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.

  On this day we look back at the Whiskey Rebellion, the first insurrection of the new United States. In 1791, Congress passed a tax on whiskey to pay off debts from the Revolution.  This was the first tax on a domestic product. Grain farmers resented this, and President Washington attempted to prosecute refusal to pay.  In 1794, 6,000 men gathered in a Pittsburgh field with fake guillotines. Washington issued a proclamation giving Alexander Hamilton the power to organize troops.  And on August 26th, he declared that the insurgents had to be subdued, fearing they would otherwise "shake the government to its foundation." In September, Washington led an army into Pennsylvania, the only time a sitting president has done so.  The rioters dispersed at the sight of federal troops.  Victory was had without bloodshed, but Thomas Jefferson felt the action had been a dire threat to the nation's ideals. Grown in the Monongahela Valley between Virginia and Pennsylvania...

 This photo is from August 10, when the Bug and Fred Fires were burning the backs of our valleys. It's pretty well contained now, but another fire started on Saturday. We were on the I-80 side of Peavine when it happened, and we could see the wind was pushing it up and over, so we went around to the 395 side. It was threatening the same valleys again, and did more damage. My sister was able to return home last night though. According to my Watch Duty app, this Hawk Fire is 15,000 acres and 27% contained. Definitely a bit hazy today.

  I've never watched the show, but the stars who are promoting it are the only Best Dressed this week. Madelyn Cline Carlacia Grant Madison Bailey And now for a Worst Dressed, or rather, Worst Shoed. If we can even call it a shoe. Absolutely not, Margaret Qualley - you should have slapped whomever at Chanel put these in front of you. Here's a better one just to clear your eyes.

  The Singhbhum Craton in India is one of Earth's oldest surviving blocks of continental crust. Researchers came across a carbonaceous layer sandwiched in ancient chert - the mineral form of silicon dioxide - and there they found fossilized remnants of microbial mats. Some of these traces of life have been dated to 3.5 billion years ago. The silica entombed the dead microbes, preserving them as thin layers of carbon that can survive even as the surrounding rock is transformed by heat and pressure. First they had to establish that the carbon was indigenous to the rock, and not introduced by some later geological event, and then they had to prove a biological origin. They used Raman spectroscopy to determine its structure, which in turn reveals formation and alteration history.

  We had a great spot for camping at Lahontan. The event was put on by Friends of Nevada Wilderness, Nevada State Parks, and the Nevada Division of Outdoor Recreation. The day had some booths set up, but most people came out for the night - there was a band on that stage there, and all red lights only. Down the lakeside they had telescopes set up, but my night sight didn't catch that so well. The stars came out alright though. Tent View And the pups.

  The horror dates back to 1994, when three teenagers were convicted of murdering three boys in Arkansas. The murders were brutal, and because of those conditions, the investigation turned to Satanic cult activities.  Damien Echols, in particular, was a dropout who liked witchcraft and wearing black, so police questioned a friend of his, Jessie Misskelly.  After a lengthy interrogation, Misskelly had confessed to the murders, implicating Echols as well as Jason Baldwin. He later recanted his confession, but the ball was already rolling.  A documentary in 1996 cast doubt on the events, but it wasn't until 2007 that lawyers became involved and found that there was no DNA connecting the men to the crime. In 2010, as the Arkansas Supreme Court was considering new trials, their attorneys reached an agreement to accept an Alford plea.  It allows for the men to maintain their innocence while the state maintains their case against them. On this day in 2011, the West Mem...

  It's my birthday, bye today!  ❤️

  Anne Hathaway received a Disney Legends Award. Sadie Sink Jodie Foster Mira Sorvino is channeling Romy. Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel HBO had a party too. Colman Domingo Linda Cardellini and Joy Sunday And a Television Hall of Fame Jean Smart

  Scientists have discovered a hidden ecosystem deep beneath Michigan and the Great Lakes. Subsurface water samples contained 689 distinct fungal species, including 13 that have never been formally described.   "We propose in the paper that we may be meaningfully underestimating the biomass and diversity of fungi on the planet because we've never incorporated the subsurface into estimates of global fungi biodiversity," says doctoral candidate, Quinn Moon. This also means subsurface carbon could be more biologically active than previously thought, with these organisms transforming the ancient material into gas. The samples also included tardigrades, rotifers, and tiny segmented worms, which suggests an underground food web. The study focused on the Antrim Shale, an organic-rich rock formation buried beneath much of the Great Lakes region.  The water itself was evaluated and determined to be from ice sheets that melted across Michigan, "last in contact with the surface...

  Fresh out of the mountains off Highway 49. It's noted as an outdoor bath on the map, and there is a cold pool you can hop into if you so please. A fountain had been constructed as well, by a State Highway Foreman.

  It's not what I'm currently reading, but it's the topic that reminded me we haven't had a Book Club this month! Ian Fleming died on this day, 1964. Dr. No was written in 1958, and his first Bond book, Casino Royale , was written in 1953. The final book released, after his death, was The Man with the Golden Gun.  His publisher then released a collection of short stories that would make up later Bond movies, Octopussy and the Living Daylights. I've only read the one in photo, and it was enjoyable. ** As for what I'm actually reading, I started a book recommended by my aunt and my sister, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I'm in the early stages, but it's setting an interesting stage. What are you reading??

  Following an attack in the Big Bear Valley, Jackie has unfortunately succumbed to her injuries. She died yesterday after three weeks of intensive care at the Ojai Raptor Center. The medical team referred to her "packed cell volume, or PCV" having dropped to 6%, which is the percentage of blood volume made up of red blood cells.   Anemia happens often with traumatic injury, due to acute blood loss and subsequent surgeries.  There is a strong inflammatory response that suppresses the body's ability to produce new red blood cells. Jackie was hatched in Big Bear Valley back in 2012, born to Ricky and Lucy. She and Shadow started mating in 2018, and have had 6 fledglings over their years together, including this year's pair. Shadow will continue to defend the nest territory, and he may be waiting for Jackie to return...but instinct will eventually have him move on.

 Jennie is starting us off this week with some magazine shots. Pamela Anderson might be one of my favorites. And this dress on Monica Barbaro! To the carpets. Julia Butters Jordan Roth Hannah Waddingham Charlize Theron Geena Davis