I am not typically a violent person. But, I wish I could get cancer in a room for ten minutes with my combat boots – I wouldn’t need any other weapons.  Cancer took my best friend in Norway, Svein Erik Hoffgaard, a guy who was so clever that the King of Norway’s attache sent a letter to his civilian employer after he got out of the service that “should the King need his services, the King will get him.”

Hoffa, as we all called him, died at 27 of the most vicious of killers, pancreatic cancer.  He was a dear friend, a trusted comrade, and one of the most loyal subjects to the Norwegian crown.  To say he is simply “missed” dilutes the word.  He wasn’t a special forces soldier, he didn’t live a life of fame, and he didn’t make millions of dollars . . . but he would have done all three!  He just would have.  You tell yourself that some people are so good, too good, to be mired in this hellish world when their souls can be more free.  Or maybe you don’t tell yourself anything, death and religion are personal matters, but I had to convince myself of something to justify losing my incredibly wonderful friend so early.

I can remember how it all started for him, one night he called me up and said his stomach hurt and that he couldn’t really sleep.  I will do my best to avoid attacking the health system of Norway, but I am not going to sugar-coat anything and risk violating the integrity of this story.  I told him what we all say, “Drink some water, take a cold shower, see if it hurts in the morning.”  “Sure, I am sure it is just something I ate, but it only seems to hurt whenever I exhale,” he said.  God, how I wish it was just something he ate.  I had just recovered from food poisoning the year before, and that was no picnic, but I lived.  Hoffa didn’t.

The next day came, and Hoffa went to a free clinic, provided by his socialized health-care.  They told him he had a stomach-ache and that he needed to take some Valium . . . which, incidentally, is the same thing they told me when I had my food poisoning.  He tried to tough-it-out; he wasn’t a macho sort, but he was tough all the same.  No dice.  He went back to the free clinic, they ran tests and said he was fine.  That night was incredibly painful for Hoffa; he just never got any sleep.  He decided to fore-go the free clinic and shell out 280 Kroner, at the time it was about 40 bucks US, and the first moment they saw him . . . they knew what it was, pancreatic cancer.  He didn’t tell me at first, but I persisted on knowing how he was doing.  He reluctantly confided in me, and on the phone, he spoke the dreaded words, “It’s kreft . . . it’s cancer.”

I knew some people that had survived cancer, and so I was optimistic, and I told him that I was there for him.  But for the first time in my life, (somewhere deep inside) I knew when I  said those words, I meant them, and I was there for my friend and he would be gone soon.  I tried to cheer him up with levity, and I brought my Star Wars Trivial Pursuit with me to visit him in the hospital.  Hoffa was a big guy; his dad owned a candy retailer in Rogaland, and when I saw him in the hospital that first time . . . he was skinnier than me already.  I was brave; I didn’t let him see how it hurt me to see him like that.  We played a full game of Trivial Pursuit, and I walked back to my car.  I made it all the way back to the car, and then I just . . . well, to keep integrity, I lost it.  I pounded the steering wheel, I cussed, I spit, I screamed, I cried, but worst of all . . . I knew.  See, I had orders to ship out and head home, back to Florida and out of the Marines, and I couldn’t be there for my friend.  I had to leave him behind, and if you know anything about Marines, we don’t do that!

I ended up a few months later living with a friend in Gainesville until my semester started in Saint Augustine.  One day while I was there I got a call from Hoffa, now by this time a few months had passed and he was telling everyone he was getting better.  So, he calls me up and says, “How do I get to where you are from I-95?”  “Why?”  “Because I am in Gainesville.”  “Very funny, Hoffa,” I laughed.  Then, and I crap you not, I was at a gas station when he called on my cell, he pulled up right next to us!  I was flummoxed, because surprised just doesn’t cut how MUCH of a shock it was to see him sitting right next to us at the gas-station in Florida, USA!  I thought the last time I would see my friend had passed, because I left him in Norway, and because he knew how much it killed me to do that, he came to visit me to say goodbye.

