Chilling in My Palazzo in Las Vegas

Well, G. Ripley is back from vegas physically. Yet, his mind is still on a fun weekend which transpired in some wacky ways. Let's go over some highlights. First, RSG saw the 40/40 club in The Palazzo hotel. This club is designed and owned by Jay-Z and his partners. The hip-hop extraordinaire has put jerseys of basketball players, baseball players, and NFL football players in this cool lounge. There are tons of high definition tvs and plasmas so the place has the feel of a sports bar in the day, nightclub at night. After G. Ripley took pictures in the sports club, RSG saw the rest of the Palazzo. Then, RSG went to the Wynn hotel to see the maserati ferrari dealership. It was great to see maseratis, ferraris, and one lamborghini too. Next, RSG got into a ferrari 430 spider and did a photo shoot. RSG took 4 pictures in that car, and one of them is framed. It's part of the admission when you go to the dealership. The dealership is awesome. As for saturday night, RSG hit up Tryst. The wait in line was for a short amount of time (25 minutes), and then into one of the best clubs in the world. The waterfall at tryst, plus the dancers, and the cosmopolitan women were great. On friday night and most of saturday, RSG gambled on ncaa basketball and nba basketball at the sportsbooks in casinos. The fans of college teams (like wisconsin, UNC tar heels, or Kentucky) go all out for their team by wearing their school colors, and raving about their teams. One fan from wisconsin was totally loud and boisterous, that he started imitating Dick Vitale and ragging on the michigan state squad like there was no tomorrow. Many people in the casino sportsbook, including myself, thought the wisconsin fan provided tons of entertainment. RSG won 3 out of the 6 games which he bet on. Ganpuleone ended up losing $40 cuz various dollar amounts ($20 or $40 or $60) were bet on certain games, but it was fun. Lastly, check the waterfall picture below. It's a picture of the 90 foot waterfall at Tryst.

Review of "Breaking Back"

Yesterday, I finished reading "Breaking Back" by James Blake. It's a great book about James Blake's battle with Herpes Zoster and his other battles (specifically his dad's demise from stomach cancer) in 2004. The story will open your mind and give you the idea that "there is always hope in life." Hope is a good thought to think about and it helps you to keep going. For the author of this post, this book was special because it hit home. In early February 2008, Shingles entered G. Ripley's face (specifically the right eye) and it distorted vision plus it brought about shooting pain in various parts of the body. Three weeks later, the right eye was back to normal. The bumps on the right eyelid had disappeared as well. Back to my review, the book gives a timeline of James tennis career starting from 1999 to 2006. Since G. Ripley follows tennis passionately, it was good to catch up on tour results from the ATP. Last year, I saw James Blake on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". James was poised in his interview with the comedian. He talked about his book, and how the medical experience changed his life forever. Once you read the book, you will know that life is truly about "getting better."

80th Academy Awards Recap From Hollywood G.

Tonight was the glitziest night in Hollywood. The 80th Academy Awards took place, and it was a great show. The big winner was "No Country for Old Men", which took home 4 awards. The movie won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, plus a Screenplay award. Yet, there were some big surprises. Tilda Swinton won Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Michael Clayton." She gave a great speech by thanking her agent and the cast of the movie. Another big surprise was Marion Cotillard winning for Best Actress in her role in "La Vie En Rose." She is a young, beautiful, talented actress from France. Other big winners were Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor for "There Will Be Blood", Javier Bardem for Best Supporting Actor for "No Country for Old Men", and Diablo Cody for Best Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) for "Juno." The show's host Jon Stewart was a great choice. He was hilarious, and serious at odd times. Way to Go, Jon!

Tom Brady & Co. Stumped by Giants!

Well, the Super Bowl ended almost 3 hours ago. The Final Score: NY Giants 17, New England Patriots 14. It was one of the best games ever. Tom Brady and his team lost a great game. The Patriots were favored to win by more than 10 points. The spread was not covered, and some Las Vegas gamblers probably lost some money! It was a very even game towards the end, but the Giants pulled off "The Incredible Upset!" This game will go down in history as one of the best Super Bowl games ever! Here's a picture that sums it up:



In the end, the Giants defense was great at the right moments in the game. Super Bowl 42 was almost one of the lowest scoring games ever. Heck, it was the Patriots up 7-3 at the end of the 3rd quarter. In the end, the Giants spoiled the Patriots bid to go undefeated for the full year. History was made tonight in Glendale, Arizona. "The Incredible" did happen, and the giants stunned the world.

College Dropouts, College Graduates (Which One Are You)?

Well, people go to college to get a degree and to experience the College Scene. But, there are people who don't graduate. I can name at least six people who did not graduate from college, and they are very successful entrepreneurs. Here is the list:

1. Larry Ellison
2. Bill Gates
3. Michael Dell
4. Paul Allen
5. Steve Jobs
6. Mark Zuckerberg

Surprisingly, these entrepreneurs are all Info. Technology Moguls. You may recognize a few of the names, or all of them. This story is emphasizing that you don't have to graduate from college to be successful. On the other hand, I recommend getting a degree or two because it really helps you when hunting for that first job in the real world. Each one of these entrepreneurs from the list attended a university (like Harvard, University of Chicago, and University of Texas at Austin, etc.), but did not finish their degree. One reason is they had started the business plan for their future venture while in school. One final thought is what might have happened to these people if they did graduate from college. Who knows what "Other Business Ideas" may have come from these great, interesting minds? In case you wanted to know more about Mark Zuckerberg, check the link below. It's a good article.

Year in Review: 2007 recap, & thoughts on 2008

Well, there are only 2 more working weeks left in 2007! It's hard to believe that the year is almost coming to end! Heck, the decade is more than halfway over! It's that time when Time Magazine does their "Time Man of The Year" issue. It's also a time to focus on what took place in 2007. For G. Ripley, it was a year of experiencing some good & bad situations which trained him for the future. The good was mostly working in the IT industry for almost 90% of the year, checking out some cool things (wine tasting in Oregon, seeing Maria Sharapova play tennis in LA county, etc.), and making new & old connections sweeter! The bad was being out of the workforce for a short time, which later turned out to be a blessing in disguise. For 2008, it's about trying to live the Good life! Yet, it depends on what you call "The Good Life." Of course, that's a reference to the great Hip-Hop artist/producer, Kanye West. It's a great track by a renowned musical genius! Here are some final pictures of 2007.



That picture above is Maria Sharapova serving away at the East West Bank Classic. Here's a picture of some stingrays! G. Ripley fed some stingrays!

Two Reviews: American Gangster CD & Movie

Well, G. Ripley has a couple of reviews for his audience. First, G. checked out "American Gangster" at a movie theater. The movie is an incredible combination of great acting, spectacular cinematography, and tons of jaw-dropping action. It's worth the 157 minutes of run time. Second, G. Ripley bought Jay-Z's new cd, American Gangster. Shawn Carter is back with another great album. There are fifteen tracks on the cd, and G. thinks ten of them are solid. It's a must buy!