the silver lining
Sep. 28th, 2009 02:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wingblossomI just found out that Onitsuka Chihiro's new singles came out recently! Kagerou is the best of them so far. She's releasing an album called Dorothy later in October, so I'm curious to hear what the rest of the tracks sound like. They should be good, if the tracks I've heard so far are any indication.
I also really want to hear The Beatles' remastered tracks.
Other song links:
A remix of Sakura, originally by Takano Kenichi, with a female medley interspersed between the original lyrics. Sappy but hard to get out of your head.
Mashy Haddy by Nancy Agram. Was linked to this by a friend studying Arabic. Cute video, fun visuals.
Good Things during the past week:
*The stargazing campout from last Saturday! I don't think I told anyone about it in great detail, but that was the highlight of my week. Month, even. And my rundown sneakers are proof of that.
I heard about it through B-Line, our daily campus "newsletter" email, on the 15th. It was supposed to be the last day for signing up, so I ran down to the East Gym and ended up being the seventeenth person to get on the list. Which was good, since I thought it sounded so amazing that everyone would be in a rush to get there first.
This ended up not being the case at all, as the list didn't even reach full capacity. But after paying for the deposit, I went down to the meeting place on the day of, where we got transportation to the Kopernik Observatory Center. The center is located near the border of New York and Pennsylvania -- about five minutes away from the latter -- and is closed to the public, except on Friday evenings.
I'm still not sure what the astronomers do here for profit, because they seem to do research at all hours of the day whenever they feel like it. But that's probably not a fair assessment, since we were only there for a couple of days.
Anyway, once we got to the center, we set up our tents and sleeping bags, and then did a few icebreakers to relax everyone in our group. There were a few clusters, like friends who signed up for the campout together, but aside from that, pretty much everyone was a stranger to each other. After about twenty minutes, they gave us a tour of the building and then showed us where the telescopes were located. Those things are amazing -- I've never actually seen one that size before, and the rotoscope domes that house them are pretty damn cool on their own. We also took ladders to prop up against them and climb up so we could see everything.
First of all, we saw Jupiter! That was the highlight of the evening. Since it was so clear outside, it was absolutely beautiful. Like I told bell, we also saw various constellations like Cygnus, Cassiopeia, and the Big Dipper. Because of the clarity at night, though, Jupiter was the real standout. Around that time, we also saw Albireo, a blue-and-gold double star in Cygnus. The two stars are separated by about 4,014 lightyears from each other.
By 3:30 AM, I saw the Orion Nebula and Mars. To be frank, Mars was kind of disappointing; distant and pale. The astronomers put a rose-red filter on the telescope to brighten its color, but it just wasn't all that impressive. Especially in comparison to the Orion Nebula, which was awesome. In the center of that nebula, there were four relatively young stars that are only a few million years old.
At sunrise, I saw Venus. Now I know why it's called the morning star! (Obligatory Utena reference for those of you who care.)
Did I mention that -- aside from the astronomers who work there, of course -- I was the only person there who didn't sleep at all? Because I didn't. By around two, most of the other campers were asleep, but I can't fathom how they did it. I was way too excited to sleep, and even though it was freezing outside (there was a frost advisory warning), I couldn't imagine doing the same. Till about five, I talked to this guy named Mikell who, as it turns out, went to the same high school as me. Now that was amazing.
Later, we all had hot chocolate and cookies as it got dark. There were a ton of granola bars too, so Certain People (...like me) grabbed a ton and put them in our bags for later. I do not feel bad about this at all. Cliff bars are good.
Now, I'm going to reiterate how cold it was. It was FREEZING. I had three layers on, and well into the night, I kept thinking I should have brought woolen socks or something. Though one guy I chatted with let me borrow a pair of mittens, which did help a great deal.
Besides that, I was impressed at the dedication of all the astronomers there. I kept thinking, "They do this every day, and never get tired of it at all!" They were up the whole night, and so -- so geeky. In the best way possible. In the observatory itself, there was one room with a bed. One of the astronomers there slept for a couple of hours, and then woke up and was back at it again.
