American Idol stuck in a rut

I think I've hit on one thing that really needs to be changed on American Idol. The judges need a vocabulary transplant. I can't believe how many times they gush "amazing," "beautiful," "you nailed it," and "we love you because..."

Come on. You guys are entertainers. Surely you can come up with some creative adjectives. How about plugging those expressions into the online Thesaurus to get some alternatives.

Lots of people say they miss Simon's actual critiques although sometimes he was pretty snarky. Still he tried to give real world advice to the contestants and rarely used all of the superlatives above. Now when Randy tries to say something of value, the audience boos.

Gotta say, I think I prefer the format of The Voice.

Guest blogging

I've been doing a lot of guest blogging lately. It is a great way to reach out to new audiences and familiarize them with what you do. I've been fortunate to meet some great bloggers who have invited me to share information with their readers.

Today I'm visiting Bob Sanchez and talking about writing creative non-fiction. That almost seems like an oxymoron, but it isn't. It is the art of embellishing true stories or incidents with bits of exaggeration or info that---well,  isn't quite the truth but generally based in truth.

Anyway, it is a very interesting genre to work with. My upcoming novel, Confessions of a Cougar, is a good example as are a few of the stories in my new collection of short stories, The MAFIA FUNERAL and Other Short Stories, now available in Kindle and paperback. The title story in Mafia Funeral is about 95% true--I know because the character Sue was actually me. See the yellow car on the cover? It was like a daisy in a black sea. Our yellow Pontiac convertible and 40 black limousines for the mobsters who flew in for this funeral in an off-duty police escorted procession to the cemetery. You can bet people driving the freeway that day rubbernecked.

Likewise, for another story in the collection, the award-winning story, The Second Time Around is the story of when my former mother-in-law remarried her first husband 36 years after they were divorced and she had to figure out how to tell my husband his "dead" father was alive and kicking. The wedding scene could not have been funnier if written by a comedy screenwriter for a movie. I've been told it would make a great movie or TV comedy.

Creative non-fiction can really be fun as well as a walk down Memory Lane. Since you are the director of this tale, you can yell "cut" whenever you want to or slide in a rewrite of what actually happened, tweaking it to be the way you would have liked it to be.

Looking through my photos for this post, I came across this one. Now this could be the basis for a fun story--the time Phyllice and I got to go inside an Oscar Meyer Weenie Wagon. We both were given "weenie whistles" as a memento of our visit.

Have fun and visit Bob Sanchez/ blog to read what I have to say about creative non-fiction. Comments welcome. http://bobsanchez1.blogspot.com/

MY VISIT TO THE LAS VEGAS MOB MUSEUM

Mike Doria greeted me and welcomed me to the Museum on Monday, February 28

Next I met with Executive Director, Jonathan Ullman

I met with Mike and Jonathan Ullman, the Executive Director of the new Las Vegas Mob Museum and former Channel 5 newscaster Mike Doria who is now Public Relations Specialist for the Museum to interview them for my column in the Las Vegas edition of www.examiner.com. 

This Post Office Building is now the Mob Museum

Okay, right about this time you're probably asking yourself, "What's so special about a museum dedicated to the history of Las Vegas mobs?" Well, the first thing you learn upon entering this historic former Post Office building is that it's not just about Las Vegas. This museum covers the history of organized crime in the entire United States dating back to the early 1900's. Back to the New York, Chicago and Cleveland gangs before Las Vegas was ever more than a wide spot in the road populated by ranchers and earlier pioneers in the business that eventually grew here. They were riding horses down the streets while crime burgeoned in the Midwest and on the East Coast.

When the Museum, which was in the planning stages for many years, was conceived they assembled a world class team to design and implement it. The moment you step into the building and take the elevator to the third floor where the experience begins, you are presented some of the best displays I've seen in a museum. The designs are dynamic, the material comprehensive and educational, but presented in very entertaining ways.

It opened, appropriately on St. Valentine's Day this year. One of the first things I learned was that the St. Valentine's Day massacre happened in Chicago's Lincoln Park. I'm from Chicago and visited the park often as a child, but I never knew that it was the site of one of the bloodiest days in Mob history. 

On the second floor you enter the courtroom where Senator Estes Kefauver. who eventually ran for President of the United States, held some of his famous 1950s hearings on Organized Crime. Settle into a seat on the bench while you watch a 3 screen presentation with authentic footage.

