One Giant Step for Mankind

"July 20, 1969. On this date, Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed their moon module on a broad dark lunar lava flow, called the Sea of Tranquility. Six hours later, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to walk on the moon."

Have you considered what has happened since that monumental day in time? It's been forty four years, that is a long time. We have not seen that kind of fervor since those early days The space program really has not had heroes to speak of that people know by name. Think about it there has not been an space program since Apollo 17 in the 1972. There were twelve very lucky astronauts that had the opportunity to go to the moon and then it faded off the radar. Why?

You would think with all the advancements in technology that manned explorations would be on the increase not decrease. Mike Wall with Space.com indicates that there are possibilities. He writes,
"NASA is serious about sending astronauts back to the moon's neighborhood and will likely unveil its ambitious plans soon now that President Barack Obama has been re-elected, experts say.
The space agency has apparently been thinking about setting up a manned outpost beyond the moon's far side, both to establish a human presence in deep space and to build momentum toward a planned visit to an asteroid in 2025."

See more at: http://www.space.com/18380-nasa-moon-missions-obama-election.html#sthash.LL0hnrTz.dpuf

I don't see articles on the news or see them trending anywhere. For that matter I didn't even see the evening news take a moment to reflect on this day in history. What a shame! How will our youth know if we do not make the effort to bring it to their attention. We certainly cannot leave it to their teachers to do when it is happening in July.

Nor did anyone mention that tomorrow and Monday early dawn that you can see Mars and Jupiter in line with each other. Jupiter will be clearly visible with your eyes,  Mars is a bit fainter you may need binoculars. Course if you are not an morning person, you can always enjoy Venus at dusk until an hour after sunset.

Brain in Gear Does Help

I'm working on putting the white borders on my blue background quilt blocks so I can finally get to Leah Day's machine quilting class. Here I am bobbing up and down like a yo-yo when it dawned on me why was I chain piecing these blocks. Now, you would have thought I might have got this after the first block. Not me, it took me 3 blocks all four sides before my brain engaged. Chain piece the sides, and then do the same to the tops once you trim and press. I really should have taken a nap and maybe this head of mine would have been more functional.

We did accomplish hanging the curtains in the living room today. They look really nice in the window and the color actually works better than I hoped. The hard part was rearranging the cat's window seat temporarily. I have to spend some time researching what will work to keep our old man from putting his claws into them. He has this knack for marking everything. I would have him declawed except at nineteen it is to risky.

At the old house, he was always in and out so he had plenty to sharpen his nails on and never bothered the curtains or the furniture. It is has only been since we moved to New Jersey and I will not let him be an outside cat. It is just to dangerous here with all the traffic. Where we lived in Maine, there was the two neighbors up the road and the mail man except hunting season than we had a few more cars. During that time, I kept my cats inside because some hunters just shoot and look later.

In the Jersey house, the old man has done a number to my office chair and the box spring that I didn't have a bed ruffle on. Once I saw he made it a target, I remedied that and he hasn't touched the bed ruffle. Now, you would think he would use the two scratching posts that are his since our cats are declawed. If  my ex had not been so ornery the old man would have been too.

Does anyone ever use the sprays they advertise? If so which one works better?

I don't know about anyone else but this heat is really getting tiresome. I am so over it. It was ninety eight degrees here at one o'clock. I really miss having the windows open and hearing the birds sing. I am sure they are glad I have kept their birdbath and drinking dishes filled with fresh water several times a day so they have fluids too.

Losing Track of Time

It's been a very busy week and a half since I've had a chance to sit down here and blog.

On the 10th, We took a ride over to Seaside Heights, New Jersey to spend the day at our favorite beach. It is the first time we've been back since Hurricane Sandy. I could not believe the damage that is still very apparent nine months later. There are still houses sitting off their foundations. There are houses that have simply been leveled but the work has not begun if it is going to be. I saw the pictures on the news but seeing it first hand makes your stomach wrench.

