“I guess I was hungrier than I thought,” says Jon Ralston. He’s just devoured a personal pizza at a recent lunch — in the same way he can devour a flip-flopping politician on his TV gabfest: in a flurry of compulsive piranha bites.

In this 1954 promotional photo shot at the Sands, we see the gorgeous Copa Girls marking the holidays by stacking themselves in the shape of a Christmas tree. (It helps if you hold the page back a bit from your face and squint a little — there! Starting to look a little like Christmas, right?).

You know the United Way. They’re that organization that does, well, you know .

Someone at the podium made an interesting offhand comment during the round of thank-yous and speechlets at the recent media bash for the Neon Museum, the newly opened trophy case of historic Vegas signs. A gloss: Las Vegas may not be known as a global exporter of capital-c Culture, but — woot! — we sure know how to make some pretty signs.

When it comes to helping those in need, these Southern Nevadans have the golden touch Red Rock Search and Rescue The challenge: In January of 2012, Ronald Kirk went missing at Red Rock National Conservation Area. With Kirk’s fitness level and outdoors experience, he could have been almost anywhere in Red Rock.

GET IN GEAR Send your special someone packing with this travel gear Start shopping for the road-trippers on your gift list, and you’re practically guaranteed to come down with wanderlust yourself. Whether you end up wrapping them or keeping them for yourself, here are some let’s-hit-the-highway ideas for holiday giving.

Unleash your inner hero — by lending a hand to these valley organizations in need Animals ALL FUR LOVE ANIMAL SOCIETY (allfurloveanimalsociety.org) What they do: Dedicated volunteers are committed to the rescue, safety and welfare of abandoned kittens and cats.

One of the most prized assets of remote national monument Grand Canyon-Parashant is — shhhh — the quiet “Stop right here!” Eathan McIntyre tells us. So we halt our humble two-vehicle caravan, and now we’re stopped on an unpaved road a dozen or so miles inside the Arizona border.

San Francisco artist Mary Anne Kluth loves two things: 1) theme parks and 2) her dad. Her exhibit “Visitor Center” melds the two loves in fanciful fashion, recreating her father’s memories with a vibrant sense of playful wonder.

Mark del Monte general manager of Public House Dopplebeck. Sour.