Las Vegas, June 2013- National Geographic: 50 Greatest Photographs

I love National Geographic. My entire childhood the latest issue of the magazine sat on our coffee table on top of our two giant atlases, one of North America and one of the World. My mom loved geography.

Outside of briefly living in Germany and Virginia while my father was in the military, my mom didn't do a lot of traveling. Our family vacation was always to Maui. Not a bad family vacation destination, but it grew old over the years. My mom loved learning about the world and I always felt like she wished that she had seen more of it. She passed her love of the world along to me.

The monthly arrival of National Geographic was always an exciting mail day. When I was in elementary school, she subscribed to National Geographic World (in addition to National Geographic) a magazine for kids. One year, they ran a geography quiz contest with new questions in the magazine every month. My mom helped me discover the answers on our atlases. The contested ended up being a prize raffle for all of the kids who had the correct answers and although I didn't win, my name was put on a pull-out map in the magazine featuring all of kids that had the correct answers. One of my best friends also had his name on the map! Good memories.

When I think of National Geographic, I think of my mom and exploring amazing things with her from our couch. I was really excited to discover that the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas was hosting a National Geographic photography exhibit. The exhibit showcases what editors have picked as the fifty best or more iconic photographs.

We bought discount tickets to the exhibition at the Tix4Tonight booth in the Town Square Mall. The regular admission price is eighteen a ticket. The exhibit is amazing and wonderful, but not worth a full price admission.

Our tickets to National Geographic's 50 greatest Photos — Our tickets to *National Geographic's 50 greatest Photos*

We arrived late on a Friday, mid-afternoon and the exhibition was very quiet. We never had to wait to view a photo. The exhibition is located across from the Venetian Guest Check-In area, tucked away in a corner and a bit hard to locate. It has a small gift shop, which also serves as the entry to the exhibition.

The exhibition takes place in one big room, which is broken up by dividing walls in the center. The pictures are equally spaced throughout the walls with a small description of each photographed placed below or to the side of the picture.

Lighting is a problem. The lighting in the gallery is all fixed to enhance the photograph, which is great, however, in more than one case, it was too dark to read the information about the photograph. I felt like I was cheated on the experience. They should fix the lighting or hand out mini flashlights. Bring a mini flashlight, trust me.

The photographs are all very amazing and some are quite emotional. One that really caught me off guard was a photograph of a child of farmers whose sheep had been killed by a car. The kid is completely wreck with grief. I felt gutted looking at it.

I loved a picture of mountain climbers in a snow storm. They each are wearing a particular bright color, so that they can be easily identified during climbs. The picture showed the guys waiting out a severe storm. They are sitting in the snow and brilliant patches of vibrant pinks, oranges and blues on their outfits are peaking through the thick white.

There was a stomach churning picture of a dead bird and the contents of it's stomach. The bird had consumed all kinds of trash. The quantity of what was in this animal's stomach is mind boggling. They should do an anti-litter advertising campaign with this picture. It was very affecting.

One of my all time favorite photographs was included in the exhibition. It's a photograph of a chimpanzee touching Dr. Jane Goodall's hair. It's a beautiful moment that a photographer happened to capture.

The exhibition included several videos highlighting certain photographs and the photographers that captured the shot. This was the most interesting component of the exhibition.

In particular, I liked hearing the backstory behind a picture of farmers in Australia experiencing a drought. The picture was of a farmer and his children. The farmer was excited to check his fields after they had a rain storm. He was optimistic heading out, but when they arrived at the fields the area was still dry and damaged. The farmer was keeping strong for his two children, ran out around the truck, where the photographer was snapping pictures. She managed to get a candid shot with amazing framing using the truck's mirror. The video component really highlighted the story behind the picture.

As great as the photographs are, I wish that there had been more about the photographers. I find that the story behind the picture is often more interesting that the actual photograph. I wanted more of the journalism and not just the art.

We spent about an hour in the exhibition. I enjoyed viewing the incredible photographs, but was left feeling like the experience was lacking. It was almost as if they just threw the photographs up on the wall, without giving enough attention to the meaning behind the photos or to the photographers. Not terrible, just lacking. It's worth the trip if you can get discount tickets.

