Musing on Nevada from Salt Lake City, novelist, playwright and casino design consultant David Kranes is the neighbor who knows us better than we do.Author David Kranes is drawn to dream spaces, so naturally he writes often about Nevada — its casinos, its nowhere towns, its gamblers, magicians, hit men.

How my limp attempt at penning the next hot erotica franchise reminded me what writing is really about.“What are you doing here?” Marlena followed him to the kitchen, not at all paying attention to his well-sculpted shoulders or the identical tattoos of a marine compass on each shoulder blade.

… to a perfectly mixed cocktail enjoyed with friends you had long before your Facebook account. To a glass of wine after a day of conquering the world from your office.

Calling Kershaw-Ryan State Park an oasis is an understatement. The small gorge, just south of Caliente, is green from canyon wall to canyon wall.

Cocktail kegsThe past few years have been drenched in cocktails, so it’s fitting that the newest trend is tapping them. Unfortunately, the closest thing we may have to Negronis on tap may be the Ciroc that flows from the spigot at Radio City Pizza (508 E.

My favorite repairs were at showrooms. The upper-level bar at Zumanity, for example, had an open view of the show, so after I fixed whatever was broken — usually something as simple as replacing an empty bag-in-the-box the bar back forgot to change — I would hang out at the bar to, you know, “make sure the machine didn’t break again,” and catch the rest of the performance.

Jesse HighleyActor, singer, clownJesse Highley is an actor in “Tony n' Tina's Wedding,” currently playing at Bally's Las Vegas, a singer aboard Holland America Line's cruise ships and a professional clown who once toured with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Filmmaker Ted Faye’s “Weird Tales” remind us that Death Valley is, well, yeah, pretty weirdThe uninitiated call Death Valley many things. Bleak.

Want to get high? (On sugar.)Sink your sweet tooth into these liquid treatsFor a tougher side of sweet, the five-skulled Fink Bomb at Frankie’s Tiki Room (1712 W.

When the government tried to enforce Prohibition in Southern Nevada, it went down as smoothly as a slug of bootlegger’s bug wine.Revelers walking along Fremont Street with yard-long beers, Strip patio bars where tourists can watch the passing scene while indulging in a cocktail, bars and nightclubs featuring alcohol-fueled music and dancing until dawn.