In the morning, all of us were groggy and barely awake. I had a bagel and orange juice, but I didn't want to eat anything so much as take a hot shower and sleep. Half of the campers were still asleep at seven, but we all got our stuff together and left by eight AM, in two different vans. By nine, I was back at campus -- a somewhat surreal sight, since no-one was walking around there -- and once I got back to my room, I crawled into bed and went to sleep.
All in all, I had a fantastic time, and I'm really glad I went.
Also, this trip is not the reason why I colored in that Sailormoon fanart I just posted. Not at all, lest anyone think otherwise.
*Annual book sale coming up soon! Early next month, in fact. Everything is organized by section, and you can stuff as many books you can fit inside a bunch of brown paper bags for a ridiculously cheap price. Two years ago, I only saw a few books I liked, so I bought them separately for a quarter each. Among them were the second book in L.M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon series, and The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby, a survey of mid-sixties American culture.
*Getting back into the pattern of sketching. It feels great to keep up with it again after such a long time.
*During the production meeting for The Free Press last Wednesday, our news editor came up to the room with a glass of wine. When she saw our "o_o" faces, she explained that there was an event being held for the opening of an art gallery (for the curious, our meetings always take place in the Fine Arts building). And as a result, they were handing out wine (like, Zinfandel and Merlot) like it was water, along with a bunch of other stuff. So I went downstairs, followed the crowd, and there were cookies and chips, biscuits with cheese, and sliced vegetables with dip, like red peppers.
Apparently this happens every year! Anyway, after another editor and I came back, basically everyone at the production meeting went downstairs to get a plate of snacks themselves.
*Two of the books I've read recently: Holes by Louis Sachar and The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. I think bell would like Holes a lot, and Ari The Maltese Falcon, but I'm mostly just surprised that I never bothered to read these books up until now!
If I had read Holes when I was younger, I think I would have loved it even more. As it is, I really want to write a glowing review of this book. Because it has an awesome story, and it ends up being fun and thoughtful in ways I never expected. Also, plot-related: the idea of using venom for nail polish is creepy and also brilliant.
*The new issue of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
imaginarybeasts!
*Last Monday, I went to the art store nearby and picked up this nine-foot strand of artificial fall leaves that is now hanging near my window. Also, a bag of autumn-scented potpourri, and now my room smells vaguely like pumpkin. Or cinnamon. Or something like that. Well, whatever it is, it smells good!
I also really want to hear The Beatles' remastered tracks.
Other song links:
A remix of Sakura, originally by Takano Kenichi, with a female medley interspersed between the original lyrics. Sappy but hard to get out of your head.
Mashy Haddy by Nancy Agram. Was linked to this by a friend studying Arabic. Cute video, fun visuals.
Good Things during the past week:
*The stargazing campout from last Saturday! I don't think I told anyone about it in great detail, but that was the highlight of my week. Month, even. And my rundown sneakers are proof of that.
I heard about it through B-Line, our daily campus "newsletter" email, on the 15th. It was supposed to be the last day for signing up, so I ran down to the East Gym and ended up being the seventeenth person to get on the list. Which was good, since I thought it sounded so amazing that everyone would be in a rush to get there first.
This ended up not being the case at all, as the list didn't even reach full capacity. But after paying for the deposit, I went down to the meeting place on the day of, where we got transportation to the Kopernik Observatory Center. The center is located near the border of New York and Pennsylvania -- about five minutes away from the latter -- and is closed to the public, except on Friday evenings.
I'm still not sure what the astronomers do here for profit, because they seem to do research at all hours of the day whenever they feel like it. But that's probably not a fair assessment, since we were only there for a couple of days.
Anyway, once we got to the center, we set up our tents and sleeping bags, and then did a few icebreakers to relax everyone in our group. There were a few clusters, like friends who signed up for the campout together, but aside from that, pretty much everyone was a stranger to each other. After about twenty minutes, they gave us a tour of the building and then showed us where the telescopes were located. Those things are amazing -- I've never actually seen one that size before, and the rotoscope domes that house them are pretty damn cool on their own. We also took ladders to prop up against them and climb up so we could see everything.
First of all, we saw Jupiter! That was the highlight of the evening. Since it was so clear outside, it was absolutely beautiful. Like I told bell, we also saw various constellations like Cygnus, Cassiopeia, and the Big Dipper. Because of the clarity at night, though, Jupiter was the real standout. Around that time, we also saw Albireo, a blue-and-gold double star in Cygnus. The two stars are separated by about 4,014 lightyears from each other.
