RenoVous

  Near Lahontan and Fort Churchill, along the Carson River, a new state park is being opened. Earlier in August they released some names to be chosen from, and they'll announce the winner in the fall.  So they posted the above sign for now.  ^_^ Naming The land was privately owned for over 150 years, and includes portions of the California Trail as well as the Pony Express Trail. An historic ranching property, it also housed a divorce ranch in the 1940's. So you can see, it covers many aspects of Nevada history. And of course, protects wildlife habitats.

  The Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival in 1972, also known as the Bull Island Rock Festival, was a chaotic three day event that ended in fire and a few deaths. The promoters expected a crowd of 50,000 but they got 200,000.  Many bands pulled out of performing as the festival drifted into anarchy.  There was a total lack of sanitation and infrastructure.  Food, water, and security were in short supply from day one. The festival was originally planned to be held in Chandler, as the ticket states, but at the last minute local health officials blocked the event.  Crews had almost no time to relocate. And then there were heavy rains, which turned the entire campground into a disease-ridden mud pit.  The weather caused dangerous currents in the Wabash River, and three people drowned. On the final day, the remaining crowd rioted and burned the main stage to the ground. Due to these conditions, quality video of any performance is extremely rare.  Acts who stuck ar...

 Finished this one over the weekend, just in time for the library to call about The Master and Margarita, so I'll be picking that up today. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue  was a curse across time, and a theme often mentioned, "Ideas are wilder than memories." She learns how to work her way in despite her curse, and then there's a surprise towards the end.  We don't get the romantic happy ending, but she gets something out of it. So yeah, I'll be starting Bulgakov tomorrow and if others are on board, we may read together - at our own pace, of course, but with a follow up thread to discuss as we go.

  Maisie Williams plays one of Sandra Bullock's daughters in this second installment, and she's been wearing throwbacks to the first red carpets. Also nice to Dianne Wiest. And Stockard Channing.

  This weekend, NASA will launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. It is expected to be a 10 year mission to hunt for exoplanets, to map the Milky Way, and to help unravel mysteries such as dark matter. It is named for NASA's first chief astronomer, from 1960-1979. While the Webb telescope uses high-detail zoom for distant targets, Roman is a wide-angle cosmic surveyor, with a field of view 100 times larger than Webb. Roman will focus on visible light and infrared while Hubble continues to capture ultraviolet, (20 years after the mission parameters).

  This is a traditional Taoist and Buddhist celebration to honor ancestors and ensure their spirits rest easily. Families set out rice, fruit, and meat on altars for wandering souls. Joss paper is a special paper offering, known as ghost or spirit money.  Pieces are burned in a ritual to provide wealth for their loved ones in the afterlife.  Lotus lanterns are placed in the rivers to help guide spirits home. Traditional performances run throughout the lunar month, but today's Ghost Day is the peak.  Sets include Chinese street opera (wayang), puppet troupes (piyingxi), variety shows (getai), as well as dragon and lion dances. Front row seats are left empty for any ghost guests.