Las Vegas Weekly

5 Things We’re Thinking About This Week

Illustration: Scott Dickensheets

Hot hot heat When I complain about the heat, don’t take the side of the heat. Don’t say, “We live in the desert, what’d you expect?” Don’t say, “You were in Vegas last summer. The heat shouldn’t come as a surprise.” Please just wait until I’m done complaining and say, “Yeah.” -Rick Lax, staff writer

Yeah, that’ll work The John Ensign circus added another ring last week with the announcement of a defense fund, now that he’s the subject of two investigations. Ensign started it off with a $10 donation, but I can’t help wondering: Where do you find a lawyer for $10? -Ken Miller, contributing editor

The original app Books, I mean. In The Shallows, just out, Nicholas Carr argues that as the Internet supplants the book, plenty gets lost. Contemplation, for one: Book-reading instilled in us the ability to sustain focus, which is already eroding as the web promotes impatience, distraction. -Scott Dickensheets, editor

Guns shot Nevada ranks fifth nationally for per-capita gun death, according to the Violence Policy Center, which found our “gun-death rate” is 16.21 per 100,000. (National average: 10.34.) The Center argues weak gun laws mean higher gun-death rates—a thesis that will piss off 98,996 per 100,000 Nevada gun-lovers. -Abigail Goldman, staff writer

Remember the art! Downtown on First Friday is like a carnival—there’s even cotton candy. Crafts. You rush through the streets like it’s a festival. Bands play. Vendors dish. There’s a nice sense of community. But this is also about art. Don’t forget that as you wander aimlessly into the galleries. -Kristen Peterson, staff writer