Victoria is on a visionary retreat. "Viewpoint on Vegas" returns Monday, July 30th.

THIS WEEK FEATURING: Heavy Honey July 20 at Borders in Summerlin, Las Vegas Paranormal Museum, The Center for Strategic Analysis, Reincarnation, Walter Semkiw, and the Founding Mystics Meeting, Michelangelo Living In Sin City, God Is Not Great, Living Goddess Dethroned, UFO Files Held for Ransom, and more…

"In a world where carpenters get resurrected, anything is possible."
~ The Lion In Winter

Heavy Honey July 20 at Borders in Summerlin. To kick off the last Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows," Borders Bookstore in Summerlin is having a "Harry Potter Book Release Party." Join mohawked London Mace and Vladimir Lacas of HEAVY HONEY for their return appearance at Borders. Other musical guests are Shauna Burns and Killer in Denial. The first band goes on at the stroke of 7 p.m. at Borders Books in Summerlin, Las Vegas, NV.

The party is FREE and all are welcome. Harry's new and last book "Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows" is being released at 12 mid—the witching hour.

The End of Live Singing As We Know It Has Arrived. The London papers are calling it "Enhanced Spice." Those manufactured Spice Girls announced their big reunion tour, but will it be live, or will it be Memorex? The has-been phenomenon plan to use a new high-tech computer program to digitally enhance their voices, reports London's Daily Mail. "When the girls sing out of tune on stage, the mistakes in their voices are instantaneously corrected…to perfect the pitch and tone," the paper said.

The Spice Girls don't need the money, they just love to sing! Spice Girl Geri Halliwell declared, "Money is not an issue. We're doing this because it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a Spice Girl again. Who would turn that down?"

The Spice Girls fake-sing in Las Vegas on December 8th with the venue to be announced.

Las Vegas Paranormal Museum. I visited paranormalist Mike Kurban who has opened—free to the public—his Out of This World Museum in Las Vegas.

Polaroid photo taken by Mike of the Doorway to Heaven during our visit.

And you think you live in a good neighborhood?

The Out of This World Museum began in 1993 by Mike and he has impressive artifacts. Mike has an authentic Ouija Board—not the Parker Bros. board game we all have—as well as other spirit boards and other museum quality spiritualist tools.

Mike has the uncanny ability—though to him quite commonplace—to capture spirits on film. Below on the right is a Polaroid photo I took of Mike outside in his yard. Mike then took the camera and took a photo of John, who had retreated outside due to Mike's cats, Psychic and Angel. John was quite amazed since those figures in the window where not there when he got up!

     
Contact Mike on his Myspace page at www.myspace.com/thirdeyemike or for a reading or other information call 702-457-1377.

The Center for Strategic Analysis. With my encouragement, founder Patrick Boylan will join VegasCommunityOnline.com as a weekly columnist. We have known Pat and his wife Isabel for several years. To celebrate Pat joining the VCO family of columnists, John and I had dinner with Vegas Community Online's Marleen and Frank Marino, and Isabel and Patrick Boylan at Red Rock Casino.

(Photo of Frank and Marleen. Due to security concerns, Patrick asked that I not post his photo.)

The Center for Strategic Analysis a non-profit organization founded by Executive Director/ Founder Patrick Boylan as an educational endeavor to make the public and government aware of the true causes of terrorism and to be a source of insight and truth.

CSA is committed to avoiding political correctness and shedding light on geopolitical issues that pose a threat not only to our homeland security but that of the entire free world. By analyzing open-source material (specifically foreign news sources), personal contacts, and experience, CSA hopes to predict future threats by extrapolating on past events, analyzing future trends, and reporting on "Hot Spots" around the world.

CSA held its first seminar on "Homeland Security, Terrorism, and School Safety" in Las Vegas on March 19th and 20th. The seminar was conducted by Subject Matter Experts from the nation's intelligence agencies, counter-terrorism experts from both the U.S. and Israel, a former Russian scientist, specialists in academia, and individuals with a unique understanding of the "Terrorist mindset" and why they hate us. John spoke on "Future Conflict: Caveat Emptor."

For security reasons the exact location was only shared with attendees who agreed not to share the location information with non-attendees. One participant observed, "With just the talent in this room, we could start a war with the terrorists and win it."