By 3:30 AM, I saw the Orion Nebula and Mars. To be frank, Mars was kind of disappointing; distant and pale. The astronomers put a rose-red filter on the telescope to brighten its color, but it just wasn't all that impressive. Especially in comparison to the Orion Nebula, which was awesome. In the center of that nebula, there were four relatively young stars that are only a few million years old.
At sunrise, I saw Venus. Now I know why it's called the morning star! (Obligatory Utena reference for those of you who care.)
Did I mention that -- aside from the astronomers who work there, of course -- I was the only person there who didn't sleep at all? Because I didn't. By around two, most of the other campers were asleep, but I can't fathom how they did it. I was way too excited to sleep, and even though it was freezing outside (there was a frost advisory warning), I couldn't imagine doing the same. Till about five, I talked to this guy named Mikell who, as it turns out, went to the same high school as me. Now that was amazing.
Later, we all had hot chocolate and cookies as it got dark. There were a ton of granola bars too, so Certain People (...like me) grabbed a ton and put them in our bags for later. I do not feel bad about this at all. Cliff bars are good.
Now, I'm going to reiterate how cold it was. It was FREEZING. I had three layers on, and well into the night, I kept thinking I should have brought woolen socks or something. Though one guy I chatted with let me borrow a pair of mittens, which did help a great deal.
Besides that, I was impressed at the dedication of all the astronomers there. I kept thinking, "They do this every day, and never get tired of it at all!" They were up the whole night, and so -- so geeky. In the best way possible. In the observatory itself, there was one room with a bed. One of the astronomers there slept for a couple of hours, and then woke up and was back at it again.
In the morning, all of us were groggy and barely awake. I had a bagel and orange juice, but I didn't want to eat anything so much as take a hot shower and sleep. Half of the campers were still asleep at seven, but we all got our stuff together and left by eight AM, in two different vans. By nine, I was back at campus -- a somewhat surreal sight, since no-one was walking around there -- and once I got back to my room, I crawled into bed and went to sleep.
All in all, I had a fantastic time, and I'm really glad I went.
Also, this trip is not the reason why I colored in that Sailormoon fanart I just posted. Not at all, lest anyone think otherwise.
*Annual book sale coming up soon! Early next month, in fact. Everything is organized by section, and you can stuff as many books you can fit inside a bunch of brown paper bags for a ridiculously cheap price. Two years ago, I only saw a few books I liked, so I bought them separately for a quarter each. Among them were the second book in L.M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon series, and The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby, a survey of mid-sixties American culture.
*Getting back into the pattern of sketching. It feels great to keep up with it again after such a long time.
*During the production meeting for The Free Press last Wednesday, our news editor came up to the room with a glass of wine. When she saw our "o_o" faces, she explained that there was an event being held for the opening of an art gallery (for the curious, our meetings always take place in the Fine Arts building). And as a result, they were handing out wine (like, Zinfandel and Merlot) like it was water, along with a bunch of other stuff. So I went downstairs, followed the crowd, and there were cookies and chips, biscuits with cheese, and sliced vegetables with dip, like red peppers.
Apparently this happens every year! Anyway, after another editor and I came back, basically everyone at the production meeting went downstairs to get a plate of snacks themselves.
*Two of the books I've read recently: Holes by Louis Sachar and The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. I think bell would like Holes a lot, and Ari The Maltese Falcon, but I'm mostly just surprised that I never bothered to read these books up until now!
If I had read Holes when I was younger, I think I would have loved it even more. As it is, I really want to write a glowing review of this book. Because it has an awesome story, and it ends up being fun and thoughtful in ways I never expected. Also, plot-related: the idea of using venom for nail polish is creepy and also brilliant.
*The new issue of
imaginarybeasts! *Last Monday, I went to the art store nearby and picked up this nine-foot strand of artificial fall leaves that is now hanging near my window. Also, a bag of autumn-scented potpourri, and now my room smells vaguely like pumpkin. Or cinnamon. Or something like that. Well, whatever it is, it smells good!