Could this eclipse trigger the Nazi zombie apocalypse Trump's election had foretold?
2
We in France had the privilege to see an eclipse in August 1999. We drove 70 miles from home and we just sat in a field -for free... and looked. Try to avoid any nightmarish hotelroom but GO. I have never seen something so eery and beautiful. Next one here is in 2081, I don't think I will be around anymore.
11
Hilarious! Thanks for that detour from the shambles of our current government!
19
I truly believe the NYT has the best writers anywhere. For example: "[The eclipse] is a portal to the crafty, stagy, venal sum of us."
Thank you.
Thank you.
11
"A week after the eclipse, a room at the 1st Interstate Motel reverts to $63 a night."
A couple of bottles of JD and $63 and you can black out the sun all day long. Just leave the empties under the bed to inspire envy and/or insight into the galaxy as it applies to the most of us. Punchline: "Donald Trump."
A couple of bottles of JD and $63 and you can black out the sun all day long. Just leave the empties under the bed to inspire envy and/or insight into the galaxy as it applies to the most of us. Punchline: "Donald Trump."
7
I laughed out loud at the Pink Floyd joke. Thank you, Frank Bruni, for some much needed levity right now.
8
Thanks for this Mr. Bruni. As I'm watching the eclipse devour Mt. Jefferson from the Green Ridge lookout tower in Oregon at precisely 1019PST Monday morning I'll try to imagine a full 24 hour period without the liberal media casting everything DJT says, does, or thinks in the worst possible light imaginable. It's that rare indeed!
2
But how do you avoid going blind?
1
An eclipse concert selection that captures the angst of this political moment: Total Eclipse of the Heart", especially the line, "We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks."
4
If anyone is interested you can camp in my yard and on eclipse day (99.4% totality) you can walk to the library and eat moon pies with neighbors while enjoying what may be (66.4% chance LOL) an uncloudy view of the moon covering the sun. BYOEBAT - Bring Your Own Empty Liquor Bottles And Tent.
Oh and the yard is free. But good guests always bring the host a nice bottle of wine ...
Oh and the yard is free. But good guests always bring the host a nice bottle of wine ...
16
No wonder that much of the world thinks we have gone crazy.
2
Perhaps the eclipse is a metaphor for Congress blocking out the wonderful sunlight that is Donald tRump. Who knew the cosmos had such a sense of humor?
14
Do what my friends and I did in the summer of 1963 -- make what amounts to a pinhole camera. Take two good-sized pieces of cardboard; cut a hole in one and cover it with aluminum foil, in which you punch a small round hole; tape a sheet of white paper to the other piece of cardboard to make what amounts to a small projection screen. On the great day, stand with your back to the sun, letting the light come through the pinhole and project a shape onto the white paper. You'll get a surprisingly good image of the eclipse, won't risk your vision, and won't have to further enrich Amazon, either.
I did the same thing for a total-but-annular eclipse in 1994, and it worked then too --
I did the same thing for a total-but-annular eclipse in 1994, and it worked then too --
15
"Make hay while the sun shines." Or not, as the case may be.
I wonder what is happening in Europe? Are they immune from the eclipse or just the mania? Or, are we so America centric that we just don't care what happens anywhere else?
What is surprising is not the Thousand Bucks a Night prices it is that someone will pay it.
That may say more about US than anything else.
I wonder what is happening in Europe? Are they immune from the eclipse or just the mania? Or, are we so America centric that we just don't care what happens anywhere else?
What is surprising is not the Thousand Bucks a Night prices it is that someone will pay it.
That may say more about US than anything else.
7
Europe is entirely out of the eclipse path.
5
Are you certain that all who would pay that price are Americans? I reckon we'll have quite a number of foreign visitors for the eclipse.
1
Corvallis is ready! Thanks to the leadership of our governor and mayor, Oregon State University (OSU), NASA, our local library and the local astronomers club, there have been many free eclipse community education events all summer long, plus free glasses for everyone and special education events for kids. This weekend will be chocked full of OSU and community events. Rooms have been sold out for months. I am hosting a young couple from Munich...
6
Maybe Trump will look to the heavens during totality, have an epiphany that he's really just a spec of dust in the cosmos and come to his senses... Nah, during the eclipse he'll be in some room, mashing out a tweet about how the day seems like it zipped by because it's getting dark already.
12
NM--He's so ignorant, maybe it will scare him into doing something good.
1
Given my adversity to crowds (anything more than three other people) I'll catch the NASA live stream on YouTube.
3
I was at the July 11, 1991 eclipse in Hawaii. Guess who was giving out free eclipse glasses? (Hint: the date was 7/11.) We were clouded out on the Big Island. Went to Bolivia for the eclipse in 1994. More clouds on the Altiplano, but they were high cirrus, so at least we saw something. Everyone got sick on that trip, from the altitude, the food and water. (La Paz has the highest international and fifth highest commercial airport in the world at over 13,000 feet altitude; the highest ones are in Tibet. The plane had to rev full throttle to take off. Also, the President of Bolivia was on our incoming flight -- he flew American Airlines -- we had to wait 15 minutes on the plane for his red-carpet welcoming ceremony. You never know what you'll get when you go to an eclipse!)
*You don't want to miss totality.* Get in your car and drive to the centerline of the path of totality. A partial solar eclipse is *nothing* compared to a total solar eclipse!! Bring some personal hygiene products, some change of clothes, sleep in your car, and find somewhere along the eclipse path. It's *worth it* -- even if it's only about 2 1/2 minutes. It will alter your perspective on the Earth, the Universe, and your life. Really.
Also, this is a galactic event, and a lunar and stellar one, since the Sun is our nearest star, but astronomers would classify it more as a solar system event.
You will see the darkest moon you will ever see and Venus during the day and ...
Don't miss it!!
*You don't want to miss totality.* Get in your car and drive to the centerline of the path of totality. A partial solar eclipse is *nothing* compared to a total solar eclipse!! Bring some personal hygiene products, some change of clothes, sleep in your car, and find somewhere along the eclipse path. It's *worth it* -- even if it's only about 2 1/2 minutes. It will alter your perspective on the Earth, the Universe, and your life. Really.
Also, this is a galactic event, and a lunar and stellar one, since the Sun is our nearest star, but astronomers would classify it more as a solar system event.
You will see the darkest moon you will ever see and Venus during the day and ...
Don't miss it!!
9
It's worth seeing, and also worth scouting your location for localized visibility issues. If you were on the Kailua-Kona beaches ahead of the eclipse in '91 you would have seen the ceiling of fog and transient low clouds obscuring the coast each morning.
You can't assume that no major weather forecast = clear viewing. Be in place and check for haze, dust, fog, line of sight issues at eclipse time on preceding days. If weather threatens, get in the car and drive.
Our Plan B was climbing 8000' Hualalai, which was just above the fog at ~6:30 AM first contact. Probably only 20 or so people on the crater rim, including a TIME-Life photo crew. At totality, you could see all the flashbulbs going off down on the beach through the fog bank...
You can't assume that no major weather forecast = clear viewing. Be in place and check for haze, dust, fog, line of sight issues at eclipse time on preceding days. If weather threatens, get in the car and drive.
Our Plan B was climbing 8000' Hualalai, which was just above the fog at ~6:30 AM first contact. Probably only 20 or so people on the crater rim, including a TIME-Life photo crew. At totality, you could see all the flashbulbs going off down on the beach through the fog bank...
