Give it up to Gordon Biersch, they know how to throw a good party. Last night was no exception as we were treated to a taste of their new brew and some good food.
I used to frequent GB in the SF bay area at their many locations. So it is not surprising that it has recently become my go to spot of choice. It also doesn't hurt that they have one of the best happy hours in town.
Last night was another tapping party, I had been to the Winterbock tapping party a few months back and had a great time. Last night was for their German style HellesBock, a nice hoppy number with ample bitterness, a nice amber in color, clocking in at 28 BPUs and 8% alcohol.
The brewmaster explained they made the beer to pair with the existing menu, as they had just revamped the regular menu and did not roll out a special menu for this particular beer. We enjoyed their tapas appetizer (pita bread with olive tapanad, roasted garlic, sundried tomatoes & hummus), garlic fries and pepperoni pizza at last nights tasting.
Neal (@NealMason) joined me for last nights event and we hung around after it was over, meeting some of the other folks in attendance. Although last night was not as jam packed as the Winterbock tasting, a good time was had by all!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Cirque Mystère Bloggers Night
Las Vegas is a burgeoning social media hub, as casinos and businesses up and down the strip and through out the Las Vegas Valley continue to promote their wares. One of those businesses is Cirque du Soleil (@Cirque), spear headed by social media director Jess Berlin (@JessBerlin). They have been hosting bloggers at their shows for some time now and I finally had the opportunity to attend a show last night.
On a side note, I have been in Vegas for close to 7 years now and I will be living here for the for seeable future. So it may come as a surprise that I have never seen a Cirque show, or any show for that matter, in Vegas. Once you become a local, the strip casinos and it's offerings tend to be a place you go only when you have visitors from out of town.
That being said, I got out of work early, headed home to change and down to Treasure Island early to get some dinner prior to the show and to make an evening out of it. We started at Pho for a nice dinner, before heading over to the box office to meet up with Jess and a large group of other local bloggers.
Once we met up, we found out we would have the opportunity to meet some of the cast members and take photographs prior to the show. That was great, but I was poorly prepared with my phone battery in the red and not having brought even my camera. Luckily a lot of other people had their cameras and I will snag some pictures from someone else later.
After a round of pictures and questions, we headed to the snack bar to load up on some popcorn and soda before heading to our seats. For the next 90 minutes we were treated to an amazing display of arobatics, wonderful music, spattered with bits of slapstick humor and some dance routines.
I am not going to try and get too deep into the show, so much goes on at the same time, it's difficult to take it all in at a single viewing. There is constant movement in multiple parts of the stage, up high, down low, distractions to transition set pieces, yet the transitions in themselves are highly choreographed. I will say though, if like me, you have never seen a Cirque show, you should definetly make it a point to do so.
In speaking with others, most of whom have seen many, if not all of the other Cirque shows in town (Criss Angel Believe, Kà, Love, O, Viva Elvis & Zumanity), we discussed the flow and themes of the show. The general consensus was that this is the most acrobatic of the shows in town and for a number of other bloggers, their favorite.
It was definetly a memorable night and an amazing show and I want to thank Jess again for putting it together and being an awesome host. We definetly look forward to doing it again in the near future.
We wrapped up with some drinks at the Breeze Bar, with about half a dozen of the attendees. As usual we got into the Foursquare (@FourSquare) vs Gowalla (@GoWalla) debate among other topics. But those are for future blogs!
(Title: Green lizard Picture credit: Al Seib)
On a side note, I have been in Vegas for close to 7 years now and I will be living here for the for seeable future. So it may come as a surprise that I have never seen a Cirque show, or any show for that matter, in Vegas. Once you become a local, the strip casinos and it's offerings tend to be a place you go only when you have visitors from out of town.
That being said, I got out of work early, headed home to change and down to Treasure Island early to get some dinner prior to the show and to make an evening out of it. We started at Pho for a nice dinner, before heading over to the box office to meet up with Jess and a large group of other local bloggers.
