Fashion Show Mall

Postcard US-3677822 to Brazil shows the Cloud, a plaza that faces the Las Vegas Boulavard in front of the Fashion Show Mall, an over-250-store shopping mall first opened on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1981. The main attraction is a 80-foot retractable runway in the central atrium Great Hall that can be used to host fashion shows.

Currently, in celebration of ReCon 2016, the global convention for the shopping center industry, fashion shows featuring 10 of the mall’s retailers are scheduled at 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 4:00 pm, and 5:00 pm through May 30, 2016.

Friday, May 20: Lucky Brand
Saturday, May 21: U.S. Polo Assn.
Sunday, May 22: Vince Camuto
Monday, May 23: Lorna Jane
Tuesday, May 24: Under Armour Brand House
Wednesday, May 25: Robert Graham
Thursday, May 26: Calvin Klein
Friday, May 27: Macy's
Saturday, May 28: Macy's
Sunday, May 29: Beach Bunny
Monday, May 30: Lululemon

Digital dance shows and live performances art by Girl Power Digital Show and Uptown Dance Funk are scheduled at 12:30pm, 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm, 3:30 pm and 4:30 pm on select days through May 30, 2016.

Another copy was sent to Finland as US-3682362.

Ringling Bros. Ending Elephant Acts in 3 Years

After 145 years, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is ending its elephant acts by 2018, among the concerns over animal treatment.

The circus currently has 13 elephants traveling with its tour units. They will be relocated to the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida once their acts end. More than 40 other elephants are already at the Center. However, other exotic animals such as lions and tigers will continue performing.

It's a victory for the animal rights groups such as PETA and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals who have been claiming mistreatment of circus animals for a long time. While the parent company of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was able to won a nearly $16 million settlement from a number of animal-rights groups including the Humane Society of the United States, ending a 14-year legal battle, it was the shifting consumer perceptions done the elephant acts in.

The stamped card features one of the eight USPS Vintage Circus Posters Commemorative stamps which uses a reproduction of a 1926 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey poster made by the Strobridge Lithographing Company, showing an ornately costumed elephant. The vintage poster used a bragging tag line “5 Big Herds of Performing Elephants in 5 Circus Rings at One Time” to advertise the Greatest Show on Earth. The card has a pictorial first-day-of-issue postmark on May 5, 2014 from Sarasota, FL 34230.

Let's Get to Know Each Other

Zumanity, billed as "the sensual side of Cirque du Soleil," is a "adult-themed" cabaret-style show featuring erotic songs, dances, and acrobatic acts at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The show celebrated its 10th anniversary on September 20, 2013. 

However, a recent article from Las Vegas Sun reports that Zumanity will go dark on January 3, 2015 to undergo major changes, and the majority of its cast members will be laid off.

Postcard US-2248696 to Texas shows Faun, a half-man-half-beast devilish spirit with boundless energy from Zumanity.

Smooth as Silk

Postcard US-1920292 to Germany shows a performance of aerial contortion, where one or more artists perform aerial acrobatics hanging from a special fabric such as silk. It is very popular in various shows in Las Vegas. Climb on the suspended fabric, usually without using safety lines, performers rely only on their training and skill to wrap, suspend, fall, swing, and pose in various positions while maintaining safety. 

Aerial Contortion by Las Vegas Hotties at Fremont Street Experience on September 26, 2014

Happy 56th Birthday to Michael Jackson

Outgoing postcard US-2955783 to Italy was made of a magazine cutout from the August 2014 issue of Desert Companion, showing Michael Jackson ONE, a Cirque du Soleil production and a tribute to the work, innovative spirit, and legacy of Michael Jackson as the King of Pop, the genius, the visionary, and THE ONE through aerial performance, hip hop dances and acrobatics with vivid choreography by 63 cast members at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Today on August 29, 2014, Michael Jackson ONE show is celebrating what would have been Michael Jackson's 56th birthday with a special performance.

My favorite Michael Jackson song was his 1991 single "Black or White" from his eighth studio album Dangerous. He declared in the lyrics: "It don't matter if you're black or white" and "I ain't second to none." It also featured morphing animation for the first time in a music video, which seamlessly transformed human faces from various races, symbolizing the celebration and appreciation of diversity.

50 Years since the Beatlemania in Las Vegas

Fifty years ago today, the Beatles played two concerts at the Las Vegas Convention Center on August 20, 1964. It was their first and only visit to Las Vegas.

Interestingly, in spite of the Beatles' surging fame oversea, the establishments on the Las Vegas Strip back then could care less about a band that was perceived to be popular with teenagers. So the city did not extend the red carpet welcome. However, the kids knew better than the casino bosses and their parents, recognizing something new and exciting; the shows were sold out. The rest was history. Some audience to the shows would later become prominent figures themselves. For example, Shelley Berkley was elected as a U.S. congresswoman, representing Nevada's 1st congressional district from 1999 to 2013.

Now, we even have a Cirque du Soleil show Love, a theatrical production since 2006, which combines the music of the Beatles with a circus-based stage performance played at The Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Postcard US-2293200 to Japan shows the cover of With The Beatles, the second studio album by the Beatles released on November 22, 1963. The cover photograph was taken by the fashion photographer Robert Freeman. It held the top music chart spot for 21 weeks and served as a prelude of the British invasion that led to the Beatles' first live US television performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, watched by 73 million viewers or 34%  of the U.S. population in February, 1964, and a 30-concert tour of 23 cities, including the stop in Las Vegas, in August, 1964.