3
Adam C:
That's a good story. In 1991, we got stuck at Waikoloa stables with a large tour group. All night long came the announcements over the PA for folks with telescopes needing alignment for sidereal tracking: "we have no pole star, we have no pole star ..." The clouds parted a minute or two after the end of totality. Of course Mauna Kea got clouded out as well. The advance (like, by years) meteorological reports were wrong -- an unusual weather pattern emerged, particularly with the cooling associated with the progression of the eclipse. You are absolutely right about planning ahead and planning for contingencies. Or you can spend all your money going to eclipses every year or two -- eventually you'll see one free from clouds. In this respect for me, I'm hoping the third time will be the charm. "The undevout astronomer must be mad." -- William Herschel
That's a good story. In 1991, we got stuck at Waikoloa stables with a large tour group. All night long came the announcements over the PA for folks with telescopes needing alignment for sidereal tracking: "we have no pole star, we have no pole star ..." The clouds parted a minute or two after the end of totality. Of course Mauna Kea got clouded out as well. The advance (like, by years) meteorological reports were wrong -- an unusual weather pattern emerged, particularly with the cooling associated with the progression of the eclipse. You are absolutely right about planning ahead and planning for contingencies. Or you can spend all your money going to eclipses every year or two -- eventually you'll see one free from clouds. In this respect for me, I'm hoping the third time will be the charm. "The undevout astronomer must be mad." -- William Herschel
2
Never look at the any part of the yellow disk of the Sun, especially when it is a thin crescent, without proper protection. Use these eclipse glasses, or #14 or higher welder's glass. You don't just need to protect your eyes from the brightness of the Sun but also from harmful ultraviolet and infrared radiation -- other materials like film or smoked glass will *not* protect your eyes. It is especially dangerous when the Sun is a very narrow crescent -- you can stare at it then because the normal mechanism in your eye to close it due to the Sun's extreme brightness no longer works. But the intensity of the sunlight is just as strong as ever. You can burn tiny crescents into your retina, and if you then raster scan to a different part of the retina, you can burn all these little crescents in there -- irreparable damage -- you will have permanently foggy/blurry vision forever.
The solution is just to use proper protection -- not to miss the partial phase of the eclipse! By the way, at totality, when *none of the yellow part of the Sun's disk is visible* -- assuming you are positioned along the path of totality -- that is the *only time* it is ever safe to look at the Sun. But during the "Diamond Ring" effect or Bailey's Beads right before or after totality -- use protection! (And at any other time when looking at the Sun!) PS Sunglasses do *not* provide adequate protection!
And no cracks, pinholes, or separation of the cardboard from the mylar in the eclipse glasses!
The solution is just to use proper protection -- not to miss the partial phase of the eclipse! By the way, at totality, when *none of the yellow part of the Sun's disk is visible* -- assuming you are positioned along the path of totality -- that is the *only time* it is ever safe to look at the Sun. But during the "Diamond Ring" effect or Bailey's Beads right before or after totality -- use protection! (And at any other time when looking at the Sun!) PS Sunglasses do *not* provide adequate protection!
And no cracks, pinholes, or separation of the cardboard from the mylar in the eclipse glasses!
8
I'm sorry Frank. Good column, but a speech by Trump that makes me proud is much much more rare than a solar eclipse. Like never in my lifetime.
15
The eclipse will be 70% in NYC, peaking around 2:50. If, like me, you neglected to buy $1.50 glasses two months ago and don't want to pay $150 now, you can still safely watch it live by projecting it through a pinhole in one piece of cardboard onto a piece of white paper taped to a second piece of cardboard. For a precise pinhole, try taping aluminum foil over a large hole in the first piece. Experiment the day before with different size holes. The bigger the hole the brighter the image, but also the fuzzier. Expect the trees to cast weird shadows.
See map at https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-maps
See map at https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-maps
5
Forecast is for clouds and rain
1
Great article...although from the headline I thought it was going to be about hope and optimism. Silly me.
Just bought the last pair of welding goggles in my town!
1
In case others see your post re welders' googles and rush out without further research: Not all welder’s goggles will protect your retina from a painless but damaging burn---they must be #14 or darker.
3
Hysterically amusing op-ed piece! Laughed out loud all the way through. Thank you for the guffaws!
2
Sadly, there will be a plethora, thousands, of dangerous bogus eclipse glasses disseminated by knowing and unknowing purveyors, cheap junk that will not protect people. It is possible that on Monday, thousands of people, thousands of children, will damage their eyesight using bogus eclipse glasses. Please be aware of the source of your glasses and their efficacy, and use another mechanism of viewing if you are in any doubt as to the safety of your glasses.
5
Mr Bruni, what else can we do except wait for Mr mueller and hope for indictments and impeachment. This is now going so beyond abnormal ; when will this stop? Guilty on all fronts. I loathe this entire group hoping they, not us, end behind bars if we can't have death. I know that's wrong, and it makes me sound as ignorant as the republicans, but they're lying treason and stealing and every turn, making $ in White House, is just so repugnant. Shame is not enough
4
Frank? If you don’t understand astrophysics or just how mind-blowing a total eclipse is...don’t write about it.
Here’s a woman who wrote about a total eclipse and I got chills reading it!
"FROM ALL THE HILLS CAME SCREAMS. A piece of sky beside the crescent sun was detaching. It was an abrupt black body out of nowhere; it was a flat disk; it was almost over the sun. THAT IS WHEN THERE WERE SCREAMS. At once this disk of sky slid over the sun like a lid. The sky snapped over the sun like a lens cover. The hatch in the brain slammed. Abruptly it was dark night, on the land and in the sky. In the night sky was a tiny ring of light. The hole where the sun belongs is very small. A thin ring of light marked its place. There was no sound. The eyes dried, the arteries drained, the lungs hushed. There was no world. We were the world’s dead people rotating and orbiting around and around, embedded in the planet’s crust, while the Earth rolled down. Our minds were light-years distant, forgetful of almost everything. Only an extraordinary act of will could recall to us our former, living selves and our contexts in matter and time. We got the light wrong. In the sky was something that should not be there. In the black sky was a ring of light. It was a thin ring, an old, thin silver wedding band, an old, worn ring. It was an old wedding band in the sky, or a morsel of bone. There were stars.
It was all over.”
This should make you want to KILL to see a total eclipse.
Please read all!
Here’s a woman who wrote about a total eclipse and I got chills reading it!
"FROM ALL THE HILLS CAME SCREAMS. A piece of sky beside the crescent sun was detaching. It was an abrupt black body out of nowhere; it was a flat disk; it was almost over the sun. THAT IS WHEN THERE WERE SCREAMS. At once this disk of sky slid over the sun like a lid. The sky snapped over the sun like a lens cover. The hatch in the brain slammed. Abruptly it was dark night, on the land and in the sky. In the night sky was a tiny ring of light. The hole where the sun belongs is very small. A thin ring of light marked its place. There was no sound. The eyes dried, the arteries drained, the lungs hushed. There was no world. We were the world’s dead people rotating and orbiting around and around, embedded in the planet’s crust, while the Earth rolled down. Our minds were light-years distant, forgetful of almost everything. Only an extraordinary act of will could recall to us our former, living selves and our contexts in matter and time. We got the light wrong. In the sky was something that should not be there. In the black sky was a ring of light. It was a thin ring, an old, thin silver wedding band, an old, worn ring. It was an old wedding band in the sky, or a morsel of bone. There were stars.
It was all over.”
This should make you want to KILL to see a total eclipse.
Please read all!
4
Wait, how thin was that ring? It was a deeply, totally, soundless thin ring? Unlike the deeply forgetful context of our matter? The thinnest of soundless selves, bound up in time, wrongfully, hushing lungs and and rolling down?
Yer kiddin, right?
Yer kiddin, right?
Frank!
Reading the comments YOU ARE TURNING OFF PEOPLE!
How very sad. We won’t have another total eclipse until next century. There is NOTHING like it.
Bruni is exaggerating. I’m staying three nights at an Ashevile NC Inn that gets 4 stars on Tripadvisor and I made the reservations two weeks ago. $450 for three nights and that INCLUDES taxes.