Official Information on 50 Greatest Photographs Exhibition

Uncle Larry

Just over a week ago, on April 18th, my uncle passed away after many years of illness and declining health. It's been a rough road. Even though, I'm relieved that he's no longer suffering, I miss him a lot and the absence of his presence has created a huge void.

My father died when I was four and my uncle stepped into the father role for me. He was the master at putting together Barbie Swimming pools and was the only adult interesting in playing Super Mario Brothers with me when I got my Nintendo system for Christmas. He used to sneak away during their annual 4th of July parties to watch the Twilight Zone marathon with me in the bedroom. He took me to the zoo and museums, turning me into someone who enjoys exhibits at a very leisurely pace! He took me for wild rides in golf carts, which I loved. When we went on yearly vacations to Maui, he got right in the waves with me and helped me build sand castles. My uncle was a lot of fun.

I carved my first and only jack-o-lantern of my childhood with my uncle. It was something that my mom just never had me do (and honestly, something that I don't enjoy as an adult) and close to Halloween, they had a pumpkin patch at the Newport Fashion Island Mall. We brought one home and my uncle helped me carve it..sort of....it turned out, he got so excited to help with the pumpkin, that he did it all himself and I watched! Then, he told us to store it on our patio for the week leading up to Halloween. It turned completely moldy and fell apart when we tried to pick it up!

Uncle Larry with the pumpkin as i supervise!

Leaving the pumpkin on the patio may have been awful advice, but it was the exception. My uncle loved to dispense advice, especially financial. As an adult, I can appreciate it and luckily, a lot of it stuck. However, being on the receiving end of long-winded financial conversations was not fun for a kid. I learned to get crafty about changing the subject or ducking out of the room in time to save myself from torture!

One time, I gave my uncle a bit of advice that turned into a favorite family story. We were on a trip to Maui and I went with my uncle swim suit shopping. I was about six and sitting outside the dressing room as he tried on suit after suit. My uncle was not known to be a quick shopper, often doing a lot of comparing and usually experiencing buyers remorse with every purchase. Finally, I got fed up with the swim suit shopping and told him to "Just buy it Uncle Larry". It worked and became a family phrase.

My uncle had many heart attacks and surgeries over the years and we were very lucky to have him with us for so long. I feel grateful that he was well enough to go on so many wonderful vacations with my aunt, including a big trip Europe. I've spent a lot of time this week going through pictures and it has made things easier to remember all of the fun times.

I also feel grateful that my uncle was well enough to walk me down the aisle in 2004. It was so important to me to have my uncle in my wedding, that we actually pushed the wedding date forward after my uncle had a health scare. Even though my marriage ended in divorce, I still hold close to my heart having my uncle there and also having him do the father-daughter dance with me to Sinatra's You Make Me Feel So Young. My uncle was fantastic dancer.

He loved to watch old westerns and had tons of battered Louis L'Amour novels. The last museum trip I made with him was to the Gene Autry Western Heritage in 2004. It was right up his alley.

This week, I've heard a lot of funny stories about my uncle, from my aunt and family friends. He had a lot of people who loved him and will miss him.

He loved to talk to and meet new people. He was very friendly, chatty and curious.

I'm not sure if I believe in heaven, however, if my uncle is there, he has surely not made it through the pearly gates. He has been too busy having a beer and cracking jokes with St. Peter, holding up the rest of the line!

Fun photo booth pictures with my aunt. This is how i think of my aunt and uncle- both slightly goofy and completely in love. They had so much fun together.

At the Maui Tropical Plantation

Christmas a few years ago.

Your Noise Makes Me Scream

I have noisy neighbors. Technically, they are not our direct neighbors, as they live on the other side of a brick wall at the end of our driveway. All of the neighbors that live in my complex are quiet. Often, they are so quiet, that I forget that I even have neighbors. There are kids that live in the house next door and I've never heard them, not once and we have a shared wall. My neighbors rock. Quietly.

Back to the neighbors across the wall...they like to have parties. Big parties, noisy parties. Exceedingly loud parties. These parties usually take place every single weekend in the summer.

