I have been involved with a few, and overheard a few too many, conversations regarding the Sands Regency billboards promoting their pool parties.  In particular, I have noticed the “Stimulus Package,” one, and honestly, I laughed my goddamn ass off.  I applaud them fully…

…and why?  Apparently since Jeff Thiel, General Manager of the Sands Regency Hotel and Casino, has unapologetically said the billboards are staying through the end of July, with the outrage of at least twenty Reno mothers probably having a fit that their kids might get some kind of terrible ideas.  That, coupled with the groups of blue-haired old ladies bipping about how terrible it is (ironic, considering the owner of said casino) while their husbands are snickering and nodding at one another, it’s quite amusing.  Offensive alert, offensive alert!

I can’t help but say that the majority of the people I have noticed having a fit about this are, yes, I hate to say it, mothers that probably never have or haven’t in a while looked like any of these scantily-clad, racy gals featured on  the Sands billboards, or they’re ultraconservative butt-puckery churchgoers.

I’m not really a sexist person, but I’m not one to harp on about women’s exploits, either.  I mean, women being exploited usually meant them not being able to vote, working under shitty conditions or getting paid less than a male in the same work capacity.  If a woman decides to spread her boobs for everyone to see, well, that’s her choice too.  It’s funny how a woman’s choice really is her choice, even if it isn’t another woman’s choice.  Women who choose their path and gain compensation are free, not exploited.

If I were a woman (and believe me, I tried, and what a failure…) I probably wouldn’t be a gorgeous bikini-wearing strumpet with legs for miles, boobs for days and ass for ages.  Nor would I complain about it.   My family?  Laughably, none of us are supermodels.  But, there are supermodels out there.  Most of them usually aren’t people you want to listen to, they’re people you want to look at.  Sadly, a lot of them really are skin-deep people, and well, I’m thankful we live in a world where there’s space for even these folks.  I doubt many of them are so stupid they had no idea they were being sexually exploited and ended up on a billboard without their consent or to their surprise.

“OH BUT THE CHILDREN!”  Yes, think of the poor, poor children.  Any kids interested in seeing such things are probably more likely to head to the Internet for much worse, or under daddy’s side of the mattress.  Either that, or sure, they’ll put on a bra and strut around.  Who knows, who cares.  I mean, yes, be a good parent and protect your kids, but let’s be honest here.  They’re going to be exposed to it, why not use it as a tool to have a discussion about it rather than them watching mom come unglued and turn into an insecure windbag?  I’m no parent, but I’m a sound father of logic.  We’re either taught it’s dirty, or it’s exploitative — Pandora’s box, anyone?  … and just what about her box?  Curiosity, kids, oh bother!

Moreover, what about the Sands, though?  What a great marketing idea.  We have cheesy billboards with lawyers and faded buffet pictures, which personally, I find far more unappetizing and far less sexually appealing than bikini babes.  Would I at least ask them to throw up a nice picture of an Olympic male swimmer sucking on a beachball?  Well, yes, but then, who would complain, besides maybe the Hansen family about town?  Small steps are in order.  Honestly, I’m shocked they didn’t find some steel-stomached Adonis for at least one of their billboards.  Maybe Moms of Reno might sweat that one out  with a little smile before their next online bitch ‘n’ stitch.

Some of you may or may not agree with me, but I hope the Sands gets a huge turnout because of this billboard campaign.  I don’t attend their pool parties, but I hear from people that do that you get to drink, swim, eat, look at boobs and bulges, listen to local music and genrally have a good time.  The billboards are not misleading, even if they are a bit upsetting to people who might not exactly get the point of them, or may pitifully not be a part of their target audience.

Meanwhile, I’m laughing watching panties both getting wet and in a bunch over the situation.

- Gay Rodeo

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I know, I’m a filthy liar.  I said I wasn’t going to be doing anything, but there I was, on Friday, June 19, having an absolutely fan-fucking-tastic time at the Nada Motel 2009.

Seriously.  This year, the organization was far superior, the rooms were more encompassing, the artists had a better grip of how to use their space, and you really got lost in the moment just about everywhere you went.  I got there at about 8:00PM, and the next thing I know, it’s midnight.

Wait, what?  You don’t know what the Nada Motel is?

Nada Motel is a group of collective artists that get together and put on a show at the El Cortez hotel in Downtown Reno on 2nd Street every year.  I believe it started about four years ago, however, this is my second year at the event.  It also spills over into the Town House motor lodge across Arlington.  Dada-ist artists (in concept, anyway) they all are, because of the freeform nature of the event.  Even if the artists are not “dada,” per-se in nature, they all become as such as one massive, art project.  That is what you get with Nada Motel, and that’s the truth.