If Bruni keeps ONE person from simply driving up and watching this incredible spectacle, he should be tarred and feathered!
Reading the comments YOU ARE TURNING OFF PEOPLE!
How very sad. We won’t have another total eclipse until next century. There is NOTHING like it.
Bruni is exaggerating. I’m staying three nights at an Ashevile NC Inn that gets 4 stars on Tripadvisor and I made the reservations two weeks ago. $450 for three nights and that INCLUDES taxes.
If Bruni keeps ONE person from simply driving up and watching this incredible spectacle, he should be tarred and feathered!
2
Is this really the best subject you could come up with with all that is happening in the world?
Nice opinion piece!!
2
I'm not going to shell out a grand or more for one night in a shabby motel room. I'm jumping on my motorcycle with a tent and sleeping bag to get to wherever I need to be for clear skies.
I'm 65-years-old and have never managed to be in the right place for a total solar eclipse. This is a real bucket list thing for me.
I'm 65-years-old and have never managed to be in the right place for a total solar eclipse. This is a real bucket list thing for me.
4
No one is more fun than Bruni
He’s looney and great fun, and soon he
May take over for Trump?
And though that’s quite a jump
To be Frank, I say yes! it’s his duty
He’s looney and great fun, and soon he
May take over for Trump?
And though that’s quite a jump
To be Frank, I say yes! it’s his duty
2
On a positive note, eclipse glasses (a vital protective aid) are only $1 each, at least where I've seen them. I bought three in case a couple of neighbors come out to see the event with me.
But one can hardly complain about anyone charging whatever the market will bear for anything relating to the eclipse, or anything else for that matter. No one is forcing anyone to pay $1211 for a crummy motel room. And one can hardly be surprised that the motel owner is gladly cashing in. This is not unique to America; I am sure the same would apply if the eclipse were to take place anywhere else in the world.
But one can hardly complain about anyone charging whatever the market will bear for anything relating to the eclipse, or anything else for that matter. No one is forcing anyone to pay $1211 for a crummy motel room. And one can hardly be surprised that the motel owner is gladly cashing in. This is not unique to America; I am sure the same would apply if the eclipse were to take place anywhere else in the world.
1
Anyone who has $1,211.00 to pay for a room to see an eclipse has too much money. We're supposedly bemoaning our economic plight. But this article suggests that a lot of Americans (and not just the .1%) have money for luxuries such as this. We really should start thinking of how we can live at a more modest level. I don't think most Americans have any idea of how materially well off they are.
6
But James Eric, I don't recall reading in Mr. Bruni's article that anyone had actually booked a room at the illustrious Interstate Motel yet. To be honest, based on the comments submitted to Trip Advisor, the $63 a night price tag sounds steep in and of itself. To me, it's not the amount of money some one is willing to pay that I find incredible, but rather the fact that some people are willing to exploit, take advantage and attempt to make an obscene profit. I understand the principle behind jacking up the price, but what this motel wants for one night, well, that's just insulting and greedy. I wonder if the motel charges extra for the wildlife, i.e., cockroaches, spiders, etc.
2
Of course they don't. tRump supporter had a higher than average income, on average. But still they whined...
Strange logic here. The city of Salem is a government institution that provides services. A motel is a private enterprise and given the surge of people expected, why would they not raise their prices? From what I hear, a total eclipse is well worth $1200 of you have it.
3
Well, if i were to get upset about something, it wouldn't be that some fleabag motel in a podunk town raises it's rates for people who can afford to pay it, and choose to. I would get upset that, say, the price of Epipens got hiked sixfold. I'd get upset at what gets charged for aspirin in a hospital, depending on who you are. I'd get upset about rent hikes. I'd get upset at what donors pay for our politicians, and that they accept the graft.
2
We're going! We will be among the lucky millions to see the end of totality (clouds being willing to part) near Charleston, SC, one of our favorite places and a kind of second home (without the property).
My music for the eclipse, which, please note, will take place over a two hour period, not just the minutes of totality, is Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart", that old, over the top rocker. I could think of many other songs to play during the two hours but, in the main, I just want to be quiet so I can fully absorb the moments.
The value of the eclipse is best explained by others, many of whom have chase totality around the world. But, if you are inclined to laugh at those who travel for the experience, bear this in mind: we live in a world that is an absolute miracle while we spend our time fighting over peanuts. We are, at this moment, flying at 60,000 miles an hour around the sun while our planet spins at over 1,000 miles per hour. With air to breathe at temperatures we can bear, having life is here sustained and sometimes beautiful but always varied, interesting and challenging to our understanding, is, indeed, a miracle.
The eclipse is the only natural phenomenon, aside from day and night, that shows us that we are on a spaceship flying around the sun. It reminds us to have some measure of awe and respect for our existence. It reminds to gratitude over pettiness, greed and anger. It reminds to humility.
My music for the eclipse, which, please note, will take place over a two hour period, not just the minutes of totality, is Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart", that old, over the top rocker. I could think of many other songs to play during the two hours but, in the main, I just want to be quiet so I can fully absorb the moments.
The value of the eclipse is best explained by others, many of whom have chase totality around the world. But, if you are inclined to laugh at those who travel for the experience, bear this in mind: we live in a world that is an absolute miracle while we spend our time fighting over peanuts. We are, at this moment, flying at 60,000 miles an hour around the sun while our planet spins at over 1,000 miles per hour. With air to breathe at temperatures we can bear, having life is here sustained and sometimes beautiful but always varied, interesting and challenging to our understanding, is, indeed, a miracle.
The eclipse is the only natural phenomenon, aside from day and night, that shows us that we are on a spaceship flying around the sun. It reminds us to have some measure of awe and respect for our existence. It reminds to gratitude over pettiness, greed and anger. It reminds to humility.
11
Here's my eclipse tune -
"I wanna see it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky"
"I wanna see it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky"
Sublette County WY expects about 20,000 visitors to arrive - that's TWICE the current county population. The local grocery store already has empty shelves and gas prices rise every other day. A boon for businesses yes.
For everyday citizens, we'll be polite and breathe a collective sigh of relief when it's over.
For everyday citizens, we'll be polite and breathe a collective sigh of relief when it's over.
1
I'm going to rush out and buy Ivanka's $10,000 Chinese-made wristwatch just so I can be certain of exactly how long this eclipse lasts!
28
God I hope this is sarcasm!
Nice one Stu!
Maybe the 1st Interstate motel will make enough profit from the eclipse that they'll refurbish and renovate their property.
I noted that there are still vrbo and airbnb rentals in the Bend Oregon area for under $450/night including many that sleep 8-12.
I noted that there are still vrbo and airbnb rentals in the Bend Oregon area for under $450/night including many that sleep 8-12.
2
Check out Amazon and you'll discover that it's too late to order your eclipse glasses. They're either sold out or the prices have been raised to astronomical (hee hee) heights, celebrating the American spirit of capitalism.
On another note, I think it's a bad time for large numbers of Americans to congregate in small spaces, given the zeitgeist. We'll see.
On another note, I think it's a bad time for large numbers of Americans to congregate in small spaces, given the zeitgeist. We'll see.
12
Unlike the solar eclipse, we never saw the presidency of Donald Trump coming. Before 11/8/16, he was a total tabula rasa. Who knew the depth of his fraud? His election to our highest public office must surely be somebody else's fault.
18
We native New Yorkers knew but no one wanted to listen!
You say
We Americans
are marketers above all else
merchandize, and we Americans swell
splurge
congregate
procrastinate
sometimes connive
are resourceful
You describe a market of individuals Frank. What about "we the people"?
We Americans
are marketers above all else
merchandize, and we Americans swell
splurge
congregate
procrastinate
sometimes connive
are resourceful
You describe a market of individuals Frank. What about "we the people"?
