Blood Moon Eclipse

Written Wednesday night 10/8:

Lucky I caught this.

So stepping out my door at 6:19am this morning, I saw the moon. I said "Oh shit! The eclipse!" And I hurried my backpack and bookbag and all my workstuff into my car, then tried to take a picture of the moon on my phone. The picture turned out looking like straight bullpoo, cuz you can't take pictures of celestial bodies with a phone. I was running kinda late too, so I RAN back into my house, pulled out the Nikon, ran back out, put it on zoom and higher exposure, and snapped a few shots!

This first shot came out right!

I had not expected to catch this so-called "impossible lunar eclipse," because I read it was only visible from the East Coast, at 6:25am EST, and only for 9 minutes. So not fitting the viewing criteria in both space and time, I had settled into thinking I was not going to see this eclipse. Apparently it's the 2nd, in a series of 4 consecutive, and an impossible occurrence of the Sun rising and Moon setting at the same time in a less than 180° view of the sky, only possible because the atmosphere refracts light and yada yada.. But I saw it anyway, and it lasted for a while too. Throughout my entire commute to work, the moon was eclipsed, made for distracted driving on the overpass, and even when I got to the school, I was still able to snap some pictures of it.

The 2nd picture:

2nd shot came out tricky.

3rd shot, using the powerlines as reference, shows how fast the moon was setting/moving/
relative to Earth rotating (compared to 1st shot)

They say these celestial events coincide with shifts on earth. I don't think causation is provable, but with many new advances in technology and progressive changes in society, human civilization is at a pivotal and extreme point. We are also shifting from an industrial-based political-economy to an information-based political-economy (that's a topic for another day). Also there are at least 2-3 major wars/political conflicts going on right now... Turning my awareness toward celestial bodies in the heavens brings about calmness in the present, excitement for the future, as well as connectedness to the ancients, in a world that's really crazy these days.

Worst come to worst, look up.

Gorgeous Norwegian Auroras (pics)

Coinciding with the annual Geminids, a solar flare made its way to Earth, providing some beautiful light shows/auroras/Northern Lights. I will likely be in Alaska some day (or Iceland, or Norway), to see Northern Lights with my own eyes. That's a travel goal.

Is this the real life?

I saw some crazy streaking meteors the other night. Every December, when it gets cold, solsticey, and holiday music starts playing, it's time for Geminids. The Geminid meteor shower is named after the constellation Gemini, which is where the "radiant point" of the shower is. Most of the shooting stars will come from there. Cool thing is that Jupiter was IN Gemini the other night, so you can just stare at Jupiter in awe while catching meteors in your peripheral. I just laid out on my car, with a jacket and some music. Beautiful show. If you missed it, there's always next year.

Is this just fantasy?

So yeah, in studying History and religions, I'm big on celestial phenomena. What does it all mean? Does it mean anything? Can we attach meaning to it if we want? Yeah, that along with climatic, political, and economic destabilization.... but we survived 2012. We should be okay. At least we don't got giant mutated rats, like the Middle East... or killer hornets, like Japan.

Full moon coming up Dec. 17. Longest full moon of the year, they call it the Full Cold Moon, or the Long Night Moon, cuz it's closest to the Winter Solstice.

By the way, aliens are real.

Photo credit and more photos here: http://www.nrk.no/nordland/...

The Divine Side of Music Theory

In honor of National Poetry Month, my recent interest in Pythagoras' life//Pythagoreanism, and my insatiable need to create, I wrote a new poem, in a new style.

A "21st-century style" from a 21st-century mind, they'll come up with an official name for it 100 years down the line, as science and spirituality continue to intertwine.

Harmonic Intervals and their connection to the Cosmos

For more on Pythagoras, the man behind the theorem, check out: Pythagoras, Sacred Geometry, and the Fundamental Language of the Universe (YouTube Video)


Introspective side-thought:
I figure I might go down like most artists/poets, with people not reading deeply into my works until after I die. Recognition of my work is growing organically, so I'll just stay patient, stay alive, and keep creating. Maybe someday, someone high up will realize the level and value of my writing, and we can make big moves together. I hope I don't go the way of Van Gogh or Sylvia Plath however...wouldn't want to be chronically depressed, or put myself in an oven. They made some good stuff though!


So here's my new poem in the Divinity of Music, if it doesn't make sense, just look up the words!

2013

Music Theory

The heart beats a natural rhythm,

Oldest percussion known to man.

Earth tones sounding good

With melodics, harmonics, pentatonics... 

Gin and tonic symphonics evolve into electronics.

If God's music strikes a chord,

I dance to the melody, and its energy,

Climbing my way up life's arpeggios,

Weighing major scales, and minor harmonies.

Diminished experience, augmented reality.

Middle finger on Middle C. Music of infinity.

Transposed tales of a tragic story,

I don't want your sympathy.

Come together as a symphony.

No one wants to seem phony.

Sharp voices sing flat. It's not natural.

Complex progressions create dissonance

Somewhere between my head and sole.

From the bass to the upper octaves,

To vibrations unheard by human ears.

There, higher beings wave to greet us.

---

A little background on me: I took 8 years of piano lesson, 4 years of music theory, and somehow managed to pass the AP Music Theory exam in high school... bboying, poetry, and the history I learned at UCLA have shaped my world view... now I'm geeking on Pythagoras' connections between music, mathematics, and reality.

For more mind-blowing stuff, check the Wikiquote on Pythagoras.

Pythagoras spent years studying in Egypt

In case you didn't notice:
The numb#r of lines for each part of the poem (I wouldn't really call them "stanzas") follow the Fibonacci Sequence... 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8....

Astro Logic (recently published)

One of my poems recently got published in this online journal.
Not trying to be biased, but I like this one, it's probably one of my best.

Here is the poem in full, as quoted from this page: http://eyetothetelescope.com/

Astro Logic

With my eye on Orion
I lie awake in awe.
Across the sky flying.
I see planets, stars. 

Visualizing environments,
On moons and on Mars.
Listening to silence,
Wondering who we are. 

How’d we come to be?
Who planted the seed
Of our genealogical tree?
Curious indeed. 

Out of non-life came life,
Organic out of inorganic.
Water, steam, and ice,
Lifeline of our spinning planet. 

Twinkle, twinkle, ancient Gods,
By the cycling of Nature’s nods.
They shift our cosmic paradigm.
Wars and storms when they align.

—Tom T. Nguyen

Eye to the Telescope is a quarterly online journal that publishes science-fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative poetry.