Happy Friday, folks!
Got a blind astronomy bit for you today, and a story, of course.
The Story
Once every fifteen or twenty days, the new day will answer my usual salutation with a song.
Good mornin’, goooood mornin’, we’ve talked the whole night through.
I don’t know why this gets stuck in my head a small percentage of the time I say Good Morning.
The spontaneous case of an earworm from the 1952 musical romcom Singin’ in the Rain is inexplicable as it is singular.
(It could always be worse. There’s probably poor kids waking up to the Friends theme song somewhere.)
The percentage will surely increase. I just caught a showing of Singin’ in the Rain on the big screen here in Lynchburg. Took my mom and adopted aunt (character inspiration for “Lady Wilkes” in Dr. Electro), and man did we enjoy it.
The glamor of old school Hollywood was thrilling, even if it was an intentional parody of itself (compared to the usual unintentional.)
We left the theatre, not minding the gray afternoon. The brilliant suns of Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds shone brightly in our eyes, and their feet rang in our ears. That tap!
The Sky
Two evenings later, the sky was still gray. The sun set unseen, and the world gradually grew dim. The clouds settled into an almost black, tinged with dreams of orange and pink from the lights of Lynchburg.
I leaned forward over the steering wheel, peering into the gloom of late twilight. Something off to the right caught my eye.
Astronomy while driving isn’t a good idea, but then again, neither is talking politics, and I’m still here.
The MOON! There she was, a young crescent, a fingernail slice glowing a warm white low in the west, peeking through the hazy clouds.
The trees, almost invisible in the dusk, stretched up branchy fingers to greet the sky like so many eager fans.
To the moon’s right - Venus. The planet is always a dazzling sight, the brightest in the sky, and the thin clouds made her extra pretty. She shone with a gauzy glow, the clouds catching some of her rays as if she were wearing a fancy dress with lots of sheer trimmings.
No other stars could be seen, but there these two were, like Marilyn Monroe stopping to talk with Grace Kelly on the red carpet. They seemed to lean towards each other, sharing an inside joke, only 80 million-odd miles away in space.
Ah, so that’s why they call ‘em movie stars.
Gene Kelly could shine his shoes all day, and still be stuck on the ground. Far above the unwashed masses, the Moon and Venus shone with unreachable celestial glamor.
That warm light of the moon - the shimmer of Venus - I smiled and waved.
Treasures from Earth
Keeping in the theme of glamor…dig some Music for Royal Fireworks, bro. (Handel, played in front of a castle. Spiffing!)
While System of a Down is a strange compliment to a high water mark of the baroque era, the mention of “old school Hollywood” begs a link to….
Old School Hollywood! Have a singular weekend.