Happy 4th of July!/Bullring Night of Fire

Shoe-Fleur

These are too much fun! -JDM

Michel Tcherevkoff:
“Shoe-Fleur: A Footwear Fantasy”

By Bija Gutoff

“Taking pictures of something that just exists was never interesting to me,” says Michel Tcherevkoff. “I’ve always gravitated to photography that’s more illustrative in nature, where I can create my own reality — with a twist.”

Obeying that inclination has served the Paris-born photographer well.

One day in his New York studio, having just shot a series of cosmetic ads for Prescriptives (Tcherevkoff is internationally recognized for his skill at creating visual metaphors for clients including Canon, L’Oreal, Maybelline and Valentino), he happened to glance at a photo of a leaf he’d used in the shoot.

“The print was lying upside down on a table,” he recounts, “and I said — although no one was listening to me — ‘Hey, that looks like a shoe!’”

Read the rest of the article here.

944 2nd Anniversary at Hard Rock Hotel

944 magazine had their 2nd anniversary party at the Hard Rock Hotel this weekend and I do mean PARTY. They had stuff going on everywhere in the hotel for three straight days. My co-workers and I hit up the concert by the pool on Friday night with Rocco DeLuca and She Wants Revenge. Their pool is really nice and it was nice to sit in the MGM MIRAGE cabana and dip my feet in one of the private pools. This job definitely has its perks!

On Saturday, I went to their Downlow Art Show to check out what they had from one of my favorites, Shag. I just missed the book signing (no times were given on any of the literature, but I'm over it) but I did get his book and got to see some of his work up close. I would have loved to have met Josh Agle (Shag) but I guess I will just have to make it to another showing! They had some great pieces there including one from another of my faves, Amanda Visell.

In other news, apparently one of the restaurants at the village caught fire right before the Three Dog Night concert this evening! Concert was cancelled, village evacuated, and there is extensive damage to the restaurant! CRAZY.

Kat McPhee at Mandalay Bay Beach

This was a party for Vegas Magazine that my friend Kristen invited me to last weekend. I'd never been to Mandalay's pool (beach, actually). Kat's absolutely gorgeous in person and put on a pretty good show! I'm listening to her CD as I write this and it's not bad!

Not even failed inspection can bring down Gordon

Cup champ says birth of daughter best day of his life

By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM
June 22, 2007
09:04 PM EDT

SONOMA, Calif. -- Jeff Gordon didn't want to leave.

NASCAR's newest father sat in a New York hospital room, cradling his newborn daughter in his arms. It wasn't easy to put her down and leave for Infineon Raceway, site of this weekend's Nextel Cup event.

"I was holding her and she was sleeping in my arms right before I left the hospital," he said Friday. "I did not want to leave. That's why I'm excited about being here, because I want to get out there and get this race over as fast as I can. I want to get it done faster than anyone else and get back to my little girl and Ingrid."


Gordon, Johnson fail initial inspection
Jeff Gordon had to answer questions about his No. 24 Chevy after his and Jimmie Johnson's cars were parked due to failing initial inspection for the COT race at Sonoma.

Complete story, click here
Gordon and his wife, Belgian model Ingrid Vandebosch, celebrated the birth of daughter Ella Sofia on Wednesday. The baby was breach -- turned backward in the mother's womb -- so Vandebosch underwent a Caesarean section. That morning on the way to the hospital, her water broke.

"It is absolutely incredible," Gordon said. "I expected it to change my life, but I never had any clue of how it was going to, but it has. It's just things are different now, in a great way, though. It was just probably the best day of my life."

The timing of the procedure allowed Gordon plenty of time to get to Sonoma for Sunday's race. Not even the news that his No. 24 car had failed inspection -- because of a modification to the front fender, it was parked for opening practice and qualifying -- could dampen his mood (NASCAR Today). Every time he flipped open his cell phone, he saw a photo of his baby's face.

"Every time I open my phone, it puts a smile on my face," he said. "With everything that's happening here today, as devastating as it is for me, there's nothing that's going to bring me down today. More important things in life are at the top of my list."

Like diapers, which Gordon is already willingly changing on a daughter that shows signs of having her daddy's dark hair. One of the first things he did after waking up Friday morning was call Ingrid and Ella. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Casey Mears could sense Gordon's giddiness on the helicopter ride to the racetrack.

"He's just so excited about it," Mears said. "It's just great seeing him so excited. He was so happy this morning coming in. On the helicopter coming in, we were just talking about the whole experience. I just couldn't be happier for him and Ingrid. Obviously, they're going to have a lot of fun."

Mears doesn't believe fatherhood will dull his teammate's competitive instincts.

"People have different drives and different reasons for the success they've had over the years," he said. "This may change obviously the way he thinks, but I don't think in the least bit it's going to sacrifice his talents or the way he focuses on racing. He might have some new inspirations for doing well. He's always been successful and hugely talented, and he has a new chapter in his life now he's enjoying."

