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I did not realize The Circus, the REAL ones (not the kind that used to come to Columbus) were so HUGE!
The Ringling Bros Circus big top was 200 yards long and bigger then the Dane County Coliseum. It would seat 16,000 people and was only 1 of 4 canopy's. It would take one day to set up and employed 1,200 people. Along with The Big Top there was the Menagerie (zoo), the museum and the freak show canopy's.
The Circus used 98 train cars to go from point to point and many Americans saw their first moving pictures at a Circus as Barnum and Bailey had a darkened tent to show moving images.
The last of the BIG traveling circus ended in the mid 1950s. A fire in the Big top killed 160 people and was pretty much the end. Here is a lesson. Do not water proof a tent with kerosene and paraffin. You would THINK that would be a no brainer.
The Circus paid female employees an equal pay to males (unlike today) and before woman suffrage would let woman vote on Circus issues. What an amazing documentary PBS put on and I never realized how BIG the Circus was. It was literally the ONLY large entertainment most Americans ever saw in their lifetime.
I also thought the circus was a world wide thing but NOPE. In that form it was 100% all American. Europe had nothing like the spectacle. When PT Barnum passed away it was front page news in every newspaper in the WORLD.
Then there was the 5 Ringling Brothers - what an amazing story THEY are. Literally the American dream. They started with less then 1 dime to their collective names and became the largest Circus in the world.
My views on the circus has changed. Too bad about the animals but come on. In those days animals were treated as machines. Horses that built the trans continental worked hard until they died. SADLY America would not be what it is today if not for the hard work AND cruelty of animals.
I'm glad that has sort of changed.
I strongly recommend watching that documentary if it comes on again. Even if you are anti circus because of the animals it's an American Experience you should watch if you love history.
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Took this image of Sharrows downtown. Actually took a bunch but the clouds came in and I had to stop
and while I was at it I still have a crap load of images from Quebec.
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| The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré |
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My brother Ralls and his wife Stacy perform (read) for audio books which is MUCH more difficult they you can imagine. One big issue is reading in a room that has negative decibels.
Negative decibels? Yea - me too (not #Metoo). Well, I had to look it up. It seems 0 decibels is not the lack of all sound. It's the lack of sound that can be "heard" on a recording device. So an audio book reader must be in a room that has NEGATIVE decibels. Less then 0 decibels.
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Venom exceeded expectations this past weekend. Jenny saw it and LOVED it. Said it was pretty funny. ODDLY only 38% who attended were White with Hispanic (26 percent), Blacks (18 percent), Asian (11 percent) and other (6 percent).
Looks like Ford will layoff a truck load of employees siting tariffs as the reason.
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Coal - there are ZERO new coal plants being considered for construction and the 4th coal plant filed for Chapter 11 in the last few days. DONALD SAVE US!
China and India have canceled all new coal plants. Don't invest in coal.
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Russian support for Putin is at an all time low. Seems raising retirement age from from 60 to 65 for males and 57 to 60 for females is not a good plan BEFORE an election. Thus - do it after elected.
And the economy in Venezuela - inflation is 4% A DAY!! In September inflation was 233%. IN ONE MONTH! We are at about 2.54% which is the highest since 2011 means Americans are losing money as take home pay is not keeping up. Thank you Donald.
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