A Much Better View of the Moon (George Wurzbach)

Last night was close... and tonight is the "official" full moon - this tune seems to fit my mood/life philosophy now...

SONG: A Much Better View of the Moon by George Wurzbach (scroll about halfway down; "I ain't no creature"... should be preacher... :-)

BOOK: One Hundred Aspects of the Moon: Japanese Woodblock Prints by Tamara Tjardes, Yoshitoshi Taiso

POEM: The Eclipse by Richard Eberhart

I stood out in the open cold

To see the essence of the eclipse

Which was its perfect darkness.

I stood in the cold on the porch

And could not think of anything so perfect

As man's hope of light in the face of darkness.

QUOTE: "And if I have to work late, there's nothing like diamond stars and a pearl full moon against an onyx night sky." ~ Astrid Alauda

Moonshadow (Cat Stevens)

Last night was the total lunar eclipse, which I watched from the jacuzzi with my sister, my daughter and a few glasses of wine (theirs red, mine white) - it's delightful having Mari here through early Sunday morning, as she flew down from Atlanta earlier in the week to Tampa for a business conference, and then drove across the state to spend a few days with us.

We have plans to hit the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (where Sarah works) for their Happy Hour later today - chilling at home Friday evening (!) and TBA stuff for Saturday night (although the day is earmarked for sunning/lounging by/in the pool... :-)

I love my (13 years younger) baby sister and my blogging will be sporadic (if at all) over the next few days as we hang out together - more later...

Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight By Robert Roy Britt

Senior Science Writer

posted: 20 February 2008

08:25 am ET

A total eclipse of the moon tonight is expected to delight skywatchers across the United States and much of the world. It will be the last total lunar eclipse until 2010.

The easy-to-watch event will play out in several stages as Earth's shadow blocks sunlight from shining on the moon. Weather permitting, the eclipse will be visible from all locations in the United States, according to NASA. Along the Oregon and northern California coasts, the moon will rise during the early stages of the eclipse, however.

When to watch
Eclipses occur only at full moon when the sun, Earth and moon are in a perfect line. Because the moon's orbit around Earth is not perfectly aligned with the plane of Earth's orbit around the sun, eclipses do not occur at every full moon.

The moon will enter Earth's umbral shadow (the full shadow) at 8:43 p.m. ET (that's 7:43 p.m. Central, 6:43 p.m. Mountain and 5:43 p.m. Pacific) on Wednesday, Feb. 20. It will appear as though an ever-larger bite is being taken out of the moon.

Some 78 minutes later, the moon will slip into full eclipse. About 51 minutes later, a bright scallop will appear as the moon starts emerging. It will be completely out of the umbral shadow at 9:09 p.m. Pacific time, which is 12:09 a.m. ET on Thursday morning.

For Europe and Africa, the eclipse is a predawn Thursday event, with the moon starting entry to the umbral shadow at 1:43 Greenwich (or Universal) Time.

What you'll see
Look for the moon to possibly turn red during the total portion of the eclipse. "The exact color that the moon appears depends on the amount of dust and clouds in the atmosphere," according to a NASA statement. "If there are extra particles in the atmosphere, from say a recent volcanic eruption, the moon will appear a darker shade of red."

The redness occurs because while the moon is in total shadow, some light from the sun passes through Earth's atmosphere and is bent toward the moon. The effect is to cast all the planet's sunrises and sunsets on the moon.

Christopher Columbus famously used a blood-red eclipse in 1504 to frighten natives on Jamaica into feeding his crew.

The planet Saturn and the bright star Regulus will form a broad triangle with the moon's ruddy disk, according to Joe Rao, SPACE.com's Skywatching Columnist.

You don't need any special equipment to watch a lunar eclipse. Comfortable chairs and warm clothing are good ideas. A telescope will bring out interesting details of the lunar surface, and even a small telescope will reveal Saturn's stunning rings.

SONG: Moonshadow by Cat Stevens

BOOK: Eclipse!: The What, Where, When, Why, and How Guide to Watching Solar and Lunar Eclipses by Philip S. Harrington

POEM: Crossings by Ravi Shankar

Between forest and field, a threshold
like stepping from a cathedral into the street—
the quality of air alters, an eclipse lifts,
boundlessness opens, earth itself retextured
into weeds where woods once were.

Even planes of motion shift from vertical
navigation to horizontal quiescence:
there’s a standing invitation to lie back
as sky’s unpredictable theater proceeds.
Suspended in this ephemeral moment
after leaving a forest, before entering
a field, the nature of reality is revealed.

QUOTE: "The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand." ~ Frederick L. Knowles

Lullaby for Ruth (John William Davis)

Last night was the "official" full moon, but I didn't have a chance to post about it... since I was viewing it, enveloped in a dimensional cloud cover... from the steaming warmth of my jacuzzi... sipping La Fin du Monde beer... deep in conversation with Danny Schmidt after his show at the Luna Star Cafe a few hours previous...

John William Davis appeared at the same cafe this evening and, being a respectful and appreciative admirer of his music as well, I had to attend - this is a song he wrote for his daughter...

SONG: Lullaby for Ruth by John William Davis

BOOK: The Moon's Lullaby by Josephine Nobisso, Glo Coalson (Illustrator)

POEM: Moon by Billy Collins

The moon is full tonight

an illustration for sheet music,

an image in Matthew Arnold

glimmering on the English Channel,

or a ghost over a smoldering battlefield

in one of the history plays.

It's as full as it was

in that poem by Coleridge

where he carries his year-old son

into the orchard behind the cottage

and turns the baby's face to the sky

to see for the first time

the earth's bright companion,

something amazing to make his crying seem small.

And if you wanted to follow this example,

tonight would be the night

to carry some tiny creature outside

and introduce him to the moon.

And if your house has no child,

you can always gather into your arms

the sleeping infant of yourself,

as I have done tonight,

and carry him outdoors,

all limp in his tattered blanket,

making sure to steady his lolling head

with the palm of your hand.

And while the wind ruffles the pear trees

in the corner of the orchard

and dark roses wave against a stone wall,

you can turn him on your shoulder

and walk in circles on the lawn

drunk with the light.

You can lift him up into the sky,

your eyes nearly as wide as his,

as the moon climbs high into the night.

QUOTE: "By night only crazy things, like the full moon and the whippoorwill and us, are busy." ~ Charles Olson

Walk of Life by Dire Straits

My friend N came over for dinner last night... and we had the most wonderful time catching up one-on-one, face-to-face, as opposed to our usual hit-and-run, e-mail and phone relationship - he played and sang Love Hurts... once in the kitchen and again on the patio, not having a clue as to the painful yet cathartic significance. We drank wine, we ate crusty bread dipped in olive oil and spices, we traded mind/heart/spirit stuff - at one point we were bemoaning our respective rounder-than-we'd-like-to-be physiques and I said that we should make a pact to motivate each other into improved fitness/nutrition habits.

We immediately came up with a concrete number of pounds to be shed, a finite date by which we'd like to accomplish and tools to spur each other's progress - at that point (11:00 p.m.) N said, "let's go for a walk now. It doesn't have to be long or far but it will validate our intent". I smiled in agreement, headed for the closet to lace up my too-long-ignored Reeboks, took off my scarf and earrings (but chose not to change out of my dress) and we were out the door - I was immediately transported back to an amazing year of my life in which I walked almost every single day. I felt like a filly out of the starting gate again and I ached to be back in exercise-addicted mode - we only went around the block but my pace was swift and joyful, in remembrance of days past and anticipation of times future - I have vowed to meet these goals to feel better about myself in more ways than just physical...