Once we met up, we found out we would have the opportunity to meet some of the cast members and take photographs prior to the show. That was great, but I was poorly prepared with my phone battery in the red and not having brought even my camera. Luckily a lot of other people had their cameras and I will snag some pictures from someone else later.
After a round of pictures and questions, we headed to the snack bar to load up on some popcorn and soda before heading to our seats. For the next 90 minutes we were treated to an amazing display of arobatics, wonderful music, spattered with bits of slapstick humor and some dance routines.
I am not going to try and get too deep into the show, so much goes on at the same time, it's difficult to take it all in at a single viewing. There is constant movement in multiple parts of the stage, up high, down low, distractions to transition set pieces, yet the transitions in themselves are highly choreographed. I will say though, if like me, you have never seen a Cirque show, you should definetly make it a point to do so.
In speaking with others, most of whom have seen many, if not all of the other Cirque shows in town (Criss Angel Believe, Kà, Love, O, Viva Elvis & Zumanity), we discussed the flow and themes of the show. The general consensus was that this is the most acrobatic of the shows in town and for a number of other bloggers, their favorite.
It was definetly a memorable night and an amazing show and I want to thank Jess again for putting it together and being an awesome host. We definetly look forward to doing it again in the near future.
We wrapped up with some drinks at the Breeze Bar, with about half a dozen of the attendees. As usual we got into the Foursquare (@FourSquare) vs Gowalla (@GoWalla) debate among other topics. But those are for future blogs!
(Title: Green lizard Picture credit: Al Seib)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Affiliate Summit West
Still recovering from CES, ASW10 was right on its heals. I was curious to attend but allergies had me none to motivated, so a few hours Sunday afternoon was the extent of my participation.
I skipped out on all the Saturday evening events, opting to stay home and test drive my new Android OS phone.
On Sunday I attended the "Meet Market" event, which overall was very crowded and not all that usefull. There were just too many people in too small of a space. Dropped off a few business cards, said hello to a few people, but really nothing more than that.
Also, unfortunately the exhibit hall was not fully open until Monday. I was unable to get back there for any amount of time on Monday or Tuesday, thereby cutting this show very short.
I hope to be able to attend this show in the future and give it the time it deserves. This week was just a case of too busy at work, and still too tired from CES to really put in the time.
I skipped out on all the Saturday evening events, opting to stay home and test drive my new Android OS phone.
On Sunday I attended the "Meet Market" event, which overall was very crowded and not all that usefull. There were just too many people in too small of a space. Dropped off a few business cards, said hello to a few people, but really nothing more than that.
Also, unfortunately the exhibit hall was not fully open until Monday. I was unable to get back there for any amount of time on Monday or Tuesday, thereby cutting this show very short.
I hope to be able to attend this show in the future and give it the time it deserves. This week was just a case of too busy at work, and still too tired from CES to really put in the time.
Monday, January 18, 2010
CES 2010 - Day 3
Third for me and final day for the most part... gotta take Sunday off for recovery and to watch some football. But this is the day my better half gets to stop in and check out the goods. She normally has to work OT during heavy conventions, she does tech for the Hotels.
Saturday was chill and swag day, but granted there was not much swag to be had. Did get a nice ice cold Bass beer from the *spreck booth, that was fun. Watched some crazy dude go to town on the DDR machine. The *spreck booth was fun, with lots of gimmicks to keep you coming back to their booth, but mostly iJunk products, which for the most part iIgnore.
Sweep of the South Hall and Central Hall, to once again play with the Samsung Moment, which we finally did purchase. Now it's under the real test... go Android. Still...
Overall I felt CES was fairly a let down this year, nothing all that exciting in terms of new technology, fun stuff for sure, but nothing earth shattering.
At this point, I am into Affilate Summit West and hopefully the rebirth of Beer N Blog Vegas, so let's put CES 2010 behind us!
Saturday was chill and swag day, but granted there was not much swag to be had. Did get a nice ice cold Bass beer from the *spreck booth, that was fun. Watched some crazy dude go to town on the DDR machine. The *spreck booth was fun, with lots of gimmicks to keep you coming back to their booth, but mostly iJunk products, which for the most part iIgnore.