1
You left out that we Americans are also a nation of suckers. And not just because we'd pay $1200 for a room at the 1st Interstate Motel.
24
Yes, Trumpeted from the regal lobby of the eponymous tower of the Babbler:
Never give a sucker an even break!
(And this is no criticism of Hopkinsville, Carbondale, or anywhere else in Little Egypt! We should visit more often!)
Never give a sucker an even break!
(And this is no criticism of Hopkinsville, Carbondale, or anywhere else in Little Egypt! We should visit more often!)
Ha! Gail Collins has competition.
7
How could you not finish a single episode of the Big Bang Theory, a beloved and award winning comedy?
11
It occured to me that a nation that could be taken in by a swaggering self aggrandizing habitual liar would be chuck full of folks eager to pay $1211 for a room with a commanding view of the action--bad smell and all.
12
We Americans can be desperate. In such situations, supply and demand work together and suddenly a decrepit hotel room, that most likely hosted a gruesome crime in the past 48 hours, will seem worth the $1,211.00.
We're certainly capitalists. We look for ways to cut costs, increase profit margins, find a bargain. We look for opportunities in the most unlikely of places, like a rare eclipse, and go for broke.
In that beast called a corporation, the bottom line is the most revered god. As such, average Joes are sacrificed regularly in the name of trimming back and performance bonuses. Charitable donations are rarely made without considerable calculation to maximize the tax breaks and marketing impact with the least possible expense. There's no line for compassion on the P & L sheets and yet many Americans believe corporations will save the country.
So we support cutting regulations that protect the cleanliness of our water supply and food, that protect the people against shoddy work and those that take advantage of us, that require those who handle our finances to act in our best interest, and so more, in the hopes that we appease the beast and they'll do as claimed: invigorate our economy, support our communities, and give us opportunities. Then we watch, our mouths open in shock, as they take the jobs overseas or fire almost everyone and invest in robotics at the first viable opportunity.
We Americans are gullible.
We're certainly capitalists. We look for ways to cut costs, increase profit margins, find a bargain. We look for opportunities in the most unlikely of places, like a rare eclipse, and go for broke.
In that beast called a corporation, the bottom line is the most revered god. As such, average Joes are sacrificed regularly in the name of trimming back and performance bonuses. Charitable donations are rarely made without considerable calculation to maximize the tax breaks and marketing impact with the least possible expense. There's no line for compassion on the P & L sheets and yet many Americans believe corporations will save the country.
So we support cutting regulations that protect the cleanliness of our water supply and food, that protect the people against shoddy work and those that take advantage of us, that require those who handle our finances to act in our best interest, and so more, in the hopes that we appease the beast and they'll do as claimed: invigorate our economy, support our communities, and give us opportunities. Then we watch, our mouths open in shock, as they take the jobs overseas or fire almost everyone and invest in robotics at the first viable opportunity.
We Americans are gullible.
10
Great column. Frank Bruni should do humor more often. We need it with the Donald as president.
12
Thank you, but I think I'll wait for the re-run in Virtual Reality. Easier, cheaper, and it'll smell better, apparently.
2
Unfortunately, the darkness cast by Trump is more widespread and long-lasting than the eclipse.
20
I'm waiting for Donald Trump to boast that there are two sides to the eclipse story. The sad thing is that he is totally in the dark about everything that is happening in America.
18
Once again he has turned the conversation away from the threat of nuclear war to the Alt Right agenda and once again the media took the bait. This old man is a cagey street fighter and people better wake up to his game. He is the face of an evil despot and the United States worst nightmare. Where is Vonnegut when we need him to show the idiocy of this dog and pony show.
21
Trump will proclaim his power to turn off the sun next week as proof of his supreme greatness while his flat Earthling base sacrifice a few more American citizens to their awesome leader.
Who will Trump sue because the path of totality does not intersect with one of his properties? He is missing out on raising his $1,000/night rooms to $100,000.
As long as Trump remains our leader, it's lights out for America.
Who will Trump sue because the path of totality does not intersect with one of his properties? He is missing out on raising his $1,000/night rooms to $100,000.
As long as Trump remains our leader, it's lights out for America.
18
Trump's avowed, despicable racism and bigotry provides frightening meaning to the words white house.
7
"Lunar" is the base word behind "lunatic." Maybe I'm crazy to see the connection? For all of us who have been preoccupied with DJT's mental state, now we can see the actual, on-the-ground results of having a president who is suffering (ha!) from malignant narcisissim. The tragic, bizarre, shout-'em-down press conference, apparently patting the nazis on their puerile popos, was just as much classic super narcissist stuff as it was actual thought. Never wrong, never to be criticized, always counter-punching, doubling down compulsively, deriding opponents... all that falls in the classic symptoms list of the malignant narcissist. We are ALL now suffering from his lunacy. (Oh, and it's now clear he's a racist narcissist.)
10
Frank, Relax, get a grip. It's a party for God's sake. Lord knows we need one right now. On Tuesday we can go back to worrying about where this sad country is heading. Or are we already there?
4
A superb tribute to American Exceptionalism in its various manifestations .... to think that the same nation has produced an ironic take-down artist like Frank Bruni at one end and a hot-air puffing vainglorious Trump at the other!
5
No reason one can't marvel at a galactic wonder and make a buck at the same time.
If it's worth seeing, it's worth commercializing. Ill be coming home with some T-shirts and hopefully a moon snow globe.
If it's worth seeing, it's worth commercializing. Ill be coming home with some T-shirts and hopefully a moon snow globe.
2
Yeah, and we Americans will fall for anything, pay over the odds for nothing, and wind up with an empty husk for a life.
And a snake oil, snake fake president in the White House.
All American, through and through. We'll buy anything, believe in the most unbelievable, rely on know-nothings, and splurge our time on social media, gaming, overdosing. What a bunch of utter dodos we are.
And a snake oil, snake fake president in the White House.
All American, through and through. We'll buy anything, believe in the most unbelievable, rely on know-nothings, and splurge our time on social media, gaming, overdosing. What a bunch of utter dodos we are.
4
Only a celestial event of this magnitude could distract us from the daily torment of seeing and hearing about this disreputable president.
When almost half of voters took leave of their senses and an archaic electoral college were able to launch this Titanic ship of state, we realized our deep and possibly irrevocable divisions. How refreshing to know that thare are still some wonderful things out there to remind us of our insignificance in the cosmos and bind us together in wonder and awe.
When almost half of voters took leave of their senses and an archaic electoral college were able to launch this Titanic ship of state, we realized our deep and possibly irrevocable divisions. How refreshing to know that thare are still some wonderful things out there to remind us of our insignificance in the cosmos and bind us together in wonder and awe.
51
Beautifully and eloquently stated Maryanne, especially your last sentence. I admire your choice of words.
8
It has now occurred to me that we as a nation needed an organized plan to move masses of people in and out of the zone of totality, and to maintain public safety. I am preparing to go to Klamath Falls and then to depart early on Sunday morning toward Madras, Oregon. Our federal government has done zero that I know of to prepare for the eclipse, other than laudatory work by NASA and by NOAA. State governments? At least some cities and towns, including Madras, have hired planners to coordinate their response to the crowds: traffic, rattlesnakes, cell phone congestion, deceptive business practices, public information, water on the parking field to reduce the chance of fire, and on and on.
3
If my son didn't want to be an astronomer I wouldn't be driving 750 miles north to the great state of Oregon to attempt to view the total eclipse. I don't know what to expect from the potential overcrowding, but I hope that everyone is civil.