Now, I didn’t even find out about when the event was (June 18 - 21, 2009) until about a week beforehand.  I’m not exactly sure why.  I have to admit, I’m not a big part of the Reno Dadaist elite (and I say that totally respectfully, because none of them conduct themselves as elitists…) probably because I have a hell of a lot of things to do.  That’s kind of how Reno goes, unfortunately, you just kind of have to find your way about, no one really is going to tell you.  It’s a small town thing that we as a whole have to grow out of, not relying on cliques and word-of-mouth to get things out there; big cities that have events, no matter how small, have to advertise or no one knows it’s there.  Perhaps we’re all too comfortable with our small-town networking, no matter who it might skip…

…beyond that, however, I made it.  I’m glad I did.  I was informed first about it from a dance troupe that performed there, that was supposed to be pretty good.  Why was it supposed to be good and not guaranteed?  I’ll be honest here, I didn’t have the $15 to drop.  I was also having a hell of a time with my slight claustrophobia in the hot, little back stage room the El Cortez supplies and sitting hip-to-hip with a room full of other people with no ventilation.  I wish I could tell you more about what it was, but I sadly didn’t see it, know little about what, who or why it was.  I’m sure it was great, but I can’t write about that which I don’t know, and speculating would be useless.

As I made my way up the floors, I was pleased immediately with the crowd.  Last year, I couldn’t help but notice there were plenty of people reveling in a free, chaotic event, meanwhile stomping all over the historic El Cortez hotel, whether they be show-goers of Tonic or just random street folk, but there was a lot of “art party crashing,” going on.  This year, this wasn’t the case.  There also wasn’t a wall of choking fire smoke innundating Reno, so it made for a very pleasant evening of drizzling rain, cool breezes, and of course, the Nada Motel special, the art.

The artists displaying their work seemed much more comfortable as well.  There was a sense of pride and ownership of the displays of the rooms and their works that wasn’t as evident before.  Last year, it seemed the public was in control.  This year, the artists were in control.  Many of them supplied small snacks, wine, cheese, hooch, and interactivity, which was missed last year.  Many people also decided to share rooms, which made for a more interesting display as one walked from room to room.

I’m not sure if it was my own impromptu dadaist nature to be completely motivated but yet unprepared for the event, but even in taking my camera, I opted (unintentionally) to not bring anything to write down names and photo numbers to attach to the art and their artists for proper introductions.  Maybe it was me just being uprooted in a sadly inopportune time when I’m stressed out in a domicilic move.  In any case, this year, I did talk to many of the artists and at least got them photographed with their works (and in less compromising situations and subject matter!)…

…next year I intend to focus on a just a few of the artists and really sit them down, the ones I find most impressive, and find out more about them.  But for now, short on time and patience, here is the winning lineup of friendly folks and  artists I (re)discovered this year:

(…wait what?  That last guy just looks like some dude in his room.  Yep, that’s Ray.   He claims he wasn’t an artist, however, his door was open, and people were so afraid to enter his room, I just had to.  He was friendly and loved the event.  I think he was probably one of the best exhibits there…”Man in Motel…”)

No one expects God Hates Reno to abide by proper journalism or reporting standards, and well, if they do, then they’re fools.   I respect people the best I can, I don’t steal people’s work, and I simply try and cast my personal light and viewpoint on them.  That was a fantastic roundabout way of saying, sure, I’m lazy, but I required this kind of freedom.  I was much more a participant than a GHR representative this year, and it was perfect.   Not to mention, this was only a small cross-section of what and who I experienced when I was there!  It really does require four whole days to get the event totally covered.

Of the four whole floors of the El Cortez I visited, there were probably about sixty rooms I could have visited.  Some were closed, some were too busy.  I loved some, was apathetic towards others and wondered how perhaps I and some of my cohorts could have a room next year– more news on that as it develops.

Sadly, like last year, I simply didn’t have enough time to head over to the Town House motor lodge to check out the stuff there.  I was too tired.  Working, stressed and all the other things I’m whining about these days have taken their toll.

Needless to say, as simply a participant this year, I was glad to put my troubles aside and be enveloped by the event.  It did what it was designed to do, make a world out of art, people, creativity, mindset, and poise.  I can’t comment enough how much more I liked it this year than last year.  Not that last year was terrible, it just had a vibe this year that was totally together.  It felt like a single organism rather than just a hotel filled with people doing stuff.  That was important, and believe me, with my mindset of chaos right now, I would be sensitive to the difference.

Nada organizers, artists, participants, donators, the El Cortez and Town House, all should give themselves a pat on the back for a wonderful time this year.  I’m anticipating 2010.

- Gay Rodeo

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This is apparently the song “Draw It Out” by Black Year.  How the hell has this band been making songs since 2 years ago and I just now read about it in the N&R?  That’s what I wanna know.