The next seminar will be held August 23–25, 2007 on "Know Your Enemy—Islam, Jihad and Terrorism." Registration is $495 with a 5% discount before July 23rd 2007. Email pboylan@centerforstrategicanalysis.org or call Patrick Boylan at 702.866.6466, www.centerforstrategicanalysis.org.

Reincarnation, Walter Semkiw, and the Founding Mystics Meeting. We celebrated the Fourth of July at a gala party hosted by Janelle and Jeff Mishlove at their Summerlin home. Jeff's good friend Dr. Walter Semkiw (pictured) had just concluded the third Founding Mystics Meeting, a private seminar on past-lives held at The Tropicana Hotel & Casino, attended by ninety people from all over the world. Walter is the founder of the Institute for the Integration of Science, Intuition and Spirit (IISIS), which is dedicated to scientific research of reincarnation. Walter Semkiw, MD — John Adams

The Mishloves invited many of Semkiw's attendees whose past lives have been validated by famed trance channel Kevin Ryerson through Ahtun Re, his Egyptian spirit guide. Ahtun Re has identified Jeff Mishlove as America's first psychologist, William James (pictured). According to Walter, all of Ahtun Re's past life matches have been confirmed through scientific research. Walter worked with Ahtun Re to produce his book, Return Of The Revolutionaries.

Walter liked my energy and asked if both John and I would agree to have Ahtun Re check the Akashic Records for our past lives.

The Akashic Records are supposed to contain all knowledge, including all human experience, held in the Universe. The Records are metaphorically described as a library and are also likened to a universal computer or the 'Mind of God.' The records are supposed to be constantly updated.

Since most people who come in contact with Walter and Ahtun Re had illustrious, historically important past lives, I agreed. Although, if Ahtun Re knows anything about me, he knows he should just say I was a czarina and leave it at that.

I know Kevin (pictured) and like him a lot—he's terrific—but I have never met Ahtun Re. I have seen Kevin channel Tom Mcpherson, an Irish pickpocket (with a stream-of-consciousness-Robin Williams style of humor). Kevin also channels John, an Essene scholar. Kevin Ryerson

Michelangelo Reincarnated and Living In Las Vegas. I also met the very interesting Paul-felix Montez at the party. Ahtun Re has identified Paul-felix, an artist who owns Gallery Las Vegas, as Michelangelo.

Paul-felix was completely unaware of his past life when Walter contacted him with this information.

Paul has graciously accepted this past life as his. Too bad! I was going to lay claim to it myself!

Gallery Las Vegas is a Fine Art Gallery that showcases fine art paintings, fine jewelry, sculpture, fine art prints, rare Asian sculpture in bronze and jadeite, and Asian pottery.

Their new Online Art Gallery features the work of artists throughout the country. The gallery is located at 5115 South Decatur Blvd., one block west of Tropicana and two miles from the Las Vegas Strip. They are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. (Pictured is Paul-felix Montez "Naughty Knickers" Photographs by Evan McKenzie.) Art in Las Vegas by Gallery Las Vegas

Antonio Huneeus' UFO Files Held Hostage. When I lived in New York, I was an avid UFO researcher-hunter and Antonio Huneeus (pictured) was a good friend of mine. I still warmly thank him for trekking in a blizzard to Westchester County to be a guest speaker at my UFO lecture series. Antonio made the New York Post newspaper recently with this odd lawsuit.

"A UFO expert says a New York woman is holding his X files hostage for $100,000 ransom. Antonio Huneeus claims Esther Carroll of Staten Island reneged on a deal to sell back to him 160 boxes of his alien research and UFO photos for $6,000, according to a lawsuit filed in Staten Island Supreme Court.

Carroll bought the materials in May for $275 after Huneeus failed to pay his tab at a storage facility in Brooklyn. The files range from declassified documents to a campy photo of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton holding an alien infant, the New York Post reported. Carroll upped her price to $100,000 after Huneeus paid her $4,000 with a promise of the remaining $2,000 once he inspected the files, the lawsuit said. Carroll, 65, who lives on her Social Security benefits and resides in a trailer park, said she simply is "after the money." She relayed this message to Huneeus through the Post: "Give me your money, take your crap and go fight the UFO government."