6
The eclipse offers us the opportunity to reflect on the earth's place in the galaxy. For the far sighted spectators and the rest of us, it is worthwhile to consider the eclipse Donald J. Trump is staging on civil rights, equality, justice and democracy. With reference to this eclipse in our midst, we cannot protect the rights of all by being merely spectators. We cannot afford the multiple damage Trump is inflicting on everyone.
18
It was only with the advent of scientific study that solar and lunar eclipses could be rationally explained and predicted and no longer caused the terror and foreboding that primitive societies felt when they occurred. Judging from the bumper stickers and signs I see daily in the small southern town I am visiting I will be rubbing shoulders with plenty of Trump supporters when I watch the eclipse next Monday in a small park, and I presume they will not be trembling with fear or holding up signs predicting the apocalypse and will certainly be wearing the necessary glasses - and why? because scientists have given them the knowledge, they have accepted it and are prepared. And yet many of these same people reject the worldwide scientific consensus on climate change and support a man who touts the return of "clean coal" and tells them global warming is an "elitist" hoax. Scientific knowledge will allow us to marvel at and safely enjoy the coming eclipse, but no number of protective glasses will save us from rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions if this administration does not show more respect for science.
39
$1,211 per night in a room with a potentially "Horrible smell" only goes to show how some people who would pay that rate, can fool you by walking upright.
No one ever got rich by underestimating the stupidity of people.
No one ever got rich by underestimating the stupidity of people.
30
"The eclipse is precisely that. I’m not well versed in matters of the cosmos — I’ve never even made it through a whole episode of “The Big Bang Theory” — so I’ll describe its rareness in a vocabulary that I and most of you probably better understand. Envision a month in which the president didn’t golf. Imagine a sentence in which he didn’t brag. Fantasize a speech of his that made you proud. The eclipse is that rare."
There you go. Bruni charm. One of the Bush Jr. enablers. Part of the problem it the solution.
There you go. Bruni charm. One of the Bush Jr. enablers. Part of the problem it the solution.
Oh good. We can forget about vulgar, vainglorious ignorance for a few moments on our way to celebrating crass commercialism.
But at least the crass commercialism - who else could sell an eclipse so thoroughly? - is fun. And if you get ripped off, it is voluntary. Solar sunglass sales should be over the moon.
The shadow in the White House that is lasting a lot longer than 2 minutes and 40 seconds, and is slowly eclipsing our values, is not fun. But can we take some comfort in the idea that the light will return, the frenzy will die down and it will be over?
I hope so. Meanwhile I wish all the people who are in the path of the solar shadow a merry day, and no clouds.
But at least the crass commercialism - who else could sell an eclipse so thoroughly? - is fun. And if you get ripped off, it is voluntary. Solar sunglass sales should be over the moon.
The shadow in the White House that is lasting a lot longer than 2 minutes and 40 seconds, and is slowly eclipsing our values, is not fun. But can we take some comfort in the idea that the light will return, the frenzy will die down and it will be over?
I hope so. Meanwhile I wish all the people who are in the path of the solar shadow a merry day, and no clouds.
24
If anyone goes blind through using fake solar protection, that will not be funny.
Thank you. Just for the record, I got my eclipse glasses FREE at my local public library branch.
1
Yes, I'm going to Eclipseville this weekend with a tour group. This eclipse is an amazing gift from the heavens for the US. Let's embrace the beauty of it and realize this golden opportunity to share the highest American ideals of truth, justice, and equality!
The business practices described seem to reflect what perhaps could be described as Trumpian economics.
But here is the rub: the are people (suckers?) who will pay astronomical rates for filth and a horrible smell. The hotel owners can get away with it so they do.
So when everybody decries the inequality in American society, and the ever increasing economic inequality, what you have is something else.
Everyone seems to be Trumpian if you can get away with and apparently often one can.
That might help to also explain some surprising results at the polling station. Basically, you are all Trump (I would write "we", but in this instance, I really am not part of it).
But here is the rub: the are people (suckers?) who will pay astronomical rates for filth and a horrible smell. The hotel owners can get away with it so they do.
So when everybody decries the inequality in American society, and the ever increasing economic inequality, what you have is something else.
Everyone seems to be Trumpian if you can get away with and apparently often one can.
That might help to also explain some surprising results at the polling station. Basically, you are all Trump (I would write "we", but in this instance, I really am not part of it).
6
We Americans are so resourceful we have used our scientific knowledge, technology and engineering to create the deadliest weapons on the planet. Then we are paranoid that someone will steal our technology and get back at us. Do you see the insanity? Its not Donald Trump alone, he is just a symptom of Americans gone mad. And since America represents immigrants from all over the planet, we collectively define the madness human beings are capable of thinking up. We humans have the brains, but we are hesitant to learn lessons from the past mistakes, from history. We boldly repeat the same mistakes thinking we will somehow have a different outcome -- sanity, peace etc. Stuck in our silly cultural wars (religion, gender, sexual orientation, abortion, guns, feminism, every year there's a different one), we forget that we are one human race, there is ONE SUN that we are going to watch eclipse, it is the same sun, you in Wyoming are not going to see a different sun than we in MA! We live on the Same ONE EARTH. Our American resourcefulness somehow fools us into thinking we in America are exceptional, there is no one greater than us. Yeah right!
6
Fun article for the most part. Just a note to observe that given the context of today's news and editorial page highlights, it's interesting that the Hoppersville Link leads pretty quickly to a photo of a Jefferson Davis memorial, the centerpiece of the Eclipse Festival site.
1
Entrepreneurs rule even in an America that's already in partial eclipse. Under the circumstances, a trite observation. And what's next? The American version of Kristallnacht and a Bruni column following up on the mysteries of Wisconsin cheese?
2
"We Americans are marketers above all else."
If this is the "American spirit," spare me.
If we are nothing but rubes to be sold to, leave me out.
If this is the "American spirit," spare me.
If we are nothing but rubes to be sold to, leave me out.
10
"… computer glitches! That’s my new preferred explanation for Trump’s election." Russian caused, perhaps?
3
If the path of the eclipse goes through some of the most economically depressed areas of the country, as it looks like it does, and those areas have a shot at making a badly needed buck or two from those who have it to spend, i'm not going to be too harsh on them for taking the chance while they have it.
In my neck of the woods, 900 miles away from the closest point on the path, i'll be happy enough with 2/3 of the eclipse loaf, and catch the full monty on youtube.
In my neck of the woods, 900 miles away from the closest point on the path, i'll be happy enough with 2/3 of the eclipse loaf, and catch the full monty on youtube.
6
I just browsed Amazon for a pair of eclipse viewing glasses. The quality of this product is the equivalent of 3-d glasses that you'd get in a Happy Meal. I was prepared to spend as much as 5 bucks, but they're selling for around 100 bucks. I'll figure out a cheaper way.
4
Thanks for trying to cheer us up. In a metaphorical sense we checked into your motel, got a cough and maybe we are passing blood---all out of a need to see someone tip over the cart just to see if we could not get the room-rate down a little. Well it seems the poor old motel has had one more ill-mannered guest check in, party hard with some of his richest buddies and leave an awful mess for someone one else to clean up.
3
Are you describing the 'American Spirit', or just crass commercialism? Hard to tell if irony gets lost in limbo. But given no one is perfect, we did commit collective malpractice by electing president a most unsavory character that, given the chance, would 'eclipse' our dearest aspirations. And that would last much longer than 2'40".
4
Americans love to be awed, especially by Nature. We love being enveloped by a natural event that dwarfs us and over which we have no control. We are awed by earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and meteor impacts, but they must be reserved for the movies. We don't like to actually be harmed by Nature. Niagara Falls and The Grand Canyon are great, but they demand that we go to them, remain behind safe barriers, then walk away. But an eclipse gives us what we most desire: shameless, powerless surrender that is brief and harmless. Nature is giving us an orgasm.
