Tag Archives: 2011

Full Moon December 10th, 2011

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First posted December 8th.

Full Moon
Full Moon

The Moon will be 100% full December 10th, 2011 at 06:36:24 am Las Vegas time.

From The Old Farmer’s Almanac
“Each month, we will explain the traditional names of the full Moon along with some fascinating Moon facts. In this video, learn about the Full Cold Moon, ancient rituals of the winter solstice, and lunar eclipses,” featuring Amy Nieskens from The Old Farmer’s Almanac. [In the video Ms. Nieskens mentions a Full Moon on December 21st – on the Winter Solstice. How can this be? – UPDATE December 9 – Ms. Nieskens sent mail explaining that the video was shot last year.]

From The Old Farmer’s Almanac
Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons. December’s moon is called The Full Cold Moon: This full Moon is also called the Long Nights Moon by some Native American tribes. This is the month when the winter cold fastens its grip and the nights become long and dark.

From Western Washington University
“American Indians gave names to each of the full moons to keep track of the passing year. The names are associated with the entire month until the next full moon occurs. Since a lunar month averages 29 days, the dates of the moons change from year to year. Here are titles most closely associated with calendar months.”

Two Native tribes are mentioned here – click the WWU link to access more information.

OUT WEST
Zuni – Southwest, New Mexico
The Zuni name for December’s moon is “ik’ohbu yachunne” or “sun has traveled home to rest,” according to Western Washington University.

Zuni Jewelry
Zuni Jewelry - www.allposters.com

Back East
Mohawk – Eastern Woodlands
The Mohawk name for December’s moon is “tsothohrha” or “time of cold” according to Western Washington University.

Past Top Model winner Wawa Standing. northcountrypublicradio.org
Past "Top Model" winner Wawa Standing. northcountrypublicradio.org

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Paralyzed Veterans of America

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Originally published on Veterans Day 2011

Paralyzed Veterans of America
Paralyzed Veterans of America - click me

America’s paralyzed veterans have sacrificed so much to protect our country and preserve our freedoms. A donation to Paralyzed Veterans of America will help our veterans overcome their setbacks and live rich, productive lives.

Your support will help us provide rehabilitation and health services, job training, family support, and funding for research working toward better treatments for spinal cord injury and dysfunction and, ultimately, a cure.

However you choose to support Paralyzed Veterans of America, your help will make a real difference in our heroes’ lives. Thank you for it.

Fortune Valley Hotel in Central City, Colorado: Mini Hard Rock Rocking in the Hard Rocky Mountains

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Fortune Valley Hotel Guitar
Fortune Valley Hotel Guitar - Photo by Jeffrey V. Smith

The drive up was easy, the drive down was a bit dicey for a minute, due to the snow that hit this little mountain town last night around midnight, so I’ve heard. I actually was there but I was in the room by midnight watching the tube and eating a Brooklyn Panini ($5.95) consisting of meatballs with marinara and a slice of cheese on Panini bread, brushed with butter, and toasted in that special panini-press. Included for the $5.95 are chips and soda. I normally don’t do a lot of these but I guess it’s called Panini bread.

I received a brochure with two free-money coupons and a coupon for a free room from the Fortune Valley Hotel Casino in Central City, Colorado two weeks ago. I made a reservation for Wednesday the 30th of November. One cash coupon was for November, the other for December. So I cashed one in Wednesday night, the other the following day, Thursday the 1st of December.

Fortune Valley Hotel Casino in Central City, Colorado
Fortune Valley Hotel Casino in Central City, Colorado - Colorado Casinos.net

This wasn’t my favorite hotel in the Central City/Black Hawk area – in fact it was one of my least favorite of the larger hotel/casinos on the mountain.

Fortune Valley has undergone a makeover.

The first clue was the slick technicolor, coupon-brochure that I got in the mail. It was first-rate, first-class. The images were crisp with vibrant colors, attractive people, lots of blue – the color – and guitars. The guitars representing the (brand) new theme of the hotel – Rock & Roll! Resplendent with dozens of guitars: hanging, in cases with other rock memorabilia and positioned here and there. Having owned an easy dozen guitars over the years, of course, guitars attract me. 60s and 70s rock posters of Jimi Hendrix, The Stones et-al, an exact replica of Peter Fonda’s “Captain America” bike from one of my favorite movies, Easy Rider, as well as other motorcycles and other hip eye-candy all work – to some degree – to create a warm(er) ambiance. Definitely an improvement over the last incarnation. Mirrors on the ceiling would raise the – somewhat stifling – low ceiling, raising the virtual headroom. Listening management? Ceiling mirrors would double the warmth/lighting factor of the casino (check out The Peppermill in Reno). If mirroring the entire ceiling would be cost-prohibitive maybe patches of mirrored ceiling would help.

