Venue Today

The tide is high, the sand is warm and the cool water feels like you’re bathing in Perrier as July beckons us back to the beach. Summer is here, bringing with it those endless days when time seems to drift, giving you a chance to pause and savor the hours. Surrounded by children’s laughter and radios playing the current top 40, the journey to the beach is one of those rare occasions when we can collectively join a much larger community with one thing in mind: enjoying the soothing call of the ocean. (more…)

Venue is happy to announce a brand new payment program- Venue Select, powered by elayaway. Venue Select allows customers to purchase the products they want by paying through manageable monthly payments that the customer sets using a checking account. There is no finance charge, only a flat 1.9% transaction fee. Merchandise will automatically be shipped once the payments are completed. Here’s a snapshot of the Venue Select program benefits: (more…)

Las Vegas is where the action’s at, in part thanks to the Number One movie in America, The Hangover. Director Todd Phillips still can’t get over the fact that his little movie about a group of guys who have a night in Vegas has become the hottest must-see hit of the summer. The sleeper comedy comes courtesy of Warner Bros., the studio also heavily promoting blockbuster releases, Terminator Salvation and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but what those mega-budget epics don’t have is the enticing, glittering back drop of the world’s most popular entertainment center in Nevada.

This summer, take advantage of Venue’s outstanding travel packages and treat yourself to a weekend get-a-way to two of Vegas’s most glamorous resorts - all you have to do is sign up for your own Venue Preferred Card: As a special deal, Venue customers are entitled to a 3-day retreat at the luxurious Bellagio for only $24 a month and the flashy Palazzo for $20 a month. (more…)

1. Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826): The 3rd President of the United States was also the most influential Founding Father and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776). In a private letter he once wrote: “I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” If this powerful advocate of liberty was still among the living, he would most certainly appreciate the classic Kenneth Cole New York Men’s Strap Watch for Father’s Day. (more…)

Glad these past couple of hectic weeks are over - finals, campus visits and graduation have been too much to deal with but it’s finally coming to a close for many students and their families. Graduating to the next level affects every generation as proud parents watch kids grow up. At the on-line community center, one proud mother writes, “my baby graduated preschool. I managed to get through it with only shedding a few tears. It is a proud moment for me as a mother.” (more…)

Suri, Apple and Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily are growing up fast so it’s time for some unforgettable baby names for your own precious new bundle of joy. According to the census bureau, the world population is rapidly rising with 6,785,478,046 people, 306,628,177 in the United States alone! With that many humans milling about the planet, parents are justified in wanting their newcomers to make lasting impressions that set them apart from the madding crowd. (more…)

Start planning and pack light - paradise is waiting for you at this year’s most stunning celeb secret. Located in Mexico, where the Sea of Cortes meets the Pacific, Cabo San Lucas offers miles of spectacular beaches - perfect for long, tranquil strolls against dramatic sunsets. You’ll have no choice but to surrender to the abundant natural beauty that surrounds you so you can unwind. The vibrant setting is drenched in saturated colors, making your visit seem like a glorious Technicolor dream. A dream that continues past the shoreline and underwater in the coves around Land’s End, where a brilliant world of colorful marine life beckon. (more…)

If you have a short commute that covers a distance of 10 miles or less, a bicycle can save you money and still get you to work on time. With today’s erratic gas prices and all the guilt associated with auto emissions, the eco-stance you take with a bicycle can also temper your carbon footprint. The Supplemental Savings: Let’s say you want to keep your car and supplement your commute with a bike to save some extra cash. Using an online calculator you can easily estimate the amount of money you can save annually.If you travel 5 miles each way, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year, that’s 2500 miles annually spent on your daily commute. Now figure an average of 20 miles per gallon at a rate of $4.00 per gallon and you can estimate that your annual fuel cost is around $500 and approximately, $2500 for five years. Even if you divide that by half, it’s still an attractive alternative that will get you more green as time goes by. (more…)

Harry Potter, a sashaying fashionista formerly known as Borat and the usual FX suspects: robots, aliens and dinosaurs are heading to a theater near you. From laugh riots to gorefests, this summer’s movie menu is serving up a wide variety of flicks to appeal to every taste. Here at Venue, we’re putting it all together for you and boiling it down to dates - so you and your honey can map out each weekend with the cinematic offering of your choice. Settle down, grab some popcorn and get ready for here they come: (more…)

