Sesame the Opossum
  • Home
  • Merch
  • Our Book!
  • Art Museum
  • Rescue
  • Newsletter Sign Up

Vegan in Vegas

4/28/2017

 
This past weekend I packed myself up in my favorite London Fog weekender and went to Vegas. My favorite weekender used to be a beige houndstooth London Fog, but I pooped in it and it was unfornately a fatal defecation so now my favorite is a replacement weekender, which is a grey sort of lavendar London Fog. ​

It was my first time in Vegas, and despite all the preparations The Hangover afforded me, I still wasn't sure what to expect. Coming from New Orleans and visiting Los Angeles often, 
Picture
I quickly realized the Vegas Strip is simply what happened when Bourbon Street and Rodeo Drive had a baby and left it to fend for itself in the desert. ​Bourbon Street doesn't have really any high-end coorporate retail shops, nor does Rodeo Drive have a shop with 32 flavors of alcohol slushies, but together they've made Las Vegas Boulevard which has the best (or worst, depending) of both worlds.
Picture
I did think The Strip would be a lot flatter, longer, and more navigable than it turned out to be. I love a good stroll, and I erroneously thought The Strip would be a good place to wander in a straight line and play flaneur for the day. The reality is that you must always have your wits about you to avoid getting lost. Simply trying to follow the sidewalk, you are swept up and down elevated walkways and escalators, soon just giving up and floating over the M.C. Escher drawing that is The Vegas Strip. And there are thousands of
other confused, sock-and-sandal wearing drunkards floating up and down and all around with you. From Paris you can see New York, New York (literally right there!) but the seasoned Vegas walker will know that the road to New York is paved with 4 flights of stairs, 3 trips to the wrong side of the street, and a wicked case of vertigo before finally reaching the M&M Store that apparently embodies the spirit of Manhattan. 

The ping-ponging around aside, the absolute best part of vegas is the secret vegan menus!!! My two favorite things — food and secrets — combine to make Vegas a culinary treat. Sure, everything is overpriced, but it is actually surprisingly good! I went to the Trevi Italian Restaurant in Ceasar's Palace and got an amazing vegan minestrone for $9 and noodles with veggies for $19. And free bread with a selection of seasoned olive oil, red pepper hummus, tapenade, and artichoke. They may have given us the bread by mistake, but after paying $28 before tip for noodles and soup, I wasn't gonna say anything. Several places have vegan menus if you just ask. 

The BEST place for vegans in Vegas has to be the Wynn. Here's a link to the vegan menus at all the Wynn restaurants. I went to The Buffet, $139 for three of us, and it was AMAZING. There are lots of vegan things, including vegan desserts like chocolate chip cookies and mango tapioca pudding and soy cherry chocolate chip ice cream. Of course, it's all you can eat (any drink besides water is an additional charge, however). They also had THE BEST vegan pizza I've ever had. They don't have it by the slice but the person at the pizza oven will be happy to make one for you, covered in vegan mozzarella (I didn't know what brand, but could tell it wasn't daiya) and any other toppings you like. Tell the host you are vegan, and they will introduce you to the chef (Chef Malcolm), who will give you a quick tour of the plentiful options available to vegans at The Buffet!!!
​​

Butterflies and Typewriters

4/28/2017

 
Obviously, I love reading. And what New Orleanian doesn't adore Confederacy of Dunces? In high school the book was required reading, and like most things at the time, it went completely over my head. Our English teacher had us "annotate" our books (which I now find very helpful when reading anything), and I was more concerned with cooking up believable margin notes and underlining random but well spaced excerpts than I was with understanding what the book was actually about. 

