Welcome to Chaos !!

Guess where the last Blockbuster in the whole of America is located? Bend Oregon! It's kind of a big deal, all kinds of memorabilia is being sold and a movie is planned. And people come from all over to take pics in front of the LAST operating Blockbuster. I took a pic of a couple that are on a months long road trip all the way from New York state and they made sure to stop in Bend to get a pic in front of Blockbuster. Of course I have pics in front of it as well.....!







Doesn't the guy with the sunglasses resemble Corey Feldman back in the day?







Some of my personal faves.....



Perhaps I should be in the movie? OF COURSE I SHOULD! 🙂



Some of the last Blockbuster locations to get closed down were located in Anchorage and Kenai, located in Alaska for those who do not know. I rented movies from both locations since I lived in both......

Let me tell you about this last week that I spent traveling to Las Vegas and back..... But first, today is the one year anniversary of the mass shooting that happened in Las Vegas. This is the cover of this week's Las Vegas Weekly. Part of the Strip will be dark for a moment this evening in remembrance of the victims. What can I say about something like this? Nothing. I feel bad of course, it is just so wrong. On the way to Vegas I stopped in McDermitt located on the Nevada Oregon state line, to fill up the car with gas, while there I visited a very interesting place and talked a bit to a person with many stories to tell, White Buffalo. Make sure to stop there if you go through McDermitt, well worth it. When in Vegas I noticed these kinds of surveillance cameras in different locations, I have never seen them before. Spent one fun evening on Fremont Street where people of all kinds of backgrounds get along and have a good time. If you are ever down and out or want an exciting career change you can start busking down on Fremont Street, where even men can get decent tips for showing some skin....perhaps a gig for you? I am not sure if these guys are for hire for their "services" they are boasting about? I did not inquire. Perhaps inspiration for a t-shirt for you? I could not believe it when three songs by Linking Park played on the Viva Vision, Chester was singing with his amazing voice above me. WOW! ❤︎ More art from Burning Man has found a home in Las Vegas, this time one of the giant puppets. Pretty! A mural that I liked. I found five cents outside a CVS.....great success! Under the lights of The Plaza. Took the babies to Red Rock. Showgirl Video..... You have to support the working ladies. Took a tour of the Alien Cathouse located in Amargosa Valley (Nye County), my first ever brothel tour. Got guided around the premises by a nice girl, Allie that told us it was her first time working in a brothel, she was two weeks into a three week stay. What else can I recall....she said it costs $20/day in "rent" for the girls to stay (at this particular location), the first month (or stay) is free and you have your own room and bathroom, with TV and WiFi included of course. The kitchen is shared and the meals are free. The rooms were nice and comfortable and there was a gym area. Allie loved it there and was planning on moving down to Las Vegas from Washington state on her next time off to be closer to her new place of employment. And she was very happy with her choice of work and she said she did plenty of research before making a decision about it. She seemed nice and I wish her the best of luck. There were a few other ladies present during our visit. The Alien Cathouse used to be under the ownership of Dennis Hof but has a new owner since a few months now. The car forest in Goldfield.....a small town full of things to see. Stokes castle in Austin. And I got back to my destination in Oregon this morning. I am already planning another trip to Nevada to do some more exploring sometime next year.....

I am making a rather quick Vegas visit....well quick for me. Most people (I am guessing) that visit Vegas come for a weekend or a few day, maybe a week. To me that is a quick visit. I am here to take care of some stuff that I have to do. So no Wolf Pack partying for me.
Anyhow....I am going to take out my contacts and snuggle up with my furry babies and go to bed.

The 2018 Burning Man art theme was I, Robot. To quote some about the theme found on burningman.org, "This year’s art theme will focus on the many forms of artificial intelligence that permeate our lives; from the humble algorithm and its subroutines that sift us, sort us and surveil us, to automated forms of labor that supplant us. Are we entering a Golden Age that frees us all from mindless labor? Everything, it seems, depends on HMI, the Human-Machine Interface. In a world increasingly controlled by smart machines, who will be master and who will be the slave?"
So lot of robots on the playa.....here are some of them and the man.
The man was mainly blue, an electric blue and stood on a platform.....surrounding the man on the platform were 12 robots (robot effigies) of different kinds. The robot family.
"Robot effigies to stand vigil around the Man during the Event, then accompany it to fiery oblivion on Burn Night."





















"Robot Resurrection is towering 30 foot tall, human piloted, articulating sculpture made from reclaimed airplane parts and found objects. From the torso cockpit, the operator(s) manipulate the Robot’s motions and fire effects. This piece is a representation of we all have become… Robots. It is a wake-up call of how large these problems are. We have been controlled for too long. Robot Resurrection was born from what we as a society have discarded. Our hope is that this 28′ Robot will inspire reflection upon one’s self and be a reminder of the power we all hold. We hope it awakens some awareness of our situation and encourages some small change on a small scale that leads to big change in the massive system."
From burningman.org



Yellow tape around the man the day of the Burn which always is on a Saturday.





Beautiful and magical Black Rock City! ❤︎

Yesterday I hiked to Proxy Falls which is located off the OR 242 Highway, also knows as the McKenzie Highway. It is a VERY scenic highway and it is closed down parts of the year, I highly recommend checking it out. The hike to Proxy Falls is not very long and there is Lower and Upper Proxy Falls, I thought that the Lower was much nicer and you can hike down to the waterfall and be really close to it.





Proxy Falls from a distance.



A bit closer.









What a nice day! It is so pretty outside....I love it. By the time we got home it was getting late, I made some food (heated up leftovers and had a cup of Earl Grey tea), watched a movie and went to bed.

So a few days into the burn I got some bike problems, suddenly it became very strenuous to bike....I got exhausted after five minutes. So the following morning before my barista shift started I tried to get my bike fixed but the two first places I went to were not open yet. When I got to the welding shop which was the third stop I didn't have enough time to wait for them to fix my bike so I had to do it after my shift and that meant I would miss out on Foam Against The Machine which closed at 4:20 pm but fixing the bike was a priority. It is no fun to be without a bike on the playa. You need a bike, preferably a functioning bike.
So I went to Elliot's Naked Bike Repair and met Un Jon and a guy called Reverend and they helped me. It was the bearings and they fixed the problem in no time. SO NICE! Actually Elliot helped McKenzie with her bike a few days prior when it needed some adjustments and yes Elliot is naked....hence the name of the bike repair place.



This is me after my barista shift, sweaty and bothered after pedaling across the playa on a very reluctant bike. And that is Un Jon sitting next to me, he is 81 and lives in Salem Oregon. Some people you just bond with and I felt that we bonded. I went back the next day to visit him and took another pic with him. I hope to see him again next year.