1
Capitalism at its finest...and most gross. I have nothing against trying to make an honest buck. This is simply disgusting price gouging. Something we have a "proud" history of doing.
I will be watching from my horse pasture. Surrounded by manure. For free. Folks are welcome to join me at no cost.
I will be watching from my horse pasture. Surrounded by manure. For free. Folks are welcome to join me at no cost.
6
If only, the two and a half minutes of darkness in the zone of totality , was the actual amount of time the current "President" had left in office. This would be awe inspiring.
8
Here in Oregon, eclipse-o-mana is making the inevitable segue into apocalypse-o-mania with predictions of state-long traffic jams, wild fires started by the heat of idling engines as people pull over onto the hay-dry roadsides, tiny municipalities running out of water in the heat (it's desert hot east of the Cascade mountains), emergency workers being unable to reach accidents, health centers filling up with sun-blinded yahoos, you name it, it's Y2K hysteria and then some. Not unrealistically, however.
As for us, we secured a condo months ago over the mountains where the skies are more reliably clear, but then Amazon--the future of American retailing--e-mails us to say that our eclipse glasses are bogus, but of course they have no more non-bogus ones to sell. The place we've booked is 30 miles from maximum totality, and we are faced with joining the traffic melee in the middle of the night, or just staying put and watching it happen on TV. We're hesitating to drive into what might be Woodstock with cars and we fear for our beloved Central Oregon, wildfire prone already and ripe for a mishap.
The eclipse is too much with us, getting and spending? Afraid so.
As for us, we secured a condo months ago over the mountains where the skies are more reliably clear, but then Amazon--the future of American retailing--e-mails us to say that our eclipse glasses are bogus, but of course they have no more non-bogus ones to sell. The place we've booked is 30 miles from maximum totality, and we are faced with joining the traffic melee in the middle of the night, or just staying put and watching it happen on TV. We're hesitating to drive into what might be Woodstock with cars and we fear for our beloved Central Oregon, wildfire prone already and ripe for a mishap.
The eclipse is too much with us, getting and spending? Afraid so.
2
Capitalism in 1970 was different. Little or no gouging for the eclipse of the century, March 7, 1970. Not too much hype, Vietnam War was the headline and going badly.
We were living in Virginia at the time and just stepped out into our backyard to observe it. No special glasses, just took a little practical caution and peeked at it now and then. This will be our second and we're on the edge of the band. If your in range don't miss it. It's truly wondrous.
We were living in Virginia at the time and just stepped out into our backyard to observe it. No special glasses, just took a little practical caution and peeked at it now and then. This will be our second and we're on the edge of the band. If your in range don't miss it. It's truly wondrous.
3
It's highly possible my personal odyssey to see this unique celestial event--I will be driving to South Carolina--will be snubbed by a natural if terrestrial response: clouds. At a time when many expect to exploit and control the natural world and believe it is right and just they do this, it's nice to be reminded even on a celestial scale nature bats last.
6
Thank goodness the eclipse will only last for two hours. Then maybe we can return to Trump "leadership." Kinda makes me wish the eclipse could last a lot longer.
3
I wonder what Tocqueville would say.
2
'Where's my souvenir t-shirt and coffee cup?'
1
" Envision a month in which the president didn’t golf. Imagine a sentence in which he didn’t brag. Fantasize a speech of his that made you proud. The eclipse is that rare."
Wrong, Mr. Bruni. The eclipse is LESS rare.
Wrong, Mr. Bruni. The eclipse is LESS rare.
1
How rare is this eclipse? A month where Trump didn't golf, didn't brag, and made us proud. Or a column in which Frank Bruni doesn't remind us that he's gay. This column is about as rare as the upcoming eclipse.
$63 for two empty liquor bottles- sheeesh!!
If Mr. Trump and Mr. Zinck have their way, this may be the last time folks can camp on public BLM land to witness an eclipse.
2
Our next big eclipse:
September -- Coinciding with the opening of schools, violent confrontations will break out at many universities and colleges. Riots and demonstrations also will occur at many urban high schools.
October – Steve Bannon leaves the White House to begin organizing The Make America Great Again Party. President Trump announces that he is considering joining the party. The Ku Klux Klan and alt-right leaders from around the country announce their intention to support the party.
November and December – In conjunction with the holidays, alt-right organizations set up "kettle campaigns" inside shopping centers similar to those organized by the Salvation Army where they will sing Christmas carols, distribute their literature, gather new members and seek contributions. Some Jewish-owned business will be vandalized and there will be a considerable amount of random bloodshed.
January – Alt-right groups and their opponents announce major demonstrations in Washington. Street gangs from Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore and elsewhere decide to join them. The resultant carnage is epic. Trump declares martial law and says he is suspending all constitutional rights for "the time being."
February – Trump announces he is joining The Make America Great Again Party and will seek to be its nominee for President in 2020.
March -- The U.S. government purchases large plots of land in very isolated parts of the country and surrounds the plots with electrified barbed wire.
September -- Coinciding with the opening of schools, violent confrontations will break out at many universities and colleges. Riots and demonstrations also will occur at many urban high schools.
October – Steve Bannon leaves the White House to begin organizing The Make America Great Again Party. President Trump announces that he is considering joining the party. The Ku Klux Klan and alt-right leaders from around the country announce their intention to support the party.
November and December – In conjunction with the holidays, alt-right organizations set up "kettle campaigns" inside shopping centers similar to those organized by the Salvation Army where they will sing Christmas carols, distribute their literature, gather new members and seek contributions. Some Jewish-owned business will be vandalized and there will be a considerable amount of random bloodshed.
January – Alt-right groups and their opponents announce major demonstrations in Washington. Street gangs from Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore and elsewhere decide to join them. The resultant carnage is epic. Trump declares martial law and says he is suspending all constitutional rights for "the time being."
February – Trump announces he is joining The Make America Great Again Party and will seek to be its nominee for President in 2020.
March -- The U.S. government purchases large plots of land in very isolated parts of the country and surrounds the plots with electrified barbed wire.
1
Well, this column cheered me right up.
I recognize that there's a serious subtext to it: America, now governed by Donald Trump, is NOT the heroic model of democracy, freedom, stability, and generosity that we so often celebrate.
In fact, it's kind of sleazy. America. Stinking little hotels gouge their customers. Tourists buy lots of trash. Desperate entrepreneurs advertise scuba diving not far from the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Yes. Yes. Our country is grounded in advertising, much of it deceptive. And hunger for ephemeral junk.
But it's so lively!
Confession: years ago, my family always vacationed near Bagnall Dam, which creates the Lake of the Ozarks, a massive flooded vacation-land. Talk about tacky. Every souvenir store offered Mom and Pop hillbilly salt-and-pepper shakers shaped like little outhouses. One time my brother discovered a plastic souvenir doll in a red swimsuit. If you squeezed her legs real hard, the swimsuit top popped down and her breasts popped out. He was enthralled.
That's what happens in a fiercely capitalistic nation. People get duped. People are cheated. Junk is sold avidly. Mark Twain knew it. See: Huck Finn.
Oh, but he loved the Mississippi River.
We'll make it.
I recognize that there's a serious subtext to it: America, now governed by Donald Trump, is NOT the heroic model of democracy, freedom, stability, and generosity that we so often celebrate.
In fact, it's kind of sleazy. America. Stinking little hotels gouge their customers. Tourists buy lots of trash. Desperate entrepreneurs advertise scuba diving not far from the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Yes. Yes. Our country is grounded in advertising, much of it deceptive. And hunger for ephemeral junk.
But it's so lively!
