An Open Letter

Dear February,

Please go away.

Peace,
Bruce and Brax

the oscar for awesome goes to...

Brax,
I know that anyone who has ever waited tables will enjoy this an awful lot.

I'm going to wager that this dude thinks it was worth it.

-Bruce

Dorkin' out for science!

Bruce!

Last night there was a total lunar eclipse!! It was pretty amazing. I almost forgot about it until my mom called me and reminded me to go look at it.

I tried to take a picture, but it only came out as a little speck of light on my shitty camera. Anyway, this was apparently our last total lunar eclipse until 2010, so I hope everyone enjoyed it. I think my upstairs porch is probably the best place for viewing lunar eclipses, as it's on the 4th floor facing east. I had an awesome view of the moon, which was almost fully eclipsed when I went to look at it.

I decided to read up on lunar eclipses at NASA's website for last night's event, because I couldn't remember much about them from 6th grade science. Apparently, the type of lunar eclipse we see has do do with geometry, because it all depends on the angle of Earth's shadow. Most of the time, the moon doesn't line up with Earth's orbit at all, which is why we don't get a lunar eclipse at every full moon. A partial eclipse happens when part of the moon passes through the Earth's umbral shadow, or the "zone" in which Earth's shadow blocks all light from reaching the moon. Of course, last night's total eclipse meant that the entire moon passed through the umbral shadow.

There is actually a third type of eclipse, a penumbral eclipse, which has to do with another type of shadow cast by the earth. The penumbral shadow zone is actually a larger zone which contains the umbral shadow at its center. In the penumbral zone, Earth's shadow blocks some of the light from reaching the surface of the moon, but not all the light is blocked. Penumbral eclipses are usually only observed by astronomers because they are much more subtle. Here's a diagram from NASA's website:
You may also wonder why the moon appears red or orange during a lunar eclipse. The answer has to do with our atmosphere. When the moon passes through the Earth's umbral shadow, the Earth is blocking all direct sunlight from reaching the moon's surface. Some light does still reach the surface of the moon, but this light is indirect sunlight which has to pass through the Earth's atmosphere to get there. Because Earth's atmosphere filters out most of the blue colored light, the light that reaches the moon is a reddish orangy color instead of the bright white from direct sunlight. If the Earth had no atmosphere at all, the moon would be invisible during a lunar eclipse.

So now you know all about lunar eclipses! You should probably look at that website, because it has a list of all the upcoming lunar eclipses until 2012. Unless you don't care, that is. "For me, it's solar or nothing!"

LYLAS,
Brax

Percepto!

Brax,

It's a beautiful day! I am intending to have a quiet weekend, with lots of knitting and resting and getting rid of this stupid super-cold. Apparently I've contracted a monster doom cold which cannot be vanquished by traditional means. Instead, it burrows deep into the bones and nasal passages and makes its victim slightly uncomfortable and congested for weeks at a time, then surges to actual, stay-home-from-work sickness whenever you think you've finally beaten it. Hate and rage! I'm waging all out war on it right now, with OJ and zinc lozenges and echinacea and lots of rest and scarves.

As I wage my battle against the virus, I've been watching a lot of old horror movies. First we watched Nosferatu (which, btw, is available to watch instantly on Netflix. So one could watch it right this minute, if one had the time and a Netflix subscription).


Talk about creepy.

Everyone should watch this movie. It's really creepy and beautifully done. It's sort of remarkable to watch the artistry in Nosferatu, when you think of the advanced technology used today to create such monumental blights as Hostel and that remake of House of Wax starring Paris freaking Hilton. I don't really know anything about movies, but as far as I can tell this was just a very artistic director with some good actors and, like, the first video camera ever made.

Then last night we had a Vincent Price film festival! We watched the House on Haunted Hill and The Tingler. We've got the ORIGINAL House of Wax coming from Netflix, as well. Oh man, The Tingler is so awesome. Don't be embarrassed to scream! I would love to go to a showing in the theater--with Percepto! It's the most shocking, revolutionary thriller technology which enables the viewer to experience, actually experience, the thrill of the Tingler.


I also love House on Haunted Hill, but more in a kitschy way than in a "great movie" way.

So in short, I'm about to become obsessed with old horror movies and buy everything with Vincent Price's name on it. I encourage you to accompany me on this terrifying journey.

-Bruce

I like beans hey hey hey I like beans every day

Brax,
I know you'll agree with me on this...I think it's bullshit that they won't ever put Cartoon Planet out on DVD. The whole Adult Swim thing grew out of the little seed that was Cartoon Planet. According to Wikipedia, there are no plans for a DVD release!

It's crap.



So all we got is that tape I made in high school, and some bits and pieces that are on You Tube.