I was relieved to see Island Beach State Park fared the storm. the beach and the dunes looked good. It is a beautiful place to spend with your family for six dollars for the car load. They have 2 public beach accesses with life guards, restrooms, changing rooms and concession stands. What more could you ask for. Well, chairs and umbrellas would be sweet but the price would definitely not be the same.

We had been there about six hours when the life guard came over and advised us that a electrical storm was in the area and they needed to clear the beach area. Wow, I hadn't looked up so I never noticed the dark clouds looming over us. We were playing cards inside our sun tent shelter so none of us noticed.

So we packed everything up and walked up to the car. Crazy, we had no more than got inside the car, shut the doors and the heavens let loose. And I mean the heavens, it was a torrential down pour. We were so grateful the life guard spoke to us when he had because lugging home soaking wet beach stuff isn't fun.

Guess I should have looked up at the sky a bit more frequently

The ocean is always soothing to me.

I love watching the gulls soar with the ocean brezes.

We made the drive to Norfolk, Virginia on Friday the 14th.That was a long day in the car with all the traffic, you can tell it is summer season. What a difference in travel time between summer season and winter/spring/fall seasons. In the summer it takes us eight hours to go from here in Jersey to Norfolk, whereas the other seasons it is only five and half hours.

However, the trip is all about the grandson's birthday. CJ turned 9 years old and we couldn't miss spending time with him, celebrating his big day. We did our usual Mexican night, which I enjoy as much as he does. In Norfolk, the El Rodeo is an excellent Mexican restaurant, reasonably priced with the most pleasant wait staff.

Saturday, CJ and I had a movie date. That is something he and I do together each time we visit. We saw Monster's University  which worked out well for me. My head does not do well with a lot of movement on the screen. When CJ and I saw Cars I vomited twice, it was just too much for me. These migraines have changed my life so much.

We kept CJ busy so his parents had time to get everything ready for his party They had a barbecue first and then the awesome Angry Birds cake his Mom got was brought out. Oh, boy was that a good cake. He loved all the presents, his favorite was his own Kindle Fire XL. I have to admit the graphics are amazing. We played this game Bugaboo Math. That game is fun and you learn at the same time. Wicked! I have stubbornly avoided the readers because I love the smell and feel of a book in my hands. Yeah, I know old school.

Sadly, Sunday was another long day in the car. It was unavoidable because of doctor's appointments on Monday. If we could have avoided being outside on Monday we would have it, man it was wicked hot. I watered my garden early Monday morning because we had been gone over the weekend to help it be ready for the heat.

I wish I could say the weather has improved but it has only gotten hotter here. Crazy hot and extremely bad air quality make for difficult times outside. I feel so bad for all the people that do work outside. It takes so much out of you,

On a good note, I've got a chance to catch up on my reading. I am reading Runaway Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini, she is an excellent author. I love how she ties different quilts in to her books.

And speaking of writing, you are not going to believe it but I am in the finals on Writing,com Super Summer Blog Off. Who would have thought that? I am actually enjoying it immensely, I love having daily prompts it really does help me get started each day with my writing. Anyway, not only is this the first time I have ever competed, it is the first time I have made it into the finals.

http://www.writing.com/main/forums/item_id/1940448-Super-Summer-Blog-Off

So needless to say I am excited. Okay, I am wicked excited.

