Astronomy Talk and Observatory Viewing

On tuesday night there was a talk presented on the Curiosity Mars mission, and was open to the public. It was very interesting, and way more packed than i thought it would be, but students did get extra credit for it, so that could be part of it. Sadly the Observatory was closed, it got too cloudy quickly to be able to see anything. There are two more presentations that are going to be put on, one in October and one in November i believe.

Rest in Peace Jerry Bunny

Earlier this week Jerry Bunny passed away after getting sick pretty rapidly. He was an old bunny, over 10 years old, not known for sure though since when i got him from the Humane Society that used to be here, but closed because the city didn't see the need for it. Pretty short sighted, for many reasons. This loss is hitting me the hardest of the three so far, all are missed terribly, but Jerry was an awesome bunny that i can't believe someone released when they just didn't want him anymore, that's normally a slow scary death for domestic rabbits. He was with me about eight years, and loved and spoiled a lot.

My heart has joined the thousand, for my friend has stopped running.

Taste of Nepal

Yesterday was the Taste of Nepal event at Glen Park in River Falls. This is the first plate of food i got, i later got some desert and more bread, but it was all very good. There was a sale and auction for scholarships and other programs in Nepal, along with musicians and dancers. Sadly it was getting pretty dark by the time the dancers and musicians started, so i didn't get many photos of them, and the ones i did get are pretty noisy. I wasn't sure if i was going to make it, as i've not been feeling too well, and spent almost all of friday in bed fatigued and sore, but i did. Probably wasn't the smartest thing, as the sun kind of got to me, even though it was a pretty nice day.

More photos in a set on my flickr here.

My heart has joined the thousand, for my friend stopped running today.

Today i said goodbye to my pet rabbit Kitty Bunny (she's on the left, Zack who passed a while ago is on the right, they were great buds), as her age basically just caught up with her, and she was in a good deal of pain. One of, if not the, hardest thing i've ever had to do, but the vet said it was for the best, i gave her the best life here i could. Going to miss you Kitty Bunny.

River Falls Days eating contest

Yesterday was also the eating contest, where several people ate sliders (small hamburgers) as fast as possible. This is the winner, same man as last year. He didn't eat as many sliders as he ate bean burritos last year, but still it was impressive.

I didn't go to any of the events today, wasn't feeling too hot, unlike the over 90 degree weather, and saw that severe thunderstorms were on the way. Seems like they hit exactly at the same time the parade was going to start, like a couple of years ago too.

First day of River Falls Days

Today was the first day of River Falls Days, and there was a damper on the mood, at least it felt like it. I've been seeing the news van above in town over the past few days. Sadly though, not to report on the event, but a much more tragic event. A father of three girls had murdered all of them and then turned himself over to police. On tuesday i was at the local clinic getting things checked up on, and as i left, i saw basically every emergency vehicle going that way. Not knowing what happened at the time, i commented that something bad must have happened, but i had no idea how bad. I never really expected River Falls to become news, it's a pretty quiet town, with the occasional drunk violence incident that always seems to happen with college towns, but i never expected this sort of thing. When i told people where i live, most would mention the college, having gone here or known someone who did. Now i worry that this is what people will think of.

Hot air balloon.

On the way back into town, i saw this hot air balloon hovering pretty low, so i got some shots of it. Not sure what is going on, why it was so low, a private thing, or what, but it was close to a perfect day weather wise.

My heart has joined the thousand, for my friend stopped running today.

About an hour and a half ago, my eight year old rabbit Emily passed away. I have no idea what happened, she just started screaming and convulsing, then passed. It may be over 90F outside, but air conditioned inside, so that wasn't it. Whatever the cause, i'm heart broken right now, and will miss her terribly.

My heart has joined the thousand, for my friend stopped running today.

Storms on the horizon

Today we've had a good deal of storms move through, but mostly to the south and north of us, none seemed to actually hit us, but we did get a decent amount of rain which we seemed to need. I took this as the sun was setting, and while it didn't get the creepy color of orange that covered the sky, you can see the dark area by Dick's. That was constantly flashing with lightning. Looking at the radar it looked only a few miles south, right over Red Wing, Minnesota.

Summer Concert Series 'Charlie Parr'

Here is Charlie Parr performing at the Summer Concert series tuesday evening. He performed solo with two instruments, and about five songs or so.

Chill on the Hill Summer Concert Series 2012

Tonight was the first of the Chill on the Hill Summer Concert Series with Two bands, 'Charlie Parr' and 'Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapels'. Every tuesday until the last one on August 7th has a band or two in the Melvin Wall Amphitheater near the university campus. It was a gorgeous night, at least before i left, cool, not hot, and a nice breeze, could have gotten colder once the sun went down, but was lovely until then. There were a LOT of small bugs buzzing around, not many annoying ones like mosquitos though, did get bit once, but most were gnats and such. They really will show up in photos that have them back lit. This is pretty much a teaser until i can go through the photos.

