What On Earth?-Column #38, July 2005

Well, here we are at the second half of the year. This month, we're saluting the Red, White, and Blue. At 229 years old, the USA, is still going strong, with liberty for all. I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free, as Lee Greenwood say, and he closes it the refrain out with my 4 favorite words: God Bless The USA.

But, as you know, freedom doesn't come free. And it's showing in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, where our troops have become casualties in the war on terror. It won't be easy to win. It's taking a lot of time and money to win this war.

But it only took the first half of the year to help Michael Jackson win the war with those molestation charges he's receieved from the 13-year old boy, who accused Jackson of molesting him at his Neverland Ranch. Well, worry no more. Jackson was cleared of all 10 charges against him, and while it will be hard for him to turn his life around, he's got fans all around the world supporting him.

Moving on from that, it's been 10 years since my first trip to Las Vegas in 1995, but the city itself is 100 years old. Yep, Advent of the railroad led to the founding of Las Vegas on May 15, 1905. The SanPedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, owned by Montana Senator Williams Andrews Clark, auctioned off 1,200 lots in a single day in an area which today is casino-lined Glitter Gulch. And speaking of casinos, that's what Vegas is famous for. Nevada was the first state to legalize casino-style gambling, but not before it reluctantly was the last western state to outlaw gaming in the first decade of the 20th Century. At midnight, Oct. 1, 1910, a strict anti-gambling law became effective in Nevada. It even forbid the western custom of flipping a coin for the price of a drink. The Nevada State Journal newspaper in Reno reported: "Stilled forever is the click of the roulette wheel, the rattle of dice and the swish of cards." "Forever" lasted less than three weeks in Las Vegas. Gamblers quickly set up underground games where patrons who knew the proper password again jousted day and night with Lady Luck. Illegal but accepted gambling flourished until 1931 when the Nevada Legislature approved a legalized gambling bill authored by Phil Tobin, a Northern Nevada rancher. Tobin had never visited Las Vegas and had no interest in gambling. He said the legalized gambling legislation was designed to raise needed taxes for public schools. Today, more than 43 percent of the state general fund is fed by gambling tax revenue and more than 34 percent of the state's general fund is pumped into public education. Legalized gambling returned to Nevada during the Great Depression. It legitimized a small but lucrative industry. That same year construction started on the Hoover Dam Project which, at its peak, employed 5,128 people. The young town of Las Vegas virtually was insulated from economic hardships that wracked most Americans in the 1930s. Jobs and money were prevalent because of Union Pacific Railroad development, legal gambling and construction of Hoover Dam 34 miles away in Black Canyon on the Colorado River. If you'd like to read more, click HERE. And speaking of gambling, the most popular game of all is the Slot Machine, aka the One-Armed Bandit. It's a relatively simple game. All you have to do is drop in some coins or tokens, then push a button or pull a handle and spin 3 reels, hoping they'll line up and form a combination seen on the top of the machine. It's easy to play, but not easy to win, as the odds aren't always in your favor. There are also table games, with the most popular being Blackjack ("21"), the simplest of all table games. The object, as most of you are aware (regardless of age, as I learned some of the rules at age 12, by picking up some Gaming Guides at various casinos), is to achieve a card count of 21, OR as close to 21 without going over. You are dealt two cards face up, and the dealer deals herself/himself one card face up, and one card face down (called the Hole Card). If you want to take another card, you signify a HIT, and if you don't, you STAND. However, if you go over 21, you BUST and lose, even if the dealer also busts (and it can happen!). Aces count as 1 or 11, and Face Cards (Jack, Queen, and King) count as 10. All other cards count at face value. If the dealer's face-up card is an Ace, you can bet Insurance, and in that case, you're betting he's got a Blackjack (A card count of 21 with the first 2 cards being an Ace, and a card worth 10). You can also DOUBLE DOWN, which means you can double your bet, and get one card on the HIT, if you think it'll take just 3 cards to beat the dealer. You can SPLIT pairs, meaning if you have a couple of identical cards , you can play 2 different hands with each one (If you have a pair of Kings, you can play 2 different hands with each King). However, if you split Aces, you only get one card dealt on the Hit. After all players have played their hands, the dealer turns over his face-down card and plays from there. He must stand on 17 or more, and hit on 16 or less. If you tie with the dealer, you PUSH, and nobody wins or loses. Other famous games include Roulette, Craps, Baccarat, and Poker. And speaking of Blackjack, for my 13th birthday, I got a little handheld Blackjack game computer that plays Las Vegas style Blackjack with a single 52-card deck. Now, depending on the versions you play (whether it be a computer version or at an actual casino), some tables may have only one deck to play with, while others have multiple decks. However, remember this: You and the other players have all the options, the House (dealer) has none.