Plus we were able to have a front-and-center view of last night's amazing full harvest moon, which seemed symbolic (and you know how much import I attribute to signs/portents/omens) - feets, don't fail me now (and thanks, N, for both the nudge and the support... <3>

SONG: Walk of Life by Dire Straits

BOOK: The Spirited Walker: Fitness Walking For Clarity, Balance, and Spiritual Connection by Carolyn S. Kortge

POEM: Earth Your Dancing Place by May Swenson

Beneath heaven's vault

remember always walking

through halls of cloud

down aisles of sunlight

or through high hedges

of the green rain

walk in the world

highheeled with swirl of cape

hand at the swordhilt

of your pride

Keep a tall throat

Remain aghast at life
Enter each day

as upon a stage

lighted and waiting

for your step

Crave upward as flame

have keenness in the nostril

Give your eyes

to agony or rapture
Train your hands

as birds to be

brooding or nimble

Move your body

as the horses

sweeping on slender hooves

over crag and prairie

with fleeing manes

and aloofness of their limbs
Take earth for your own large room

and the floor of earth

carpeted with sunlight

and hung round with silver wind

for your dancing place

QUOTE: "Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement." ~ Alfred Adler

The Moon and St. Christopher (Mary Chapin Carpenter)

Tomorrow is my birthday and I expectantly await yet another year of adventures and experiences - I keep my father's St. Christopher (patron saint of travelers) medal on my keychain to remind me of dad's presence and to protect me on my journeys...

SONG: The Moon and St. Christopher by Mary Chapin Carpenter

BOOK: The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

POEM: Moon Gathering by Eleanor Wilner

And they will gather by the well,
its dark water a mirror to catch whatever
stars slide by in the slow precession of
the skies, the tilting dome of time,
over all, a light mist like a scrim,
and here and there some clouds
that will open at the last and let
the moon shine through; it will be
at the wheel's turning, when
three zeros stand like paw-prints
in the snow; it will be a crescent
moon, and it will shine up from
the dark water like a silver hook
without a fish--until, as we lean closer,
swimming up from the well, something
dark but glowing, animate, like live coals--
it is our own eyes staring up at us,
as the moon sets its hook;
and they, whose dim shapes are no more
than what we will become, take up
their long-handled dippers
of brass, and one by one, they catch
the moon in the cup-shaped bowls,
and they raise its floating light
to their lips, and with it, they drink back
our eyes, burning with desire to see
into the gullet of night: each one
dips and drinks, and dips, and drinks,
until there is only dark water,
until there is only the dark.

QUOTE: "Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." ~ Anton Chekov

Song About the Moon (Paul Simon)

"The fascination with the moon started long before Pink Floyd. It has been the inspiration for poetry, paintings, songs and even whole religions over the history of man. Every human that's ever lived has looked upon the moon and pondered it, as well as our own existence. Many believe that a 5,000 year old rock carving found at Knowth, Ireland represents the moon, in which case, it is the earliest depiction yet discovered. There is much folklore associated with the moon including that it's responsible for insanity... thus the word lunatic. Even today, after we have walked on the moon and know exactly what it is, it continues to be a great inspiration to songwriters across the world. "

The moon can be full, red, half, silvery, crescent - it can be harvest, yellow, paper, bad, new, pink. And, of course, it can be blue... which is the premise of this post - last night was the Blue Moon, which refers to the second full moon occurring within a calendar month. I attempted to honor it at 1:00 a.m. from the warmth and peacefulness of my jacuzzi, but the cloud cover was too thick - however, I didn't have to see it to believe it was there... :-)

SONG: Song About the Moon by Paul Simon

BOOK: Conversations with the Moon by Amy Neftzger

POEM: Song by Wendell Berry

Within the circles of our lives
we dance the circles of the years,
the circles of the seasons
within the circles of the years,
the cycles of the moon
within the circles of the seasons,
the circles of our reasons
within the cycles of the moon.

Again, again we come and go,
changed, changing. Hands
join, unjoin in love and fear,
grief and joy. The circles turn,
each giving into each, into all.
Only music keeps us here,
each by all the others held.
In the hold of hands and eyes
we turn in pairs, that joining
joining each to all again.
And then we turn aside, alone,
out of the sunlight gone
into the darker circles of return.

QUOTE: “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth.” ~ Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism