Vol. 69, October 10th, 2023 Published a day early online
For the audio version, visit the podcast, or listen below.
Book News
Holy smokes, a big thanks to Cheryl, Julia, and the rest of her book club rockstars in Roanoke. They hosted me last night at a marvelous gathering ‘Neath surrealistic paintings of rabbits in submarines to talk Cities on a Hill. We discussed the book, getting old, dying, living, purpose, parents, children, lockdown prison food, and where to draw lines.
It was a delight, complete with mock buffalo chicken wings made out of mushrooms in a thoughtful consideration of my insufferable vegetarianism.
We also read Bukowski.
Holy moly.
Thank you.
War and Peace and Us
A Jumble of Thoughts from a World Away
We finally heard from the friend. He’s okay, but his son is heading to a command post in Jerusalem. Two of his wife’s nephews are lacing their boots as you read this. My prayers are with them.
I messaged an old girlfriend, thinking of her family in Ramallah, that Palestinian city right next door. Her dad’s rose garden sticks in my mind, something fragile and beautiful on the edge of a storm.
The temptation is to throw up my hands and say “why must we do this?” Maybe that’s a cheap way out of thinking. The lust for vengeance boils with understandable rapidity, and tragic results.
Social media is filled with but actually rationalizations. The because this statement strikes me as willfully blind, and how evil takes root. Milton portrayed Lucifer as intellectual.
That fits.
You can justify yourself straight to Hell with context and slogans. I used to dodge the effort of an opinion with the excuse of “what am I, a newspaper?” Well...yeah. I can’t tell you what to do, only what I’m doing.
Today, I’m following Jung’s advice, and looking at my own darkness first.
And praying.
Quote of the Week
“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness of other people.”
–Carl Jung, psychologist
Movie of the Week
“Bicentennial Man” (1999)
A family buys a robot (Robin Williams) who expresses quirks. A funny, heartwarming flick, perfect for the age of AI and the timeless question of “what makes us human?”
Happy Birthday, Bob Newhart Show
The comedy variety show premieres Oct. 10th, 1961. The sitcom would wait till 1972.
Crescent Sun
Take a look at the ground under a tree during Saturday’s solar eclipse, and note the tiny “crescent sun” patterns on the ground. Shadow puppets work, too.
Down the Rabbit Hole
Albert Einstein’s proposition that spacetime is warped by mass seemed preposterous. Check out Eddington and the 1919 solar eclipse for the fascinating story of a proof of Relativity.
Write to Us!
The Nighthawk is a new old-fashioned way to connect, published weekly. You’re invited to write back, or just enjoy reading. Let’s have some fun! It’s a social paper! Send stories, etc to: PO Box 783, Rustburg, VA 24588 or JoshUrban@protonmail.com
Letters from Josh
(A weekly update from Josh Urban’s adventures on the farm and in the city. #155)
Appearing in the Altavista Journal: Late Night Radio–Ring of Fire
Howdy, folks, and welcome back to the show. First, cue the nerd alert, and don’t say I didn’t warn you. Second, turn up the Johnny Cash, because there’s a “ring of fire” eclipse on Saturday, October 14th. The moon is a bit too far away to block the sun completely this time. We’ll have to wait till April for a spectacular total eclipse. So, what happens Saturday? If we were in Albuquerque, we’d be...hot. And amazed as the moon almost covers the sun, blocking it from view until only a burning ring hangs in the sky in an annular eclipse.
But we’re not in New Mexico. From the green eastern seaboard, we’ll see a partial eclipse–the sun with a bite out of it as the moon slides by. It’s a wild sight. You’ve got to see it, and I’m here to tell you how.
The fun begins at 11:54 am on Saturday, October 14th, hits maximum at 1:17 pm, and goes to 2:41 pm, Lynchburg time. But don’t look at the sun. Obviously. “You’ll burn your eye out!”
Pick up a pair of eclipse glasses online or at the store (never sunglasses, no matter how good that ZZ Top song is about the affordable options). Better yet, come to an eclipse party. The Blue Ridge Astronomy Club (blueridgeastro.com) and the Randolph College SciFest are throwing a bash on campus in Lynchburg from 11:30 am-1:30 pm. I’ll be there manning a special telescope, and we’ve got free solar glasses. Beat that, ZZ Top.
To check it out without special glasses or professional equipment, take a look down at the ground. Any sunlight shining through leaves, holes in an index card, or even your hands making shadow puppets will turn from dots into little crescent suns. You might feel like you’re in twilight scene in an old movie. Something seems “off” about the light as it dims. Notice how it fades, but doesn’t change color like it does at sunset. We’ll only see a 35% eclipse, but that should be enough to change the temperature. Birds come in to roost during a total eclipse. See if any animals act differently during this partial event.
It’s a groovy thing, and I hope you can observe it in your own way. Don’t burn your eye out, man. Seriously. Use the right gear, and come on by the party! I promise I’ll keep the
Johnny Cash references to a minimum. Maybe.
Catch you on the flip side
Josh
Send correspondence or cheap sunglasses to PO Box 783, Rustburg, VA 24588, but hold the Bonnie Tyler references till April of ‘24, when the total eclipse is due to break hearts (in a good way).