POUNDSTONE: Through June 20, 8 p.m., $19.95. Orleans, 4500 W. Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-284-7777. orleanscasino.com

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FRANK SINATRA JR. — “SINATRA SINGS SINATRA — THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION”: 7:30 p.m., $29. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-749-2012. thesmithcenter.com BILLY DEAN: 7 p.m., $25. Sunset Station, 1301 W. Sunset Road, Henderson. 702-5477777. sunsetstation.sclv.com DJANGOVEGAS!: 6 p.m., free. Historic 5th Street School, 401 S. 4th Street, Las Vegas.

702-229-3515. artslasvegas.org

6TH ANNUAL LAS VEGAS JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION: 1 p.m., free. West Las Vegas Library, 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Las Vegas.

702-507-3989. lvccld.org ON THE MAGIC CARPET WITH BARBARA EDEN: 7:30 p.m., $15.95. Suncoast, 9090 Alta Drive, Las Vegas. 702-284-7777. suncoast.com

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CONVERSATIONS WITH NORM PRESENTS “REMEMBERING SINATRA” FEATURING BOB ANDERSON, PIA ZADORA AND VINCE FALCONE: 2 p.m., $25. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-7492012. thesmithcenter.com

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CAMP BROADWAY - SHINING STARS CAMP: Through June 26, times vary, $450. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-749-2012. thesmithcenter.com TEQUILA DINNER - PATRICIO SANDOVAL — SUMMER RECIPES: 6 p.m., $36.

Mercadito at Red Rock, 11011 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas. 702-979-3609. redrock.sclv.com

DIVE-IN MOVIES - FILM CRITICS CHOICE: 7 p.m., $5. Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-698-7000. cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

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2015 NHL AWARDS: Time TBA, cost TBA. MGM Grand, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-891-1111. mgmgrand.com www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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JEFF DUNHAM: Through June 28, times vary, $72. Planet Hollywood, 3667 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 877-333-9474. planethollywoodresort.com REBA AND BROOKS & DUNN TOGETHER IN VEGAS: June 26-27, 7:30 p.m., $59-$205.

Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-731-7110. caesarspalace.com

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SCOTTY ALEXANDER BAND: Through June 27, 9 p.m., $5-$20. Treasure Island, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd.

S., Las Vegas. 702-894-7111. treasureisland.com LGBTQIA WELLNESS CONFERENCE: Through June 26, times vary, cost TBA. The Center, 401 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas. 702-7339800. thecenterlv.org MOVIES IN THE SQUARE - MALEFICENT: Time TBA, free. Town Square, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-269-5001. mytownsquarelasvegas.com

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JAY MOHR: Through June 27, 7:30 p.m., $25.

South Point, 9777 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-796-7111. southpointcasino.com MISS NEVADA: Through June 27, times vary, $25. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-749-2012. thesmithcenter.com LITTLE BIG TOWN: 8 p.m., $35. Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas. 702693-5000. hardrockhotel.com

Reba and Brooks & Dunn 6.24-27

RUSTED ROOT: 9 p.m., $30. Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas. 702-6935000. hardrockhotel.com BILL BURR: Through June 27, 10 p.m., $69.99. Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-791-7111. mirage.com ROMANTIC MOVIES IN THE SQUARE - TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU: Time TBA, free.

Town Square, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas.

702-269-5001. mytownsquarelasvegas.com

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ANNALEIGH ASHFORD - LOST IN THE STARS: Through June 28, times vary, $49. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-749-2012. thesmithcenter.com

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29TH ANNUAL RIBBON OF LIFE: 1 p.m., cost TBA. Tropicana Las Vegas, 3801 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-739-2222. goldenrainbow.org CARTOONING IN THE DIGITAL AGE: 2 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3458. lvccld.org

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CARTOONING IN THE DIGITAL AGE: 6Â p.m., free. Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-507-3631. lvccld.org DIVE-IN MOVIES - MONSTERS VS. ALIENS & INDEPENDENCE DAY: 7 p.m., $5. Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-6987000. cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

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BELLAGIO EXECUTIVE CHEF'S CULINARY CLASSROOM - BACKYARD PATIO GRILLING: 7 p.m., $135. Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd.

S., Las Vegas. 866-406-7117. bellagio.com

Annaleigh Ashford 6.27-28

To submit your event information, email calendar@ davidlv.com by the 15th of the month prior to the month in which the event is being held.

18 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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Sea Bream @ Glutton Located in Downtown Las Vegas, Glutton is a place to indulge in savory meats, locally sourced produce, house-made pastas and seafood from the Pacific Northwest. From the “wood-fired” section of the menu comes the Sea Bream, a mild white fish prepared with juicy Concord grapes, roasted fennel seed and white balsamic vinegar.

Glutton, 616 E. Carson Ave., #110, Las Vegas. 702-366-0623

The Blueprint You don’t have to be an architect to realize the vision beyond a schematic drawing, especially with this cocktail from Off the Strip at the Linq. Exotic, savory and bold, The Blueprint maps out tasting pleasure to be enjoyed anytime.

•

Alizé Alizé’s award-winning menus combine Chef André’s innovative French tradition with Chef Mark Purdy’s acclaimed flair and style.

Their intention is to leave guests feeling better than they did before they arrived. This is quite possible with Alizé’s roasted beef rib-eye, served with whole wheat Israeli couscous with almonds and arugula, port braised cippolini onion, lavender-mustard maitre’d butter and Brussels sprouts with bacon.

Alizé, Palms Casino Resort, 4321 W. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas.

702-951-7000

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2oz. horseradish vodka 4oz. Bloody Mary mix, shaken

Serve with palm stick: provolone cube pickled pepper, pickle and meatball Off the Strip at the LINQ, 3545 Las Vegas Blvd., S, Las Vegas. 702-331-6800 www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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Dear Dad Oakley’s XL edition offers a lightweight design that takes performance to the next level and brings style along for the ride. With an array of lens and frame combinations, dad can customize his options. Starting at $150. Oakley, Town Square Las Vegas, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-614-1288.

A cool, functional and striking new brogue that reconsiders mass, make and motion is the ZeroGrand Oxford No Stitch shoe. $248. Cole Haan, Grand Canal Shoppes, 3327 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-369-2381.

Tiffany East West in stainless steel, quartz moment with a blue dial on a blue alligator strap. $3,500.

Tiffany & Co., Bellagio 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-697-5400. Photo Credit: © Tiffany & Co. He doesn’t need a reminder, but this duck canvas bag will tell him he’s handsome. It will hold all his grooming essentials, too. Perfect for a weekend trip or longer. $68. Paper Source, Town Square Las Vegas, 6543 Las Vegas Blvd., S., Las Vegas. 702-262-1379.

20 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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Simply press his favorite ground meat using this handy nonstick Rösle Burger Press for a perfectly shaped, easyto-cook burger every time. $21.95. Sur La Table, Downtown Summerlin, 1980 Festival Plaza Dr., Las Vegas. 702-448-8611.

When no other writing implement will do, the 90th anniversary of the iconic Meisterstück will. With black lacquer finish and elegant guilloché engraving, the anniversary edition comes with red gold plating and special packaging. $1,535.

Montblanc, Grand Canal Shoppes, 3327 Las Vegas Blvd. S. Las Vegas. 702-696-0185.

A new pair of jeans that’s simple and hip, just like dad: Superdry men’s standard skinny jeans. These denims have a classic five pocket design and feature Superdry embroidered pocket emblems, embossed waist patch and button fly fastening. $119. Superdry, Fashion Show, 3200 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas

Extraordinary things do come in the form of a buckle, like this one, made of ostrich, white and yellow gold. $2,295. Billionaire Italian Couture, Grand Cana Shoppes. 3327 Las Vegas Blvd., S. Las Vegas. 702-765-5551.

www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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Electric Daisy Carnival The wee hours after the sun disappears over Southern Nevada will give way to the night’s neon dreamscapes.

America’s largest music festival. Electric Daisy Carnival, celebrating its fifth anniversary at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway happens June 19-21.

This Carnival is expected to draw 400,000 fans to celebrate all things music, art, rides, culture and more under what will become the electric sky.

For more information visit lasvegas.electricdaisycarnival.com.

Monday Night Wine Flights In a city with the highest concentration of sommeliers around, two of them will compete head-to-head at Downtown Summerlin’s Monday Night Flights. And you get to watch, taste and judge. The final round of Monday Night Flights takes place June 15 at 6.p.m. at the Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill. It will feature Adem Sash from Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House going against Rafael Garcia from L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon. Guests will receive three courses with wine pairings, and will be given the chance to vote on the sommelier who presents the best pairing.

Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill, Downtown Summerlin, 10955 Oval Park Drive, Las Vegas. 702-202-6300. Reservations required, downtownsummerlin.com, 702-832-1000.

Broadway Summer Camp Rising stars are welcome for a once-in-a-lifetime summer experience at Camp Broadway. Theater-loving kids can expect to develop confidence and inspire creative expression, character and presentation skills through ensemble performance and activities. Those include acting technique workshops, exposure to the Broadway movement and music rehearsal process, and performance opportunities led by trained Broadway professionals. Classic Camp, June 15-19; Shining Star Camp, June 22-26.

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts www.thesmithcenter.com/campbroadway Phone: 702.749.2538 22 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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mingle BABY’S BOUNTY 3RD ANNUAL “OH BABY TEA “ Venue Bally’s Las Vegas Skyview Ballroom

Date Sunday, April 26

Event Baby’s Bounty works with 300 social service agencies to assist over 60 underprivileged families in Clark County monthly, in providing infant essentials, such as safe sleep environments, hygiene items, diaper bags, infant carriers and handmade blankets.

The tea was emceed by Mercedes Martinez of radio station 94.1’s “Mercedes in the Morning” (and recently featured in DAVID Magazine). Guests enjoyed a silent auction and champagne reception before (pinkies raised) enjoying an elegant High Tea. 2015 tea honorees were United Healthcare for their continued financial support and As They Grow Consignment Sale for donations of gear and clothing. After a thoughtful video produced by James Taylor of Trend Film Productions, the Australian Bee Gees performed, getting the room up out of their seats. Guests stomped their feet, danced and generally celebrated before leaving with favor bags compliments of Aaron Lelah Jewelers.

Photos by Tonya Harvey & Orange Soda. www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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mingle THE ISRAELI-AMERICAN COUNCIL (IAC) ISRAEL FESTIVAL & CONCERT Venue Sands Convention Center

Date Sunday, May 12

Event Some 3,000 supporters of Israel gathered for the first-ever Israeli-American Council (IAC’s) Celebrate Israel Festival. They enjoyed a packed lineup of Israeli artists, musicians, food, interactive activities and much more.

The Las Vegas chapter of the IsraeliAmerican Council (IAC), the preeminent Israeli-American organization nationwide, organized the all-day Celebrate Israel Festival with the Sands Hotel and the Adelson Family Foundation. The Israeli-American Council (IAC) Las Vegas was established in March 2014, giving a voice to the IsraeliAmerican community and becoming a strong and committed partner for the Jewish community.

The festival featured a headline performance at The Venetian Theatre by Israeli pop star Shlomi Shabat as well as replicas of major Israeli sites, including the historic Western Wall, a Jerusalem open-air market and a Tel Aviv beach. Among the top attractions at the festival was a section called “Jerusalem of Gold,” with a 32-foot-long replica of the Western Wall (the Kotel), the most sacred place in Judaism. Guests placed notes in the wall, as is the traditional custom, with them ultimately being delivered to the actual Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Photos by Liad Nemeth

24 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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ART AND PHILANTHROPY CAME TOGETHER AT THE 7TH ANNUAL PAINT THE TOWN GALA PRESENTED

BY AFAN AND THE LAW OFFICES OF SNELL & WILMER Venue Cosmopolitan Las Vegas

Date Friday, May 8

Photos 5

6

1.

(left to right) Robert Shaffer, Wendy Tobler and Dan Peck.

2.

Artwork by Giovanni Morales.

3.

(left to right) Marek Bute, Antioco Carrillo and Michael Stein.

4.

Alexander Sky and Simona Baltz.

5.

Dana Deluce and Lindsey Riggs.

6.

(left to right) Nic Steele, Gloria Gravlin, Greg Gravlin and Janpeg Steele.

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Luba Sasowski and Spencer Lubitz.

8.

Halee Harczynski and Richard Hudock.

9.

(left to right) Chrissi Scott, Rocco Gonzalez and Nate Propst.

10. Lindsay Norton and Daniela Dadon.

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Photos by Tonya Harvey www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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mingle JEWISH NATIONAL FUND LAS VEGAS LOVE OF ISRAEL BREAKFAST WITH GUEST SPEAKER RABBI LIOR SINAI, CO-DIRECTOR OF THE ALEXANDER MUSS HIGH SCHOOL IN ISRAEL

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Venue Adelson Educational Campus

Date Wednesday, April 29

Photos 1.

(left to right) Helen Feldman, Rabbi Lior

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Sinai, Bobby Feldman and David Kruger.

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Sara and Dr. Danny Schuman.

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Michael and Cheryn Serenco.

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Shelley Berkley and Bernice Friedman.

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Danica Torchin and Hillary Steinberg.

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(left to right) Rabbi Lior Sinai, Sha’ron Wolfin Eden and Bob Dubin.

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Faye Steinberg and Suzanne Green.

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(left to right) Jody Berkowitz, Vered Aizenberg and Sheri Gavish.

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Photos by David D. Weinstein

26 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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live My Shortcomings as a Man @ 28 The Importance of Being Dad @ 32 Meat Me in Vegas @ 36

MEAT ME IN VEGAS pg 36

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speak

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My

Shortcomings as a

Man The World as Seen From My Perspective

By Corey Levitan

B

ack in my single days, I wrote a story for the NEW YORK POST about picking up women. While staring at the accompanying photo, a female friend of mine asked who the “hunk” was.

He was me. Well, sort of. Because I wasn’t available for the photo shoot, the newspaper Photoshopped my face atop some discount Ashton Kutcher’s lanky, 6-foot-2-inch body.

I’m neither decidedly attractive nor unattractive. I’d rate myself a 7 out of 10, with a .5 variance, depending upon a woman’s response to my obsessive but occasionally funny self-absorption.(So, yeah, I’m a 6.5 to my wife.) However, without my leprechaun body, my base number apparently rises to a 9. Of all the positive compliments about my appearance that I’ve ever received in life, not one was even “hunk”-adjacent. The best someone like me could hope for was a quasi-sincere “handsome” or the dreaded (ahhh!!!!) “cute.”

You may not realize how lucky I am, as a 5-foot-6-inch man, to have landed a beautiful wife AND a decent run of career success. But I do. Because we inhabit a height-ist world.

Taller men experience more career and sexual success than their shorter peers. MUCH more. A 2003 University of Florida study found that men earn $789 less per year for every inch they stand beneath their tallest colleagues, while a 2009 Australian study calculated a $1,000 average annual pay difference between men measuring 6 feet and those two inches shorter.

As for the sexual success part, there are similar depressing studies. But I conducted one of my own — of attractive women at parties and bars from 1983-2004 — and my findings should shock no one familiar with the way society functions. As I approached 99 percent of my intended targets, their NAH’s were practically audible.

Some verged on AS IF’s. (One inebriated Manhattan woman — whose name I recall as either Stacy, Tracy or Wicked Witch of the West — actually interrupted my pick-up attempt by staring downward for what felt like a solid 10 seconds and snickering.)

OK, fine, so I’m really 5-foot-5. My point is that a short guy is never going to be any kind of woman’s type. No female anywhere has ever stated: “My type is short guys.” Unless there is some kind of Lucky Charms fetish I’m unaware of, it’s never happened. Not once.

Women are wonderful, scintillating individuals whose primary desires are to feel important, to find a frozen yogurt that tastes like ice cream, and to marry tall. If a woman stands taller than 5-foot8, she feels awkward and yearns to be the shorter one in a pair. If she is average height or shorter, she wants normal-sized offspring.

(Look, there are always exceptions, but I have personally found this to be 100 percent true.)

And what most of us short guys eventually figure out — the ones of us who get to breed anyway — is how to develop a personality that’s larger than our bodies. It’s our only way of not being noticed solely for the height we don’t bring to the table that we often can’t even reach. Some short guys, such as 5-foot-2-inch comedian Kevin Hart, hone this skill with incredible success. Others, such as Napoleon, don’t.

Sorry, that was a cheap and height-ist gag I just resorted to there.

I’ll bet you didn’t know that Napoleon wasn’t even short. His autopsy listed him at 5-foot-2, but that was in French feet. Converted to our units, that’s just shy of 5-foot-7, or above average for the day.

However, history is written by the winners. And once that mistake slipped into the books, it stayed because people love to condense www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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“

Dude, you have to get over your height

complex.

”

— my friend Craig

the size of villains in their minds.(Adolf Hitler stood over 5-foot-8, but not in the public psyche. The same goes for Tom Cruise.)

