Las Vegas is nothing like you have been led to believe. You can lose ten points off your IQ just by moving here; alternatively, you can feel like a genius on the "in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king" model.

 It's not that there are no smart people in Las Vegas (hell, at least two of us post here). It's that intelligence is not valued in the public culture here. You can make money lots of other ways, and making lots of money is surely the most important thing there is, no?

However, people here are nice. I noticed some ladies I know sitting on the patio at the local Starbucks while I was in line for the drive-thru:

Behind the red pickup truck. Everybody and his brother drives a pickup truck out here; even people who have no earthly reason to drive a pickup; librarians, bookkeepers, hairdressers all move to Las Vegas and suddenly find the need to drive a pickup truck.

 And what did I say about people being nice? The barista handed me my coffee and told me someone in the store had paid for it! SWEEEET!

Red pantile roofs like these are everywhere; to me they are the Las Vegas skyline, much more than any megaresort on the strip.

 It has lots of churches, too. And the churches have signs out front, just in case the steeples with the crosses on top didn't tip you off that they're not casinos:

Pastors can get these little slogans off the internet these days:

 This one is usually a little zippier. Last week it said: "We're too blessed to be depressed." Yeah. And they're too saved to be depraved!

  

White Cross Drugs on the corner of the Strip and either New York or Wyoming. I took this from a gas station on the Strip and Oakey. Excellent grilled cheese sandwiches. The original greasy spoon. Definitely go to see live cabaret  human suffering at its most entertaining. Many a drunk has shaken himself sober at the lunch counter.

 The karaoke at Dino's is supposed to be the best in town. And of course, there's the fabulous Tod Motor Hotel. These two establishments are on the corner of the Strip and Oakey, across the street from the "world famous Olympic Gardens." I suppose, since the original Olympics were held in the nude, you could stretch it and say there's a connection. Anyway, I was taking these from the car window, and had to make a choice. I'm a good singer, but not very competitive, so Dino and Tod won. This being the litigious society it is, I can say no more about the charms of the Tod. Ask to be shown to the Crack Pipe suite,  and see for yourself! Find out why this part of town is known as Naked City!

Hey, this must be where those beautiful Las Vegas women get all that unique Las Vegas beauty:

So that they look their beautiful best when they head to work at establishments like: