Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Another good thing is to learn some constellations
> if your night skies permit you to see them. I
> like to be able to identify the brighter planets.
> Yesterday evening my wife and I went for a walk,
> and Venus was off in the west, and then we noticed
> Jupiter in the southeast.
>

As such it risks stalling at the sensibility of Jiminy Cricket singing "When You Wish Upon a Star", and Lady and the Tramp, ... which may be pleasant and comfy enough.

But to truly experience out of body Cosmic Ecstasy, a deeper study of individual night-sky objects becomes vital, their relative geometric distances, physical properties, and life cycles. Along with a telescope, that will beautifully fulfill the function of being your private spaceship.

Knygatin, I'm fond of my little paper planisphere, by which I learned various constellations, and my telescope. The telescope has been just right for a beginner such as me.

[www.manualslib.com]

Highlights of my telescope use, since I got it nine years ago, have included observing the transits of Venus and Mercury. In the interval between the Venus one and the Mercury one, I got an iPad, and I was actually able to photograph Mercury by so crude a method as holding the iPad to the eyepiece. I fantasize about having my own observatory sometimes. Never happen, of course, nor would I possess the mathematical skill needed for operating one.

I live in a small town in a rural area, which means less light pollution than big cities exude, so I'm able to observe the Andromeda galaxy with the naked eye. An "island universe"!

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Knygatin, I'm fond of my little paper planisphere,
> by which I learned various constellations, and my
> telescope. The telescope has been just right for
> a beginner such as me.
>
> [www.manualslib.com]
> rblast-9814.html
>
> Highlights of my telescope use, since I got it
> nine years ago, have included observing the
> transits of Venus and Mercury. In the interval
> between the Venus one and the Mercury one, I got
> an iPad, and I was actually able to photograph
> Mercury by so crude a method as holding the iPad
> to the eyepiece. I fantasize about having my own
> observatory sometimes. Never happen, of course,
> nor would I possess the mathematical skill needed
> for operating one.
>
> I live in a small town in a rural area, which
> means less light pollution than big cities exude,
> so I'm able to observe the Andromeda galaxy with
> the naked eye. An "island universe"!

To me, this sounds like a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction.

In SE Washington, where there are few lights, there's a sort of publicly accessible cluster of various telescopes in a small observatory complex. It's staffed by volunteer enthusiasts--and their enthusiasm is contagious.

[www.goldendaleobservatory.com]

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's great, Sawfish!

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Knygatin, I'm fond of my little paper planisphere,
> by which I learned various constellations, and my
> telescope. The telescope has been just right for
> a beginner such as me.
>
> [www.manualslib.com]
> rblast-9814.html
>
> Highlights of my telescope use, since I got it
> nine years ago, have included observing the
> transits of Venus and Mercury. In the interval
> between the Venus one and the Mercury one, I got
> an iPad, and I was actually able to photograph
> Mercury by so crude a method as holding the iPad
> to the eyepiece. I fantasize about having my own
> observatory sometimes. Never happen, of course,
> nor would I possess the mathematical skill needed
> for operating one.
>
> I live in a small town in a rural area, which
> means less light pollution than big cities exude,
> so I'm able to observe the Andromeda galaxy with
> the naked eye. An "island universe"!


Sounds wonderful. And an appropriate setup for an amateur. I am on about the same level, I have a 4" refractor which is handy enough. I used to read a lot of astronomy books. This is a hobby that could completely consume a person. I recently bought an adjustable observatory chair, which can be lowered and raised. It makes observing much more comfortable.

We used to have a family country house, but had to sell it a few years ago. The Milky Way was all magnificent, and I could see Andromeda if I focused my eyes. I don't have easy access to dark skies any longer. I really must amend that in some way!!! I can't stand this light pollution and all the city noise!

Imagine in the old days, before electric lights, they could see the stars at night from right in the middle of the cities! But "progress" has removed that.

Knygatin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Imagine in the old days, before electric lights,
> they could see the stars at night from right in
> the middle of the cities! But "progress" has
> removed that.


There is the Asimov story, Nightfall, about a planet in a multi-star system that only experiences a true night once every 10K years or so. The plot revolves around the current civilization, which has found archaeological evidence of preceding civilizations, and whose astronomers have calculated that the next such "nightfall" is in a day or so, and everyone wonders about it.

