last week's eclipse

situated as I am in the western hemisphere, it was sure nice to see all the AP & Reuters photos of last week's eclipse posted on boston.com. I guess it was 6 minutes long over parts of India & China, the longest eclipse anticipated this century.

it's also been sort of fun -in more of a petty, less cosmically inspiring way- to skim over the hundreds of things said in multiple languages in response to the truly amazing photo collection. aside from effusive gratitude, the comments generally seem to follow one of a couple basic threads. bickering: whether it's the Ganges or Ganga, whether Hyderabad is in India or Pakistan, and so on. and evangelism: Islam, Christian, anti-Christian, math & physics, and so on.

as if a "one planet, under heavenly bodies, with sunlight and darkness for all" weren't more than enough for us to just agree on and be thrilled with. (and then there's the occasional wild posting of stuff like lyrics from an entire Pink Floyd song.)

anybody else ever seen an eclipse? I've just seen a couple partials. the first was one morning they let us out of junior high. I held up a sheet of looseleaf and we watched 3 crescents form in the shadow it cast. the second was one evening, 7 or 8 years ago from my lawn.

anyway, for those of us who missed this last one, we can try to console ourselves w/ this video.

a final pitch for next Saturday

I first announced this last month and if it turns out to be even half as much fun* as the deal last week with the suits, then you won't want to miss it. a week or so ago I went and drove the course; it's pretty spectacular. (did I mention mostly downhill?)

a few things you can expect along the way: a handful of small emerald lakes, larks and larks, wildflowers, spruce, pinyon, aspen, juniper, snakes?, a few 4 wheelers (just being honest here, Saturday in Sanpete County), deer, the bleached bones of sheep & elk, and a lot of sky.

again, it's this Saturday, July 25 (around 10am). please feel free to run all or just part of the course, arrange a relay, do it on your bike, whatever. also feel free to contact me w/ any questions.

english dot brooks at snow dot edu

* yes, I can guarantee it will be at the very LEAST half as fun as the suit run.

4.01k suit run roundup

for anyone who missed the important meeting this last Saturday, here are a few photos, beginning w/ everyone starting up on Wall Street:



summary: 20+ real serious types, well-groomed, fancy photographers, wingtips, blouses, bluetooths(blueteeth?), a stroller, all kinds of jaywalking, conference calls and networking, an unscheduled jaunt through the farmers market, snacks, high-tech prizes, a plazaful of tiny geysers, a bride and groom (?), God Bless America (??), handshakes. "thanks for coming." breakfast.

for more detail, see the latter half of these July pics on picasa. this "the professor" character has also posted some real-nice professional quality photos over here. and there are plenty more photos all over facebonk, I recommend starting w/ Abigail's gallery.

if you've got photos too, please post any links in the comments section. congratulations all; a very productive morning.

Shopping for Independence Day

You need certain things for the marinade:
Ginger root, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, Coca-Cola.

Giant plastic letters mounted to the concrete above the entrance.
The letters are sky blue, and a pair of crows sit atop the “a”.
Iridescent, mouths open, they pant in the shimmering heat.
One hops onto the r, the m, a, c, y, and flies off.

Deep inside, way in back, there’s a shallow marine tank.
Surrounded by schools of static, headless fillets.

Bubbles. The lobsters wait like strangers, cocks and hens
Each for its day, to whistle and snap like firecrackers.
Fastened to the armored wrist of one, a barnacle.
Still pulsing, it reaches and strains, licking the desert suspension for particles.

An analogue watch, set to a more tidal rhythm. A lunar calendar
beating within our Gregorian grid of bank holidays.

But there we go, anthropomorphizing. I pluck the last ingredient-
An 8 ounce bulletshell, red, and white stripes- from the display;
It releases so easily from the plastic cuffs, like a lowest-hanging fruit.