Unity In the Community - Dance theater

Here are some of the dancers from the dance theater program doing a Cuban dance at the university portion of Unity in the Community last week. On a related note, i read opinions in the paper and other places (i'm not going to link to them to even give them that satisfaction) that show why we need these events, frankly disgusting, racist, bigoted, and ignorant comments that make me ashamed to live in the same country as those who feel that way. I would like to say it surprises me, but i know from first hand experience that it exists, i just wish we were better than that.

Still working on the photos, i was out of town recently and didn't have much time to go though them, but will be soon i hope. As i get them done they will be going up in a set on my flickr here.

Unity in the Community 2012

Here is Locos Por Juana from Florida performing at the University part of Unity in the Community at UW-River Falls yesterday. It was originally planned to be outdoors, but due to rain earlier in the day it was moved to the Falcon's Nest in the University Center. The part of the event at the university was a mix of Locos Por Juana and various student dances on a side stage. There was also an event later in the day at Veteran's Park downtown, outdoors since the weather got quite nice by then. As usual it will take me a while to get all the photos up.  

More of the Drag show

Here is another shot of the Drag Show at University of Wisconsin River Falls, this one of a drag king, which a woman dressed up as a man, as opposed to a drag queen, which is a male dressed up as a woman. The show was a mix of both, with most of the drag queens from the Twin Cities, although a couple students also were, but if i'm not mistaken all the drag kings were students.

I'm slowly getting the photos of the event up on a set on my flickr here, but i'm a bit distracted as one of my oldest pet rabbits is quite sick and not really getting any better. She had a serious infection that showed up on a blood test, and after a stay overnight at the vet, has been getting a lot of medications daily. She seemed to be doing slightly better, but the last couple of days has only hid and nibbled on food. Thats a bad sign, and she's acting a lot like Zack did before he passed. I know i have to brace myself, but they all mean the world to me, so it's hitting hard.

UW-River Falls Drag Show 2012

Tonight (wednesday) was the drag show at the University of Wisconsin River Falls, and here is one of the performers dressed as a Borg from Star Trek. It was the day after my birthday, so while not on it, it was nice to get out and have fun. The Falcon's Nest where the event was held was packed more than i've ever seen it, even though it seems to have not been advertised that well, a good time was had by all it seemed, even though it showed how out of shape i am with walking around getting photos for several hours. Might take a while for me to go through all the photos and get them up, i took many, many ones as i was trying something new (fixed lens with a wide aperture for the low light). It means i couldn't sit in one spot like i've done previously and zoom in, so my feet are killing me.

Work on Cascade

Cascade Avenue is closed now, not sure for how long, but i took this the same day as the International Bazaar. Cascade is one of the main roads through town, so i'm sure this causing a lot of troubles. River Falls is set up oddly, with several streams and rivers keeping most roads from going all the way through, even though it's quite small, so most people tend to use certain ones most of the time. One personal gripe i have about Cascade is that it's 35mph for a good part of it, and people tend to never go slower than five miles per hour over the speed limit. This is through residential areas, which also includes the university, and people cross the road a lot. I'm surprised there haven't been more accidents on it, but people seem to always be in a hurry lately without thinking.

UW-River Falls International Bazaar 2012

Last night was the annual International Bazaar at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. I almost missed it this year as i hadn't seen information before yesterday, and only knew about it as i am subscribed to the Falcon Daily email newsletter. It also didn't help that i had gone to the dentist earlier in the day, and then had a panicked trip to the vet with my pet rabbit Kitty, who as it turns out is quite sick. I'm still waiting to hear from the vet as to how she is doing, she was so bad she had to stay overnight. Hopefully no news is good news. Anyway, i'll be getting to the photos of the event later, not sure how quickly though with al that is going on.

Roots and Bluegrass Festival

This weekend was the second annual Roots and Bluegrass Festival, and while i do believe i missed quite a few of the bands due to not feeling the hottest and it being so hot out, i did get to several. It was interesting to see so many bands like this just playing in the street. Many bands were in the various taverns, restaurants and coffee shops,  but several would venture out and play on the sidewalk. It was surprising that while walking around outside you wouldn't see many people, but then each venue was packed to the brim with people. No surprise that this time i also took my infrared camera out, with the ir flash, which really did help inside places, and the flash wasn't a distraction. I'm still working on photos, so they might take a while to all get up, but as usual they will be on my flickr in a while.

(unrelated side note, something seems to be up with the city daily photo gadget on the side there, not sure if it's permanent or what though. Sorry)

St. Patrick's Day 2012

Yesterday was St. Patrick's day, and there were bed races and other events downtown, where for a part of the evening they closed off the downtown part of main street and allowed people to drink beer out of special event cups. I decided to go with my infrared camera again, so while the image is black and white, just pretend everyone is wearing some sort of green, because most were. I am not sure what bed races had to do with the holiday, but it seems to be a popular event to hold. Some of the beds didn't quite seem like beds, but a lot of them seemed to enjoy the races and there was a pretty large crowd. It was also very, very warm, getting up to if not over 80F, and even overnight it didn't cool down much. Today was also close to the 80s.

There are many more images of the events over on my flickr in a set, some converted to black and white, others how they look right out of the camera with little (slight things) corrections.

