RenoVous

 My Mutts! Mighty is Boston Terrier, Border Collie, and Chocolate Lab.  He loves to herd cattle and fetch. Bowie is a Golden Retriever and Alaskan Klee Kai.  He loves to watch the water and play with everything. It's a day to love your mutt, or maybe consider adopting one from your local shelter!

 Summer of 1999, and the release of The Blair Witch Project. I still remember the marketing campaign, which really set the tone for this being real found footage. While it wasn't the first movie to use the film technique, it certainly popularized it for years to follow. And for all the jokes it gets now, it really did scare the lot of us. It was an independent, low-budget film which ended up making $250M worldwide.  Much of the filming was done by the actors themselves, and they were left to improvise much of the dialogue.  They also didn't really know when the director would be out there shaking the tent to get a realistic response. It takes place in Burkittsville, MD, where Elly Kedward terrorized the town and was banished.  But then children disappeared, and the town was abandoned.  The movie makes reference to a book called The Blair Witch Cult, published in 1809.  The Maryland Center for History and Culture received many phone calls inquiring on the fi...

(Not My Shot) The last two evenings have brought storm clouds, thunder, and rain. This is mostly good, we definitely need the water, but the flash flooding created some issues. Rain Day started in the late 1800's, when a pharmacist in Waynesburg, PA noted that it always seemed to rain on July 29th.  He started keeping a record, and after he passed, his brother continued.  A local newsman shared the story with other newspapers, and it became tradition to call into Waynesburg to see if it's raining today.  

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  Malpelo Island is a barren rock about 300 miles off the coast of Colombia.  In the ocean, three currents come together, creating upwellings of nutrient-rich waters, attracting a large number of sharks. More than 75 different species. Among them is what some locals came to call the Monster Shark.  Divers were able to go down the shelf enough to approach one up close in order to attach a recording device.  Once they obtained the data, they were able to confirm it's a Smalltooth Sandtiger shark. They prefer the cool, deep waters in temperatures from 43-68 degrees.  Females can grow as much as 11 feet, but some reports suggested the ones around Malpelo are closer to 20 feet. While populations in Australia and the Mediterranean are declining, these Colombian waters are protected as a marine sanctuary. In 2006, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

  From our camp site, we took a drive on a windy day into Downieville. The Gallows. California's oldest weekly newspaper. And back to Lake of the Woods.

  Ozzy Osbourne, Prince of Darkness, died yesterday at age 76. In 2020, he revealed a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, and he had his farewell concert just earlier this month.  You could tell he was struggling then, but he still wanted to give it his all. And so we salute a heavy metal hero. In 1968, the band that would become Black Sabbath got together, and in 1970 they released their debut. Their only top 10 single in the UK reached #4. In 1980, he went solo. 1991.

  I'm off today and tomorrow, enjoying the lake and more time with my bestie. ^_^ Lake Life Vibes (Playlist)

  This is Arrokoth, located in the Kuiper Belt, as photographed by New Horizons. Launched in 2006, its primary mission was to collect data on Pluto and its moons.  This was completed in 2015, and then NASA sent the spacecraft towards the object above. Arriving in 2019, it was confirmed to be a cold object, not "because it's far from the Sun; it's dynamically cold.  Its orbit has been pretty much the same for the entire history of the Solar System," according to New Horizons mission scientist, Carey Lisse. Cold objects make up about 1/3 of the Kuiper belt, suggesting they haven't been much disturbed by the giant planets. Scientists learned that the clumping wasn't violent either, they appear to be just touching each other, "like they are kissing, or if they were spacecraft they would be docking," says co-investigator William McKinnon. Further study of such objects can tell us a lot about the formation of the Solar System. New Horizons  is still operat...

  On this day in 1998 the International Criminal Court was established through a treaty known as the Rome Statute.  130 countries have signed. ICC So today recognizes the continually developing system of international justice. One name we may know on the scene is Amal Clooney.  We've seen her here on red carpets with her husband George, but she is her own success. Last year she published an expert report regarding ICC arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity in both Palestine and Israel. Clooney Foundation She has represented Yazidi victims of ISIS, including Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Prize laureate.  She is thus responsible for the first-ever conviction for genocide against an ISIS member as well as financiers, such as a French cement manufacturer. There's no denying good work is being done, but there's also plenty of failure and distrust. Just ask Metallica.

 On this day in 1941, Joe DiMaggio extended his hitting streak to 56 games, a record which still stands. The record had previously been 45 games, set by Willie Keeler in 1896-97. Pete Rose came closest in 1978, with 44 games. DiMaggio was an All-Star in each of his 13 seasons. Last night was the 2025 All-Star game, and it ended on a tie - instead of extra innings, we got a home run swing off, and it was a lot of fun!  History was made as the first game to end like that. Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies went 3 for 3 in the final, but didn't rank in the actual derby. That winner was catcher Cal Raleigh from the Mariners. When DiMaggio retired in 1951 he ranked 9th in career homers with 361.  He now sits 87th.

  Rembrandt van Rijn was born on this day in 1606. He died in 1669 and was buried in an unmarked grave, in a plot owned by the church.  Since he died in poverty, his remains were dug up after 20 years and discarded.  Today, a memorial stone marks where he was buried, along the north wall of Westerkerk in Amsterdam. His most famous painting now is above, The Night Watch.   Completed in 1642, it took about three years, and measures in at 12 by 14 1/2 feet. Some believe he depicted a murder scene, which includes members of the civic militia, who then threatened Rembrandt's life, leading to his ruin. But it's more known for displaying his mastery of light and shadow. He often portrayed figures in action, full of drama. Storm on the Sea of Galilee But calm landscapes as well.

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  Today marks the 100th anniversary of The Scopes Trial, aka Monkey Trial. A teacher was on trial for teaching evolution, and all these years later, science is still in contention in classrooms and among adults. He was found guilty of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, but the verdict was overturned on a technicality.   While on one hand it set the stage for our ongoing fundamentalist versus modernist views, it was also a publicity stunt for the town of Dayton. Scopes was a volunteer, a substitute biology teacher willing to say he'd violated the law.  Clarence Darrow came to represent him, mostly because he wanted to argue against William Jennings Bryan. The Butler Act remained in effect for another 42 years, and in 2025 Tennessee wants to legislate display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms. In 100 years, we're going to look like a shitshow.

 The oldest house in Reno, the Benham-Belz, was built in 1868.   At 347 West Street, in modern day downtown, it became part of the J Resorts property, and they put it on the market for $1, with the implication that the house would need to be moved at the owner's expense. Today is moving day. They've been documenting their finds as they've explored the house on site. Instagram There's a carriage house garage as well, and a basement. I.T. Benham was one of Reno's founding builders and stone masons. The parcel of land had been purchased from Charles Crocker of the Central Pacific Railroad. Benham constructed the Central School, which would later become the first Reno High. The family began a gradual move to Spokane, and in 1883, barber John Belz bought the house. His daughter Florence continued to live there until her death in 1981.

 On this day in 1928, Vernon Booher shot his mother, Rose and his brother, Fred, along with two hired workers who just happened to be there.  He only expressed remorse for killing his brother, as his mother was his sole target. Apparently mom didn't like the woman he was infatuated with. The horror movie part of the story is the involvement of Max Langsner, a Viennese physician who had reportedly solved crimes all over Europe by picking up "mind signals" from criminals. Using his psychic powers, he sketched a scene that included a rifle hidden in bushes.  He was able to map this for police to locate the murder weapon, and Vernon confessed. *** There's not much info to be found about Langsner though, so how many crimes he was supposedly involved with, who really knows.

The term sometimes has more negative connotations, but really it's just a bar that doesn't advertise and doesn't get fancy in the decor.  It exists for you to drink, not to vibe. There certainly are some shabby ones, in that regard, and for some perhaps that is the vibe. You can expect cheap drafts and well drinks, no curated cocktail list. This day was started by Seagram's, for their interest in preserving the history of dive bars. The oldest operating in Reno is the Alturas.  The oldest in Nevada is in Genoa. The phrase dates back to 1871, from a New York Herald article.

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