Going to the Sunwheel turned out well. The sky was fussy all day: raining some, staying cloudy, clearing temporarily, then turning back to grey. When the sun broke through, right in the middle of an astronomy graduate student’s lecture, the rays literally beamed down upon us, setting off fantastic contrast in the fluttering green leaves and freshly mown grasses. Who could possibly complain about that double rainbow, either?
Ok ok, sure, I know it wasn’t just for me,
🙂 but come on, you’ve gotta admit the whole event was rather spectacular!
I learned a few new things, particularly about the Lunar Cycle (which has been – and continues – at it’s own “lunar standstill” for over a year) and that the Astronomy Department has been able to place two more stones that mark the stars Aldebaran and Sirius (what do you know about the sothic rising?) The last one was approximately 400 years ago, and the next one will be around 3050. I think the implication is that stars do move, but not at a rate which we measly, short-lived human beings can observe.)
Did Will (the presenter) say Aldebaran is the “eye” of the Constellation Taurus? Meanwhile, George just had to tease me about being “into this solstice thing.” Yeah! And what of it?! I think patterns matter. The trick question is, which ones? 🙂 I found this interesting blogpost (by an Iranian? Chinese? Who knows?!) when I was looking for a playful astrology link: not because I give astrologers the same reliability as astronomers (heaven forbid!), but I think the fact of other knowledges based on different frames of reference is something we (humanity, I’m thinking big) have got to do a better job of understanding.
Anyway, I am looking forward to Koushik
keeping his end of the deal and providing more impromptu physics lessons. I have a clearer understanding of “frame of reference” now than I ever had before. (Things are different from the inside of an accelerating system than from the outside of it.) Tail asks (and I am still muddling through the explanations of the twin paradox): “WHY does movement make one’s time flow slower?
Is the biology answer different than the physics answer? Because everyone except the rock star waited a long time for Maya-Mediterranean Chocolate Rice Pudding from The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural & Natural History of Cacao. I picked up the book at the , which Ila took me to in December of 2005.
Ruth’s hummus and spinach dips got us started along with a special (surprise!) quiche (all to rave reviews) and then it was all Better Homes and Gardens, thus invoking Katelyn and her family in memory. 🙂 Her sister Giovanna inscribed my first cookbook, “use in good health.” We most certainly did! The spinach and garbanzo bean salad was the most popularly requested item for takehome, the chutney-fruit rice salad was described as “a hit.” The sesame asparagus was pretty quickly gobbled up, and the creamed peas and new potatoes were also devoured. There was (by the way) enough food and we did not start before everyone was here!
The evening was perfect except for a few moments of amateur cook/host stress (how much help can one person handle at the exact same time?!) but (fortunately, since I really needed it) folks figured out how to manage me. :-/ (And they didn’t even know that my mom used to put my college friends “in charge of the kitchen” instead of me!)
Correction!! Actually i am an Indonesian, (i hope the word Indonesia ring a bell); i hope you understand why i so eager to make the correction.
But the more important is, i don’t have stop in nationality, it’s about us as a humanity.
In regading the passion, yes, i agree; imho we are merely child of Prometheus, tortured by knowledge with passionate to pass to others. How can we channelling? By telling the tales, share the thought & keep pursuing the beyond of our limititation & always keep our mind open.
Thanks for opening another gate, i will link yours to 🙂
Hi Emanuel, I do know of Indonesia but only indirectly. I know one person from there, and I have several friends from India who were involved in relief efforts after the tsunami last year. I only guessed that you might be Chinese or Iranian because these two identities were named in your blog. 🙂 I could not recognize the language that you and your commenter write in, is it Indonesian?
I agree with the passion part of what you say, but am less sure of what you wrote about “knowledge . . . to pass on to others.” I always assume that what I know (or, what I think I know, smile) is the limitation that I must go beyond. I know I can do this most easily with people who share a similar desire.
🙂