"Noam Chomsky Announces Las Vegas Residency"

"'I'm so excited—I've been into Chomsky since college,' said 49-year-old Boise, ID social worker Karen Wenning, who is planning a trip to Las Vegas next month to see the social critic's lavish new production. 'It'll be incredible to hear him denounce transnational corporate power live and in person. I just really hope he does some of his early stuff from American Power And The New Mandarins and Counter-Revolutionary Violence: Bloodbaths In Fact And Propaganda. That stuff is classic.'"

From The Onion.

I Know Why the Vegas Bantam Subway Pinup Sat by the Door

The New York Times reports the deaths of photographer Bunny Yeager, graphic designer Massimo Vignelli, publisher Oscar Dystel, writer Sam Greenlee, entertainer Bob Bailey, and writer Maya Angelou.

"Like Liberace Turned Inside Out"

"Moss, a onetime professional sports gambler, opened the bar on a blighted side street. The first five years were roughhouse—pool cues got swung, faces got bloodied. Moss and his small staff dreamed up bizarre gimmicks to draw in customers, from $20 'puke insurance' to an ill-advised come-on called Toothless Tuesdays, when having two successive missing teeth got you a free beer. The end came not long after one numskull patron let another pull a tooth with a pair of pliers right there at the bar—just for the booze."

John M. Glionna in the Los Angeles Times talks with P Moss, the owner of the Double Down Saloon in Las Vegas.

How I Wish That There Were More Than the Twenty-Four Hours in the Day

"Rolling Stone's senior editor Jonathan Ringen, in for the weekend, made what even a few years ago would have been a stunning observation from a rock magazine about Vegas in 2010. 'Las Vegas is easily one of the best live music towns in America, and this weekend was perfect evidence of that. In just one weekend, you could check out Weezer at a tiny venue, the Matador blowout, Van Morrison and the Dukes of September [both at Hard Rock Casino]. Outside of New York and Los Angeles, there's nowhere in America with that much variety.'"

In the Los Angeles Times, Richard Abowitz observes the embrace of Las Vegas and alternative music.

I Wish My Brother George Was Here

"For baby boomers, Liberace was a threat to the hip authenticity they fought so hard to forge out of the coffin of their parents’ polite society. For the next generation, mine, Liberace was a baffling mystery—we were supposed to make fun of him but we didn’t know why. Growing up, I wasn't even sure who Liberace was, and his Las Vegas home was just down the street from mine. The children of the ’80s were simply told that Liberace was a farce, a clown. His was the most embarrassing of all professions—an entertainer."

In The Smart Set, Stefany Anne Golberg laments the closing of the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas.

"We Buy Weird Things"

"One thing that has changed, somewhat distressingly, is that fans constantly interrupt the business of the pawn shop to offer a compliment or ask for a picture. This happens repeatedly as Rick tries to negotiate with a man from Utah over a $4,000 Winchester rifle. Whether it's stamps or the obscurities of Americana or the history of European firearms, Rick Harrison sounds more like a museum curator discussing his wares than a pawnbroker."

Richard Abowitz in the Los Angeles Times visits the Las Vegas shop owners of the reality show Pawn Stars.

"Nothing Less Than Manufacturing Urban Density From Scratch"

In the LA Weekly, Steve Friess and Hugh Hart visit Las Vegas' new CityCenter.

Bread, Roses, and Chips

The Los Angeles Times runs obituaries for musician Larry Knechtel, radical lawyer Doris Brin Walker, and Las Vegas casino owner Frank Fertitta, Jr.

"A Living 8-by-10 Glossy"

Douglas Martin in The New York Times writes an obit for singer Robert Goulet.