Saturday Trivia

The black and bold Luxor opened in 1993 as an architectural tour de force - the tallest structure on the Strip, attracting camera-toting tourists as well as design intellectuals who would write books and teach college courses discussing the building's commercial and psychological appeal.

It wasn't the first theme hotel in Las Vegas (its closest neighbor: a medieval castle), but was still an instant icon, what with a 10-story sphinx guarding the entrance and the Earth's strongest flashlight beaming into space from the pyramid's apex. Inside, the Egyptian theme was executed to extreme and comical limits even by Las Vegas standards. Talking mechanical camels greeted guests entering a cavernous atrium accented with statues of pharaohs, images of King Tut and bazaars selling papyrus artwork and scarab beetle jewelry. Tour guides gave commentary along the faux Nile River as miniature barges carried guests down a slow-moving water ride - past blackjack and craps tables.

And then, as Las Vegas cooled on architectural themes, the Luxor seemed as stale as yesterday's mummy. So now they're throwing millions of dollars into a major renovation. The goal: take the Egypt out of the pyramid to make it even more compelling for today's tourists. Over the next year, the new Luxor will look decidedly more contemporary - or at least less Egyptian.

Nile’s Karl Sanders sings about mummies, the secrets to eternal life, pyramids and other things drawn from his research into Egyptology. . . . His band, which pairs images steeped in Egyptian mythology with the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, brings its mind-numbingly complex music, chock full of breakneck starts, stops and dive-bomb guitar solos, to Cain’s Ballroom’s second stage Tuesday . . . .

Nile’s fifth album, “Ithyphallic,” released July 17, shows the band continuing an epic style and musicianship first showcased in 1998’s “Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka.” “Ithyphallic,” with songs from “As He Creates So He Destroys” to “Eat of the Dead,” refers to a symbol common in Egyptian statuary depicting gods with exaggerated parts of their bodies, something said to denote virility, creativity and strength, Sanders said.