Gypsy Camp Blog

Water is a renewable resource but sometimes it needs to be treated in order for it to make it useable again. Treatment is the process of turning used or dirty water into something that is suitable for what it needs to be used for next or even returning it to its natural state. Turning wastewater into something that is reusable is a complicated process and can only be done properly in a facility like a wastewater treatment plant. This type of treatment takes out all of the solids, bacteria, plants, inorganic compounds, organic compounds and algae to turn it into environmentally acceptable water that can even be used as safe drinking water once it has passed through all of the different levels of filtration.

The Pre-treatment Pre-treatment is the process that removes all of the easily removable large objects. The types of debris that are removed during pre treatment include fats, oils and greases, sand, gravel, rocks, rags and feminine hygiene products and any other larger solids that can easily be filtered out.

Primary Treatment In the first stage of wasterwater treatment processing, the sewage flows through the primary clarifiers which are large tanks. These tanks are large enough that the sludge can settle and all of the floating material like grease and oils rise to the surface where they can be skimmed off. They are equipped with mechanically driven scrapers that drive the collected sludge into a hopper.

Secondary Treatment The secondary treatment is where the sewage that is from human waste, food waste, soaps and detergents is broken down and composted using an aerobic biological process which speeds up the process. After it is composted, it goes through a series of filters that clean out all of the other little things such as bacteria and algae. There are several different types of filters including a trickling filter and biological aerated filters. Trickling filters are where the settled sewage liquor is spread onto the surface of a deep bed made of carbonized coal, limestone chips or a specially fabricated plastic media that has high surface areas to support the biofilms that form. The liquid then gradually passes through the purifier medium to filter out all the biological films of bacteria, protozoa and fungi. The last steps of the filtration process are sand filtration, which further removes residual matter and activated carbon filtration that removes any toxins still in the liquid.

Nutrient Removal and Disinfection Wastewater contains high levels of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus which can be very harmful in large doses. Nitrogen is removed by oxidation which converts it to nitrate and then into nitrogen gas which is removed from the water by releasing it into the air. Phosphorus is removed through the use of chemicals such as salts of iron or aluminum.

The final step the water goes through is the disinfection stage where chlorine or ultraviolet light is used to disinfect the water and get it ready for human consumption. With this last step, the water is converted from contaminated liquid into useful and clean water.

Today, the Comedy Story sits on the same spot and has for over twenty years. In it’s earlier incarnation it was Ciro’s, and it was for a time the center of the entertainment universe.

From the early 1940’s until it closed on the eve of the 1960’s, Ciro’s launched countless entertainment icons along the path to superstardom. It was one of the first major venues to host Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin before they took over the comedy world in 1950. A year later, an unheralded opening act called the Will Mastin Trio stole the show from the headliner. This was due in large part to a young entertainer that would before long outgrow his membership in the group–arguably the most talented entertainer in show biz history, Sammy Davis, Jr. After the car accident that cost Sammy his right eye, it was the site of his return to live performing. Countless other top entertainers performed there, from Sinatra sidekick comic Joe E. Louis to Nat King Cole.

The names that frequented Ciros were a whos who of the American entertainment pantheon, starting at the very top with Frank Sinatra and including other A list stars like Anita Ekberg, Marilyn Monroe, Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Marlene Dietrich, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Ava Gardner, George Burns, Jack Benny, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford and too many others to mention. They came to drink, to see and be seen among a collection of other Hollywood illuminati, served by leggy cigarette girls in short skirts and heels.

During a more civilized time, a network of top nightclubs hosted entertainment, drinking, dining and other hijinx in the major cities of the US. Ciro’s was among this elite group of nightspots dating back to the early 1940’s when the icons of that era including Bogart, Jimmy Cagney, Lauren Bacall and George Raft would frequent the place. It started to ‘cool off’ and by 1942 was forced to close its doors for a time. It didn’t stay closed for long, as Herman Hoover implemented his plan to re-open and revitalize the nightspot.

Hoover had an interesting background–while attending law school at Columbia University he was lured away by the mix of wiseguys and chorus girls at New York’s famed “Silver Slipper”. “The Slipper” was a prohibition era nightspot owned by a group of organized crime luminaries, and Hoover quickly became a valued management asset. He would later work at Harlem’s famed Cotton Club before relocating to the west coast in 1936.

Ciros reopened on December 26, 1942 with longtime Sinatra pal Joe E. Lewis on stage and such stars as Mickey Rooney, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Joan Crawford and Cary Grant in the audience. Xavier Cugat (whod later marry a Latin dancer named Charo) became a regular headliner at the club, preceding the arrival of Martin, Lewis and Sammy Davis, Jr.