And whether named after Napoleon or someone more deserving, it is the height of height-ism to perpetuate a complex that brands short men as ruthlessly aggressive just for standing up for the respect they get automatically shorted in their business and social dealings. It is no different than calling a woman “bitch” or “slut” for also ignoring her “station” and behaving like a (tall) man.

“Dude, you have to get over your height complex,” my friend Craig Facebook-messaged me recently. “We’re about the same size, and I

rarely think about it.”

Craig chooses not to think that he has a shortcoming, and I think that’s great. Except that everyone else who meets him for the first time does.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool being short sometimes. Craig and I are in the only subclass of people unfazed by shrinking airline seats. Neither of us can complain about our lifelong ability to sleep comfortably in cars — which came in especially handy after our girlfriends dumped us for guys tall enough to accompany them on roller-coasters.

And we will live longer, according to a 2014 University of Hawaii study, which is great considering that I’m going to be about 90 years old when my 4-year-old daughter graduates high school. (The scientists who conducted that study linked being a male shorter than 5-foot-4 to having a protective form of a longevity gene, although I suspect it also has something to do with the lack of pollutants down where we breathe.)

But the first step in dealing with a problem is admitting that it exists. And being short is considered undesirable for a male. It just is. There are thousands of Men’s Big & Tall shops, not one Men’s Small & Short one. Even language functions to keep a good little man down. Webster’s first entry for “tall” is “brave or courageous.” For “short,” it’s “having little length.”

(Obviously, the Webster who wrote the dictionary was not Emmanuel Lewis.) As a verb-modifier, “short” means to provide less than expected. A big man on campus is always looked up to.(Even that phrase, “looked up to,” is height-ist. It means “to respect.”) And which end of the stick represents the worst side of an unequal deal?

30 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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I’m not suggesting that what others think of us should ever influence our self-opinions. Realizing that one has a problem is not the same as disliking one’s self. A carpenter with arthritis knows he has to work harder to make the grade, yet he shouldn’t think less of himself as a person for it.

All I’m saying is that we short guys start out with a problem that we need to flip to our advantage. And that’s what I did. In fact, I credit my lack of stature with dictating my very career choice.

The year 1977 was not shaping up to be a banner one for me at Boardman Junior High School in Oceanside, Long Island. That was largely thanks to my resemblance to a fetus with hair, and to the man-child known as Charlie Greenvald. Because of Charlie — he stood 5-foot-10 with a beard at 12 years old — the many unusual surroundings I’m now familiar with include the inside of a cafeteria Dumpster.

Just when I thought the year couldn’t get worse, Randy Newman’s “Short People” decided to come out. I remember cranking up the AM while sticking to the plastic-coated bench seat in my mom’s 1972 Oldsmobile, wondering: Could those be the actual lyrics? Could he really be singing “Short people got no reason to live?”

At the time, Newman — who gave his height as 6 feet but probably lied like most guys — attempted to explain away “Short People” as an ironic denunciation of racism and sexism, substituting heightism because “it was more acceptable.” He pointed out the line “short people are just the same as you and I.” And, whew, what a relief it was to read that. Because sixth-graders like Charlie Greenvald were renown for their appreciation of ironic denunciation. No, my torment now had a theme song, and it went “Don’t want no short people ‘round here.”

I had exactly one cool friend back then. And that was because Michele Lepre was new to school and rose in status quickly — too quickly to know exactly who she wasn’t supposed to talk to yet. I used to write Michele notes every morning in homeroom. They made fun of our teacher, current events and even certain rare kids lower in the caste system than me. (Thank you for existing, Hal Cohen!)

One morning, Michele’s cool friends noticed her loud laughter and inquired as to the cause. So she passed my note to the very same people who called me the m-word in the hallways. Their reaction was similar. And, suddenly, I was the m-word who was hysterical. (Now we say “little people.” But the m-word wasn’t politically incorrect back then, only hurtful to people that it didn’t medically apply to.)

By popular demand, I launched a morning newsletter that became the hit of the whole school and, once, even got me called into the principal’s office for disrupting class. (Talk about childhood proof that you’ve arrived!) Other kids actually demanded that I mock them for the publicity. Even Charlie Greenvald became a convert and stopped tossing me in Dumpsters. (Well, at least he slowed the pace down a bit.)

So here I am, nearly 40 years later, still being the m-word who’s hysterical.(At least in print. Don’t ask my wife about what a nonstop carnival it is to live with me.) And I have only my lack of height to thank for that.

Then, again, I also have it to thank for not losing my virginity until the age of 19.(Alas,even being an hysterical m-word was not enough to get you over in the Oceanside school system.)

So I’ll just call the whole thing an even trade-off and leave it at that.

Kinderschool, Elementary & Middle School

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Now Testing For Fall Enrollment www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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The Importance Of Being ‌

Dad

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The Father Absence Crisis in America

JUNE

By Lynn Wexler

O

@ the

MONDAY 1

6-9 pm Viva Oy Vegas Auditions @ CNT

scar Wilde’s 1895 theatrical farce, The Importance of Being Earnest, had theatergoers in stitches over risible characters, with invented alter-identities, escaping burdensome social obligations. Farce can turn to tragedy, however, when the characters are real-life fathers escaping their parental roles, and obligations to their children.

The National Fatherhood Initiative, a nonprofit that Don Eberly founded in 1994 to improve the well being of children, calls it The Father Absence Crisis in America, and believes the situation has been deteriorating since the 1960s.

Social scientists generally agree there is a “father factor” in nearly all of the intractable issues that society faces in America today.

David Blankenhorn, author of Fatherless America and founder/president of the Institute for American Values, cites this state of affairs as America’s most urgent social problem.

In a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau, 24 million children in America — one in three — live without their biological father in the home. In a typical elementary school classroom of 20 students, the percentage is virtually the same: more than 33 percent are growing up without their biological father.

According to the NFI report, children in father-absent homes are five to six times more likely to live in poverty than those growing up in homes with both biological parents. In 2002, 7.8 percent of children in married-couple families were living in poverty, compared to 38.4 percent of those in single-parent households.

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, reports that father-absent children are four times more likely to suffer from emotional and behavioral problems and affective disorders, and eight times more likely to commit a crime and go to prison, than children with a father in the home. And students attending schools with a significant number of children from single-parent households are also at risk.

Studies supervised by the U.S. Department of Social Science and Research show that youths without a highly involved father are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol and commit suicide.

They are also twice as likely to repeat a grade in school, or to drop out completely.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, teens without fathers are twice as likely to be involved in early sexual activity, and seven times more likely to get pregnant as an adoles-

TUESDAY 2

6-9 pm Viva Oy Vegas Auditions @ J

WEDNESDAY 3

6:30 pm Jewish Senior Singles

SUNDAY 7

9:00 am Free Mommy & Me at Midbar Kodesh

MONDAY 8

Theater Kids Camp Begins.

X-treme Sports Camp Begins

WEDNESDAY 10

8:30 am: MEL Men Enjoying Leisure @ the Suncoast Buffet Speaker TBD

THURSDAY 11

12:00 pm WEL Women Enjoying Leisure @ Claim Jumper Boca Park – Speaker Cindy Fox of the Nevada Ballet Theater 7-9 pm Guys and Dolls (a Dad ‘n Daughter Dance)

SUNDAY 14

10:00 am Dad and Me PJ

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MONDAY 15

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MONDAYS

12:00 pm: Mah Jong

WEDNESDAYS

10:00 am: Jewish History & Culture Class 12:00 pm Mah Jong 12:00 pm Pinochle 12:30 pm Yiddish Conversation

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9:30 am: Current Events Eastside at CNT

FRIDAYS

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cent. Compared to children living with married biological parents, those whose single parent had a live-in partner experienced more than 10 times the rate of abuse and neglect.

“Clearly, the presence of a father has a positive impact in many ways,” writes Sean E. Brothernson, editor and co-author of Why Fathers Count: The Importance of Fathers and Their Involvement with Children. “Children with fathers have fewer behavioral problems, obtain better academic results and are economically better off.”

Brothernson found that children learn how to recognize and handle highly charged emotions within the context of playing with their fathers, which also fosters teamwork and competitive testing of abilities. Playing with fathers, he says, has been shown to be particularly important in promoting the essential virtue of self-control in a child’s development.

David Popenoe, a sociology professor at Rutgers University, is the author of Life Without Father. He writes that fathers tend to stress challenge, initiative, risk-taking and independence, while mothers stress emotional security and personal safety.

