Chairman of the boards
Timm Metivier’s Meepleville is a game-geek paradise
The board game café — it’s a thing. In February, the New York Times looked in on the board-game scene in Toronto, and when the Times notices, thingness has been achieved. It’s happening here, too, at the Meepleville Board Game Café at Sahara and Decatur. “I just believe that Vegas is the perfect place for something like this,” says owner Timm Metivier. By which he means it’s a normal place full of people who like fun. “We are just an average American city that just happens to have a three-mile strip of insanity running through the middle of it.” The store has about 1,000 games you can play and a couple hundred on display. The most popular? “A couple would be Patchwork, Ticket to Ride, King of New York, Cards Against Humanity.” And the most obscure? “The Justin Beiber Game, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon Game, Dr. Ruth’s Game of Good Sex.” Sure, you can opt for the oldies — Monopoly, Sorry, Life. But why stop there? “If they’re just willing to try something different,” Metivier says, “it’ll open them up to a whole new world of games that’s changed a lot in the past 20-30 years.”
Dead and yet, thanks to art, alive
Imagine a multihued riot of these guys (left) bunched into the rotunda of the county government center. “The tumbleweed was once a living organism that uproots itself, and, in our sense of the meaning, dies,” says artist Chris Bauder. But, transcending this ephemerality, they enjoy a second life roaming the landscape, picking up and redistributing stuff — seeds, objects. Then Bauder gives them a third act: “It takes on a new life as I will coat them in latex paint and glorify them as art objects.” Imagine once more a bunch of them massed in a gallery, and there you have it: a fresh take on life expectancy and time.
The Gathering, by Christopher Bauder, March 12-May 6 (reception March 18), Government Center, clarkcountynv.gov
Eat your veggies!
Ones you’ve grown, that is. Norm Schilling’s guide to planting spring edibles
As I strive to eat healthier, my attention has turned to the joys of growing my own veggies and herbs — I’ve never had a store-bought tomato as delicious as those from my garden. March is a great month to get started; here are some tips:
Your garden will need shade in the hottest part of the day, 2-5 p.m. Block walls on your yard’s west side work great, as do spots east of shade trees. Best, trees with open, sparse canopies offer filtered sun.
Invest in raised beds. Fill them with a rich soil medium, like garden soil from a nursery.
If you grow in pots, use large ones at least 12 inches deep, to help store moisture.
Use drip irrigation. Put your veggie beds on a separate valve, as their water needs differ from the rest of your landscape.
Start with easier-to-grow plants, such as onions, strawberries and Swiss chard. Some veggies are more tolerant of our alkaline soils — asparagus, onions, peppers, spinach, peas and tomatoes.
Tomatoes can be prolific here. Use smaller varieties such as Yellow Pear, Patio or 4th of July. Don’t overfertilize with nitrogen; it’ll mean lots of leafy growth but very little fruit.
For insect control, soapy-water sprays work well for many pests, or use pyrethrum, an organic pesticide. For caterpillars, use BT, a bacteria that’s selective in what it controls. Pull weeds.
Consult resources: I keep handy a chart of what to plant when from Becoming a Desert Gardener, a pamphlet available online. I also like Southwest Fruit and Vegetable Gardening by Jacqueline Soule and Extreme Gardening by Dave Owens.
It’s all relative
I didn’t think my genealogy had many gaps — until I let the Clark County Nevada Genealogical Society shake my family tree. The mass digitizing of public records has made it easier for these skilled researchers to delve into your past. Turns out my great grandfather ... well, let’s keep that in the family, shall we? But on March 5 at the Green Valley Library, 10:30a-3:30p, the society can help you fill in your ancestral gray areas, for free. Walk in or reserve a time at 702-207-4261. Scott Dickensheets