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This week in Vegas: Paul gets the hooker vote & the Alien Cathouse

1/18/2012

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As most of you probably know, prostitution is legal in all but two counties in Nevada.  The sex industry is big business here and is regularly reported in the media.  A couple of items this week caught my attention.

The ladies at the Moonlight Bunny Ranch are actively campaigning for Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. According to a report in the Las Vegas Weekly, they’re asking each of their Johns to donate to the Paul campaign.

As one sex worker explained, their support for the would-be president is his belief that government should not police “victimless” crimes such as prostitution. It appears that Ron Paul has captured the highly non-sought-after prostitute vote.

So far his national campaign headquarters is not announcing the endorsement.

In other business news, the owner of the Moonlight Bunny Ranch has hired Heidi Fleiss to help him design his newest bordello.  You may remember Heidi.  She was known as the “Hollywood Madam” back in the days before she was jailed for running a prostitution ring for wealthy clients ~ and not paying her taxes.

After serving her sentence, Heidi moved to Pahrump with plans to open another brothel. But she ran into a number of problems regarding licensing.  She then announced she was leaving the sex industry to focus on alternative energy.  Fleiss next opened a laundromat called “Dirty Laundry.”  That was followed by a dog grooming business, until it was shut down by a judge as part of a civil lawsuit…she wasn’t paying her rent.

In July, she and her 25 macaws appeared in a pilot reality show on Animal Planet called “Prostitutes to Parrots.”  Haven’t heard how that went.

But Heidi still consults for brothels as well.  And that’s where the Alien Cathouse comes in.  Owner Dennis Hof purchased a rundown bordello 95 miles northwest of Las  Vegas and put Fleiss in charge of interior design and costumes. The brothel will cater to those who have ever dreamed of traveling to a distant planet, meeting exotic alien women and having sex with them.

“She’s the chief alien design queen,” said Hof. 

He’s also converting the nearby bar, gas station and mini mart into an Area 51-themed Alien Travel Center.  It could be a goldmine.

Brothels in Nevada have been struggling financially for nearly a decade, mostly due to the internet, but this new Alien Cathouse might change that.  Beamed up for a romp with an extraterrestrial with blue skin and five breasts?  It could be out of this world.
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Bolo ties ~ new west, old fashion

1/14/2012

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The bolo tie is the official neckwear of Arizona,New Mexico and Texas. Who knew!  I’ve heard of state flowers and birds….but a state necktie?
  
This came to my attention after a reader of a blog entry on neckties asked for more information specifically on bolo ties.  So here you go: 

The most common story about the origin of the tie came from a fellow named Victor Cedarstaff.  He claimed to have invented it in the late 1940s. He said he was riding his horse one day near Wickenburg, Arizona when his hat blew off.  Afraid of losing his silver-trimmed hatband, he slipped the band around his neck. His riding companion joked “That’s a nice-looking tie you’re wearing Vic.”

After thinking about it for a while, Cedarstaff took a strand of braided leather and added decorative metal tips to prevent the ends from fraying.  A problem immediately became evident:  there needed to be a way to hold the string together at the neck. A knot was too bulky.  He experimented with a variety of slides until he perfected the design he patented in 1959.

According to one account, Cedarstaff first called his tie a“piggin necklet.”  When that didn’t work out too well, he changed the name to bola tie because of its resemblance to the baleadora, a lariat used by Argentine cowboys. 

But wouldn’t you know….Texans decided to call it a it a "Texas tie."

Historians say that various versions of the bolo were in use a long time before Cedarstaff’s hat blew off.  Part of the dispute over the roots of the bolo tie stems from its variations.  The Argentines had a version with leather straps.  Native Americans used a shell or a silver conch to clasp bandanas around their necks. There was a British version made of bootlaces. Some experts assert the bolo tie is a pioneer creation that first showed up between 1866 and 1886.  There’s a tie on display at a trading post in New  Mexico which dates back that far. 

The pop culture history of bolo ties is easier to chronicle.  They’ve been seen on the silver screen for at least 50 years.  The Cisco Kid, Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers all wore bolo ties in the movies and on TV.  In the 1980s bolo ties were revived as part of the rockabilly look.  And John Travolta wore one in “Urban Cowboy,” which sparked another round of popularity.

Since the 1990s bolo ties have been big in Japan, Chinaand Korea.  Part of their attraction is their association with Native Americans.  Zuni, Hopi and Navaho silversmiths are well known for their elegant designs...though I’m not sure how many Chinese actually wear bolo ties.

My husband, who grew up in Nevada, has a whole collection of bolo ties which he never wears.  I thought maybe I could sell them on ebay and make a few bucks. Unfortunately there are already over a thousand bolos up for grabs at prices starting at a penny.  Looks like I won’t be getting rich any time soon.

Currently bolo ties seem to be most popular with old guys in Arizona, western state politicians, and stars walking down the red carpet.  But you never can tell when they will become a red-hot fashion item again.  It has already happened a couple of times in the past 70 years.
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