Greatest Show on Earth

Fifty eight years ago, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closed its very last "Big Tent" show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 16, 1956. According to Wikipedia, after World War II, the audience, whose tastes were influenced by movies and televisions, moved away from the circus performances. On the other hand, while crowds dwindled, the production costs had increased, which resulted in what an article in Life magazine observed "a magical era had passed forever." All subsequent circus shows have been held indoor and performed at arenas .

Featured postcard was made from replica of a vintage poster "The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth," c. 1899, billed as the world's largest, grandest, best amusement institution. It offers a general view of the twelve colossal water proof canvas pavilions. Credit to Library of Congress.

The U.S. Postal Service issued Vintage Circus Posters Commemorative stamps early this year on May 5, 2014,

Vintage Circus Poster

The U.S. Postal Service just issued Vintage Circus Posters Commemorative stamps on May 5, 2014,
featuring eight designs of early 20th-century circus poster art that showcased eye-catching imagery of stunts, performers, and animals. However, the unveiling ceremony of stamps had drawn protests from PETA and other animal welfare organizations, marking the change of times.

Unfortunately a day before on Sunday, May 4, 2014, an accident occurred during the aerial performance at the 11 a.m. Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus show in Providence, Rhode Island, resulting serious injures to 11 performers. The initial assessment indicated that failure from a single piece of equipment - failed clamp - caused the incident. It is troubling to learn no redundancy of safety measure was built in. While we accept the inherited risks from those circus acts and appreciate the dedications from the circus performers, there are lessons to be learned so that the similar failures would not happen again, with the highlight of other recent circus accidents.

Outgoing postcard US-2776555 to Germany shows a vintage circus poster for the Greatest Shows on Earth by Barnum and Bailey Circus, featuring a trapees act. Credit to Library of Congress. The postcard was purchased from Zazzle.com.

Jubilee! Returns without "!"

Postcard US-2232207 to Turkey shows Jubilee!, a long-running burlesque show at Bally's Las Vegas that was initially opened on July 31, 1981 by producer Donn Arden. Those iconic showgirls highlight the best in costumes, set, and talent of the old Las Vegas.

While an enduring legacy, however, the show had been challenged by the changing tastes of new generations. The show went into hiatus for six weeks earlier this year while Frank Gatson Jr., known as Beyonce’s longtime creative director, went to overhaul the show. The new version of Jubilee! reopen as "Jubilee" on March 29, 2014. While the jury is still out on the success of the revision, only the time will tell. Go see the show and judge for yourself.

"Sirens of TI" Permanently Closed

Outgoing postcard US-2651118 to Lithuania shows the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino with its iconic pirate ships. The long-running pirate show “Sirens of TI” show was closed on October 21, 2013 as noted in my previous blog. However, rather than a temporary closure as it was originally announced,  The show had been permanently canceled. According to a Las Vegas Review Journal article, it caught the cast and crew members by surprised. We will certainly miss the show. Good luck to all the cast and crew members. You can still watch the show on Youtube.

Panda!

Postcard US-2598763 to Taiwan shows that a charming Panda looks out over a beautiful valley with cranes flying by, created by Birgit Schulz from London, Ontario, Canada. Although unrelated, I was reminded to this card when I saw the crew from Panda!, a new resident show at Palazzo, performing at the Chinatown Plaza in Las Vegas for the Chinese New Year Celebrations today on February 9, 2014.

The new show follows the hero’s journey of a panda Long Long, trying to save his girl peacock princess from evil. Director An Zhao, who had involved in directing the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, said in a news release: "We've taken two of China's national treasures, pandas and kung fu, and illuminated them in a visually stunning production that tells an unforgettable and timeless story. Our team couldn't be happier to bring this experience to the international audiences Las Vegas is known to attract."

The show's opening was planned for December, 2013 but was delayed by a month due to visa problems. The congressional office of the U.S. Representative Dina Titus was involved to help securing the visa. She was pictured with the Panda! crew at the festival today.

I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy

Postcard US-2325230 received today shows one of 20 stamps released by USPS in 2009, featuring 1950's hit television shows. The retro-style stamps, featuring black-and-white images from the shows "Dragnet," "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Honeymooners," "I Love Lucy," "Lassie," "The Lone Ranger," "Ozzie and Harriet" and "Perry Mason", were designed by Carl Herrman, an artist from Las Vegas, Nevada.

On the postcard, it shows Lucy and Ethel worked in a chocolate factory. They lost their battle with a chocolate assembly line as the machine was going too fast.

Balancing Men by Cirque du Soleil

Balancing Men

I bought this postcard at a Cirque du Soleil show gift shop. It noted: "Balancing Men: the powerful, yet fluid, movements of the Hand-to-Hand act mesmerize audiences with their fusion of strength and grace". However, we were reminded of the real risk in those unreal acts by the recent accidents.

Last week was a bad week for the Cirque du Soleil shows. First, a cast member was injured at Mandalay Bay during “Michael Jackson One” preview on Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The aerial artist was performing the “Stranger in Moscow” routine when he slipped off the slack rope and fell to the stage. Next, on Saturday, June 29, 2013 inside the MGM Grand, performer Sarah Guyard-Guillot in "Ka" died after a 50 feet fall near the end of its 9:30 pm show. Future performances of "Ka" are canceled until further notice.

I went to see "Ka" early last year and Sarah was mostly likely in the show since she had been an original cast member from 2006. I will remember the excitement and determination Sarah and other artists brought to me by taking the risk and turning those seemly impossible acts into reality.