“Father’s involvement seems to be linked to improved quantitative, verbal and problem-solving skills,” Popenoe writes, “which tends toward higher academic achievement for children. [It] also [plays] a vital role in promoting cooperation and other such ‘soft’ virtues. A 26-year longitudinal study suggests that involved fathers may even contribute to the development of empathy in children.”

So why have the absence of fathers, and the corresponding rise of families headed by single mothers, been on the rapid rise in the past few decades?

Social scientists believe the answers lie in the crisis of male identity, largely caused by: the post-modern empowered, accomplished and independent woman; the breakdown of the nuclear family; and a trend toward a society of self rather than community.

And a cursory review of television and movies finds portraits of men as well-meaning but foolish large “children,” whose wives must mother them and their actual kids. From having once been viewed as the family breadwinner, the undisputed head of the family and a respected leader, this TV version of men today often makes them the butt of jokes and lacking in commitment in relationships. By contrast, women on television frequently are portrayed as independent, single and not needing a man.

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A social scientist might suggest that the disappearing boundaries of a gendered world have made it difficult to know what it means to be a man, and even harder to feel good about being one. The blurred gender lines, they might suggest, have left men groping in the dark for their identities.

In Society Without a Father, Alexander Mitscherlich discusses that marriage, family life and child rearing are a civilizing force for men.

They encourage men to develop prudence, cooperation, honesty, trust, self-sacrifice and other habits that can lead to success as an economic provider while setting a good example.

Rob Palkovitz, a professor of Individual and Family Studies at the University of Delaware, says, “Men can become fathers in a biological sense” but may not “always make the psychological and behavioral adjustments needed to embrace the role of fathering.” Being a father, he believes, carries a different type of responsibility than that of a husband. It requires an additional commitment, and affects a man’s choices and priorities in everyday life. Fathering is a role that men gradually grow into, and represents a monumental turning point in a man’s life, as Palkovitz sees it.

For this to occur, he says, couples must get through the tough times and not give up on the institution of marriage. The contemporary dating culture, he believes, does little to prepare future couples for the commitment needed to nurture and guard a marriage. As Palkovitz posits, we live in a culture that overemphasizes romance, sex and quick fixes, and does little to prepare couples for the bonds of friendship that also must exist between a husband and a wife, and the inevitable difficult times each marriage encounters.

Popenoe feels the crisis of fatherhood is ultimately a cultural one, not enough communal responsibility and too much singular fulfillment. “It, therefore, follows that to rescue the endangered institution of fatherhood, we must regain our sense of community.”

Amid the research, opinions and confusion is a growing consensus that kids need responsible fathers and mothers. Experts in social science and family therapies encourage men who are, or will be, dads to embrace the responsibility of fatherhood, to see it as a lifelong gift to a child, with psychological, physical, emotional, legal and financial benefits.

Being there throughout a child’s life is important, whether young or old. And maintaining consistent and stable financial support is vital. Kids need to be fed, clothed, housed and nurtured. Children whose parents provide for them live better lives, feel valued and generally have better relationships with both parents, according to the social scientists. And a father as a role model acting responsibly cannot be overestimated.

Both boys and girls need a role model for what it means to be adult and male. Kids internalize how their parents treat others; how they manage stress and frustrations; how they fulfill obligations; and how they carry themselves with dignity. Boys especially need an idea of manhood.

But the times are changing, and a man’s role in the workplace and society must evolve, according to some experts. As we celebrate Father’s Day this month, the importance of fatherhood itself seems paramount.

In a play undeniably about the reshaping of identity, the classic characters in The Importance of Being Earnest transform superbly in the end. So must men, who would be fathers, reshape their understanding of the importance of being Dad.

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taste

Bone-In Ribeye @ Prime

Meat

Me in

Vegas Our town may be a world capital of beef consumption, but how much do we know about the product?

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eef. The most savored and yet controversial of all proteins.

It’s arguably the most American of meats, too, tied to the history of our country in both symbolic and tangible ways.

And certainly to the history of Las Vegas. For perhaps no city is more connected to the celebration of beef eating than Las Vegas.

Oh, yes, we hear you Kansas City. Calm down, Dallas and Fort Worth. Take a breath, Chicago. We aren’t questioning your primacy as cities built on the cattle trade and the generations raised on it.

But think about how many casinos were built on the back of “prime rib specials.” And how many steakhouses we have in Vegas today — very few of them less than world class.

Beef is such serious business here that we draft the world’s most famous chefs, tell them to “wow” us – and then insist they make us a steak (Yes, Jean-George, we’re talking to you. And Gordon Ramsay. And even Joel Robuchon). Then there are our many buffets, full of hundreds of dishes from around the world. But try to erect one without a huge beef carving as the centerpiece? There would be a revolt (or simply an exodus).

So many terms are tossed around — Black Angus, Certified Angus, Wagyu, Kobe, dry aging, wet aging –but rarely does anyone explain what these mean. And if red meat is the worst thing you could possibly eat, involving environmental suicide, shameful slaughter and heart-clogging fat, just why do we crave it so much?

I set out to find some answers – and maybe raise even more questions – with some of the city’s most prominent purveyors.

With so many suppliers and so many venues, it might seem nearly impossible to get a fix on just how much beef is consumed in Las Vegas. But just the roundabout guess of one executive chef, Prime Steakhouse’s Robert Moore, gives you a thumbnail: “We probably go through 18-20 cattle a day.” That’s one restaurant, of the dozens here, both on- and off-Strip.

Prime, true to its name, may be the archetype of the Vegas steakhouse. Created by Jean-Georges Vongerichten and overlooking the breathtaking Bellagio fountains, Prime has refined the steakhouse experience in terms of both art and science; its kitchen serves only the most popular cuts – New York strip, filet mignon, rib-eye and tenderloin – and the staff at Prime cuts no corners. “We serve the best beef we can find on the planet,” says Moore, with pride.

For Prime, it is all about giving customers the experience they

Carne Cruda @ Carnevino

Certified Japanese Black Wagyu

expect, starting with sourcing. If you thought all beef was basically the same, or that the Styro-packed slabs you get in the supermarket could compare — hold on to your steak knife. In addition to A5 Japanese Wagyu, considered the penultimate beef (so prized it comes with certificates of authenticity), Moore sources an uncommon Black Angus-Hereford crossbreed raised in the colder climates of Nebraska and Colorado. He prefers the structure and softness of the meat. The cattle are grass-fed until the last few weeks when they enjoy a mixture of corn flakes, grain and beet sugar.

Others have dug even deeper into their sourcing. Batali & Bastianich culinary director Jason Neve’s company works closely with Niman Ranch (based in California and the Midwest). B&B assigns its own agent to select the best Angus cattle (“The preferred American brand,” says Neve), which it calls “Prime-plus,” for Carnevino’s famously extra-dry-aged steaks (90 days and beyond!

See sidebar), as well as the other B&B restaurants. “We cherry-pick from their best product,” he says. Once or twice a year, Carnevino also sources a whole side of beef from Heritage Foods, the responsibly minded company run by Patrick Martins (author of The Carnivore’s Manifesto, a highly recommended book for putting this all in smart perspective), butchers it in-house and uses every part.

Then there are chefs like Echo & Rig’s Sam Marvin, Tender Steak & Seafood’s K.C. Fazel and Delmonico Steakhouse’s Ronnie Rainwater, for whom one or two sources isn’t enough (N.B.: I contribute to Delmonico’s social media). Fazel serves beef from Niman, Washington State’s Double R Ranch, Strube Ranch in Texas, as well as New www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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Ribeye steak @ Ech & Rig

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Zealand organic beef and Japanese Wagyu. Delmonico’s sources vary, at least in part because of their volume (a cool 150 bone-in ribeyes alone on an average night), but Rainwater offers Prime Angus, Japanese A4 Wagyu — he thinks A5 is too fatty — and Piedmontese beef from Italian stock. His tenderloins come from Creekstone farms.

Marvin explains, “At Echo & Rig, we choose different animals for different reasons. Bartel Farms from Oregon, it’s grass-finished, their hangar steak is really tasty, that nuttiness and grass flavor really works. We use Akaushi, a red wagyu cattle from Texas, for our tomahawk steaks, and our skirt steak – well-marbled, beautiful cuts of beef. From Double R Ranch out of Washington, the most sustainable farm in the U.S., we take our porterhouse short loins, flatirons and tri-tips. And for me Snake River Farms is the crème de la crème, black wagyu. We use the bavette from them, flanks and the culotte/picanha.”

