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.