Reno People

Reno People's Santa Crawl Pics

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:03:12 GMT

Some shots of the Santa Crawl - from deep 4th Street to the heart of Divine.

Hookah Gurus at Waterfall

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:11:29 GMT

The Lounge at The Waterfall Bar has been open for only a few months, but its young proprieters have already reinvented the hookah. Ryan Andrews, 24, came to Reno from San Deigo, where he had experience working at a hookah lounge. Andrews was working at The Waterfall Bar when he decided to team with Dan Burke, 24, and create his dream hookah lounge.

Together they have pioneered "new age" hookah blends, using both alcohol and fruit to create one-of-a-kind flavors. AT this time, the hookah lounge is open from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday-Thursday, 7 p.m. to close on Friday and 8 p.m. to close on Saturdays. When the Beer Crawl, Wine Walk or other special events are going on, it opens earlier at 2 p.m.

Below, see a slideshow on how to make Obama's Stash, one of the most expensive hookahs on the menu.

Wallaby Woman

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:19:43 GMT

After seeing wallabies at a now-defunct drive-through safari in Southern California, Eddie Miller decided she wanted some of her own. The first one, a full-grown muscular female, came from New Zealand in a big wooden crate and was growling "just like the Tasmanian devil" according to Miller.

Now, after eight years and 13 baby wallabies, she is somewhat of a wallaby expert in the middle of the desert.

"My wallabies are Bennetts wallabies, a non-endangered species and considered a pest [in New Zealand]." Miller said. "In a sense, I have rescued many from being poisoned per government regulation...ironically, the Parma wallaby, which is a threatened species in its native Australia is being actively exterminated in New Zealand.

"I attempted to import some, but international restrictions on the movement of threatened species made it impossible. So, the very laws that are in place to protect them make it impossible for me to bring them to Nevada, where I had hoped to establish a gene pool."

Click below to see a gallery of the wallabies hiding out at Eddie Miller's ranch in Stagecoach, Nev.

More adorable wallaby action.

For more information about Eddie Miller's ranch contact: eddieannmiller@hotmail.com

Desert Stories: Back Street Chopper Celebrity

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:37:10 GMT

Randy Miller was riding back to Reno from Las Vegas on his custom Harley Davidson converted from a police cruiser. While he was taking a break at a gas station near Death Valley, a figure approached him from the wavy mirage of heat. The figure was drawn in by the gleaming chrome on Miller's 1950s tractor-style seat, which had been salvaged from an exercise bike. When the man got closer he saw an aircleaner cover, part of a bronze Dutch frying pan that had been converted into a clock with sun rays and Roman numerals and was now on his bike. The man admired the seat and bronze cover and asked Miller what magazine he read. Miller replied: "Back Street Choppers, exclusively." The man then reached into his pocket and pulled out his business card -- he was Steven Broyles, the VP of The Horse: Back Street Choppers.

Broyles then handed Miller a copy of the magazine and took a picture of him next to his bike for possible use among readers' photos in the magazine. Then just as fast as he appeared, Broyles was gone.

Then the October 2009 issue of The Horse came out. Well, guess whose photo made it in? See for yourself:

Sinister Superhero

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:54:04 GMT

I had a bunch of mostly sinister unused photos from the Superhero Pub Crawl, so I put them together in a slideshow and asked Portland-based bedroom beat savant Dylan Conlin to make me a sinister soundtrack to go with the slides. He did a great job and I look forward to hearing his creations in upcoming audioslides.

Link to photos: Sinister Super Hero

Music: The Grinning by Dylan P. Conlin

Celebration Hat Guy

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:30:32 GMT

This past Memorial Day my friend Owen approached me and excitedly pulled out a folded piece of paper. It was from the Celebrations section of the Reno Gazette-Journal and included a series of three pictures of a man wearing what looks like a pink kimono and three different hats. The greeting on the ad was for "Andrea USMC. Herbert USA," wishing a happy Memorial and Independence days. There was also a list of patriotic-themed classical marches by John Philip Sousa:

The Stars and Stripes Forever
The Washington Post
Semper Fidelis

Owen thought it was the best thing he'd seen in a while, so now he keeps it with him, neatly folded and tucked into his wallet.

I did a little digging and discovered another series of photos of the same man posted for Easter (top, left). He has on a worn blue baseball cap and blue sweater (it also looks like he is wearing shoulder pads). The greeting attached to the pictures goes out to Wendy and Herbert and wishes a happy "Christian Easter Holiday" and "Jewish Passover Holiday." The second ad also has a list of a few different classical symphonies:

Gustav Mahler Symphony #1 TITAN
Gustav Mahler Symphony #2 Resurrection
Gustav Holst The Planets

Well, guess what? He's back. Just the other day, the Celebration Hat Guy, as I'll call him, put in a new listing for Wendy and Herbert wishing a happy Fourth of July, again accompanied by a series of three photos, this time wearing a seasonally appropriate white hat and shirt. As usual, the listing included classical symphonies:

Based solely on the music selection UNR Music Department Chair Andrea Lenz, with help from other faculty, put together these descriptions of the Celebration Hat Guy:

"Very Romantic and/or emotional."

"Big orchestral."

"His taste is toward sort of over-ripe Romanticism butting up against the 20th century, but not quite diving into modernism (Rite of Spring would be the one possible exception to that statement)."

Who are you Celebration Hat Guy, and what are you trying to tell us with your classical music, hats and photos?