My remaining problem with the casino is with the video/slot machines. It’s not easy finding a straight $.01/.05/.10/.25 Video Poker or Keno or Black Jack etc. machine. Most of the machines are of the new breed: Cartoon Video Machines. It’s not easy maintaining a serious Vegas Vibe with childish cartoon figures everywhere. But maybe that’s just me. How about more freek’n artistic machine-graphics? How about adult images? Not as in porn, but as in grown-up.

Aside from the gaming issues, my comments will address the basics. The hotel/gaming areas have a new energy. The look of that energy is warm, colorful and qualitative. The rock memorabilia, guitars, new blue lights, carpet and whatever else I might not have noticed contribute to a thumbs up for the makeover. I’ll return, but probably not to gamble. I’ll play my nickle 10-5 Video-Poker Bonus game at Ameristar, and I’ll play $.05 Multi-Card Keno at Ameristar and $.01 Multi-Card Keno at The Gilpin Hotel. I’ll return for the vibe, and try the other food outlets. In addition to the little shop where I got the Panini they have a small (one-trip, I think) buffet and a pizza area as well as what looks like a first-rate restaurant, Ardore”s “A Tuscan Steakhouse and Wine Experience” with what appears to be a vast wine store. Also the Guitar Bar seems to be a good place to hang out. There was a beauty sitting at the bar last night around 8:00 P.M. I didn’t but I’ll have to taste the video-poker machines on the bar top.

The hotel room (thanks Fortune Valley) was more welcoming than I remember from my last trip to FV. I remember that last room (from three years ago) as somewhat garish with garden green wall-paper and miscellaneous things that were off-putting. This trip, the room was nicely appointed with a basic black, grey and off-white theme with one wall and a huge matching pillow in yellow. There was a flat-screen on the wall, a small fridge, a desk and a very nice, new bathroom with a hair dryer. A little coffee machine was ready at the entrance.

Fortune Valleys Guitar Bar
Fortune Valley's Guitar Bar - Photo by Jeffrey V. Smith

Here’s a link to some more insider stuff about the new management team with more photos – From the ColoradoGambler.Com

Fortune Valley Hotel’s Official Website
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Full Moon: Nov 10, 2011. November’s full Moon was called the Full Beaver Moon because it was the time to set traps, before the waters froze over. This Moon was also called the Full Frost Moon.

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Full Moon coyote - cosmicallychic.wordpress.com
Full Moon coyote - cosmicallychic.wordpress.com

From The Old Farmer’s Almanac
Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.

Full Moon Names
The Full Beaver Moon: November’s Moon Guide
November’s full Moon was called the Full Beaver Moon because it was the time to set traps, before the waters froze over. This Moon was also called the Full Frost Moon.

[DOES THIS MEAN THAT WHEN THE BEAVER MOON IS FULL THAT THINGS CAN BE TRAPPED IN THERE (IN THE FULLNESS OF THE MOON?) AND WHILE IT’S IN THERE BEING TRAPPED OR WHATEVER, IT HAD BETTER GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE BEFORE THE FULL FROST SETS IN AND THE WATERS FREEZE OVER, LEAVING THE SAID FULL BEAVER SHUT AND IN A STATE OF FRIGIDITY?]

The Moon will be 100% full Nov 10 at 12:18 P.M. Las Vegas time.

From Western Washington University
“American Indians gave names to each of the full moons to keep track of the passing year. The names are associated with the entire month until the next full moon occurs. Since a lunar month averages 29 days, the dates of the moons change from year to year. Here are titles most closely associated with calendar months.”

Two Native tribes are mentioned here – click the WWU link to access more information.

OUT WEST
Arapaho, Great Plains
The Arapaho phrase for November’s Moon is “when the rivers start to freeze
No information is given for the phrase in the native language.