When darkness finally arrives, the multitudes of visible stars, described as being much more multitudinous than Earth's visible sky, caused many of the people to become deranged by their stupendous magnificence., thus wrecking their civilization.

I don't think much of Asimov as an author, but it was an interesting idea.

It was made into a film in the late 80s/early 90s, and I kid you not, it was by far the worst film I've ever seen, in every conceivable way.

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Knygatin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Imagine in the old days, before electric lights,
> they could see the stars at night from right in
> the middle of the cities! But "progress" has
> removed that.


Even as recently as during the World War II blackouts, people could see the stars from within the cities. I wonder if, when the blackout period ended, the loss of the night sky made some people sorrowful.

The International Dark-Sky Association advocated lighting that strikes a compromise: it doesn't dispute the commitment of cities to light at night, but it urges lighting systems that allow some of the night sky to be seen and that are more healthy for people and animals.

[www.darksky.org]

I've been a member for many years. I don't know how much good IDSA does, but it seems worth the fee.

Sawfish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> There is the Asimov story, Nightfall, about a
> planet in a multi-star system that only
> experiences a true night once every 10K years or
> so. The plot revolves around the current
> civilization, which has found archaeological
> evidence of preceding civilizations, and whose
> astronomers have calculated that the next such
> "nightfall" is in a day or so, and everyone
> wonders about it.
>
> When darkness finally arrives, the multitudes of
> visible stars, described as being much more
> multitudinous than Earth's visible sky, caused
> many of the people to become deranged by their
> stupendous magnificence, thus wrecking their
> civilization.
>
>

Woooow! It makes me stop for a moment, ... an increased sense of clarity for the Wonders of existence, ... and I ponder again, what the hell is up with this PC "social consciousness" society-wrecking bullshit?! When are people going to wake up to poetic consciousness?

Could a civilization be built upon Stupendous Magnificence alone?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2 Sep 21 | 10:17AM by Knygatin.

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> The International Dark-Sky Association advocated
> lighting that strikes a compromise: it doesn't
> dispute the commitment of cities to light at
> night, but it urges lighting systems that allow
> some of the night sky to be seen and that are more
> healthy for people and animals.
>
> [www.darksky.org]
>
> I've been a member for many years. I don't know
> how much good IDSA does, but it seems worth the
> fee.

That sounds good. Sadly, I think most people are too dull and stolid to realize that the light pollution is an outrage.

Knygatin Wrote:

> When are people going
> to wake up to poetic consciousness?

Many people have wakened or are waking at least to the desire for something better than the flattened, standardized, reductive notion of humanness and existence typically offered by "sociological consciousness." Often their desire takes severely compromised forms. For example, in the town in which I grew up (Ashland, Oregon), one might wonder if many people who are largely focused on "sociological" attitudes grope for a way to add to their lives a more "poetic" element by buying things. An Ashland property might have a Black Lives Matter sign prominently posted in the front yard and some recently-bought Buddhist prayer flags in the back yard. I think, rather than automatically sneering at such folks, one can consider that they might have an inchoate desire for something better than sociological consciousness, and maybe they'll learn more.

Just so there's no misunderstanding, let me reiterate that I do not see "poetic consciousness" as salvation. "Poetic consciousness" allows that human beings need something more than "progress." "Sociological consciousness" doesn't even allow that much.

Here is a hymn of sociological consciousness that many people love:

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No Hell below us
Above us only sky

Imagine all the people
Livin' for today
Aaa haa

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too

Imagine all the people
Livin' life in peace
Yoo hoo

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people
Sharin' all the world
Yoo hoo

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one


It's interesting to unpack this much-loved ditty. My point is that, though it is in verse form, it is an expression of sociological consciousness.

To start with, look at its emphasis on negative language. It advocates:

No sense of a transcendent destiny that may await a soul; it seems to say: live without a view of such a destiny, just occupy yourself with the immediate moment

No religion -- at a stroke Lennon wipes out religion, which is responsible for so great an amount of the world's music, art, architecture, hospitals, etc., to say nothing of the richness of people's inner lives

No countries -- no patria, but rather a single World State (sounds Masonic, Knygatin??)

No private property -- No longer will a man's home be his castle, a refuge from intrusive government; perhaps the idea is that the State will be all in all

Lennon does away with a huge amount of what has given most people's lives interest. Where is there room for poetic consciousness when there is no religion, no attachment to one's place, no family (?), no room for artists to work with their own materials (?) -- as seems implied by Lennon.