Meet Ashlee Stone

Fri, 29 May 2009 07:41:09 GMT

John Ritter invented his flashy alter ego Ashlee Stone at 17 and hasn't looked back since. Ritter grew up as a strict Catholic on a farm before moving to Reno and starting his new life. As far as his family, Ritter says that they love him and support his decision. Through Ashlee Stone, Ritter has created a mini party empire with his Vanity Entertainment brand and is branching out nationally with a modeling career and ambitions in television (even though he doesn't watch it).

In the audio slide sho w below we caught up with Ms. Stone in the noisy V.I.P. at Underground — while Britney Spears Impersonator Kimberley Dayle let loose on stage in the background — to hear what she had to say about mixed vibe, drag queens, music, the recession and the power of optimism. The accompanying photos are from the Toxic Party (See more photos).

Their next event is the biggest little Zoo Show at the Underground on June 20, with more details to be announced.

Local Lesbian Flick

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:19:23 GMT

I heard about the screening of a new indie film, so I went to Wells Fargo Auditorium at UNR to check it out. One of the actors, a cute theater major, was talking about her first side-boob shot and immediately I became more interested.

The film was "A New Leaf," put together by newly-created Cliflo Productions' Clifford Bliese Dominic Lopez (I cracked the code).

The short black-and-white film uses UNR theater majors and a low budget ($500) for the story about a guy whose lesbian rommate starts dating his ex-girlfriend and, YES, they are having lesbian sex.

Even though none of the actors or crew are gay and the closing line of the film, in regard to lesbianism, is: "That is so f---ing awesome," Lopez wants viewers to take away a deeper meaning.

"If a person is straight, there is no way you can change them into a homosexual," Lopez said. "The same is for a gay man or woman; you can't make them a straight person. I wanted to make that statement with the movie. People are who they are and that's it. Now that we know that, we can work on accepting each other instead of chastising our fellow man (or woman)."

The company isn't a registered business in Nevada yet, but offers certain services on the website: Concert recordings, sport tapings, instructional videos, acting reels, music videos, pilot tapings and commericals.

The next big film for Cliflo is a $150,000 co-operative project with Vision Captured, LLC that will be submitted to the Sundance Film Festival.

"The project is a look at what the media considers 'healthy' and 'fit,'" Lopez said. "The medical definition of fit is someone in good health yet, the media portrays healthy as someone who is well defined, toned and basically beautiful. The project is taking a closer look at this subject and the effect it has on the societal psyche."

But also watch for a short comedy at the Over the Fence Short Film Festival and an upcoming mock-u-mentary.

You can check out "A New Leaf" on Cliflo's website: http://clifloproductions.com/

Pictured: Cast and crew and a still of the leading lesbians.

Website Gets Dirty

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:14:10 GMT

JuicyCampus.com, the infamous anonymous posting site, recently closed up shop. All the lucky boys and girls from UNR's frats and sororities can rest at ease. Not really, because the URL just forwards to the new site Collegeacb.com, which is exactly the same. The real juiciness has moved on to TheDirty.com. The site added Reno to its list of cities, which includes the likes of Miami, DC and San Francisco. So now, not just UNR, but entire Reno can talk trash. And it has photos!

One of the posts talks about February's boxing match between Joey Gilbert and Jesse Brinkley (check out the afterparty photos on Metromix).

The commenter who posted the picture above had this to say about the contender:

"This is Joey Gilbert after the ‘Civil War’ bout. The douchebag boycotted the fight for this exact reason, maybe he should keep his mouth shut!"

It's definitely one of the more reserved posts. Have fun.

Meet Celeste

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:48:19 GMT

I met Celeste at Tonic and she gave me this business card.

Though not quite as versatile as Madeline, she is doer of all things music. From electronic beats production and remixing to singing in her own music videos and spinning at the club, Celeste has dabbled in it all.

Check out her music video "House of Glass."

Meet Madeline

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:18:08 GMT

I met Madeline taking pictures at Great Basin Brewery and she gave me her business card. I forgot it for a while, but the fancy hairdo caught my interest so I checked out her website. It turns out she is a very multi-talented fashion designer, graphic designer, interpretive dancer and recording artist/singer. One of her most well known fashion designs is her bird bag (pictured above).

Check out this video of her performing one of her songs:

Shoe Store Author

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:52:03 GMT

I met Gerald working at Famous Footwear. I told him I liked to write and he told me he had written a book inspired by his favorite science fiction series. He gave me his website.

Here is an excerpt from the intro pages:

"He reached inside the overcoat he wore and pulled out a human head. Holding it by the hair, he waved it cruelly over the woman's sweaty and bleeding face."

Wondering what the critics thought?

"I love the way the author told the story. I could actually visualize what I was reading because it was so well-written. - Kourtney Cotton / Reno, Nevada."

The website is www.ladare.com in case you want to buy it.

Meet Marcello

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:10:04 GMT

I met Marcello in Truckee. He was promoting his new movie about graffiti on freight trains. Graffiti art has been his passion since a friend took him tagging under a bridge and got him addicted.

"After that I got all of my own equipment, but in a few months I was in Jail," Marcello said. "I think it is a way for people without money to advertise themselves. All the rich corporations can afford to put up big billboards and advertisements that everyone has to look at. Graffiti is a way for everyone else to do the same."

He has been recording graffiti on freight trains for years, and his original film, "We Ride by Train Vol. 1," was filmed exclusively in Reno. The films use careful music choices and editing to create a visual narrative of the tags that pass by, and interviews with tramps and anonymous artists add even more intrigue.

My favorite parts are the stop-motion segments of artists painting the trains. It's like watching a flower bloom in a harsh industrial landscape.

Here is a clip from his newest movie filmed around the Bay Area: