Monday, May 3, 2010

The Stars At Night (Stelle Della Notte)

Last night poolside with a glass of wine in hand, I looked up into the night sky. The moon wasn't out yet, so even in brightly lit Dallas the stars were plainly visible. Dallas isn't the heart of Texas, so pay no mind to the song lyrics 'The stars at night are big and bright'.

First, I found the 'North Star', or Polaris as it sometimes called since the ancient peoples named it after a popular brand of automated pool sweepers.


They say that we might have a different North Star soon, in a few thousand years.

Then my eyes swept westward and I noticed an unusual star, or it might have been a small cluster of stars. The center one was white and got noticably brighter while I was looking at it. Then a green light emanated from the cluster, which I thought was fairly unusual. The white light in the center seemed to pulse at a steady interval, almost like a strobe light.

By this time I thought about calling NASA to report it, because it seemed so strange. I heard some faint noise coming from the direction of the star cluster and the light changed from a green to a red. While this was going on, the stars passed overhead and turned south.




In outdoor project news, I set out chalklines for more of my detailed tile work. A handy trick for making sure the wind and rain do not erase your elaborately laid and measured chalk lines is to put clear acrylic spray paint over the lines. I guess it wouldn't protect against acid or falling planes, but for normal events it's fine.


Is anyone having issues with pollen this spring? I put myself to the test this weekend at an outdoor art show called 'The Cottonwood Festival'. (At this point, I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to Cottonwood). Worth it though because I bought two works and found some higher than normal quality local artists. Ciao

12 comments:

  1. Star strobe lights. Silly Eric.

    Allergies are a bitch. Thankfully, the older I get the easier pollen season becomes. :)

    Hope your weekend was nice.

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  2. I thought they named it after the verdant-haired and sexilicious Lorna Dane.

    Yeah, pollen has been awful here. Between the oak and the pine, things have been carrying a lovely yellowish-green haze upon them for a month or so now.

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  3. Oh, those tricky stars.

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  4. Never mind, Eric, if it's any consolation I do that whole "OMG! Is that a spaceship!?" thing all the time, I think my family and friends are pretty sick of having to say "For God's sake! It's a bloody plane!" and only keep me around out of fondness ... and because private asylums are somewhat pricey.

    But, the truth is out there.

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  5. I'm sorta freaked out right now. I'm never visiting Texas.

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  6. I too find that wine can lead to exciting planetary sightings. I think that's why NASA, on the "sighting hotline" always ask if the caller has been drinking.

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  7. Hello Eris, I saw that you passed by my blog, and you've come to find ... I think that Dallas is doing very well ... perhaps you saw a star / UFO because you drank too much good wine, the 'paired Wine / stars can spin the head ..... but I'm an 'expert Stars / UFOs here in Ravenna the first sightings there were in the sixties and then almost every year comes a new UFO .... ....... Hello and goodbye.
    Theodoric.

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  8. After you saw the weird lights did you lose track of time and wake up with a funny mark on your neck?
    ; )

    I don't get allergy problems with pollen, but at this time of year everything in our whole town gets covered with a fine layer of yellow-green pollen dust, EVERY DAY for months. It's horrible on cars.

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  9. Just how much of that wine did you have?! LOL!
    Neat trick with the chaulk lines, gonna have to remember that. Thanks.
    No sever problems with allergies so far, but when the ragweed starts pollenating I'm doomed!

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  10. Otherworldlyone,
    Weekend was nice and stone filled...
    Pollen around here is subsiding so I'm looking forward to the weekend this time around.

    MJenks,
    Buying stock in antihistimine and anti allergen drug companies seems like such a good idea right now.

    WendyB,
    You have no idea :)

    Girl Interrupted,
    Haha, yes, I've looked into a nice private asylum. The waiting list is fairly lengthy though.
    Nice X Files ref.

    Nikki,
    Why? Because of the accents?

    Mo,
    It's a flowchart, I'm mapping out all their responses.

    Teodorica,
    Benvenuti... arte e Ravenna, due cose che amo.
    Era destinata cui vedo il tuo sito!

    Soda,
    Luckily you don't have to deal with the eyewatering sneezy stuff then!

    Heather,
    Here's to hoping the ragweed crop is destroyed this season...

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  11. No because of the aliens. Not the illegal ones.

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  12. I wanted to leave a comment on stars & creepy aliens, but I'm somewhat distracted at the moment. You wouldn't happen to be an employee at the Make You Feel Good Store, would you?
    ;)

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