Freeze your backside off at the new Minus 5 Vodka lounge in Vegas

by Scott Carmichael on

It’s no secret that Vegas is hurting at the moment, prices of most hotels in Sin City are way down, as are visitor numbers.

Thankfully that does not mean enterprising people have stopped bringing new entertainment to the city that never sleeps.

The newest attraction in the desert is the Minus 5 Ice Lounge – a sub zero Vodka lounge located in the Mandalay place resort at Mandalay Bay.

Minus 5 started in New Zealand back in 2003 and has since expanded into Australia and Portugal. The Las Vegas location opened on September 25th.

For $30, patrons get warm clothing, one drink and a 30 minute visit to the icy cold lounge. You can buy more drinks, but Minus 5 limits its guests to no more than 3 per visit. Of course, after hanging out in a -5C/27F lounge, I’d say 30 minutes may be more than enough!

Inside the lounge everything is made of ice, and Minus 5 make it very clear that this means everything. This even includes the glass you are drinking from, which is made from artesian New Zealand water. Minus 5 even reassures you that the lack of moisture in the lounge won’t make the glass stick to your lips, though I don’t recommend licking the bar itself.

Of course, now Las Vegas is a family destination, the drinks lineup even includes some kid friendly non-alcoholic beverages. Before you leave, you can have your photo taken as a souvenir, and then leave the lounge through a gift shop (sounds a lot like Disneyland!).

Big in Japan: Woman arrested for murdering [virtual] husband

by Matthew Firestone on

Not sure if you caught this random bit of news last week, but a Japanese woman was arrested for the alleged [virtual] murder of her [virtual] husband…

Apparently, a 43-year old piano teacher from Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido was jailed after allegedly killing her virtual husband in a popular video game, and may face charges of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating data.

According to police officers, the woman was furious at finding herself suddenly divorced in the online game MapleStory. She then proceeded to illegally access the log-in details of the man playing her husband, and killed off his character.

The woman was subsequently arrested at her home in Miyazaki, and then driven in a police car 620 miles (1,000 km) to Sapporo, where her [virtual] husband, a 33-year-old office worker, lives.

Believe it or not, the woman, if convicted, could face up to five years in prison, and a fine of up to $5,000. While Japan might look shiny and happy on the surface, the view is decidedly different in prison where forced labor and overcrowding are the norm rather than the exception.

Think about that the next time you try log-in to your friend’s account in World of Warcraft!

Here is a bit of background that might help you in understanding this random bit of weirdness from the Land of the Rising Sun:

MapleStory, a Korean-made online game, has grown in popularity around the world, particularly in Japan where it has attracted players of both sexes and all ages. The game centers on using your digital avatar to defeat monsters in a 2D world, but players can also actively engage in social activities and relationships, including marriage and divorce.

Confused? Yeah, I must confess that I am too! Anyway, as the story goes…

A Sapporo police official told the Associated Press (AP) news agency that the woman had used the man’s ID and password to log in to the game to carry out the virtual murder.

According the alleged [virtual] murderer: “I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry!”

In a country where privacy is a highly valued commodity, digital crimes are certainly not taken lightly, especially when it relates to issues concerning identity theft. Of course, it’s kind of hard not to feel sorry for this heartbroken piano teacher, who most likely couldn’t have imagined that she’d be facing jail time for her ill actions.

After all, rejection, breaking up and divorce are hard on anyone in the real world, so it’s only logical that they carry with them their fair share of pain in the virtual world, right?

What do you think?

** All images displayed on this particular posting are copyrighted images of the online game MapleStory. They are presented here for the purposes of identification and/or critical commentary. They were originally sourced from the WikiCommons Media Project **

Plastic bag fees in New York City? What about Seattle?

by Jamie Rhein on

Mayor Bloomberg’s office has urged, urged, urged people in New York City to use cloth grocery bags for a long time now. They’ve cajoled. They’ve pleaded. His office has set up plastic bag recycling receptacles at various supermarkets around the city in an effort to make the city folk more environmentally conscience.

But people just love, love, love those plastic bags. They just can’t stop using them. Now, there’s another plan in the pipeline. You can use those handy sacks of thin plastic, but it might cost you. If the plan goes in the direction Bloomberg would like, people who want their groceries sacked in plastic will pay 6-cents per bag at check-out.

This very European move– the New York Times article cites many European countries as having similar measures, would generate income for the city. The $16 million would come in handy each year when it comes to doling out the budget.

Some say that 6-cents won’t make much difference in people’s sack habits and the fee should be much higher. How much higher? When people in Ireland had to fork over 33-cents for a plastic bag starting in 2003, plastic sack use dropped by 94-percent.

Bloomberg thinks 6-cents is a good place to start. Seattle is considering similar measures and Los Angeles and Dallas have also studied ways to get people to stop using plastic like there’s no tomorrow.

Perhaps if eco-friendly shopping bags became more of a status symbol, and using plastic became so low brow that people who used them would be so embarrassed they’d feel compelled to duck their heads as to not be noticed, people’s habits would change.

At any rate, if you’re visiting New York City and duck into a deli for a snack, consider forgoing the bag. Bloomberg will thank you.

Guaranteed to make you smile: Improve Everywhere’s newest stunt

by Jerry Guo on

News of Improv Everywhere’s latest prank has been zipping all over the Internet tubes in the last 24 hours, and dare I say, it’s perhaps their most successful–and heartwarming–performance.

Basically they managed to turn a little league game in California into the season’s biggest event, complete with actual NBC sportscasters, a JumboTron, a Goodyear Blimp, oh, and a really professional-looking press conference. And the parents and players (even the team managers) had no idea what was going on, even after it was over.

Southwest Announces Fares and Schedule for Minneapolis/St. Paul

by Josh Lew on

Southwest Airlines recently announced its schedule and fares for its service between Minneapolsi/St. Paul and Chicago Midway. The first flight will take off on March 8th, 2009. The announcement of fares is bound to create a bit of buzz for Southwest in the Twin Cities. Here’s why: The current price of a one-way airfare between MSP and Chicago is $426. Southwest’s lowest price will be $69 one-way (21 day advanced purchase required). The best round trip deal from the airlines that currently fly the route (Northwest/Delta and American) is well over $300. The math reveals that Northwest and others have some soul searching and price cutting to do in order to stay competitive on the route.

And, since Southwest also announced 8 daily flights, it appears that there will be plenty of seat avialible for those who want to give the proverbial finger to the big boys and save some cash in the process. When service launches, Southwest will only be flying the one route between MSP and Midway. However, from Midway, Southwest flies to 47 cities nationwide.

[Thanks Rick Seaney]