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Except Buddhism! At least Christopher Hitchens left Buddha alone so perhaps Buddhism is one religion that is okay? Buddha does not come under the poison pen of Hitchens as does Abraham, Moses, Jesus, The Prophet Muhammad, Joseph Smith, Gandhi, and The Dalai Lama.

Hitchens did not win me over.

The book isn't about the concept, idea, or origins of God, it's about what men have done and still do in the name of God. How and why did this crazy concept come about? Why has it prevailed? Hitchens doesn't bother with these questions but does give a litany of all the bad deeds done in the name of God. What about all the pagan sacrifices pre-monotheism? Why have these bad religious practices continued in one form or another throughout history? Hitchens doesn't know. Instead, the book is a travelogue of all the horrible things done in the name of religion that he has personally witnessed. And a lot of stuff about his childhood.

How tough is Hitchens on his subjects? I found this one very colorful: He says Saint Augustine was "a self-centered fantasist and an earth-centered ignoramus…" While he does admit the Dalai Lama "is a man of some charm and presence," Hitchens is annoyed the Dalai Lama believes himself to be "a hereditary king appointed by heaven itself," and that he bestows the rank of "tulku" on major Hollywood donors. According to Hitchens, Richard Gere was jealous. Hitchens wrote the following article, "His Material Highness," for Salon: Salon Newsreal | His material highness.

"Steven Seagal…has been proclaimed a reincarnated lama and a sacred vessel or 'tulku' of Tibetan Buddhism. This decision, ratified by Penor Rinpoche, supreme head of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, was initially received with incredulity by Richard Gere, who had hitherto believed himself to be the superstar most favored. 'If someone's a tulku, that's great,' he was quoted as saying. 'But no one knows if that's true.' How insightful, if only accidentally. At a subsequent Los Angeles appearance by the Dalai Lama, Seagal was seated in the front row and Gere two rows back, thus giving the latter's humility and submissiveness a day at the races. Suggestions that Seagal's fortune helped elevate him to the Himalayan status of tulku are not completely discounted even by some adepts and initiates."

This is nonsense! I have known Steven Seagal for over ten years and I know his commitment to Tibetan Buddhism is the real thing. And as a tulku, he would never address Hitchens' vulgar comments. I do question Gere's uncharitable reaction since I know firsthand the good work Steven does. (Photo of a stupa at Steven's home.)

While Hitchens agrees with the Dalai Lama that Tibet should be independent of Chinese hegemony, he does mention the state Tibet was in before the Chinese takeover. Hitchens writes: "…the first foreign visitors to Tibet were downright appalled at the feudal domination, and hideous punishments, that kept the population in permanent serfdom to a parasitic monastic elite."

I've been to Tibet and the Chinese are building roads everywhere and anyone can use them. This will bring foreigners, trade, economy, and new ideas to the Tibetans. Roads will make the Tibetans independent. Amazon.com: Reviews for God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything: Books: Christopher Hitchens

Living Goddess Dethroned. The last time we were in Katmandu, we visited the Living Goddess who appeared at a window for us to view her. Photographs were forbidden. However, the 10-year-old Living Goddess was stripped of her title because she traveled overseas to promote a documentary about the centuries-old tradition.

Sajani Shakya is among several "Kumaris," or living goddesses, in Nepal, and as one of the kingdom's top three, is forbidden from leaving the country. Living Goddesses are worshipped by both Hindus and Buddhists. The girls are selected between the ages of 2 and 4 after going through several tests. They always wear red, pin up their hair in topknots and a "third eye" is painted on their forehead. Living Goddesses usually keep their title until their first menstruation.

Leaving for Refugio Altiplano! I'm off to Peru again! I will be returning Monday, July 30 with Amazonian tales, mystical adventures, and other news. (Photo of Refugio's founder Scott Petersen overseeing the preparation of the ayahuasca medicine.)

Refugio has 24-hour internet service in the jungle! (It was amazing to see monks in Lhasa, Tibet with cell phones.) So, if you need to contact me, I hope to be keeping in touch, if sporadically. Refugio Altiplano - Shamanic Healing Centre