Purple Carpet, Pacific Grove, California

I sent out postcard US-3975289 to Australia early today, which shows a "purple carpet" of blossoms brightens this Pacific Grove coast in California with photo credit by James Blank.

Then the news came with the superstar Prince's passing at the age of 57. Soon the City of Las Vegas has turned purple to honor Prince. Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman directs the Las Vegas City Hall exterior to be lit in purple tonight. So do the Venetian and Palazzo hotels and casinos, and the High Roller at The LINQ Promenade on the Las Vegas Strip. Fremont Street Experience also honors the pop singer with a tribute at their Viva Vision canopy tonight.

I found a  video on YouTube showing Prince performing “Purple Rain” during downpour for the Super Bowl XLI Half-time Show, where producers described how Prince met the adverse weather head on and owned the show. (Update: unfortunately, that video later went private.)

Balancing Men by Cirque du Soleil

Balancing Men

I bought this postcard at a Cirque du Soleil show gift shop. It noted: "Balancing Men: the powerful, yet fluid, movements of the Hand-to-Hand act mesmerize audiences with their fusion of strength and grace". However, we were reminded of the real risk in those unreal acts by the recent accidents.

Last week was a bad week for the Cirque du Soleil shows. First, a cast member was injured at Mandalay Bay during “Michael Jackson One” preview on Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The aerial artist was performing the “Stranger in Moscow” routine when he slipped off the slack rope and fell to the stage. Next, on Saturday, June 29, 2013 inside the MGM Grand, performer Sarah Guyard-Guillot in "Ka" died after a 50 feet fall near the end of its 9:30 pm show. Future performances of "Ka" are canceled until further notice.

I went to see "Ka" early last year and Sarah was mostly likely in the show since she had been an original cast member from 2006. I will remember the excitement and determination Sarah and other artists brought to me by taking the risk and turning those seemly impossible acts into reality.