Confession: years ago, my family always vacationed near Bagnall Dam, which creates the Lake of the Ozarks, a massive flooded vacation-land. Talk about tacky. Every souvenir store offered Mom and Pop hillbilly salt-and-pepper shakers shaped like little outhouses. One time my brother discovered a plastic souvenir doll in a red swimsuit. If you squeezed her legs real hard, the swimsuit top popped down and her breasts popped out. He was enthralled.
That's what happens in a fiercely capitalistic nation. People get duped. People are cheated. Junk is sold avidly. Mark Twain knew it. See: Huck Finn.
Oh, but he loved the Mississippi River.
We'll make it.
twain also has a pretty funny scene in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court where the protagonist blusters his way out of a jam because he knew, having the benefit of hindsight, that an eclipse was about to happen. Nightfall by Issac Asimov is also a good read about eclipses.
Frank, you've been hanging out with Gail Collins. You haven't eclipsed her, but this is good.
3
When opportunity knocks, answer the door!
2
Or just have opportunity slide it under the door.
1
Sigh
Reading the first few lines I actually thought Bruni was going to write a column that did not mention Trump. But then Trump is to Times columnists what the eclipse is to fortunately situated hotels. And he lasts for a lot longer than 2 minutes.
Anyhow, another glib insulting column by Frank doing his best interpretation of a cut rate stand up comic. Maybe he can get a gig at the Interstate. Opportunism aside, the eclipse is a magnificent event that puts down to earth concerns in perspective.
Reading the first few lines I actually thought Bruni was going to write a column that did not mention Trump. But then Trump is to Times columnists what the eclipse is to fortunately situated hotels. And he lasts for a lot longer than 2 minutes.
Anyhow, another glib insulting column by Frank doing his best interpretation of a cut rate stand up comic. Maybe he can get a gig at the Interstate. Opportunism aside, the eclipse is a magnificent event that puts down to earth concerns in perspective.
"But then Trump is to Times columnists what the eclipse is to fortunately situated hotels."
He holds a similar appeal for Times commenters.
He holds a similar appeal for Times commenters.
1
The only eclipse that I'm concerned about is how our ignorant and arrogant president is eclipsing America's cherished image, values, and beliefs before a world audience and to the utter dismay of those of us who place our abiding faith and trust in truth, justice, and the American way!
129
Ah well, so what are hotel rate s here in New York for rooms with views of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on Thanksgiving Day? And why not?
the eclipse won't erase the blemish that The Trump presidency has put on our national image.
19
Nothing will.
4
Tom! Cheer up!
In only a few years we will replace the Trump blemish with brand new blemishes!
In only a few years we will replace the Trump blemish with brand new blemishes!
There are the heavens with its upcoming solar eclipse, a spectacular and rare phenomenon. An event that should humble us, cause wonder and awe at the beauty of the universe. Above all, it should, and I emphasize should, motivate us to protect a fragile earth.
But more fragile than the earth itself are many, not all, its inhabitants, those individuals who have a little, or a lot, of The Trump within. They live for profit; they exploit the everyday American. And they have elevated their ability to psychologically control society to an art form.
Yet there are thousands who will stand in their own front or back yards, with their "special" sun glasses on, maybe alone or with family and friends. They remain resistant to this indecent person in DC as well as his protégés spread throughout our country. And they may even watch The Big Bang in hopes that Sheldon and group may bring a much-needed smile and a laugh or two to their lives.
But more fragile than the earth itself are many, not all, its inhabitants, those individuals who have a little, or a lot, of The Trump within. They live for profit; they exploit the everyday American. And they have elevated their ability to psychologically control society to an art form.
Yet there are thousands who will stand in their own front or back yards, with their "special" sun glasses on, maybe alone or with family and friends. They remain resistant to this indecent person in DC as well as his protégés spread throughout our country. And they may even watch The Big Bang in hopes that Sheldon and group may bring a much-needed smile and a laugh or two to their lives.
10
Au contraire! The extraordinary price gouging for old rickety rooms in highway motels that are local drug dens and hot sheet specials--owned by successful immigrants who leverage ownership into capital gains through deappreciation and poor service--shows how we have devolved into a society of excess and waste, a culture of greed and impulse, of lies and self-serving indifference.
Another example demonstrates the depth of our depravity and its imploding down spiral: even Amazon says it cannot guarantee its viewing glasses as safety-certified--even as the price has risen form $1.50 to $150 a pair!
Be assured times will change, the arc of the universe will restore balance, perhaps long after we have gone. Slaves survived by leaning on this long view; we, too, in this turmoil, can recall their forgotten voices and witnesses, unmarked by monuments. Living behind history's veil, they sang: "the old sheep know the road." Fight the distractions. Find out exactly what they know. (Hint: it's inside of us; among its measures, shared grief, joy, and truth.)
Another example demonstrates the depth of our depravity and its imploding down spiral: even Amazon says it cannot guarantee its viewing glasses as safety-certified--even as the price has risen form $1.50 to $150 a pair!
Be assured times will change, the arc of the universe will restore balance, perhaps long after we have gone. Slaves survived by leaning on this long view; we, too, in this turmoil, can recall their forgotten voices and witnesses, unmarked by monuments. Living behind history's veil, they sang: "the old sheep know the road." Fight the distractions. Find out exactly what they know. (Hint: it's inside of us; among its measures, shared grief, joy, and truth.)
40
Yeah, that's sick about the glasses. Last eclipse i remember (many decades ago, when i was a young kid), they were telling us how to smoke our own glass for viewing. I guess that's just too complicated for us to work out now, no profit in that.
Nice comment.
Nice comment.
1
Absolutely beautiful reply walterhett.
5
Hey Walter:
The folks who are gouging their Airbnb rentals in the NC mountains for the eclipse are mainly good white folks from Atlanta, New Orleans and South Florida who rent their second homes for 9 months of the year for tax purposes.
And your shot at successful immigrants? There is no shortage of white folks who are "good native Americans" who "leverage ownership through depreciation and poor service" as I found out when I rented an apt in college in Charlottesville and as my daughter just experienced in her college town of Boulder, CO. No immigrant landlord in either case, just greedy, rich, self absorbed good white 'Mercian citizens.
I do business on a regular basis with a number of "successful immigrants" in my diverse town of Durham, NC. They are successful not because they give poor service, just the opposite. We are lucky to have them invest in our community!
And if you want to get some $2.00 eclipse glasses, the real thing, check out the gift shop at the Morehead Planetarium on UNC's campus in Chapel Hill.
Peace, out.
The folks who are gouging their Airbnb rentals in the NC mountains for the eclipse are mainly good white folks from Atlanta, New Orleans and South Florida who rent their second homes for 9 months of the year for tax purposes.
And your shot at successful immigrants? There is no shortage of white folks who are "good native Americans" who "leverage ownership through depreciation and poor service" as I found out when I rented an apt in college in Charlottesville and as my daughter just experienced in her college town of Boulder, CO. No immigrant landlord in either case, just greedy, rich, self absorbed good white 'Mercian citizens.
I do business on a regular basis with a number of "successful immigrants" in my diverse town of Durham, NC. They are successful not because they give poor service, just the opposite. We are lucky to have them invest in our community!
And if you want to get some $2.00 eclipse glasses, the real thing, check out the gift shop at the Morehead Planetarium on UNC's campus in Chapel Hill.
Peace, out.
The eclipse is coming at a really good time as it should get everyone's mind off of Trump, at least for a few moments, and make us remember that he is not the greatest and most important thing in the universe, regardless of what he thinks. Perhaps this event will help us to put things into perspective and make us realize how insignificant each one of us, including Trump, is in the grand scheme of things. As Psalms 19 tells us " The heavens declare the glory of God.." So true.
11
The real news of the eclipse will be if we find out on Aug. 21 that djt's swoll ego didn't completely obscure the galactic phenomena from viewing anywhere on the continent !
Kudos to Frank for his remarks Tuesday on MSNBC, immediately following djt's presser from his golden lobby in NYC.