A few months later I got an email from a friend of a friend of his letting me know that he was gone.  Only Hoffa’s creator knows why he was taken, and I have lost others to cancer, but this loss was the most devastating, because the potential for amazing things for his country, his family, and his friends is now gone.  He is one with the universe . . . another victim of a merciless villain called cancer.  I miss you, Hoffa.  May the white light of God protect you, always.

For decades now, some of the more popular films in cinema have been films about Las Vegas.  Whether it is the history of the town, the glitz and glamor of the strip, or the potential to win life changing money through gambling and poker, movie goers flock to films about sin city.  Today we look at the Top 5 Films About Las Vegas.

5. The Hangover

The Hangover could have also been titled “Best Night Ever…I think.”  Bachelor parties, excessive drinking, gambling, and not remembering what happened the next day are all classic signs that you are in Las Vegas.  This movie does a great job of combining all of those factors while throwing in Mike Tyson’s tiger and a random baby in a closet.  You have to watch the movie to find out what we mean there.

4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

If you are not a fan of Vegas or want to see a different take on sin city, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is definitely your film.  Hunter S. Thompson gives a brutal portrayal of the city in a cult classic that is also pure comic gold.  Johnny Depp does a great job impersonating Thompson in one of his pre-Pirates roles.

3. 21

The story of the MIT Blackjack Team is one of the better dramatic movies about Las Vegas in the last decade.  Unlike many casino movies in recent years, this movie focuses entirely on the world of blackjack as opposed to many that focus on Texas Hold’em poker.  Kevin Spacey as a former card counter looking for a way to run his next con and Laurence Fishburne as an old security head struggling to find a place in a high-tech Vegas security world round out a solid cast and a story that draws you in from beginning to end.

2. Bugsy

A movie that doesn’t get a nod on many Vegas movie lists tells the story about how Bugsy Siegel began the mob’s hold on Las Vegas.  For those that love the history of Las Vegas, this movies is a must see as viewers get a glimpse of how it all began and how the dream of Vegas proved to be too big for the man that started it all.

1. Casino

Martin Scorsese’s tale of the story around the history of the now extinct Stardust Casino is one of the quintessential Las Vegas movies.  Sam Rothstein, played by Robert DeNiro and Nicky Santoro, played by Joe Pesci try to turn around business at the Tangiers Casino and things go downhill fast as the mob is beginning to lose their grip on what is now old Vegas.

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When I was in college, my first year, I was a cocky SOB, yea, shocker right, and I was in my Public Communications 101 class where we were given an impromptu “impossible” speech, wherein we were supposed to handle a hostile audience. The professor handed us each an index card drawn at random from a hat, it had a topic you were supposed to push and an audience that you needed to persuade. Mine read, “Convince the Environmental Protection Agency, or Sierra Club that you need to chop down more trees. You are a public affairs liaison for a Lumber firm.”

Black Market

We had ten minutes to write up a 5 minute speech, and I was thinking . . . well, hell, why couldn’t I get the “Convince Congress to spend less and reduce taxes. You are a lobbyist asking for more cash from Congress.” But, I tried to come up with something incredible. So, I developed a system that for every tree we cut down, we planted 100 more, I really irked the professor, because she wanted us to experience a hostile audience – - – by the time I was done speaking I had the other students asking me where they could donate to this cause, not realizing I made it up in less than ten minutes.

Office

To whit, PaperBecause.com is THE REAL DEAL – they understand that in the modern world, businesses need to co-exist with Mother Nature on a scale not understood by our predecessors. Using Domtar paper actually creates forests! I am pro business and pro-development, but that doesn’t mean I hate my planet, in fact, if you scroll down to the bottom of our page, you will notice iratefilms.com is run purely by wind energy – spare me the obvious attempts at “hot air” humor, you are better than that.

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And, yes, I agree with our sponsor, maybe this whole paperless thing has gone too far.

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Rick Swift approved!

Introducing a new collection, a new state of mind, a new way to be in tune with today’s energy and vibes!

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This looks “so choice” – in the immortal words of FB.

Would YOU get on that scooter?