As far as I can tell, there are one of two scenarios going on. First, these people have a very large extended family and hold every possible family gathering at this location. The second, they rent out their backyard to other families. I feel like the second might be a distinct possibility, as they always have the same DJ, tons of tables and equipment and a bouncy house. This is a semi-professional set up that these people have going on.

Much to my horror, last weekend, we watched as they rigged up an enormous blue tarp, essentially covering their entire backyard. Then, around six on Saturday evening, the loud, thumping music started up and the noise didn't die until around two am. This leads me to believe, that they are planning on doing these parties year round. Ugh.

I've called the police on them. Numerous times. All of my neighbors have called too. These parties have been going on for years. The police check it out, the music temporarily dies down and then it kicks back up again. They police have fined them and they are willing to pay. They just don't care. The police are exasperated, but apparently have their hands tied. I'm not sure what the next step is, besides maybe taking it to the city council.

I think what get my goat the most, is the utter lack of respect for the neighbors. This isn't just a little extra noise. I can clearly hear all of the music and talking with my windows and doors closed. I can hear it above the sounds of my television. In the past, it's been so loud, that my windows rattled. The amplification echoes down our driveway. They don't tone it down as the evening gets later, if anything, they get louder. The kids in the bouncy house are allowed to screech and scream, even past midnight. I've never had any of my direct neighbors make noise like this, not even when they have BBQ parties on their patios.

As a kid, my mom made me very aware of noise and being respectful of those around me. When I had a bunch of friends over for a party in junior high, she made me walk around and hand out letters to all of the neighbors, informing them of the party, with our phone number, in case we got too loud. Even with that, I was told to make sure we kept the volume down and the party ended around eight.

I remember playing with a friend in Maui, we were running up and down the halls of our condo complex, playing tag. A woman came out of her home and nicely asked us to play elsewhere, because we were making too much noise and she had a sleeping baby. She was right. There is a time and place for noise and there is an appropriate level of what's acceptable. It's not acceptable to bother neighbors, even as a kid, I understood this concept. We took our game away from the homes and to the big lawn out back.

We live in close proximity to our neighbors. It's unfair to expect everyone to put up with your extra loud party. If you want to throw them, you should move to where you have more land. It's the breaks of living in a densely populated community.

There are many other places that noise levels drive me nut.

This may be easier said than done, but people should refrain from public arguments. This last weekend, I witnessed an older couple in a screaming fit at the concession stand at AMC. They continued to walk into the theater, yelling the whole way. Okay, take a step back, leave the theater and talk out your issues. The world does not need to be involved in your personal matters.

People who talk in movies should be pelted with Junior Mints and tossed out. Cell phone are in clear violation, including texting, which is noise on the eyes. Unless it's a screening specific for parents with babies (as some theaters are doing, mommy matinees- which is a great idea, keeps everyone happy) it's never appropriate to bring a baby. Sorry, it's just not. A baby can't help it if they start to cry and in a movie, that's just rude. A parent can't get out of the room fast enough to avoid a disturbance, it's like a ringing cell phone. I wasn't taken to my first movie until my mom knew that I could sit through it silently. I don't mind if a young child (or even an adult) blurts something out in surprise or excitement, but this should be an exception in a movie theater, not constant yammering or in inability to sit still.

People should never have loud or prolonged cell conversations in public, especially indoors, like at a restaurant or in line at Starbucks. It's so annoying and not in the least bit private as everyone is listening.

People who use their phones at the gym right in front of the "No Cell Phone" sign, should have their cell phone smashed and membership revoked, courtesy of me.

I absolutely loathe loud talking in zoos. I was taught that zoos should be treated like libraries with inside voices and whispers. You're visiting the animal's house, have some respect. Plus, speaking from experience gained through working at a zoo, quiet moments are when the animals are most active.

If the music in your car is loud enough to drowned out the music in my car, then you need to turn it down.

Your noise makes me want to scream. However, I am polite enough to refrain from adding to the noise pollution problem.

So, besides ranting about the issue. what is to be done? Right now, we are at the point where we are considering an investment in Super Soakers and rotten eggs. I've been working on my aim.

Anyone else out there have a similar issue with noisy neighbors? Any solutions for a peaceful resolution?