Grill it, splash it, slice and dice it - it’s BBQ time!  Memorial Day is the magical unofficial launch of summer - possibly the greatest time of year if you like to eat. There’s so much about this all-American holiday weekend that makes it special and easy on the palette so gather up your friends and family plus all those tasty extras to fire up on the grill. Everything tastes better with a smoky barbeque flavor and that includes vegetables and definitely, fish.  Delicate fish like tilapia tends to flake and perish over the older grill models which makes it a difficult item to handle over a flame. That’s why the new grills are a blessing for the amateur chef who wants a hassle free experience with spectacular results.

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Shoulder pads, Madonna and Spandex - that’s what we think of when we think of the 1980s. Now, with a separation of a couple of decades and wars, look around and what do you see? Reagan-era grand theatrics are back with a vengeance! But remember, whenever anything old becomes new again, it’s filtered through the prism of today’s fashion focus. Besides, thankfully, nothing can ever completely capture the glory days when Alexis ruled the airwaves (ABC soap, Dynasty) wearing Nolan Miller’s outlandish gowns. Today’s style mavens have reimagined the 1980s with subtle looks that are far more flattering then their predecessors. (more…)

The future is here and it’s just as Orwellian as promised! Any fan of science fiction surely recognizes the eerie parallels between our modern age and the ones described in stories such as Brave New World (Aldous Huxley, 1931) where people live on a diet of happy pills (SOMA) and perpetual entertainment via constructs similar to our fun and frightening Facebook. Not that there’s anything wrong with digging up the past and taking all those vital quizzes. On occasion, I’ve often pondered which five famous dead people I’d love to dine with and what type of dog I’d be (Newfoundland), however, the cynic in all of us can’t help but wonder what such fluff is actually concealing. While the magician’s hand is wowing us with white rabbits popping out of hats, what exactly is the other hand doing? The science fiction genre often questioned social norms by presenting moral parables disguised as utopian fantasies. (more…)

Working at Disney a while back meant a daily dose of shocks and surprises. Like being greeted by a huge box of Mickey Mouse toys on a rainy Monday morning. There was Mickey in a tux, in his Fantasia (1940) wizard costume, dressed like a pirate and of course, his signature red shorts. Some were plastic, some were plush and all are still available at the Disney theme parks, including Disneyland and Disneyworld. As I sat at my desk staring at Mickey, it occurred to me – I was actually given one of these Mickey Mouse toys on a family trip to Disneyworld when I was about seven years old! I’d forgotten about that particular trip and then I started to remember what happened to my Mickey in Disneyworld…  (more…)

This Sunday is Mother’s Day and time to celebrate the life giving force that got us here! You probably already know what brightens her day and puts a smile on her face. Even if you’re not 100% sure about what mom wants – pay attention to what she talks about and concentrates on during the day. There are plenty of clues to your mother’s nature and this Sunday, surprise her with how well you know her. Start by category: break it down into character traits that determine the type of person she is and luckily there are plenty of gifts to go with each personality type. (more…)

The 5th of May heralds Cinco de Mayo so raise that pinata, get those blenders ready for margaritas and toss enough avocados in your food processor for fresh guacamole! It’s fiesta time as Americans everywhere celebrate the Mexican army’s defeat of French forces on May 5th, 1862. What makes Cinco de Mayo so special is that it’s spread out over five days - like a short trip to Cabo San Lucas! That means you can take the remainder of the week and turn your home into a hacienda, equipped for a holiday. Here are five fast and festive recipes to get the party started - enjoy! (more…)

Hugh Jackman kicks off the summer blockbusters this weekend with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, cranking out those razor claws for box office dominance. The first three X-Men films pulled in more than $1 billion at theaters worldwide followed by booming sales for DVDs, games and licensed products.

Earlier this year, at the Academy Awards, we saw a different side of the hirsute Aussie kicking up his heels. He sings, dances, slices and dices – plus recently on Jay Leno, he also displayed an earthy wit. Is Hugh Jackman a perfect example of the modern man? His sense of style on the red carpet clearly shows he also knows a few things about grooming and fashion. Some might even call him “metrosexual.” That term got bantered around a decade ago when sports star David Beckham landed on the soccer field in earrings and a mani-pedi – causing tongues to wag.

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