Arapaho family
Arapaho family

Back East
Abenaki – Northeast, Maine
The Native term for November’s Moon is “mzatanos” or “freezing river maker moon.”

Abenaki Dance Troup
Abenaki Dance Troup

May the Bluebird of Happiness arrive to save you from the precipice 13 seconds after the fall.

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Take Easy Action for Nevada Wild Horses: Submit your own comments for the Pancake Complex herds

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The following is a copy of an email I received from The Cloud foundation.

An old mare chased to exhaustion at the Antelope Complex roundup, January 2011
An old mare chased to exhaustion at the Antelope Complex roundup,
January 2011

Dear Wild Horse & Burro Supporters;

Nevada wild horse herds are on the chopping block in FY 2012 with roundups scheduled to begin in the dead-of-winter… again!

The Pancake Complex which includes the Sand Springs Herd Management Area HMA), Pancake HMA, Jakes Wash Herd Area (HA), and the Monte Cristo Wild Horse Territory is an enormous 1.2 million acres in northeastern Nevada south of Ely. Helicopters are scheduled to swoop in, driving terrified wild horses for 10 miles or more in January—the coldest month of the year.

We’re asking that you submit comments in response to a truly shocking Environmental Assess (EA) that calls for the elimination of all wild horses in the Jakes Wash HA. In the remaining HMAs, 70% of the horses would be removed, PZP-22 would be given to any mares released back onto the range, and 200 stallions would be released back into the HMAs only after they have been gelded, operated on in either make-shift temporary corrals or in short-term holding facilities. Only 361 truly wild horses would be allowed to occupy 1.1 million acres (acreage without Jakes Wash) in addition to 200 neutered males who no longer qualify as wild horses as they no longer have any role to play in the once rich and complex society from which they came.

Comments must be submitted by Friday, October 28th, no later than the close of business at 4:30 PM Pacific Time. If you feel like a little light bedtime reading, you can read the EA here.

Comments can be submitted via mail at:
Pancake Complex EA Comments
BLM Ely District office
HC 33 Box 33500
Ely, NV 89301

Or via email at: PancakeComplex@blm.gov — with “Pancake Complex EA Comments” in the subject line.

REMEMBER: Please be sure to use your own words when writing your comments.

Dear Sir;

I do not support the removal of wild horses from the Pancake Complex. Allowing only 361 (and 200 geldings) to live on their legal wild horse areas, even though they roam over 1.2 million acres of public lands, is unfair to the mustangs still living free, and to those of us who enjoy seeing them in their natural environment in Nevada.

Gelding stallions and releasing them back into the HMAs violates your legal responsibility of managing for sustainable herds. No research exists on how this radical policy. Regardless, you threaten the social dynamics of wild horse society and ensure chaos and the eventual extinction of the herd.

Removing all the horses from Jakes Wash is illegal. They were legally designated by the Wild Horse and Burro Act to live in this area. How can you justify allowing privately owned cattle and sheep in this area, while calling for the elimination of every single wild horse?

Running wild horses with helicopters in the dead of winter is inhumane and dangerous. Over 140 horses died at this same time of year in the Calico round up of 2009-2010.

I ask that you issue an Environmental Impact Statement before taking the drastic actions outlined in this EA. And, in the meantime, I encourage you to select the No Action Alternative.

When you write your own letter, be sure to include some of the following points:
Increase the appropriate management levels (AMLs) and allocate a fair share of forage to wild horses over livestock.
Do not remove all wild horses from the Jakes Wash HA, it is a legally designated range as established in the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971.

– Strongly urge BLM not to put back out geldings onto the range. The effects on herd dynamics has not been researched.
– Push for an accurate census using the most up to date technology, not the outdated aerial headcount used now[.]
– Do not conduct a helicopter removal during the winter. If removals are justified, opt for bait and water trapping.
– Consider predator management as a viable population growth. Work with the local fish & wildlife divisions to urge the reduction of hunting tags permitted for mountain lions.
– Point out that taxpayers could save over $535,000 in contractor fees as well as millions more from holding costs by not conducting this roundup!
– Allow for a truly genetically viable herd in each HMA, HA, and Wild Horse Territory with a 50/50 sex ratio.
– Reconsider the use of PZP-22, as it is an unvetted drug. Opt for the one-year drug.
– Protest the cruelty of removing older horses! Older horses are targeted for removal second only to animals under 4 years of age.
Sincerely,
[Your name]

