12.14.2004

Meteors and Falling Objects

If you haven't seen a meteor shower in the middle of the desert with no lights for 20 miles, then you haven't seen Shakespeare the way it was meant to be performed.


(I didn't take this picture. Some guy on the internets did.)

Yesterday started out weird. I'd been planning to go up into the desert with some Tribespersons and spend the night camping out there and watching meteors, but as I called them in the morning to set up the logistics of the whole thing, all but one person bailed on me. I'd planned on this trip for a few days - getting a sub for work, making sure I had gear - so that was a little disappointing to me. But after spending a few hours at Fuller selling the trip to my coworkers, and a few more hours of making plans and then making other plans when the first plans fell through, we finally decided to go out to this place Wall knew in the middle of the desert. At about 8:00ish, we piled into my car and Eric's truck and set off.

As I was driving up the 15, through the San Bernardino Mountains, I saw a light in the corner of my eye; I quickly turned to see the most spectacular meteorite I'd ever seen in my life. I don't know how to describe it, other than to say that it was dancing - little sparks were flying off of it, leaving trails like fireworks. But that was just the beginning.

After several hours and not a little traffic, we finally found the turnoff for the little dirt road back to the campsite (about 10 miles north of Kramer Junction, CA.) Another few miles of abuse on my new car's suspension (it really wasn't all that bad) and we were there... a nice little stretch of road on the top of a hill, in the middle of the high desert, with sagebrush on either side of us and not another soul within 15 miles, not to mention city lights.

As I got out of the car, I realized something: I'd never seen the sky without city lights. I thought I had when my folks and I used to go out into the Midwestern countryside to stargaze, but last night I looked up into the sky and saw what I'd been missing. I'd never seen darkness that dark, skies that clear, air that crisp, out East.

The meteor shower itself was incredible. By our estimation, there were about 3 meteors a minute - about 180 per hour - coming from all directions. Some were so dim they were barely visible; I'd catch it in the corner of my eye, but by the time I'd shifted my gaze it was gone. Others were bright, leaving long lines across the sky. There were a few on the southern horizon that sank slowly and glowed green.

And the silence... when everyone stopped talking, there wasn't a sound to be heard. It was like I'd completely escaped from the world, and could lose myself in the stars. Then Wall put on Coltrane's "A Love Supreme," which led us to dub this shower the Coltrane Shower. It was sublime.

I got home at 3:30am, completely exhausted, and collapsed into bed. But the sojourn was totally worth it... I've never seen a lightshow like that before in my life, and won't again for at least another year - this was the last big shower without a full moon in the way for a while to come.

posted by jimmy at 19:43 - Read comments here!

12.02.2004

For everyone else....

For those of us who are INTERESTING and don't want to debate about whether or not the commercial should be on TV (which it should), I bring you...

Alisa.

Ok, so first of all, I'd like to discuss the issue of grammar. We're all educated people. We all graduated high school (or are on the track to graduating high school). English is the language we SPEAK on an every day basis-- let's prove it!

Jim just finished up classes for this quarter. He's got exams or something next week and then... well, then it's Christmas. I'm enjoying my time away from school, especially since everyone I work with is an actor, so going to work is LIKE going to school... it's just I'm playing the constant role of "Alisa: Hot Hostess." The last two days, however, I've been playing the role of "Alisa: Irritated Eyes."

If you're going to dye your hair, don't dye it every month like I did, and don't use Sun In. I had to dye my hair back to it's original color (WHAT!?!?!?) because it was so weak it would have fallen out. It's still weak, but now it's... uh... dark brown. Sometimes I try to convince Jim to cover up the gray in his hair with my mascara but he won't do it.

When I drive to work I drive through the middle of downtown Hollywood and Beverly Hills. On my way home I drive through Bel-Air. You'd think this would make my life more interesting... BUT YOU WOULD BE WRONG. I drive down all the famous streets ALL the time and the only interesting thing I ever see is the guy dressed like Spiderman on Highland... and sometimes the guy dressed like The Hulk.

I did, however, get interviewed by the LATimes last week. The irony of this, of course, lies in the fact that *I* got interviewed by the LATimes before Jimmy did. I mean, yeah, it's not an article ABOUT me (per se....), but the woman who interviewed me chose me based on my totally awesome web site. I don't see any interview offers being made based on THIS web site... HAHAHAHA!

I guess I shouldn't make fun of it since I'm... posting on it.

I told Jim if I ever get sick out here and require medicine I'm going to HAVE to give him whatever I have so that he can go to the doctor to get medicine and I can use it. I am so pathetic. I wish I could just get some freaking health insurance.

If I ever get a billion dollars I'm going to buy a lot of cars and start a company where I rent them out to people. I'll call my company "Enterprise" because it's such an enterprising idea.

Since Jim isn't buying anyone Christmas gifts, I asked if he would "adopt" a panda for me. He was all "That doesn't help people, Alisa. Jesus came to help the people,"---but it would help ME. Well, I guess it wouldn't HELP me, but it would make me happy. I mean, God created animals, too... He made them BEFORE people were here, so it's not like they're not important. Plus, we keep destroying our own earth, which includes their habitats, and, unlike humans, they can't do anything about it. As the saying goes, "Pandas are people too." While this saying isn't necessarily common or true, the important meaning remains: God loves a Panda.

I, too, love pandas. I mean, come on, they look like big kitties. (Except when they're newborn babies. Then they look like big mice.)

posted by jimmy at 19:28 - Read comments here!

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