But while the casinos are the most popular attraction in Vegas, there are other forms of Entertainment, too. Vegas is the home of the most popular wedding chapels in the country, making it a perfect place for anyone to get married. And when nighttime arrives, so do the neon lights that give the city its glimmer. No matter where you are, you are surrounded by the neon lights of every business (hotels and restaurants included). Vegas is also the home of Ethel M's Chocolates. Several types of this delectable candy are available, from truffles to coins, caramel to cream. I got to take a tour of their factory, and found some of the best candies in their selection. But that's not all. Noooo. When I went back in 2001, I also got to see M&M's World, devoted to those colorful chocolate candies we've come to love, whether it's Plain, Peanut, Almond, Peanut Butter, or Crispy (Mint, which comes in Green, Red, and White, comes out only during the holidays). You can visit the site HERE. At the attraction, you can view M&M's stuff of all kinds, from apparel to toys. There's even an M&M's Colorworks section, where tons of M&M's chocolate candies of 21 different colors are available for munching. To learn more, click HERE. Chocolate is also popular in places such as San Francisco, with companies like Ghirardelli and See's Candies.

One year ago, Florida became the place not to be during vacation season or even hurricane season for that matter. And it showed that in 4 major hurricanes (Ivan, Jeanne, Frances, and Charley), which brought heavy rain to the Sunshine State. It left a lot of damage, and even though we brought relief to the families, it still haunts us in our heads, even after one year.

And speaking of relief, for some states, there's barely any relief from the heat, because of the major wildfires that have hit. In 2003, California was hardest hit without any rain, and it showed proof in the wildfires. If you have to go out in the heat, take it easy out there, drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids, wear light-colored clothing, etc. In 2000, the record high was 126 degrees in Death Valley, California. But in Texas, back in 1980 (and I wasn't even born yet), there was a heat wave that lasted almost 70 days, with the record high of 113 on June 26 and 27.

However, it's not too early to do Christmas shopping. Several places around this great land of ours have so-called "Christmas In July" events. And in honor of the occasion, you can learn about it, by clicking HERE. Go to my Miscellaneous (3rd Page) to find more links.

Next category is Music. It was 14 years ago, that music fans all around the world welcomed into open arms, the first all-female rock band to hit it big, the Go-Go's. Consisting of Belinda Carlisle (lead vocals), Charlotte Caffey (Keyboards, Lead Guitar and Vocals), Jane Wiedlin (Rhythm Guitar and Vocals), Kathy Valentine (Bass Guitar and Vocals), and Gina Schock (Drums and Vocals); they made it big. It all started in 1981, with Beauty and the Beat, then Vacation in 1982, and then Talk Show in 1984, before breaking up in May 1985. Then they made 3 Greatest Hits compilations starting with 1990's Greatest Hits, then 1994's Return To The Valley Of The Go-Go's, and 2000's VH1's Behind the Music: Go-Go's Collection. In 2001, they returned with all new material in God Bless The Go-Go's. They've performed together since then, and have no intention of breaking up again, at least for now.

Next category: Sports. It was 4 years ago in 2001, that Cal Ripken played in his final All-Star game before retiring for baseball for good. That same year, Dallas opened up the new American Airlines Center to Dallas (the new home to the Mavericks, Stars, Sidekicks, and Desperados), vacating the 20 year old plus Reunion Arena (and using it for other events). Of course, that same year, sports fans really learned what it was like to be out there in the sweltering heat, as Minnesota Viking Korey Stringer died after prolonged heat exposure during training camp. Like I said, if you're going to be out in the heat, drink lots of water, and take it easy out there!

Next Category: Game Shows. As I stated in my last column, it was one year ago that Ken Jennings (a software engineer from Salt Lake City, UT) made a household name when he took the new "Sky's The Limit" rule change on Jeopardy! to a whole new level. THIS MONTH marks the 1-year anniversary where he sets a new one-day record of $75,000 on the end of Season 20, bringing his total to over $1.3 million (3 times he tied the previous record of $52,000 set by Brian eikle, who'd go on to win $149,600 and a car in his 5 days in Season 19, the last season before the big rule change, which allowed for players to keep going as long as they keep winning). But that winning streak wasn't over yet. Ohhh, Nooo. That left viewers hanging until September to see what would happen. And I'll talk more about this in another column.

Final category: TV. As you know, this year marks the 10th anniversary of Dallas/Fort Worth's Big Switch at the start of the month, when KDFW-TV was the new Fox affiliate, handing the CBS programming it had for almost 50 years to KTVT-TV, and believe it or not, in the final days of its Superstation days, I saw a promo which involved the different logos it had over the years. The final logo in the promo was the logo it would start using from 1995 to 2000, and had a yellow CBS "eye" logo at the bottom. You can find photos of it HERE, and HERE. The 2000-2004 logo was just beefed up to include the CBS corporate font on a black box, next to the station ID. In 2004, they got a totally new logo, with the CBS "eye" logo, and "11" in a bold futuristic font, with a blue star in the middle. So, the "CBS" in "CBS 11" at this point was represented by the ever-popular "eye" logo. In Denver, Colorado; however, the 3 main stations played Musical Chairs with their network affiliations. KCNC, which was the NBC station to start, became the new CBS station, which was previously that of KMGH, the new ABC station, and that programming was previously seen on , which became the new NBC station.

Well, that wraps up another column. This is John Lee saying, "Go HOME!"