A Writing Prompt from Writer's.com

Vampire Cycles
Vampire themes are not new, they frequently appeared in 18th century poetry and then into stories. Some of my favorites over the years are Brom Stoker's Dracula, which was published in 1897.  Lord Byron's poem, The Giaour, which is a Turkish word meaning infidel, very appropriately named. which I have shared. was published in 1813. I love the images his words inspire in one's minds eye.
Lord Byron's' The Giaour
. . . Unquenched, unquenchable,
Around, within, thy heart shall dwell;
Nor ear can hear nor tongue can tell
The tortures of that inward hell!
But first, on earth as vampire sent,
Thy corpse shall from its tomb be rent:
Then ghastly haunt thy native place,
And suck the blood of all thy race;
There from thy daughter, sister, wife,
At midnight drain the stream of life;
Yet loathe the banquet which perforce
Must feed thy livid living corpse:
Thy victims ere they yet expire
Shall know the demon for their sire,
As cursing thee, thou cursing them,
Thy flowers are withered on the stem.
But one that for thy crime must fall,
The youngest, most beloved of all,
Shall bless thee with a father's name —
That word shall wrap thy heart in flame!
Yet must thou end thy task, and mark
Her cheek's last tinge, her eye's last spark,
And the last glassy glance must view
Which freezes o'er its lifeless blue;
Then with unhallowed hand shalt tear
The tresses of her yellow hair,
Of which in life a lock when shorn
Affection's fondest pledge was worn,
But now is borne away by thee,
Memorial of thine agony!
John Polidori's, The Vamprye in 1819 was one of the earliest romantic tales involving vampires, amusingly he claims his inspiration was Lord Byron. It has been noted over time that Polidori's work was a influencing factor on Stoker's Dracula and how it developed. Other writers you probably recognize dabbled in vampire stories are Alexandre Dumas and Alexis Tolstoy. Both men were inspired with Polidori's work and linked pieces of their stories with his. Dumas makes a reference to Lord Ruthven (Polidori's character) in the Count of Monte Cristo. Interestingly, how different genres/ writers back then influenced writers and their work as it does ours today. I would never have connected the dots until I read about Polidori in college when we were discussing Bram Stoker.
I was surprised to learn also that Bram's real first name is Abraham but that he did not like it. Nor did I know until that class he was a theatre critic for the Dublin Mall. At that time theatre critics were nothing special but his reviews changed that, they were considered exceptional. Another surprising note about Bram was he graduated college with honors in Mathematics but it really wasn't a strong interest of his. His life long friendship with Henry Irving, a British actor and manager of Lyceum Theatre. Stoker took over the management of Lyceum Theatre at Irving's insistence and this became a positive business move for both men. Irving introduced Stoker to places in London he would not have had access to as a theatre critic. There are many different connections in Stoker's writing and Irving's life that demonstrate the genuine affection the two men held for each other.
In 1966, there was an afternoon series on television called Dark Shadows, I fell in love with, it lasted about five years on ABC network. I went and bought all the books because I was so enamored with Barnabas Collins. It was a whole new world to me, vampires, werewolves, witches, zombies at the grand age of ten.
Like all kids, something holds your attention for a bit and then you move on to other interests. I have gone from mysteries, to historical romances, westerns, gothic, war stories, history, and biographies. I'm not particularly fond of science fiction or horror but I have read a few because some one has spoke well of a particular Steven King book so I read it. It was the same for me with the Harry Potter stories, normally that genre is not appealing to me but my grandchildren were so excited and I was curious what was holding their fascination in such a large book. I was glad I read them, they were well written and interesting but I did not seek other similar stories.
However, in 2008 in Barnes and Noble did a piece on Stephanie Meyers, and once again I was drawn to vampires with The Twilight Series. I've read the books and saw all of the movies but I haven't ventured into any of the other vampire stories that are popular. The books were enjoyable but I did not find the same fascination as I did when I was younger. I would rather our children read then do other things so if vampire stories are getting their attention maybe the door will open to other genres.I feel it will evolve as it did in the past until someone writes a new twist and then it will resurface again.
Take for instance, 50 Shades of Gray, now that has how many copy cat stories out there, too many to count right now. Some of you may remember The Story of O, appeared and had its share of copy cats and then faded. Pornography exists and creeps out from time to time in the publics eye than also fades away until someone gives it a new twist as E. L. James did.
I don't see 50 Shades, or Twilight ever being considered classics but then I am sure no one would have thought that of Stoker's Dracula
either in its peak time.
As you can tell, I enjoyed this prompt, its been awhile since I have thought of Stoker, maybe it is time for me to indulge once again in his work. Or even Lord Byron's. I hope you enjoyed his vampire poem as much as me.

Black and White Secrets (Book) - Writing.Com

Black and White Secrets (Book) - Writing.Com