Why So Blu?

Blu-ray, Las Vegas and the Economy

If the title of this post did not intrigue you, then I am sorry to say that you are not alive.  I am just kidding.  I recently just returned from a business/vacation trip to Las Vegas.  If there is a heaven on Earth, then Las Vegas is that to me.  As usual, I did not want to come back to the harsh winter climate of Cleveland, Ohio.  Despite the few days of below normal temperatures out in Las Vegas, I can always find ways to have a good time out there.  I think God played a joke on me as he literally took what I said out of context.  I told my wife that I wanted to stay in Vegas and not go back.  How was my wish dealt with?  Try an 8-hour plane delay on for size and see if you like.  In typical Continental fashion, as of late for me, my scheduled flight was cancelled due to engine failure.  Gulp!  Don’t get me wrong…I would rather there be a delay then to find out about the problem in mid-air flight, but I can’t seem to win as of late with travel plans.  Anyway, my travel mishaps are beside the point.  What were we talking about?  Oh yeah…Blu-ray, Las Vegas and the economy!

Are you as tired as I am at flipping on the news every night only hear nothing but horrible news about the mortgage crisis, foreclosures, rising unemployment numbers and more?  If you are human, then I think I already know the answer to that one.  Besides, that question was kind of rhetorical anyway.  Well nowhere was the impact of our lackluster economy more evident than in my recent trip to heaven, I mean Vegas.  Not only is Blu-ray still not the prevailing format out there, but there are hardly any places besides Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Fry’s and Target that you can actually find a Blu-ray disc in.  Any places that would have sold Blu-ray discs on the strip such as Virgin Mega Store have sadly all been closed.  I don’t even understand how FAO Schwartz can stay in business out there.  It really baffles me.  But don’t worry.  To make up for the lack of Blu-ray presence out there you can still get a $45 helping of gelato in Caesar Palace’s Forum.

Anyway, let’s get back to the economy and its impact on Vegas.  I can honestly say that this was the first time there was ever an empty seat on flights going back and forth from Cleveland to Vegas.  Could it be a sign of the times?  I truly think so.  I even heard people make the same comments on the plane ride out there.  No place is the television news more depressing than in Vegas.  If it was not about a murder or Tiger Woods, then it was about home foreclosures and casino closings.  I could not even count on both hands how many casino construction efforts on the Strip were completely frozen and/or abandoned.  It was such a sad site to see in my heavenly garden.  To make matters worse I could not even eat at my favorite restaurant in the Excalibur, the Regale.  The Italian restaurant I frequent every time during my yearly visits was only opened on Friday and Saturday evenings now.  Unfortunately I did not find this out until Monday.  My procrastination cost me my favorite meal out there.  I guess my wife is right.  Who wants to go to Excalibur any more?  How sad.

OK…let’s get back to talking about Blu-ray.  I have a good one for you.  So my wife and I were given to free tickets to the XBurlesque show at the Flamingo Hilton.  As we were sitting there anxiously waiting for the show to begin I thought about what an excellent opportunity it would be to capture a live show like this on the Blu-ray format.  I barely imagined those thoughts on the tip of my brain cells as a voice came over the loudspeaker announcing the availability to take pictures with the girls after the show and the opportunity to purchase two different DVDs, which captured the live performance.  Why do I mention this?  Get this…it gets better.  They tried to market the DVDs as High-Definition.  The announcer said the show was captured in all its High-Definition glory (obviously using Hi-Def cameras) and is now available to own on DVD.  Well excuse me for this interruption, but doesn’t putting it on DVD defeat the whole purpose of capturing something in High-Definition?  I understand the rationale that not everyone owns or prefers Blu-rays, but throw a man a bone here.  Would a Blu-ray not make it a most excellent souvenir to bring home?  I thought so!

And while we are on the subject of Blu-ray, I cannot forget our trip to Fry’s Electronics.  Our site editor, Gregg, had never been to one and we seized the opportunity to visit the store in Vegas.  We don’t have these luxuries in Cleveland, Ohio.  That’s yet another strike.  Vegas 2, Cleveland 0 (but who’s keeping score…I am!).  I was not impressed by the selection and prices within the store, but I did see some titles on Blu-ray you definitely can’t walk into Best Buy and find.  I think you know where I am going with this.  I was just surprised to not only see the titles available on Blu-ray, but also within a kid’s reach.  Oh well.  It is Vegas after all!

Despite some inconveniences and minor speed bumps in the road during my most recent trip to Vegas I still had a blast.  It gave me a chance to meet up with some long distance friends as well as make some new ones.  I unfortunately missed Alice in Chains (I still can’t believe that one) while out there, but I had a good time nonetheless.  Anytime you can come back from Vegas monetarily ahead you know your trip was a success.  I even learned a new game…Pai Gow!  So that’s my report on the state of the economy, Blu-ray and Las Vegas.  Thanks for reading!