Just sayin. I guess you could say it gets my goat.


-Bruce

Snow, snow, snow, snow, snowwwwwww....

Bruce,
I am very tired of all this "weather." February is probably the worst month....even though it's the shortest, it always feels like 3 regular months! I think it's because you know that next month, it will at least start to feel somewhat springlike. But in February, there's no hope for that. Not in Northwest Ohio, anyway.
So yeah! Yesterday, while I kept hearing all about how it was 70 degrees in D.C., a silent menace crept up on me while I was inside working.....SNOW!!!!!!! Curse you snow!!!!!!! I had to actually clean off my car before leaving work! Usually I only have to do that in the mornings. Here's the view from leaving work:
Yes, I work right across the street from a Family Dollar. It's pretty amazing from an "awesome deals" point of view. However, I don't know if I want to be giving directions that go "we're right across the street from the Family Dollar" for the rest of my professional career.
Here's the view from my street.
As you can see, the roads were not too bad. I think the temperature was right around freezing, so the salt worked like a charm, turning all that white powder into a grayish mush.

Needless to say, I couldn't wait to get home and put on some jammies and snug with some cats. Winter weather really takes all my energy away....my chi just can't flow right, you know? I finished one sock!!!!! First sock ever:
(Fred is totally not interested in the sock. Apparently there's a bird outside or a strong gust of wind or something.) Sorry these pictures are all so bad, especially the sock picture. Someday I'll invest in a new camera and maybe a computer to put the pictures on.
Ok! So! I bought some boots! They are fancy zip-up motorcycle boots from Candie's. Before you think I blew my load on some boots right before spring, let me tell you....I got them for $23, marked down from about $80!!!!! That is some amazing deal right there. I literally couldn't afford NOT to buy them. And they will come in handy when we're tramping around Amish Country this weekend. Bring your camera, or else I'll be taking all the pictures with my cell phone!
Brax
Edited to say: the sock is in fact blue! Please reference my previous post for more accurate sock color information.

Lookit!

Brax,
So glad you're back from your blog hiatus! I was feelin' mighty lonesome. I felt like I was, as my mother would say, talkin' into the void. (As in, "Don't do ________ because if you ______ then _______will happen! Do you hear me? If you __________then ________ will happen. If you....I'm just talkin' into the void.")

Anyway, the weather in DC has been awesome, and this morning you'll never guess what we saw...




Nature's beauty in the urban landscape! Check the birdies in the tree. They're heading north, and today when I left work it was still light outside. Spring, I knew you'd come back!

Bruce

Whoa Man!

Warning: this blog post contains close-ups of feet and other disturbing images.

Hey Bruce!! Sorry about the unintentional blogging hiatus. My computer at home totally crapped out on me, so things have been hard. I think I've also been letting the crappy weather get the best of me. But no more!

In knitting news, I joined Karida's sock club! I know, right? Me, a sock knitter. Well, despite my gague issues, I find it quite relaxing! I'm almost done with my 1st sock out of the January color!The pattern is called "Monkey" from Knitty a few issues back. Man! The color is beautiful. I wish my crappy pictures could do it justice, but hey! It's hard to take a picture of your own foot using a cell phone camera. Here's a closeup:

So! That's pretty much what I did with my weekend. That and watch Heroes. I'm totally addicted to that show now! But I'm only on the 1st season, so no one tell me what happens!

I also did find time to bake some of that bread that Micah's been goading me into making:
It's delicious! I ate way too much of it yesterday.

So, that's what I did this past weekend. I also bought that new Pipettes CD, and it is Changing My Life. I've listened to it at least twice a day since it came in the mail!

You know, while I'm here, I'd like to slip in a small "gets my goat" segment.
He's just a little guy!
I went into Target on, like, January 2nd. I just wanted to buy a black cardigan because I had left mine somewhere. Instead of finding the women's section filled with sweaters and pants and jackets as per usual......

Holy Bermuda Shorts, Batman!!!! Yes, it is swimsuit time once again. Right after New Year's, before the last glittering piece of confetti has even hit the ground, Target rushes out their selection of Spring Breakwear: teeny tiny junior's sized swimsuits, coverups, and band-aid sized shorts dominate the women's clothing section! I did find some long-sleeved and -panted items, all crammed together on the clearance rack. However, it was obvious they hadn't placed an order for winter clothes in some time, because everything was either a size 2 or 22. (I fall somewhere in the middle, just fyi)

All I can say is, this kind of irresponsible marketing is exactly what leads to millions of 15 year old girls dressed inappropriately for the weather. The next time you see some teenager walking down the street wearing flip flops and a sundress and no coat in February, you have Target to blame!

Be sure to check back this weekend for Brax and Bruce: live from Amish country!

Lylas,
Brax