Dreary Day

Yesterday it was over 50F, today it's 36F and raining, with sleet predicted for later. This winter has been one of the most confusing for weather i've seen a long time. You may also note the lack of snow in this panoramic photo looking out over my front yard. Still, better weather than when my car broke down on saturday twenty miles from home, in the middle of nowhere. I'm beginning to see why several people i know moved south or spend winters down where it's warmer.

Snow??

Woke up this morning to a very beautiful sight, which doesn't quite translate exactly to this photo. This has been one of the few total snow coverages we've had all winter, and the fog and covered trees makes it all the more lovely. This time last year we had feet of snow and had very cold days. This year we've had little snow, the ground has been mostly uncovered with snow. The temps all winter have hovered around 35F, right above freezing, which has caused a lot of problems for ice fishers, with several vehicles going through the ice which hasn't had proper time to get thick. Monday they are saying the temps are supposed to be in the high 40s. this is one odd winter. Hope summer is more mild than the very high heat we had last summer.

"Dancing with the UWRF Stars" - Be My Guest

Here are Bradley Caskey, Brian Schultz and Rae Benson daning to "Be My Guest" from Beauty and the Beast. I can't hear this song without hearing The Simpson's version "See My Vest". (couldn't find a good video of it, sorry) It is a much sillier song to be sure.

All the photos are now up on my flickr in this set here.

"Dancing with the Stars" UW-RF 2012

Last night was this years "Dancing with the Stars" benefit for the UW-River Falls dance team. Here are Tyler Biola with Emily Grosskopf facing to "Drop it Low". Again, wasn't feeling very hot, and the lighting was a nightmare. This is one of the good ones, but between dances they would cut the lights to show a video, then bring them back up, but to different low levels making it much harder to get consistent shots. Add in that nearer the front of the stage didn't seem to be lit at all, so when dancers got nearer the front, they would be almost in the dark. So while some of the shots i got turned out decent, there are several dances that will take work. So all the photos may take a while to get up, and as usual they will be on my flickr (side note here, the old flickr link on the side stopped working so i have a new one there, hopefully it will keep working.)

Wearable Art fashion show

Here is a shot of all the people wearing the wearable art in the fashion show that just happened a little while ago. All the fashions were things that normally wouldn't be materials for clothing, minus any perishable things, so no meat dresses. All of them were very creative, although i loved the metal squid headpiece the most i think, and the paint swatches dress too. I'm still working on my aluminum dress idea, and i think mine is better, but i do have no time limit, so that could have something to do with it. ;) More photos will be going up later in my flickr, just thought i'd get this up there now.

Side note, while waiting, i noticed a flyer for this years Dancing with the UWRF Stars (link goes to last years photos) that i hadn't seen anything about this year. It's happening thursday, so hopefully i'll be able to get out to that too. Last year it was before African Night, so i expected it then, not afterwards

The rest of the photos are up on my flickr in a set here.

African Night 2012

Friday night was African Night at the local university, put on by the Black Student Union. Here is a shot near the end of the night, from the back of the very crowed Falcon's Nest area in the University Center. The reason it's in black and white is because i (for some reason, possibly because i now feel like i'm sick, chills, fatigue, etc, but didn't feel the hottest before going, uh oh, i'm patient zero.) decided to shoot the whole thing with my infrared converted camera and a flash that had an infrared filter on it. I could then use the flash without it being visible to people, and it wouldn't disturb them. It was interesting, although i didn't find out why they moved it here instead of where it was last year. As usual, i have more photos going up in a set on my flickr.

Crows getting lunch

When i was leaving the bank, i noticed my second favorite animal (rabbit being first) grabbing some lunch from a nearby dumpster. Crows fascinate me, as they are quite smart, and an episode of Nature on PBS goes into how smart they actually are. I put out food for birds, and sometime nuts for them and the squirrels, and i'm always fascinated by their behavior, like how they will see me in the kitchen, and wait until i turn my back to grab the nuts and fly off. They are also bigger than any of the pictures i take of them seem to show. When they land on the deck and sit there, they seem as long as my arm, and are even more impressive up close.

On a different note, they must be enjoying the weather, it's been near or over 50 degrees F lately, and that is way, way warmer than it normally has been. You can also sort of see the lack of snow, last year we had over three feet of snow to this date, and we've so far got a fraction of that, and all of it has melted pretty quickly.

Where Lund's used to be

There used to be a hardware store where this lot is now. Econofoods has decided to expand, and got a pretty big tax break to do it, which upset Dick's Market, the other grocery store in town, and the one i prefer for various reasons. So basically, it seems they tore down three buildings, are putting a lot there for better parking (it couldn't be worse than it was, which is saying something), and going to be some sort of work inside too. Not to mention, there is going to be a stop light at the intersection of the road i took this at. Get ready for lots of people not stopping for the lights, especially while people get used to it being there, and i'm guessing accidents too. This feels and looks odd to me, it's right downtown, and now a big lot, not the feeling most downtowns have or desire, but whatever.

I'm putting a panorama photo of the lot and such below, hopefully that isn't against the daily photo idea.
Only way to really get a good view of it all though. Click to embiggen.