Then there is the opportunity to learn little known facts, like this one: Eunice Carter was the first African American female prosecutor on DA Thomas Dewey's staff. Dewey's claim to fame was fighting Mobs. What she uncovered was huge, and laid the groundwork for the prosecution of Lucky Luciano, but how many people would ever know her name or her groundbreaking assent into  Dewey's staff? Mr. Dewey eventually ran for President of the United States and it was assumed he'd won. Newspaper headlines proclaimed his win, but it was soon discovered that he did not.

I found out that our former President Ronald Reagan performed with a short-lived chimpanzee act at the Last Frontier in 1954 when his acting career was at a low ebb. This intrigued me, so I investigated further on the internet and discovered that he also danced with The Honey Brothers, a team of slapstick comedians, during an engagement at the Last Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas on Feb. 15, 1954.

Jane and Sue

This new Mob Museum covers so much that is woven into the history of our country, you really need a minimum of three hours to check out the exhibits.I would have liked to take as long as four or five hours to see and experience everything, from the interactive exhibits, to the photo galleries, first floor exhibits that highlight the work undercover FBI agents did through the years and video interviews with mobsters and agents alike. Find out what it's like to listen to actual wiretaps and what went into undercover agents infiltrating the mobs.

On the way out, I chatted with Gift Store Director Sue Reynolds and the Receiving Manager, Jane Carter about what people can find in the gift shop. Jane was quick to tell me that even if you don't tour the Museum, the shop is open to the public so whether you are a Las Vegas local or tourist, this is where you can find unique gifts and a great collection of books all in one place. 

The place to find books

Among the books, I found many by people I know or have interviewed for my Examiner columns. Cop Tales by former Metro officer Randy Sutton, who was the most decorated, books by true crime author Dennis Griffin like Surviving the Mob, Cullotta, and The Battle for Las Vegas, Undercover FBI agent Jack Garcia's book, Making Jack Falcone, and the most recently released book Vegas Rag Doll by former mob wife Wendy Mazaros. There is a morbid fascination surrounding Organized Crime and this is the place to learn all about what it was really like as opposed to the glitzed up movie and TV versions.

Trust me, I will go back again! 

That's all for now.  MORGAN

Author Wendy Mazaros wows 40 Plus-Just Us Girls in Las Vegas

At the end of the year I joined a great MeetUp group in Las Vegas - 40+ Just Us Girls in Las Vegas. They do all kinds of neat things and the women are all ages groups and professions.

I'd offered to set up a talk and book signing by my friend, "Vegas Rag Doll," Wendy Mazaros. Well, Wendy talked about her life as a 15 year old runaway who got involved with the Binion family and ultimately the Mob, how she finally broke the cycle and so much more. It in her book "Vegas Rag Doll." We had great attendance and everyone was blown away by Wendy -- she was engaging, open to talking about some very hard things and emphatic that she wants to reach out to runaways so they don't experience what she did.

Everyone brought food, drinks and so forth and I provided my home for the talk. By clearing the table out of the breakfast nook, and putting it on the patio for the evening, I was able to set up enough seating for 30 people to easily see and listen to Wendy. But, oh the food. We had enough to feed and army and have some left over.

We started the evening by just socializing and you know how women talk...and talk...and talk. Everyone made sure to visit the dining room table with the amazing variety of food. Some knew each other and others met for the first time.

Wendy circulated among everyone and many of the women had already read her book and were armed with questions, which she answered until her voice gave out.

Then people chose their chairs, and several of the "lucky" ones were able to snag seats on one of the two sofas while they anticipated hearing all about Wendy's life.

I was so happy I was able to set it up and mega thanks to Wendy for a wonderful insight to what it was like to walk in her shoes and be able to rebuild a life she can be proud of.

Only in Las Vegas

Ready for a good laugh and a whodunit filled with twists, turns and backfires?

Vanishing Act in Vegas, the latest Silver Sisters Mystery is so much fun, I decided to share the chapter where Flossie and Sterling Silver, the twins' 80-year-old mother and uncle decide to "go undercover." Former vaudeville magicians, themselves, they know they can talk their way backstage at the Glitz Palace and pull off a little investigation. If you would like to read the rest of this fun-filled whodunit, you can find it at Amazon, many online bookellers or order it from your favorite local bookstore. This is CHAPTER 13.

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CHAPTER 13

At nine-thirty the next morning Flossie stood behind a pillar in the lobby and watched her twin daughters leave the elevator arm in arm. She smiled to herself as she marked the contrast in their fashion sense: Godiva in her stylish taupe pantsuit and Goldie in her eclectic layers of castoffs.

Flossie often told herself the difference in her girls’ personalities was written in the stars. Even though they entered the world only an hour-and-a-half apart, in the realm of astrology that meant a lot. By being born on different days, in different months, different years and even different decades, their aspects were poles apart. Flossie shook her head. Boy that was some New Year ’s Eve, the night they were born.