Sweep of the South Hall and Central Hall, to once again play with the Samsung Moment, which we finally did purchase. Now it's under the real test... go Android. Still...
Overall I felt CES was fairly a let down this year, nothing all that exciting in terms of new technology, fun stuff for sure, but nothing earth shattering.
At this point, I am into Affilate Summit West and hopefully the rebirth of Beer N Blog Vegas, so let's put CES 2010 behind us!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
CES 2010 - Day 2
Friday was another late start to the show, but did a through pass of the North Hall and Central Halls. Played with the Samsung Moment for a long time, as it is probably going to be my next phone. Yeah, not too sexy, but an Android, so we will give that OS a try. Was cool that Samsung had not just working phones, but with service, at least the one I tried was live.
Watched some 3D television, a cool demo at the Polaroid booth, yes film is back apparently. 3D X Games & FIFA Soccer trailers at the Sony booth gave me a headache, not sure I will be jumping on the 3D bandwagon anytime soon. Also still have not seen Avatar, on a side note.
Saw some hardware that you hook up to your household appliances, so it can tell you when to run them to save the most money. Kinda cool when I saw the demo, kinda lame to everyone I told about since the show. That was courtesy of Intel.
Had a hideous orange phone case forced at me, not much swag this year. Last year tons of USB keys and Micro SD cards, this year, pens and that was about it. Just as well on Friday I was without my car, so I headed out early.
Next stop was the Las Vegas Hilton for the Tweetup, it went well thanks to their great work, @RobertGaines & the absent @PeterAcero. In addition to the great giveaways for food and stays that the Hilton gives up, @IntlCES kicked in some press bags. Still didn't win one... next year press for sure.
Rounded out the evening at the @LenovoSocial & @GDGT Bloggers Lounge Party, very nice, lots of food and drink. Spent some time with other Las Vegas locals and just enjoyed ourselves.
Watched some 3D television, a cool demo at the Polaroid booth, yes film is back apparently. 3D X Games & FIFA Soccer trailers at the Sony booth gave me a headache, not sure I will be jumping on the 3D bandwagon anytime soon. Also still have not seen Avatar, on a side note.
Saw some hardware that you hook up to your household appliances, so it can tell you when to run them to save the most money. Kinda cool when I saw the demo, kinda lame to everyone I told about since the show. That was courtesy of Intel.
Had a hideous orange phone case forced at me, not much swag this year. Last year tons of USB keys and Micro SD cards, this year, pens and that was about it. Just as well on Friday I was without my car, so I headed out early.
Next stop was the Las Vegas Hilton for the Tweetup, it went well thanks to their great work, @RobertGaines & the absent @PeterAcero. In addition to the great giveaways for food and stays that the Hilton gives up, @IntlCES kicked in some press bags. Still didn't win one... next year press for sure.
Rounded out the evening at the @LenovoSocial & @GDGT Bloggers Lounge Party, very nice, lots of food and drink. Spent some time with other Las Vegas locals and just enjoyed ourselves.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
CES 2010 - Day 1
While I did not make a huge effort to arrive early, I got there in plenty of time to hit a good hunk of the show. First thought, more crowded than last year, but also smaller.
Much like G2E the floor was re-arranged to seem bigger, but really there were fewer exhibits, just more spread out. No Gibson tent, they were palling with Monster Cables in the Central Hall. Monster is usually a South Hall staple.
No gaming stuff in the South Hall, they were relocated to the North along with the iCrap exhibits and a much smaller automotive section. Intel, Microsoft, and most of the big boys were in their usual spots.
I did the quick run through all three halls on Thursday afternoon and a couple double backs to the Central Hall. I would save the in depth looking for Friday & Saturday, plenty of time to browse.
I cut out of the show a bit early on Thursday to meet with a friend, before heading out to Beer N Blog.
Much like G2E the floor was re-arranged to seem bigger, but really there were fewer exhibits, just more spread out. No Gibson tent, they were palling with Monster Cables in the Central Hall. Monster is usually a South Hall staple.