I recommend listening to at least “Down on my Luck” and “Airport” on their Myspace.

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Once upon a time in Reno there was an Indian restaurant located in the shopping center that used to have Target, at the corner of Moana and Kietzke, and the name of this restaurant was Sapna, which according to the menu, means Dream in Hindi.  I wish I could review the dishes offered by Sapna, but it turns out that Sapna has been closed for many years now, which is quite possibly one of the greatest tragedies in Reno’s culinary history.  Everything at Sapna was served in a Thali, which meant you got a giant dish full of all kinds of little dishes full of food goodness, lots of little soups and sauces on the side with your preferred main dish.  All served on a wonderful silver tray that held all the other little trays of food.

I don’t know if India Kabab’s Thalis are like that, because I didn’t order any the time that I went there, but I must tell you this:  India Kabab, on South Virginia Street where Beads Etc once lived, is quite possibly the best Indian restaurant on the Reno landscape.

Let’s start with a few bits about Indian food for starters.  It turns out that most Americans who’ve had it, aren’t quite sure what it is, but they’re pretty sure it’s a meat, maybe some potatoes or nuts, swimming in a curry gravy, served with rice and bread.  And yes, this is in fact a correct introduction to the kind of food you find in a “normal” Indian restaurant.  The flavors are indeed Indian, and you can find Indian people on YouTube telling you how to do it.  This is the cuisine of Northern India.  They eat meat there.  In Southern India however, they don’t eat meat and they have a whole different way of doing things which, if you’ve convinced yourself you don’t like curry, or just aren’t that into it when it comes to normal Indian fare, you may in fact enjoy the way they do it in Southern India, with their giant crepe tubes filled with potato and other ingredients and their wonderful soup/sauce/megabroth and some sauces made of yogurt that are so good you’ll want to eat them for days.

Let’s just say that to date, I’ve encountered primarily only the cuisine of Northern India in Reno.  The Thali style of serving went out with Sapna (their food was also just plain extraordinary).  Some of the best Indian food to be had in the region is down in an old pizza place in Carson City.  Seriously.

But India Kabab is doing something completely extraordinary like Sapna was doing.  They’ve pushed the envelope of what Indian food means in Reno, and they’ve done it in an awesome location at the corner of Vassar and South Virginia.

The meal I had consisted of old favorites, Murg (chicken) Korma, Naan Bread, and Basmati Rice.  To make things interesting I added an appetizer, Dahi Bhali, which is lentil dumplings (which I think are also called Idli) in a Yogurt Sauce with some wonderful fruit paste, and something I learned about earlier, a dosa, in this case a Murg Dosa.  Most Dosas I’ve ever had weren’t available with meat, so it was pretty cool to see a meaty dosa on the menu at India Kabab.

All were ordered medium spicy out of courtesy to the party.

The first thing to arrive at the table at India Kabab is some Papadam and fruity paste and a spicy pico de gallo type mixture.  India Kabab seems to have mixed the traditional plumb sauce and mint sauce with some mango to create one sauce that effectively serves as chutney, sweet tangy sauce and palate cleaner all in one.  This is to be commended.  The spicy pico style mix is useful to zazz up any dish you come into contact with.  Papadams were good and a great way to get introduced to what the sauces would be.

Next up was the Dahi Bhali.  You need to try this dish.  I ended up adding both flavors from the spice carousel and was very pleasantly surprised by the way this idli in yogurt landed on my palate.  When the idli were gone it was worthy of taking home all by itself.

Next up came the main course, the korma, the dosa, the naan and rice.  Let’s just get out of the way up front that this is a huge amount of food.  If you’ve never seen a dosa before, you could probably eat dinner off slices of a dosa for three or four nights a week and go to bed very satisfied.  The dosa came with sambar, a traditional soupy mixture with vegetables in it which used to come in the Thalis at Sapna, as well as a yummy sauce which I think is a pureed bean with some poppy seeds in it.  All in all, this was an excellently executed dosa.

The murg korma was there to make sure the meal would be palatable by traditional standards and it was well buttressed by the rice and naan.  The naan was a little greasy but not too much, almost more like a paratha.

The food was excellent.  For you vegetarians they will put together a dinner based on several great vegetarian eats plus the entree of your choice from their extensive vegetarian list, and they’ll serve it in a Thali!!!  (this is in fact pretty exciting.)  If I recall the price was $14.95 but this should compare well with any $14.95 you’re going to spend on food anywhere else.

Finally, the atmosphere is good: well decorated, they have a bar you can sit at and eat, and piped in satellite TV from India mostly showing Bollywood that plays over the speakers.

All in all, a damn fine dining experience. I’ll be back!