Mother and baby are scheduled to come home from the hospital Saturday. Gordon can't wait to get back to New York and join them.

"You go through so many different emotions," he said. "You're excited, you're scared, and then once she's there and you hear her cry and take that first breath, you're just overwhelmed with emotion. It was just an incredible feeling."

Welcome Ella Sofia Gordon!

New Baby Dolphin at The Mirage!

Skaffs

Luke Feldman is the illustrator and animator behind Skaffs, a collection of colourful designs where sexy chicks run rampant, or cute ones fly. Feldman’s characters are endearing as they go boldly through a landscape of feathery tufted trees, an assortment of roots, bugs and flowers, and flying aliens that are a cross between amoebas and jellyfish. Decorating decks and decals, Skaffs also include animations that feature Berpunzel, a naïve and overly optimistic little boy and Irk and Miff who explore the wonderful world of relationships.

www.skaffs.com

JDM

Home Sweet Home

Disneyland





Huntington Beach






Dave & Buster's





I start my new job tomorrow. Well, technically, I go to Bellagio Orientation tomorrow. This will be my fourth orientation at Bellagio, but thankfully, I'm not actually working there. Technically, corporate employees are considered Bellagio employees for purposes of record-keeping. So I'm not that nervous for tomorrow except that I have this killer sore throat that started yesterday at the Garment District in L.A. That was so much fun! I had been there as a kid with my mom and, appropriately, hated it. But this trip was fantastic! Spent entirely too much money, but it was all worth it. They had the best faux-Coach stuff there. I indulged in a purse and two wallets -- the purse I could see a difference, but the wallets look authentic!

Anyway, I ran around so much in California this weekend that I ended up with this nasty sore throat. But between Disneyland, Huntington, Laguna, nd L.A. , it was definitely worth it!

JDM

Casey Mears get his first career win!

Check out the fourth Hendrick driver to get a win this season -- his first Nextel Cup victory!

May

Birthday, new job, short vacation... lots going on on May!

Spamalot was hilarious! Got to see it on my birthday. Also got to spend part of my birthday week with with my favorite person -- my mom. :) This week I get to go home for a bit before I start my new job.

Though I had not planned on making a change this soon (do I ever? LOL), I'm looking forward to starting something new back with MGM MIRAGE. It's on a corporate level so it's different than anything I've done at any of the properties. And technically, I'm a Bellagio employee again. How's that for irony?

Maroon 5's new album. Took me a couple of listens to get into it, but it's very good!

Happy Birthday to my mom & Liz!

JDM

It could have been anywhere.

Scary how close this is!

Thanks to Asya for introducing this site... pretty cute!

Typical outfit, and pretty much what my desk looks like!

Lounge Pop

Without even knowing it, I've become a fan of a musical genre called "lounge-pop." During my senior year of high school I fell in love with The Cardigans and had their "First Band on the Moon" CD on constant repeat in my car. It had this sound that I couldn't put my finger on, like I'd heard it in some 60's sitcom or something. Very retro and upbeat, with Nina Persson's light, girly voice a candy-coating on the addicting melodies. It remains my favorite of all their albums.

Today, my favorite celebrity gossip blog provided me with another great band: the bird and the bee. Perezhilton.com had the following to say:


After doing some research, I'm finding some other great artists that have this same "lounge-pop" label. One artist, Nathalie Nordnes, has some music available on myspace, but I cannot find where to buy her album "Join Me In The Park." The one download site I could find was in Swedish. I can't read the instructions so I most definitely wasn't going to supply my credit card info! Hopefully I'll find something soon. I look forward to researching this genre a bit more. In my opinion, there is nothing better than new music and finding your next favorite song!

First Wine Walk of the season.

If someone didn't know what I did for a living and they saw my desk, they'd probably think I had a very strange job -- which I guess I do. Sticking out from the requisite office supplies and sticky-notes are the following: 4 yellow plastic shovels, a bag of golden easter eggs, a box of velcro, and a bottle of white wine (I don't drink). I could, of course, explain the existence of each, but that would take all the fun out of it.

The first wine walk was a definite success! The stores were busy which means happy tenants. I like happy tenants. We had to battle wind, clouds, and the biggest wine event in the valley and we still got great numbers! I think that says a lot for the event.

Next weekend is the art festival, which I am so looking forward to! I have a great art director who handles most of the coordination, so it's one of the easiest events for the Village.

I am exhausted from this 12.5 hour day and am going to sleep for at least 10 hours.

JDM

Easter 2008.

Opening night at the Bullring!

Trying to see how I'd fit in one of these...



...quite nicely!



These might be a bit small...



Gentry Pisca, winner of the Modified division race.



Cleaning up a wreck during the Late Model race.



Bullring flagstand.



After a crash during the Legend Cars race, they had to take the roof off to get the driver, Josh Gross, out of the car.



Working to get the driver out. He was T-boned by another car going 60mph!



The other car involved being hauled away.


So much fun, I think we're going again tomorrow night!