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Arrests made as police, CSP clear out Occupy Denver camp site

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Occupy Denver arrests - Denver Post
Occupy Denver arrests - Several hundred Occupy Denver protesters remained in Lincoln Park, across from the State Capitol building early Friday morning, October 14, 2011 even as the park was deemed closed by executive order. (THE DENVER POST | Karl Gehring)

By Sara Burnett, Weston Gentry and Kieran Nicholson
The Denver Post

A handful of people have been arrested as police in riot gear moved into the Occupy Denver camp in front of the Colorado Capitol early this morning to dismantle tents and remove debris.

The initial order to disperse came shortly before 3 a.m., but arrests weren’t made until after 6 a.m.

Around 6:25 this morning, police marched lock-step through the camp, moving protesters into the street.

“The whole world is watching,” chanted some protesters.

A core group of about 25 people remained around a makeshift structure that served as the camp’s kitchen and medical tent, dubbed by protesters the “thunderdome.”

Some of the core protesters who refused to leave were physically lifted by police, moved out of the immediate area and then allowed to disperse on their own.

“I don’t know why I’m being detained,” said Patricia Hughes, a nurse, as she was dragged from the area on her knees read more…

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Full Moon – October 11, 2011

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LVBC Full Moon
LVBC Full Moon

The Moon will be 100 % full October 11, 2011 at 7:07 P.M. Las Vegas time.

From The Old Farmer’s Almanac

Your Moon Today
Moon Phase
Full Moon 7:07 P.M.
Moonrise 5:46 P.M.
Moonset 6:25 A.M.

Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.

Full Moon Names
October is the month of the Full Hunter’s Moon.

This was the time to hunt in preparation for winter. This full Moon is also called the Travel Moon and the Dying Grass Moon.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac
LasVegasBuffetClub.Com

Columbus Day – Monday, October 10, 2011

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Young Columbus - Powell History.Com
Young Columbus - Powell History.Com

US History Encyclopedia Article from Answers.Com

Italian influence on American history can be traced back to the navigators Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci. America’s founding fathers, especially Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, were familiar with the Italian language and culture and with Roman history. Jefferson was a supporter of the Italian physician and merchant Filippo Mazzei and encouraged him in the early 1770s to bring Italian vintners to Virginia. Though not successful in that venture, Mazzei became actively involved in the colonists’ struggle with England. Writing in the Virginia newspapers as “Furioso” he was one of the first people to urge Americans to declare independence and form a unified constitution to govern all thirteen colonies. Some of his phraseology later found its way into Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. William Paca, an early governor of Maryland, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Read more:

Italian Americans in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries a number of Italian-named missionaries such as Friar Eusebio Kino and Friar Samuel Mazzuchelli operated in present-day Arizona and in the Wisconsin-Michigan area, respectively. Though the presence of Italian individuals in the United States was sparse before 1850, Lorenzo Da Ponte, who wrote librettos for Mozart, taught Italian language and literature at Columbia University. In 1825 he produced his Don Giovanni in New York.

Italian style and Italian artisans heavily influenced the design of buildings in Washington, D.C. Constantino Brumidi painted numerous frescoes in the Capitol between 1855 and 1880. There was a modest migration of Italians to California during and after the gold rush. Many in this group became prosperous farmers, vintners, and business leaders, including Domenico Ghirardelli (the chocolate maker), the Gallo and Mondavi families (wine producers), and Amadeo Giannini (the founder of Bank of America) Read more:

Twentieth-Century Trends

The social mobility of Italian Americans was steady throughout the twentieth century. In the early years group members were likely to be the object of social work in settlement houses like Jane Addams’s Hull-House. They were likely to be victimized by sharp politicians and labor agents. The 1920s were prosperous times for most Americans and many Italian American colonies received infusions of capital derived from the near-universal practice of breaking Prohibition laws. Hard hit by the Great Depression, Italian Americans reacted by becoming part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Democratic coalition. The full employment of the war years and general prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s brought the vast majority of Italian Americans safely into the middle class. More precisely, a strategy of underconsumption, the pooling of extended family resources, hard work in small family businesses, and entry into unionized skilled and unskilled jobs earned middle-class status for the vast majority of Italian Americans. By the mid-1970s Italian American young people were attending college at the national average. Read more:

Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci - Vitruvian Man

Art from Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa

Interesting photo/story from the Official American Indian Movement Website

Churchill McKiernan FBI and AIM
Churchill, McKiernan, FBI and AIM
click photo for the rest of the story.

