Saudi Arabia, Chrysalis Transformation Intensive with Sylvia Brallier, X Men VIP Night, Fast & Furious, and more…

Getting Old.

It's important to realize that growing old is a relatively new phenomenon in humans. For more than 99.9 percent of the time humans have roamed the Earth, average life expectancies have topped out at 30 or 40 years.

Except Moses, who lived to be 120 years old.

The most dramatic leap in life expectancy occurred in the past century, with the advent of improved sanitation and medical care in developed countries. For example, in 1900, the average lifespan in the United States was 47 years, while just a century later, it had skyrocketed to 77 years.

In contrast to the average life expectancy, the maximum human life expectancy has always hovered around 115 to 120 years. This apparent inborn maximum intrigues scientists who study aging. Does there have to be a maximum? What determines it? Why is it about 120 years?

Saudi Arabia.

Our recent trip to Jordan, the Red Sea, Sinai, and Egypt took us to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has some of the most restrictive travel policies in the world and an advance visa is required for all foreigners. Entry requirements, such as the dress code and restrictions on unaccompanied females, apply. Women, be they local or foreign, are all required to wear an abaya, a long and loose black robe. (I brought several, plus the face covering veils). The abayas were provided by our ship. While a headscarf is optional for non-Saudi females, I did bring a lace scarf from home.  

For decades Saudi Arabia was difficult for non-Muslims to visit. It is still impossible for non-Muslims to visit Mecca and Medina.  

I plan on pleading my case directly to King Abdullah. 

Now under the leadership of King Abdullah, the country is opening itself more and more to outsiders though it is still difficult. Frankly, it’s a diplomatic good will gesture since the Saudis hardly need U.S. tourist dollars.  

The efforts of the Supreme Commission for Tourism, headed by Prince Sultan bin Salman, an American-educated astronaut and grandson of the kingdom’s founder, has focused mostly on domestic tourism. The aim is to persuade Saudis to spend their holidays at home, on the Red Sea beaches or in the mountains of the sparsely-populated southwest.

Contrary to all the warnings online, we found our too-brief visit fantastic. If only we could have stayed a few days in the desert with the Bedouins!  

Our security force was huge, with one vehicle ahead of us, one vehicle, a motorcycle on the side, and an armed guard accompanying us everywhere. We hardly felt the need for all the security and freely mingled with the Saudis without concern.

From Sharm el-Sheikh, a popular Egyptian resort town located at Sinai Peninsula's southern tip (and featured in Quantum of Solace), an area renowned for its coral reefs, we sailed to Duba, Saudi Arabia. This port is an important one for Islamic pilgrims traveling to Mecca for the Hajj, the world's largest annual pilgrimage.

The next morning, we drove into the Saudi countryside, stopping in the provincial capital of Tabouk before continuing on into the surrounding desert. Reaching the desert, we spent the afternoon having a feast with members of a nomadic Bedouin tribe. The Bedouins pride themselves in having the most beautiful horses in the world. Later in the afternoon, after a port tour, we departed Duba for Nuweiba, a quiet resort town on the Egyptian coast.

Coming Soon: John follows in the footsteps of Moses during a visit to legendary Mt. Sinai!

Men of X VIP Night.

This is one of the few times I said to my husband, “I finally think I need a female friend.” I made some calls to colleagues asking: “Can I borrow your best girlfriend for one evening?”

Gena Reyes (pictured with one of the X Men) kindly volunteered and we were off to the Night Owl Showroom at Hooters Casino Hotel. I’ll say this about Men Of X producers Angela and Matt Stabile, the husband and wife team that produces “X Burlesque” at the Flamingo Las Vegas: They have pushed the “What Can You Get Away With” envelope. (a) The dancers, to this trained eye, are not gay. (b) They totally engage – ENGAGE – the female participants. 

I was lucky enough to sit near a wild group of young women who were drinking up a storm pre-show. I knew they would be lots of fun and when the show started, they were throwing dollars bills at the stage. At one point, I ran over to one gal and insisted she go up on stage. When she finally did, she was a sensation! I had a great time! 

I can only imagine what the show is like when the media is not invited and the Men of X are not on their best press-savvy behavior. 

I have one suggestion for the Stabiles: Why not stage Christian Bale’s Patrick Bateman’s threesome from “American Psycho”? You know the scene, when Bateman is looking at himself in the mirror and playing to his video camera? Bateman running naked with a chainsaw not necessary, but would be a neat touch at the end. 

Men of “X” performs nightly at 9 p.m. Tickets are priced at $39.95 for General Admission and $49.95 for VIP seating (plus tax and service fees), and can be purchased by calling 1-866-LVHOOTS (584-6687) or online at www.hooterscasinohotel.com. All shows are 21 years of age and over. For more information about Men of “X,” please visit www.menofx.com. 
 

