1. Gold Canyon Switch Nevada’s first known newspaper, Johnstown’s Gold Canyon Switch of 1854, was handwritten, one of several handwritten mining camp papers over the years.
2. The Misfits The Misfits is a 1961 drama featuring Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe and is set mostly in Reno. Monroe’s character is recently divorced and even throws her ring into the Truckee River.
3. “Little Motel” by Modest Mouse music video This unconventional music video shot by Reno native Justin Francis with all local actors in 2007 was filmed entirely in Reno. It shows a young boy dying and his mom taking him from the hospital to die in a little motel, but the visuals are played in reverse.
4. “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash The most famous pop cultural reference to the city of Reno is in Johnny Cash’s lyric, “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die” in “Folsom Prison Blues,” from his album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison. The song, appropriately enough, opens up this live album actually recorded in the prison in 1968.
5. First libraries A Carnegie Free Public Library was established in Reno in 1904, the area’s first. A Sparks library opened in 1932, Stead in 1973, Incline Village in 1978.
6. Eric Whitacre Popular composer and conductor Eric Whitacre was born in Reno in 1970 and studied music at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas prior to attending Julliard School of Music in New York.
7. California Split
Nevada media ov er the last century and a half
Right in the middle of his hot streak that included hits like MASH and Nashville, Robert Altman made this 1974 prototypical buddy comedy about a couple of dudes (George Segal and Elliot Gould, in his handsome, charming prime) who come to Reno for a poker game. Many of the casino scenes were shot at the Mapes, the classic casino that some jackasses tore down more than a decade ago to make room for a fucking ice rink.
8. KOJ radio On May 1, 1922, Nevada State University in Reno was issued a federal license for the state’s first radio station, with call letters KOJ. It was later revoked without going live.
By B r a d B y nu Georgia Fi m , sh S a g e L e e h e e r, y and Dennis My ers
9. The Loom of the Desert Long ago, travelers “worked their way back from the Western sea,” Idah Meacham Strobridge wrote in 1907 in the story collection The Loom of the Desert, “to stop at those Nevada cañons where there was silver to be had for the delving.”
10. The Crew If you ask somebody from Dubuque or Baltimore or Toronto or wherever to name a band from Reno, Nevada, chances are they won’t be able to, unless they’re into punk rock and hardcore, in which case, they’ll say, without hesitation, “7 Seconds. Duh.” The band’s first full-length LP came out in 1984.
11. Television in Tonopah and Ely In 1955 television came to Tonopah and in 1956 to Ely.
12. Atomic test site art In the 1950s, atomic test sites were such an attraction that they inspired art and posters. http://bit.ly/1nOYg6l.
13. Jena Malone Actress Jena Malone was born in Sparks in 1984. She recently played Johanna Mason in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
T
his fall, Nevada has its 150th birthday—its sesquicentennial. And soon enough the weather will cool down and we’ll all be more prone to staying indoors and reading a book, watching a movie, catching up on our TV shows on Netflix or listening to music. In that spirit, we’ve brought you 150 Nevada-themed media items to get you prepped and ready for the season.
14. Fitzsimmons/Corbett fight Nevada’s first known movie was shot on St. Patrick’s Day 1897 in Carson City—the Bob Fitzsimmons/Jim Corbett prizefight, attended by thousands. Fitzsimmons won.
15. Tremors Perfection, Nevada, the setting of the horror movie, Tremors (1990), about giant killer earthworms, isn’t a real town, and the movie was actually shot around Lone Pine, California, which is on the Eastern edge of the Sierras, so at least it really looks Nevada.
“150 t H IN G S ” continued on page 14
OPINION
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NEWS
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GREEN
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FEATURE STORY
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ARTS&CULTURE
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ART OF THE STATE
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FOODFINDS
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FILM
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MUSICBEAT
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NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS
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THIS WEEK
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MISCELLANY
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SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
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RN&R
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