Magazine Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Not the James Webb Space Telescope's latest view of a distant galactic nebula, this illuminated cloud of gas and dust dazzled early morning spacecoast skygazers on August 26. The snapshot was taken about 2 minutes after the launch of of a Falcon 9 rocket on the SpaceX Crew-7 mission, the seventh commercial crew rotation mission for the International Space Station. It captures drifting plumes and exhaust from the separated first and second stage illuminated against the still dark skies. Near the center of the image, within the ragged blueish ring, are two bright points of light. The lower one is the second stage of the rocket carrying 4 humans to space in a Crew Dragon spacecraft. The bright point above is the Falcon 9 first stage booster orienting itself for the trip back to Landing Zone-1 at Cape Canaveral, planet Earth.

Photo by Michael Seeley

This tasty and easy dish combines two classic Italian flavors -cacio e pepe and tortellini - in one delicious family-friendly meal skillet in no time  More at Simply Recipes ➜

I'm lost,
not alone,
somewhere in space,
between my ears,
behind my face.

So, this is what it's like
living alone.
Solo at Starbucks, at the
Crossroad Mall.
Dinner at a Chinese Restaurant,
no one else at the table.

So many people, moving about,
makes me want to stand up
and yell, "Can I get a hug?"
Crazy? Sure, it is, but also,
the reality of this new life, mine.

Running up hill, breathing hard,
short steps with sighs.
Salty sweat gets
in his eyes.

When running I would carry
a small sponge, wet.
I would use this to keep the
sweat from getting in my eyes.

When you were at a water station
I would drink, then rinse the sponge.
Learned to do this after running
my first marathon.

Desert stories
of blowing sand,
telling of a love mystery,
of the desert and

saying who we were,
whence we came.
Why would these stories
be considered lame?

No time for love.
No time for hate.
Lost in this mucked up life,
as I worry about my beloved.

When will she no longer smile,
when she sees me?
I want to know....but then I don't.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Near perigee, the closest point in its almost moonthly orbit, a Full Moon rose as the Sun set on August 1. Its brighter than average lunar disk was captured in this dramatic moonrise sequence over dense cloud banks along the eastern horizon from Ragusa, Sicily. Illuminating night skies around planet Earth it was the second supermoon of 2023. Yet again near perigee, the third supermoon of 2023 will also shine on an August night. Rising as the Sun sets tonight this second Full Moon in August will be known to some as a Blue Moon, even though scattered sunlight gives the lunar disk a reddened hue. Defined as the second full moon in a calendar month, blue moons occur only once every 2 or 3 years. That's because lunar phases take 29.5 days, almost a calendar month, to go through a complete cycle. Tonight an August Blue Moon will find itself beside bright planet Saturn.

Photo by Gianni Tumino

"My teachers and my parents and the TV shows of my youth kept telling us kids that the way to deal with bullies was to confront them, they’re actually, deep down, nothing but cowards. My family moved north from Georgia to Milwaukee when I was 13, a radical transition from semi-rural living to urban discomfort. My junior high school had the usual mix of cliques with one exception, the hoods, guyz who dressed up as gangsters to celebrate Valentine’s Day, the Massacre. Nice bunch, kept switchblade knives on themselves and guns in their lockers. Welcome to the city, Farm Boy!"  More at The Skeeter Daddle Diaries ➜  

When dreams, go asunder
and life's paths change,
it's not time to panic.
You must rearrange.

The love you will lose,
may never come back.
Stay close to the issue
and never look back.