Chrysalis Transformation Intensive with Sylvia Brallier.

If I was picking a best girlfriend, it would be Sylvia Brallier. Sylvia, a Master Tantric Shamanese, is the Director of the Tantric Shamanism Institute and author of the book Dancing in the Eye of Transformation, will be back in Las Vegas after taking a group on a private tour of Mexico’s sacred sites. On April 11, from 10-6pm, Sylvia will be holding a Chrysalis Transformation Intensive.  

This intensive is aimed at structuring one’s life so that the chaotic ride you may be finding yourself will be muted by a deeper transformation igniting a return to a state of balance and wholeness. Sylvia says this about the day retreat: “It is that chrysalis: a safe and healing haven for change. The powerful and interactive work you will do will allow you to identify your respective challenges and, like the butterfly, to begin the process of transforming yourself into the person you richly deserve to be.”

Sylvia will be using the vehicles of meditation, breath work, chanting and movement to give deep spiritual care for the soul.

Please contact sylvia@sylviabrallier.com or call (831) 338-2346 to attend or to ask more information about this life enriching event. The fee is a sliding scale from $100-$80. Sensitive to the current economic climate, Sylvia, a true selfless healer, asks that if money is an issue, please call her and talk to her about it. She will be offering some partial scholarships or over-time payments for people who want to attend but are feeling financially constrained. To reserve your space in the workshop, please make deposit of $50.

For those of you interested in Sylvia’s work and not in Las Vegas, she will be conducting “Awakening the Light Body with Tantric Shamanism” on May 9 and 10 held at the Center of Quantum Healing and Transformation in Lagunitas, California.

This workshop includes Sylvia's life altering Tantric Shamanism Breath work Ceremony. This ceremony will assist you to remove the blockages that have been holding you back and open the gateways to deep bliss and profound change. This extremely potent initiation is only for those who are truly ready to take the next step on their path of spiritual evolution. The cost for the weekend, including three meals, tenting, a Saturday night dance party featuring a live music performance by Jah Levi, is $240. Significantly, it is an opportunity to do life enriching work with Sylvia. http://sylviabrallier.com.

Movie This Week:

Fast & Furious

It’s not called “Fast & Furious: Schindler’s List”. Perfect reboot if you like the genre. Big crashes, property mayhem, and sparse dialogue. 

The producers didn’t bother with a screenwriter but did hire crash experts. The dialogue is ham-fisted but there is not much of it. And there is no discernible acting. These are things the F&F audience is not going to pay for. 

It could have used a screenwriter but I assume no one wanted to waste their great lines on a Vin Diesel opus. With careers stalled, Diesel (who was seduced back with a producer credit), Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster return. In keeping with their characters, Diesel, Walker and Brewster do not bother using this as an audition for other roles. The producers should have left Brewster wherever she was. I would not have missed her. 

On the other hand, Rodriguez is always fun to watch. 

The ingredients that made the original “The Fast & The Furious” a hit are here: car racing through a city and lots of crashes. Do we want sensitive scenes and tears? No! But they could have put in a hot sex scene with that hi-anorexic ball buster (Gal Gadof) who everyone feared and listened to for no good reason. 

“The things I'm going to do for my country.” A gleeful Vin Diesel in “XXX”. 

“Fast & Furious” starts off in the middle of an exciting heist along a dangerous South American mountain stretch. What are Dominic (Diesel), his girlfriend Letty (Rodriguez), and their on-the-lam associates doing? Who knows and who cares? It’s clear they are just doing a job stealing a mammoth tanker filled with oil.    

So now we know what has happened to Dominic and Letty when they failed to appear in “The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift”. 

After this job, Letty wants to go back to the States, marry and have kids with Dominic. She wants to get a real estate license. Apparently, Letty has forgotten that Dominic is a wanted fugitive! He slips out on her and goes off. Later, his sister Mia (Brewster) calls him. He’s fixing cars in another third world country. Letty has been murdered. How Dominic slips back into the country to avenge his sister’s death is one of those Jason Bourne questions we leave to the cinematic code called “suspension of reality”. 

Meanwhile, FBI agent Brian (Walker) is being hassled by his boss and co-workers for still being a maverick. The FBI is after a drug lord and his speed demon driving mules. I think. Anyhow, the drug lord is one reckless driver down, so he stages an audition for a driver on the streets of L.A. 

Dominic and Brian both apply. This time, each are given a GPS-guided track to run. The winner gets the job. Perfect set-up for the video game to come. With Letty gone, we only have sourpuss Mia still single after all these years. For Dominic, he’s after Letty’s killer, so it would be unethical for him to bed that starving chick with the attitude. 

You don’t have to be forewarned by me at the movie’s shortcomings. “Fast & Furious” delivers what you want if you want it.