Picture
Of course, I still don't exactly understand what the book is about, but I have great appreciation for the style and content. It is one story of many in a long history of "picaresque" novels, so called for their portrayals of a central "picaro" (Spanish for "rogue") figure who hails from the dregs of society and has a series of adventures loosely structured enough so as not to qualify as a plot. Comedy and satire abound, and the picaro's blasé interpretation of morality provides a vicarious thrill for everyone who wishes they could just stop acquiescing to society's bullshit already. I mean, whose adventures would you rather watch with voyeurism and schadenfreude: someone who values practicality and their own needs over a moral compass, or an insufferable pedant with a penchant for proclaiming rules the ultimate mark of civilized society? 
Picture
Picture

​To be clear, there is a huge difference between appreciating (and even coveting) a fictional character's qualities and suffering those same qualities played out by others in real life. Glorifying real life picaros sounds dangerously like the trend of applauding and embodying the anti-PC, alt-right epidemic sweeping the nation (and Europe). Affection for society and a healthy regard for others are important and admirable. But in a fantasy like Confederacy of Dunces, rejoicing in the picaro is a delight. Just don't get any ideas that being an Ignatius is actually desirable in the real world. One entitled blowhard is one too many. 
Picture
Political rantings aside, the whole point of my post is that the story BEHIND the creation of Confederacy of Dunces is being made into a film, titled Butterfly in the Typewriter and based on the book bearing the same name. It chronicles writer and professor John Kennedy Toole (who went by the name of Ken) as he writes, suffers depression, and struggles to bring his masterpiece to light. Toole died by suicide in 1967 at the age of 31, after which his devoted mother continued to champion his work, ultimately getting the manuscript published and earning her son a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1981. I haven't read Butterfly in the Typewriter, but have read Ken & Thelma, which documents the pair's mother/son relationship and Thelma's unwavering determination to get her son's work published. 

Filming is set to start very soon (in May) and stars Susan Sarandon as Thelma and 
Thomas Mann as John Kennedy Toole, with Nick Offerman and Diane Kruger in staring roles as well. Keeping my eyes peeled. I'm going to ask New Orleans Movie Tours to take me to set so I can get a front-row seat. ​​I have not been paid to promote New Orleans Movie Tours or anything. But if they gave me money I wouldn't say no. But they haven't. I just love New Orleans and movies and going on tours. 
Picture

Save the dates! May 13 & 14, 2017

4/28/2017

 
Picture
Saturday, May 13, 2017 — I'll be at Garden District Books on Prytania from 1-3pm celebrating Independent Bookstore Day! GDB is hosting activities galore. Splat the Cat will be there, whom I haven't met yet, and I'm scheduled to appear just as Splat leaves. Is Splat avoiding me?! Come see me; we'll have signed copies of my book Opossums Don't Live in Houses and Other Alternative Facts. If you just want to hug me and say hi that's 100% great, too!
Picture

​That Saturday and Sunday are also the NOLA Veggie Fest. Follow the link for times & info. I'll be at the Veggie Fest on Sunday during the day to say hello to my fellow vegans! Look at all these New Orleans (and greater Louisiana) vendors scheduled to appear. Veggie Fest is my favorite day for pigging out and enjoying all the vegan treats New Orleans has to offer. 
    Picture
    Join Sesame's Email Club!

    About

    Written by me, Starry, from It's Me, Sesame!

    Questions? Comments? Love letters? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section! You may also email me (Starry) any time at itsmesesame@gmail.com.

    Categories

    All
    Edibles (Food)
    Facts
    Golden Opossums
    Lookables (Art)
    Lovables (Animals)
    Portables (Travel)
    Readables (Books)
    Watchables (Movies)
    Wearables (Fashion)

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    October 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017

    RSS Feed

    Subscribe below, and every once in a while* we'll send stories, updates, and seedling news! (*probably once every two months or so!)

Subscribe to Our Snoozeletter
Check out  our favorite opossum products on our Merch page, and
join us at www.GalleryBurguieres.com & www.Cocoally.com for artwork
​ and accessories featuring all species of wild & domestic animals!
© COPYRIGHT SESAME THE OPOSSUM & STARFISH. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Are you a business owner looking to provide your customers with lovely opossum products? Visit our Wholesale page!

Are you an educator seeking fun and educational content for your class? Send us your requests on our Education page!
  • Home
  • Merch
  • Our Book!
  • Art Museum
  • Rescue
  • Newsletter Sign Up