In the pop-culture memescape, he’s best known for predicting the eventual fusion of man and machine — at last, the belly-button USB port we’ve always wanted! — but there’s more to Ray Kurzweil than Skynet-friendly futurism. Dude’s in the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Documentary filmmaker“I’m a provocateur,” filmmaker Stan Armstrong says, his soft voice bereft of self-satisfaction. It’s not a boast; it’s a statement of fact.

If you can gauge a man’s sincerity by how doggedly he returns to his core message, R. Byron Stringer is utterly focused on helping people, particularly troubled kids.

Get loopyAt the end of an amazingly scenic drive down Valley of Fire’s lone paved side road lies a short hike that’s long on scenery: White Dome Loop. The two-mile circle begins up a sandy wash, then drops down into an incredibly colorful canyon used as a backdrop in the 1966 Burt Lancaster western, “The Professionals.

Get off the couch — and see these small-screen sightsIn this era of obsessive-compulsive Netflix viewing, travelers are looking to their favorite TV shows for inspiration. Want to relive a pivotal scene from your favorite drama? Start with these small-screen-inspired travel ideas.

Food & Drink Shops & Services Leisure, Family & Fun Outtakes Best headliner Taylor Hicks The fifth-season “American Idol” winner’s success story actually began in Las Vegas. Stranded in New Orleans the night before Hurricane Katrina and unable to return home to Birmingham, Ala.

Love is in the air — but, hey, what’s in the bag? 10 romantic gifts under $100 These shoes were made for ..

Those torturous tax questions that keep you up at night, answered once and for allIt’s that time of year again — for procrastination, free-floating anxiety and pencil-chewing late nights at the kitchen table as you tackle the family taxes. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Death Valley? Ha, ha, ha!With a size and format that makes it about as unwieldy as an outsized wall calendar, Death Valley: Hottest Place on Earth isn’t exactly a handy guidebook. You won’t be tucking it in your jeans back pocket when you visit the valley famous for being, like, really really super hot.

Food & Drink Art & Culture Shops & Services Outtakes Best big-screen movie theater XD, South Point Cinemascope, Cinerama, Dimension 150 … those great wide-screen formats of yore are gone with the wind. But if you want to recreate the experience of seeing a cinema spectacle on a mind-blowingly large screen, try the XD one at South Point.