No gaming stuff in the South Hall, they were relocated to the North along with the iCrap exhibits and a much smaller automotive section. Intel, Microsoft, and most of the big boys were in their usual spots.
I did the quick run through all three halls on Thursday afternoon and a couple double backs to the Central Hall. I would save the in depth looking for Friday & Saturday, plenty of time to browse.
I cut out of the show a bit early on Thursday to meet with a friend, before heading out to Beer N Blog.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
CES 2010 - Day 0 Wrap Up
It was a busy day for not much happening other than some meeting up with friends and meeting a few new folks. Hit up Firefly on Paradise for a little pre CES happy hour with some local Beer N Bloggers.
Firefly is always a nice treat and we enjoyed some tapas and a few pitchers of Sangria before I headed out to the Hilton to pick up my badge holder. The stop over was not long there and off to home to kill a couple hours.
Last night was the first of three Lenovo Blogger Lounge nights, co hosted last night by @SocialMediaClub. It was a really nice set up at Aquaknox in the Venitian, great party. It seemed to me that CES is already much more lively this year than last, we will see how the rest of the week plays out.
Met a lot of new folks last night, and hopefully the rest of the week and into the weekend will play out just as well. Today the real work begins!
Firefly is always a nice treat and we enjoyed some tapas and a few pitchers of Sangria before I headed out to the Hilton to pick up my badge holder. The stop over was not long there and off to home to kill a couple hours.
Last night was the first of three Lenovo Blogger Lounge nights, co hosted last night by @SocialMediaClub. It was a really nice set up at Aquaknox in the Venitian, great party. It seemed to me that CES is already much more lively this year than last, we will see how the rest of the week plays out.
Met a lot of new folks last night, and hopefully the rest of the week and into the weekend will play out just as well. Today the real work begins!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
CES Press Day
I have yet to switch my CES affiliation over to blogger as yet. So once again no press day for me, just toiling away at work. My goal for CES 2011 is to be registered as a blogger and get to cover those cool press events. Although much of it is covered online these days, with live streaming etc.
At any rate, today will be spent blogging, finalizing my schedule and other such exciting tasks. Charging cell phone batteries, laptop batteries, camera batteries... trying to keep my payload to a minimum this year though. Just the netbook, two phones and maybe the small camera.
I have both the convenience and annoyance of a car, so who knows what I will throw in the trunk. Besides tons of literature, magazines and whatever swag type stuff the vendors are passing out this year.
Enough ramble, more later.
At any rate, today will be spent blogging, finalizing my schedule and other such exciting tasks. Charging cell phone batteries, laptop batteries, camera batteries... trying to keep my payload to a minimum this year though. Just the netbook, two phones and maybe the small camera.
I have both the convenience and annoyance of a car, so who knows what I will throw in the trunk. Besides tons of literature, magazines and whatever swag type stuff the vendors are passing out this year.
Enough ramble, more later.
Monday, January 4, 2010
New Year, New Methods
Hitting the ground running so far this year, with a big weekend of cooking and a lot of prep work for CES. I am hoping to do a lot of CES blogging this year, definitely a lot of tweeting from @Rally_CES account. Probably going to opt for the smaller mobile blogs that started this particular blog and take it from there.
Also going to try and get serious and start to advertise and eventually monetize this blog. Those also end up becoming de facto resolutions for the new year, let's see how it goes.
CES related blogging should begin Wed after work, with badge pick up and possibly a visit to the Lenovo Blogger Night event. Working on an invite to a Capcom event on Thursday, Friday night we have the Hilton Tweetup and going to be busy.
Can't wait!
Also going to try and get serious and start to advertise and eventually monetize this blog. Those also end up becoming de facto resolutions for the new year, let's see how it goes.
CES related blogging should begin Wed after work, with badge pick up and possibly a visit to the Lenovo Blogger Night event. Working on an invite to a Capcom event on Thursday, Friday night we have the Hilton Tweetup and going to be busy.
Can't wait!
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