If you’ve never heard of some of those cuts, well, it’s likely you’re under 50. The decline of neighborhood butchers has meant that many parts of the cow once sold off piecemeal have become almost a byproduct in recent years, because it takes that personal interaction to explain to most home cooks what to do with nearly anything more complicated than a steak. Marvin, whose restaurant includes a full-service butcher shop, is one of the chefs trying to resurrect old traditions. And not just for nostalgia.

“The future of food is the past,” he believes.

K.C. Fazel expands on that: “My grandfather was a rancher in the Midwest. Every summer I’d spend with my grandparents, and I always noticed how he handled the livestock, and how he handled the land. And he never had to do all these things to his cattle to get them to the market. I’ve always tried to be on top of making sure the animals are humanely raised, raised without antibiotics, which wasn’t easy when Tender first opened. But, nowadays, more chefs are becoming more conscious, and it’s forced the industry as a whole to adjust [its] ways.”

It had better. Severe drought conditions in California have highlighted the huge amount of water it takes to raise cattle, putting more pressure on beefeaters. While these chefs don’t have any quick fixes for that, Fazel claims the industry overall is moving from relying on antibiotics and growth hormones. “Because the farmers have

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discovered if they raise healthy animals, it actually is more costeffective versus being cruel and abusive. The Temple Grandin model [of the cruelty-free slaughterhouse] is becoming the norm.”

As for Marvin, he points not only to nose-to-tail butchering practices as a solution (But do they really use everything? Marvin claims they even sell the tallow to a local woman who makes candles, which they sell in the shop.), but also to less grandiose portions.

“If you go out and order chicken or seafood, it’s probably 8-10 ounces. So why do people need a 16- or 28-ounce steak?” Echo & Rig’s portions average in the more reasonable 9-10-ounce range.

Carnevino, on the Strip, may not be able to get away with that, but Neve says they are continually looking at better practices, including testing out compressed air to pre-rinse dishes instead of water.

“You’ve got to push that boundary,” Neve says.

But these chefs aren’t just preaching politics. The distinctions in breed, region and cuts do make a difference in the dining experience, too. Marvin treats it almost as a sommelier would with wine pairing. “I ask people, ‘Do you like lean or fatty meat?’ If they like lean, we’ll push them to a hangar or a flat iron. If they like fatty, I’ll go to the bavette or tri-tip. My favorite cut is the knuckle meat, which is right under the knee. It’s what you should use for steak

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What is aging?

S

tanding in the aging locker at Delmonico — one of a handful of Vegas Strip steakhouses that ages meat on premises — is a heady experience.

Being surrounded by six full racks of rib-eyes engulfs you in a nutty, ripe perfume that’s, frankly, a bit intoxicating.

We hear a lot about “dry aging” and “wet aging,” but rarely is it explained effectively, possibly because the summation isn’t terribly pretty. Aging could be called a form of curing. And beef isn’t the only food improved by it (remember, vegetables

New York Strip Steak at Delmonico Steakhouse

tartare. You can do a roast with it. It’s a great cut of meat.”

Since his restaurant opened about eight years ago, Fazel has offered a tasting trio of rib-eyes from three of his menu’s five regular sources, and he never tires of walking the dining room to see which one customers prefer. It’s never the same.

“When people come to Las Vegas, they want to experience something they couldn’t back home,” says Fazel, “and I think this is one of those opportunities.”

Marvin likes working the room, too. “The best thing about having a butcher in-house is being able to have conversations with people.

If you come in, I’ll spend five minutes talking with you about how to marinate it and cook it. We also do butcher classes. We’ve done roasting classes, sausage classes, jerky classes, and they sell out. It’s about educating people. And it’s growing one guest at a time.” Neve and executive chef Nicole Brisson, who runs the B&B steakhouse Carnevino, are equally passionate.

“The public is more in tune with food sources than it ever has been,” says Rainwater. “People ask if it’s grass-fed, if it’s organic, even when making reservations.”

And these chefs want you to know — Marvin and Fazel, in particular — that beef is getting a raw deal in the media. “Don’t get bent out of shape over all the hype in the media; there’s really not any scientific support for that,” says Fazel. “You shouldn’t be having a 28-ounce steak for dinner every day,” he acknowledges, but “there’s more things we need to look at in our diets: the processed foods, soft drinks. That’s what’s damaging our bodies more than red meat.”

“The beef we’re using is so good for you,” says Marvin. “Most people know about the protein and the iron, but they don’t know about all the other major vitamins-- vitamin A, B, niacin, vitamin D… and maybe a dozen minerals.”

Since they aren’t doctors, however — and neither am I—perhaps the best advice is that age-old maxim that Fazel settles on: “Everything in moderation.”

Dry aging steaks @ Delmonico Steakhouse

and fruits ripen; wine and spirits mature; sushi fish is also rarely served as soon as it’s caught).

Wet aging happens when meat is sealed in its own moisture, which breaks down the connective tissues to a certain extent, usually for three weeks, rarely more than six. This is typically used for leaner or more delicate cuts, like filet mignon. Dry aging is done in open air (although at a controlled temperature) in which the meat decays, more significantly tenderizing itself. The decayed part is trimmed before serving. But this can cause a significant loss in volume, so it’s typically only done for three weeks, rarely more than six. This is done on tougher cuts, most popularly rib-eye.

Recently, some restaurants like Carnevino have taken to “super aging” some beef for up to six months. As you can imagine, this beef is sold at a hefty premium.

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THE MOST OBVIOUS ACCESSORY pg. 46

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think

ART in

Vegas Doubling Down on the Creative Milieu

Photo courtesy of Aaron Mayes/UNLV Marjorie Barrick Museum

By Lissa Townsend Rodgers

UNLV’s Barrick Museum hosts an opening for its new show “Art for Art’s Sake: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation,” January 30, 2014 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

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Nitelite by Mary Warner and Rayann Figler, electric/mixed media, Fremont Street Parking Garage, 2005

F

ew cities have as profound a visual identity as Las Vegas.

Even people who’ve never been here can “see” it, from the distinctive skyline, to the street-level neon signs and the cars and dice on the casino tables.

It’s also been an inspiration for artists working in every format. Songs, stories, movies — every form of art has, at one time or another, embodied the Sin City image as both elemental inspiration and flamboyant flourish. And it includes the visual arts, from Annie Leibovitz photographing Sammy Davis Jr. in the desert, to the ubiquitous and anonymous “Welcome to Las Vegas” posters in gift shops.

“Our visual history is incredible, even off the Strip – there is literally art everywhere,” says Krystal Ramirez, part of a local troop of artists.

Art about Las Vegas may be a known quantity, but what about art in Las Vegas?

“I think that being in Las Vegas definitely inspires my work,” says lifelong Las Vegas resident and artist Justin Favela. “I pay attention a lot to the surface. … That definitely correlates with Las Vegas and its design and its architecture.” Neon has had a tremendous impact on local artists, both as a subject and as a medium. Jerry Misko depicts neon signs, while Richard Hooker uses neon tubing to create art. Hooker, artist and former Urban Arts Coordinator for the City’s

Office of Cultural Affairs notes that he is far from the only one to work in this medium: “Some important works are based on light: like the UNLV Flashlight, the Arts Commissioned works for the Fremont Canopy, the Cultural Corridor Bridge, the 18b paintbrushes and that sweet light work in the Fremont Garage that Mary Warner and Rayann Figler created for the Centennial.”

The city’s relationship with light goes beyond its synthetic forms.

Photographer Ginger Bruner says that in the “East, things like humidity [create] a wonderful automatic filter that makes everything pretty. The light here is so hard … that you either have to embrace it or learn how to mitigate it.”

Las Vegas is a city of characters that invite observation. They can be as outrageous as a jump-suited Elvis impersonator riding a Rascal past a pawnshop billboard, or as subtle as the expression on a woman’s face as she checks her watch. We imagine their backstories — Winner? Loser? Wedded? Divorced? Local? Tourist? “I really got inspired by lots of people out there. … The nomadic quality of people moving in and out,” says local artist Joseph Watson. “A lot of Vegas stories have influenced my work directly.”

There’s also the unique visual texture of our cityscape. “Before I moved here, I made paintings of broken-down neon,” says Erin Stellmon. “But once I moved here, I started doing collages. Vegas is sort of a huge collage.” After all, what is the Strip but a collision of www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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Medusa in the Fog by Ginger Bruner, photograph 8” x 8”. 2014

fairy castles and pyramids, fonts and videos, shapes and colors flung together haphazardly into a harmonious whole?

The art community reflects the ever-changing nature, not just in what it depicts but how it behaves. “Las Vegas has a short memory of its history including its cultural past,” says Ricahrd Hooker, “It seems change-addicted, intent on looking for the next big thing and ready to topple over obstacles in the way – and that goes for art and culture.” Joseph Watson agrees: “If you ask anybody what the Vegas art scene is, nobody will have the same answer, because it’s con-

stantly evolving. I think it’s the nature of this town too—things get imploded, things get built.”

The small town/big city dichotomy of Vegas is also in practice.

“It’s a smaller art community,” Favela says, “which is great because it’s a tighter-knit art community. Everybody supports each other, goes to each other’s shows and gives each other opportunities. But, then again, it’s a small town. So maybe after a year or two you run out of places to show, and there’s nobody to buy your art. So that is kind of the downside.”

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Mikayala Whitmore Lowrider Piñata by Justin Favela, cardboard, paper, glue. 5’ x 19.5’ x 6.5’. 2014

Like the rest of Las Vegas, the arts community took a big hit during the recession. Seven years later, that blow still smarts. Michele Quinn of Michele Quinn Fine Art recalls moving back to Las Vegas in 2003. “We had a strong group of people that I felt were honestly working to bring something better and bigger here. And it was working. Until the market crashed.”

The recession hit personal and business budgets hard. Disposable income for purchasing pieces and donating to arts organizations vanished. And while Vegas has plenty of empty walls and fat wallets, serious collectors often head for Los Angeles or New York to make their purchases. “If they want to buy substantial art, they have a tendency to take themselves elsewhere to buy it,” says Bruner.

But if the arts community is still struggling, the Arts District is thriving, as empty storefronts and auto garages give way to antique shops and cocktail bars. It’s the fate of all boho neighborhoods. New York City’s SoHo has become so pricey that not even the Museum of Modern Art can afford the rent anymore; downtown Los Angeles’ artist-friendly spaces closed up as steampunk bars and Ace Hotels opened. While the 18b Arts District isn’t nearly that costly, it still creates another complication in the always-precarious business of showing and selling art.

“Artists understand that. We know that we’re the guinea pig for real estate people. But the rents in the Arts District are past the point of people being able to afford them,” says Stellmon. “The [Con-

temporary Arts Center] is an institution that has been here 26 years and they can’t afford a space downtown. You have an Arts District without contemporary art.”

To that point, there have been a number of gallery closings: Dust, VAST, Main Gallery and, most recently, the Trifecta Gallery. The Arts Factory, home to more than a dozen galleries (as well as a yoga studio, skate shop and bar/restaurant), is on the market. First Friday has moved from the side streets of Main Street and Casino Center to a more manageable space on the other side of Charleston – a spot better suited to pop-up art kiosks and food trucks.

But Las Vegans are nothing if not survivors, and artists are no exception. Even if no “whales” have come to drop a bankroll, these creative survivors have found a few allies. The city of Las Vegas has sponsored a variety of projects created by local artists – not only in the Arts District, but all over the Valley. The more visible endeavors include the Zap boxes in a number of neighborhoods, where local artists enliven blank, gray utilities with individualized artwork.

Other projects have included bus shelters along Paradise Road and Main Street, and a series of art benches and a “signature sculpture” as part of the Main Street Improvement Project.

“I do think that the county public art program will have a tremendous impact on Las Vegas and be as important as the creation of the 18b arts district downtown,” says Richard Hooker. “It will draw people into an arts experience and more importantly will provide www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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Rejoice by Erin Stellmon, mixed media on textile,14” x 10”. 2013

artists opportunities to work.”

Less obviously, the city offers other options for artists trying to get their works seen by the public, particularly at a time when spaces to exhibit are becoming harder to find. “There’s not a lot of galleries to show at anymore,” says Favela, “so we’re showing at the government center. We’re showing at the community center. It’s very important and encouraging to artists.”

Casinos are also an unlikely ally. Steve Wynn has flaunted his art collection since the days when he hung up Monets and Picassos where the Desert Inn’s blackjack tables used to be. But newer casinos are integrating art into the property and the experience. “I think the casinos and large-scale properties started realizing that their clientele were more sophisticated than they were before, so fine art started making more and more sense,” says Quinn. “It was also evident that many pieces created a unique environment that could not be easily copied by any competitor.”

City Center made pieces by Henry Moore and Maya Lin essential to its design; Nancy Rubins’ Big Edge sculpture sits in the center of the entry, taking the idea of the Vegas casino neon sign or porte-cochere to the next level. The Cosmopolitan uses art displays as part of the property’s identity, from the Tracy Emin on the marquee to the Shepherd Fairey in the garage. There’s also room for up-and-comers at its P3Studio, where artists spend a month “in residence” in Las

Vegas, and tourists can take a peek at the creative process through glass walls, much as they might watch a Bellagio fountain.

As Las Vegas looks to diversify its revenue stream with new attractions, art may be one of the ways to accomplish it. “Vegas visitor demographics are changing,” says Aurore Giguet, program director at UNLV’s Marjorie Barrick Museum. “It’s a younger crowd interested in experiences, post-able experiences — dining, clubs, music and art.” Without a casino-sized bankroll, local museums also are seeking new angles and new audiences. The Barrick and the Neon Museum have partnered for lectures, most recently with artistin-residence and local David Sanchez Burr. The Barrick now offers lectures, film screenings, family projects and an “art bar” that allows visitors to create their own works. “The audience demands and requirements are changing in this generation,” Giguet says. “There are still people who come in and just like to see a white space, where it’s quiet – where they can just experience the art one-on-one. And then there’s others that like the hands-on (experience).”

“There isn’t an existing infrastructure to support a lot of organizations,” says Kelly. “Partnerships are essential.” When organizations work together, she says, art becomes “more accessible to different kinds of people. It allows for more interpretations. … it makes it more dimensional in a way that, I think, is far more accurate to this city –something more open-ended and changeable.”

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The Music District by Joseph Watson, Acrylic on Canvas 30” x 48”

This sort of collaborative, flexible structure seems to be what many have in mind for a contemporary art museum in Las Vegas, an idea bandied about since before the Las Vegas Art Museum closed in 2009. Quinn encourages people “to think about an institution that could be unique to us specifically, something more interactive, that speaks more to our environment and the history of art in the community. Not just importing works for the sake of exhibition.” Giguet agrees that the traditional big space for a big collection might not be the ticket for getting a contemporary art museum in Las Vegas.

“Starting small, maybe a satellite of some other institution,” she offers. “Growing your audience, growing your supporters and then growing your facility.”

If the art scene is to continue to develop, its proponents may also need to think expansively and collaboratively. “If you want to be a serious artist in Las Vegas, you need to focus beyond the small gallery spaces here,” says Ramirez, noting the accessibility of public spaces and pop-up galleries. “More important than showing in a gallery is showing in the community, and getting them interested in your work.” Art in unusual places varies from James Turrell’s installations at Louis Vuitton in City Center to Favela’s repurposing of a North Las Vegas minimart. “There are simply more practicing artists, more of a critical mass having its own constituencies and many artists now are working more across experimental platforms as opposed to traditional forms like studio/exhibition spaces,” explains Richard Hooker.

Stellmon says that one “of the missions of (Contemporary Arts Center’s) reinvention is to bring art to more areas in Las Vegas. I think that’s something that’s potentially really important.”

Those efforts toward expanding both the social and geographical audience have included a recent talk with Las Vegas art sensei Dave Hickey at the Smith Center. One of Hickey’s chief topics was Michael Heizer’s “City,” a monumental art piece about 150 miles from Las Vegas on a parcel that an alliance of environmentalists and art lovers is attempting to have declared a National Historic Site.

It’s the sort of cross-community support for a major project that can raise our city’s artistic profile. “They’re starting to recognize us on the map,” says Joseph Watson. But “I would like to see the Vegas Arts District make more of an impact on people outside of Vegas.”

“We don’t have the kinds of cultural institutions other cities have,” says Danielle Kelly, an artist and executive director at The Neon Museum. But “we have other things. The desert is incredibly vibrant, diverse and expansive. And I think the city is the same way.

You have to check your assumptions at the door to open yourself up to what there is.”

The future of the Las Vegas arts scene may require embracing our city’s natural tendencies, not fighting them: Roll with the winning streak, change the headliner, build it up and tear it down. But also shake hands with the guy across the table and know when to split the pot. www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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think

The Most

Obvious

Accessory Jeff Press of Morgenthal Fredrics Eyewear Designs Frames that Allow for an Authentic Personal Expression

By Marisa Finetti

F

or Jeff Press, creating a collection of classically chic, iconic eyewear is more than a job: it’s a calling. At age 2, Press was diagnosed with strabismus. He wore glasses throughout childhood to strengthen a wandering eye.