The twins exited through the main doors, climbed into the waiting limo and were whisked away to the Whopping World of Antiques Expo. When she was sure the girls had gone, Flossie sidled up to the concierge desk. The woman on duty said, “Good morning, Ma’am, my name is Margie. How can I help you?”

Flossie flashed a sweet smile. “Hello dear, I was just admiring your beautiful hairdo, what a vibrant shade of magenta.”

“Why, thank you Ma’am. May I assist you with tour information, show tickets, dinner reservations? It’s my job to help you sort out all the possibilities.”

“Yeah, it can sure make your head spin,” said Flossie. “What Ideally would like is a recommendation for a good breakfast place. Somewhere near the Glitz Palace, if possible.”

Margie smiled broadly. “Oh, you’ve gotta go to the Peppermill. It’s incredible! All the locals go there. It’s farther up the Strip—right across Las Vegas Boulevard from the Glitz Palace.”

Flossie’s mind raced. Right across the street? What could be better? “Thanks for the tip, dear,” the old woman said over her shoulder. She bustled away to find Sterling and talk him into her plan.

Flossie dragged her brother-in-law out of his room while he was still wiping the shaving cream from his chin, and hustled him to the elevator. “Listen, Sterling, instead of making that limo driver wait for us while we eat an overpriced breakfast here at the hotel, I’ve got a better idea.” She pointed toward the concierge desk. “That cute girl with the day-glo hair—her name is Margie—said we shouldn’t miss eating at the Peppermill. So, why don’t we take the limo there instead? We can have our young man come back for us after we eat. I’ll call him on that cell phone Godiva gave me.”

Sterling narrowed his eyes and harrumphed. “Okay, old girl. I know you wouldn’t wait for that first cup of coffee just to check out this Pepper Pot place.”

“Peppermill.”

“Pepper, schmepper. Don’t dodge the question. What are you up to? Spill the beans.”

Caught in her attempt to pull the wool over his eyes, Flossie played it straight. “Okay, you got me,” she pouted. “Here’s the deal, Sterling. That restaurant is right across the street from the Glitz Palace. Now, I’ll bet the girls told the chauffeur to be careful where he takes us. I wouldn’t even put it past those watchdogs to tell him the Glitz is off limits.”

Sterling rolled his eyes. “Wait a minute! Something tells me we’re about to bite off more than we can chew.”

“Well, I want to find out more about how that poor boy died, don’t you?”

Sterling hesitated as he scratched his chin. “Hmmm, yes, darn it. I’m very curious about the way that body fell. Something was off, and it couldn’t hurt for us to poke around a bit.”

She nodded. “So we’ll eat a quick breakfast, then go across the street to the Glitz. Ask around, see what we can find, and hot-foot it back to the Peppermill where we call the driver to pick us up. That way, no one’s the wiser. If we find anything out, then we tell the girls what we did. If not, our lips are sealed. Piece of cake.”

He patted her on the shoulder. “I think you’re right. That Floyd fellow won’t think anything about taking us to a coffee shop. Particularly if it’s known to be a good place for breakfast. But, just keep your trap shut about the Glitz Palace, okay?”

“Oy vey, Sterling, don’t you have any faith in me? Do you think I’ll get on the P.A. system and broadcast our mission? My lips are sealed. But before I seal them, I’ve got an idea.”

Sterling folded his arms across his chest. “I can’t wait to hear it.”

“Well, you know I brought that whole bag full of costumes. I’ll go back to the room and put a couple of them in that big flowered tote bag Goldie gave me.” She rubbed her hands together.“We can try to get backstage in disguise. Say we’re an opening act or something.”

Before he could protest, Flossie pushed Sterling Silver into a cushy chair. “Why don’t you sit here in the lobby and wait for Floyd? Tell him I’ll be down in a few minutes.” She flashed her dentures, and hoped it was a seductive smile.

A big grin tweaked the corners of the elderly man’s mouth. “Gotta hand it to you, old girl. You may not get it right all the time, but you sure keep that thinking cap on.”

“You betcha. I may be pushing eighty, but I’m not ready for the rocking chair yet. Still got plenty of good tread on these old tires. We’ll be in and out before the girls are any wiser.”

He nodded. “Then can we have the driver take us over to the Liberace Museum for the rest of the day? I want to see all of those costumes of Lee’s. I’ve heard it’s quite a display. He sure knew how to dress.”

“Yeah, he was a nice guy, too. Remember back in 1978 when Harry was still alive?”

“You mean when we were appearing at the Flamingo?”