A cynic might say that Tuesday's unhinged jaw-dropping performance is typical of a POTUS who's returned home for his first night since being sworn in, and realized he liked his previous life better than being POTUS, so he goes downstairs to perform 'self-immolation' - as Frank described it on MSNBC - in order to get his old life back.
Mueller must really be closing in :)
Kudos to Frank for his remarks Tuesday on MSNBC, immediately following djt's presser from his golden lobby in NYC.
A cynic might say that Tuesday's unhinged jaw-dropping performance is typical of a POTUS who's returned home for his first night since being sworn in, and realized he liked his previous life better than being POTUS, so he goes downstairs to perform 'self-immolation' - as Frank described it on MSNBC - in order to get his old life back.
Mueller must really be closing in :)
128
From your mouth to God's ear! (I hope)
"Envision a month in which the president didn’t golf. Imagine a sentence in which he didn’t brag. Fantasize a speech of his that made you proud. The eclipse is that rare."
Great analogy. The President at least makes a fine comparator, a way to measure folks' response to just about anything.
All this eclipse raving brings out the best of the hucksters. And crassness. If anyone can figure out a way to part more people from their money, it's America--sometimes called affectionately the American spirit, but more often just exploitation.
I remember when the Pope came to visit, and the selling of his Eminence began. Many flocked to hear his message, others to claim they had. With souvenirs up the whazoo to prove it.
Only Americans can make a buck off a celestial spectacle. But if it leads to more kids being curious about their world and the science behind it, I'm all for it.
So let eclipse night bring people together, not drive them farther apart--unlike the words of a certain omnipresent, vociferous huckster turned temporary president.
Great analogy. The President at least makes a fine comparator, a way to measure folks' response to just about anything.
All this eclipse raving brings out the best of the hucksters. And crassness. If anyone can figure out a way to part more people from their money, it's America--sometimes called affectionately the American spirit, but more often just exploitation.
I remember when the Pope came to visit, and the selling of his Eminence began. Many flocked to hear his message, others to claim they had. With souvenirs up the whazoo to prove it.
Only Americans can make a buck off a celestial spectacle. But if it leads to more kids being curious about their world and the science behind it, I'm all for it.
So let eclipse night bring people together, not drive them farther apart--unlike the words of a certain omnipresent, vociferous huckster turned temporary president.
74
Trump has caused a totality blackout of the dignity of the American presidency. Unfortunately the Great American Eclipse in our national reputation will last far longer that the one in the sky.
56
@Tanaka: yes, he's given us a "blackout presidency" in more ways than one. And I don't mean that in a drinking sense, as the president is a teetotaler.
And yes, our national reputation remains in darkness because of the words and deeds of the man at the top. I have no idea if or when we can win it back, but I don't believe one man can singlehandedly destroy a nation forever.
And yes, our national reputation remains in darkness because of the words and deeds of the man at the top. I have no idea if or when we can win it back, but I don't believe one man can singlehandedly destroy a nation forever.
30
I've come to realize that teetotaling, non-drinking, is a feature of Nazis and KKKers, who spearheaded the passing of the Prohibition Amendment.
“The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”
―Carl Sagan
Human beings need to cherish and take planet Earth seriously.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”
―Carl Sagan
Human beings need to cherish and take planet Earth seriously.
215
Years ago I watched a show on the possibility of life on other planets . At the end they asked , " but what if we are all there is " . I cried then , I cry now .
1
Socrates, thank you.
1
But wait - I thought we were all going to Mars?
I'm 66 and been going to Cashiers, NC for vacations since I was a child, mainly to the dowager resort of High Hampton Inn. Cashiers along with Highlands, nearby, is in the direct line of the eclipse.
High Hampton's rates for the eclipse were the same as for every other day in the summer, but unfortunately sold out, as it typically is during the popular summer months.
So my wife and I checked out Airbnb rates in the Cashiers-Highlands area for the eclipse weekend and they were exponentially higher than normal; much like the seedy motel in Wyo described in the piece.
Never underestimate the ability of some of us to gouge and the willingness of others to cough up.
Never underestimate the ability of yet others to remember the gougers and never do business with them again.
High Hampton's rates for the eclipse were the same as for every other day in the summer, but unfortunately sold out, as it typically is during the popular summer months.
So my wife and I checked out Airbnb rates in the Cashiers-Highlands area for the eclipse weekend and they were exponentially higher than normal; much like the seedy motel in Wyo described in the piece.
Never underestimate the ability of some of us to gouge and the willingness of others to cough up.
Never underestimate the ability of yet others to remember the gougers and never do business with them again.
62
There may be some who will remember and not rent from the gougers again but I fear our memories are short when it comes to what we want that most will just forget or forego. After all if you want something you just have to have it in 'merica and righteousness, neighborliness and conscience be damned.
Like most football games (but not baseball games), I'd rather watch it on TV -- and deny the 1st Interstate Motel in Casper, Wyo. its $1211. At that price and in Caspar, Wyo., the room had better come with more than just one hot-running woman.
Ah ... that $63 post-eclipse room rate. Does that include the bed bugs or not?
Ah ... that $63 post-eclipse room rate. Does that include the bed bugs or not?
13
Yes we are a capitalist nation, which is part of our charm. But Oregonians are generous also. Our governor Kate Brown opened up all of the city parks in Salem to overnight campers so that people can view this once in a lifetime event for free. Locals are a little disconcerted that so many people are coming to see the eclipse but we're excited to share our beautiful state with people.
96
Which just goes to show that we are a complex people; that no description or characterization can come close to capturing who and what we truly are.
For too long, Americans have wallowed in the cynical. It is time to believe in ourselves again, and in all of the positive things that we can achieve when we set our minds to achieving them; when we set our hearts towards being generous towards each other.
For too long, Americans have wallowed in the cynical. It is time to believe in ourselves again, and in all of the positive things that we can achieve when we set our minds to achieving them; when we set our hearts towards being generous towards each other.
29
Time is a calculation of existence and in that existence. we all wish to remain relative as long as possible. Specific moments of time, we value more than others and put a premium on it ( monetarily or otherwise ) to be at the forefront of that experience.
When our existence is threatened all together, then the premium we place on that moment in time is incalculable. We would give everything and anything to avoid it ~ to live
Somewhere out in that great cosmos ( beyond our close moon or sun ) is possibly a threat hurtling towards us that we don't know about . What if we suddenly did become aware of it ?
Would we be renting out hotel rooms at 10x that inflated price to see that ?
When our existence is threatened all together, then the premium we place on that moment in time is incalculable. We would give everything and anything to avoid it ~ to live
Somewhere out in that great cosmos ( beyond our close moon or sun ) is possibly a threat hurtling towards us that we don't know about . What if we suddenly did become aware of it ?
Would we be renting out hotel rooms at 10x that inflated price to see that ?
27
I'm waiting for Trump to deny
Eclipses are for real
This scientific potchkerai
His empty head reveal.
I guess he'd call it all a hoax
His base won't do much viewing
But all the interested folks
Their zest will be renewing.
Eclipses are for real
This scientific potchkerai
His empty head reveal.
I guess he'd call it all a hoax
His base won't do much viewing
But all the interested folks
Their zest will be renewing.
72
As to the eclipse:
Our dear leader
will call the others pips.
Watch that tweeter,
he'll claim credit.
As with everything,
you can bet on it.
Just like his bling,
he'll call it the best ever.
Now we're in a snake pit,
from him we must sever.
Our dear leader
will call the others pips.
Watch that tweeter,
he'll claim credit.
As with everything,
you can bet on it.
Just like his bling,
he'll call it the best ever.
Now we're in a snake pit,
from him we must sever.
1
Potchkerai! Love it Larry.