This week, Sarah offered to set me free to share with all you about something I’m REALLY excited about: The Great North American Eclipse. If you somehow missed it, there is going to be a total solar eclipse visible in the United States on Monday. This event hits on all of my particular interests: space, astrological phenomenon, sciency things in real life, stuff that brings people together, wonder.
So - if you want a guide to what is happening, when to watch, how to watch, where it will be visible, NASA has done this work for us: What to Expect: A Solar Eclipse Guide
Recognizing that my enthusiasm for this subject is probably a little too much, I am going to share a few of my eclipse adjacent recommendations (and please feel free to share your pictures, stories, and nerd out with me on Monday)
What to Listen To While You’re Sitting in Traffic
This playlist courtesy of the Washington Post is excellent
If you don’t want the whole playlist, Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart simply IS the song of all Eclipses (I don’t make the rules, I’m just here to tell you how it is). Honestly, this music video is worth it for the wonderful weirdness even if you have ZERO interest in celestial events
What to Read
Total Eclipse by Annie Dillard (if you don’t like the essay don’t tell me. I read it in 2007 and have wanted to see a total solar eclipse ever since)
I had seen a partial eclipse in 1970. A partial eclipse is very interesting. It bears almost no relation to a total eclipse. Seeing a partial eclipse bears the same relation to seeing a total eclipse as kissing a man does to marrying him, or as flying in an airplane does to falling out of an airplane. Although the one experience precedes the other, it in no way prepares you for it.
Maria Popova dedicated an issue of her newsletter this week to Maria Mitchell’s Stunning Account of the 1869 Total Solar Eclipse
[The English astronomer Charles] Piazzi Smyth says: “The effect of a total eclipse on the minds of men is so overpowering, that if they have never seen it before they forget their appointed tasks, and will look around during the few seconds of obscuration to witness the scene.” Other astronomers have said the same. My assistants, a party of young students, would not have turned from the narrow line of observation assigned to them if the earth had quaked beneath them. They would have said — “by the storms of circumstance unshaken and subject neither to eclipse nor wane, Duty exists.” Was it because they were women?
Last a few poems
Don’t Burn Your Retinas:
Please don’t injure your eyes. Eye Safety During a Total Solar Eclipse (if you’re still with me I learned this week that Warby Parker is giving away free solar eclipse glasses at their stores…also my local library had them for free while supplies last. Sunglasses are not the same, Solar eclipse glasses are MUCH more protective than sunglasses.)
Episodes we can’t stop thinking about…
This week, we’re sharing a few of our episodes from this year so far for your friends
For your friends in Florida, Texas, Tennesse…and any of the more than 20 states where abortion care is banned or not protected:
The Tragedy of Abortion BansFor your friend or family member who wants a better handle on Immigration:
The Immigration Election: A Crisis at the Southern BorderFor your friend who doesn’t vote in local elections:
New Laws in 2024 That Impact Your Wallet, Your Driving, and are Just BizarreFor the person in your life who thinks it’s nice that the former President is selling Bibles:
Christian Nationalism Hurts Both America and the Church with Rob ReinerFor the person in your life who has checked out of politics because they needed a break and everything is terrible anyway:
Your Personality Shapes Your Politics: The Enneagram and the 2024 ElectionFor your friend who owned a small business during covid:
Lessons from the Covid War with Dr. Charity DeanFor your loved one who thinks big cities are dangerous:
Crime: What Do We Do When We Don't Feel Safe?For your friend who gets all their news from TikTok:
Should We Ban TikTok?
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