Or as we like to call it.. The Twilight Zone.

[gridlore]

Fernley, Nevada. A wide spot on I-80, east of Reno and west of a whole lot of nothing. 35.4 square miles (91.7 km²) with between 12,000 and 13,000 people living there. There are thousands of towns like this in the US and Canada, rest stops on the major highways or slowly dying remnants of a bygone era. I've never heard of 99% of them, including Fernley.. until about a week ago.

That's when kevin_standlee and travelswithkuma announced that they might be buying a house there due to a long dramatic series of events. Then kshandra mentioned that she had stopped to eat there after the end of one Burning Man. I could accept this, Kiri does drive out that way for the event, and the reason for the move made sense when explained. But today? Today things got weird

This morning I got links from several of the news organizations I follow on Twitter about a hate crime committed against a Native American family by some skinheads in Fernley. Then I'm checking the shipping on an Amazon shipment and here's the only status update: Fernley NV Shipment has left seller facility and is in transit - July 5, 2011 12:29:43 PM

Is this a message? Am I being summoned? If I go will I meet a bunch of people who were drawn to the site by aliens? I am seriously expecting tonight's Countdown to end with "Good night, and Fernley Nevada!"

Comments

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

"This means something. This is important."

[seawasp]

You will need a LOT of mashed potatoes.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

I find I work better in stuffing. It speaks to my soul.

My favorite moment from that film comes when the group is climbing Devil's Tower, and Roy tells than that the trail they're on dead-ends, but there is another trail that loops around to the back side. Several of the fugitives complain that their drawings didn't show that. Roy says...

"Next time, try sculpture."

Next time? NEXT TIME?!?

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

My favorite scene is probably "The Conversation." Sure, it's utter balls as actual communication (which would probably sound much more like, big surprise, an acoustic modem handshaking than a jam session), but it's one heck of a sound and light show.

I also sometimes imagine the two project heads among the aliens wondering and grumbling why only one of the samples that they selected and tagged is present, and the rest being offered are so un-diverse they might have been decanted from the same clone-batch. (Still, they can't afford to be too choosy; their grant's almost up and their launch window is closing.)

[pauldrye.livejournal.com]

DAMMIT I CAME HERE TO SAY THIS!

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Paul, In the last three days the entire Northern Hemisphere has written "Happy Birthday" on my FB wall. I can handle two people making the potatoes joke.

[dalen-talas.livejournal.com]

FNORD FNORD FNORD FNORD FNORD FNORD FNORD FNORD FNORD
FNORD FNORD FNORD FNORD FNORD FNORD FNORD FNORD FNORD
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Happy belated b-day, btw.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Yikes! That's not good news at all.