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I’m sorry to say that for the next few weeks, up to perhaps four of them, I have to deal with some unpleasant personal matters.  No, I don’t have cancer, I’m not going to die.  I’m not foolishly ending any relationships or friendships, nor going to rehab, nor going to jail.

I’m dealing with a very  weird, unreasonable landlord and need to relocate  on short notice.

From my new base of operations, wherever that might be, I’ll get back up into true form and make myself available once again.  I will still accept posting of events if someone really wants me to (that isn’t a hard thing to do…) but for now reports on cool things, T-shirts and future art ventures will have to wait.

Thank you all for understanding.

Sincerely,  horse bits and boy tits,

- Gay Rodeo

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Sorry for all the “textronyms,” or WTF ever they are called.  That’s how someone shows genuine excitement in the futureworld of 2009, though eh? BFF! LOL! BBQ! OMG! OPP!  Seriously though, this deserves praise or at least attention to someone!  A follow-up is certainly in order.

In my October article “Complete Traffic Bullshit,” (click there to catch up…) I tied my woes to the fact that Reno can be a damn difficult place to drive.  Not only that, there’s a slew of other problems, including fuel wasting in a bad economy, worn-out breaks, frustrated drivers/pedestrians/cyclists, air quality issues (starting and stopping in traffic is the least efficient way to drive)…

…so out came my criticism of Reno not having timed lights.

To summarize, there’s two different ways to approach a timed light, figureatively speaking.  By “timed,” a light could be cycled in a fashion where it is in a particular mode (green, red, turn) for  a certain length of time, even certain times at certain times of the day.  It’s a really crappy method to assume traffic patterns, flow and usage of a traffic intersection.  But, technically, it is “timed.”

A real timed light is not only timed, it is synchronized.  At certain points of the day, the light acts accordingly, not allowing traffic to back up upon itself.  Meaning,  in a short distance from intersection to intersection, one light should not turn green for the flow of traffic to suddenly be stopped 200 feet ahead by a light then turning yellow to red.   The reason for this is equipment and programming:  road sensors and the ill-timed lights (non-syncrhonized) I described above.

In other cities, synchronized lights allow the flow of traffic in congested areas to cycle in specific directions (usually north-south, then to east-west), so that if you are travelling east doing a certain speed, the lights in that direction are almost always in your favor.  Upon the end of the cycle, then north-south lights will turn green (east-west red) and someone driving north will have lights in his/her favor for that period.  That means instead of standing at ten lights, you simply wait for one, if any at all.

Do you want to experience this?

I travel Mill Street from Ryland all the way to McCarran frequently to my work in Sparks, anywhere between noon and about 3:00PM.  This is a tough area, and a tough time of day for any Reno traffic.  It actually was one of my biggest complaints that spurned this gripe, because like many of us, we have our own personal routes, I saw it and was frustrated by it– each and every workday.  The most frustrating point was just under the 395 bridge heading east on Mill, the freeway light would turn green, you’d go under the bridge, hit a red light at the GSR/395 intersection.  That light would turn green, then the Terminal/Mill intersection would turn yellow the second the GSR/395 intersection would turn green.  What this did was not only stop those of us already on Mill, it dumped freeway traffic, both southbound and northbound, onto Mill, further congesting the streets.  It was chaos that took 10 minues to get through.

Not any longer, or at least it seems.

I have spent the last two weeks driving from Ryland to McCarran on Mill Street, catching green lights at 40MPH frequently.   It’s been a breeze.  I watch the lights turn green in succession, and in an efficient way, too.  There’s a slight delay to get traffic ahead getting up to speed just before the light turns for, say myself, who is behind.  That’s IF I get a red light to begin with!

This idea of synchronized lights isn’t perfect, it usually only works with lights that are timed or chained to one another to make it work.  A light with a car sensor in the middle, too much space in-between one light or another, etc. are all factors that might make it less efficient.

In any case, if there’s someone out there (Dave Aiazzi?  RTC?) reading this, I can tell the difference.  I could be crazy, but I’ve pretty much determined that it isn’t dumb luck at this point, at least on Mill.  Something has changed.  If it has, excellent.  Thank you, let’s rinse and repeat this method anywhere we can in town.  If it hasn’t, then the computers really are smarter than we are, and we need to sit and study them, their method, and learn by their example.

Now, if I could only see the so-called study that the Edison way light, you know, the double light from 1955 that sits on Mill Street right before McCarran the sign is talking about.  “Traffic Light Under Study For Removal,”  it has said on a sign for just about a decade or two.  Right.  If some idiot racer kid in his $40,000 1988 CRX careens into it and takes it out, that will probably be the removal it needs, and it just won’t be replaced, I’m thinking.  Mom’s going to be pissed, but I won’t!  Thanks, racer kid!

Again, there’s something to be learned and/or thanked for on Mill Street, I hope the proper channels read this.

-GR

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