One could compare "Beasts of England" from Orwell's Animal Farm. Did Lennon want us to be almost like beasts feeding ("no hunger") at the State trough?

Of course, he'd have denied that. He probably hardly knew what to think. But at this point in his career his default mode seems to have been sociological consciousness, and he gave it an anthem.

Here's Orwell's satirical hymn.


Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken to my joyful tidings
Of the golden future time.

Soon or late the day is coming,
Tyrant Man shall be o'erthrown,
And the fruitful fields of England
Shall be trod by beasts alone.

Rings shall vanish from our noses,
And the harness from our back,
Bit and spur shall rust forever,
Cruel whips no more shall crack.

Riches more than mind can picture,
Wheat and barley, oats and hay,
Clover, beans, and mangel-wurzels
Shall be ours upon that day.

Bright will shine the fields of England,
Purer shall its waters be,
Sweeter yet shall blow its breezes
On the day that sets us free.

For that day we all must labour,
Though we die before it break;
Cows and horses, geese and turkeys,
All must toil for freedom's sake.

Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken well and spread my tidings
Of the golden future time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2 Sep 21 | 10:51AM by Dale Nelson.

Quote:

DN
Even as recently as during the World War II blackouts, people could see the stars from within the cities. I wonder if, when the blackout period ended, the loss of the night sky made some people sorrowful.

Related to that, do recall the two or three days after 9/11? All flights over the US were banned and as a result, no contrails in the sky.

Don't hold your breath waiting to see this again...

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Knygatin Wrote:

> what the hell
> is up with this PC "social consciousness"
> society-wrecking bullshit?! When are people going
> to wake up to poetic consciousness?


One of the chief areas in which poetic consciousness is manifest is with regard to the two sexes. I refer not only to paintings, dramas, poetry, law, etc. but to "small" details of daily life -- little courtesies, appreciative but respectful glances, etc. To be sure, sometimes changes have been needed when the glorious reality of sexual dimorphism etc. was exploited for base ends by someone or other.

Today we are expected to understand the sexes from the standpoint of a "progressive" sociological consciousness. American money and pressure were brought to bear upon Afghan culture. It seems many Afghans did not find the American sociological consciousness-vision attractive.

[spectatorworld.com]

American money.... indeed, American Money. Check the link in the article to the information about a real paragon of sociological consciousness, the late John Money. What vast harm has come out of his type of thought, including painful, unhealable mutilations. His ideas are mainstream in colleges of education and psychology, in law and the humanities....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2 Sep 21 | 03:50PM by Dale Nelson.

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Knygatin Wrote:
>
> > what the hell
> > is up with this PC "social consciousness"
> > society-wrecking bullshit?! When are people
> going
> > to wake up to poetic consciousness?
>
>
> One of the chief areas in which poetic
> consciousness is manifest is with regard to the
> two sexes. I refer not only to paintings, dramas,
> poetry, law, etc. but to "small" details of daily
> life -- little courtesies, appreciative but
> respectful glances, etc. To be sure, sometimes
> changes have been needed when the glorious reality
> of sexual dimorphism etc. was exploited for base
> ends by someone or other.
>
> Today we are expected to understand the sexes from
> the standpoint of a "progressive" sociological
> consciousness. American money and pressure were
> brought to bear upon Afghan culture. It seems
> many Afghans did not find the American
> sociological consciousness-vision attractive.
>
> [spectatorworld.com]
> s-lose-afghanistan/
>
> American money.... indeed, American Money. Check
> the link in the article to the information about a
> real paragon of sociological consciousness, the
> late John Money. What vast harm has come out of
> his type of thought, including painful, unhealable
> mutilations. His ideas are mainstream in colleges
> of education and psychology, in law and the
> humanities....

K, did you ever entertain the impulse to figuratively cut yourself free of the sluggish and corrupt flow of modern western culture?

It's like knowing when to desert from the command of a suicidal, arrogant, incompetent commander, like Elphinstone. You don't like it, but at some point it becomes every man for himself. That, or die.

If you're lucky, you'll fall in with a group of like-minded deserters, which is what ED is.

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yes, like Huck Finn we're lighting out for the Territory around here, aren't we? ; )