 “Yes! We took the night off to see Lee’s show at the Hilton. When he came on the stage wearing those red, white and blue sequined hot pants, riding in a jeweled Rolls Royce, it was—”

“Yeah, he was the consummate showman. No doubt about that. But no long stories, old gal. We’ve got to hustle if we want to do everything today. Go ahead and get that tote bag with the costumes. I’ll wait for the chauffeur.”

􀀮

They settled into the comfortable circular booth and discussed their caper while they waited for their order. “I figure it shouldn’t be that hard to get backstage,” said Sterling. “I’ll find someone I can pump for information. After all, we’ve been in show business most of our lives.”

“Yesiree,” Flossie chirped. “Like I always say, we walk the walk and talk the talk!”

The Peppermill was everything the concierge said it was. There were mirrors on the ceiling, faux dogwood trees forming a canopy above the booths, a fire pit in the bar, waitresses in evening gowns and neon everywhere.

“Eating here is almost like being on stage,” Flossie said, “with bright lights and mirrors and all sorts of schmaltz.”

Sterling was attacking his huge farmer’s omelet. “The only schmaltz I’m interested in right now is here on my plate.” He smacked his lips. “This food is great. It would’ve been worth coming here even if the Glitz Palace wasn’t across the street.”

The oldsters finished their breakfast quickly and went outside. They looked across the wide, teeming boulevard and realized that “just across the street” in Las Vegas translated into a very long trek for seniors. Just then, Sterling spotted a cab dropping off some passengers at the restaurant. Before the driver could pull away, he opened the passenger door and said, “Young man, I’ll give you ten bucks just to drive us across the street to the Glitz. Whadda you say?”

It didn’t take a minute for the driver to answer, “Okay. Hop in old man.” And off they went. Across the street in a cab.

Pigs & Gingerbread---what more could a pig collector want?

Many of you know that I collect pigs in all sizes, shapes and forms from ceramic to stuffed, wood, glass and more. In fact I have over 200 from all over the world. You can see some of them on my webpage, www.morganstjames-author.com.

That said, how could I resist posting the photo of this charming gingerbread house inhabited by the infamous "Three Little Pigs"...however, if they'd really had one like the, the Big Bad Wolf would have eaten it instead of blowing it down.

Just click the link to the article to see a collection of  fabulous creations. Happy holidays! MORGAN

Location: The New York Botanical Garden's 2009 Gingerbread Adventures (Bronx, NY)

For her fairy-tale-themed confection, Cake Power's Kate Sullivan constructed an 18-inch-tall gingerbread house featuring three little pigs and a wolf all made of fondant (the original versions, made of modeling chocolate, melted in the Botanical Garden's greenhouse).http://www.delish.com/entertaining-ideas/holidays/christmas/gingerbread-house-pictures-fw2010

Yesterday @ the L.A. Auto Show

I've been a car buff for years. There's no question that it was more fun when every car had a distinctive look, but even though it's often hard to know what car you're looking at these days, there are still a few standouts.  

Three Morgans---Me and two cars

Of course I was drawn to the Morgan display. Back in the early 80s my then-boyfriend had traded for all kinds of classic cars, and one was a beautiful Morgan that looked much like this one. After it sat in his driveway for months he lifted the tarp only to find that squirrels had eaten the interior. This is a 2003, but is retro and more like the one the squirrels viewed as a feast.

 

Unfortunately so many people were milling around the Cadillac hybrid Ciel convertible concept car , I couldn't get a picture, but here is one I found on the web. It was an eye-catcher. The model at the show was a beautiful bronze metallic. In my estimation, it's sleek styling set it apart from the pack. I looked more like an Italian or German status car. Cadillac says this won't be the design for its new flagship car, but it well could be.

Moving on, I stopped to look at this Ferrari. There's no way it wouldn't turn your head as you cruised along Rodeo or the PCH. As a former interior designer, high peformance cars have always intrigued me. They look more like a beautiful objet d'art than a car.

Hubby particularly liked the A6 Audi, but I found it a bit strange that in this day and age a luxury car with a base price only a few dollars less than $50,000 didn't include a navigator. Other options plus the almost $7,000 package that included a navigator, brought the sticker price for the car at the show to a little over $60,000. Yet, many other manufacturers whose cars had base prices in the low $30,000s included a navigator.

Oh well, Sales 101: I guess if you can get those add-on dollars, go for it. After wandering around the convention center for a few hours looking at cars in every price range, our feet informed us it was time to go home. Since I'm a Mustang owner and aficionado I dragged him to the Ford display to see the 2013 model before we trudged back to our own car.