“I remember how poor the [eyeglass] choices were,” says Press, chief designer for Morgenthal Frederics, a Manhattan-based purveyor of ultra high-end optical eyewear and sunglasses. “The fact that I could pair my love of fashion with the need I knew personally existed was exciting.”

It is this personal experience and his creative nature that drive Press to design eyewear furnished from the finest materials. Typically, the result dazzles, delights and ultimately can empower Morgenthal Frederics clients to express their own authentic, individual styles.

After joining Morgenthal Frederics in 1998, Press worked his way from sales associate to buyer to licensed optician. Before long, he was designing frames under the tutelage of company founder Richard Morgenthal, who acquired Frederics Opticians in 1986 and merged two named brands. Through Morgenthal, Press came to understand and appreciate each meticulous detail that goes into the design and production of handcrafted eyewear.

Take the buffalo horn frames, for example. Handcrafted in Germany, they are made from multiple layers of genuine Asian water buffalo horn. Each horn displays distinctly natural striations, and the material’s lightweight quality makes horn frames exceptionally beautiful, comfortable to wear and one-of a-kind, Press says.

Press derives his design inspirations from many sources. He cites Radiohead, David Bowie and his own music as references, along with the work of fashion icons Alexander McQueen, Carol Christian Poell and Rei Kawakubo, as well as contributions from films. Each day, he strives to create legendary designs for the world’s most recognizable

faces by advancing Morgenthal’s legacy of crafting iconic eyewear from the finest materials.

Press, who owns a variety of frames, considers eyewear the most important accessory a person can have. He finds unconvincing the argument that a single pair of frames is enough.

“I’m not bashful with my styles,” he says. “They range from small round to super-oversized, because I know that eyewear is the ultimate fashion accessory. Stop buying shoes and watches and decorate your face! The choices are so good, and your glasses can completely change your look.”

Retro styling continues to drive contemporary eyewear fashion, he says. And the products now in stores reflect the styles of various decades. In recent years, Press has expanded the Morgenthal collection by using buffalo horn, Japanese titanium and the finest Italian sheet acetate to fabricate frames. He also uses innovative techniques, including laser engraving.

Today, the Morgenthal Frederics Collection includes an unmatched assortment of horn frames, horn temple aviators and rimless styles, establishing the brand as the largest manufacturer and retailer of handmade buffalo horn frames in the world.

“Aviators continue to be amazingly popular on the ‘sun’ side [especially in Las Vegas]. But more ornate choices, with mirrored options, are definitely in vogue,” says Press. “On the ‘optical’ side, the door is open; round continues to be great, and so do thicker gauge options. But there are lots of great options out there.”

Press doesn’t believe face shape should be a big factor in selecting a style of sunglasses. Round frames can be challenging, he says, but rectangles are easy to wear for most people.

“I don’t have set rules, other than follow your own personal style.

And don’t be afraid. And don’t just buy one. That’s silly,” he says.

48 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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TOP: Wilde is handcrafted from heavy gauge horn designed to capture the dandy spirit of Oscar Wilde, This frame is available in purple and teal/spotty horn. $2,195 OPTICA ARIA 3730 Las Vegas Blvd S., Las Vegas. 702-479-1046.

TOP RIGHT: Uma is the consummate classic squared cat, handcrafted from beautiful crystal colored french acetate.With contrasting color temples, this thin gauged piece is an easy fit for any woman. $395. OPTICA at APPIAN WAY SHOPS AT CAESARS PALACE 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-852-3647.

RIGHT: Linda is a large glamorous sunglass, bold and daring as any supermodel. These titanium pieces are handcrafted in Japan, and feature elegant enamel work that highlight their signature style. $495. OPTICA (Located in The Venetian Lobby) GRAND CANAL SHOPPES THE VENETIAN | THE PALAZZO 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-733-2121.

www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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TOP LEFT: Lee is an elegant cat eye sunglass, handcrafted in Japan. Available in blue and red acetate fade and cream with gray gradient lenses. $395 OPTICA, ARIA 3730 Las Vegas Blvd S. Las Vegas. 702-479-1046.

TOP: Lancaster is the newest addition to the Morgenthal Frederics Classic Actors collection. In clear crystal with grey sun lenses, this cool piece is handcrafted in Japan from the finest acetate. $395.

DAVANTE, THE FORUM SHOPS AT CAESARS 3500 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-737-8585.

LEFT: Ian is handcrafted in Japan from punched titanium, with elegant enamel detailing, and acetate temples with gradient sun lenses. $575. OPTICA, MGM GRAND HOTEL & CASINO 3799 Las Vegas Blvd.

S., Las Vegas. 702-740-2226.

50 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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TOP: Benny T, from Morgenthal Frederics’ Buffalo Horn Collection. The Japanese made fronts are punched titanium and the beautiful buffalo horn temples are fabricated in Germany. $1,195. SCENE at MANDALAY BAY RESORT 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702597-0018.

TOP RIGHT: David is handcrafted in Germany from Slate with layers of rich ebony.This sleek classic rectangle combines artisanal materials and classic structure to create a comfortable and easy piece. $2,195. OPTICA FASHION SHOW MALL 3200 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-733-7624.

RIGHT: Billie is handcrafted in Germany, these frames are as timeless and iconic as the singer whose names it shares. $1,795. OPTICA, GRAND CANAL SHOPPES THE VENETIAN | THE PALAZZO 3327 Las Vegas Blvd. S.,Las Vegas. 702-699-9678.

www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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Passing

think

of the

Pen

“You may ask, ‘How did this tradition get started?’

I’ll tell you! … I don’t know. But it’s a tradition. ...”

— Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof

By Jaq Greenspon

52 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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T

raditions are a great way to pass along what we know and what we do — a connection, a link from past to present to future. They’ve carried us along since the dawn of time, signposts for the next generation, pointing the way to all sorts of cool, interesting and sometimes urgent things: like how to stay alive in desperate situations; and how to pass the time during long winter months.

If we get enough people doing the same traditions, we call it religion or culture. But the big thing about traditions, by definition, is that’s the way it’s always been done. So we should keep on doing it that way, right?

Right?

Because now comes the point where “tradition” gives way to “kids these days” and our fascination with hours-old “nostalgia” runs right into the brick wall of “how about you spend some time with The Old Man?” What happened? It’s too easy to use the traditional excuse — the world changed when we weren’t looking — though, isn’t it? Because the world is always changing. The difference is, now it’s changing faster than ever before. And, for those of us who weren’t to the Internet born, we need seat belts and hand brakes if we’re going to

make it through. How? Well, that’s The $64,000 Question, isn’t it?

I bring that up specifically, mind you, even though it’s before my time and probably yours, too. The $64,000 Question was a game show where contestants were challenged to answer 11 increasingly harder questions. The prize money available, starting at $64, was doubled for each correct answer until the final question was worth the big payoff. Sounds like Who Wants to be a Millionaire, right?

Except Millionaire is all about breadth of knowledge, knowing a little about a lot of things. Question was based on one topic. You had to know what you were talking about (The late Dr. Joyce Brothers famously parlayed her winning encyclopedic knowledge of boxing on the show into a decades-long career as an advice columnist).

Today, you don’t.

Whatever you need to know today, beyond the most trivial (not career-wise, although increasingly an argument can be made at that level as well), is available at your fingertips through your smartphone. Or, as in Millionaire, you can “phone a friend.”

The Guinness Book of World Records, originally produced to help settle bar bets, has lost its importance. These days, we can “Google” something to find out any bit of arcane information. Not knowledge, mind you. We’re not learning anything here. We’re www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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answering specific questions, parroting them back to the person who was part of our “hmm … I wonder ... ” discussion, and then moving on to the next topic. The odds of remembering those facts diminish exponentially depending on what we had riding on the answer. A million bucks? Yeah, we’ll probably take that answer to the grave. Who picked up the tab for your Bud Light? It’s gone from the memory bank before the beer is.

But what about all the research available to us today? What about the ability to learn about things that can affect us deeply, from politics to disease to science? With Google or any other search engine, our results are “optimized,” with an algorithm sending the “best” ones to the top of the page. Entire career fields are designed to ensure that your desired result shows up within the first three pages of listings, because most people aren’t going to look any farther than that (Face it, most people won‘t even make it to the bottom to click “next”). It’s like the Olympics: We become absolute “experts” in a given sport (10-meter springboard, say) because as we watch, we are fed exactly the information we need to understand the performances. But that transitory “knowledge” fades once we no longer have a vested interest in retaining it.

