Pictures

Jed Block will present a slideshow/talk on Thursday, May 17, 2012, at 6:00 p.m. at the Carson City Library. The title of the talk is "Now and Then: a Pictorial Analysis of Carson City Changes." Mr. Block has collected numerous pictures of Carson City's Carson Street and downtown area from earlier periods, such as the 1950s and 1960s, and compares them to recent photos of the same locations. These comparisons reveal a lot about the history of Carson City and the colorful people who shaped its future. The event is free and open to the public.

Douglas County authorities seek the public's help in locating several suspects involved in an attempt to cash a stolen check on Saturday at a drive-thru window at Bank of America on Topsy Lane in north Douglas County near Carson City.
The primary suspect, an unidentified male adult, attempted to cash the stolen check at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday while using the drive-thru teller window, said Douglas County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Jim Halsey.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra through Feb. 28:

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California, the Sierra and Southern Oregon. This report is through Feb. 21.

"Safe House," an action thriller on view at the Fandano Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, is the latest in the parade of suck movies from Hollywood.

It has all the requisite features — explosions, car chases, a plethora of violence and a couple of stars. Denzel Washington stars as Tobin Frost, a rouge CIA agent in possession of a secret file that makes him a CIA target. Ryan Reynolds plays Matt Weston, an active CIA agent in charge of a safe house in Cape Town, South Africa.

February 09, marks a special day in the life of yours truly.

It is my one-year anniversary writing about the Great Outdoors at Internet website Carson Now.

Time certainly flies when you are having fun, and it has been both a totally enjoyable and a totally memorable year of writing about all kinds of activities in the Great Outdoors, both near and far away.

I know most movie goers don't care about three-year-old movies, but if they have a chance to see "Rachel Getting Married" and pass it up they are making a mistake. This film by Jonathan Demme is perhaps the ultimate tribute to American originality with its jazz-like, free-moving cameras and background music made up as the film was shot.

It's the way the film was made and the way it comes to life that is important. It's like real life in accented syllables that lift it out of the ordinary.

Adele's is a Carson City landmark. This long-time restaurant — located in one of the oldest homes in town — attracts discriminating diners with its classical ambiance and reputation of its renown chef Charlie Abowd.

But now the restaurant is doing something new that will likely shake things up in Carson City early in the morning. They are serving breakfast.

When we were young it was always the field trip that got us out of the classroom to see for ourselves what our teachers wanted us to learn. The museum is always a place of wonder; a time machine that transports you to places where there were no smart phones or computers, let alone electricity and flushing toilets. Carson City has some great museums filled with enough old time artifacts, pictures and interactive learning centers to intrigue parents and their children.

Here is this week's fishing report for January 18-25. This report covers streams, lakes and rivers in Nevada, Northern California, southern Oregon and the Sierra.

ALMANOR LAKE, CALIF:
Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500) (www.shastacascade.com) reports:

The action-thriller "Contraband," now playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, stars Mark Wahlberg as Chris Farraday, a reformed former ace smuggler living in New Orleans with with wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and two sons (largely ignored) making home burglar alarms as a business.

Then his brother-in-law Ben Foster (Sebastian Abney) screws up a drug deal and Chris has to step in to save him and his family from the drug boss Tim Briggs' (Giovanni Ribisi) murder threats.

Direcor-producer Steven Spielberg's film "War Horse," currently showing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City and elsewhere, is fine movie making, with a splendid cast. If it sinks into sentimentality at times, bear with it because the story, from a British children's book of 1982.

In pre-WWI Britain, Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine, well cast) is out to buy a plow horse for his father's farm but winds up with a stallion of beauty and intelligence. Albert teaches the horse, named Joey by Albert, to comae when he hoots a signal.

Director David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," currently showing at the Fandango Galaxy multiplex in Carson City, is an exciting thriller with dramatic overtones. It's based on the novel by Stieg Larsson which was a big best seller.

Daniel Craig stars as a Swedish journalist facing a big fine over slander in an article he wrote about a Swedish industrialist. Rooney Mara plays Lisbeth Salander, computer wizard and extreme individualist tendencies.

Santa Claus will be visiting Buckland Station at Fort Churchill State Historic Park on Dec. 17 and 18.
Everyone is invited to attend and have pictures taken with Santa. Pictures will be taken by local photographer and Fort Churchill Artist in Residence, Richard Massey. Children waiting in line for pictures will be able to make a small Christmas ornament to take home.
WHAT: Christmas photographs with Santa Claus
WHEN: Saturday and Sunday, December 17 and 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

With Wednesday being Nov. 30, and with all of the crazy “Black Friday” shopping madness now safely behind us, we can begin, once again, to think rationally about ideas for Christmas gifts for that special person(s) in our lives.
So, if you were not part of that frenzied mob scene on the day after Thanksgiving, or if you are still scratching your head about what to get for that person, here are some “Don Q” suggestions for Christmas gifts:
Any one or more of these could create a very enjoyable Christmas.

Glory be, what's going on in Hollywood? First there was Scorsese's "Hugo," an excellent non-Christmas homage to a French motion picture innovator. Now there's "Arthur's Christmas," in 3D that actually uses that medium to enhance a fine animation updating of the Yule story. It's playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City and well worth your visit.