Churchill was an organizer/participant in the ongoing Columbus Day protests in Denver Colorado. The yearly protests have been attempting to shut down the Columbus Day Parade in Denver.

Information about Ward Churchill’s “Academic, Literary and Indian Fraud” from the Official American Indian Movement’s Blog.

AIM

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Great American Beer Festival in Denver Colorado – SOLD OUT!

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Bless the Beasts and the Beer
Bless the Beasts and the Beer

Sept. 29-Oct. 1: The Great American Beer Festival® Toasts 30 Years as North America’s Greatest Beer Celebration
Beer Lovers, Food Lovers, Fun Lovers and Brewers to Attend Brewers Association Festival in Denver, CO

WHAT:
The 30th edition of the Great American Beer Festival (GABF). The premier U.S. beer festival and competition is expected to serve 2,400 different beers, in one-ounce tasting portions, from an estimated 465 U.S. breweries to the event’s 49,000-plus attendees. The entire event sold out in just one week.

WHEN:
Thursday, September 29: 5:30 pm-10:00 pm
Friday, September 30: 5:30 pm-10:00 pm
Saturday, September 31: 12:00 pm-4:00 pm (Brewers Association and American Homebrewers Association members-only session)
Saturday, October 1: 5:30 pm-10:00 pm

WHERE:
Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th Street, Denver, Colorado
TICKETS:
The 2011 festival is sold out.

WHY:
The largest collection of U.S. beer ever served. This is a public tasting event plus a private competition. GABF brings together the brewers and beers that make the U.S. the world’s greatest brewing nation. This event showcases the diverse beers that make craft brewing one of the fastest-growing segments of the beer, wine and spirits industry.

WEBSITE: GreatAmericanBeerFestival.com

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The Full Harvest Moon: September 12, 2:27 A.M. Las Vegas time

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Full Moon
Full Moon

The Moon will be 100% Full Monday * September 12, 2011 * 2:27 A.M. Las Vegas time.

From Western Washington University
“American Indians gave names to each of the full moons to keep track of the passing year. The names are associated with the entire month until the next full moon occurs. Since a lunar month averages 29 days, the dates of the moons change from year to year. Here are titles most closely associated with calendar months.”

Two Native tribes are mentioned here – click the WWU link to access more information.

BACK EAST
Mohawk, Eastern Woodlands
The Mohawk term for September’s Moon is “seskhoko:wa” or “time of much freshness.”

Mohawk Basket
Mohawk Basket

OUT WEST
Kalapuya, Pacific Northwest, Oregon
The Kalapuya term for September’s Moon is “atchiutchutin” or “after harvest.”

Kalapuya wooden carving
Kalapuya wooden carving

From The Old Farmer’s Almanac
“Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.”

“Each full Moon name was applied to the entire month in which it occurred. These names, and some variations, were used by the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.”

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, September’s Moon is called: Full Corn Moon “This full Moon corresponds with the time of harvesting corn. It is also called the Barley Moon, because it is the time to harvest and thresh the ripened barley. The Harvest Moon is the full Moon nearest the autumnal equinox, which can occur in September or October and is bright enough to allow finishing all the harvest chores.”

The Harvest Moon is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. It can occur in either September or October. At this time, crops such as corn, pumpkins, squash, and wild rice are ready for gathering.”

Notable Native American daughter’s
“Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the 1970s and 1980s, she charted hits on Billboard’s Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.” more from WIKI

Coolidge was born in Lafayette, Tennessee. She is of Scottish and Cherokee Native American ancestry.

American Pop singer Rita Coolidge
American Pop singer Rita Coolidge

“In 1997, Coolidge was one of the founding members of Walela, a Native American music trio, that also includes Coolidge’s sister Priscilla and Priscilla’s daughter Laura Satterfield. The trio released studio albums in 1997 (Walela) and 2000 (Unbearable Love), a live album and DVD (Live in Concert) in 2004 and a compilation album (The Best of Walela) in 2007.[7] Walela means hummingbird in Cherokee.” WIKI

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