Today, we are a culture of information. Actually learning something outside of your career path (usually obtained by rote) and having it become knowledge is hard work. It requires effort.

And often that effort produces no tangible reward ($64,000 Question has been off the air now for more than half a century).

Or maybe John Henry Newman was right when he said: “Such is

the constitution of the human mind, that any kind of knowledge, if it be really such, is its own reward.”

But maybe there’s more to it than that.

“My son turned 10 just the other day, he said ‘thanks for the ball, Dad, come on, let’s play.

‘Can you teach me to throw?’ I said ‘Not today. I’ve got a lot to do.’

He said ‘that’s okay.’”

In the old song (“Cat’s in the Cradle”) from the late Harry Chapin, the unanswered question is how is that 10-year-old going to learn to throw? That’s the kind of thing a father should teach his son.

In Chapin’s poignant lyric, either due to economic circumstances real or imagined, that ball is going to sit in the yard gathering moss instead of scuff marks. Dad’s too busy.

And that’s wrong.

This is an opportunity for passing on knowledge we shouldn’t be letting go of so easily. There are many of these opportunities, and they all seem to fall by the wayside in favor of a nonexistent tomorrow (Chapin died at age 38 in a Long Island Expressway car crash, on his way to a benefit concert). What happened to hobbies?

What happened to collections? What happened to Newman’s idea that knowledge is its own reward? They went the way of pristine baseballs and “this is the last Saturday at the office, I swear.”

Collecting used to be a way to create those traditions, a way to pass on knowledge to someone close to us: our kids, our parents.

Especially Dad. He worked all week, so there was something special about Sunday afternoons. Watching the game with him, getting a sip

54 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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of beer when Mom wasn’t looking. Listening with rapt attention as he explained plays and players. Getting excited when his team, which was now your team, won. Going out for ice cream when the good guys lost.

Or those weekends when he’d be cleaning out the garage and come across the binders filled with coins or stamps. After blowing the dust away, he’d bring those three-ringed repositories into the house and call you over to the table to have a look.

That little thing, the invitation to learn something at his shoulder, that’s knowledge for its own sake. When it started, we didn’t know or really care about the little pieces of colored paper or the round metal disks, each in its own holder. What we cared about was the story behind them. We cared about the time spent with The Old Man as he explained what a first day issue was; why it was more important than a canceled stamp; why an uncirculated proof was more desirable than the nickel in your pocket. And it wasn’t just coins or stamps.

Comic books or trading cards or records or rocks all served the same purpose. They were the subjects of an argot, a secret vocabulary that deepened as we learned more and more and more.

And as our knowledge expanded, no matter our age, we grew up in Dad’s eyes. And that look of appreciation and pride is what we lived for. So it became important to do our research, to learn and discover, to seek out. Those collections became learning lessons: Every time we peeled the wrapper back, like Charlie looking for a Golden Ticket, our excitement mounted. We ached for a payoff this time, a reward for all the saved-up allowance money we’d blown again and again and again in our quest for a rare player card. Alas, it almost never happened.

But our crushing disappointment lasted only a few moments, quickly giving way to “I bet I’ll get it next time!” Or our exhaustive search for the final issue to complete a run of comics, going from shop to shop in every city we visited, even during family vacations. Dad understood that it mattered. When we finally bagged our elusive prey, when that last stamp was slipped into the book, when that limited edition bootleg (it had only been rumored) did turn up, the joy was palpable and shared between father and son or daughter.

Without the time for those shared collections, we’ve lost something: that rite of passage that occurred when Dad’s collection was finally placed into your hands for safekeeping — for your children some day.

Today, those once hard-earned complete collections can be had for a price on eBay. Send in a payment, they’re yours. No quest, no chores, no saving, no secret language, no shared knowledge, no love and respect.

The ancient Greeks would “pass the torch” from hand to hand. As one runner finished he gave his knowledge to the next runner, who started with fresh legs and an informed mind. And not too long ago, when you graduated from high school or college, when it was time to begin your adulthood, you’d get a pen. It symbolized how much you’d learned and how much you had to contribute. We need that. We need confirmation that we’re ready to move on, that the knowledge we’ve gathered about a player’s stats represents more than a bunch of numbers. We need to understand that the receipt of knowledge from someone, and the passing on of it to someone else, is more valuable than simply acquiring information for ourselves.

It’s time for the passing of the pen to be important again. www.davidlv.com | JUNE 2015

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56 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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grill

Ruth Furman Mistress of the Message

Ruth Furman’s as passionate about public relations as she is about popcorn. And purple.

And the #ShopLocal hashtag she squeezes into her witty Tweets about all things curious and buzzworthy in the world of her clients and personal interests. Armed with a journalism degree from Indiana University, Furman’s inquisitive nature drew her to the field back when Ronald Reagan was president. After leaving her mark on the Midwest, she flew The Windy City for Fabulous Las Vegas. And with an entrepreneurial spirit and a good dose of strategic sass, she launched ImageWords in 2001. These days, she’d rather chat you up about her purple shoes than discuss her many PR accolades (she recently won the Gold Award — Women in PR at PR World Awards). Still, she’s got a lot to say — about a lot. All worth hearing.

DAVID: Why are you so driven by the shop local movement?

FURMAN: You never forget your first ‘real’ job. Mine was writing for a trade magazine for independent hardware stores. As I traveled and interviewed family owned businesses, I learned the perils of chain stores on small-town America. I’ve been #ShopLocal obsessed ever since. When I have the chance to do business with entrepreneurs, I’m all over it – especially when I can get nonprofits involved.

DAVID: What mistakes do you think women in business make?

FURMAN: Many businesswomen undervalue themselves and downplay their accomplishments. There’s a fine line between being confident and being self-congratulatory.

But so many women never come close to experiencing confidence. It’s a bummer; they have untapped potential. Many women – myself included – get so wrapped up in client work and mission-driven objectives that they don’t focus on the business of the business. I needed support in that area, so I joined the National Association of Women Business Owners Southern Nevada chapter. Invaluable.

DAVID: What is your favorite treat?

FURMAN: Two things come to mind: caffeine and crunch. Coffee brings me untold joy. All is right in the world when I’m sipping a dark roast in an indie coffee shop. Second to that is popcorn. As a kid, I made popcorn with my dad. I’ve never outgrown it. A friend and client recently taught me a clever method for making gourmet popcorn. (Hint: paper bag, avocado oil, artisanal salt.) I also had a ball working with a popcorn store last year.

DAVID: We know you like popcorn. What are

some of your favorite movies?

FURMAN: First, Valley Girl (1983). Why? As the trailer says, ‘She’s cool. He’s hot. She’s from the Valley. He’s not.’ Then there’s Fletch (1985) and Mr. Deeds (2002) – just because. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2005) reminds me that friendships can blossom anywhere.

DAVID: Who inspires you?

FURMAN: My mom inspires me to send handwritten notes and ‘just because’ gifts.

Personal notes are authentic. I’m convinced this practice has contributed to my referral business.

Never have a sense of entitlement. Sending homemade cookies doesn’t hurt either. My older brother taught me the importance of persistence and charisma.

DAVID: How can one be successful in business by being an oddball?

FURMAN: The recession hit me hard and I was trying to make myself more ‘corporate’ to grow my business. Quite frankly, the costume didn’t fit and I was miserable. It’s a cliché, but there’s a lid for every pot. My style and personality [are] quirky. I’m an acquired taste. I changed my business model in February of this year as a Valentine’s gift to myself, and I’m truly attracting right-fit clients now.

DAVID: What’s your goal for 2015?

FURMAN: It’s all about lagniappe, which means ‘a little something extra’ in Creole.

Work harder. Play more. Give back. Focus on more meaningful relationships in my life and business. Mentor more. Push myself a little harder each day with my goals.

DAVID: Who is your favorite celebrity?

FURMAN: Joel Hamburg from South Bend, Ind. He’s my younger brother. Everyone knows and loves this guy and his infectious laugh.

Joel inspires me to smile more, worry less. His wisdom wows me. He happens to have Down syndrome.

DAVID: How did the economy impact your business?

FURMAN: I can laugh now that I’m bouncing back, but it was rough. I started ImageWords in 2001. It was slow going, and then clients started calling. Amazing to me. The years passed and my numbers increased. Much of the growth was tied to the success of my retained real estate clients. That all changed when the market took a nosedive. I had two choices: fold or regroup.

I chose the latter, which made me stronger and smarter. I aligned myself with new industries and people. I partnered with other agencies. The evolution has been empowering..

— Tara Myers

58 JUNE 2015 | www.davidlv.com

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