Hoover had hosted Dean Martins wedding in 1949 to second wife Jeanne, and Martin and Lewis debuted at Ciros in 1950. They remained loyal to Hoover and his club, and even when they were pulling down an astounding (for the 1950s) $100,000 a week to perform they insisted on holding their fee at Ciros to what they were originally paid–$7,000 a week. Sammy Davis, Jr. got his start at Ciro’s and returned to the stage after his mid 1950’s car accident in what may have been the biggest event ever at the club. Following an introduction by Frank Sinatra, Davis put on a scorching performance before an adoring and emotional crowd of the biggest stars on the planet.

It was the growth of “The Radiant City” in the Nevada desert–Las Vegas–that would eventually seal the fate of Ciro’s and nightclubs like it nationwide. With huge revenues afforded by legal gambling, Nevada casinos were in a position to lure away the best talent for its showrooms. Entertainers liked the fact that they didn’t have to travel, and Las Vegas afforded them a 24/7 playground. By the late 50’s, Ciro’s was forced to close its doors and was sold at a public auction in 1959 for a mere $350,000.

It also represented the end of an era in Los Angeles. Sunset Boulevard remained a vital commercial artery, but the glamorous strip of adult entertainment that became part of American mythology gave way to a tacky mishmash of restaurants, strip clubs, and tattoo parlors intermingled with more upscale businesses. Although another revolution would emerge from Sunset Boulevard”a culinary superstar named Wolfgang Puck, and his restaurant Spago”the world became a little less civilized with the passing of Ciros. The building has been the Comedy Store for the past 26 years, and has started its own crop of stars along the path to fame.

Giacomo Puccini is the original writer of the popular opera Madame Butterfly. If you attend this dazzling opera we recommend bringing a pair of opera glasses to enjoy it to the fullest extent. And we will tell you why.

The Madame Butterfly opera begins with a United States Naval Officer, one of the main characters named Pinkerton and a Japanese Marriage Broker named Goro. Pinkerton and Goro are looking at a little house with a gorgeous view from the top of a hill overlooking the bay. Pinkerton wants to have the house home for 999 years. His 999 years include being able to cancel the housing agreement.

The opera moves on, and we find that a wedding between Pinkerton and Butterfly is about to take place. Almost all of Butterfly’s family will be coming to attend, however her uncle will not be coming due to the fact that he is a priest.

Although Pinkerton is marrying Butterfly, his goal is to get the love of as many beautiful women as possible. This is the reason he wants to have the right to cancel the housing agreement each and every month. Soon you will want to put on your opera glasses to see the beautiful Butterfly.

Before you get to see Butterfly’s beauty, one final part of the opera plays through. The American Consul, who is with Pinkerton, asks him if he loves Madame Butterfly. A yes will not come out of the mouth of Pinkerton, nor could it, for Pinkerton, is simply infatuated with Butterfly’s innocence, beauty and charm. He does not love her. Pinkerton then begins to speak of one day having an American woman to wed.

We finally at this point see the beautiful and elegant Butterfly enters the stage. The wedding begins, and the beautiful Butterfly and uncommitted Pinkerton are wed. A party in honor of the event begins, again all members of the family are in attendance. All are enjoying the festivities when Butterfly’s uncle, the priest breaks into the party. He condemns butter fly for her abandonment of her own religion to join her now husbands religion, and curses her. At this, the party breaks up leaving Butterfly weeping uncontrollably.

Months and weeks pass Butterfly and Pinkerton stay happily married, Butterfly is beyond content, nearly exploding with joy with the marriage to the man that she loves so much. One day Pinkerton finds that he must leave to fulfill his service as a naval officer, and tells Butterfly that he will soon return.

Act three opens, to find that three years have passed. Butterfly continues to watch ships coming in hoping every day to see the ship of her beloved husband, in all this time her love for him has only increased. One day she sees the American consul who she has known from the beginning as Pinkerton’s friend coming up the path to her home. Excitedly she greets him, hoping for news from her beloved. Unbeknownst to her, Pinkerton has asked him to go to Butterfly to tell her that he has wed another woman named Kate, and would not be coming back. Full of guilt the American gives the news.

Crushed by the dishonor and betrayal she leaves the room only to come back carrying a child. She begs with the American Consul, she says that Pinkerton would not dare to leave his wife, and now child. After trying to convince him that Pinkerton would not leave her, she finally accepts the facts.

What happens next, you will have to find out for yourself, by attending Madame Butterfly. The music in this opera is delightful as it is majestic, the attention to detail, and beauty of the costumes is unforgettable. Make sure you bring your opera glasses so that you can enjoy this opera to the fullest.