The motion picture "Hugo," now playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, is a holiday movie that kids and adults can enjoy. It's Martin Scorsese's homage to film pioneer Georges Méliès, a French innovator who created much of the library of movie techniques back before World War I only to be forgotten amid the strife on combat in France. His films were largely destroyed to make such things as guitar picks.

Press Release 11/15/2011

Book Title: WESTWARD WOMAN: My Two Thousand Mile Trek of Raw Discovery along the DONNER TRAIL (ISBN-13: 978-1463738822, ISBN-10: 146373882X)
Author: Barbara Maat
Available on www.amazon.com

For more details:
Pictures and an early draft are on www.DonnerTrail.Homestead.com

Local Author, Sandie La Nae, is having a signing for her new "Silver Ghosts Haunted Places and Phantom Encounters in Northern Nevada" book, co-authored with pioneer paranormal investigator, Richard Senate, at the historical St. Charles Hotel.
Also for purchase, the accompanying "Video Journey" CD of the St. Charles Hotel - which has footage, pictures, EVP and stories of paranormal findings by Thin Veil Investigators, the Paranormal Investigative team Sandie is associated with.

Here is this week's fishing report through Nov. 9 for Nevada, the Sierra, Northern California and Southern Oregon.

The enchanting appeal of The Polar Express™ has spread to Carson City and has families planning ahead for the holiday season. After merely three weeks, 3,000, or 40 percent of Virginia & Truckee Railroad’s Polar Express™ tickets have been sold, with 4,500 tickets remaining.

The Virginia & Truckee Railroad is one of a handful of officially licensed Polar Express Train Ride events nationwide this holiday season, Nov. 25 - Dec. 18.

I missed the first two iterations of "Paranormal Activity," so I was a little lost looking at No. 3, now playing at the Fandango Galaxy in Carson City. I also missed the first five minutes so I was a little baffled by the repetitious scenes of nothing happening as a video camera scanned two rooms.

This is a prequel to the first two go-arounds and while it has its share of things that go bang in the night, it is more confusing than amusing or scary.

The film "Real Steel" now playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City is an action film starring Hugh Jackman as a down-and-out boxer past his prime as robots took over the boxing world.

In this case it's an attempt by films to muscle into the video game profits. Not that the movie is bad, that is, if the sight of giant robots flaying away at each other doesn't turn you off. It's actually technology not gone amok but just crass.

"Dream House," currently showing at the Fandango Galaxy multiplex in Carson City, is a suspense film staring Daniel Craig as editor/writer Will Atenton, Rachel Weisz as his wife Libby, and Naomi Watts as Ann Paterson, a neighbor of the Atentons in their new suburban home.

Here is the fishing report for the week of Sept. 14-21. The report covers Nevada, Northern California, Southern Oregon and the Sierra.

5:30 p.m. Update: Press conference concludes with a few more details. Officials state that shooter Eduardo Sencion had two other weapons at his vehicle, another rifle and a handgun. Neither were used in the incident. The FBI stated that there doesn't appear to be any connection to terrorism.

Sencion was born in Mexico, and had a U.S. passport.

Three victims were killed inside the restaurant, two male National Guard members, and a civilian woman. Two female and one male National Guard members were wounded. Ten of the victims were shot inside the restaurant, while one woman standing outside next to a motorcycle was shot and wounded.

Sheriff Kenny Furlong said they are still working to determine the shooter's motive, saying it is too early to tell if the National Guard members were intentionally targeted.

More stories:

Details on the shooting incident.

South Tahoe Police aware of shooter's mental health issues.

****

3:30 p.m. Update: Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong released the name of the person suspected of shooting 11 people at the IHOP restaurant on South Carson Street this morning.

The person's name is Eduardo Sencion, 32, of Carson City. He allegedly shot himself after shooting 11 people, and died about two hours later.

Furlong said he works at his family's business in South Lake Tahoe, and that he might have had some "mental issues."

Three of the 11 victims have died, including two uniformed National Guard members. Three of the wounded were also National Guardsmen.

The other victim who died was a civilian female, according to Furlong.

The investigation into why Sencion carried out the shooting is still underway.

More stories about today's shooting

If you have any information about this incident, or would like to share your story, photos or video, please go here.

From reader KB: These pictures were taken this morning a little after 8 am. There were ten buzzards in the dead tree, "The Buzzards' Barrio." Picture 1, the three pigeons were discussing if they wanted to be buzzards when they grow up. All ten buzzards have their funeral director's license in Nevada, ha ha.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Carson City’s Old West meets the North Pole this holiday season as the Polar Express™ train will take weekend railway runs across the frosty Northern Nevada landscape Thanksgiving through Dec. 23, according to the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"The Help," currently playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, is a welcome relief from such summer films as the ugly "Change-Up." No explosions, no car chases, no exploitive scenes for the teens among us. Instead it's a portrait of life in Mississippi in the 1960s and the near-infinite gap between the whites and their black maids and cooks.

The sci-fi-western-thriller "Cowboys & Aliens," currently showing at the Fandango Galaxy multiplex in Carson City, finally achieves what most studios have long sought, a film with five writers, much of whose script is simply explosions.